time for one email. john tower, what have you got? >> james, had hip replacement recently. the pain wakes me up at the same time every day so i don't have to set the alarm to watch willie. >> that might be a new demographic, people with hip surgery awoken by pain. we'll take it. "morning joe" starts right now. president obama. he's been struggling a bit to find a new campaign slogan for 2012. something as memorable as change you can believe in. well, mitt romney is also trying out new campaign slogans now that he is the nominee. and he's having mixed results.

take a look. >> i'm offering a real choice, a new beginning. we believe in ourselves. our greatest days are ahead. i'm proud to announce it could be worse. i'm sorry. it's my turn. you had yours. now it's my turn. i'm not a person of core values. i don't have a core. that's exactly what i said. the headline you read, which said let detroit go bankrupt. exactly what ron paul said. i love cars. i grew up totally in love with cars. who let the dogs out? good morning. it is wednesday, april 18. welcome to "morning joe." with us on set, we have msnbc contributor mike barnicle. where have you been? >> oh. >> cheering the red sox on. >> editor for "new york" magazine and msnbc contributor john heilman. good to see you. we have global vice chair of the

consulting firm hail and mark strategies, mark pend willton. >> what's up? >> the pressure was too much. >> you look naked. >> you're scaring the children. >> couldn't handle the pressure. >> oh, my gosh. that's terrible. >> looks better like that. >> but no socks this morning. >> good for you. good for you. i'm glad we brought on a music man. >> oh, man. >> levon helm. the best. >> the great levon helm, obviously. he's in pretty bad shape right now. but nobody -- i mean -- >> from turkey scratch, arkansas. >> turkey scratch, arkansas. and what amazing music with the band and beyond, huh? >> yeah. one of the greatest. up on cripple creek. >> yeah. and rolling stone reporter. in the last stages of cancer.

>> the history of levon and the band, robbie robertson. with bob dylan going electric in the '60s. and then for several years, one of the great treats for anyone living near woodstock, new york, would to go up to woodstock, new york, and levon played there on saturday nights, the midnight ramble. >> isn't that amazing? and the stories of what the band did, you know, they would be sitting in another room, and bob dylan would write a song and say, here, play it. and then the last waltz. peter gammons last night, we were going back and forth talking about the great levon helm. and said the last waltz, he said it wasn't one of the greatest music movies ever, it was one of the greatest movies ever. >> martin scorsese directed that film. incredible movie. and you think about the band, they really aaron -- what was so

interesting about them, you think about the three or four great albums they made and how weirdly out of time and culture they were. they sounded like they came from some other century. they looked like they came from some other century. >> it's amazing. >> the southern -- deep southern. the night they drove old dixie down is a song that could have been written in 1783. and the music was timeless in this deep, profound way. and as he, you know, in levon's voice, it's the voice that comes from another era out of time, out of space. >> and by the way, mark mckennon, i think about this sometimes being as obsessed as i am by music and song writing. it really is, it's what i love more than anything else. and i sit and listen to these songs. what are we going to be singing? what are our kids going to be singing after we're gone? i guarantee you, "the night they drove old dixie down" could have been written in 1783.

i guarantee it will be sung in 20 2193 by someone with a guitar. it is timeless. >> it is classic and timeless. the thing about that movie, "the great waltz," is that helm was not happy with the movie. he thought it focused way too much on robbie robertson. and they had a real falling out over that, unfortunately. but it is a classic movie. >> no doubt about it. of course, helm also was in "the right stuff." remember that? >> yeah. >> did a great job. but everybody -- and mitch dolan would always go up and listen to -- mitch, former wabc, would go up and listen to them and actually played up there. and everybody that came across levon helm would say he was a wonderful man. there's a story i heard last night of a guy's best friend had cancer. and levon helm picked up the

phone and called him and said, fight through it, man. you're going to be ok. >> yeah. sweet guy. very, very sweet die. and as you know, i think i indicated this to you several months ago, levon expressed real interest in coming down here and playing on the show. i don't know what happened to him. with you. >> well, you know, it's -- i'm going to just blame it on phil griffin. because that's always the easiest thing to do. but, yeah, well, listen, our thoughts and prayers are with levon and his family. and we hope against hope that he fights through this. a new poll out this week shows mitt romney's numbers on the rise now that he essentially has locked up the republican nomination. according to a cnn opinion research group poll, 44% now have a favorable view of the former massachusetts governor. that's up 10 points from february. >> now this is of course, willie, because cnn had the cameras on when mitt romney ran

into the burning building, pulled out 14 orphans, saved them, dusted them off, and then -- >> no, that was cory booker. >> mayor booker. >> oh, wait. oh, wait. nothing has happened to change these ratings which show that any of these polls are meaningless or the american public has the attention span of a gnat. >> 40% view him as unfavorable. a big improvement. president obama's approval rating is 49%. on the question of who is most likeable, president obama leads romney by 29 points. how important is that? >> as we say in the south, he's at 59% to 29%. as we say in the south, by just a scosche. >> the president is up double

digits when it comes to standing for his own beliefs as well as who shares the voters' common values. when asked who is most in touch with women's issues, 55% of those polled said president obama. 27% chose romney. but the poll shows a statistical tie on which candidate is best suited to get the economy moving. and when asked to put personal support aside and predict which candidate is more likely to win in november, the polled voters overwhelmingly said president obama. >> but, willie, what does it say that the president is ahead in all of these numbers, on personal attributes, before mitt romney's had, you know, the $500 million to roll out to say he is such a great guy, and this race is essentially deadlocked in some polls. >> i hate to undercut the entire basis of our show, but o day, one poll says one thing, and the next thing he's up nine, he's down three. new polls are showing he's -- >> sshhh. it hurts. >> willie, willie, i'm sorry.

breaking news. the gallup daily tracking poll has just came out. >> the daily tracking. >> and there it is, willie. >> see? >> mike barnicle, it's over. the race is over. ok. so mitt romney is up by five points in this gallup daily tracking poll. >> but it does point to something that we have known all along. that while they do disagree with many of his policies, the american public generally do like president obama. think he is a good man. they may have deep, deep disagreements with him, but they like him. >> they like him, but much to the chagrin of bloggers on the left, mike, i'm sorry, this is a center right country. and going back 40 years, polls show year after year that by a 2-1 margin americans consider themselves to be more conservative than liberal. >> i don't care what the polls show. this is a three-point election. >> it's close.

>> when we get into october, middle of october, it's a three-point race. >> it doesn't -- like anytime the rangers and the red sox get together, you know that you're going into the ninth inning not knowing what's going to happen. >> close. >> we had no idea whether the sox were going to win or lose last night, even though they were behind 16-3 in the eighth inning. >> yeah. joe, it doesn't really matter whether or not they like president obama more than george clooney. what's going to matter at the end of the day is that economic number. as long as romney keeps that close, and unless there's a huge uptick in the economy, it will be a jump ball. >> you don't buy the beer theory, who do you want to have a beer with? we hear that every four years. >> yeah. absolutely. the beer theory is a good one. but you want to make sure that the economy is stable enough to afford a beer. >> i got you. or as they have in brooklyn, this smack theory. who would you rather do smack with. >> well, i'm not going to get into that. a bunch of these polls, some of

have the president up by a few, by nine. from romney's point of view, if you think of what he's been through for the last six months, and think about all of the bruises he's taken -- >> absolutely. i agree with you. >> the way that the republican party brand has dragged him down, how he has been saddled with all of these images, if i were him and i were within single digits in the worst polls for me still within single digits of the president, given the president's -- >> unbelievable. >> advantage in terms of likability and all of these other i thinks, i'd be happy if i was romney. i have a lot of time here. only single digits back. >> we've been saying it this week. it's like the basketball team, your basketball team, being down by seven points at halftime despite the fact they shot 12% from the field. and you're like, god, it can't get any worse than this is we're only seven points down. >> for the last year, all the attention has been on him too. there's been no attention on the obama side of this matchup. so we'll see what happens over the next six months. but romney does have to look with some concern --

>> wait. can i stop you for a second? i just -- this is the second time it's happened. and i thought we had a rule around here that nobody interrupted anybody. but you have interrupted poor willie twice now. >> me? >> yeah. he was trying -- right, willie? he was trying to get words out. play with me. go ahead. finish your thought. i'm sorry. >> romney does have to be concerned about the numbers with women and the latino voters. and we'll see it again. there was another poll -- a lot of people thought that fox poll might have been an outlier that showed him down 56 points. but another poll showed it was about 50 points. so you have to get to those two core constituencies or it's game over. but women and latinos he has some ground to make up. i want to get to the citigroup story, but we have one more story pertaining to mitt romney as he begins to narrow down the list of potential running mates. he is underscoring the importance of readiness as a key trait. take a look. >> i can tell you that the one quality that comes to mind immediately is that you want someone who without question could lead the country as

president if that were necessary. i think all of the political considerations pale in comparison with the consideration of who has the capacity to lead america at a critical time. and i hope if i'm the president that eventuality would never occur. but that has to be the key consideration. >> so can i ask a question? >> it's going to be like a really deep thoughtful question, right? >> mark, you're a fashion guy, right? why is romney this year -- and we can show him four years skpoog this year, why does he have the bril cream in his hair? why is he slicking that back? with the side burns. >> i think you ought to speak for yourself. >> like a muenster. take the grease out of the hair. >> yeah, no product, man. >> keep the product out. >> idiots. let's move on. >> bolo tie. >> you're asking mark? >> he is a fashion guy. >> yeah, he is. how about the mets? don't touch my hair. don't touch my hair.

>> interesting. >> it doesn't move. it's a bril pad. what would service as a wake-up call on wall street, citigroup has issued a scathing rejection of the bank's executive pay package that includes $50 million for its ceo from last year. this is first time that stockholders have rallied against a compensation plan for executives at a major financial institution. the shareholder vote, a new requirement under the dodd frank law, is nonbinding and won't force the bank to change its pay practices but it does send a powerful message. citi officials said they are taking the vote seriously and would seriously consider its recommendation. >> citi is a colossal mess. an absolute colossal mess. i mean -- >> i like this dodd frank -- >> it's a train wreck. they shouldn't pay this guy $15. too big to fail? look at citi. >> don't you like that share holders get a chance to see how this their entire company

operates? >> yes. >> maybe it's not binding but it certainly is shameful. it's shameful. and in the year of the 1%, the conversation we were having yesterday about whether or not it matters, i think these issues do matter to people. >> you know, mike barnicle, back in -- when america in the 1950s and the '60s and the early '70s when america was exploding and we had remarkable corporate leaders, ceos for gm, for ibm, for xerox, they are making $1 million, $2 million. >> yeah. >> they weren't -- they weren't destroying a company. setting millions of people out into the unemployment lines and getting a $200 million golden parachute. they got a couple million dollars, they were paid well, and -- >> yeah, they made money. >> and they were respected by the people who worked for them. >> when did these pay packages go right off the trolley tracks and why did they? was it 15 years ago, 14, 10

years ago? i don't know. and i don't know why. but the explosion -- >> it's disgusting. >> in executive pay at some of these companies is not only obscene, it's -- no wonder these shareholders when they have the shareholder meetings get aggravated. >> and mark mckennon, the citigroup example in particular, that institution is a train wreck. anybody that tells you that too big to fail doesn't still exist hasn't looked at citigroup's bottom line. it is disgusting. it should be chopped up into a million pieces and actually forced to deal with capitalism and market forces that it hasn't had to deal with for some time. and now i have a lot of people at citi that are not going to talk to me again. >> joe, i'm going to play steve rattner this morning. i have a chart that's very interesting about the different between perception and reality on the income gap.

the chart shows that in 1990, the gap was -- the ceos who make $107 for every dollar that the average worker made. contrary to conventional wisdom, that went up five times under president clinton. >> what's the source of this, by the way, other than the bush reelection -- >> it's the institute for policy studies. and ironically, the afl-cio had this chart on their website until recently and took it off and here's why. george bush cut that in half, and now look what happened in just the last couple of months. it's gone up 26 points under president obama beyond what it was under president bush. so it's going up under president obama. so the income gap is going up, and george bush cut it in half from president clinton. >> our brooklyn hipster is very offended by this. >> yeah. >> none of the presidents had anything to do with any of this. look at that chart. the chart is a track of the stock market. ceo compensation is tied largely to performance of the company's stock prices.

that's where most of the ceos make their money. look at that. it goes up as the nasdaq rose in the tech boom. when the nasdaq crashed in 2002, that's where it fell off the cliff. if you want to say george bush cut it in half, it wasn't a policy of george w. bush. it was the fact that the nasdaq crashed and the tech wealth evaporated. and it rises again as the market went back up. falls as the market goes back up. and it's rising again under obama as the market goes up. >> hippy, come on. mark, what say you? >> well, i say that people have said that it went up under president bush, and it didn't. it went down. >> well, because the market fell in 2002. what policies are you talking about, mark, that president bush implemented to cut it? you said it got cut under george bush as if he had some policies against greed in the corporate world. >> that's a fine point. i'm just saying don't blame president bush for the income gap and don't get credit to president obama. that's fine. if we want to say it's the

market, it's the market. and quit pretending that the president is responsible for it. >> john, let's follow up on this. obviously, the ceo ratio to worker pay didn't go up under george w. bush whether it's for the reasons you said or kbrth reason. it just didn't. but here is my question. when is the media -- when are americans going to get their arms around the fact that there is a growing disparity between the richest and the poorest? of not only americans but also people in the west for reasons other than just pure politics or the policies of bill clinton, george w. bush. it has to do with technology. it has to do with i.t. revolution. it has to do with the fact that you don't have bank tellers anymore. it has to do with the fact that you don't have 20 people in dry cleaning stores. >> absolutely. >> because until we get our arms around this fact and stop trying to point at a republican president or a democratic president, we're not going to understand this is a trend that goes back to the early 1970s.

>> well, partly to mark's chart, which is a little bit -- it's also kind of confusing because it talks just about ceos and doesn't talk about the income gap. the income gap, the income inequality has grown for the last 30 years under all presidents for exactly the reasons that you just said. ceos are kind of a different case. they are part of the problem, but they are as i say their compensation is still linked to the stock market. >> and why is it -- >> it's being driven by technology and the fact that there's increasing returns to smarts. the combination of economy and globalization means that the smarter you are, the better educated you are, the more money you make. and that's happening across the developed and underdeveloped world. these are big forces, globalization, the information revolution. these are big huge forces. presidents do not control them. you can do things. there's still an argument for tax fairness. make that argument. >> you're right. >> but you're not going to fix the tidaled forces of the global

economy by moving the top tax rate from 39% to 35% or the other way around. >> you can feel better about yourself, and at end of date you can say i'm doing something to try to make the world more fair. but, mike, this goes back to the postwar world. a lot of soldiers come home after world war ii. they fill up factories. union membership grows to 33%, 34%, 35%. the middle class grows, and it te continues to grow until the early 1970s and we realize that the steel factories are moving to japan. that the car manufacturers are moving to japan. that we start losing these jobs. and that was like in '71. that's when it began. this has nothing to do with bush tax cuts. this has nothing to do with what bill clinton did in 1999. this has everything to do with -- i love what you said, the tidal forces globally that we have got to -- that we've got

to tame. >> joe, in that period of time, that sweep of history that you just referenced, after world war ii, i mean, this was literally a different country then. you had the interstate highway program created suburbs, growth, the jobs. the jobs started to disappear as you indicated in the '70s. but something happened in this country in the '90s, and the dot-com boom in my own personal opinion played a pivotal role in the explosion of executive pay in this country. for a period of five or six years, people made literally hundreds of millions of dollars creating nothing. nothing. >> mike, they still are. there was something in the "wall street journal" yesterday about how apps -- great. they are not making money, but they are making a lot of people really rich right now. >> that's a good point. >> more shareholder rights. >> right. good point. power to the people, right, mckennon? >> absolutely. give the shareholders more power. you're very, very on mark this morning.

>> i hear levon. coming up next, the top stories in the political playbook. also, we'll talk to the former secretary of labor robert reich. also, actor adrian glennier. bill ford. and conservationist dr. jane goodall will be here. she'll be fantastic. but first, here is bill karins with a check on the forecast. we have fantastic spring concerns once again. the drought is an issue from the southeast right up the eastern season. seaboard. but we have some improvement. it could alter your weekend plans. we have exceptional drought now from south carolina southward all the way down into north portions of florida, and severe drought conditions in southern new england. but as i mentioned, we have a big soaker up the east coast as we go through the weekend. it looks like the southeast side and sunday is the worst for you. up the mid-atlantic saturday and sunday. for new england, i think it will be sunday and monday. if you have plans in new england

on saturday, i think you'll be ok. but sunday and monday, it could just be a washout. maybe inches of rain, as much as five inches of rain in the southeast. for today, some light rain for d.c. this is not the same storm system. this is just a weak storm coming through today. it will keep you cool and definitely in the d.c. area. nice in new england today. a little chilly this morning. and also some storms in wisconsin and chicago. but again, the big story if you have plans this upcoming weekend on the east coast, looks like a big rain event is headed your way. your watching "morning joe" brewed by starbucks. not in this economy. we also have zero free time, and my dad moving in. so we went to fidelity. we looked at our family's goals and some ways to help us get there. they helped me fix my economy,

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foods. researchers analyzed health data from 8,000 kids across the country, and the food establishments they live near. the finding was there is no relationship between the type of food being sold in a neighborhood -- >> i just don't believe that. >> i don't either. >> and the level of obesity among its children. >> stop it. that's ridiculous. >> wait. >> let me read and i'll explain. >> who paid for the study? >> it also found why poor urban neighborhoods did have more fast food restaurants tended to have more grocery stores where they tonig don't go because it's more expensive. >> who did this study? no, no, no, no. >> i have to look. >> we'll check it out because we don't believe it. the "wall street journal," warren buffett disclosed he has stage one prostate cancer and will receive treatment in the coming months. the 81-year-old also indicated that he's going to keep running berkshire hathaway. this from "the washington post."

>> wanted taliban commander has turned himself in in order to claim the $100 reward for his capture. [ laughter ] >> yes, he did. >> these are the people that are bringing the u.s. military to their knees. >> he came to a military checkpoint carrying a wanted poster with his face on it. when asked, is this you, the man enthusiastically answered, yes, yes, that is me. can i get my reward now? u.s. officials say he is the taliban equivalent of the home alone burglars. >> all right. and the journalistic equivalent of the home alone burglar -- >> jim. >> there was a story about a guy who had his weed seized, and he came down to the police station to say, hey, i am going to need that back. kind of like the taliban guy. jim, how are you doing, buddy? >> couldn't be better. >> what i didn't know until a couple of days ago, you somehow

against all odds are on the pulitzer board. is that a true story? >> i know. it is a true story. i just finished my first term, and i'm not going to be on the pulitzer board going forward. but it's an amazing honor. these people care a heck of a lot about journal. the newspaper journal >> was as strong as i've seen it in three years. >> congratulations to you too on your pulitzer board. >> they didn't have a pulitzer this year for editorial writing. did you notice? >> right. where are you going with this? >> oh, because you write the -- >> well, i do for politico. and does it disqualify me that i only write one editorial every six weeks? or if it's really good, can i still get a pulitzer? >> that's an aspirational goal for you? >> once every six weeks, yeah. >> is the relationship with joe working? is there anything i can help you with in terms of his column? >> we love joe.

the more joe we get the better. emphasis on the more. >> so we're bored with the 2012 race. so we want to look ahead to 2016. >> it's over. >> there's a new poll out show something interesting information about 2016. who's ahead? who's going to be the president in 2016? >> it's funny. it's washington, we always talk about politics. but there's a poll out, and there's been a couple, that look at 2016 and what would happen if hillary and biden both ran for the nomination. hillary clinton would clean his clock. 57% and 16% for biden. it just shows certainly among democrats hillary clinton is the favorite to run in 2016 if she chooses to do it. the reason that it matters is that i think both hillary clinton and joe biden very much want to do it or want to be in a position to do it if they choose to do so. and so it does create a lot of drama behind the scenes. and it's clear to us biden definitely wants to do it and be in a position to do it if they

win re-election, which can always cause a bit of friction or internally with the boss if he thinks you're looking ahead. >> john heilemann, if the obama administration gets a second term, does biden choose to run and that takes hillary out of the equation? how does it play out? >> i don't know if he will run or not. but i think that jim -- i think jim goes to the subject -- maybe one step too far. i think biden clearly wants to keep open the option that he could run. i don't think he's decided that he wants to run or not. i think he very much wants to have that be a possibility. and he also knows that if people think he's definitely not running, it will hurt his degree of influence now. so he has both immediate political reasons to have people think he might run and also thinks he might want to run. he wants to keep that line. i think hillary clinton in fact is much more determined that she's going to run. >> you do think that? >> i do. >> she's focused on '16? >> i don't think she's focused on it. but i don't take anything she says about how she's not going -- i'm out of politics at

face value. i think she'll run. >> jim, it became known in democratic circles that hillary clinton did want to run in 2016, would that influence joe biden? could he be pushed aside? >> i think she'd be extremely hard to beat if she got in. she has so many things going for her. no politician in the last four years has done more to repair their image than she has. and obviously, she has the clinton network. and i agree with john she wants to run probably more than they are letting on in public. there's no reason for her to let out in public she would want to do it at this point. the only point on biden, biden loves this stuff. he loves the game. loves running. loves being vice president. it will be hard to get him out of the game. he just wants to be in there. >> yeah, come on. joe going to go back to delaware and golf? no. >> only on the weekends. >> there's a guy, you know, in 2009 on "meet the press" he was already talking about running. >> all right. >> he wants to run. >> thank you. >> jim, member of the pulitzer board. >> take care and be good. >> all right, jim.

we'll see you. coming up in sports, the colorado rockies' 49-year-old jamie moyer. >> did he win? >> he did. >> making some history last night. and ozzie guillen returns to the miami marlins after serving a five-game suspension for publicly praising fidel castro. sports is next. [ male announcer ] you are a business pro.

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time for some sports. for the third time this season, 49-year-old jamie moyer took the hill for the rockies trying to become the oldest pitcher ever to win an mlb game. a little history in colorado last night. top of the fourth, tying run at the plate. nick hunley grounds into the inning-ending double play. tying run 90 feet away for the padres. moyer gets the groundout to end the threat. moyer got some help from his bullpen. top of the ninth, two on, betancourt shuts the door, and there's your history. moyer surpasses jack quinn as the oldest man ever to get an mlb victory. buster olney, vanderbilt

graduate of espn, tweeted this. congratulations to him and to digger phelps, his father-in-law, jamie moyer. ozzie guillen returned to his team in miami after serving a five-game suspension for saying in an interview that he loves cuban dictator fidel castro. before the marlins faced off with the cubs, guillen took a moment to address the fallout. >> obviously, some people still are a little bit upset. like i said, i don't blame them a bit. but i feel a lot of people supporting me, and a lot of people believe what i say. and i don't really worry about what i just say or what i just did. i worry about what i'm going to do today, what should i do later. >> so we move on. no protests greeted guillen. the crowd a little smaller. marlins up a run top of the

seventh. not for long. throw to center. tied at 2-2 there in the eighth with the beautiful ley ramirez run. and there it is. there it is. >> good for miami. >> $2.5 million will get you that thing. >> good for miami. so theo lost that game. how did his other team do, the team that he's built over the past decade? how did they do? >> sox struggled a bit last night. let's just go right to the highlights, michael. you can help me narrate these. bobby v's club hosting the rangers. top team in the al west. second inning, bases juiced for josh hamilton. this isn't good. cody ross drops the ball, a run scores. only got worse from there. top of the eighth, rangers up big already. hamilton, watch this shot. >> he crushed this. >> 469 feet. only 33 feet shy of ted williams' long ball that is still marked by a red seat up there in right field. red sox lose to the rangers 18-3.

rangers six home runs, 21 hits. kevin youkilis, by the way, at the center of the bobby v controversy, 0-4 with four strikeouts. and we remind you, "way too early" and "morning joe" will be live at fenway park on friday. >> that's going to be fun. >> mike, i don't know if you watched yesterday, but willie got a little upset about this red sox controversy yesterday. >> yes. >> i mean, come on. my feeling is, bobby v needs to shake things up. do you disagree with that? >> no, i don't disagree with that. by the time we get up there on friday, bobby v will feel 100 years old just like the ballpark. i love pedroia. there are other players. but seriously, don't say i guess he doesn't know how things work around here. we don't want them to work around there like they did last year. >> mike, do you think youkilis is slacking? >> no, no. i think he's -- i think he's really on the down slope. >> we're going to bring good luck on friday. >> i hope so.

>> it's going to be fun. >> it is painful. you know, i said a couple of days ago, you go back to september. and earlier this week, the sox were like 7-25. >> they are basically with the team they have on the field right now it's .500 club. the capital one cash rewards card gives you a 50% annual bonus. and who doesn't want 50% more cash? ugh, the baby. huh!

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[ banker ] but someone else bought it before they could get their offer together. we really missed a great opportunity -- dodged a bullet there. [ banker ] so we talked to them about the wells fargo priority buyer preapproval. it lets people know that you are a serious buyer because you've been credit-approved. we got everything in order so that we can move on the next place we found. which was clear on the other side of town. [ male announcer ] wells fargo. with you when you're ready to move. this is a kwlasic. >> any song with the word "hoochie coo" is a winner. >> i'm getting high all the time. i hope you all are too. it may be the runner-up stoner

song of all time right behind "do you feel like i do," peter frampton. we're not going to do the phony mommy wars, but maureen dowd is fantastic. >> is that your favorite album? that was your favorite album of the 1970s. that was an amazing album. >> frampton comes alive and cheap trick. those were some big records if you were a teenager in the late '70s. >> cheap trick. >> yeah. i'm also not going to do the fantastic kathleen parker, who writes that the presidential race has really gone to the dogs. did you see ann romney talking about the dog thing and what the real problem was? that's apparently in "news you can't use." good. >> you step on willie again for the third time. it's making me sad. >> abuse. i'm going to do this incredible blog that was written for politico. >> mike, let's go to maureen dowd. >> it's a masterpiece. >> really? >> can you read it? >> it's a masterpiece.

let the horse race begin by joe scarborough. >> let's go to maureen dowd. both campaigns will tell anyone who's listening that the obama-romney showdown will be decided in the final weeks of the campaign with the outcome resting on unemployment rates, gas prices, and their impact on swing states like florida, ohio, and virginia. so take a deep breath. we are still in the preseason for presidential campaigns. as the boston red sox cruelly taught their fans again last season, winning big in the spring doesn't mean jack. it's how your side performs when the leaves start to change colors. considering they still haven't sprouted throughout most of new england, this race still has a long way to go. so simmer down. simmer down. what are you doing? >> i'm just looking at maureen dowd. yeah, we've got a long way to go. we all agree with that. we've got a long way to go, right? they are going to spend hundreds of millions of dollars throughout the summer. i guess the only question -- >> it could get very ugly.

>> is mark mckinnon still here? >> it will be reset at the conventions, joe. you're right. it will be post september, and it's all going to be highly contingent on gas prices and the economy in the fall. but i remember in 2000, you know, that race, we were up in the convention, then gore was up, then we were up, and then he was up. we could see a very similar pattern here. >> it seems to me the only real possibility to change the dynamic is the third party candidate. americans elect and have been talking about it. if somebody comes in with a lot of money, that obviously changes things. but what's the time frame on that? how long does a bloomberg or somebody else have -- >> thomas friedman writes about that today. >> to make that decision? what's the time frame? >> about another month. and as you know, buddy roamer is in there as a candidate. and there's a good chance that he'll qualify. and he's got a great message. so that can have an impact. >> well, that goes to thomas

friedman's op-ed. >> "the new york times." this is what friedman writes. after his mayoral term is over in 2013, bloomberg apparently will spend more time running his foundation. that's commendable. but the single greatest act of philanthropy he could do for the country is right now, run for president as an independent. at least long enough to participate in all the debates. if he doesn't, and this turns into a presidential race to the bottom, he could donate every dollar he has to fix things in america and they'd be wasted or more accurately overwhelmed by our mounting problems. the most patriotic thing bloomberg could do is become an unpaid lobbyist for the country and for the next generation of americans. >> well, there's time for him to get in still. the americans elect ticket. and i think that's a great idea. >> zero chance. >> why is that? >> because mike bloomberg, like most people who have made that amount of money, only wants to run for president if they think they can win. bloomberg has looked at this

race in two consecutive races. his policy has always been in the president's approval is below 38%, you can see a path. with barack obama's approval rating north of 45%, and the race now the way it looks, there's just not a path for bloomberg to win. it's very hard to actually win. if you want to get in and just influence the dialogue, fine. he could run, be in the debates, have an effect. but there's no way with obama where he is right now. >> but that's friedman's point. why not get in and affect the debate like perrott did? he had a huge impact on policy. >> he would have a huge effect. but from bloomberg's perspective, he only wants to run if he can see a path to winning. and right now, there's not a path for him to win. >> scarborough, jump in there, man. >> you mean sing along to this song? i'd love to. "cripple creek" is one of my

favorites. if willie got in the race because of his positions, he would help barack obama. well, actually, he would help mitt romney get elected president because he would take more from obama than romney. >> that is probably true. >> yeah. >> we'll be right back. you know, those farmers, those foragers, those fishermen....

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oh, is it time? >> this is truly useless. i just want to put that out there. when you're on your death bed some years from now, you'll remember these two minutes. you'll want them back. as you know, democrats have been pushing the dog on the roof story against mitt romney for ages now. >> that's just not right. >> now we have the conservative rebuttal. raid for this? president obama went one step further. he once tried dog meat. >> what? >> you know the seamus story. mitt romney strapped his dog to the top of the car. >> president obama tried to eat that dog? what? the puppies? >> romney and his wife ann were asked this week again about seamus during an interview on abc. >> seamus, which as you know, that story is out there forever. would you do it again? >> certainly not. the attention it's received. >> you said it was the most

wounding thing in the campaign so far. >> it's crazy. the dog loved it. the dog would like -- >> but the dog got sick, right? >> once. we travelled all the time, and he ate the turkey on the counter. i mean, he had the runs. but he would see that crate, and, you know, he would like go crazy because he was going with us on vacation. >> as if once weren't bad enough. >> you don't have to say it. give us less! less is more! you don't have to explain it! it's only axelrod and collins. don't talk about the dog's -- >> it's the setup. so as you know, the obama re-election team loves this story. can't stop talking about it. campaign adviser david axelrod tweeted a picture not long ago of the president and his dog, bo. >> is that the dog he tried to eat? >> stop it. >> axelrod wrote this is how

loving owners transport their dogs. >> in a limo? really? >> before they eat them. >> using the president's own words against him, a conservative website dredged up a quote from the president's best-selling memoir "dreams from my father" where mr. obama described eating dog meat as a young boy in asia. this is from the book. >> you are making that up. >> i learned how to eat small green chill peppers raw with dinner, plenty of rice, and away from the dinner table, i was introduced to dog meat, tough, snake meat, tougher, and roasted grasshopper, crunchy. >> here comes the post line. >> so romney advisers after having read that, retweeted axelrod's original message, saying in hindsight, this is a chilling photo. [ laughter ] >> oh, i'm exhausted. [ laughter ] >> i'm going to show you the picture -- >> by the way, these are the leaders of the two campaigns.

these are not fringe organizations. >> to dinner. literally. >> well, you know -- >> there's a twitter hash tag for an obama dog recipe. and one of them is bomain. >> look who is standing by, robert reich. >> i'm so sorry. >> speaking of eating dog, robert rice is next. >> oh, stop it. >> i'm hungry. we love gardening...

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the wealthy have an army of lawyers and accountants who can help them work around this so-called buffett tax. >> you know, i don't give the republicans enough credit for being deep. that's some no exit [ bleep ]. they just work around it anyway. what's the point? we're all going to die. we could pass the buffett rule, but it's like beckett said in "waiting for godeau." we give birth at the grave. senator worm from the great state of depression yields the remainder of his fut wiile and meaningless time. look at that as the sun comes up over new york.

joining the table now, former labor secretary and professor at the university of california at berkeley, robert reich. professor reich is the author of the new ebook "beyond outrage." >> and we're listening of course to "the wait." and let's listen for a second. this is another second ong, we been talking about the great levon helm fighting cancer right now. this is another song that people will be singing 100 years from now. >> it's another song that sounds like it could have been written in the 1800s. you know, pick your decade. and it will be played and sung forever. >> no matter where you are. >> yeah. >> such soul, man. no doubt about it. >> these guys really had it. >> one of the great american songwriters and just great singer. that voice. >> yeah. that voice. >> anyway, we are thinking of levon helm and praying for him.

to the news now. what could serve as a wake-up call on wall street, shareholders on citigroup have issued a scathing review of the executive pay package that includes $15 million for its ceo for last year. it marks the first time that the stockholders have rallied against a compensation plan for executives at a major financial institution. now the shareholder vote, it's a new requirement under the dodd frank law, is nonbinding and won't force the bank to change its pay practices but it does send a powerful message. citi officials say they are taking the vote seriously and would consider its recommendati recommendations. i like this. >> mr. secretary, mike and i were talking last hour about the fact that it used to be that the great ceos who ran the great corporations, ibm, gm, ford, back in the '60s, their salary would be a couple million dollars. they do a good job, they would fill a responsibility to their people, and, you know, if they

destroyed a company, they wouldn't be given $150 million golden parachute. is this a step in the right direction? >> i think it's a step in absolutely the right direction. the institutional investors are the ones who have turned this around because they have caught onto the fact that ceo salaries are so high, and the five top executive salaries are so high, they are actually drawing away from the amount of money left for investors. so this is a very healthy thing. it's nonbinding, but it's going to be heard in every boardroom around this country. >> exactly. >> and of all corporations, why should citi's ceo, which is still too big to fail, still a colossal mess, be getting $15 million in additional compensation? >> well, i haven't looked at the details but i would suspect that's a minimum. if you look at deferred compensation and the total package, it's probably much larger. there is no reason. i mean, we've had for the last 15, 20 years ceo executive

salaries linked to stock options. and during that great bull market over the last 20 years leading up to 2008, the companies were not doing anything special. the ceos were not doing anything special. but they were all riding this great wave up to $15 million, $20 million a year. it was absurd. >> you know, it reminds me of our health care system. a health care system where rewards, financial rewards, are not connected to results. making americans healthier. here, you have got rewards, financial, that have nothing to do with the strength of the business. >> well, look at -- >> with creating jobs, with expanding markets, with making this country stronger. >> this is, joe, you're not the old joe scarborough i used to debate. >> oh, yes, i am. >> you've eaten something. but this is very, very critical because trickledown economics is based upon the view that these ceos and these companies if you just give them more, you know, tax breaks, everybody is going

to be better off. and we have seen for the last 20 years executive salaries have skyrocketed. tax breaks for the top have just been huge. and what's happened, the average, you know, person in this country, median wages have continued to drop adjusted for inflation. most people have less benefits than they had before. the economy is not healthy, even before the great recession of 2008. the economy in terms of most people's pocketbooks was not doing very well. so there is no relationship between the sky high executive salaries and the well-being of average people. >> and let me just say, mr. secretary, i thank you for taking an issue that we agree on. and somehow putting in a term that might make us once again fight and disagree. trickle down economics. i love tax cuts are brought into compensation, and now we have something we can disagree on and feel better about hours. ourselves.

john heilemann? are you stoned? >> he's speechless. >> a little bit. >> are you still thinking about barack obama eating dogs? >> yes, i am, actually, thinking about the chicken bomain or the escar got. >> stop. >> what's the ebook about? why are you beyond average? >> i call it beyond outrage because people come up to me all the time and say i'm so outraged, so pissed off, so cynical, and i keep saying, what are you doing? and they say, well, i can't do anything. i'm just a normal citizen. so i wanted to put in one place, in one book, a kind of not only connecting the dots so people can understand what's going on but also understanding that this is not just about the economy, this is about democracy. people can take action. it's not just the election. actually, the most important day is the day after the election in terms of citizens getting together and doing something and changing this country. and i want to indicate, you

know, the steps that people can take. >> what steps? >> well, for one thing, it is very, very important that people understand the power of mobilizing and energizing for the long-term. mike, you know this. the great movements in social history over the last 100 years have all taken five, 10, 15, 20 years. we are in a culture right now that is a very, very short-term culture in which everybody says, well, you know, if i don't immediately see some results i'm dropping out. campaigns are different from movements. and if we're going to really change, take this economy back, reclaim our democracy, we have got to talk in terms of a social movement that gets people involved beyond an individual campaign. >> to what end? >> to which end? >> yeah. to which end? >> to the end of making sure the economy is fair, that average working people are seeing their wages grow, and their benefits

increase, and that our democracy is not just feeding off of big money. >> yeah. mark mckinnon. >> mr. secretary, i agree that it's manifesting the outrageous is manifesting itself in a lot of movements like no labels, which now has 500,000 people and are talking about a no budget, no pay measure. which is getting a lot of traction. but what is your answer on this compensation issue? is it more shareholder rights? isn't it a free market? what is the answer on the compensation issue? >> well, i think, mark, part of the answer is shareholders have to have more say over pay and that is coming. i think that the fact that citigroup and the shareholders of citigroup have actually said, no, with regard to executive pay, marks a major stage. this is the first time i remember shareholders making that kind of a claim. but beyond that, i think we also do have to get serious about -- and i think the buffett rule is the minimum. i don't think the buffett rule goes nearly far enough. i think we have got to say to

somebody who is a ceo earning $20 million a year, you know, you're going to have to pay your fair share. you're not going to be able to claim so much of your salary as essentially capital gains because so much of it is in stock options. i mean, this is a game. and for a lot of people to talk about patriotism, you know, the republicans for years have talked about patriotism. well, why don't we link patriotism to paying your fair share of taxes and also not taking 300 times what your average worker in this country is taking, but actually getting back to what we had in the 1950s and 1960s, which i was saying before, when ceos were takie 40 times the typical workers' pay. >> so what about at the root of all of this, the shareholder revolt, the executive pay, the buffett rule? at the root of all of this, is it not true that perhaps we should really focus on term limits?

because we have created in this country i believe a professional political class who are so intertwined with the corporate class, with excess, with ignorance of reality on main street, with how ordinary people live their lives, get them out of there, after three, four terms. that's it. get them out. >> mike, i have mixed views of term limits. i am now living in california where we have term limits in the legislature. two terms, they're out. >> boy, that's fixed things out there. >> that has not fixed things. >> bureaucracy is thriving. it's great. >> people are no longer accountable. legislators make decision, they are not accountable. they know they are not going to be around. the shift of power has gone to the permanent legislative staff. they are the ones with the institutional memory. i would much rather -- and i'm the chairman of a citizens group called common cause. not my day job. i would much -- and the dedication -- and common cause is dedicated to getting big money out of politics, reviving

campaign finance reform, reversing that grotesque citizens united against the federal election commission decision. you know, making sure that there is a two, three, five-year gap before there can be a revolving door when congresspeople and lobbyists start working for the people that they were against, you know, on the other side of the aisle. i just think that there's much that can be done. post watergate, we did a lot. but we have let it slide. and now -- i mean, now, this election as you know is going to be a test case in how much money, particularly from the rich, from powerful, from corporations, are going to pollute our democracy. >> so let's talk about some things we agree on. i think you and i -- >> joe, i think you and i actually it sounded a moment ago like you and i were agreeing on most stuff. >> i hope not. but let's talk about a few

things that most of us around the table agree on, and that is that shareholders have a say in ceo compensation, and that ceo compensation for the most part should come down. that the divergence between the rich and poor is growing larger, and everybody from robert reich to allan green span to joe scarborough think that's bad for american capitalism. that warren buffett and the president shouldn't pay a lower tax rate than their secretaries. so we agree on these things. but i want to bring you into a conversation that we had earlier about how the problem is not just because of republicans say because of barack obama policies or george w. bush policies or because of what bill clinton did in 1999 or even what ronald reagan did in the 1980s. it was talking about driving around upstate new york in the early 1970s watching steel plants close, shut down. we're talking about a much bigger problem. not even a generational problem. it goes beyond a generation. >> it does. >> you can go all the way back

to the 1960s and the 1970s. this has been going on for a long time. how do we expand the middle class? because the buffett rule makes us feel better about ourselves. maybe it's the fair thing to do. ceo compensation, we all agree that's something that should happen. that's not going to bring back jobs to america. how do we expand the pie? how do we turn back the clock? >> well, this is why i used an expression you don't like very much, which was trickledown economics, which i think is absolutely wrong. the opposite of trickledown economics might be called bubble up economics. there must be a better term. but what we're really talking about is investing in early childhood education, basic education, making college and universities accessible to people. job retraining. the president is out talking about job retraining today. i used to do that as labor secretary, paid a lot of attention to that. infrastructure. we know that our roads, bridges, public transit is going to hell. we also have got to have, i think, combined with higher

taxes on the very wealthy, an enlarged earned income tax credit. every time i say earned income tax credit people's eyes glaze over. your eyes just glads over. >> no, no. ronald reagan idea that some would say has actually gone too far. >> well, i will tell you something, it is the largest anti-poverty program we have. it is a reverse income tax. it is a wage subsidy. you expand that in the short-term. you help reverse some of the fortunes of the middle class. there's no magic bullet. but you put your finger on it. right now, everybody is just yelling at each other. >> right. >> and we need, and i think that sensible people in this country can agree on a sensible agenda, to revive the middle class. this is not rocket science. but it's not going to be one simple thing. and it's not going to happen overnight. but washington is going to be a

follower. nothing good, and you know this, and you guys know this, mika, you know this, nothing good happens in washington. even when we put in great people in washington. unless people outside washington are mobilized and energized and demanding that good things happen in washington. >> it's not going to be easy, though, you know. 25 years ago, i was very young. and bob was 25 years younger. >> right. >> and i helped a little tiny bit on a book that he wrote called "the work of nations" that was about some of the things we were talking about earlier today. >> i remember buying that. >> it was about these huge tidal forces changing the economy. >> and you were my student. i taught you everything you know. >> i wouldn't take credit for that. >> well, that actually lays a high burden on you in a lot of ways. >> i don't take responsibility. >> you shouldn't. >> but those things that you wrote about that i was trying to help you figure out some of the data for, were big things that were happening back then, the late 'abili80s.

they are accelerating now. the things that are driving income inequality. tax policy can affect that on the margins, you know. new eitc could affect that on the margins. if you believe income inequality is a big problem, there's got to be a much bigger solution than most of the things we talk about, whether you're a democrat or a republican. these solutions seem very small to the scale of the problem, and the forces that are driving it. globalization, that kind of stuff. what's the big solution that can really help to push those trends in the right direction and get them off the wrong direction they are in now? >> well, the big right solution we just talked about it. and i talked about it 25 years ago, investing in people. making sure that our people given globalization, given technological change, really have the capacity to be star players in the global economy. >> putting people first. >> putting people first. >> what happened to that?

>> well, it's a good question. >> what is this? "godspell"? >> unless you make those investments we are not going to have a major recovery. >> i'm just saying whatever happened to putting people first? well, that was my -- am i going to break out in "day-by-day"? >> that was an oblique shot at bill clinton. that was an elbow. >> what john heilemann is talking about is that this issue has been in front of us for 20 years. and every time we come close to doing anything about it, we get zapped by the deficit hawks who say, you can't possibly do it. or by the federal reserve board, who is worried about inflation. or by -- with all due respect -- republicans who say, we think tax cuts on the rich are more important than investing in average working people, and it doesn't get done. and there is -- again, there's no magic bullet. but if we don't do it, and we have known this for more than

two decades, if we don't do it we are going to fall steadily further and further behind the curve in terms of the global economy. >> you say two decades. mark mckinnon and i take it back four decades. and that's why today's political discourse seems so foolish. the average wage for the american worker adjusted has been going down since 1973. the same time period again that we first started noticing that steel mills were being closed in the northeast and the jobs were being shipped overseas. this is a generational challenge. >> but anybody who thinks that we are going to have a manufacturing revival, and that's going to take it back -- mark, i'm sorry. i didn't know you were -- -- i'll say this quickly. manufacturing itself is not going to do it because most of the manufacturing jobs are automated now. >> mark mckinnon? >> that goes to thomas friedman's point about needing a dialogue in the election where we talk about the big bold solutions. and i think what the american people and what we are all reacting to is that so many of the proposals we are talking

about seem like such small ball. we need big bold ideas, and the president ial election is the time to talk about it. the new ebook is called "beyond outrage." we literally went from talking about dogs -- >> eating dogs. >> to saving the american economy. mark, thank you. still ahead, rick stangel will be here to reveal who is on the list of "time" magazine's most influential 100 people. also, jane goodall will join us right here on the set. up next, adrian grenier and the ceo of ford are teaming up together. we'll tell you what they are working on, next. uncover stronger, younger looking skin. [ female announcer ] new aveeno skin strengthening body cream

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welcome back to "morning joe." a beautiful look at the white house at 25 past the hour. joining us now the executive chairman of ford motor company, bill ford, along with actor adrian grenier. adrian is cofounder of shift, a multimedia company promoting sustainability, which is about to launch a new partnership with ford. so adrian, very good to have you. bill as well. >> good to be here. >> this is great. tell us about shift. >> well, shift.com's mission really is to highlight the amazing shifts in culture and in business towards a more sustainable lifestyle. >> and how do you cash in on it? >> cash in? well, we don't. we're actually looking to partner with companies like ford to sponsor -- >> i don't think, by the way, mika was talking about making money off of it. she's sitting next to me. that's why she talks that way. but obviously, you -- you're

teaming up with ford. and to make a really big difference. you talk about doing this to scale. this is a big scale. >> yeah. no longer are the days of this bastardized, marginalized environmentalism. we are sensible consumers, and we want solutions. and we don't want to be told that we can only have the lifestyle we want at the expense of the environment. so we're looking for those solutions, and we find them in ford, who are coming out with five electric vehicles, which, you know, speak to me. and i can't wait to get in them. >> bill, we know what the future is. we know this is the future. but you look back through time, and consumers like myself and car makers like ford, you know, at first we all fought the seat belt. the government shouldn't tell us to put a seat belt in there. then we fought air bags. and, you know, a lot of things where people said, oh, it's going to cost us more. but the future has come.

we are safer and better for it. and we know environmentally, electric cars, automobiles that get 50 miles to the gallon if they are even using gas, that's the future. right? >> yeah. and it's really cool, because, you know, it used to be that if you wanted to be an environmentalist and drive a car, you had to give up everything. >> right. >> whether that was size or, you know, creature comforts or, you know, fun to drive. but in today's new technology, you don't have to give up anything. and you get the environmental benefit. and that's why it's so i think really neat what adrian and his partner peter are doing, because they are really bringing environmentalism to the average person in a way that they can understand. and so they're going to be doing a series of things, documentaries and events, that really bring the power of choice to the average person. >> so let me ask you. you say they're talking about doing it in a way that people conditioned. ford is moving into this area.

how long is it going to take until you do this in a way that the average person can afford? because right now, i can afford to go out and buy a volt to make me feel good about myself, and to just check it out. there are a lot of working class people that can't pay that just to feel better about themselves. >> there's no question about it. and that's why, you know, we have a suite of technologies. the one i'm really excited about is something called eco boost, which basically takes your internal combustion engine, and if you were going to get an eight cylinder, it allows to get a six cylinder but with the power of the eight but the fuel economy of the six. and the same thing from a six cylinder to a four cylinder. that's very affordable to people. and that is getting us 40 miles per gallon a plain old gas leap engine. and still fun to drive. but we also have this suite of electrified vehicles. one thing we do know, is one size doesn't fit all. every customer has different

needs and desires and requirements. so we are trying to introduce a suite of fuel technologies, one of which will be right for that customer. >> i'm just wondering on a grander scale, how has this administration been to work with on fuel efficiency and sustainability? do they have a plan, and does it work with your business needs? or does it get in the way? >> well, you know, we actually have a very good reputation because we have worked really hard at it with all of the various parts of government that interact with our company. but i think one of the biggest things that has happened in a positive way, we now have one national standard as opposed to each state doing their own. you can imagine as a business trying to develop products for each state. that prospect was something that we didn't like very much. >> daunting, yeah. >> so we worked with the administration and came up with one national standard on fuel economy. and even though it's a tough standard, it's something that we feel very good about because we can now plan toward it. >> john heilemann? >> i have a question that's a bit off message but i can't help

ask it anyway. >> i'm sure it is. i'm not going to be surprised. >> well, i read somewhere that you guys are going to do a radical remakover of the mustngg to appeal to the younger generation. and i want to know what they would have to do to appeal to you. >> well, i live in new york, so a mustang doesn't do you much good. >> look at that. great car. >> but there's no doubt, obviously, that one of the appeals for -- one of the best ways to appeal to people that are younger than me is to be seen as environmentally conscious and environmentally friendly, right? >> well, and you want to talk about "entourage," it took eight seasons for vince to get it. you know, put the hummer down and get a, you know, an environmentally friendly car. so things are changing, and that's what we are highlighting. we're amplifying those changes. we're gaining the momentum. and we're showing people that it is possible. and that it's exciting. >> yeah.

>> so let me ask you, bill, my view of detroit has been frozen. since the early 1980s. >> we've got to get you out there. >> i know. but by reading "the reckons." barnicle and i talk about it all the time. detroit -- and i know you read it. but detroit as insular, detroit as incestuous, detroit as out of touch. i just have to ask, what -- and we're going to kiss up to you here, and we don't do that to many people. >> oh, really? >> how did you have the courage -- >> now you're starting to scare me. >> how did you have the courage to go outside of detroit to go outside of the car business, and say, we're going to do things different at ford. we're going to bring somebody from outside the business to shake things up. >> we don't take advantage of turmoil. and lord knows our industry was in great turmoil, then you really miss an opportunity. and so not only did i hire

someone from boeing as you point out, but we also changed our whole corporate strategy radically. we decided to be known as a leader in fuel economy and a leader in technology. those were two very bold statements for a company that wasn't really at that point known for either. >> and why did detroit -- what did sort of official detroit say to you when you said, you know what i'm going to do? i'm going to save ford by bringing in an airplane guy. >> well, there was a ton of skepticism. and i'll never forget the first day that allen came onboard, we had a press conference. and the number of the kind old line press corps that followed us came up and said, you know, a, are you crazy, and, b, this will never work. and actually even within our management group, there were some skepticism. but i knew allen was going to be terrific. he had a skill set that i thought we desperately needed, and it's worked out really well. and it's interesting. one of the things that we did

during those dark days is while other companies were going bankrupt and a lot of companies were cutting back on their product programs and their r&d, we actually kept investing more because we felt there was a window of opportunity to really take a great leap forward as a company and invest in fuel economy and invest in technology. and we did that. and it's starting to pay off now. >> that's great. congratulations to you. what's next for you, adrian? >> i'm focusing right here with bill. i just want to say it's those crazy ideas, those bold decisions that you were talking about before, that we have so much respect for. and in fact, the series that we are launching with ford is called the big shift. and it's about people who have those crazy ideas and who are succeeding in business with those ideas. >> all right. >> crazy ideas always win. >> yes, they do. >> crazy doesn't always win in politics. bill and adrian, thank you. >> your stock is doing well by mika.

>> what are you doing? >> i'm just saying. >> what's wrong with you? use your filter. you don't talk about people's money. >> she bought ford when it was like at $1. just ahead, a special look at the life and career of johnny carson by the man who was on "the tonight show" more than 140 times. comedian david steinberg will join us ahead on "morning joe." with the capital one cash rewards card you get a 50% annual bonus. and everyone likes 50% more cash -- well, except her. no! but, i'm about to change that. ♪ every little baby wants 50% more cash... ♪ phhht! fine, you try. [ strings breaking, wood splintering ] ha ha. [ male announcer ] the capital one cash rewards card. the card for people who want 50% more cash. ♪ what's in your wallet?

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pretty shot of washington, d.c. welcome back to "morning joe." 38 past the hour. an air force colonel is in colombia leading the investigation into a prostitution scandal that spread from the secret service to members of the u.s. military. we now know as many as 21 women were brought back to a beachside hotel last week by american personnel who were in the country to provide advance security ahead of president obama's arrival there for an economic summit. in all, 11 secret service agents are being investigated for misconduct, including members of an elite sniper team, explosive experts, and two supervisors. up to 12 military personnel are

also under scrutiny, including an army green beret, marine dog handlers, and members of the air force and navy. nbc news has learned that the scandal first erupted after one of the prostitutes complained that she had been underpaid. apparently, she was with two agents that night but they refused to double her full price. wanting to split the cost instead. are you kidding me? >> they wanted a per diem. >> what did you say? >> i don't want to hear a thing. >> they are on a per didediem. >> that would be not smart. members of the congress briefed on the investigation say none of the women involved were minors and there was no sensitive information inside the agents' hotel rooms when the women were there. white house press secretary jay carney says president obama remains confident in the leadership of secret service director mark sullivan, who has ordered a separate, independent

investigation. there's one problem. this isn't just one like out of the blue completely random event. this is obviously a lifestyle problem. >> this isn't the first time this has ever happened. >> yeah, yeah. >> not the first time. >> boys club. ok. up next, "the new york times" has called him a one-man comic institution. legendary comedian and sitcom director david steinberg will join us to discuss his new series where he goes one-on-one with the biggest comics in the business. keep it right here on "morning joe." [ jennifer garner ] there's a lot of beautiful makeup out there.

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i didn't like working with, you know, the mic, just standing

with the mic, because i was trained at julliard. so i had the idea that i could speak loud enough that you could hear me. right now the sound guy is going [ bleep ]. but the idea of getting off the stage and projecting made people go, oh. almost it makes fun of the training i got at julliard, but at the same time really enunciate for no reason. so good to say foreskin in ibamic. bring forth, what is your name? bring him not here, cunning linguist. >> oh, my gosh, where to begin with even just that. that was a clip of "inside comedy," showtime's newa documentary series that goes one-on-one with some of today's greatest comics. joining us now is the host and executive producer, renowned comedian and director david steinberg. that looks like it's going to be a riot to watch. >> it's so much fun. it is so much fun. it's interesting who's paired -- like robin williams' mentor is

jonathan winters. so it's not like they are together, but robin will do a little bit of a segment, and then i go to jonathan winters, who talks about robin and robin talks about jonathan winters. >> oh, god. i'm not sure if i'm going to be exhausted. >> no, no, it's not -- i'm not the fast, cunning kind of director. no, no. >> that's great. >> you'll hear a lot of it. >> you'll have ellen degeneres, chris rock, jerry seinfeld. it just goes on and on. >> steve cakoule steve >> steve care el and are executive producing it. and we didn't want a pe dantic talk. we wanted it to be funny, which it is. and then when we looked at it, we thought, well, we're going to have two minutes of mel brooks and three minutes of larry david. so steve said, let's do this as a series. and we put it together as a half

hour and did 10 of them. >> fantastic. >> when did you know or realize that you were funny? >> well, i'm from winnipeg. >> that's funny. >> yeah. so you have to be funny in winnipeg. it's 40 below. and it's tough. and, you know, my -- i guess my parents came there in the '30s from russia. and the jewish agency in halifax said, how can we find a place more hellish than where they have come from? [ laughter ] >> so i ended up in winnipeg, which is 40 below, just like what they had. going home again. but i got a lot of material out of canada. my dad was very prejudiced. i say about him he never lived to see his dream of an all yiddish speaking canada. so there was material there. >> i've got to ask you now that you bring up canada, i have a list in front of me of canadian candidates.

mike myers, howie mandel, norm mcdonald, lorne michaels, by the way. >> yes, yes. >> what is it about canada? what is the deal with canada? i mean -- >> well, i'll tell you what's interesting about it, is when you are sort of on the -- when you get a culture coming from another country, and you're on the outside of it, but yet you're in touch with it, so you become sort of like an outsider and then you get to become an insider, that's a great source for comedy. you've got a little bit of distance, and yet you're a part of it. i don't know if that theory is accurate. but these guys are -- you just named just very, very funny people. >> amazing. >> the other thing is you can fail in canada easier than you can in the states, and you have to fail to be good at comedy. >> so the other question, one more question, there's this idea that you sort of have to be

miserable and self loathing to be a great comic. we have a quote from you where you say if you've had a great childhood, happy marriage, financially successful, you're a lousy comedian. not always true. how do you explain a guy like jerry seinfeld who is sort of a happy comedian? >> no, on the not true. and none of my theories hold water, just to point that out. i'm a sociologist. i'm a comedian. so i just made that up. but there are -- well, you know, you go back to lenny bruce and richard prior, and you do see there is sort of a paradigm for it. but, no, jerry seinfeld changed comedy in that before jerry, if you did standup comedy, you weren't like a welcome guest at anyone's house. you know what i mean? you were a comedian. it was a weird thing to be. once it became corporate because of "seinfeld" and people started to make a lot of money, then a

comedian, you know, like to jews, it was like being a doctor. it was a big thing. >> that is so funny. went corporate. quick, i want to ask about johnny carson. >> that's what i was going to ask. pbs has a johnny carson special coming out in may to mark the 50th anniversary of when he took over the show from jack paar. you were on that show 140 times or something. >> amazing. >> so even today, taking nothing away from the late night guys now, carson was special, right? >> yeah. >> they would all admit that if they were here. what made carson so special? >> mike and i were just talking about it. and i think one of the things that made him special is that when he liked you, you had a career the next day. he -- my term for it was he made -- he created the culture. he the culture. so his taste mattered. in a way that doesn't -- i mean, jon stewart is great and so is leno, they're good at what they

do. but it isn't like what it was with -- when i started in this building with carson, there were three networks, i would do the show and i would walk down the street, it was unimaginable, everyone had seen that show. when i was directing seinfeld, we talked about that a lot. he says he remembers me from that show and seeing me. i said, well, you've got 40 million people, that much more. he says, yeah, but i bet you don't feel like it carson. he was a great listener and discreet. he loved to laugh and he was just the best at this. >> we actually have a clutch of you from one of your 140 appearances, we had a few to pick from, here it is. >> tons of stories about groucho, because i was writing

something for a play as a matter of fact, i was sitting with him in the brown derby once, and a priest came up, and he brought his eyes over to groucho, he truly was in awe of groucho, he said mr. marx, i want to thank you for being -- >> you haven't changed, what year was that? >> judging from my gray hair, i actually don't even know because i did the show from 1968 until his last show on the air. so i don't even remember when that would be. that must have been early '80s. >> my goodness. >> watching that and hearing you talk about how johnny carson was a great listener, the art of listening during the course of putting this series together, did you find it difficult not to

interrupt robin williams or something like that and say -- >> they were friends of mine so they knew i had a lot to say, at first i held back too much a. i must say when i added to the show, i took most of me out because i israeli just wanted to present them. so you get a little bit of my point of view. >> i have a which that may be difficult for you to answer. who's the funniest man you ever met? funniest man you ever met? >> i must say groucho was up there, because he was fearless. >> funniest woman? >> i worked with lily tomlin

early on, she's very funny. and ellen degeneres. marty short was on a 24 hours level, he's funny in every way. he does the most devastating impression of me. it's the most embarrassing thing for me. >> i kind of imagine. >> should we sing "oh, canada"? >> the -- david steinberg, thank you so much. you're watching "morning joe," brewed by starbucks. pull on those gardening gloves. grab the nearest spade. and let's see how colorful an afternoon can be. with certified advise to help us expand our palette... ...and prices that give us more spring per dollar...

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on tomorrow's program, we'll talk to tavis smiley and cornel west. also from the hbo series that's getting huge political acclaim, julia louie dreyfuss. >> there's more work to do to catch the president in last one important area. we'll show you those numbers next "morning joe." u are a busi. monarch of marketing analysis.

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t there. - one serving of cheese is the size of four dice. one serving of cereal, a baseball. and one serving of fruit, a tennis ball. - you know, both parties agree. our kids can be healthier... the more you know. good morning, it's 8:00 on the east coast as you take a live look at new york city. welcome back to "morning joe," back with us on set, we still have mike barnicle, john halman's here and mark mckean from washington. a new poll out this week shows mitt romney's numbers on the rise, now that he essentially locked up the republican

nomination. according to a cnn opinion research group poll, 44% now have a favorable view of the massachusetts governor, that's up ten points from february. >> cnn had the cameras on when mitt romney ran into the burning building and pulled out 14 orphans, and dusted them off. >> that was corey booker. >> by the way, nothing has happened that has anything to show that these polls are meaningless or the american public has the attention span of a gnat. >> the same poll shows president obama's approval rating at 49% versus 48% who disappear. the poll also compared the president and the former governor on some key traits. the most likable, president

obama leads romney by 27 points. he's had 59% to 27%. t t >> the president is up 12%. when asked who's most in touch with women's issues, 55% said president obama, 27% shows romney. but the poll shows a statistical tie on who's more likely to get the economy moving. and who do you think will win in 201 . >> -- >> why he's such a great guy and this race is essentially,

deadlocked? >> i hate to undercut the entire basis of our show, but one day our poll shows one thing and then new polls are showing, so it's a -- >> willie, i'm sorry, the gallup daily tracking poll has come out and there it is, willie, mike barnic barnicle. >> it's a run away. >> the race is over. so mitt romney, so mitt romney is up by five points in this gallup poll. >> but the likability, while they may disagree with some of these policies, the american people do generally like president obama, think he's a good mooan, a good guy. >> this is a center right country and going back 40 years,

polls show year after year that by a two to one margin, americans consider themselves to be more conservative than liberal. >> i don't care what these polls show, this is a three-point election, when we get into the middle of october -- >> give me a time the rangers and the red sox get together, you know you're going to the ninth inning not know what's going to happen. we had no idea whether the sox were going to win or lose last night. even though they were 15-3 in the eight inning. >> what's going to matter at the end of the day is that economic number and as long as romney keeps it close, it will be a jump ball. >> who do you want to have the beer with? >> the beer theory is a good one, but you want to make sure

that the economy is stable enough so that you can afford a beer. >> as they have in brooklyn, this mack theory. >> i'm not going to get into that. i'll say, if you look at these polls and you have had a bunch of these polls, that's the worst numbers i see from romney in the last several days. when you think about what he's just been through for the last six months, you think about all the bruises he's taken, the way he's been saddled with all these images. if i were him, if i was still within single digits of the president, i would be perfectly happy if i was romney. i'm only single digits back? i've got a lot of time here. >> your basketball team being down by seven points at half time, despite the fact that they

shot 40% from the field. >> for the last year, all the attention's been on him for a year. there's no attention on the obama side of this matchup. so we'll see what happens in the next six months. >> can i stop for a second? this is the second time it's happened, and i thought we had a rule around here that nobody interrupted anybody, but you've interrupted poor willie twice now. >> really? >> there was another poll, that showed he was down 56%. so you have to get to those two core constituencies or it's game over. but women and latinos have got some ground to make up. >> i want to get to the citigroup story, but we have got

one more story as it pertains to romney. he's underscoring the importance of readiness as a key trait. take a look. >> the one quality that comes to mind immediately is that you want someone who without question could lead the country as president if that were necessary. i think all the political considerations pale in comparison with the consideration of who has the capacity to lead america at a critical time. i hope that as president, that would never occur, but that has to be the key question. >> it's got to be like a really deep, thoughtful question. >> mark, you're a fashion guy, right? why is romney this year -- why does he put the brill cream in his hair? >> i think you ought to speak for yourself. >> just take the brief out of the hair. >> keep the product out.

>> okay, idiots, let's move on. >> don't touch my hair. what would serve as a wakeup call on wall street, citigroup has issued a scathing rejection of it's -- this is the first time that stockholders have rallied against a compensation plan for executives at a major financial institution. it sends a powerful me-- >> citi is a colossal mess. it's a train wreck, they

shouldn't pay this guy $15? too big to fail, dad? look at citi. >> they get a chance to get a look at howard their entire corporation. it's shameful. and in the year of the 1%, the conversation we were having yesterday about whether or not it matters, i think these issues do matter to people. >> back in america in the '50s and the '60s and the '70s when america was exploding and we had remarkable corporate leaders, ceos for gm, for ibm, for kpexe, they went sending people out to

the unemployment lines. they got a couple of million dollars and they were paid well and they were respected by the people who work for them. >> when did these pay tracks go right all the trolly track? was it ten years ago? 15 years ago? but the explosion in this executive pay, no wonder these shareholders when they have these shareholder meetings get frustrated. 12k3 >> citigroup, that is a train wreck. citigroup's bottom line is disgusting, it should be chopped up into a million pieces and actually forced to deal with capitalism and market forces that it hasn't had to deal with

for some time. and i know a lot of people at citi that aren't going to talk to me anymore. >> i have a chart that shows the difference between perception and really and the income gap. the ceos would make $107 for -- >> what's the source of this by the way, other than the bush re-election. >> it's the institute for policy studies and the afl-cio had this on their website regularly. george bush cut that in half. it's gone up 26 points under president obama. beyond what it is under president bush. so the income gap is going up and george bush cut it in half from bill clinton.

>> none of the presidents had anything to do with any of this. look at that chart, the chart is a track of the stock market. ceo compensation is tieded la e largely to stock performance. look at that, it goes up as the nasdaq rose in the tech boom, when the nasdaq crashed in 2002, that's where it jumped off the cliff. if you want to say that george w. bush cut it in half, it wasn't the policy of george w. bush, it was the tech crash, you see the market goes back up, you see it falls, and you see it rise again under obama as the market's going up. >> what say you? >> the people have said that it went up under president bush and it didn't, it went down. >> because the market failed in 2002. what policies are talking about president bush cut it as if he

had somehow he had policies that were against greed in the corporate ranks. >> i was just saying don't blame president bush for the income gap. >> so, john, let's follow up on this, and obviously, ceo -- the ceo ratio should work, if they didn't go up under george w. bush. but here's my question. when is the media, when are americans going to get their arms around the fact that there is a growing disparity between the richest and the poorest of not only americans, but also people in the west for reasons other than just pure politics or the policies of bill clinton, george w. bush. it has to do with technology, it has to do with it revolution, it has to do with the fact that you don't have bank tellers anymore.

it has to do with the in fact you don't have 20 people in dry-cleaners. because until we get our arms around this fact and stop trying to point to a republican president or a democratic president, we're not going to understand this is a trend that goes back to the early '70s. >> probably to mark's chart, it's a little bit -- it also kind of confuses the matter because it talks about ceos and doesn't talk about the income gap. the income gap, income and equality has grown for the last 30 years under all presidents. for exactly the reason you just said. ceos are a different case. they're part of the problem, but their compensation is so linked to the stock market. but it's being driven by technology, and it's an increasing -- the smarter you are, the better educated you are the more none you make. we're seeing these things, these are big forces, the information

revolution, presidents do not control them, you can do things, they're still in an argument for tax fairness. you can make that argument. but you're not going to fix the title, you're not going to change the tidal forces of the global economy by moving the tax rate from 35% to 39%. >> you can say i'm trying to do something to make this more fair, but this goes back to the post war world, a lot of soldiers came home after world war ii, they fill up factories, union membership goes up 45%. and it continues to grow until we start driving around upstate new york in the early 1970s and we realize that the steel factories are moving to japan, that the car manufacturers are moving to japan. that we start losing these jobs and that was like in '71, that's when it began.

this has nothing to do with the bush tax cuts, this has nothing to do with what bill clinton did in 1999. this has everything to do -- i love what you said, the tidal forces globally that we have got to tame. >> that sweep of history that you just referenced, i mean after world war ii, this was literally a different country there. you had the intrastate highway program, it created suburbs, it created growth, it created jobs. but something happened in this country in the '90s and the dotcom boom, my own personal opinion played a pivotal role in the explosion of executive pay in this country. people made literally hundreds of millions of dollars creating nothing. >> coming up next, "time" magazine reveals it's 100 most influential people in the world. joe was on it last year. >> am i going to be on it this

year? >> no, you only get it once and that was by the skin of your teeth so just be quiet. also renowned pri eed priamt jane goodall will be here. >> this is a week that we haven't had a lot of active weather, this upcoming weekend, more active weather, this time in the east coast. let's take you through any trouble spots this morning, light rain heading for washington, d.c., as we go through the tail end of our rush hour. very light rain, is not going to cause too many problems. so as far as the forecast for today goes, we have got the showers and storms for the southeast and we may have a stray thunderstorm late today,

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23 past the hour, joining us now, the new list of times most influential people. this is always a fun issue. joe is a list person, he's been on this list, there, i'll say it so you don't have to. >> last year. >> joe's a really big deal. he really is. >> she's channeling anchor man. >> give us some new names on here. >> you can rely on me to give the names? >> i've got them. all right, should we just go

down from the top. pippa middleton. >> they're the undianas, they're the nondrama princesses, they have taught the british -- indicate was on last year, but now kate and pippa are on there. >> she grabbed the world's attention at that wedding. >> yes, she did. >> okay, president obama, mitt romney, ron paul, hillary clinton. >> of course. >> you would expect to be on the list. marco rubio on the list. >> we did that cover about the latino voter. the latino voter will increasingly become the most important voter in presidential campaigns and elections and he's the defacto leader of the latinos. that's what you'll need to

succeed and he could be mitt romney's vice presidential nominee. >> and tim tebow, you would expect nothing less. >> jeremy lindh wrote the piece about tim tebow. and it's a lovely piece and he talks about how tebow main streamed the idea about having religious thought of the sport. >> arnie duncan wrote about jeremy lindh. >> my favorite woman, the woman who invented spanx. >> and there's a picture of her wearing spanx. >> hold on, let me see this. >> oh, my lord, good for her. >> the irony of course is that she doesn't need spanx. >> nobody needs spanx. >> speak for yourself. >> what is the process of selecting the people to write about the people?

paul vote e volker writes the p about it. >>. >> paul volker is a giant. anybody would like to be written about by paul volker. >> this is an interesting page. kristin wig who we absolutely love is on your list. as well as if we go up, you will see anthony kennedy on the list. perhaps the single most powerful man right now. >> that's the first sentence and he is the person who will decide so many issues for us in the coming years as a swing voter on the supreme court. and somebody who is a swing vote who's not actually a predictable one, we don't know which way he will go on certain thing. >> we're surprised that harvey winestein made this list, and

his pal johnny depp wrote about him. >> he picks the films and develops the films that we talk about. >> he's an old fashion cynic. >> olt affidavit pairings are ---a lot of the pairings are made on the "morning joe" set. >> go ahead, willie. >> on the list of icons, you've got our friends matt lauer, but what i'm more interested in is the choice of man who wrote this piece and why a threesome comes up? >> what? i don't understand. >> i think what you need is a

dramatic reading of the howard stern. >> howard stern wrote it. >> we all wondered whether it was over, he's losing his hair? the strength was still there, perhaps stronger still, crashing pillars to effort in class and charm. matt lauer, the anti-simpson, going up against pretty guys and girls, the hairy people. i'm going to stop. >> where's the punch line, willie? what's the punch line? is there something there about the threesome? >> she'll start laughing. just stop. she'll start laughing a couple of months from now. obviously one of the most powerful women in the world. >> love her. >> she is now that kind of

backstop for economies in europe and around the world, someone who's a truth teller about the spendthrift ways and the risks that bankers and countries have taken and, you know, the more influence and power she has, the better for the world economy. >> we have john meecham and cardinal dolan. >> that is a glaet picture. >> what about steve kolber? that's got to be great. >> a member of the time family, a great journalist from new orleans, a great reporter, but more importantly this past year, a great biographer who brought this story of really the most -- one of the most influential men of our time.

he wrote a book about steve jobs, steve jobs' biography, with steve's cooperation, which is by far the book of the year and the talk of the year. that book is influential and people are looking at it in terms of how you lead industries, how you innovate and people are still talking about it. >> just so you can be blessed on conservative web seitsitewebsit the head of planned parenthood. >> center stage here, many, many, main stream women see them as defending birth rights and women's rights to choose and, you know, and i think she stood up in ways that people admire. >> and you say it's -- she leads

women in unfettered access to health care and reproductive freedom. talk about this list. just in general. and go back to your founders theory on history because i think it's so important. >> it stems from this idea that names make news, that men and women make history, it's not history that make the men and women. by choosing individuals who a a changing the world. that's playing up the very idea, the dna of time, to tell -- there are lots of famous people on it, but there are people in afghanistan and pakistan and here in the u.s. that you wouldn't know about.

>> do you subscribe to the belief that big men and women shape history? >> i do and i think it's also the best way to tell stories. i think, you know, i think cometh the moment, cometh the man. but then you have to talk about that person. that tease way we look at it. >> the new time issue is the world's 100 most influential people. jane good all joins us next. keep it right here on "morning joe."

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a million trees in this forrest and you have to play over me. i'm sleeping. i'm still sleeping. >> i'm going to love this. that's great. that was a clip from disney nature's chimpanzee, a true life

adventure that follows the life of a chimpanzee in this family in the forests. this looks fantastic. it looks just like a joy, completely from beginning to end. is that the point of it or is there much more of a message? >> people want to be entertained and this is a really entertaining movie. one thing by chimpanzees is they're totally an engaging animal. and it's just a wonderful movie, centering around this little guy who we start following his life when he's six weeks old and follow him for three years and he has some real adventures along the way. >> and jane, what are you hoping this movie will bring about in terms of awareness. >> i'm not going to be hoping, i

am absolutely certain that this will raise a lot more awareness and open up the world of the chimpanzees. this one is very special because it's a story and it was an incredible story that you could haven't planned. you could not have planned this. >> we write a 60 page classic hollywood script. disney wanted a script. i said this is what's going to happen and it was a great story on paper, of course the chimpanzees never read the script so we threw that one away. and what actually happened was extremely -- we thought the film was over, these nature movies have to have happy endings and we thought we were in real trouble. and then something completely unbelievable happened. the scientists that have been working on these chimpanzees, you have to see the movie to see

what did happen. but it saved his life. >> talk about the degree of difficulty, you mentioned three, 3 1/2 years inin -- >> the chimpanzees live in the rain forest, it's a very dark place, chimpanzees is a dark animal. there's 100% humidity, and lots of creepy crawlies wanting to eat you. chimpanzees -- they said if they got one single shot, just a single shot, a few seconds in a day they were pleased. that's why it took us 3 1/2 years, over 700 days in the field to film a 90-minute movie. >> i can say i have crawled

through the undergrowth and met the -- but i wasn't carrying heavy cameras, heavy -- i just have huge admiration for that team. >> jane, you've given obviously your life to these chimpanzees to raising awareness about them to being around them. in 2012, is the chimpanzee better off in the world than it was when you began? >> no. i'm afraid to say that the numbers have plummeted. when i began, there really wasn't a threat to the ch chimpanz chimpanzee. and gradually, that has been nibbleded at by encroaching human populations, ever growing and there's been habitat destruction and the bush meat trade is the commercial hunting of wild animals for food and

that escalated. so from well over a million, maximum today, 300,000 and many of them in tiny isolated fragments of forest with no real hope of surviving in the future? >> what can we do to reverse that trend. >> what we're doing, the jane goodall -- we're trying to help the government enforce their own laws. the only way we can save the forest is by working with the villagers living around and helping to improve their lives in an environmentally sustainable way. that's what the jane goodall institute is, kind of a program to help people. >> if you watch the movie in the

first week, disney nature are giving a proportion of your ticket sales to the jane goodall institute to fund the fantastic work that jane and her team does. >> and it looks like it's a good family movie. >> it's a fantastic family, but i think it's going to work for all ages. >> i can't wait. chim b chimpanzee will be -- the jane goodall institute, thank you very much. >> thank you. >> business before the bell is next on "morning joe." you're going to give me a chimp song? >> i'm going to see if you remember a proper chimpanzee greeting.

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46 past the hour, time now to get a check on business before the bell, with cnbc's brian sullivan, how are you doing, brian? >> i'm doing all right, we got a little tough news this morning, obviously warren buffett saying last night in a letter to shareholders that he has been diagnosed with stage 1 prostate cancer. his prognosis is good, he said he feels great. the only thing this is going to impact is his summer travel schedule because he's got to get treatments. stage 1 prostate cancer which we

have heard a lot about in the last 24 hours, it's news that nobody likes to hear, particularly him or his family, but he's optimistic as usual and you know, let's wish warren buffett and his family some of the best in this fight? >> and how are we looking in terms of markets today? >> mortgage applications jump, really it's all going to come down to corporate earnings. it's a huge part of "morning joe," so we'll jump in every three minutes with the latest news. >> brian, what do you think the reaction is on the shareholder semi revolt against corporate pay? >> it's the first time we have seen shareholders collectively slap down really a board. it might pore tend, and i don't think i have ever used that word on live tv before. it might portend some more shareholder activism, which could be a good thing. citigroup had this pay package

planned for its top executives, which shareholders found a little bit too generous and they said no thanks and smacked it down. citigroup investors reject pay plan. i wrote a piece on cnbc.com it's on the front page on why the gop pass the buffett rule. should pass the buffett rule. i wrote it last night. >> why should they? >> why, why, why? i think they should, so continue. >> because it's petty cash. at best, it will raise 3% to 5 a%, but yet it's occupying 90% of its political dialogue. the government will get a little bit more cash, it is petty cash, we have got bigger problems to fight over. the gop is backing into a corner, they're unable now to get anything done because the president slammed them at every turn. somebody's got to give

somewhere, it's a good place to start, gop, pass it, let's move on, we have got hundreds of billions of dollars of other problems, deficit, obesity, we have got a lot of things to fight. this is not a place to make a standard, pass the buffett rule. move on. >> he's saying if they're smart the gop will take this issue off the table for obama. we're only talk about 0.08% of filers. >> i portend some unusual e-mails, but i portend i will be okay. >> i portend that too. there's absolutely something not right about you. brian sullivan, we'll be right back. >> we call him the great portender. [ male announcer ] when a major hospital

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president obama, he's been struggling a bit to find a new campaign slogan for 2012, something as believable as change you can believe in. romney is trying ow campaign slogans and he's having mixed results. >> i'm offer a real choice, a new beginning, we believe in

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i get my cancer medications through the mail. now washington, they're looking at shutting down post offices coast to coast. closing plants is not the answer. they want to cut 100,000 jobs. it's gonna cost us more, and the service is gonna be less. we could lose clientele because of increased mailing times. the ripple effect is going to be devastating.

congress created the problem. and if our legislators get on the ball, they can make the right decisions. welcome back to the show. we have learned so much, i don't know where to start. i'll start with mike barnicle. what have you learned? >> i learned that i'm going to go home and be in the band. >> our thought and prayers are with levon and his family. what did you learn today, john? >> i learned that everybody has the proper admiration and respect for levon and the band. and jane goodall's still getting it done with those chimpanzees? >> i learned david steinberg still might be the funniest guy. he's got stories about signfeld,

larry david, johnny carson. >> what did you learn? >> i learned that it's time to wrap it up. just go ahead and do the ending here. i actually am done. >> why are you done? >> i'm done, it's time to wrap up the show. i don't want to hear your voices anymore. i'm serious. i've got a -- >> is that a show? >> that's a great show. >> thank god neither i or his mother have never heard him doing it. >> it's like fingernails on a chalk board at this point. i have had enough for quite some time, actually. >> it's way too early. >> good luck, chimpanzee movie, take the kids. it's going to be a great movie. chuck todd, take it away, we'll see you tomorrow. thank you, william. i feel your pain, president obama and mitt romney,