i'm dylan ratigan. "hardball" is up right now. good evening. i'm michael smirconish. will the real mitt romney please stand up? with his three primary wins yesterday, mitt romney has all but won the race for the republican nomination. now the race to define romney is on, but he remains a blank canvas to most people and the obama campaign is painting him as a wealthy flip-flopping tool to the right. and romney said the president is hiding his intentions until after the election. everyone agrees that romney has

to do something to jump-start his campaign. day we are say that he needs a game changer. is there anyone that would join a romney ticket and make a difference? and is it possible that the only person in maeshg who doesn't know that rick santorum is done is rick santorum? does he really think that he can win or is this about erasing the legacy of his big loss in 2006? and why should this surprise anyone? americans are divided between black and white, democrat and republican, when it comes to the trayvon martin shooting. and which republican senator is san diego as close to president obama and as far away as mitt romney as possible? check out the "sideshow." we begin with the race to define mitt romney. michael steele was chair of the republican party. david corn is here, author of "showdown." both are msnbc political analysts. let's begin with the attempts to define romney and what's at stake in the campaign. speaking today where obama launched the general election

with a stem winder of a teach, romney set about defining himself and why he should believe president. let's listen. >> this november, we'll face a defining decision. this election will be about principle, freedom, and opportunity will be on the ballot. i'm offering a real choice, and a new beginning. i'm running for president because i have the experience and the vision to get us out of this mess. >> and romney made sure to point out that his background makes him consummately qualified to fix the country and that obama has blown his chance. here it is. >> the first three rules of any turn around are focus, focus, and focus. but instead of focusing his attention on the economy, he delegated the stimulus to nancy pelosi and harry reid. >> michael steele, mitt romney, at least to my eye casting this in very big picture terms,

cataclysmic terms, if you will. >> absolutely. first of all, congrats to david on "showdown." it's going to be an exciting read and looking forward to it. >> thank you, michael. >> the reality is, it's change time and we're moving into the general campaign. that doesn't really matter now for romney. he's focused on defining the president and defining himself before the president who started yesterday defines him first. and that is the trick that he's got right now to work through, is to make sure that his message of laying out this landscape, this political landscape between now and the convention and absolutely after the convention to the election is one that he has control of. they have been very good about that. i have to give the romney campaign kudos in that regard. they're very good once they hone in on their message.

at least they've shown it against fellow republicans. how they do against the president we'll see. >> david, we're all political junkies, but truly to much of the country, the whole campaign remains a blank slate. as michael said, now the race is on to cast that dye and to form that initial impression. >> it's sort of the new hbo show, mitt romney, shape shifter. and now he's entering season two in which he gets a chance to start anew. i'm glad that michael, and i appreciate him mentioning my book. in it, i describe the year after the november 2010 disastrous election, what was going on in the white house. and they were aiming for this very stark choice. they wanted to define the choice and in fact, in a way that mitt romney wants to define a choice. it works to the white house's advantage if there's a choice between values and vision

between obama and romney. mitt romney seems to agree with barack obama that this should be a big, bold debate about values and visions for the future of this country and each side has laid down their official marker how they're going to define their own set of visions and also that of the other side. >> governor romney sought to define his own personal narrative. he fought this impression that obama is hammering home that he's this elite guy. >> my dad didn't have the chance to finish as a college degree and he apprenticed as a carpenter. he then went on to turn around a car company and became the governor of the state of michigan. i was tempted to stay in michigan and go into the car business. but i always knew i would wonder

if any success i would have would be due to my dad. so i stayed in massachusetts, got a job with the best company that would hire me. >> at the same venue yesterday, president obama portrayed mitt romney as out of touch. >> he even called it marvelous, which is a word you don't often hear when it comes to describing a budget. it's a word you don't often hear generally. >> then the pro obama super pac brought back billy crystal's famous parody to scure romney. ♪ >> one more. it turns out that the president is not unfamiliar with this particular m word, a romney campaign spokesman tweeted out a

story citing three times that obama has said marvelous. here's the most recent. >> it is right for us to celebrate dr. king's marvelous oratory, but worth remembering that progress did not come from words alone. >> michael steele, apart from giving us a couple of chuckles, what is the significance of this, if any? >> i think the significance is first the chuckle. we all need a good laugh. but more importantly, i think romney going back to the first point, is trying to set out this narrative about how this campaign is going to unfold, telling the story of his father in the beginning is nice. but you've got to make that connection to yourself and how that ties into the american people. it's great that your father struggled. but we don't get the impression that you struggled that much as a young man trying to make it on your own. that it was kind of not necessarily handed it to you, but it was an easier path than a lot of us. people want to know that you've at least walked ten blocks in my shoes, let alone a mile.

they want to understand that you have been in my neighborhood to some degree. not literally necessarily but you understand what it's like to make those ends meet. >> david, he seems more comfortable when he's talking policy and wonkish issues than his own back ground. yet i think much of the electorate is keenly interested for him to tell those stories. and it's a great american story by all accounts but it doesn't come naturally to him. >> but it's not his story. what happened with his father or his grandfather is not material even to his own development. notice when he said when he went to business school, he didn't say harvard business school. that wasn't an accident. he can't help being from a privileged background. but again and again and again with his gaffes, he's shown that he doesn't have the common touch. ultimately, the president is

going to shove it down his throat on the ryan budget be the tax cuts for the wealthy. it's going to play into this issue of him being a one percenter and backing a budget that is a one percenter's campaign. >> what are they saying, michael, in boston today, are they comfortable with this being a litmus test that defines the campaign? >> in the primary, probably yes. in the general election, it's more after a question mark because it's not clear how the ryan plan is going to be received or perceived by the american people. there's no real radar on that just yet. it just came out last week. so right now they can do the warm fuzzy, and anticipating that obama is going to slam it and my buddy david corn is going to hit it hard. but in a general election, not so much we want it front and center.

we may want it a little off to the side. >> we talked about the attempt to define mitt romney. mitt romney was trying to define president obama by saying that he's hiding his real agenda. listen to this, because i want to talk about what's going on with this clip. >> president obama's comments to president medvedev are deeply troubling. that insurance identicals his candor into serious question. he doesn't want to share his real plans before the election. either with the public or with the press. his intent is on hiding. you and i are going to have to do the seeking. >> david, what is going on with mitt romney's reference to the open mike? >> he's trying to make obama look shifty, which has been part of the attack on obama since 2008. the guy has been president for over three years now. there's a lot to judge him on. it was obvious to me what the president was talking about. look at what happened with the new start treaty. this is a process that was started by ronald reagan and

almost every other start treaty had tremendous bipartisan support. but the republicans tried to block it. it was only in the lame duck session that obama would able to get it past. so what he says to medvedev is obvious, we can't do arms negotiations until after the election because it's so politicized and it's been politicized by the republicans in the senate. >> michael, to me it sort of furthers the use of that internet lore. barack obama is always getting ready to do something evil. things he never ends up doing. he's going to seize your bullets and guns. >> it's true. it's going to happen in the second term, just wait. quite honestly, this is a very good line for mitt romney. i thought he handled that very well, laying that argument out, making that indictment. >> for the base is what you're saying?

>> if you think the signature piece for the first term was health care, just wait until second term and that's what people are worried about. that's the underlying concern that -- >> i agree they're going to use that to play to the base. i can't think of any examples where in a second term a major initiative, which was kept under raps in the first term, is suddenly unveiled. >> now he will finally be that radical socialist they promised us he would be. may believe he'll go on to save another industry, like the auto industry. who knows what he'll do next. >> did you see the latest report on ford and gm? he didn't save the auto industry. >> it's better than it was. >> i got to leave it there. thank you. coming up, rick santorum vows to fight on. but is he really willing to undo all that he's achieved by risking a loss in pennsylvania?

or is this about erasing his 18-point loss back in 2006? that's ahead and this is "hardball." not in this economy. we also have zero free time, and my dad moving in. so we went to fidelity. we looked at our family's goals and some ways to help us get there. they helped me fix my economy, the one in my house. now they're managing my investments for me. and with fidelity, getting back on track was easier than i thought. call or come in today to take control of your personal economy. get one-on-one help from america's retirement leader. i don't want a plunger anywhere near my coffee. not in my house. with maxwell house french roast,

you let gravity do the work. [ male announcer ] maxwell house french roast. always good to the last drop. dnc chairman weber wasserman schultz says that mitt romney's religion is off-limits. this is what she told chris jansing when asked about senator orrin hatch's prediction that the obama campaign would throw the mormon church at romney like you can't believe. >> that is just preposterous. for them to suggest that religion will be injected by president obama and the democratic party, i mean, they need to take a look inward at the accusations that their party and supporters have hurled. >> she said that republicans are the ones who have questioned president obama's religion and nationality since he's taken office. we'll be right back.

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we have now reached the point where it's halftime.

half the delegates in this process have been selected. and who is ready to charge out of the locker room in pennsylvania for a strong second half? >> welcome back to "hardball." that was rick santorum last night following a triple loss to his rival mitt romney. santorum is pledging to fight on in his home state of pennsylvania and beyond. >> pennsylvania and half the other people in this country have yet to be heard. and we're going to go out and campaign here and across this nation to make sure that their voices are heard in the next few months. the clock starts tonight. we've got three weeks to go out here in pennsylvania and win this state and after winning this state, the field looks a little different in may. in 1976, ronald reagan didn't get out of the race. he was able to stand tall and

win the state of texas, which we have every intention of doing. >> but does he still think he can win this thing or is he relishing the role of spoiler and hoping to improve his chances for a run in 2016? robert served as spokesman for rick santorum when he was in the senate. joan walsh is the editor at large for salon.com. robert, we're a couple of pennsylvania guys. at the end of the show tonight, i'm going to do a commentary and argue that what i think is going on here is that senator santorum is trying to erase the memory of his 17-point loss to bob casey in 2006, beat romney this year and going forward he won't be remembered as the guy who got beat on his home turf but at least his beat romney in the 2012 cycle. am i wrong? >> no, you're not wrong. rick santorum lost by 18 points, but if in fact he does win pennsylvania on april 21, it doesn't matter from a political

stand point, because mitt romney will become the republican nominee. but there's a little bit of redemption there, and b, perhaps maybe this sets rick santorum up for 2016 or, and i'm going to break some news here, mitt romney perhaps will put rick santorum on the ticket because of the faction between the conservatives and the moderate wing of the party. >> given all the harsh things that senator santorum has said about romney, how he's just the i don't think guy and far too moderate, a lot of that would be too hard to pull back to unite on a ticket. >> remember back in 1980, voodoo economics, george bush said that about reagan. i recall what happened in 2008 between hillary clinton and barack obama, and there's a lot of democrats out there that are still clamoring for hillary to be part of the ticket in 2012. back in 1960, lbj and jfk didn't like each other at all. there was times in our past when

democrats and republicans in the primary have beaten each other up, only to join forces to do one thing, to win. >> joan, santorum addressed whether his home state is a must-win. listen to this and react to it. >> yeah, we have to win here and we plan on winning here. as i said last night, the people in pennsylvania know me. all of the negative attacks are going to fall on a lot of deaf ears here and we're going to work very hard here. we're going to get into may and may looks very good. >> joan walsh, pennsylvania is a beauty contest. if he wins the popular vote, it does absolutely nothing relative to the delegate count. >> well, right. and it's all ego. we all understand that ego is a very powerful driving force in politics, michael. but man, on the flip side, he

could fall on his face. his lead is eroding. he's leading by an average of six points in most recent polls. the other side of this is he could wind up -- if he sees his support really fall apart, he could wind up and he should pull out, because the flip side of a great ego stroking redemption victory is a horrible, even a close loss. >> it's interesting that you say that, because on "morning joe" earlier today, he described the strategy that he said he would take if he were mitt romney. listen to what he said. >> if i were mitt romney today, i would go up with millions of dollars of ads in pennsylvania today and let him know, you stay in this race, and you make me sweat this out and you stop me from focusing on barack obama, you know what i'm going to do? i'm going to reduce you to rubble in your home state and then just like rome, i'm going to go to carthage and salt the

earth to make sure nothing ever grows back there again. i will kill you politically in your home state. >> it's a delicate dance in terms of when he gets out so he's not harmed himself further within the party. how do you see this playing out? >> number one, i agree with joe partially. i don't think negative ads are going to help mitt romney in pennsylvania. pennsylvanians know rick santorum very well. he's a household name in the state for 16 years. so what mitt romney needs to do is focus on the positive and thus in the process, drive a wedge between, as you know, the moderate republican women that live in the areas outside of philadelphia. that's number one. number two, knowing rick santorum the way i know him, if mitt romney does carpet bomb the state, that scorched earth policy going to hurt mitt romney in the general, because rick santorum will not endorse him, but also he very well may have a contested convention going into tampa. >> dr. larry sabateu said rick

santorum has earned the right to run in 2016 or 2020. i see him generjeopardizing the longer he stays in. >> i partially agree with that. rick santorum has earned the right to run in 2016 or 2020. in 1976, ronald reagan went all the way to the convention against ford and ford lost to jimmy carter. but ronald reagan ran again in 1980 and he was the conservative champion, if you will. so it's partially -- he's partially right there. but rick santorum has a right and also the people around the country in may, whether it be kentucky, whether it be arkansas, west virginia, there are still more people in this process that say listen, we still want to vote here. we're not sure if we are for mitt romney or rick santorum, but we still have the right to vote. >> joan, if he stays in for pennsylvania, which is three weeks away and santorum is

successful, how does he get out after he wins pennsylvania knowing that in may there are a host of states where presumably he would win? >> i think you're right about that. if he won pennsylvania, i don't think it would be that big a deal because of the points you raised, and it is his home state. it's not really a game changer to win it. but he would be encouraged and if he wants to fight for 2016, the longer he stays in, the better he does. but he's not a ronald reagan figure. i think at the end of this season we'll find he's hurt the republicans, and it's going to be a very tough general election for mitt romney. >> if mitt romney loses the general, robert, rick santorum says see, i told you so, he was too moderate. thank you to both. up next, john mccain knows something about how not to pick a running mate. and he's got some advice for

mitt romney. that's next in the "sideshow." you're watching "hardball." ♪ beth! hi! looking good. you've lost some weight. thanks. you noticed. these clothes are too big, so i'm donating them. how'd you do it? eating right -- whole grain. [ female announcer ] people who choose more whole grain tend to weigh less than those who don't. multi-grain cheerios -- 5 whole grains, 110 calories. creamy, dreamy peanut butter taste in a tempting new cereal. mmm!

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♪ call 1-800-steemer back to "hardball." first up, to the veep-stakes. john mccain hasn't been too vocal about his selection of sarah palins a his running mate in 2008. but you know how it all went down. any way, mccain had some advice for romney during a round of interviews this morning. let's watch. >> i think it should be sarah palin. we have a wealth of talent out there, and i'm sure that mitt will make the right choice. obviously, it's a tough decision. i think that i would obviously tell him that not to rush to judgment, for one thing. >> speaking from experience.

we'll have much more on romney's potential short list in just a couple of moments. next up, let's turn to that key massachusetts senate race between scott brown and elizabeth warren. the massachusetts democratic party has a lou ad out linking brown to, you guessed it, the state's former governor. here it is. ♪ people let me tell you about my best friend ♪ >> now i'm more proud to call my very dear friend, please welcome governor mitt romney. >> this lady came running across the lobby, and she came up to me, and i'm used that now, and she said, are you scott brown? >> by the way, brown has to know he has a romney issue. he's trying to stay as close as he can to president obama and as far away as mitt. massachusetts, after all, a very

blue state. and rick santorum and newt gingrich said they'll support whoever wins the republican nomination. both have dragged mitt romney through the mud, however, in an effort to stop him from gaining the nod. politico put together a list of zingers that might come back to bite them if they join team romney. let's watch. >> this is someone who doesn't have a core. he's been on both sides of almost every issue. >> don't believe any moderate can debate barack obama successfully, because there's not a big enough gap. >> he's the worst republican in the country to put up against barack obama. >> there's something so hypocritical about the romney campaign. >> the etch-a-sketch candidate. now that the climate change, guess who changed with snit governor romney. >> more of that coming up from

team obama. does mitt romney need a game changer as a running mate? we'll look at his options. and you can follow me on twitter, if you can spell smerconish. you're watching "hardball." [ johan ] hello, piper. nice up-do. i see you're crunching numbers with a cup of joe... when you could be relaxing with a delicious gevalia. or as i like to say, a cup of johan. joe's a cubicle. johan is a corner office with a young, eager assistant... who looks like me. put johan on your spreadsheets. he'll watch your bottom line. [ johan ] gevalia. meet me in the coffee aisle.

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call or come in today to take control of your personal economy. get one-on-one help from america's retirement leader. i'm sue herera. worries over europe send the dow down 124 points. the s&p 14 and the nasdaq sinking about 45 points. employers added 209,000 jobs to payrolls in march according to the private firm adp. yahoo is cutting 2,000 jobs, about 14% of its workforce. the move is expected to save about $375 million annually. and demand for mortgages bounced back, reversing seven weeks of declines as interest rates fell

once again. that's it from cnbc. we are first in business worldwide. now back to "hardball." welcome back to "hardball." mitt romney has. won enough delegates yet to secure the delegation, but talk of his vp selection is beginning. john hidelman wrote that the search for the ticket's number two is always a big deal. but for romney, it may be especially significant given the severity of the damage that he suffered in the past months with key segments of the electorate. among them, latino and female voters. who will it be? does he need to choose someone bold and interesting, a game changer, someone who can improve his image with the conservative base, or someone safe, someone who won't overshadow him?

all right, men, we are strategists for romney. we're in a room together, we need to pick a vp. eugene, what is the top of our priority list in terms of what we're looking for? >> the top of the priority list i think for mitt romney would be someone whose conservative credentials would not be questioned. it doesn't have to be a total tea party type, but it needs to be somebody who isn't seen as a massachusetts moderate, and would further either alienate or depress the republican base. >> chris, i didn't appreciate until i wrote what you published today how often in the past the gop has always gone in the direction of so-called idealogical balance. is that where you see this going this time? >> first of all, there are as many theories about how the vice president gets picked as there

are people mentioned to be the vice president. but yeah, i do think this kind of idealogical mixing does have some real heft to it. mccain was in a similar position to where romney is now. won the nomination but distrusted by the conservative base and he picks palin. in 2000, bush picking cheney was more of a gravitas pick, but i don't think bush could have picked somebody like a tom ridge for example. keep going back and go all the way back to ronald reagan -- >> it's amazing. mccain and palin, bush and cheney. dole goes to kemp. bush senior goes to quayle. >> right. the reagan george h.w. bush in '80 is the fascinating one. it proves it's not always a

tonally moderate candidate that wins the nomination. reagan clearly was a conservative's conservative. but he was not an establishment guy. george h.w. bush, he was the establishment's establishment. >> i remember in 1980, his slogan was, a president we won't have to train. let's look at some of the people likely to be on the short list. on the one hand, you have the potential game changers. they include marko rubio, new jersey governor chris christie, bobby jindal, paul ryan, susanna martinez. on the other hand, romney might look to safer bets, bob mcdonald, tim pawlenty, ohio senator rob portman. eugene, i can't see him throwing a long ball the way mccain did four years ago. i joked earlier today, i think he has some alga rhythm he's be

applying. in terms of the list we just showed you, anything jump out? >> i agree with you. i think it's unlikely that he goes for a game changer. i think it's much more likely that he picks someone like say senator portman who, on the calculation, if the algarhythm had spit out that gives you three potential precincts in cincinnati that can tip the state of ohio into the republican column, therefore there's the one to go with, i think that's his instinct. but when it comes time to pick, if the situation looks dire, if it looks like he's not going to win or he's way behind, then all bets are off. and it may be he decides that the only way to be in the game is to go with the game changer. >> a little bit complicated but the payoff is great.

it's in republican strategist ron weaver. he says, number one, the base doesn't trust romney or like him. number two, to fix that, he's done everything possible on position altering to attract them. number three, number two hasn't worked. four, while attempting number two, he's alienated hispanics, women, working class whites. does he try to fix number two or pick someone who can help with one of the constituencies in number four or someone that might help deliver a state? i would bet on the basis intense antippathy. chris, what do you make of that analysis? >> i'm still trying to figure out if a and b are true does that make c true? look, i think a play too excite the base, to me, given where

romney is, yes, i think he needs to do that. i also think he would like to get someone who could be history making in some way to counter the barack obama is the first african-american president and ideally someone in a swing state. if you go by those three criteria, it seems to me that marko rubio from florida is the clearest pick. he's cuban-american and he is from florida. you know, you never know -- and rubio was new to the national scene. you could make the argument is he ready? he may be hurt by the spector of sarah palin, is he ready to be president of the united states, but i would say i think if you're ranking it today, michael, you put rubio first and in my opinion, there's a gap between first and second and third. >> if you had to bet on who the vp nominee would be, you would be wise to go with marko. in trades say they put the odds

of rubio's selection to 25%. i would have to believe that paul ryan is going to climb in that wagering, because this week it's been all about him, and if the focal point of this campaign is going to in large part be the budget he put forward, wouldn't you think he would be in that mix? >> i think romney can figure well, he's going to own the ryan budget anyhow, so he might as well have the guy who explains it better than anyone else on his team. and ryan has -- he's young. he's good looking. he has a certain presence. he's not the greatest speaker, but the base loves him and he might be seen as a persona, as not terribly threaten to independents. >> doesn't do anything with hispanics or women, though. >> he is from wisconsin, though. just adding another potential swing state.

>> i know, but i don't think since '84 it's gone in that direction. any way, as always, chris, eugene, terrific. thank you. up next, we'll separate the facts from the rumors in the trayvon martin case. this is "hardball." ♪ [ male announcer ] how could switchgrass in argentina,

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[ male announcer ] no one just hands you the title, most advanced technology in its class. it needs to be earned. earned with smartbeam head lamps. earned with vented temperature control seats. earned with an 8.4-inch touch screen. and if you're driving one, you know what it means to earn something. ♪ we're back. the trayvon martin story remains in the national spotlight ever since his death in late february. according to a new poll, people of different races and political affiliations are deeply divided over whether there's been too much news coverage of the case. 56% of republicans say there's been too much coverage compared to 25% of democrats. and 43% of whites say there's been too much coverage compared to only 16% of african-americans.

nbc news national investigative correspondent michael isikoff has been tracking the story from florida. what's the latest, michael? >> reporter: well, the latest is that george zimmerman has hired a new defense lawyer, who is a former cop, a former prosecutor, a specialist in dna cases. so suggesting he's looking for somebody who has a background, strong back ground in forensics, which is going to be crucial in this case. he clearly needed one. he had one lawyer who had never tried a homicide case, who had been representing him through all of this. what's extraordinary, though, is that both of these lawyers in an interview they did with the local fox affiliate last night acknowledged that neither one has actually ever met george zimmerman. he's been in hiding ever since this case erupted.

>> that's strange. >> reporter: it is very strange, to be representing a client in a highly charged case like this without ever actually meeting your client, looking him in the eye, going over the whole story. and it's fair to say that most seasoned lawyers would not take on a representation like this without sitting down with their client and doing that. >> no doubt. michael isikoff, thank you as always. we appreciate it. beth is a columnist who has been covering the case. you've made me an orlando sentinel reader. can we go through some of the myths, facts of this case. you've been reporting on new developments relative to trayvon martin and dispelling some of the myths. i want to run through a couple and correct the record. and i want to correct the ror as to whether it's fact or myth.

for example, george zimmerman was not arrested because his father is a former judge who pulled some strings. >> michael, there is no evidence of that whatsoever. his four is a former magistrate, but the police didn't know that at the time and that did not factor into them in the case. >> another one, zimmerman weighs about 190 pounds, and his weight was not on the original police report. trayvon martin's family says his weight was 150 pounds. >> fact or myth, trayvon martin shouldn't have been walking through the gaited community where he was shot. >> that's absolutely a myth. trayvon martin was there visiting his father and his father's girlfriend.

you know, he had every right to be there. he was a guest, he had family member who lived there. and it wasn't at 3:00 a.m., it was 7:00 on a sunday evening. >> the doj is investigating civil rights abuses for the trayvon martin case and years prior. >> okay, there is only one civil rights information going on right now according to the department of justice and the fbi. they're looking at allegations against mr. zimmerman. right now the police department as a whole is not being investigated. >> at the outset of this conversation, you heard me relate some polling data between blacks and whites and how they view the level of news coverage. were you surprised with that or is it the finger on the pulse in your community? >> it doesn't surprise me, it

registers with the feedback that i've been getting and that we've seen nationally. >> so you believe that the folks locally would be in those same mixes? >> you know, i think they would. i think there is a bit of a divide between r and ds on this topic. gun control has become a big topic of conversation when people talk about this case, and that issue tends to split them along party lines. >> and stand your ground as well, not only gun control, but whether that florida law ought to stay in the state. >> gun control as a larger issue, and specifically the stand your ground law that has since spread to other states. and that is the statute that is is getting the most talk, you know, since trayvon was shot. >> thanks, i begin with a click on the sentinel every day.

when we come back, let me finish with what rick santorum is up to in pennsylvania. wake up!

that's good morning, veggie style. hmmm. for half the calories plus veggie nutrition. could've had a v8.

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let me finish tonight with this. now that the maryland, wisconsin, and washington dc primaries are behind us, we're shifting the attention to pennsylvania. today the "new york times" headline, pennsylvania lets romney go for jugular.

another was san tomorrow puts his money on pa. there are two things you need to know. on the surface, the election dynamics seem to benefit santorum. the last time he was on a pennsylvania ballot in 2006, he lost by 18 points to bob casey jr. but poll after poll shows him beating romney by a dwindling margin. it won't bode well for him or the gop come november. consider over the last four years the state's gop has lost almost 140,000 voters, and the raings of the independents has swelled by 161,000, or 43%. in other words, six years after he lost pennsylvania, including a blow out in the traditionally moderate suburbs, santorum will compete for votes in a primary that now better suits his

strengths. the exodus of moderates from the gop helps santorum in the long-run. but it bears nothing for the general election. this primary is a beauty contest. if chris were here, he would explain it with a history lesson. as the campaign headed two kansas city, reagan said his running mate would be richard sings wiker. why? because he knows that pennsylvania does tie the delegates -- reagan benefits four years later when george h bush won the primary, but a majority of the state's delegates when for the gipper

anyway. they're listed on the ballot with no tie to a particular candidate. i know, because in 1984 i was an alternate delegate. when usually happens is the gop faithful run for the slots. they include party loyalist and they tend to be influenced by the establishment, which has been reluctant to support santorum. never the less, santorum says he has every intention of winning the keystone state. he and his campaign must know that winning pennsylvania's popular vote won't put him any chose tore the delegate count needed to win the nomination. that means this could be all about erasing the loss in 2006, a beauty contest in deed. that's "hardball" for now,