and when you listen to mitt romney, that's what he's prescribing. >> joining me now, political reporter for "the atlantic," and msnbc's policy analyst and "washington post" columnist ezra kline. let me start with you. your poll showed when asked what the bigger problem is, 52% say it's a system that favors the wealthy. so makes sense, doesn't it, what the president's doing today and what we're going to hear from the democrats all week? >> i mean, the white house is ecstatic over that result because what it means is it at least at this point, they are winning the framing, right? with the one question, our poll in which mitt romney had a double-digits lead over president obama was who can better handle the deficit. what we found in the poll is that that is not the main question americans are asking. romney may have convinced him of that, but what they really want to know is who's on my side? who better understands the economic problems. obama absolutely destroys romney on those types of questions. and the fact that people are moving into this place where they feel that the main thing holding back folks like them is

an unfair economy and for richer americans, maybe folks who don't pay a high tax rate because they get access to loopholes most middle-class americans don't. >> and we also have seen paul ryan going out. he's making the argument today on "today" and on "morning joe." let me play a little clip. >> i think people think the buffett rule is this sort of budget pixie dust that if we just do this, we're going to fix our fix cal problems. number one, it pays about 6% of the president's proposed deficit spending. number two, it represents a huge tax increase. >> budget pixie dust. it's a line i have a feeling we're going to be hearing again and again. i guess the question is, look, we know what the republican line of attack is, that you are taxing the people who are the job creators, and you're going to hurt jobs. can that line of attack work? >> well, i think it's very revealing that what you're actually hearing from republicans like paul ryan is that this is not enough to fix the deficit partly because they

know the deficit is where their advantage is. also, they can see how popular this is. they can see that this is something that people are pretty favorable toward. and so they're going to try to make the argument that even if you like it, it just isn't important or it isn't necessary or it isn't going to go all the way. >> we've already heard questions being asked of grover norquist, the guy who got everybody to sign the pledge about the deficit, about whether or not mitt romney would switch on this because it is obviously so popular. you mow what his research is going to show. it's got to be virtually the same as what we're seeing in "the washington post." >> absolutely. i think if anything, this poll sort of validateds the messages we're already hearing from the candidates. you've got to think the candidates have their own polling that's shown them the same kind of thing because it absolutely tells you why, you know, romney wants to talk so much about the deficit and keeping the message on the economy and keeping the focus on the fact that people are still pretty pessimistic about the economy. you know, they still feel like this recovery is weak, and they're not sure where it's going. they're not sure that the future is secure. >> so economic pessimism,

obviously the problem in this poll for the president, but let's look at what's good for him, and it's pretty overwhelming in some areas here, ezra. friendly, unlikable, he's beating romney by almost 40 points. more inspiring by 25 points. big lead in women's issues, protecting the middle class, dealing with health care. you know, we keep going back to this fundamental question, though, if people are pessimistic about their future, if gas is going up, ezra, are those things enough? >> to me, i have to say the headline of the poll is not the economic questions. there is a 27-point gender gap in this election right now. barack obama is beating mitt romney among women by 18 points. mitt romney is beating barack obama among men by eight points. again, it's a 27-point gender gap. that is huge. to me, that is a central problem for romney. to some degree issue polling doesn't always tell you what you think it's telling you, right? if you are a candidate or voter who supports obama, you are likely to say that the things obama is saying are what are important to you. you have obama saying this is a question of fairness.

you think barack obama is a good guy and you think he's a better politician, a better candidate, a better president. so you say yes, i think it's fairness. i don't think it's the budget deficit. the fact that this amazingly large gap has opened up among women for romney, that's really why he's losing in this poll. and if that doesn't turn around, i'm not sure the issues will end up being the problem. i'm not sure that the reason that gap has opened up is this economic argument. i'm not sure it can be closed by talking about the budget deficit. >> they're trying to paint mitt romney as out of touch, that he's not the guy who can relate to you and me. let me play again david axelrod from "morning joe" a little more. >> and if you look in this poll, when people are asked who understands what's going on in their particular economy in their lives, obama has a very large lead because people believe that mitt romney does not get what is going on in their lives. >> and they like to use the car elevator line, can the guy who's worried about picking out a car elevator for his house relate to

whether or not you can have enough money to put gas in your tank. >> well, i think this is going to be the central question of the romney campaign going forward, is do they try to do something about this, or do they sort of accept that this is the candidate they have, people aren't going to feel warm and fuzzy about him, and they're going to have to prosecute the argument in a more cerebral way. they've seen them go back and forth, try to humanize him, make people like him, or whether that's going to come off as phony and people are going to say, you're trying too hard. you're the guy with the car elevator. i don't believe you or trust you. >> this poll shows obama leading with 17 points. here's one of the criticisms that romney throws out on the campaign trail. >> it's time for us to stop apologizing for success at home and to commit that we will never again apologize for america abroad. >> i want to bring into the conversation general wesley clark, a retired four-star general, former candidate for

president, of course, who is now advising the obama campaign. i haven't seen you in a while, general. it is good to have you on the program. good morning. >> thanks, chris. good morning. >> in today's "new york times," richard williamson, former envoy to sudan, said, quote, the world is better off because osama bin laden is dead. the world is better off because moammar gadhafi is dead. but two deaths do not a foreign policy make. does he have a point? is that a positive talking point for the republicans? >> well, actually, i think, you know, he's right to give the president credit for doing the job on gadhafi and on osama bin laden. he's wrong to say that there's not a strong u.s. foreign policy under president barack obama. look, when you listen to these republican rallies and so forth, these are just old, tired criticisms that people are out of touch. they don't understand. romney's trying to whip up the base. the truth is the president's done a remarkably strong,

effective job as leader and as our commander in chief. he has finished the war in iraq like he said he would. he surged in afghanistan. he made the right decisions. >> let me ask you about afghanistan, for example, general. because just overnight, 15 people died in afghanistan. the taliban took responsibility. we've had the burning of the korans. that massacre allegedly by the u.s. soldier. i mean, is this a potential problem for the president? are you on board -- are you among the people who say, what could really determine this election in the end may be something unexpected, something that happens overseas, some crisis that evolves that we just don't foresee right now or at least don't foresee in the specifics? >> well, there are a number of challenges for the united states foreign policy overseas. but if you look at afghanistan, in particular, i think the president's done it exactly right. he did surge. he did attempt to make the counterinsurgency work. he did it in order to get the collection of intelligence that he needed to go after osama bin laden.

we got osama bin laden. now it's a matter of transitioning to afghan control. and out of their -- the date is 2014, out of combat operations, sooner than that. i think that's a policy the american people support. and what is on the other side is nothing. the republican party has waffled and wavered back and forth, sometimes saying we shouldn't pull out, sometimes saying we should pull out sooner. so there's no coherent response to the good leadership of the president on this. i think his foreign policy's been very strong and effective. and i think when you bring this right up into the campaign and you reach independent voters and you level these charges that are being made by mr. romney in front of the independent voters, they're going to reject them. i think this is going to fall flat as a campaign issue for the republicans. there is always the problem of we've got iran, we've got north korea. but the president's national security team is very effective, and they've handled every challenge so far. >> do you think that mitt romney

has what it takes to handle foreign policy as president of the united states? >> i'm not in the right position to judge mr. romney. he's certainly had a strong record as governor. he's done work in the private sector. the american people are going to have to decide this. but what we do have is we have a very strong president who's been a very effective commander in chief. and i think that's reflected in the record. so i think that this is a case of -- there's really not much here to get a grip on for the republican party other than some old, tired sayings. >> it's good to see you, general. thank you so much for taking the time. >> thank you. >> general wesley clark, one of the surrogates who is out there for president obama. of course, the big one everybody's talking about, molly, is bill clinton. he's got some fund-raisers coming up. there's an interesting article in "the hill" about the pros and cons of bill clinton as a surrogate. and there aren't many surrogates who can make a difference. is he one of them? >> oh, absolutely. i mean, i think we've seen tremendous popularity for bill

clinton since he left office. we're certainly not in the situation, say, that al gore was in in 2000 when i think there was much more of a tradeoff to be made, having him out on the trail. people respond to him, you know? the question is, do they respond too much, and does he even maybe threaten to overshadow the president? i have a hard time seeing much of a down side. >> yeah, is that a possible down side, though, ezra? do you see any down side in getting bill clinton out there raising money for you, talking nice? >> not particularly. i don't think -- you know, i don't think there's going to be a real down side. i don't think there's going to be a down side in overshadowing either. president obama when he goes on the campaign trail, he's usually pretty good at getting people to move into an arena for a speech. what i think you might see here, there's a lot of talk that romney's vice presidential pick might be rob portman, could be mitch daniels, again, george w. bush's former budget director. people talk about jeb bush, although i think that's quite unlikely. but you could see an odd

election on the one hand you have obama saying we need to go back to clinton policies and clinton-era tax rates and mitt romney very associated with the bush economic team behind him and obviously karl rove who's been very influential in the romney super pac. we could have a back-to-the-future politics. >> at least it's a very clear distinction, molly. you've got to say that. if we are drawing battle lines here, and there have been some pretty clear lines, there would be another one. >> absolutely. the eternal rear occurrence, there's nothing new under the sun. >> everything old is new again in politics and elsewhere. molly ball, great to have you here in new york. ezra kline, thank you so much. this hour, the miami marlins' new manager, ozzie guillen, is expected to apologize again for those controversial comments he made praising fidel castro. he told "time" magazine, quote, i love fidel castro. later adding, "i respect fidel castro. you know why? a lot of people have wanted to

kill fidel castro for the last 60 years, but that [ expletive ] is still here." a lot of people in the cuban community are asking to fire him. he has tried to clarify his comments ever since. after yesterday's win over the phillies, he said he's embarrassed about what he said. and we are going to hear more from him later today. specialists, lots of doctors, lots of advice... and my hands were full. i couldn't sort through it all. with unitedhealthcare, it's different. we have access to great specialists, and our pediatrician gets all the information. everyone works as a team. and i only need to talk to one person about her care. we're more than 78,000 people looking out for 70 million americans. that's health in numbers. unitedhealthcare. the day starts with arthritis pain... a load of new listings... and two pills. after a morning of walk-ups, it's back to more pain, back to more pills. the evening showings bring more pain and more pills.

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keep running, rick. that's the message from republicans and gop-leaning independents. from a new poll out this morning, a slim majority says rick santorum should stay in the race despite the huge delegate lead by mitt romney. now, in just a few hours, santorum does go back on the campaign trail in pennsylvania after taking time off to be with his ailing 3-year-old daughter, bella, who suffers from a rare genetic condition. she's now back home. and he will be back on the trail this afternoon.

let's talk more about 2012 with msnbc contributor and former santorum communications director, robert trainham and nbc's luke russert who is in town for a rare visit. >> how are you? good to see you. >> good morning. >> let me ask you first of all the poll that shows that santorum, that people want him to stay in the race, do you think that shows more about him or the ongoing discontent with romney? >> i think both. rick santorum does speak to a certain segment of the republican population out there that says you know what? we're not particularly happy with mitt romney's positions on the issues, "a." "b," we don't know what his positions on the issues are. and let's remember, chris, there are other states out there, texas, arkansas, west virginia and so forth that have yet to speak into this republican race. and they're saying, wait a minute here. this race is not over with. this is a democratic process. we reserve the right to be able to participate in this process. let us be able to speak our voice as well. >> well, one poll is telling santorum to keep running. there is another pew poll out that finds nearly half of republicans think the ongoing

primary season is actually going to hurt the gop. what do you think the danger is here, luke? >> well, the danger is that they bloody themselves up so much that the focus goes not from the economy, where they want it to be, because they do pretty well on that issue, but they get bogged down on these social issues which end up scaring very important interest groups that they need to win the electorate, the election. take, for example, women. back at the end of 2011, independents were favoring romney over obama in a gallup swing state poll by a few points, mainly independent women. come around last week, that changed to a gain of about 14-plus for obama over romney. >> yeah, the gender gap is huge. >> because of the gender gap, because the focus was not on the economy, it was on gender issues, and they had to comment on it. the other interesting thing, though, you see romney's going to double down on pennsylvania, he's going to flood the airwaves. millions and millions of dollars essentially what joe scarborough

said last week, going to salt the earth. and part of that, i think, is the politics of the personal. that mitt romney is upset that rick santorum is continuing this fight for no other purpose but to sell books. it's very unlikely that he is going to be able to become the nominee. the delegate math does not add up. he's doing this nothing more except to sell books or to be out there in public. >> and mitt romney's money is going to say, you shouldn't be doing that. >> because there's a pretty tough attack ad that they were playing in pennsylvania. they pulled it out of respect for the family situation with bella being hospitalized. but apparently it's going to go back on the air now. let me play a little clip of that ad. >> rick santorum's 17-point loss, historically embarrassing. rick santorum lost his home county by 30 points. >> he lost across the board with voters. among democrats and independents, women and men, blacks and whites, young and old, rich and poor. >> we fired him as senator. why promote him to president? >> effective ad? what do you think, robert? >> i don't know if it's really

effective or not. i disagree with all of the folks out there perhaps in new york and washington, d.c., who think they know pennsylvania politics. pennsylvanians know rick santorum. he's a household name. and yes, there's no question that he lost his race by 18 points, but having a negative ad in pennsylvania against rick santorum, i'm not sure really helps. and the reason why is because pennsylvanians know exactly who he is. let's also remember that 2006 was a horrible year for republican incumbents. santorum was a strong defender of bush, and obviously that hurt him as well. for those out there who say the quote, unquote, carpet bomb the state, and that's going to help mitt romney, i'm not sure that really resonates in pennsylvania. >> but what is the santorum message if he loses in pennsylvania? >> he doesn't have a message, then, does he? >> how does he go on? >> that's a very good question. i think the only person that can answer that is rick santorum. you know, a lot of people think that rick santorum is in this to win which, of course, he is, and i'm certainly not his spokesperson, but i will tell you that this is more about a movement for him. this is more about the long haul as opposed to actually just getting out quote, unquote, to

save face. he really is in this race to be able to change the national dialogue within the republican party. you've heard him say this over and over and over again. do you want a moderate, or do you want a conservative in this race? so for him, it's not about winning. it's about changing people's minds. i'm not sure he'll be able to do that or not. >> have you seen this 2006 campaign brochure that the a.p. found? it casts him as a moderate. in fact, santorum's campaign brochure highlighted how he steered big federal dollars to the state, teamed up with bono to fight aids and global poverty. he boasted about bringing home federal dollars for some of the same programs he now ridicules as big-government bloat. hard to see -- you know, he's had those accusations against -- >> politics change like the wind shifts. we all know that. there's few who don't. it's interesting a guy who's about the culture of conviction and you obviously see those issues in 2006 when he had to beat bob casey. he obviously adapted to try and do that proper terrain. but then he got demolished by 18

points. >> there have been a number of people, robert, who suggested when bella got sick, it kind of would give him an opportunity to say, look. you know, it's time for me to get out. it's time for me to support. do you see if pennsylvania -- obviously, there's no sign that that's going to happen right now. he's going to wait through pennsylvania. he doesn't win pennsylvania, is he out right away? you know him very, very well. >> i think so. i think, look. he's a realist, at the end of the day. and i think mathematically, he has to get there. and this is a very personal decision whether or not you jump out or not. but if, in fact, we get closer to the pennsylvania primary and he's trailing romney by double digits and/or he loses pennsylvania by double digits, i think it's a matter of hours that he gets out of the race. >> all right, robert traynham, luke russert. >> hours. hours. >> feeling lucky? guess who was lucky. this morning the speculation about who really won the maryland mega millions ended. lottery officials announcing the official winners of the jackpot. >> the ticket was claimed by

three winners who have chosen to remain anonymous. all three winners, a woman in her 20s, a man in his 40s, and a woman in her 50s, have worked together for many years in the public school system of the state of maryland. >> well, here's the picture of the three holding the check. obviously hiding their faces. lottery officials say the winners hope to buy new homes and to travel, but they don't plan to quit their teaching jobs just yet. yet being the operative word. and remember that maryland woman, wilson, who claimed she had the winning ticket right after the drawing? well, later she said she didn't know where the ticket was. maybe the teachers found it. this is $100,000. we asked total strangers to watch it for us. thank you so much, i appreciate it, i'll be right back. they didn't take a dime.

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majority leader eric cantor is playing defense. he donated $25,000 to a political action committee that's devoted to ousting incumbents. cantor aides tell the paper was money was supposed to go to defeating ten-term illinois congressman don mazulo. he's running against congressman adam kinzingter. and you've got to see this new ron paul ad. >> let's get this straight. we're debating between a big-spending, debt ceiling raising fiscal liberal, a moon colony guy, a moderate from massachusetts, or a texan. with a real plan to balance the budget. get with it, people. only one candidate can stand up for texas. >> and that's not the only controversial commercial. check this one out from the republican senate candidate in arizona. >> wil cardon's immigration plan will fight obama's war against arizona's security and economy. supporting sb1070, national guard. troos to secure the border, no taxpayer funded in-state tuition

for children of illegal immigrants. >> we can end illegal immigration. >> and speaking of money, elizabeth warren raised $6.9 million in the first three months of the year. she, of course, the democrat running for the senate in massachusetts, trying to beat scott brown who raised $3.4 million in that same period. and check out these pictures of the president. that were snapped yesterday during the easter egg roll. looks like he's really getting into reading "where the wild things are." hmm, i wonder if he's doing all the voices. maybe so in that picture. and if you read only one thing today, "time" has a terrific explanation of why you'll be hearing a lot more about the buffett rule from the president, democrats and republicans, too. it's my morning "must read." it's also on my facebook page every morning. ♪ you make me happy when skies are gray ♪ [ female announcer ] you know exactly what it takes to make them feel better. ♪ you make me happy [ female announcer ] that's why you choose children's tylenol. the same brand your mom trusted for you when you were young. ♪ how much i love you

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of course, he created tremendous controversy when he said he loved fidel castro, respects fidel castro, but, again, just word that there's going to be a five-game suspension for him. we will hear from him and have more on that coming up. let's take a check of some other stories people are talking about right now. north korea says it's ready to go with this week's planned satellite launch, but pyongyang maintains it's not a cover for a missile test. officials say they will launch the rocket between thursday and monday as part of a commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the birth of kim il-sung, founder of north korea. two men accused of a deadly shoot spree in oklahoma have confessed. jake england admitted to shooting three people. alvin watts said he shot two at least according to police. all of the victims were black. police say the suspects are white but that it's too early to say if the shootings were racially motivated. virginia beach officials have released the 911 calls from

that fiery navy jet crash over the weekend that destroyed part of an apartment complex. >> a plane just went down off of 24th street. >> we just had a jet explode on birdsneck. >> this isn't a terrorist thing, is it? >> ma'am, right now it's an airplane that's crashed, okay? >> just a regular jet. >> that's all we know right now, okay? >> amazingly, no one was killed or even seriously hurt. the navy is compensating 60 residents left homeless by the crash. red-flag warnings up again today for the mid-atlantic region from new york down to south korea. meaning that fire danger is very high. dry conditions, high winds. right now there's a state of emergency in suffolk county, new york, due to a 1,000-acre wildfire. look at these pictures. officials say it's the worst fire that county has seen since 1995. and in southern new jersey, officials have -- believe they have a wildfire 75% contained. 25 homes were in that fire's path. and check it out in oklahoma. it looked like a scene out of a

movie. softball-sized hail pelting a local town. more on that when we go "down to the wire" in 20. well, the special prosecutor in the trayvon martin case will not present evidence to a grand jury. florida state attorney angela corey insists that should not be a factor in determining the final outcome of the case. >> we believe that by her not sending it to a grand jury that she has enough evidence to make an arrest of george zimmerman, the killer of trayvon martin. >> joining me now, karen desoto who's been both a defense attorney and a prosecutor and msnbc contributor jeff johnson who has been following this story very closely. jeff, let me start with you because you have been covering this story throughout. beyond trayvon's parents, give me a sense of the reaction you're hearing to angela corey's decision. >> well, i think you're hearing a double-sided response. you have those that believe that they've been so frustrated and upset that they felt like nothing had been done, that they feel like now oh, my goodness,

there's more time to wait. we're still frustrated. but i think there are others who have a better sense of the real legal ramifications here that believe that if the special prosecutor took it out of the hands of the grand jury, that that means she believes that she can build the kind of case that can be won. >> well, we should say that angela corey has a reputation as a pretty tough prosecutor. and karen, it's not an unusual move in florida for them to bypass the grand jury. give us the pros and cons of what she just decided. >> listen, in florida, for first-degree crimes and second-degree crimes, you don't have to go to the grand jury. so you can just go ahead and charge anyway. i think this is a pretty simple case. i don't think it really means anything. it may mean that she's ready to go and she may charge him with manslaughter. however, you know, the facts -- they're still investigating. she's saying that they are still, in fact, investigating the case and interviewing people. but there should be enough here to go forward. >> chris -- >> i'm surprised to hear you say, though, that it's a simple

case. >> chris, i don't agree. i talked to -- i talked to the special prosecutor, corey, yesterday with a group of students who were protesting in sanford. and i think she implied that it wasn't a simple case, that they were very concerned about making sure that they were able to deal with the multiple defenses that zimmerman may come with and that it wasn't going to be as simple as others thought it was going to be. >> it's a simple case in that it was one incident, it was one period of time. you only have two people involved. you mow who the people are. so in essence, you have all of the information before you. now, what defenses are going to be applied, whether you're going to use the stand your ground, there will probably be a hearing on that. they'll probably and try and get immunity. there's a lot of difficulties. but as far as knowing who the people are who committed -- or alleged crime, committed the crime, who the actors were, you have all of that information. so in a sense, the prosecutor has all the information that she needs to make a determination. a lot of times as a prosecutor, you don't know who the actors are. you don't know who shot who. people run away, and you don't

even know which way you're going. so you spend a significant amount of time tracking down the people. you don't have that in this case. so she's ready to go with the facts that have been already established. >> well, you also have, obviously, a situation that this has become a national talking point, and the pressure is tremendous on all sides here. from your opportunity, then, to talk to the prosecutor and hear what she had to say, jeff, and from what you've read, do you get the clear impression that she's ready to make a decision this week, maybe even today? >> well, i mean, i think many of us have heard rumors that something was going to come very quickly. but i know one of the things that she did say very clearly was that she would not move until she felt like she had a case that was winnable. and i think that's what the attorneys there want. i think that's what trayvon's family wants. and i think the nation of people that are frustrated and angry about what they've seen happened thus far that many of them believe to be mismanagement of the justice system want to make sure that when this case goes to trial, that it is a case that

can be won. and i think the record of this prosecutor is such that that's the kind of prosecution that she would bring forward. >> you know, and to play devil's advocate because so many people have advocates obviously for justice for trayvon martin, they want this to be tried. you know, in court. george zimmerman has put up a website. i don't know if you've seen it. it's called therealgeorgezimmerman.com. he's asking people to donate to his defense. he's talking about having to leave his family, home, job, he says he has no sort of income now. he needs money for his legal defense. i mean, on the part of george zimmerman, should she make a move at this point? either let him have his day in court or move on. >> well, having your day in court, unfortunately, is a very long, drawn-out process. so, you know, you get to that -- get to that for that time. the prosecutors saying whether or not this case is winnable, you know, that's very difficult because the only two people who know what really actually happened there, one is dead, and the other one, obviously, is going to be on trial for going

to jail for a number of years. so, you know, it's not really about winnable. it really should be about justice. and that's probably one of the reasons why the prosecutor is going to let the jury decide and make those factual determinations because of the defenses and all of the pressure that's been building up in this case. >> any doubt in your mind, really, jeff that this is about to go to trial or at least about to go to court that there will be an arrest? >> i wish i had that crystal ball, but moye hope is that this happens as quickly as possible and that justice is served. and just to be clear, that justice really means that george zimmerman has his day in court, that he has a defense that he wants to have and that all of the facts are heard so that justice can really happen. >> jeff johnson, karen desoto, thanks to both of you. >> thank you. well, it is definitely an instasuccess story. the 20-some founders of instagram will be multimillionaires because facebook is paying $1 billion to buy that photo-sharing company

which only went into business less than two years ago. cnbc's jackie deangelis is here with more. they've got maybe a dozen employees, and this company doesn't even make any money? >> that's right, chris. $1 billion, and it's facebook's largest acquisition before its upcoming ipo. the purchase is a milestone for facebook. according to ceo mark zuckerberg who said it's the first time they've ever acquired a product company with so many users. and that's the key there. maybe not the revenues but the users. it's also significant for instagram because it would be part cash and part stock. and getting that stock ahead of the ipo could make them even richer. a lot of people are asking who are these guys? they're both relatively recent stanford grads who share a passion for technology. >> yeah, obviously. and feeling very passionate right now along with their bankers. okay, lots of people use instagram on their iphones which are popular targets, obviously, for theft. so now i guess wireless companies have looked into this, and they're coming together to

see what they can do about it. >> yeah, that's also correct. the carriers include verizon, at&t, sprint and t-mobile. and the database will help prevent the theft and also reactivation of smartphones which often contain some sensitive information. so if you lose your device or it's stolen, you can notify your wireless provider, and they'll block it from being used again. the program they're saying should be up and running in about six months. >> all right, cnbc's jackie deangelis, thank you. pump politics. now, i would think that states with the highest gas prices would not back president obama right now. well, think again. we've got the details coming up next. ate. no, no it's her dad. the general's your soul mate? dude what? no, no, no. he's, he's on my back about providing for his little girl. hey don't worry. e-trade's got a totally new investing dashboard. everything is on one page, your investments, quotes, research... it's like the buffet last night. whatever helps you understand man. i'm watching you. oh yeah? well i'm watching you, watching him. [ male announcer ] try the new 360 investing dashboard at e-trade.

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extract lose more weight and fat than those who don't. scientists believe the effects are due to chloragainic acid found in green coffee beans lost during roasting. we want you to know we are keeping our eye on ozzie guillen who is the manager of the marlins. he's been speaking in spanish reacting to the five-day suspension he was given for praising fidel castro. we're going to continue to listen and have some sound for you a little bit later on and get the gist of his comments and the question and answer there in miami. in the meantime, let's talk gas prices. they have skyrocketed. and at the same time so have voters' tempers. and the result, even one of the bluest of states is not happy with the president, at least not happy with how he has handled gas and gas prices. 62% of californians in that usc/"l.a. times" poll disapproving. msnbc's richard lui is here with how this has kind of become the norm, richard.

>> kichris, as gas prices rise,o have the president's prospects. here are the states with gas prices above aaa's national average as of yesterday. here's how they voted last too many in 2008. we show the pictures. we'll show that to you later because we don't have it right now. now, all but two had above-average gas, west virginia and alaska are those two, they went for the president. as new service cns found, the higher the gas prices, the bluer of the state. california has the third highest gas in the union, for instance, in that. the flip side now, 32 states have below-average gas prices. and this is how that looks. about two-thirds of them voted republican in 2008. gop critics say the president and his gas hike trio caused prices to rise but not perhaps in states favoring the gop. okay, this is a picture of the toss-up states you see here in front of you right now. these are where the gas prices could have the largest effect here. toss-up states in those states slightly leaning one way or the

other, if we stay on this graphic. nbc news data show that six in this large group have prices below the national average. and over a dozen have higher than average prices. ohio, of course, that key state. let's just stay on this for a second. here's a hypothetical. if the electoral vote was decided by gas prices, states with 293 electoral votes have it falling below. 245 electoral votes are in states where gas prices sit above. now, needless to say, most voters aren't looking at it this way. this is what they are seeing every day. up and down the streets, the president hoping, chris, they'll look past these signs. we can see right here of their personal economy. >> richard, thank you so much. well, you've got mail. lots of e-mail if you've signed up to be on a list for any of the republican presidential hopefuls. mitt romney has the most sophisticated e-mails. if you get one from him, you might get linked to facebook, twitter and so on. just one of the many ways candidates are trying to turn

cyber connections into votes and money. i'm joined now by patricia cesar, digital pr and marketing director for black enterprise. always good to have you. >> thanks, chris. >> let's look at the republicans' social report card. romney is linked to google plus, facebook, they even have their own social networking site called my mitt. how important is this in this new world of electioneering? >> it's critical if you're looking to engage folks in a large dynamic way, they're able to share that conversation across multiple networks. an example of that, my mitt is perfect. it's a proprietary platform for enthusiasts and supporters and a way to basically build that credibility online by peer-to-peer influence. >> in some ways it's preaching to the converted, but it's about getting them excited and maybe giving a little money as well? >> absolutely. there is no bigger form of credibility than having your friend endorse something, whether it's a product, service or in this case a candidate. and so having a friend say, you know, i'm really supporting mitt because and speaking to issues that are relevant to your peers

and your network and your family and friends is the best way to get folks involved across a large, you know, demographic of voters. >> here's something i found fascinating. they actually did e-mail word counts. all right. so in the typical e-mail for mitt romney, 150 words. and ron paul who often when you see him in the debates has these short, snappy answers, 550 words per e-mail. but is shorter usually better? >> it is. i mean, just imagine when you're looking at all these e-mails that you're getting during the day. >> my friends have a joke, they know that after, like, two paragraphs they stop because i won't read anymore. >> you have only so much time during the day, of course, like all of us, chris, and you want to be able to get the information you need and move on to the next task, next e-mail, you know, next message. and for candidates, it's the same. you want to be succinct. mitt is definitely on par with that. >> i guess part of the question is message, and money is so important in this campaign. is it best just to say, i need your support, or are there other

ways without being so overt to get people to donate? what do they know about what works better? >> i think mitt definitely knows -- mitt romney knows what works better for e-mail targeting. you're going to speak to folks about the issues and talk to them about topics that are important to them and that matter to them, subject matter that's relevant to them. and then you can ask them for money. i think rick santorum is focused more on targeting, you know, prospective voters to basically help with fund-raising, which doesn't necessarily help you when you're looking to engage folks beyond just a click of an e-mail. >> what's next? this has evolved all so quickly. >> i think mobile marketing is definitely what we're seeing real trends and inroads. sms is important, text messaging and also creating mobile websites that are dynamic and seamless and allow you to connect with a candidate right from your smartphone. >> it's fascinating. patricia, always good to have you in. >> thank you. today's tweet of the day comes from reid wilson with a little fun fact. there are 7.7 million registered

voters in ohio. 2,183 have the surname paul. 151 named gingrich. 7 are romneys. no santorums. to those who say...

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this ises on ozzie guillen reacting to his five-day suspension for praising fidel castro. let's listen. >> my program with the community is more important to me than the suspension than money. >> -- that came out yesterday on your resignation? there were several commissioners including the miami-dade mayor saying that the marlins have a responsibility and is a challenge for the marlins to prepare the fences that have been broken. were you aware of that? >> i know -- i don't blame those people to think what they think right now because they have all the right because i hurt a lot

of people. and i'm aware of that. you know, it's something -- it's another thing that's not in my hands. when i came from chicago here, my thought was to be here for the rest of my life or the rest of my coaching life. but being in miami are for the rest of my life is more accurate than managing the marlins for a long time because it's my hometown. if i leave the marlins or they leave me, i will be a miami guy for the rest of my life. i've got to meet the community every day even if i want to or not because i live here. i want to walk in the street with my head up and feel not this bad, the way i feel right now. >> ozzie, right here. miami sports. real quick, how do you think

this will affect the team and the marlins as a whole, your suspension? >> i will talk to the team tomorrow. no, sorry, yeah, tomorrow, i will talk to the team tomorrow. i will express my -- the way i feel. i will apologize to the ball club because we have everything going on right now. everybody's happy. i don't think the team supported me what i did, but i think the team is behind me to play good when i'm not there. i expect the ball club to play the same way they've been playing lately. i expect my coaching staff to do what they have to do with me without me, and i'm very disappointed and very -- very sad, i let those guys down. i let the ball club down. i let the team -- it's very important because that's the reason they hired me to manage a ball club, not to talk about politics.

and i think this is going to hurt me the most, not being with the ball club for that many days. >> ozzie guillen acknowledging he has accepted the five-game suspension from the marlins after making positive statements about fidel castro and the marlins issuing a statement saying that the pain and suffering caused by fidel castro cannot be minimized, especially in a community filled with victims of the dictatorship. ozzie guillen suspended for five games. that wraps up this hour of "jansing & co." i am chris jansing. thomas roberts is up next. try zyrtec® for powerful allergy relief. and zyrtec® is different than claritin® because it starts working faster on the first day you take it. zyrtec®. love the air.

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