down interstate 264 in the area of the crash. the pentagon suspects there will be casualties but cannot confirm that though. we will be updating that throughout the hour. also ahead right here on "andrea mitchell reports," employers hit the brakes raising new worries about the recovery. the white house tries to exploit the gender gap by tailoring its economic message to woo women voters. >> women are not summon know lithic bloc. women are not at interest group. you shouldn't be treated that way. >> and plus, rick santorum's texas strategy. is it a texas fantasy? the republican national committee tells me it is a nonstarter. and a ratings victory. teens will finally be able to see the movie that might help them deal with bullying. >> they punched me in the jaw, strangle me and knock things out of my hand. >> coming up, we will talk to that young man, alex libby and

his mother featured in the acclaimed documentary as well as the director. and good day. i'm andrea mitch in washington. of course, we'll keep you update on the f/a-18s crash outside of virginia beach with whatever information we get from down there. meanwhile, the unemployment rate falling to 8.2% in march but only 120,000 jobs were added. well off the pace of the past few months. we'll have more on that in just a moment. first, the battle for women voters. nbc's luke russert covers capitol hill and all things political and joins us for our daily fix from new york today. >> good morning. >> today the white house is staging an economic event for women. it is what some would say a blatant appeal to women voters. >> for the first time in history, young girls across the country can see three women sitting on the highest bench of the land. when people are talking about repealing health care reform, they're not just saying stop

protecting women with pre-existing conditions, they're saying we should kick 1 million young women off their parents' health care plans. women are not an interest group. you shouldn't be treated that way. >> it's hardly a coincidence today the romney campaign is releasing this new gauzy video of the romney family featuring what they believe to be their best weapon. ann romney. >> that's the gang. those are the five boys. i hate to say it, but often had i more than five sons. i had six sons. and he would be as mischievous and as naught a. they are the joy of our life. i miss having all of them under one roof. i would love to go back in time and see all those five boys under one roof again. >> mischievous and naughty? that's not the way most of us. >> just warms your heart.

>> think about mitt romney. is this going to work? >> it's interesting, andrea. this is a ploy by the romney campaign to try and garner what barack obama has been able to get. barack obama was on at halftime of the final four talking about his daughters and how they play basketball. that appealed to women. michelle obama is on the biggest loser here on nbc. that appeals to women. this is a real attempt by the romney campaign to try and tap into that. the reason why is reflected in the numbers. the latest gallup poll showed that barack obama now has a 19-percentage-point lead amongst women. three months ago, independent women were siding with mitt romney by a few points. in the last three points, they have now gone to barack obama plus 14 in places like ohio, florida, virginia, so vaul to winning the campaign. so you can see what the romney campaign is obviously trying to do here, trying to tap into that. it's very much a by-product of what you've seen the last three months on capitol hill, contraception hearings, the rush

limbaugh controversy has affected a lot of women and turned the mess and not on the economy for the republican party but the war on women democrats always talk about. that's something it the numbers show they can run on and win. >> as you pointed out, it's the so-called war on women because it's the democratic terminology. that's their lingo. so many people seem to be buying into it becomes sort of accepted wisdom. the republican national committee strongly objects to that and says there is no war on whimper say. mitt romney's, the campaign's view is they have inherited this problem because of the social debate, the debate on social issues. and he was talking to news max, a conservative news blog on wednesday about this. this is the candidate. >> there's no question that over the past several weeks, that a discussion about religious liberty was distorted into eight discussion of contraceptives and

there was the perception that somehow republicans are opposed to contraceptives. i think this will pass as an issue as people understand our real position. >> and luke, let me interrupt both of us in talking about politics right now because we have new pictures we want to share of that crash in virginia beach, virginia. this is a developing story. breaking news. you can see now that obviously, the smoke from the crash, it was an f-18 d crashing just after taking off we're told from naval air station oceana according to a navy official. the jet went down about 12:05 local time, just about an hour ago just off the base in virginia beach. both pilots ejected safely and are on the ground, says the navy official. we don't have additional details about injuries or problems with their condition. the jet was assigned to the 106th fighter squadron, a fleet replacement squadron that train for fleet missions. this was likely a training

mission but that is not been confirmed. what we know is it's an f-18 d. we're looking for eyewitnesses which we are going to be reporting on this very shortly. luke, you know that area as well and the tidewater. >> it's such a scary thing because you know, living in washington, d.c., we often see military aircraft flying over the potomac river. often see it from my perch on capitol hill. you can see those jets flying off into the virginia sunset, all sorts of helicopters and such. you always like to think they're there to keep you safe. it looks like in this case, they may have injured somebody or brought a fatality forward. it's something you don't wake up in the morning and think about that one of these aircraft that you view as something that's going to keep you safe could in this case perhaps end a life. >> and luke stand by with me. >> that's horrific. >> look at the plume there. there's a fuel fuel load. court nit kube is on the phone

from the pentagon. what do you know? >> well, it was an f/a-18s d, a two-seater jet. it went down just after taking off from naval air station oceana in virginia beach. it looks like it was just taking off. there were some reports it may have been dumping some fuel. we don't yet note why. right outside of the base, it went down into a residential area. there's some reports it went into an apartment building. we can't yet confirm that. but it definitely did go into a residential area with houses. there's an elementary school nearby apparently but early reports are that there are no indications any children were or that it actually hit into the school itself. both pilots ejected safely, both are on the ground. but so far, we don't net know the medical condition of either of the pilots. >> courtney hang on with us for a second. thanks for that. we have an eyewitness on the phone. larry johnson.

thanks for joining us. can you tell us what you saw and what you know? >> well, i was coming out of old virginia road off of burnett and the plane, you could see smoke coming out of the exhaust. and as it was so low, it was flying so low, and i said, oh, god, man, that's going to crash. and by the time i got to the end of the street, which is the old virginia beach and burnett road, that's when it went down. i couldn't say where it fell or who it fell on. >> did you see where it went down? >> did it go into a building? can you confirm any of these reports? >> well, i couldn't stay because where i was, it was a little bit close. wherever it fell, i know it was going to be an explosion. so i had to get out of there. >> did you say, forgive me just repeat, did you say you saw smoke or flames coming out of the plane?

>> all you could see was smoke. it was smoke coming out of the exhaust. it was real black smoke. it was real low. i mean it wasn't that far in the air when it was coming across. it can looed like it was flying and it was coming down. it was scary. >> thank you very much, mr. johnson. thank you and stay safe down there. john swain is also an eyewitness calling in on the phone. from your vant tanl point, what did you see? >> sure. yes, i was driving just coming off 264 to head north on bird neck road and the plane came right over us and was clearly in difficulty. there were flames coming out of its engine at the back which i just that you thought was after burn or whatever. i've seen that on tv but the plane got lower and lower. just as i turned on to birdneck road, it crashed. and i saw one pilot eject. and i understand there were two but i only saw one, saw the parachute deploy.

and then you know, probably five seconds later, i was at the building where it hit. and it was, it burst into flames. >> the plane burst into flames. did you actually see it hit a building? >> no, i didn't. but within five seconds of it going down, i was at the building which it hit. there's no question about it hitting that building. the building was on fire. >> what kind of building was it? do you know what kind of building it was? >> yeah, it's an apartment block. a bunch of condos. and it hit it dead center. and yeah, it's pretty traumatic. there were a few people running from the building. and. >> was this a low risible? can you tell? i mean, you saw it after it was hit. but describe the building that was hit and what you saw in terms of people. >> yes, it was a two-story building. it looked pretty dense in terms of a lot of apartments in a very small space.

and it hit you know, the bit that was on fire when i got there a few seconds later was right dead center in this, in this apartment block. >> so you saw it hit dead center in the apartment block. did you see people running, people getting out of the building? >> i only saw a couple of people running away from the building. then i heard a -- i was there. i had to parked my car there and rushed to the scene. there were people running, a couple of people running away from it. then there was an explosion, a small but quite loud explosion but didn't really do anything visually. then more people ran to get away from it to keep their distance. >> were there rescue vehicles there, ambulances? did you see anyone getting assistance, any medical teams? >> no, the emergency services hadn't arrived then. no, there were no police or anyone at that time.

>> mr. swain, thank you so much for your critical information. a two-story building hit by this plane when it went down. fis rozi is the commander of the air force atlantic. commander, can you tell us what happened? and do you know anything about the pilots and their safety? >> well, andrea, thanks. first of all, just to correct, i am not the commander of naval air force atlantic. i am the public affairs officer for naval air force atlantic. >> thank you for that. >> i can tell you it was an fa-1 d which is a two-seat strike fighter. it was assigned to strike fighter squadron 106 which is based at naval air station oceana in many virginia beach. our initial reports tell us it was about 12:05 p.m. when the jet crashed just after takeoff at the location just off the base. i can tell you, andrea, both air crew did safely eject from the

aircraft. they're on the ground now. i'm not going to provide any identifying information about those two air crew. other than the fact that they did both safely eject from the aircraft. and they are on the ground now. >> commander, we've been told by an eyewitness just now the that it a two-story apartment building and that people were seen running from the building. can you tell us anything about casualties? >> andrea, i have no information. i'm seeing a lot of the same reports that you are, and obviously, navy is working very closely with virginia beach emergency response officials on this case, but i have no other insight. i'm not on the scene right there. >> had the crew radioed that they were in trouble because we have another eyewitness who said the plane appeared to be in trouble and it was flying very low and there was smoke coming out of it, dark smoke? >> again, too early for that kind of detail. i just don't know.

certainly we'll look closely, that the but our initial efforts are to work very closely with local authorities on the immediate actions. >> what can you tell us about the mission that this flight was on? >> i can tell you that vfa 106, the strike fighter squaw dron is a training is squadron, so it is a training squadron where our new pilots and air crew go to learn how to fly that aircraft. so, while again, without net other specific details because it's a training squadron, you know, it certainly going to be a training flight. >> and just 0 recap from what you know about an hour ago, this accident took place, the crash took place. anything else that you can tell us about the plane, the mission? >> no, andrea, just beyond again it is a strike fighter squadron,

a two-seat aircraft. it's the type of aircraft that it is very prominent within the fleet. and again, the training squadron does train all of the local east coast pilots and weapons systems officers for their missions in the fleet. >> thank you very much. commander fill rosi from virginia beach. and we will continue to have more updates as we get more information. now we turn to the white house where it is holding this conference on women and the economy today. and i'm joined by the director of the white house domestic policy council. as you can understand, celia, we're coping with this breaking story and dealing with anything, any information that we get on that. >> of course >> but just wanted to quickly ask you to recap the mission of the white house conference on the economy because many people feel that at least it fits with the political mission of the white house

today. >> well, the president set up the council on women and girls within the first few months of coming into office and this has been part of a concentrated effort to make sure every federal agency is focusing on women and girls in the course of conducting its work. we've released a report today which summarizes the work that's gone on to date and points to the work we need to do in the future. we focused on things like education, health care, on equal pay, on making sure we're giving access to women in science and technology and engineering fields. this is important work as the president said, this is not a public interest group. we're talking about half of the population, our economic future is very linked to the future of women and girls in this country. >> see sylvia, there has to be disappointment at the white house today about the jobs numbers. only 120,000 new jobs were added. this doesn't keep up with the population growth. the unemployment rate declined 8.2% as you well know because people were discurrentlied and gave up looking.

so does this signal some weakness in the recovery? >> well, it's hard to make judgments on the basis of one month's numbers. it's important to look at the overall trends. we've had 25 months straight of job growth in this country and this is in fact the strongest quarter we've had in six years. so the trend lines are moving in the right direction. we still have a lot of work to do. this is an important area of our work. we're convinced the lines are moving in a positive direction but we've got more to go. >>. >> cecilia munoz, thanks for joining us today from the white house. up next, bullying, the ratings. a victory for the director and the teen audience. and we'll talk with one of the youngsters featured in that critically acclaimed documentary. and still ahead, rick santorum's last ditch strategy. what are his chances? more to many could, plus the breaking news on that f-18 d fighter crash. art attack right out of the clear blue... he was just... "get me an aspirin"...

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the f/a-18 d fighter jet that crashed outside of virginia beach, it was apparently on a training mission. courtney kube is our pentagon producer. we did have eyewitness reports it went into an apartment building, a two-storiable but that the two the pilots ejected safely. >> yeah, so far we know that they ejected safely but still don't know either of their condition. there are local reports one of the pilots was taken to the hospital but the u.s. navy is not yet confirming that. it did crash into some sort of a residential area, an apartment building. so far it does not appear that was any kind of a base housing. but that doesn't mean that it wasn't -- it didn't house some local navy families who work there at the base at oceanian na. one thing to keep in mind is that area there, virginia beach. there's obviously ocean nanl naval air station right there and they are very used to low-flying jets and aircraft all the time around there. so seeing this jet fly over

initially may not have been so stark or so striking to the of residents in that area. it's something, it's a common occurrence right there. but as of now, it appears that there are no reports of casualties, but the u.s. fave is warning they suspect there will be some once the situation unfolds further. >> thank you so much, courtney. could good points all. i know you're going to stay on it. joining us now chief tim riley from the virginia beach fire and rescue. chief riley, can you help us out on what is the situation in terms of any possible casualties there? >> hello. >> chief riley, this is andrea mitch. we're on the air. thank you so much for calling in. we know you're busy. we just wanted to see what you can tell us about any possible casualties from this crash. >> yes, we're confirming we've had an f-18 delta military aircraft go down into an apartment complex in virginia

beach. we do -- we have a third alarm assignment from the fire department here. we had four to five buildings on fire. daniel in this apartment complex. both pilots safely ejected, were transported to a local hospital. with nonlife-threatening injuries. we did have the fire under control right now. and we've had no report of injuries on the ground but we are suspecting you know, the potential could be there because the damage is significant. >> chief riley, let me just repeat that. as far as you know, the two pilots were taken with nonlife-threatening injuries to the hospital. you do not know of any other casualties. the fire is under control. it went to a third alarm, four to five buildings were on fire. and, of course, we don't know how many people were at home at

the time, hopefully people might have been in church being good friday. >> well, i don't know where the people were. one of the things i do want to report is we do have a very good working relationship with oceana. it's one of our your biggest assets here in the city of virginia beach. we have had for the past two years two off site mishap drills. we do have a unified command system here with the navy and you know, the fire department and the fleet department. things aren't going as well as they could be expected but like i said, now is the time to get into these apartmentables. i say apartment buildings. each apartment has eight units there. so we're talking significant damage to about 20 units. so there's -- it's going to take significant time to get through the each one of these and some are very, very damaged.

>> are you able yet to get into any of these apartment units to see if there might be someone trapped inside? >> well, yes, we have some on the periphery near the impact area, there's a lot more damage there. but fire had spread to you know, neighboring apartment buildings. right now, we're just confirming no injuries on the ground. >> and you do not think that anyone might still be inside. so you have 20 units, no injuries on the ground and mercifully, we believe that the copits both ejected safely with nonlife-threatening injuries and that the fire is under control. >> as we speak, we have crews in these apartments searching right now. >> well, thanks you very much as you continue with the search effort to make sure there is no need to rescue. thank you so very much, chief tim riley from the virginia beach fire and rescue. he we're talking about an f/a-18

d fighter yet, two pilots both ejected safely with nonlife-threatening injuries. this is virginia beach, and this is a training mission which apparently crashed just shortly after takeoff around 12:05 today eastern daylight time. we will continue to keep watch on this breaking news story in virginia beach. meanwhile on the economic front, we're turning to the march jobs reports showing a slight drop in the unemployment rate to 8.2% but there is not much to cheer about in that report. the rate ended down because more people got discurrentlied and stopped looking for work. only 120,000 jobs were added, far fewer than expected. a dramatic slowdown compared to the last few months. greg yip is the u.s. economics editor at the economist. in this report, one report does not really spell doom or gloom

for the recovery. but how do you look at this report and what other indicators might be out there? >> so i think what is a little bit unsettling about this report is a feeling of day dao vu because both last year and the year before, the year began within robust job growth and petered out as europe's sovereign debt crisis and higher oil prices spilled over into our economy. natural question is, are we seeing a repeat of that. i don't think so, not yet. the reason why the other data we have like the number of people claiming unemployment insurance benefits surveys of factor managers don't show any abrupt slowdown in activity in the last month. some of the strong numbers we had in the last few months were artificially inflated by the fact we had a very warm winter. >> of course, those positive reports, the warm winter, all of that with the exception of rising gasoline prices were contributing to a better approval rating for the president. clearly there's a huge political impact in an election year for the president. so this is a warning sign but

you don't see it as a red light? >> right. but i mean the president's approval rating has struggled to get into the 50% area. the economy has also struggled to show any sort of sustained momentum. if you look at the way is the president has been tackling his opponents this week, it is not a message of look how great the economy is going. that is a risky strategy. it's more attacking what they see as the in their view, the unpopular policies such as the paul ryan budgeting. >> greg ip from the economist, thank you yech. >> all right. i just wanted to update our breaking news on the f-18. we've got a statement from the virginia governor bob mcdonald. he says we are taking all possible steps at the state level to provide immediate resources and an assistance. i have spoken to the mayor several times and informed him all resources are available to him as the community responds to this situation. the governor says we are

monitoring events carefully as they unfold and state police resources are now on the scene. our prayer is no one was killed or injured in this accident. we heard from the fire chef that so far, he knows of no fatalities. we'll be right back. ylenol is the pain reliever orthopedic doctors recommend most for arthritis pain, think again. and take aleve. it's the one doctors recommend most for arthritis pain. two pills can last all day. ♪ splenda® essentials™ no calorie sweetener with b vitamins, the first and only one to help support a healthy metabolism. three smart ways to sweeten. same great taste. splenda® essentials™. hi, i just switched jobs, and i want to roll over my old 401(k) into a fidelity ira. man: okay, no problem. it's easy to get started; i can help you with the paperwork. um...this green line just appeared on my floor. yeah, that's fidelity helping you reach your financial goals. could you hold on a second?

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and to recap our breaking news this friday, as you can see, from these pictures, firefighters trying to extinguish the flames, what was a three-alarm fire after the crash of an f-18 d fighter jet outside of virginia beach. it crashed shortly after takeoff, two pilots successfully ejected. on the phone with me it, lease chandler, media and communications director, the coordinator for virginia beach. thanks so much for joining us. can you tell us the situation right now? because we see the at least 20 units in those apartmentables were in flame at one point. are there anyone injured, any casualties at all from those

units? >> as far as we know, there have been no casualties. however, three people have been taken to the hospital. one is a pilot. the condition is unknown. there are multiple buildings on fire at the mayfair news apartments in the 1,000 block of birdneck road in virginia beach. and state police is on the scene as well as 55 virginia beach fire and ems units and 65 police department units. families and evacuees should gather at the virginia beach community chapel, 1261 las kin road. >> can you tell me anything about the two civilians presumably who were among the injured? we know one was as you point out the pilot and the fave says that that was a nonthreatening injury. what about the other two people? were they residents of the apartment complexes? i do not know.

>> and what about the evacuees? how many people as far as you know are assembling at that virginia beach community center at the chapel rather? >> i don't know. we are still gathering information. >> the fire and rescue chief told us, tim riley told us that the fire is under control. is that your best understanding as well? >> he is on the scene so he would have the most current information. >> is there any other advice that you want us to get out to the people in the region? >> no, we're working very hard to make sure that people are safe and that the situation gets under control. >> thank you so much. media and communications coordinator for virginia beach. thanks for joining us during a very busy time indeed. and now after weeks of protests and online petitions, that is ground breaking documentary "bully" now has a pg 139 rating.

the film's distributor, the weinstein company agreed toe remove three uses of the "f" word to get the rating down to r down from an r to the pg. but the film's director refused to edit this scene at the heart of the dispute. 12-year-old alex libby being violently bullied on his school bus. anti-bullying activists are celebratiing noting how importat it is for parents and kids to have conversations like this between alex libby and his mom. >> at some point, you've gotten used to this, and i'm not used to it because i didn't know and i'm not about to get used to it. does it make you feel good when they punch you or kick you? or stab you? do these things make you feel good? >> no. well, i don't know. i'm starting to think i don't feel anything anymore.

>> joining us now the filmmaker of "bulliy" lee hirsch who himself was bullied as a kid. alex libby is now 15 and his mom jackie libby joining us here. you are obviously -- you have to be happy that you managed to change the rating without changing the film. first to you lee hirsch, the success in getting the motion picture associationing to go along with you on this. >> you know, we are so overjoyed. it's great to be here, andrea. thanks for having us. this was an incredible movement. we saw a petition to the mpa started by a 17-year-old sund from michigan that had over a half a million signatures, members of congress, celebrities, people were just up in arms about this rating. it was an unjust rating. and yesterday, the mpa reversed their decision, broke their own rules and gave us the pg-13.

we had to take out three of the "f" bombs in the film but we were able to retain the critical scene where you see the bullying. i think this is a victory for all the people that raised their voice, speaks to the bigger conversations with the mpa. but today we're here to celebrate the family that's with us on the show. this growing movement. and really this opportunity to turn the tide on bullying in our country. >> well, the success of this is a tribute to you but it really is a success and a tribute to the heroic cooperation really of alex and jackie libby. >> absolutely. >> alex, did you this when you were 12 years old. jackie, you permitted the filming. tell me about your motivation in permitting lee to do this document tritt about your son and other children. >> well, we were very worried about alex for a long time. and this seemed like a great opportunity to get a window into his world. so we could maybe see why you he

had become so disengaged from life. he didn't want to hang out with friends. he didn't engage with the family anymore. we needed to know why that was happening. >> and alex, life has gotten a lot better. we saw you i think a week or two ago at the premiere for the documentary. how do you feel about it now in seeing what you've managed to accomplish? >> i feel -- well, i feel happy that i'm able to come out here and actually teach others how to make a difference and make a difference myself. one thing i can teach people is to -- is to stand up for themselves and get people involved to try to stop bullying. that's one mistake that i made that i don't want other people to make. >> what are the other kids at school saying now?

>> they're like, about the movie you mean? >> about the movie and is it easier for you now that you've explained yourself, that you've exposed yourself this way? does it make it harder or does it make it easier? >> well, the kids didn't find out about the movie too long ago. and so they're like so happy and kind of excited to have me go to their school. and they're so excited to see the movie. and hopefully, because i know my school isn't perfect. i heard some stories that of some kids who go there who get bullied. so hopefully, when everybody sees this movie, they'll get the message and make a difference.

>> jackie, what would you say to other moms, other parents who have gone through this pain of seeing their own kids being so badly because of bullying at school? >> just stand up for yourself. i mean, we felt like there was nothing we could do. we felt like we were doing all that we could, but just -- i just encourage the families to stick together. i mean you pay your taxes. you have a right to have your child be safe at school. don't, just don't let them make you ever feel any different than that. >> an important lesson. now the movie lee is going to expand to 55 markets. it opened without a rating in new york and l.a. but now people around the country, kids will be able to see this movie with a very important lesson for all of them and for their parents and teachers, as well. lee hirsch, congratulations. thank you very much. >> thank you very much. >> alex, thanks for coming on.

and jackie thanks for sharing your family story with us. >> thank you. and just to recap, the breaking news today of course, an f-18 d fighter jet, two co-pilots crashed into an apartment complex in virginia beach, a three-alarm fire is now under control. it spread to four or five buildings, 20 apartment units. the pilots ejected safely. we understand that at least one of the pilots may have been injured and was taken to the hospital. i think both were taken to the hospital but not life-threatening injuries. three people, according to virginia beach authorities were injured. and taken to the hospital. including one of the co-pilots. we have more when we come back. 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.

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the hospital including one of the co-pilots but no fatalities in this residential complex. it was a three-alarm fire which is now under control. we are still awaiting further word as they search through approximately 20 units of that apartment. those apartment complexes to see if there are anyone else that has not been rescued. and we will of course, continue to have more details as we get them. meanwhile, ronald reagan's name being repeatedly invoked by the republican presidential candidates. it's rare to hear the former president praised by a democratic president. >> ronald reagan who as i recall is not accused of being a tax and spend social iist understoo repeatedly that when the deficit started to get out of control, that for him to make a deal, he would have to propose both spending cuts and tax increases.

did it multiple times. he could not get through a republican primary today. >> well, could he or couldn't he? michael beschloss is presidential historian, susan page is usa today's washington bureau chief and covered the reagan white house as did i. first to you, susan, let's take a look at what rick santorum said about his -- comparing himself to ronald reagan in 1976 when he challenged a republican incumbent president gerald ford for the nomination. >> they said get out of the race. we need a moderate. in 1976, ronald reagan didn't get out of the race. he was able to stand tall in may, win the state of texas and he fell short and in the fall, republicans fell short. because we nominated another moderate and then four years later they fought him again. >> so, i mean, i was at that

kansas city convention in 1976 and many people think that there were a number of factors but that gerald ford lost in the fall partly because of the reagan challenge. susan paige, is he setting himself up for 2016 and sesaying it's okay for the republicans to lose in the fall, to justify him staying in through tampa? >> he probably wouldn't say that directly but i do think that rick santorum is now thinking is four years ahead and trying to calculate whether get out of the race now, stay in through his home state of pennsylvania. in just over two weeks. there is some comparison i think with 1976 which was a big battle between different factions of the republican party. the more moderates centrist establishment faction won that year but reagan came on four years later and changed the dekz of the party and the country. >>en an michael beschloss, what about the president's contention that ronald reagan could not win in this tea party influenced republican primary race? >> one way to look at it is some of the issues candidates are

dealing with this year, for instance, rick santorum the social issues abortion, ronald reagan has governor signed one of the most liberal abortion bills in the country. his first supreme court justice sandra day o'connor had a pro-choice opinion. i doubt if a republican candidate could get away with that today. >> he campaigned against raising tax buzz when he eventually did raise taxes, susan, he said that his feet were in cement on taxes. and then when he signed it, exactly, he said the sound you hear is the cement cracking around me. he made deals on bugs. >> you know, it's a narrower republican party now than it was then. it's also true republicans supported reagan even when they didn't agree with him. he had the support of the hawks and social conservatives. to president obama's point about

whether he could win in today's gop, absolutely. when you have a figure that's big like that, and in a way president obama is that way in the democratic party, partisans are willing to forgive you on some issues if they're for you in the whole. >> michael, he was a better politics, just point for point, better political, retail politician. >> he could have sold the wallpaper off the wall and probably did at some point in his acting career. another part of this we're hearing from rick santorum is essentially perhaps 2016, the argument that the reagan people made as you both remember after the 1976 election was if it had been a free choice, our party would have easily nominated ronald reagan. that's who the delegates wanted but ford used his political muscle as president to force himself through. you're beginning to hear the same thing from the santorum people. we would have won if it were not for the fact of all that will money that romney spent. >> last-ditch effort by the santorum campaign is to

change the way texas awards its delegates, make it winner take all. they would have a better chance. i was told by the rnc today, the party, the republican national committee is not going to grant texas the waiver. it is a nonstarter. >> it is hard to imagine they will change the rules and it is marred to imagine changing the rule in texas is going to be enough to make santorum win. you are going to see a pitched battle for this delegate count, going into june. but it does look now like mitt romney will be able to get to 1144. the number we've now all had etched in our brains, that he'll need to get for delegates. susan page, michael beschloss. we'll be back with more, of course, the latest news on that f/a 18 crash. stay with us. c'mon dad!

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' we continue with news.

an f/a 18 fighter jet crashed at about 12:05 in virginia beach, virginia. two co-pilots, two pilots ejected, we believe, safely, according to the navy. one was, at least one was taken to the hospital. including the pilot, three people, according to local fire and rescue were taken to the hospital with nonlife threatening injuries, we are told. 20 units in an apartment complex were engulfed in flames after the jet crashed into the apartment buildings. officials say at least no fatalities at this hour. as we continue to monitor that, the story, which political stories will be headlines in the next 24 hours? luke russert joins us from new york. as we continue to face all of that, there's some troubling news from the santorum camp about their youngest, about bella returning to the hospital. the santorums have gone to the hospital with their child who is

of course, front and center in all of his thoughts and throughout this campaign. >> and another suspension of the campaign, at least from rick santorum's public appearances that you see, obviously caring for his daughter. i know everyone wishes her well. but this is a strategy now as he leaves texas, could make or break his campaign. a lot of folks, specially rnc establishment feel his campaign, for all intents and purposes is over. and we had reported he is possibly meeting with rick perry in the state of texas. he said it was a winner take all contest and that's not the case. in fact, there are proportional delegates, 47 elected by statewide vote. even if he is to do tremendously well, it looks really hard for him to see coming out of this as the nominee. >> thanks for that update. very happy easter to you. a happy passover to all of our friends as well. and that does it for this edition of "andrea mitchell reports."

thomas will be up next with continuing breaking news. the latest on that f/a 18 fighter jet that crash in virginia beach. no fatalities at this hour. at ] [ dog ] it's our favorite. yours and mine. because we found it. together. on a walk, walk, walk. love to walk. a long walk. a walk with you. a walk i smelled squirrels on, but i stayed by your side because i could tell, could feel, that you had a bad day... and me being bad wouldn't make it any better. but being there was already helping a little anyway. and then we found that wonderful thing. waiting there. waiting for you and me. and you smiled. and threw it. and i decided right when i picked it up, i would never, ever leave it anywhere. ever. because that wonderful, bouncy, roll-around thing... had made you play. and that had made you smile.

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who chose two aleve and fewer pills for a day free of pain. [ female announcer ] try aleve d for strong all day sinus and headache relief. hi, everybody. right now on "news nation," news. a navy fighter jet crashed about two hours ago in virginia beach. officials say it slammed into an apartment complex. just look at these pictures. it set different buildings, four or five on fire. fire crews rushed to the scene immediately. officials say so far, there are no reports of anyone killed on the ground. but there are several reports injuries. navy officials say that both pilots safely ejected before this crash. they say the jet was part of a training squadron based in virginia beach. and that the crash occurred shortly after takeoff. there is no word on the cause of this crash. we want to get more information. let's bring in our, the first person we want to talk to is