so why do banks do it ? hello ? hello ?! if your bank doesn't let you talk to a real person 24/7, you need an ally. hello ? ally bank. no nonsense. just people sense. littlo, it is high noon here in the east, 9:00 a.m. in the west, welcome to "weekends with alex witt." here are the first five stories trending on the web. the secret service sex scandal. the french election, interesting twists. a perfect game. watergate figure dies. and iran drone copy. we'll bring you those stories. but first -- right now, a warning from the national weather service, a major storm sweeping up the east coast. bringing a potentially dangerous mix of snow -- you heard it -- snow, heavy rains and strong

winds. and it may last until mid-week. meteorologist maria larosa from the weather channel has more on what we can expect. maria, hello. >> good day to you, alex. yeah this is going to be a very high-impact storm. so many levels, whether it's the rain and the wind and eventually for some of us, it will be the snow. let's start with the wind. i'll show you how that's going to be driving the rain and the moisture off the atlantic. and you can see the timing, how the heaviest rain will be pushing into philadelphia, new york, on into new york state. after midnight, towards tomorrow morning, you'll notice the snow beginning to expand. this our clipper system beginning to come in and supply the cold air and the snow could be coming down at one to two inches an hour in places like johnstown, up into buffalo as well. that snow continues to fall through monday afternoon as the rain ends from philadelphia to new york and into boston. by monday evening, still snowinç potentially from pittsburgh into buffalo. and even on into the overnight tuesday. you'll still have an occasional

snowshower this is high impact and we're very concerned about the heavy wet snow and what that's going to do to the power lines and the trees. the forecast right now calling to four to six inches in pittsburgh, but johnstown, bradford, could end up with as much as a foot to a foot and a half of snow. that will make driving treacherous and of course, we're going to have to keep an eye on what it does, along with the winds, to the power lines and trees, even into the higher elevations of west virginia. you're looking at 12 to 18 inches in places like elkins. another big factor to affect a lot of us, the high winds, talking gusts approaching 50 miles per hour lieu the day on monday, from new york on into portland, even on into pittsburgh. the winds will stay high through the evening hours. alex, this is going to be a very high-impact storm over the next 24-48 hours. back to you. >> thank you very much for the heads up, maria. for more on the storm and the weather where you are, you can head to where else, weather.com. new word from florida on george zimmerman's bail prospects. his family is apparently struggling to fund his $150,000

bond. meanwhile, zimmerman's lawyer worries about his client's safety after he's released from jail. nbc's kerry sanders has more. how soon could zimmerman leave jail? >> well, i'm out here in front of the court complex and the jail complex here and it's possible it could all go together today. the attorney, mark o'mara has suggested it could go as late as mid-week before his client is released from jail here. and once he is released, as you said, what he's looking for is a sense of privacy,ç they'd likeo put george zimmerman in some sense of hiding. and it likely will be outside of the state of florida. where he's charged with second-degree murder. alex? >> let's talk about the ankle monitor. why is that not ready yet? what's the hold-up? do you anything about it? >> reporter: i do, it's a routine piece of equipment they've used here for some time. but in this particular case, they're doing some double and triple checks to make sure it

can't be hacked. when i say hacked, i don't mean by the person wearing it, george zimmerman. but rather, those from the outside, who may be able to get into the computer system and then locate where george zimmerman is. as you know, there have been some people who have made death threats against george zimmerman and they want to make sure that all of those firewalls and other standards are put in place to prevent anybody from finding his location. >> yeah, that makes sense. nbc's kerry sanders, thanks. new word today on the sex scandal rocking the secret service agency. more fallout is expected soon. that is what those with knowledge of the investigation are saying. but so far, six secret service employees have separated from the agency after an incident allegedly involving prostitutes at a colombia hotel. nbc's mike viquiera joins us with more. what have we learned today? >> reporter: well more fallout and more departures are expected. now peter king, the chairman of the house homeland security committee, he's a republican from the long island area, he has oversight over many

government agencies under that homeland security umbrella. and of course, the secret service is one of those. he was on "meet the press" earlier today. there are 12 people, 12 members of the secret service all told who have been investigated, 11 members of the military. also under this nóestigation. as you reported, alex, six members of the secret service have already departed from the agency in one form or another. but peter king says there are more to come. let's listen. >> i would expect within a very near future, to have several other secret service agents leaving the agency. of those 11. and that you know, one other person has been added on. so director sulsullivan, from t moment this broke, has moved effectively. and the investigation is going full speed ahead. >> reporter: peter king was on "meet the press" today with darrell issa, a chairman of another committee in the house of representatives, another republican on the oversight committee. both he and king say it's not just the con sorting with prostitutes they have a problem with. issa called that awful and

salacious. but it's the possible compromising of security that raises a lot of concerns for them. and peter king has just released a letter that he is sending to mark sullivan, several dozen questions really, he wants answered from the administration. and mark sullivan, the secret service. among them, were any members of the executive office of the president involved in this alleged incident? and how many incidents pertaining to solicitation of prostitutes by the secret service, i'm paraphrasing here, have occurred? how many investigations over the past five years? so they're going to be digging, there are more hearings scheduled on the senate side that were announced today as well. alex? >> a lot of questions being asked, thank you very much. to front-page politics and new today, president obama' senior adviser hitting mitt romney on the number one issue for voters -- the economy. >> this is the same case he made in the state of massachusetts. he said i'm going to get the economy moving again. i'm a business man. i know how to create jobs. they went from 37th in theç nation in job creation, do 47th in the nation in job creation. we've tested the romney acumen

when it comes to creating jobs and he's been found wanting. >> the other big headline today, potential gop vice presidential pick, marco rubio, throwing his support for the vp job to the former florida governor. >> jeb bush, your meantor and colleague, says he really hopes that if mitt romney asks you to become vice president, that you'll say yes. >> i hope jeb will say yes. if future president romney asks him. >> he indicated he would look at it. >> that's good, because i think he would be a fantastic vice president. >> and guess what, we're still counting delegates for the gop nominati nomination, in case you have forgotten with all the talk of mitt romney finally being the presumptive nominee. in fact, romney won half of the 24 delegates at stake in missouri's regional republican conventions on saturday. a new gallup poll shows mitt romney leading president obama by one point nationally within the poll's margin of error. meanwhile, president obama will

visit some key swing states this week. he's going to speak at universities in north carolina, iowa and colorado. acting on student loans. and joining me now, politics staff writer for "roll call" shira it up9ñuáó and cnbc political correspondent john harwood. good day to both of you. good to see you. john i'll reach out to you first, mitt romney is beating president obama in the economy issue in the new nbc news/"wall street journal" poll, 40% say that romney has better ideas to improve the economy compared to the president's, being ç34%. what's your read inside the white house and the level of concern at this point on that issue? >> big concern. it's the number one issue in the campaign. it's why president obama dearly hopes to continue the record of private-sector job creation we've had in recent months, although last month was disappointing. gas prices have clearly had some effect. although they're starting to come down. i think the administration is highly sensitive to the fact

that changes in economic performance between now and november are going to determine how they evaluate him and how they evaluate him alongside mitt romney. he does have advantages, alex, as we saw in the nbc/"wall street journal" poll, he trails mitt romney on who has the best ideas on the economy. he had a similar margin, 40-34 on who shares your positions on the issues more closely. and his biggest advantage was on likeability on the 3-1 edge. mitt romney has time to work on that dimension. >> sharon, i know you've been in pennsylvania ahead of the gop primary tuesday. what's the mood of the people there? and do you think it's all about pocketbook issues? >> i think it's mostly about pocketbook issues. when i was there last week for about five days, i went from the western part of the state to the eastern part of the state. voters were optimistic, but cautiously so. i think they're still frustrated with the economy, they've seen signs of life in the economy, parts coming back. western pennsylvania, for

example, southwestern pennsylvania, the population grew there for the first time in a very long time. they're saying these little tidbits of hope coming back day after day. it's not the roaring economy they once experienced in the early 2000s or even in the decades before that. >> okay. john, i want to have you listen to what mitt romney said onç friday while in arizona about president obama's senior adviser. >> i don't know whether you heard david axelrod, the other day, on sunday, i don't have the exact quote here, but he said something to the effect of, we got to get off the economic road we're on and take a new direction. i could not agree more. >> okay. now i'm going to read to you exactly what was said. this was said by david axelrod. the choice and selection is between an economy that produces a growing middle class and that gives people a chance to get ahead. and their kids a chance to get ahead. and an economy that continues down the road we are on. so, how do you interpret what axelrod said there, john? was it any sort of a

misstatement? >> no, not at all. but of course, mitt romney, just like barack obama, will take any statement made by the other side, that provides some opening of interpretation, and run with it. what david axelrod was saying, what barack obama has been arguing since he ran in 2008 is that we have an economy that's been rewarding people at the top and failing those in the middle and low ends of the spectrum. we've got to change that with different policies on education, and taxation, different ways to provide incentives for growth and for economic benefit down the income chain. he's trying to say that mitt romney stands for the politics and the economic arrangements that we have been living through for the last 20 years or so. that have created rising income inequality. mitt romney has his own story to tell. but each side is going to take statements about the path that we're on and finding a better path, and trying to use those as wedge issues. >> hey, shira,ç what about the republican veep buzz, growing

lately. we had florida senator marco rubio saying jeb bush would be a fantastic pick. and jeb bush saying i'm not interested, not going to happen. of course sometimes people say that and turn out being the nominee. is any clear front-runner? >> i think marco rubio is a clear front-runner. i don't care what they're all saying now about not being interested, don't believe them. i think when the nominee calls and tries to talk them up about it and lots of other very big-name republicans start calling and ringing their phone and saying hey, you should be interested, it's pretty easy to change your mind when that kind of thing happens. that said, i think marco rubio, at least a 50% chance in my mind that he will be on the ticket. >> how about you, jon? >> i agree with shira, that you can't take people seriously when they say they're not going to do it with some exceptions. when marco rubio says i hope jeb bush is selected, i think marco rubio is a prime candidate for this. i think there are others, you look at rob portman of ohio,

very solid, well-liked, well-respected senator from a crucial swing state. mitch daniels, very well-respected governor from indiana is another possibility. i think bob mcdonald, the governor of virginia, newer-faced, less experienced, but somebody in a swing state who has some of the personal characteristics that he appears solid. he appears steady. none of those people would be mistaken for sarah palin and the frailties that she showed in 2008. i think that's why some of those are among the leading contenders. >> it's interesting to me, the rob portman character, if you look at what larry sabateaux, at the uva center for2politics, they said he's at the top of their list. and now -- >> you look at the quinnipiac poll and he's at the bottom of that list, only getting 8% and we have marco rubio, second to christie. it's all a game right now until we figure out who is nominated. but it's fun. thanks, guys, appreciate your time so much. why should you care about

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attorneys for both sides in the george zimmerman case are developing their strategies while he sits waiting in jail. he's waiting, because so far the family has not been able to come up with the $15,000 they need to bond him out. let's bring in our panel. criminal defense attorney, jonah spillbore. can you explain why this is so difficult, gary, can't you just

go get a bondsman to help him out? how does this work? >> i think there are several layers going on here. one is the monetary issue, which if you take it into consideration, his father is a former judge, they're both unemployed, maybe there's some issues on raising the $15,000, which they will go to a bondsman with and the bondsman would cover them. maybe there's an increase in cost because of the nature of the case. because he's looking to hide or not easily to be found out of state, he may, it may take longer for the, the gps system to be properly prepared. i also understand there's a security issue with the gps, if other people can hack into it. so these things may all be causing a delay. >> what would be your advice to him? as a defense attorney, what do you do when youç get out of ja if you're george zimmerman? do you get out of state? and does that provide any level of security for him, safety? >> well hopefully, that's probably going to provide the highest level of security. he's got to get out of dodge, really. and don't forget, even though he's going to be released, he's

on electronic monitoring with a curfew, so wherever he goes, he's got to be indoors at 7:00 at night. it will make it easier for him to communicate with his attorney, he should go in hiding because the public has it out for this guy. and we, we have not seen the facts unfold yesterday. but there's a bull's eye on him. >> i want to get to what happened at the hearing, which is interesting. when zimmerman was asked, hey look what happened when the prosecutor was talking. he said i don't remember what happened when police asked him about the inconsistencies in his story. how does that play out? i mean can this be used against him down the road? >> i think it will be i don't think there's any way it couldn't be used by a prosecutor. and in some way. i am sure the defense did not want to get into the nitty-gritty of what happened. you know, the bond hearing was sort of a mini trial. zimmerman did get a chance to get up there and make a self-serving apology, what's been described as. in addition he said he didn't know the gentleman had a gun.

he didn't know how old he was. i think the prosecutor will use to a certain extent the idea, you completely didn't remember before, but now you remember, if he takes the stand again? i think he has actually gotten some benefit from this mini trial and i think the defense did a good job of getting some facts out there. >> it was a huge benefit. i think george zimmerman and his defense team did a fantastic job at the bond hearing. they got into areas that nobody expected. nobody expected george zimmerman it take the stand and apologize. >>ç and the defense attorney poked holes in the affidavit that talked about whether zimmerman had profiled and confronted. >> it was almost, the defense painted a picture of the lead investor that the lead investigator filled in blanks with his own conclusions that were unsupported by the evidence. and that was brilliant. >> but here's a problem with the police, gary and how this all handled. because they have or at least testimony has suggested at the hearing, that they didn't truly believe zimmerman's story at the time when they confronted him. i mean, talk about dropping the ball. you let someone like that go to

begin with? >> sure. and it's troubling to understand that they thought there was inconsistencies, with his testimony concerning the confrontation aspect. how is it that he felt afraid. although the suggestion that he didn't tell the police that trayvon martin ran around his car, ran away from him. and there's also a suggestion here that people saw zimmerman chasing after trayvon martin or following behind him. so i mean these inconsistencies with the story and how the fight went down is crucial to the prosecution's case here. because we have no eye witnesses except you know in terms of, well i shouldn't say that. we learned during the the bond hearing that the prosecution may have witnesses that saw him running after trayvon martin. so it's that witnesses, those unnamed witnesses, plus the testimony of >> then they should have brought that up. the prosecution had the burden of proving the presumption of guilt. that's the exact phrase and they failed miserably at that at the bond hearing. >> good to see you both, thank

you. now we go to number two on our first five web stories. the french presidential election. round one of a presidential ballot with a çnear-record turn-out, conservative president nicolas sarkozy's political career is on the line. every political poll shows he's doomed to lose the runoff. his showy style and inability to turn around a stagnant economy. however, he and his main challenger, socialist nominee francois holland, they're likely to make the cut for the may 6 runoff. roland wants to tax high-income earners at 75%. a policy. at aviva, we do things differently. we're bringing humanity back to life insurance. that's why only aviva rewards you with savings for getting a check-up. it's our wellness for life program, with online access to mayo clinic.

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hit me! [ female announcer ] live the regular life. phillips'. [ female announcer ] live the regular life. you know, those farmers, those foragers, those fishermen.... for me, it's really about building this extraordinary community. american express is passionate about the same thing. they're one of those partners that i would really rely on whether it's finding new customers, or, a new location for my next restaurant. when we all come together, my restaurants, my partners, and the community amazing things happen. to me, that's the membership effect. now to number five on our first five web stories, iran says its reverse engineering an american drone captured in december. military experts say they have broken the software encryption and are in the verge of decoding data from the drone. the military says the unmanned aircraft was shot down. washington disputes that and says security systems will keep

iran from getting valuable information. the man behind nixon's infamous enemies list has died. charles, chuck colson was the so-called evil genius that who kept a journal of writers who opposed the white house. colson was 80 years old. it is time for a quick look at today's list of number ones. first up, seattle, washington, that's america's most popular city. 57% of the new public policy polling survey hold a favorable opinion of the emerald city. seattle's northwest neighbor, portland, oregon ranked second, followed by boston, atlanta and phoenix. on the other hand, motown is a no-town, detroit ranking dead last among the cities on the survey. other bottom dwellers include my home town of l.a., oakland, miami and the nation's capital. today's earth day, so this is particularly apropos, portland oregon is second to none on a new list of america's greenest cities. the city's green space and mass

transit get the highest marks in the travel and leisure survey. edmunds names honda the best car for resale value andç forbes i ranking tv's top money-makers. "american idol" rakes in over $6.5 million each half hour. tally that up. and those are your number ones here on "weekends with alex witt." ♪ ♪ [ laughing ] ahh, cloudy glasses. you didn't have to come over! easy. hi. cascade kitchen counselor. look! over time, a competing gel can leave cloudy hard water deposits, but cascade complete pacs help leave glasses sparkling. cascade. love it or your money back.

guys. come here, come here. [ telephone ringing ] i'm calling my old dealership. [ man ] may ford. hi, yeah. do you guys have any crossovers that offer better highway fuel economy than the chevy equinox? no, sorry, sir. we don't. oh, well, that's too bad. [ man ] kyle, is that you? [ laughs ] [ man ] still here, kyle. [ male announcer ] visit your local chevy dealer today. right now, very well qualified lessees can get a 2012 equinox ls for around $229 a month. president obama's campaign adviser, david axelrod was on nbc's "meet the press" this morning, where he confronted the struggling economy facing the president's re-election. >> we got to office at a time when we were in a deep hole. we knew that these problems were years in the making, they would take a long time to solve and

the question is, are we moving in the right direction or flat-lining. >> is there a concern that the recovery is flat-lining. >> we've got to be vigilant about it, which is why we can't congress to act on our small business package. which would help small business. why we want to put teachers back to work and a number of other things. but we have to keep going at it. because, look -- >> it is an issue that has become the primary focus of the campaign as we get closer. and joining me now for strategy talk, former ohio governor, ted strickland, national co-chair of president obama's re-election campaign and michelle bernard, president and ceo of the bernard center for women, politics and public policy. thanks for joining us. governor strickland, you heard that clip. if the president loses his this election, will it be squarely on the shoulders of the economy? >> well i don't think the president is going to lose the election. >> if, if. >> the economy is certainly important and the economy is getting better as david axelrod said. the president inherited a

situation where he was really seeing the loss of 750,000 jobs per month. >> and he's reversed that, we're moving in the right direction. in ohio, unemployment coming down. he saved the auto industry, he's opposing the ryan budget, sr(r would benefit the 1% to the detriment of the 99%. and so i think this president understands the importance of the economy. but the president also understands the importance of making sure that americans are treated fairly. that we have a tax system that is a fair system. mr. romney, on the other hand, wants to go back to the same policies, quite frankly that led us to this deep recession. and we don't need more of that. the president has got us moving in the right direction and we need to continue with the president. >> all right. so michelle, how much of what you heard from what david axelrod said, how much can independent voters buy? can the white house sell the line about inheriting a bad economy, with all due respect,

the governor has reiterated that. improving it to some degree, if the voters are not feeling if in their pocketbooks come november? >> it's going to be very difficult for the president. there's so many interesting factors going on when you look at this, alex. obviously independent voters are going to be very important. i personally think that this election is going to come down to demographics. more so than economics, unless we see an enormous downward slide in the economy. between now and november. if you look at independent voters, if you look at women, if you look at hispanics, if you look at young people. all of those voters at least from what polls are telling us right now, are more inclined to vote for president obama than for, for mitt romney. assuming that he is the republican nominee. independents are looking for no-nonsense, you've got a lot of people who were previously self-identified democrats and self-identified republicans that are tired of business as usual in washington. and they want real answers, not just to economic issues, but quite frankly, toç cultural an social issues that no one expected to arise six months

ago. but here we are, faced squarely in the face with so many issues that we didn't think were really going to be important and we see they are. >> and michelle, you bring up discussion, we're going to bring some numbers to what you were discussing. i want to get back to you, governor, i want to give you a chance to respond. you rather be able to pitch the president to your fellow buckeyes with a robust economy. is there better pitch? why keep saying we inherited this bad economy. will that work come late or early november? >> he not only inherited it, but he took action. in ohio, the auto industry is thriving today, thousands of jobs are being created. ford sin vesting in the cleveland area, gm in the youngstown area. chrysler in the toledo area. the supply chain is, is has been saved basically because of what the president did. and that's not going to be forgotten by ohioans. mr. romney can come to ohio and

talk about job creation, but the president has delivered for ohio and is continuing to deliver for ohio. but i, i agree that, that demographics is going to play a huge role in this race. how can any hispanic vote for this man when he says even if the congress were to pass theer dream act, he would veto it? i mean, those are important issues, all across the country and they're important in ohio as well. >> you bring up an interesting point. that is something that directly opposes what marco rubio feels down in florida. and it will be interesting if they become the ticket there, that's going to be an interesting point of contention between the two of them in terms of philosophy. michelle, let's getç to the numbers right now. this is the latest from the nbc news poll which shows president obama has got the lead in all three categories, which of those demographics does mitt romney have the best chance at moving into his corner? and how would he do that, by the way? >> it's going to be very difficult. but quite frankly, if you look at the hispanic data and you look at the gender gap, it's

going to be almost nearly impossible for a republican administration, whether it's mitt romney or the other contenders, to narrow that gap. we have so many issues related to personal liberty. confronting those voting blocs that i don't see them making the pivot towards mitt romney. so quite frankly, the only group left that he really can reach out to and possibly make gains with are independent voters. and again, what those independent voters are looking at is going to be the economy. what would be different in a mitt romney administration versus an obama administration. but alex, i think it's really important to point out that even when you're talking to independents and you're focusing solely on the economy, americans have a very, very short attention span. most people feel that president obama owns this economy right now. and his best line of attack is that for every step he tries to move forward, there are republicans in congress who have, who have adopted this political idea of obstructionism simply because ideas are coming from a democratic president. >> yeah.

michelle, can i ask you, given the fact that your center of focus centers on issues for women. can you give easy answers as to why mitt romney does not connect as easily with women as president obama does? >> it's not just -- it's the same reason that he doesn't connect easily with any voter. he is stiff, he's not personable. he doesn't do anything thatç overtly makes us see that he connects with the american voters in general. and also, quite frankly, the republican brand has been hurt, not so much by mitt romney and the other presidential contenders, as much as it has been hurt by republicans at the state level. republicans at the state level are focusing on cultural issues like you know, planned parrothood, abortion rights, access to birth control. there was a state legislator in wisconsin who was reported, last week or the week before last, as saying something akin to, let's face it, money is more important to men than it is to women. all of that hurts the republican brand and quite frankly, because of that, it hurts mitt romney.

>> governor, i'm out of time, but i have to ask you quickly with the latest gallup tracking numbers which puts mitt romney, despite all the numbers we previously showed you, it puts mitt romney ahead of the president just by a point right now. how do you explain that? >> well, but he's, the president is ahead in ohio and he's ahead in the critical electoral states. this election will be determined by seven or eight swing states, ohio being one of them. and ohio, i think is going to go for the president as well as these other midwestern states. because the president is steady, he's focused, he's mature. he's saved the auto industry, he wants a fair tax policy. he wants college to be affordable. the president is on the side of the middle class, mitt romney is a 1%er and he's advocating for the 1%. i think consequently, the president is going to carry the midwestern part of the country. and he'll win the presidency once again. >> all right. >> michelle, you're going to have to hold that thought.

>> two seconds, really quick! >> really quick, if youç look the polls that have come out recently, despite the fact that the president is beating mitt romney by double digits on personality traits, people who say that they're going it vote for mitt romney are not voting for mitt romney, they're saying by overwhelming numbers that they're voting against barack obama and that quite frankly, it wouldn't matter who the republican is and that's a problem for the president. >> that was in our poll, the nbc news/"wall street journal" poll. >> absolutely. >> guys, thank you so much. former ohio governor, ted strickland. michelle bernard, we appreciate it. an incredible feat in baseball. we bring you the numbers behind one game last night and how it relates to space travel.

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let's go to politics now. and the state level in connecticut, state representative william trong is setting his sights on higher office and drawing compares bes to the current commander-in-chief. nbc's richard liu is me with more on how this story is part of a national trend. >> the number of asian americans in congress was only a blip. but after the last election, new records were made not only in federal, but also in state and local political offices. here's the story of one lawyer's rise from the noodle house to the state house and maybe beyond. >> a gas burner here and a big walk-in. >> reporter: william trong grew up in this family restaurant frying noodles and wrapping wontons. an unlikely place to learn about u.s. senate politics. but the connecticut state representative says it's why he

is qualified to fill senator joe lieberman's seat. studying in a chinese restaurant storage closet on top of beer cases. >> i would stack up the boxes andç sit there. >> reporter: a formative experience the democrat proudly talks about in debates. >> i worked side by side with my parents in that chinese restaurant. >> reporter: aren't you playing to stereotype? >> no, this is my life. we're in the kitchen that i grew up in. this is not a stereotype, this is real life. this is the deal. >> reporter: tong later attended law school at the university of chicago. one of his professors? barack obama. his bootstrapping immigrant parent back groubtd has some comparing him to the president. calling tong, the asian obama. >> i'm laughing to. why? >> i think that's greatly overstated. it's frankly a ridiculous comparison. >> reporter: tong says obama, first minority president, insures asian americans. even his own dad thinks he'll win in 2012. it's happening across the country.

traditionally underrepresented in politics, asian americans have recently narrowed the gap. congress has 13. governors, too. city mayors, 44. all records in the last election. and the reason behind this national trend? experts say, it's the crossover vote. >> they realize that if you have the right message, you can reach a widespread audience and win their vote. it doesn't matter what your ethnic background is. if you have a message that resonates with the american voters, they will vote for you. >> if i thought my race or ethnicity had any impact on my election chances, i play not be doing this. but it doesn't. >> reporter: the same can be said of judges across the country. and the president's most senior appointees, alex, at one point, three asian americans were obama cabinet secretaries. >> i love that story, i love the fact that he was in his parents' supply closet orç whatever and studying and got himself to the university of chicago. that's a great story. thanks for sharing it, we appreciate it. in today's then and now, the

saga of elian gonzales, in november of 1999 the 6-year-old cuban boy was rescued off the coast of florida. attorney general janet reno later decided that elian should be returned to his father in cuba. the miami family defied the order and on this date 12 years ago, the standoff came to an abrupt end. >> reporter: 4:30 a.m. outside elian gonzales's miami home, only a few dozen supporters remained. local police uninformed of the pending raid. 5:05 a.m. heavily-armed u.s. marshals and border patrolmen stormed the house from all sides. in a matter of seconds, they battered down the front door. inside, mace is sprayed. the 6-year-old in the protective arms of one of the men who last november rescued him at sea. facing an agent with an

automatic weapon, dalrymple hands over a frantic elian. who is crying, what's happening, help me, help me. later, the government would point out, the agent did not have his finger on the trigger. >> incredible and four hours after that raid, elian and his father were reunited at andrews air force base. elian gonzales is now 18 years old and remain as political symbol in cuba, cuba marks his birthday with parades, but has kept him away from foreign media elian's father was elected to parliament. now number three or our first five web stories,ç perfection for a chicago white sox pitcher. phil hummer threw the first perfect game in the majorers in almost two years, he led the chicago white sox to a 4-0 victory over the seattle mayor anywheres yesterday. it was baseball's 21st perfect game. now if you're not a baseball fan that number might seem like a lot. however, here's some perspective. 21 perfect games is over 143 years of major league baseball history. more people have orbited the moon than thrown a perfect game. no pitcher has ever thrown more

than one perfect game. the first two perfect games were thrown in 1880, there have been just 19 since then. so while you do the math on how many years it took to get 0 to number 21, we'll tip our cap to the man, phil humber and his masterpiece, well done. [ male announcer ] with six indulgently layered desserts,

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i'm also promising to veet orr the legislation. expenses exceed revenue. legislation than the other 49 governors in the country combined. i have no aversion to vetoing legislation. i suggest to you that with those two promises. spending will be lower than any other scenario that you could possibly come up with. and i'm under the believe that government is going to collapse. that we're going to have a monetary collapse due to the fact that we're borrowing and printing money to the tune of 43 cents out of every dollar, we can't escape the mathematics of, of six years fr now, where statistically greece. 160% of gdp. >> it is a question we ask a lot. i mean are we going the way of greece. i would talk about what is going to happen once the las vegas convention ends if you're the libertarian party nominee, will your name be on all 50 ballots, state ballots and will you be

getting money from the libertarian party? >> it's not so much money from the lib darian party, will that result in more money being donated? that remains to be said. i don't think i would be doing this if there wasn't an opportunity to win. i would poll at 15% against obama and romney and i'll be on the national debate stage in the presidential debates. i think if that happens, given that 80% of americans right now are saying they would consider voting for a third-party candidate, i think anything is possible. and i believe that there will be only three candidates on the ballot in all 50 states, democrat, republican, libertarian. >> i would suggest getting on your running shoes, sir. the libertarian candidate for president, former new mexico governor, a popular one. office politic with rachel maddow. and we're talking drinks, there's the alcohol in her hand right there. rachel is going to give us her

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the top of the hour on "weekends with alex witt." new word on the sex scandal rocking the secret service agency. more fallout expected after an incident allegedly involving prostitutes at a hotel in colombia. a chairman of a house committee investigating the alleged secret service prostitution scandal is predicting more firings, but president obama's senior adviser had this to say today. the president has confidence in director sullivan and the agency. again i, it was nice to hear that note from the chairman. because -- >> the president wants him to stay in his job. >> the president thinks he's the right man to get to the bottom of this and make the changes necessary. >> and he should keep his job?

>> yes. >> nbc's mike viquiera with more from the white house. >> reporter: you heard david axelrod, he's on the campaign, he is out of chicago, he doesn't work here at the white house any more. being asked by david gregory on "meet the press" to react to this scandal. more than a week ago, you know the story by this point advance elements of the president's team as he's preparing to attend the summit of americas last weekend got caught up in this prostitution scandal. here's the tally, a total of 12 secret service personnel under investigation. six of whom have departed the agency under one form or another. there are 11 military personnel under investigation. as part of this incident or incidents that happened in colombia. peter king, the chairman of the house homeland security committee, has oversight over the secret service in that capacity, he's a republican from the long island area. he's been briefed all along by the secret service director, mark sullivan and other secret service managers. he said today on "meet the press," that more firings, there

have been six people who have departed already. he expects more to depart before all is said and done. another chairperson in the house of representatives, darrell issa, he was also on meet the press and here's what he had to say to the security situation. >> the receipt point is, will we have confidence that it will never happen again, particularly foreign nationals having access to our men and women in the secret service. that's the important part that director is working on. yes, they were prostitutes, which is awful and salacious, but they were also foreign nationals. >> it's a concern that shared not only by these republican chairman, but here at the white house as well, alex. we should point out, you heard david axelrod say that the president has confidence in the director of the secret service, mark sullivan. so do darrell issa and peter king, two republicans who said they should not be fired, they

have confidence in him. they like the way he's reacted in responding to these allegations from last weekend in colombia. >> mike viquiera at the white house, it looks like it's a little rainy and wet, that's a preview. thank you so much. here's a reminder, you can watch a reair of today's "meet the press" at the top of the hour after this show on msnbc. george zimmerman's attorney said his client is looking forward to getting out of jail, but it won't happen until he comes up with $15,000 to get out on bond. nbc's kerry sanders is live in sanford for us. kerry, what's the estimation as to how soon zimmerman could get the money together and walk free? >> reporter: well he's relying on his family. you know it's $150,000 bond. and in some cases that means you put 10% down. it appears in this case, that it's not that. it's the coming up with all $150,000. so the family has suggested that what they're going to do is get another mortgage on their house. and use that money from the mortgage on their house to secure the bond so that he can

be released. and that's part of what is taking some time. because as you know, he got the bond on friday. so it's hard to pull the strings to make that happen. >> got to go to a bank and get the appointments to do the mortgage. can i ask you, kerry, what else is holding up zimmerman's release. once he is out, is anyone responsible for his security, like the sheriffs department or anyone else? >> reporter: the sheriffs department will be responsible for his security off the property. once he's off the property, he's on his own. of course, his lawyer is trying to make sure he has security in place. they plan and work out a location where he can be hidden. it likely will be out of state. and the thing that's holding them up a little bit is the ankle monitor. yes, they use ankle monitors on a regular basis, but they're doing extra checks to make sure that the gps can't be hacked by somebody from outside. again because of the security. they want to make sure that somebody can't pinpoint his location, because they do know that he has had threats against

his life. >> kerry sanders, many thanks. we're going to a big warning this hour from the national weather service. there's a major storm that is sweeping up the east coast and it could bring it heavy snow, yeah, you heard snow here in late april. along with rain and strong winds, what's worse, this could last until mid-week. meteorologist maria larosa from the weather channel has more. >> good day to you, alex. this is going to be one to watch over the next 24 to 48 hours. the big storm system brought severe weather to florida, but take a look where we expect this to be as we head into the evening. first, though, the rain part of the story, you can see by about after dinner time it's going to be heaviest through philadelphia, new york city, binghamton, eventually moving into boston. but it's that time, between midnight and 7:00 a.m., you're going to see the snow begin to develop western pennsylvania, western new york state. pittsburgh on into buffalo. and it's going to continue through the mid day and into the afternoon hours. so you're talking about significant snow, potentially in

these areas, and you're talking heavy, wet snow. we have the concern over the power lines and the trees coming down. a lot like snow-tober. here's the forecast, four to six inches expected in pittsburgh, 12-18 inches expected in johnstown, bradford. buffalo could end up with half a foot of snow and 12 to 18 inches expected in elkins, through tuesday morning. it will be a high-impact event, not just for the big northeast cities, but the interior northeast. and this time around, so close to may, it's about snow. >> many thanks for that. for more on the storm and the weather where you are, you can head to weather.com. two front-page politics now, new today, the president's senior adviser said there's good reason why americans should elect president obama to a second term. >> the last quarter was the best quarter we've had in six years in job creation. the last quarter was the best quarter we've had on manufacturing in two decades. we have something to build on here. but we have to accelerate the momentum. what we shouldn't do is go back to the very policies that got us

into the hole in the first place. >> now the other big headline today, florida senator marco rubio is addressing rumors about being a possible vp pick for the republican ticket and in doing so, possibly backing florida governor jeb bush for the job. >> jeb bush, your mentor and colleague says if mitt romney comes to you and asks you to be vice president, that you'll say yes. >> that's nice of jeb bush, i hope he'll say yes. >> he indicated he would certainly look at it. >> yeah, that's good, because i think he would be a fantastic vice president. >> mitt romney returns to the campaign trail tonight. he will speak at a gop lincoln day dinner in green castle, pennsylvania. ahead of tuesday's primary in that state. meanwhile, president obama is focusing on the cost of higher education. visiting universities in north carolina, colorado and iowa later this week. he's urging congress it take action to prevent interest rates on student loans from doubling come july. the president will also appear on late night tv this week. we'll be a guest on "late night

with jimmy fallon" tuesday on nbc. joining me now, msnbc contributor and political reporter for "slate" david weigel. good to see you. so, david axelrod, you heard him talking about the economy this weekend, making his case for president obama while slamming mitt romney. but right now, romney is leading president obama on the economy in the latest nbc/"wall street journal" poll. how concerned do you think team obama is about these numbers? >> i think they have the appropriate amount of concern here. there might have been higher growth than expected in the first two quarters, sorry, first couple months of the year. because the weather wasn't so bad. that affected the growth of unemployment. the jobless report that we've seen in the last couple of weeks have been worse than expected. if the trend is a kind of flattening of that rate, no one for one re-election with numbers like that. the pattern for somebody governoring and getting re-elected is a boom in the

quarters right before november. if they can't count on that, they're closer to jimmy carter's position in 1908 than what they ideally wanted, which was ronald reagan's position in '94. >> in one of your most recent posts, your blog posts, you wrote about montana's democratic governor not apologizing for saying that mitt romney's grandfather was born into a polygamy commune in next meksco. here's what mitt romney said in response. we're going quote it. my dad's dad was not a polygamist. my dad grew up in a family with a mom and a dad and a few brothers and one sister. you know, david, aren't you automatically at a disadvantage when you have to speak words like this? >> i don't think governor switser understood what he was saying. the worther from "newsweek" voi vouched that it was ironic that, this is probably the best case scenario if you're a democrat who ends up talking about this. the facts of romney's family

history are interesting. i mean i think as somebody who is interested in history, history of religion. they're fascinating. but they're not the kind of things he likes to talk about. any time he's in a position or some political fact-checking organizations in the position of explaining them, i think it does raise, raise a hackle in the sort of voter whose hackle might be raised by this. it's not a huge issue right now. >> in fact the obama camp is disavowing this kind of approach. here's what an obama spokesperson said, attacking a candidate's religion is out of bounds. am i reading too much into this statement potentially? was montana's governor making an attack on romney's religion, and can we read anything more into the obama spokesperson in response by suggesting it was an attack on romney's religion? >> i think the obama campaign is conscious to not let romney ever play the victim. because he's been doing that with increasing frequency in the since the nomination basically became his. there's a pattern of this. i mean john mccain who had some problems winning over

conservatives, won them over when "the new york times" ran a story kind of didn't make the case that he might have had an affair. raindrop romney is trying to find every opportunity to prove that the media is attacking his family, faith, policies. brian schweitzer is probably a more relative spokesperson for the president than she was. think that's what they want to avoid. getting without getting news the issues of whether they want any discussion about the family histories of the two candidates, i think they have rich family histories, they're not the kinds that you associate with the average voter. >> yeah and there's this other sideboard story playing out with newt gingrich and ron paul. paul is campaigning in philadelphia today ahead of tuesday's gop primary there. there are people that talk about their level of the race now as being just absurd. is that too harsh when people say that? when they analyze those two? because they say they're staying

in the race? >> well i don't think the kbarsen benefits gingrich very much. he's still running for president. he's still running -- both of these men are running idiosyncratic campaigns. but gingrich's campaign will some days include teaching a college class, some days include scrapping the day's events, he's got $4.3 million of debt. and i think $1 million of that is owed to a private plane company. whereas ron paul is also kind of just running, giving speeches when he feels like it. but has no debt whatsoever. has $1.8 million in his account. these are, they're both running campaigns to change the party more than campaigns to win the nomination. but you know, paul's campaign isn't really doing damage to his own organizations. and gingrich's is. >> well, david weigel, want to thank you for your time, appreciate it. coming up, she led a lavish lifestyle right until the fbi came a-knockin' at her door. today, this small-town city official is accused of a $30 million swindle.

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a horrible explosion look at this, new surveillance video capturing one of the two explosions at a chemical plant in western japan. those blasts killed at least one worker, 22 others have been hurt and hundreds of nearby homes and buildings were damaged. the cause is under investigation. a small city in illinois still in shock after an official was arrested for allegedly stealing more than $30 million of government money. dixon is a city of about 15,000 people, it's west of chicago. the city's chief financial officer, that's the controller rita crunwell is accused of

stealing the money over the last six years and using it to pay for a lavish lifestyle with a giant horse farm. joining us from chicago is melissa jenko, the reporter working the story for the "chicago tribune," welcome to you. >> when i was reading your story, i couldn't believe, this is a city that operates with a $9 million annual budget. and this controller is accused of stealing $30 million over six years. do the math, that's an average of $5 million a year. how did that happen for so long? >> that's the question that everyone in town is asking right now. and according to the mayor, the city is audited annually by two independent firms. and the firms never raised any red flags and indicated there were any issues. and the mayor said there also are some other financial issues happening in the city. it's got declining revenues like most cities in the country and their health care costs are up. they're still waiting on back payments from the state. so when you put all of those things together, the mayor suggested that those may have masked the issues with the $30

million over those six years. >> but then the poor 15,000 residents, they had to close the city pool. they need desperately some road improvements there, come on. but let's talk about in addition to all this, the big house and the horse farm. she was accused of making some very expensive private purchases, those include a $2.1 million motor home and over a quarter million dollars in a horse trailer. nearly $300,000 for three trucks. her salary was $80,000 a year. how did people reconcile that and think she could afford this? >> she's a champion horsebreeder and well known all around the country for her work with horses. people in town just figured that the business was going well and that's where the money came from. >> okay. so apparently she gets caught when someone fills in for her while she's on vacation. how did that happen? >> correct. she actually had taken 14 weeks of unpaid vacation, in 2011.

largely due to her work in the horse industry. and when she was taking some time off this past fall and the city clerk was filling in, the clerk noticed a bank account that seemed a little suspicious, a lot of big withdrawals, big deposits. and she took her suspicions to the mayor. and the mayor didn't even know the account existed. and so he took his concerns to the fbi. and they've been investigating ever since. >> so now what? she's out on bond. and she's on unpaid leave. but i guess the question is, account town get any of this money back? >> they're certainly going to try. mayor james burke has said he's going to work closely with the fbi to get -- money back and the assistant u.s. attorney who said that his office also will be working to use any of the assets to incredible story. shocking as i was reading your writing.

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take a look at the dogs jumping on this car. what a scary situation. now a d.c. man is recovering from serious injuries after he tried to stop those pitbull dogs from attacking a group of kids friday night. some kids jumped onto the roof of a nearby car. others running for their lives, the man tried to get between the dogs and was badly bitten on both hands and arms. fortunately, no one else was seriously hurt. police are searching for the

owner of those pit bulls. let's get now to today's ups and downs on the housing front. realty track reports a 30% increase in the number of short sales in january and the experts say even more short sales are expected as banks find settling for less better than foreclosures. on the down side, apple's stock is slumping. share prices plummeting about 10% in the last ten trading days, shares fell from a record high to a still pricey $572. analysts think some investors are trying to cash in on gains. a happy ending in gary, indiana, a tuskegee airman has received a new congressional medal of honor. replacing the one stolen last year. now to a fat cat and i mean a super fat cat. this hefty 2-year-old feline weighs in at a massive 39 pounds, three times the average weight of a cat. his elderly owner could no longer care for him so now the cat is at a shelt anywhere santa

fe, new mexico where he's being put on a diet. got a chance for something special. it's a perfect game for phillip humber. >> the white sox pitcher pitched the 21st perfect game in major league baseball history. those are your ups and downs here on "weekends with alex witt." c'mon dad! i'm here to unleash my inner cowboy. instead i got heartburn. [ horse neighs ] hold up partner. prilosec isn't for fast relief. try alka-seltzer. it kills heartburn fast. yeehaw! what ? customers didn't like it.

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has been because of the teachers and the education that i had. they're just part of who i am. she convinced me that there was no limit to what we could learn. i don't think i'd be here today had i not had a wonderful science teacher. a teacher can make a huge difference in a child's life. he would never give up on any of us. thank you dr. newfield. you had a big impact on me. president obama's re-election campaign adviser, david axelrod appeared on nbc's "meet the press" where he defended the president's jobs record. >> the last quarter was the best quarter we've had in six years in job creation. the last quarter was the best quarter we've had on manufacturing in two decades. we have something to build on

here, but we have to accelerate the momentum. what we shouldn't do is go back to the very policies that got us into the hole in the first place. and that's what governor romney's proposing. >> for the 13 million unemployed americans the economy still has a long way to go joining me is annie lowrie from "the new york times," thanks for being here. >> in your cover article you outlined some of the major issues affecting the u.s. economy. what are you seeing? >> it's a lot of the problems that we had in 2010 and 2011. europe remains slow going. a lot of economies are still in recession and there's still the possibility that there's going to be a flare-up in their debt crisis. oil prices remain high. and employers are still very hesitant about adding workers in the u.s. and so we've seen some sign a lot of the strength we saw in the winter might be dissipating a bit in the spring. >> let's talk about what was said on thursday, this from imf

fund head saying that europe is seeing a light recovery blowing in a spring wind with dark clouds on the horizon. the question is, blow across the pond to the u.s.? >> it very well could. the european and u.s. financial systems are deeply, deeply integrated. so if you start seeing a lot of problems in european banks, there's a chance that will spill over to the u.s. europe is our biggest trading partner so we're exporting fewer goods to them as they slow down. so we're probably in a recession. if we have a recession, it's not a sure thing that we have one as well. the fact that europe is growing slowly and there's still risk there is is bad for the u.s. economy and remains a drag. >> the federal reserve is meeting this week. what can we expect in terms of the interest rate? any change? and what would that mean to consumers in the public in general, if it did? >> so we're not going to see big changes, no big changes are expected from the fed. but what we are going to be looking for, is the announcement

of another quantitative easing measure. right now there's an operation called operation twist going on supporting the u.s. recovery and that's going to due to expire this spring. and so there's some question as to whether they're going to continue these sort of extraordinary measures to keep on supporting the market, flushing a lot of liquidity into the system. that's what bankers are going to be looking for. we're not expected to see any big new changes of the pass at the fed right now. >> i want to switch gears with regard to the first round of the french election, that was held today. several candidates have these income tax plans that make president obama's buffett rule look like an investment banker's dream. look at the front-runner, francois holland, income tax of 75%, and the far left candidate wants 100% tax on all income over $475 a year. what do you make of those plans? >> france is very different from the united states. president obama is calling for a

30% tax on people making more than $1 million a year and one thing to note, at this point, hollande is expected to win. so france's taxes are probably going to go up if his government comes into power and nicolas sarkozy doesn't win. which is expected. so it's a very different conversation from the conversation we're having in the united states. they have a much bigger safety net. they need higher taxes to support it. >> and to that i say -- [ speaking french. ] the sumplt u.s. army is taking back an invitation for ted nugent to perform. it comes after controversial comments nugent recently made, he told nra supporters in st. louis, that he would be dead or in jail if president obama is re-elected. the man who compiled nixon's infamous enemies list has died. charles colson ends up going to jail for his role in the watergate scandal. he was the self-described hatchet man who kept a running tally of politicians,

journalists and activists who opposed the nixon white house, he later founded an evangelical prison ministry. he was 80. in today's office politics, rachel maddow and a side of her you haven't seen. plus what really matters to voters when they get to the booth. we begin with the gop's identity crisis. >> talking about what's happened in republican party politics. i think it's still the greatest show on earth in terms of american politics. who is the new leader of the republican party, post george w. bush? they pick john mccain in 2008. he did not emerge in that role. they picked sarah palin. a lot of national discussion about whether she would be the new national leader of the party. it seems very clear that she's not. mitt romney has kept on everybody from karl rove down through the george w. bush foreign policy advisers and has taken on the bush structure. but is not trying to run as a george w. bush guy. he doesn't have a "w" endorsement. there was that awkward moment when poppy bush asked mitt romney on tape, hey, did our son

endorse you yet and it was like no, no. it looms over the campaign. who is the republican party? what do they stand for? do you look at what they're doing in the states in order to understand what they want to do in washington? how much do you think all of what we do, all of what we discuss is almost thrown by the wayside except for the last week as people are checking before they go to the poll, how much money is in my wallet? how much money is in my bank account? what's in my ira? >> there's a great you know, the political scientists argument on elections is the great like demoralizing thing. every four years i go through it. which is that we spend all this time covering every little twist and turn in the campaign, trying to make sure it's all on the record, trying to get all the details and ultimately, some economist or political scientist reminds us at the end of the day, the ohm thing that makes a difference is the unemployment rate. or the only thing that makes a difference is the price of gas. they pick one economic indicator that explains every electoral result over the last 40 years, everything you've been doing for the last year is pointless.

it's a nihilist feeling. those people who say listen, it's the economy, stupid, it doesn't matter what the candidates do. it's a compelling case. but we still can't use that as an excuse to not cover these things. >> we ask about who is rachel maddow. are you still drinking as much? [ laughter ] >> i mean i love that. you're an excellent mixologist. >> i'm an alcohol enthusiast. it took me a long tile to come up with that. >> some people say booze hound. i say alcohol enthusiast. for my birthday this year, the staff of the "rachel maddow show" installed a bar in my office. you thought that was a filing cabinet. >> i did. >> very close to the desk. >> it's actually within arm's reach. >> with a little -- uh-huh. it's not totally beautifully set up yet because it's kind of new for my birthday. but it slides out in the middle. uh-huh and see? >> that is so awesome. yeah.

>> so like for example i had a friend who just came back from some foreign trip where you can buy cuban rum. cuban rum. i have a bottle in here, do you know what this is? this is a bottle burhka. so well when i was in afghanistan, i was advised that if i wanted to buy like alcohol rules very strict in afghanistan. i was advised, if you want to buy alcohol or give somebody any alcohol as a gift, you have to put a burhka orrin bottle, so as not to offend. it's a bottle of prosecco that comes with its own little suit. >> my favorite spirit. what is it? >> rye whiskey. >> get out. >> rye whiskey drinker. >> i had whiskey down south last weekend -- couldn't, no. >> are you not a whiskey drinker at all? >> no, i'm a tequila girl. >> i knew i lfd you for some reason. >> tequila is a great thing. >> anything you drink for breakfast? you know -- we'll have that. >> here's the thing for breakfast -- >> the mimosa chick. >> i'm so glad you brought that

up. i think mimosa is a crime against wine. in the prohibition era the reason they were putting orange juice in the booze is because the booze was made in a bathtub and tasted awful. so most orange juice-based drinks are bad drinks, including the mimosa. the way to make it a good drink is to do it in proper proportions and add to magic ingredients, you do an ounce of orange juice, three ounces of champagne. which is the opposite to the way most people do it. but then you add a large dash of gin and a small dash of campari. the red italian liquor and that makes a drink called the peroquey. and that's something that you should totally have for breakfast. >> starting with me. this is a cheer's to rachel maddow for a great interview. coffee is on the side. i'm going to try drinking this, do it at another point. you can't do it gracefully with

the little orange peel. you can watch "the rachel maddow show" week nights at 9:00 p.m. eastern on msnbc. and next we go to msnbc and "times" political analyst, mark halperin. the big three straight ahead and will mitt romney's days as massachusetts governor help or hurt him. this summer, republican presidential candidate ron paul will be the subject of a new video game, ron paul, road to revolution, that's due to hit computers and smartphones in july. in the game, you play as ron paul, where he literally battles the federal reserve. the game spans 50 levels, one for each state. as paul collects money and delegates. bored with your one trick lipstick?

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let's go now to the poll of the day. the national journal says the american public continues to doubt congress's ability to get anything done. when it comes it addressing the nation's still disappointing jobs situation, only 19% say it's very likely congress will be able to do something about it. it is time now for this sunday's big three and today's topics, it's the economy. swingers and who's number two? let's bring in my panel, msnbc contributor and democratic strategist, crystal ball. and msnbc contributor and former communications director for rick santorum, robert traynum and shira it uplet. i'm going to begin with you, robert, david axelrod was on "meet the press," and he slammed mitt romney on the economy. let's listen to what he said. >> this is the same case he made in the state of massachusetts, he said i'm going to get the economy moving again.

i'm a businessman, i know how to create jobs. they went from 37th in nation in job creation. to 47th in the nation in job creation. so we've tested the romney acumen when it comes to create jobs and he's found wanting. >> that massachusetts line of attack, is it going to work? >> he's looking back as opposed to looking forward. as you know, elections are all about the future and all about what you're going to do for me in the future. i think it's very interesting that david axelrod is talking about what the candidate promised in the past. if you take a look at that rhett rix. you could make the argument, okay, well president obama said when he was a senator and running for president, he was going to cut the deficit in half. that's not the case. he said he would get us out of the recession. although technically we are out of the recession. the economy is still puttering along. i think if i'm david axelrod, i would be careful about the rhetoric, the same logic could be applicable to president obama and his re-election campaign. >> are the democrats going after romney on the economy but the new nbc news/"wall street journal" poll shows romney

leading obama when it comes to the economy. more americans apparently think mitt romney has better ideas on how to improve the economy. how concerning is this for the obama camp, especially when the economy is the number one issue for voters, do you think the line of we inherited a bad economy is going to hold any water in another few months before the election? >> the answer, which is not a very satisfying answer is it depends. it depends on what happens with the economy over the next several months. you know, things continue to slowly get better. it becomes very difficult for mitt romney to make the case that the president's policies have failed. on the other hand, if we experience another summer slump, which we've had summer slumps in the past when we saw quote-unquote green shoes, then the case becomes much tougher for president obama. so it really depends on the direction of the economy. you know, i will say back to robert's point about mitt romney's record as governor of massachusetts, romney really hasn't found yet exactly how to sell himself. whether he's businessman,

whether he's a former governor of massachusetts. and so picking apart that record and saying, he's trying to sell himself as a problem-solver and a job creator, but if you look at his record, it's not that great. i actually think that is a very effective line of attack. >> so shira, you got both campaigns going after each other on the economy. ultimately how do you see the issue playing out as we head to november? >> i think it's going to be the number one issue. especially as we've seen over the last couple of months. the economy is kind of in a space where it's two steps forward, one step back. two steps forward, one step back. as crystal mentioned with the summertime slump, if that comes to fruition, it will be an even bigger issue in the fall. i think you'll see some of the lines that david axelrod used on "meet the press" this morning, that fits into a campaign advertisement that will air sometime around october. >> let's move on to our next topic. we'll begin with you, crystal, swingers. of course we're talking about the states like you know, ohio and florida and a new poll shows that president obama with a six-point lead there in ohio. and a two-point advantage in florida. do you think it's too early, crystal, for the white house to

be encouraged by numbers like this? >> well, it's a nice sign. i mean we are too far out to even know exactly what the electorate is going to look like in the fall. you have to use caution when looking at these polls. but if you look underneath the numbers, i mean the two critical swing groups, where romney is doing just unbelievably poorly, are with women and with latino voters. and latino voters are going to be a critical component, not only in states that we traditionally think of like florida, like new mexico, arizona, colorado. but also in places like virginia and north carolina, that have seen dramatic growth in their latino population. one caveat i'll throw in there is in some of these states, like florida, they've made it very difficult to register new voters. and in fact, made is so that you get fined if you don't do it exactly by this protocol, so in florida, the league of women voters has pulled out and said they're not registering any voters. this matters, because latdennos are registered at about a rate of 60% of the adult eligible

population, versus 74% for white voters. so getting those latinos registered and to the poll has become more difficult as a result of these laws. >> with these two blocs that crystal is talking about, latinos and female vote, do you see any way for them to shift share allegiance from barack obama to mitt romney come november? how would they do that? >> i think it's again the economy. sound like a broken record player right now. but i think even for voters, latino voters, female voters, the number one issue tore them is still the economy. especially if it's not doing well. if mitt romney can make an effective case, that he was a strong governor and he has a good plan as a businessman to get the economy faster, to increase the speed of the recovery, i think the voters will take a second look at him. but if he continues in his current rhetoric, i think it will be a little more difficult. if the economy does improve at the slow pace, i think it will be a difficult argument for mitt romney to make. >> robert, do you see a way for, for mitt romney to swing these voters his way? any specific strategy?

>> absolutely. women and latinos are like other groups. what mitt romney has to do is piecemeal some women groups ott there. for example, romney does is he ve well with stay-at-home moms. he does well with less college-educated women. barack obama does well with college-educated women. what romney needs to do is split the vote and the same exact thing with latino voters. when you look at cuban voters, romney does well with that group. the question becomes is whether or not romney can lose ohio but still win the white house mathematically in states like virginia and colorado and so forth. so this is really a numbers game at the end of the day when it comes to those quote-unquote swinger states. i think romney has an battle but still can win the white house. >> right now 69-22 advantage for the president over romney with latinos. he has a lot of ground to make up. >> definitely an uphill battle. sit tight because up next the

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the president is experiencing severe chest pains. we got word from south africa. you need to get to the west wing immediately. >> oh, i'm so sorry. >> ma'am. >> that's a seen from the series "veep" premiering on happy birthday. it leads us to the veepstakes. bringing in the panel. robert, florida senator marco rubio backed jeb bush for vp though jeb said, lay the rumors to rest, i'm not going to be the veep. when you look at the potential vp field of candidates who do you think will buy romney the most? >> i think it's marco rubio and jeb bush.

when you look at who can be president if something happened to the president god for bid, these individuals can step up to the plate and help mitt romney. >> even marco rubio? he's junior. >> he is. he has the temperament. he has a lot of state experience. he seems to have the overall judgment in order to be president, god for bbid if that were to happen. >> that's what i was asking about if he could step up if need be. from the democrats' perspective who do you not want chosen as the vp pick? >> a poll came out last week asking voters who they would want to see and top of the list was condoleezza rice. i think she would be a dangerous vice presidential pick. i don't know if she would do it and i think she could be a problem for the republican base. she is pro choice and more socially liberal than more of the party is. she could be a compelling vice presidential pick. >> that would be interesting,

indeed. we talk about sarah palin who was seen as a game changer for john mccain in 2008. who do you see as a game changer? who do you think romney needs to pick or do you suggest a safe pick? >> i think the romney campaign will go for a safer pick. the question is if marco rubio fits into the category. voters are enthusiastic about him, especially conservative voters. he's latino. as we discussed that's an interest group. in many ways he's a less seasoned politician than the other names we discussed like mitch daniels, rob portman. they are tested. marco rubio can't necessarily say that. >> okay. we're going to get to the must reads beginning with krystal. >> from the new york times, an article about alek and how they

are acting as a lobbyist across the country using a 501-c-3 status to do it so people can get a tax write off for donating. >> robert? >> the secret life of a society man. this is not political. out's society yal. fascinating how he lived a double life. he fancied himself an aristocrat and came from couphumble means. >> new york times, three for three. great long story today about investigations into walmart using bribery for stores in mexico. a great lesson in corporate responsibility. take as while, but you should read it. incredible reporting. >> thanks for that. that's a wrap. it's my friday night, have a good weekend. n afternoon can be. with certified advice to help us expand our palette... ...and prices that give us more ring per dollar...

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