gsa official who enjoyed the hot tub in las vegas doesn't want to face the hot water in congress. >> mr. neely has -- is not with us today. we requested that he be with us, i guess the only way we'll get to see him is on a video in the hot tub. >> outraged member of the committee, congressman elijah cummings. >> it's not your money. it's the taxpayers' money. >> plus, the widening secret service scandal. twice as many were involved as new details are emerging. >> this violates most basic rule of being a secret service agent. you don't allow a potential enemy into your security zone. you don't put yourself into a compromising position your job is to protect the president of the united states. >> decision 2012, what does mitt romney want to say to president obama?

>> start packing. that's what i'd like to say. >> good day. i'm andrea mitchell, live in washington today. in our daily fix, in dueling devents today more about politics than substance. the president called on congress to crack down on oil market speculators and mitt romney had a picnic with small business people in pennsylvania. chris cillizza managing edter of postpolitics.com. tell us about the events, both sides, because it sounded like what the president said today was exactly what our own ali wineburg reported on march 29th, i think. >> you hit it right, andrea. a lot more politics than policy in both events. i think the next seven months are 90% politics, 10% policy. you could go 95/5. basically what you're seeing here, the obama white house has pushed very hard on things like tax breaks, eliminating tax

breaks for oil companies, those things because they believe they can win that fight, that people want fairness in the tax code, and that they -- that is an issue for them. the buffett rule is the sail thing. it about fairness. it's not about higher or lower taxes. mitt romney on the other hand trying to make the case that what president obama has done with the economy has hurt small business people. so this all gets back to the same thing. talking about the economy. talking about tax policy. talking about fairness and inequality. we'll be talking about it in various ways and angles from now until the november 6th. >> and, the wives front and center as it's very clear that from the overheard comments ann romney talking about an early birthday gift, she loved the fact that hilary rosen stepped in it at least the perception was, that opened up the whole gender issue and gave the republicans a bit of an advantage that they had not been enjoying. this is ann romney asked about

that and her comments, seemed to be gloating comments. >> that isn't how i meant it. it was a birthday gift to me i love the fact that we're talking about this. i love the knack women are talking about deficit spending and the economy. i love that. >> do you think president and mrs. obama are biased against mothers who work at home? >> you know, i don't. i think there was a comment made, it was an unfortunate comment, and i believe a lot of women are responding to that because it was an unfortunate comment. >> and, chris, michelle obama was asked about hilary rosen's remarks by michelle martin on npr. >> lit me tell you, one thing i believe is that families are off-limits and i think my husband said it, and he was clear on that, and i totally agree with him. i also -- my comment that i tweeted, which was we need to

respect all women in the -- in whatever positions and roles they play in this society. that's where we need to be. and i think that's all i have to say on the issue. >> that is michelle martin's tell me more on npr today. and with things to them. do you think we've heard the last of this? >> i'm going to go out on a limb, andrea, and say no. we may have heard the last of the hilary rosen comments in particular but we have not heard the last of the two major parties and the two major party candidate and their relationship with women voters. you and i have talked about this on and off air. if mitt romney loses women voters by the margins that he's currently losing them in national polling, he will not win the election. there is no two ways about it, no. there are seven months, 203 days -- i looked it up today -- 203 or 206 days between now and november 6th. he has time but he has to find

ways and footholds to talk to women voters and convince them that on the things they care about, whether the economy or anything else, he is the better choice. he cannot, cannot, lose women by the percentages he's currently losing them. >> chris cillizza, thank you. one thing that democrats and republicans can agree on is that everyone is outraged by what happened in vegas, which surely did not stay in vegas, as congress starts day two of hearings into the extravagant gsa confrenerence held in 2010. congressman elijah cummings took a moment to defend government workers. >> one of the most damaging aspects of this incident is that it tarnishes the reputation of hard-working government workers who dedicate their lives to public service. it gives them a bad name and it is completely unfair. there are employees across this

government who follow the rules every single day. >> joining me now is representative cummings. i know you have a lot of government workers in your constituency representing maryland. >> i do. >> but the outrage over this, i heard what you said yesterday. you were, to put it bluntly, you said you were pissed off, as was everyone on the committee over what they did. what were they thinking? more is coming out now about bonuses that colleagues were rewarding each other. where do we stand on the gsa investigation? >> right now -- we stand at a point where we're still looking into it. there was a transportation committee hearing today that i was a part of also, because i'm a part of that committee, where we're learning more facts every day. the good thing, andrea, is that a democrat appoint eye is one who was the whistle-blower with regard to all of this. and i. so glad it's come to light because this gives us an idea of what may be going on in some of these agencies with regard to

conferences. we've got to make sure that we shine a bright light on it and address it and it's a good thing that the president appointed an interim to clean up this mess, because it's truly a mess. >> well, the bottom line is that people are angry at government, and that does translate into a throw the bums out mentality on election day. i mean all of you folks, republicans and democrats are vulnerable when this kind of thing happens. >> no doubt about it, and i think that's why members of committee were so upset. the fact is that we are addressing it. i don't think that this is widespread. this kind of activity. we've got to make sure it's not. wherever we find it weave got to address it. we've made it clear you cannot take the taxpayers' dollars and hire mime readers and clowns and paying unfortunately high amounts for rooms for people to go on vacation. and these folks were spreending

money as if it was there. this in guy neely, who took the fifth, is a key person in this. i suspect there are others and we'll get to them, and he they will be brought to justice and be made to pay back money that they owe the taxpayers. >> at the same time, we're facing another investigation, one which hits very close to home, and which could have involved compromising the security of the president of the united states. >> yes. >> secret service, the legendary institution, this agency, which is so highly regarded. >> yes. >> has been blemished by this. >> no doubt about it. >> what more do you want to know about it? >> i want to know how this happened. i'll be meeting with thehood of the secret service in a few minutes to get more details. but clearly -- >> and are you going to ask him, congressman? >> i'm going to say, i'm going to ask him, how does something like this happen? the public has a view of the secret service, they are very

careful that they don't put themselves in any kind of compromising positions. i'm going to ask them how does this happen? is this something that to his knowledge happened before? i'm going to ask him how do we regain the trust. all of us in congress have a tremendous amount of respect for the secret service. we've got to get all of the facts. once we get the facts we have to figure out how we make sure that the secret service is the very organization, very professional organization, that we have already thought of it as being. but i consider the allegations, and i remind you they are allegations, very serious because they could affect the very safety of the president of the united states and so many of our public officials that who's lives are guarded by the secret service. it's very serious. >> they are only allegations, but they have revoked the security clearances of these 11 men, the pentagon has confirmed that they had a number of personnel from a variety of

services, including the marines involved, as well. and now susan collins, north colins from homeland security committee, the ranking member there, told libby lease twice as many women are involved she's been told by the director, talking about 20, 21 women involve with the 11 minute. >> i'll be finding out how many women are involved. no matter how deep it is, how many people are involved, we've got to get to the crux of this because you know, andrea, as i travel throughout my district one of the questions asked mote of me, do you think the president's safe? this puts a big question mark on that very issue. so the president has to have the confidence to be safe, the american people have to have the confidence that this elite organization, that i consider on the level of the navy s.e.a.l.s, is exactly what it says that it is. so again, it's a little early,

but we'll get to the bottom of it, i promise you, we'll address it. as a matter of fact, i think it would be a congressional malpractice if we did not address it. >> knowing you, congressman, i know that you will get to the bottom of it. >> i promise you. >> thanks for being with ups the scandal has been hard for all of the agents who have dedicated lived to the secret service. dan banino a former agent with the elite unit, now a republican candidate for senate for maryland and spoke to nbc "nightly news" there secret service is not just a job, it's a calling. it was devastating along with the fraternity of the secret service brothers out there. this was hard to take. it's a national embarrassment. he's our president, overseas, he's not a democrat, he's overseas and this is an embarra embarrassment. we gladly take a bullet for any president at any time. i hope america at some point can

forgive the agency for this. >> republican congressman jason ch have /* shah vitts a key rovm supporter. what do you want to know? what more do you think needs be learned about this really misguided mission of the secret service? >> well, what i was really concerning to me they were swift in saying the president was never put into dang, never any threat to the president. i beg to differ. if you have secret service agents there and they've had their room compromised, you've had guested in your room, let alone prostitutes stleshg ammunition, weapons, credentialle, they know where the president's coming and going, to suggest quickly the president was nebber in danger, how do make a swift statement? that begs even more questioned. >> good points. as well as the fact that we know that when agents go into one of

these countries, there's always sort of a pack annual of travel advisories, a combination from intelligence, state department. what do we know about cartagena? it wasn't so long ago that it was really a drug culture, all of the narcoterrorists there. now it's a much more benign environment. but this is not just, you know, going next door. >> look, it the president of the united states. he's one of the biggest targets in the world. we can never afford to have anything happen to him. there are other people in the detail this should not be a partisan issue. we have got to get to the bottom of this. the threat is constant. it's 24/7. it never lets up, particularly in a foreign nation. what bothers me the sheer number of people, the pervasiveness, how wide this is. if it's true we had literally over a dozen people involved, that seemed to suggest it wasn't a one-time event, maybe this happened before and hopefully

they've got security parameters in place so it never happens again. >> we're talking to you on tax day. mitt romney has not yet released his tax returns. not released them for an extended number of years, though his own father was the gold stander in 1968 saying one year alone does not explain enough it can be taken out of context. already, the democrats are beating up on the republican candidate or the republican likely nominee over this. >> it all for nothing. >> is own tax return from last year reveals he made $21 million but paid a loet lower tax rate than many middle class familied. >> why done he release the 23 years of tax returns? >> your father set a ground breaking standard. one year could be a fluke, perhaps done for show. when you release yours, will you follow your father's example? >> maybe. >> congressman, those are the

democratic ads that are airing today. how is mitt romney going to respo respond? why not put it all out there. >> he's dpooing what's prescrib by law. he's doing what mccain and kerry did as they ran for president. try to be a distraction from the president's failed policies. this will come and go swiftly. i don't think people much care. he's been very successful. we know that. he's been very blessed, we know that. again, i think we're just going to focus on what is most important to this country, and that is people's individual taxes and what's go on in their own lives. >> now, you did get the romney campaign did get an endorsement, anticipated endorsement, a big one from john boehner, the speaker. but there's a noticeable lack of enthusiasm of colleagues. martha blackburn was on earlier but is not likely to endorse.

>> the working guys out on long island, in new york's third, how excited are they about willard mitt romney? >> so far they're not. there's not that excitement level, it not what you see with bill clinton or george bush, for that matter who are able to identify with people. governor romney's not shown that. >> how do you get more enthusiasm within the republican caucus? what do you tell your members about mitt romney that can persuade them to enthusiastically look at him at the top of the picket? >> well, mitt romney's a wonderful person. the more they get to know him, the more they'll fall in love with his family and understand his policies. the election will be a referendum. mitt romney turned thing around, he did it in the olympics, the private sector, in ma m. once they get to know mitt romney over the course of time as they get to know him, we focus on differences between barack obama and mitt romney,

the difference is so clear. and the fact of the matter is, that's what's going to happen this summer, that's what's going to happen this fall and i think mitt romney will be the next president of the united states. >> thanks for getting out of that hearing. it's a busy day. crisis in syria. what do we know about syria's president al assad as his government forces continue the assault on the opposition? the battle for latino voters. stephanie cutter right here. you're watching "andrea mitchell reports" on msnbc.

the cease-fire in syria lasted barely a day, if that, as the government ratchets up its assault on rebels putting the

u.n. peace mission in jeopardy. currently president and ceo of ammet east, seeking to strengthen ties between the us and middle east. welcome. first of all, yesterday we interviewed susan rice, u.n. ambassador, servinging apresident of the security council, deeply concerned about the mission. here's what she had to say. >> we on saturday were able to get the first tran. of united nations monitors. in this instance the government resumed its tremendous shelling, particularly in homes, it's back on the offensive and it doesn't look good. >> it doesn't look good at all, does it in. >> it doesn't look good, but nobody should be surprised. look, this regime is in a battle for its survival. assad is not going to do anything knowingly that decreases his chances and his family's chances of staying in power in syria.

so even if he lets u.n. observers in, it doesn't mean he intends to go along with what the u.n. has proposed. >> you were the ambassador when he took office, and there were at first hopes that he would be more western, educated in england, more western than his father. in fact, it's been exactly the opposite. hose become -- you refer to him as the michael corleone, in fact, of syria. this is an open letter, a video letter, sent by the wives of u.n. ambassadors to his wife, pleading for some kind of ending of the violence. let's watch. >> these children could all be your children. they are your children. stand up for peace, asma.

stop your husband and his supporters. stop being a bystander. >> you are one of the few people who have had firsthand experience. what do we know about this couple, about their leadership, about the family? >> well, we know that:sma assad grew up in britain and worked for jpmorgan, had experience in new york and the like. the president, not so much. he was a medical resident, ophthalmologi ophthalmologist, in britain 16, 17 months and medical residents don't have a lot of time to party. so one can exaggerate his western experience. we know that they seem very close to one another and that she seems to have bought into the whole schtick. >> the whole deal. ambassador, we -- you see kofi annan and this u.n. envoys going. but as you point out, it's really just a stalling action to

try to wear down the opposition, kill the opposition, and wear down the west which is reluctant to intervene. >> that's certainly what it would appear to be. i would like to say, andrea, we ought to keep in mine, too, the opposition's no longer peaceful. there are joe had dids, et cetera, who had infiltrated the opposition. >> one reason the u.s. is reluctant to embrace them. >> i think so. assad can always fine a pretext to shell this city or that neighborhood if hi wants. you can't say definitively there wasn't some provocation, because the opposition is very loosely organized and controlled. >> ambassador, thank you very much. thank you very much for being with us today. >> thank you. up next, a birthday bash for ann romney. historic honor for our friends the politic politico.$100 00. we asked total strangers to watch it for us.

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in today's politico briefing in a breakthrough for online media, "the huffington post" and politico won their first pulitzer prize. huffington for woods' reporting on wounded workers. here's a look at one of his take on mitt and ann romney's maligned road trips with seamus the dog. the elephant, the republican party the unwilling passenger on the roof of the romney station wagon. moo joining me now, maggie haberman. a celebration in your newsroom yesterday. a very big deal. congratulations. our friends at plit cofor what matt worker has achieved. and of course seamus the dog, because of the new york time, next to our friend john harris from politico. diane sawyer asked ann romney

about the dog. so let's take a look at this on abc. >> you said it was the most wounding thing in the campaign so far. >> crazy. the dog loved it. >> the dog got sick, right? >> once. we traveled all the time. he ate the turkey on the counter. he had the runs. >> you can't make it up. but as we take a look at matt's other political cartoons, this is a campaign that has focused on a lot of the silly and seamus is one of the silly moment. is it going to rise to the level of some of the other iconic moments one things of michael dukakis in the tank, telegraphs something about a candidate and resonates with voters, though it starts out as a silly moment? >> i think that's the hope of democrats, right? i think they're hoping that it sort of portrays mitt romney in a specific way and a lot of people who hear the story say, really? on the other hand i think this is the worst the democrats and

come up with about mitt romney, it won't be the only thing, but in terms of his personal life, this is not so bad. he's sun who is seen as a good father, a good husband. while this is sort of an eyebrow raising story -- and i think it's iconic in the sense, gail collins has done her best to make sure people know about it, and a lot of people do -- i don't think it's going to be michael dukakis in the tank but i think it's going to be used to try to el straigillustrate some about mitt romney. >> ann romney asked about her husband's campaign. >> i think that in terms of ann romney, she has been seen for a very long time, and i think for good reason, as a strong surrogate for her husband. she's very warm. she's very engaging. she really paints a very loving picture of their family. i think that they took advantage of a very ill advised comment by a democratic operative that was

critical of ann romney being a stay at home mother and tried to seed on it. chris cillizza was saying earlier he cannot continue with this deficit among women. however this means ann romney is elevated in a way she hadn't been before and we're about to find out more about her. it's going to be a real moment in the spotlight despite the fact that both sides are saying spouses are off-limits and they both believe that, but with this much attention it's going to elevate you this much further. >> congratulations to politico. topping the headlines on "andrea mitchell reports," republicans and gabby giffords' arizona congressional district are voting on their candidate to fill her seat. the winner will fate ron barber. george zimmerman's attorney has formally requested that the judge residing over his case remove herself. judge recksiedler's husband is

partners with an attorney who work as a television analyst and approached about representing zimmerman. the judge will be hearing the motion friday. "discovery's" final journey ended after a spectacular flight that took it over the white house and the mall. people gather around to watch it circle three times over washington and then landed at dulles airport in virginia. coming up next, the battle for pennsylvania. plus, what has president obama done for latino voters to earn their loyalty? ♪

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this week the obama campaign and the republican national committee both trying to start to compete for that all-important hispanic vote. not only to latinos account for 16% of the population, they are a formidable presence in the swing stated like colorado, where we were yesterday, and arizona. could make a big difference come

november. stephanie cutter, deputy campaign manager for the president. re-election campaign joins me from chicago. what can you say to latino voters? i wanted to play an interview that president obama did in cartagena last week. there was some other things that happened in cartagena last week. >> yes. >> this was the question about immigration reform. please watch. >> i can promise that i will try to do it in the first year of my second term. i want to try this year. the challenge we've got on immigration reform is very simple, i've got a majority of democrats who are prepared to vote for it, and i've got no republicans who are prepared to vote for it. >> why not attack a stand on it? it seems as though i can try, maybe, the first year, i mean, it's such a wishy washy promise. >> oh, i disagree, andrea. the president's been talking about the need to get

immigration reform done since he was a presidential candidate in 2008. you know there are no willing partners across the aisle. in fact they would work to block it. one year ago we had a big conference at the white house where we pulled together people from all walks of life, the business community, republicans, democrats, elected officials, a latino advocate, immigration advocate to find consensus on immigration reform. everybody promised to try but nothing moved. if the president has been working on it since when he was running for president, he worked on immigration reform with ted kennedy. so this is something that he plans on getting done. he wants to get it done. if the republican are going to block even just the dream act, where is the openness and the willingness across the aisle to want to work with us? i will say, you know, immigration reform is going to be an issue in this election because latino americans are paying attention to the election at a much higher rate than ever

before. and that's for one simple reason, because republicans have been running on alienating hispanic voterser dividing country on immigration reform. that's how mitt romney knocked rick perry out of the race. he campaigned across florida where the author of the discriminatory arizona immigration law. hispanic voters are paying attention at a much earlier rate than last presidential campaign, and these issues are going to make a difference. >> we were in colorado yesterday, and pointed out that mitt romney in that debate said that the arizona law was a model for the rest of the nation. >> that's right. >> i had the chance to interview colorado governor john hickenlooper. take a look at what he thinks could be done as a first step. >> also let's have a guest worker system where we really can make sure that we don't tear family as part, that we -- everybody gets an identification while here, a year, two years to prove what they can done, let's

move towards a solution instead of having this limbo. >> can't something be done on an interim basis for all of these young people who can't travel, they can't get into many schools, they don't have proper identification, and they are here through no fault of their own? >> that's absolutely right. and that's the primary reason we need to get the dream act done. the only place it doesn't have support is with republicans in congress and with the republican nominee. the president has taken steps on anned amen straightive level to focus on criminals, not kids who are going to college or serving in the military, attack a more h humane approach to immigration laws. these are laws. we need to pass the dream act so these kids who, you are receipt, here through no fault of their on, serving our country, can get on a path and earn citizenship. that's something that most americans agree on but we don't have agreement with the

republican nominee or republicans in congress. >> stephanie cutter, thanks so much, from the obama campaign. >> thank you. >> and of course, a big battleground is pennsylvania. that's where mitt romney is campaigning today, ahead of next tuesday's republican primary. as republicans think they even have a shot to make a play for the keystone state, despite a big million vote democratic voter registration edge. former pennsylvania governor ed rendell an nbc political analyst. first, governor, pennsylvania, in play? >> no question. it's not a slam dunk for the president at all. that million voter registration edge is good, we built it up, people say that makes us a blue state. in 2010 republicans swept virtually ever office on the ballot. we're a purple state. the president has good issues to go after the conservative, white democrats particularly the southwest who have tended to vote republican over the last few years.

the jobs bill, construction workers, steel workers, the jobs bill will put them back to work. nothing the republicans offering will. so i think the president's going after those voters and if he gets them, if he convinces them he's got the best answers, it will be a comfortable victory. >> john, a comfortable vick rip the president won pennsylvania 11 points last time around. you still have residual voters, the white voters, blue collar voters who tended to support hillary clinton in the primary back four years ago. are those the people out in western pennsylvania, central pennsylvania that mitt romney has a shot at? >> you know i think pennsylvania was a blue state when governor rendell was a governor because he was a good governor for the state. >> i agree. >> he's agreeing with you. >> president obama helped turn it into a red state and i think the governor's absolutely right. this is a toss-up state. i think that the white working class voters, as pointed out, are going to be hard pressed to

vote for president obama. they didn't like him in the primary. i'm not sure if their lot has gotten better over the last couple of years. i think it's a state that mitt romney can win. now that rick santorum dropped out he's got a clear shot to campaign throughout the state and start with a general election message and focus on the economy. that's what pennsylvania voters care about. >> what hasn't rick santorum endorsed mitt romney yet? >> he wants to be president someday. i think that it takes a while for these wounds to heal. i think the appropriate time, santorum will get on board. but you know, it's not easy just to drop out of a race one day and then endorse someone the next. i think especially for someone like rick santorum is heart is on his sleeve, he put all he could into the campaign, and it's not easy to turn around and say i'll be with romney now. >> and governor corbett, your successor, hasn't endorsed either, but pat toomey the

republican senator has. what about rick santorum and his impact in pennsylvania and the governor? >> i think he's absolutely right. it's very hard. if you've ever run for office and lost, as you know, i have, it doesn't come easy to just you know -- >> you didn't lose many. >> it doesn't come easy to shake off the loss and say i'm for that guy who beat me up and trashed me through the primaries. i think eventually rick santorum will do. one the conservative white democrats, the independents in the philadelphia suburbs and a few moderate republicans up for grab. barack obama cleaned them up in 2008. the question whether the campaign that the republicans have ran and governor romney's forced to run on social issues has turned those voters off so much that he has no chance to hold them. if he doesn't hole them it doesn't matter what happens in the west. >> talking a lot of women in those suburbs. >> right now big problem. but when you look at it even in

the most optimistic polls the president still only adding four or five points. it's a horse race. >> i think the governor's right. i would say, throughout this campaign, mitt romney's been accused of being a massachusetts moderate which didn't necessarily work well in the republican primary but let's face it, it works pretty well in a general election and i think that throughout the campaign, conservatives were not that comfortable with mitt romney because they thought he was too moderate. but right now that plays pretty well. >> but the positions he took during the primary don't sound like any massachusetts moderate i know. >> we'll have to leave it there. ed rendell, john feehry thank you. negotiating with iran's supreme leader. the power behind the talks next on "andrea mitchell reports." fr e-trade was founded on the simple belief that bringing you better technology helps make you a better investor. with our revolutionary new e-trade 360 dashboard you see exactly where your money is and what it's doing live. our e-trade pro platform offers powerful functionality

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has been because of the teachers and the education that i had. they're just part of who i am. she convinced me that there was no limit to what we could learn. i don't think i'd be here today had i not had a wonderful science teacher. a teacher can make a huge difference in a child's life. he would never give up on any of us. thank you dr. newfield. you had a big impact on me. hi, everyone, i'm tamron hall. coming up in 15 minutes on "news nation," are the rising gas prices real or artificial? president obama announces new steps to crack down on oil

market manipulation. the daily beast zachary kara bell will join me. what republicans are saying. plus, it was quite eight sight today, space shuttle "discovery" takes its final journey into retirement with a special fly joesh ov flyover over our nation's capital. what people in new york can expect to see tomorrow. she's won emmys, golden globes, edie falco knocks it out of the park on her show. talking about overcoming breast cancer and how she's reaching out to other women to give them help. iran is flaunting its military strength warning the u.s. againstent convening in its affairs. a senior associate at the carnegie endowment for international peace joins me now. you've traveled a lot. when we talk about those negotiation, they just took

place in istanbul, they'll meet in five weeks in baghdad, talking about the ayatollah khomenei, the supreme leader in charge of negotiations and the people speaking for iran want to give or be more flexible it will go back to the ayatollah. >> the supreme leader is steering iran's nuclear ship in power since 1989. hi hasn't left the country with 1989. the problem from the vantage point of u.s. policy he views opposition towards the united states and israel to the revolution ideology. we can't do a deal with hom anyone michigan but it him but it looks somewhat unlikely that we can't do a deal with him. >> what you're hearing from u.s. and israeli officials is that they worry this is a delaying

tactic. they have to go through the motions. there was no real negotiating in istanbul. it was laying out positions. now they'll be talking with the european union about what the negotiating arguments are. we know what the u.s. wants, which is halting the enrichment of uranium that goes to 20% level, because it is such a short skip from there to a weapons grade. >> andrea, i described the istanbul meeting as a preliminary consultation to schedule a very complicated surgery. it is kind of a nuclear hysterectomy which we're asking iran to do. and i see it unlikely that israeli national security interests, iranian ideology can intersect in a peaceful place. my concern is that this is a conflict which isn't going to be resolvable. a conflict we're going to have to manage. >> how do you manage this conflict given the three

conflicting voices that you describe? >> i think if we can deescalate. for me the virtue of these negotiations aren't to try to resolve the conflict but to try to deescalate. perhaps we can take steps to get iran to cap enrichment at a certain level. i don't think they're going to give up enrichment. i don't think that's within the realm of possibilities. >> if we can have more eyes, more inspectors to at least ensure the israelis that they are not leaps forward during this period. perhaps a peaceful temporary halt. thank you very much. what political story will make headlines in the next 24 hours? that's next right here on "andrea mitchell reports." for me, it's really about building this extraordinary community. american express is passionate about the same thing. they're one of those partners that i would really rely on whether it's finding new customers, or, a new location for my next restaurant. when we all come together, my restaurants, my partners,

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which political story will make headlines in the next 24 hours? chris cillizza joins us again. we're looking at arizona the eighth. >> it slipped to mind a little bit but gabriel giffords resigned her office earlier this year. this is the primary.

it is only on the republican side. we think that jesse kelly who was the republican nominee against gabby giffords in 2010 and nearly won will be the republican nominee. the general election, special election, is in early june and there will likely be jesse kelly against ron barber who was the district director. so a race that has some national reach to it, starts tonight. won't finish until june. >> that does it for this edition of "andrea mitchell reports." tomorrow, ted koppel joins us. my colleague tamron hall joins us. are the gas prices we're witnessing real or artificial? president obama announces new steps to crack down on oil market manipulation, is that the real reason we see these spikes with the gas prices?

the daily beast will join me live. plus, take a look at this. what a sight. space shuttle "discovery" takes its final journey into retirement over the nation's capitol. we'll have information on that. and an emergency room nurse, nurse jackie and her hugely popular show but that's not where life ends for her. she is about overcoming breast cancer and reaching out to other women. with scottrader streaming quotes, any way you want. fully customize it for your trading process -- from thought to trade, on every screen. and all in real time. which makes it just like having your own trading floor, right at your fingertips. [ rodger ] at scottrade, seven dollar trades are just the start. try our easy-to-use scottrader streaming quotes. it's another reason more investors are saying... [ all ] i'm with scottrade.

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[ announcer ] all work and no play... will make brady miss his favorite part of the day. ♪ [ upbeat ] [ barking ] [ whines ] that's why there's beneful playful life, made with energy-packed wholesome grains... and real beef and egg. to help you put more play in your day. beneful. play. it's good for you. right now on "news nation," real or gassed up? what's behind the high price of gas. the president announces steps to regulate illegal moves that could be causing the recent spike? gas prices. >> none of these steps by themselves will bring gas prices down overnight. but it will prevent market manipulation and make sure we're looking out for american consumers. >> with the cost of gas being re hot, p