who exactly is mitt romney? what did his victory speech this week tell us about how he's going to run? >> it's still about the economy. and we're not stupid. >> to the deciders in this election. one key group i can tell you is women. the big question is still, how will they be won over? i'm going to discuss it this morning with two campaign insiders. the senior adviser to mitt romney ed gillespie and robert gibbs, senior adviser to president obama's campaign. > also, after the firestorm. she arted gngft a my. deoctisttest hily seisac a oy re ddow.me in tsa hern republican strategist alex castellanos. and vice chairman of the house republican congress, congresswoman kathy mcmorris-rodgers. plus, it's the morning after. a big night here in washington. the washington correspondence dinner adds a little glitz. it gives the president a chance to use some comedy as a political weapon.

>> it's great to be here this evening in the vast, magnificent hilton ballroom. or what mitt romney would call a little fixer-upper. > ombcewinasngn, . shington, d.c. we'll get to the comedy a bit later on. also my colleague brian williams will be here to preview a special hour inside the situation room. an exclusive interview with president obama and his national security team going through the decision making one year ago on that raid killing osama bin laden. we'll talk to him about that. big week in politics. it was romney this week claiming victory.

his speech was significant. that's where i want to start. obert gibbs, senioadviseto pridt ams mpgn llpi sioadseto goerr mn'samig lemeta wh e mn mpgn tirm.nr as you settle in, here is the obama campaign going on the offensive. i mentioned bin laden one year later. they are using that issue against governor romney. here was the vice president on thursday. >> thanks to president obama, bin laden is dead and general motors is alive. you have to ask yourself, had governor romney been president, could he have used the same slogan in reverse? >> the argument's clear. vernoroey would not have de killinbilan prri. >>hiisnef e ass

psintba h bomon e stivisivpridts inmecahior he's managed to turn it into a divisive, partisan, political attack that former defense secretary frank carlucci for president reagan called sad. john mccain called shameful. i think most american wills see it as a sign of a desperate campaign. >> it's interesting if you compare it to the president you worked for, president bush, the same sort of tactics that were used in a lot of people's eyes. he'sn example backn 04 oand r. w rni f relti. ete owt y. gege. shnd a ovth msa.

>> using images from the world trade center. a lot of people see that as the very same thing, is it not? focusing on leadership moments of a president. >> i think there's a little bit of a distinction here, david. i think if president obama had said even though he said we shouldn't spike the football at the time of this momentous occasion regarding osama bin laden, had said, you know, i'm proud of this, i think he would have said he should be proud of this. we're proud of the country that this happened. it's the attack that governor romney wouldn't have done. i can't envision, having served in thwhite use, any present hangeen told, have hi hs reshoulde i sin n wshldt. e ffen he y d'te -- i's i think that's -- >> i count the 2004 campaign, vice president cheney made it very clear america's defenses would be down and vulnerable to a terrorist attack if john kerry had been elected president. so is it any different?

>> david, what we talked about and we can go back and talk about -- what's that, eight years ago? the record of senator kerry, which is what i remember talking about on this show a number of times was the record. this is an attack on something that might have not happened. it's a bridge too far. again, i think the american people will see through it. and i think that secretary carlucci when he said it's sad and setomccainaid it's hafui spt st amerinsillo athe mntanprab n dage thho aesen. >>a febeusofpsintbaea.ptions of the country, look at our relationship, the reset button with russia and telling -- please tell putin we'll be more flexible later, our relationships with israel, i don't think that president obama -- under president obama america is as strong as it should be or will be under a president romney. >> my question, is america safer under president obama's leadership?

>> we maybe -- i think we're safe. we haven't been subject to attack. i'm not sure -- i don't know enough in terms of the intelligence. i used to know that. i don't believe that president obama -- under present obama we ares ro as we shod be as nioor- d beev atunr pridt mn w wlde roer >>ete k u,ouen do a advisers still call it, the soviet union, is the number one threat facing america today? >> i believe that governor romney believes that russia has not been conducive in terms of trying to contain iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. they've undermined the u.n. security council efforts to stop that. the fact is, i think, that, you know, when you heard president obama say we're going to have a reset with russia, i don't think that he is -- actually his policy toward russia has been an prent for thenid states. and beeve that we ne t

unrsndharuias t lpg rate ntni in. tt' pbay e t mt poanprriese ves naonig n. iaiathee ony. gerh about the president's record. let me play one portion of that. >> he's asking us to accept that washington knows best and can provide all. we've already seen where that path leads. it erodes freedom. it deadens the entrepreneurial spirit. and it hurts the very people it's supposed to help. those who promise to spread the wealth around only ever succeed in spreading poverty around. >> let me focus on freedom as he uses it in that particular portion of the speech. we know that taxes is going to hu iue in the ll campai. wil eem eded fo wethr eranifhe rumpangaxat t

eyaies >> well, david, any time you take from someone by virtue of taxation, there's an erosion of freedom. any time you impose excessive regulations, there's an erosion of freedom. any time you impose a government mandate there's an erosion of freedom. what you have in a government-centered economy like president obama has put forward are fewer jobs, stagnant incomes, higher prices for gas and electricity. what you have under a president romney in a pro-growth economic agenda would be more jobs, rising incomes and lower prices for gas and electricity. the fact is we have 23 million americans today who are either underemployed or unemployed as a resultf esent oba's pocies. u staw thathgdra fothfit arr ts yer s 2% icno we're in a recovery right now because of this president's policies.

>> when you had the bush tax cuts over a course of eight years, you're saying -- >> there were 52 months of uninterrupted job creation under president bush as the result of those tax cuts. that's the longest actually in american history. longest period of uninterrupted job creation. under this president what we're seeing is the cycling effect of excessive government regulation, constant call for raising taxes, a tax on businesses and major employers. and that's the reason that we're not able to actually generate job creation in this country today is becau of this excessive gornment interntion o enomy tt wlde tt o wh lileorfrdoanthe ulbe l me ow. toy al wn cwhis case to the american people. you are an insider in terms of your experience in washington. now you've come to this campaign as an outsider watching a hard fought primary. what damage from the primary to governor romney do you think has

to be undone as he tries to center himself in the general election? >> there's kind of a difference in the terms of a whole approach to a general election versus a primary campaign. he's gone through a primary campaign with four pretty vigorous contenders along the way. somebody said he's hafive oobs ready in this imy. yokn, ariryikth si yr rtyore mniing ryg mni cditefens twn e erarmar differences and the impact they have on the american people is actually in so many ways a lot easier to do than -- than to do in a primary campaign with people of your own party. >> but is it hard when he described himself as a severe conservative on the one hand and then an adviser talking about that etch-a-sketch moment you sort of reset for the general? does he have to define for the american people who he is? >> i think you saw in his speech

in new hampshire who he is and what he believes. and he believes that we'll have a better america if we have a more prosperous econo. and atore prperous ecomy tht eas bsndais ncesndris wnheos ofgaaneltritwi rulfr pics atre upenepnesh ith uny. apein washington, d.c., make those decisions. the american people are going to have a very clear choice in november. and if they want to continue down a path that we've seen with this president where the government is making decisions on our health care and on the kind of cars we can drive, the kind of energy we can use, the investments in solyndra and that kind of thing and the wasteful spending we're seeing now and higher taxes, i don't believe most americans think that is going to result, actually, in economic growth. i think they think it'll continue what we have now which is a pretty stifled economy that's limping along and we need to unleash the entrepreneurial spirit and allow for job

creation and rising incomes in this country. >> finally i wanto ask you about thdeders. thkey group beinwon a fhtvewhh rtises intoepse t ierts ofwon ts mpgn iseshath'rcang eadu ptilay the president talked about this as an event just on friday. here's a portion of what he said. >> now we've got governors and legislatures across the river in virginia, up the road in pennsylvania, all across the country saying that women can't be trusted to make your own decisions. the days of male politicians controlling the health care decisions of our wives and our mothers and our daughters and our sisters, that needs to come to an end. >> are republicans on the defensive here? >> you knowactually, vi wh u okt e ct e a 2 mlion me me tht al iurceod tn hebackba tk fi wog

time in recorded history. a 14% increase since president obama took office. his former communications director that worked with your next guest said that the white house was a hostile workplace for women, unlike with governor romney, by the way, who when he was governor according to the center for women in government at the university of albany had the best record of all 50 governors in terms of hiring and putting senior women into his government. the fact is what we have now is the u.s. economy is a hostile woplace for women under esenoba. beau is rd tget a jo an wha, ke s, ng tr miest e ght ovty have lagged their population growth in terms of their employment growth.

so we look forward to this debate as, to paraphrase the governor from the other night, it's still the economy and women aren't stupid. >> we'll be following this debate very closely. thanks so much for being here. i want to turn to former white house press secretary, senior adviser now to the president's election campaign, robert gibbs. robert, welcome back. >> good morning, david. thanks for having me. >> good to have you here. we've got a little bit of a delay which we'll work through as you're in detroit this morning. i want to talk about the politics of osama bin laden. one year later after he was killed athe dictn the raid ts president. eris cpan tt beg n atearefoer psintlion hee'rtn i that was right. the president is the decider in chief. nobody can make that decision for you. look, he knew what would happen. suppose the navy s.e.a.l.s had gone in there and it hadn't been bin laden. suppose they'd been captured and killed.

the downside would have been horrible for him. but he reasoned i cannot in good conscience do nothing. he took the harder and the more honorable path. and the one that produced, in my >>o u' hrdd piest result. vetojo mai ts r ne >> well, certainly it's not over the line. look, just a few years ago president obama then a candidate said in a speech if we have actionable intelligence of a high valued target in pakistan we'd go in and get that high value target. mitt romney said that was foolish. he wouldn't do such a thing. that he wouldn't move heaven and earth to get osama bin laden. barack obama as our commander in chief asked our intelligence community to find him.

he was brought actionable intelligence, directed the brave men and women in our military to go innd kill osama bin de wcisxalyhath d deexaoiny rcstce a omainad nloer was ts ayn to do a few years ago. look, there's a difference in the roles they would play as commander in chief. i certainly think that's fair game. >> i want to be very clear about what the president believes. you're saying president obama believes that a president romney, if he was working with the same nonpartisan professionals in the counterterror realms of the government who came to him with intelligence saying we have an opportunity to capture and kill osama bin laden, you're saying president romney wouldn't take that shot? >> i don't think it's clear that he would. again, he criticized barack obama a few years ago when barack obama said if we have actionable intelgence out a hi valuearget -- l'se ea

bo w bge bo w aorhi vue taethaosa n de daiddoavandot thatthmiioha lyonsi wrong or he's flip-flopped on yet another issue. all i know is this. the president made a clear, brave decision, empowered the remarkable men and women in our military to go get and kill osama bin laden. look, joe biden's right. osama bin laden is, indeed, dead. gm is not just alive, it's the number one automaker in the world. i can assure you that, too, wouldn't have been the case had mitt romney been president of the united states. >> so it's a question, though, of whether president obama is being consistent about his belief about all of this. back in 2008, you were facing hillary clinton in a hard fought primary campaign. and shran an ad that featured igef ambilan. pt aadueiong whhesetooba s b a t

burton, said the following about that ad. quote, it's ironic that she -- meaning hillary clinton -- would borrow the president's tactics in her own campaign and invoke bin laden to score political points. we already have a president that plays the politics of fear and we don't need another. is president obama being hypocritical with this ad today? >> this isn't the politics of fear. this is the politics of brave decision making. that's what commander in chief is all about. oo i would le gthug about lff hf wt i beau ihi hhateory nea ent metoei mnd ichf r ren oly. war onit s on the regime in iran that we've ever had. that wasn't possible when ed walked in the white house or ed

walked out of the white house. it was possible because this president knows clearly what he wants to do as commander in chief and is exercising a strong foreign policy for this country. >> the question of who is mitt romney is on my mind throughout this program today. and i asked ed gillespie about that, the kind of campaign he would run. whether he would just focus on the president's record or would he be a guy that focused big solutions to the big challenges atheountry fac. i gssheame question i alo plable tprident om ilhepe h te mp teindo gerr mn a a, iheoi truon ba d rmti in the right direction of fixing this economy. look, the last six months of the bush administration we lost 3.5 million jobs. and we know this about mitt romney. he's not a job creator. when he was governor of massachusetts, they were 47th out of 50 in job creation.

his experience is in downsizing and outsourcing jobs and bankrupting companies and walking away with a lot of money for himself. his economic ideas are the failed economic ideas that we tried for eight years. tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires and letting wall street going back to writing the rules all over again. has that is the pics tht got into thises ti mthritect ud build an economy that lasts. invest in our children and in their college education. make this country strong. make this economy vibrant. and continue on the path to adding jobs in it. >> the question of the deciders and the women's vote. you heard ed gillespie. we've heard governor romney saying this is squarely going to be an issue of the economy and how women in this economy if you want to focus on that particular voting group, how they are fairing. you heard ed gillespie go

through his version of the record for president obama when it comes to women. as he said, women are not stupid and they are going to still vote on the economy. w you respo to th? well, tnkomim y lieno e mn cpan, dhedohi aotf eoe ts uny e up.daanss okay? as i said, we've had 11 consecutive months of positive economic growth. 25 consecutive months of positive private sector job growth. the republicans, again, they want to return to the policies -- not of strengthening the middle class, but instead of giving tax breaks to millionaires and billionaires, they want to make health care and contraceptive decisions. they want to put those decisions in the hands of the boss that women work for. i don't think wwant to go back tr eightea a o ui fnk, o40ea ag wth is e onic desis atom he

orheh re onma devastating for middle-class americans on a whole host of issues. >> the issue of comedy came up a lot this weekend. you had the president making some jokes last night at the correspondents dinner. jimmy kimmel as well. he brought up an issue that also uses satire as a weapon to raise a serious question about president obama's leadership. let me show you that clip. >> mr. president, you remember -- you remember when the country rallied around you in hopes of a better tomorrow? that was hilarious. >>f somef that hopan enussmurunngreside ba h atefo yrsnt hi fster w does see otr urea?>>elrentry,

a safer country, and a better economy. as i said before, we have -- we inherited the biggest economic mess and the worst economic times of our lifetime. we're making progress and turning that corner. we've added -- give you an example. in the so-called bush economic recovery, we lost 1.5 million manufacturing jobs. again, i sit in detroit this morning where we've added 230,000 manufacturing jobs to this economy. the first manufacturing jobs that we've added since the late to mid-1990s. those are snicant spshat wee ki. w is qteralyothe ti ttu bk. imtourba isobo osexrices donsinanououinan bacy it's a make or break moment for them. >> robert gibbs, thanks very much for being here. we'll continue to follow the debate. >> david, thank you. coming up here, more on the start of this general election.

i know it's been going for a while. but i want to focus on who's really going to decide this election. and the role that women play came up again in this student loan fight this week. also, hilary rosen. a woman who ignited a controversy with her comment about ann romney is back on our round table along with the vice chair of house republin confence, chy cmorris-roer alex caelnoanraeladw. > laterbrn ll beer tdiushiinw yehen.itba the round table is next. becse damagg uv rays e everywhe with olay daily complete uv, its possible to block 92% of harmful rays for naturally beautiful skin in any light. olay daily uv. you walk into a conventional mattress

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entirely created, entirely created by my colleagues across the aisle for political gain. >> that was house speaker john boehner on the house floor on friday talking about the student loan debate and how it gets paid for, which brought in some of these questions about health services and taking it out of the health care bill which is ultimately what the house bill has in it which has rekindled some of this debate about, again, what the deciders in this race, women, are going to be voting on when it comes to the fall. hilary rosen, here you are. this suisotoing away. a nitr e u. yoreac >>ha y. >i wt rinpele r s qteutnn

. country saying, well, you know, my wife tells me that what women really care about are economic issues. and when i listen to my wife, that's what i'm hearing. guess what? his wife has actually never worked a day in her life. she's never really dealt with the kinds of economic issues that a majority of the women in this country are facing in terms of how do we feed our kids? how do we send them to school and how do we worry -- why do we worry about their future? >> how much damage did that do? >> you know, i apologized to mrs. romney. because i don't believe her life is the life that voters should judge. you know, this debate took a wrong turn and i'morry if i s the cause of that. hidetes t abouth chc tt msak 95ofheom ith cnt avec sugeswhhethmewh paycheck to take care of their families. and mitt romney's policies are

what we should be debating. you know, that is, you know, in my view still a woeful, woeful record. >> you're a political pro. you know politics. and in the political debate over women voters, this had an effect. the president of the united states, everybody that you know very well within the democratic party, people associated with this president's re-election campaign wasted no time running immediately the other direction. the esenev sd atas n l-vid atenby sobo otevion we y spred by w uilyhediand emlv fm u? n th w pits. wt wasuou a iso the economic issues that mitt romney has to face and how it affects women are absolutely fair game in this debate. that's where i intended to keep going. i think that's really where american people want it to go. >> but in your judgment ann romney has the standing to evaluate what women want?

what women need as they're looking for a president? >> i'll leave that to mitt romney to decide who he talks to. i'm not going to go there. where i'm going to go is does mitt romney understand that when he's out there complaining that 40% of the people in this country don't pay taxes, what he's really talking about are poor wking people. sy mewhgeaw fm ayg xes beusofhe eneinmeaxret esisicfrndx e 's also congressman cathy mcmorris-rodgers. this is a wider conversation about how to win the women's vote. what women will care about. the kind of conversation ultimately that they're having as they evaluate this campaign. where are we after hilary's remarks and the debate that ensued? >> well, hilary apologized.

i think we've all made statements that we later regret. the reason that it caused such a controversy, though, is that it exposed that the war on women is really a myth. hait haseen createby the decrs in aefrto stctmeca oe ai from t rl su. mra kw athe reubca w t wen ve 10ority in the house. 87 new freshmen. a record number of new women, republican women elected to the house. and it has -- could be argued that it was the american women that really voted out, fired, the first woman speaker of the house because they didn't like the direction the country was taking. they didn't like the direction the policies promoted by this administration, by the democrat majority at that time, whether it was the massive debt, record debt, $5 trillion now, whether it was the health care bill that women opposed, they wanted a different direction. >> how, rachel, should this conversation actually be framed?

i de the comment when i've de is topic befor in a lot ofwa m bngg this esonit aosa cdeenngueio wh iitom wt? wh ithrit y b ranghicoer i e is vio dweou in the race? >> policy. it should be about policy. all our best debates are about policy. it should be about policy that affects women specifically. the romney campaign wants to talk about women and the economy. women in this country still make 77 cents on the dollar for what men make. women don't make less than men? >> actually, if you start looking at the numbers, rachel, there are lots of reasons for that. >> wait, wait, wait. don't tell me the reasons. do women make less than men? >> actually, no. >>othsa wk >wo ok. 'rwoinfr dfent- m wk ara o44 hos we. mewo 4hos we. n io ofsis ke ennein sen a mh ar. lte ts n

let rachel make her point. >> every greedy businessman in america would hire only women, save 25% and be hugely prosperous. >> it's weird that you're interrupting me and not letting me make my point because we get along so well. let me make my point. >> i will. >> the interruption is important, i think. now we know at least from both of your perspective that women are not faring worse than men in the economy. women aren't getting paid less for equal work. i think that's a serious basis -- a difference in factual understanding of the world. given that some of us believe that women are getting paid less than men for doing the same work, there is something called the fair pay act. there s a court ruling tt saithstutofimitatns, f u' gti pd ss tha a anthsuecof simatn ar boryo noth dcriniois apni, feivy cuttg diyo roue trt w y ign put you out as a surrogate to shore up people's feelings about this issue after they could not say

whether or not mitt romney would have signed that bill. you're supposed to make us feel better about it. you voted against the fair pay act. it's not about having a female surrogate. it's about policy and whether or not you want to fix some of those -- the structural discrimination that women really do face that republicans don't believe is happening. >> it's policy is the argument. >> it's policy. and i love how passionate you are. i wish you were as right about what you're saying as you are passionate about it. i really do. >> that's really condescending. this is a stylistic issue. >> i'll tell you what -- >>myassion on is issue is -- >> may sreneacwi u? mpaonise >>ned ?l men or women? on average? men make $40,000 a year. women make 47. when you take out the marriage factor, look at some economics. my point here is that we're manufacturing a political crisis to get away from what this election really wants to be about. >> all right. let me -- >> that's the obama strategy in this election.

>> no -- >> i want to pick up on this point. which is as a policy matter, the romney campaign would like to make this strictly about the economy. how women fair in the economy. as opposed to what a lot of democrats, the president and others, you heard him make the point, broug ts up with llpi ts eaf rng thclk ckn ttd su e puics inup th gt t hltca ghtrep inthecomot t let's look at this other place. what did men do with all that power women helped elect them to in 2010? over 1,000 bills were introduced in state legislatures and congress across this country since then to take away women's health -- reproductive health. there's just no question that whether the republicans want to call it a war and i don't particularly love that word, there's a concerted effort to change settled policy in the

area of contraceptive rights, in the area of health care rights. when men have medil sues, ey're medal. enomen he dil su, ty' pital haisoi tbe he su inhicaai. cgrswan>e a a dtrtis omeaise. y.ooin purchasing decisions. they're out there. they understand the price of gas right now. it has doubled under this administration. they understand when food prices go up. they make 85% of the health care decisions in this country for themselves, for their family, for their parents, for their children. they do not like the president's health care bill. it was signed into law two years ago and the opposition has actually increased. and it is more women than men even oppose this bill because they are frightened by the idea of the federal government coming in and taking away their ability to make those decisions that are -- if those are the priorities, whist the republican nolled giatures in wa dou cola athedi this ekashestte

woinonheerdiict obm re cts d plwhbemerean ex fm inei legislatures in those states prioritizing, cracking down not on rape but on the rape victims? if the priorities are as you say, why haven't we had more anti-abortion legislation in the last year than we have since roe versus wade? what you're saying and doing as a party are two very different -- >> congresswoman -- >> when you highlight a few out of the thousands of bills introduced any time at the state legislative level, you're picking or choosing. i could pick out some bills on the left. >> hr-3 in this congress was on anti-abortion bill. the third bill you introduced. >> it passed the house to require abortions be included in every health care plan moving rward. so y c't -- dsn rlet e ioti othe pay. doesn rle t ioti othmari i core. veeefoseonhe ony,n llth wl t erak

bills now than at any time since roe versus wade were passed. >> if i may though -- >> i'm not focused on that in a disproportionate -- it's become the priority of the party. that's what i don't understand. >> alex? >> this is how far the democrats, obama and rachel have to go to try to win this election. we're sitting here talking about the next president of the united states. i don't know if rachel knows this, but our nominee, this fellow is named mitt romney. he's actually running for president. you're talking about legislatures in iowa. >> i'm talking about what the republican party stands for. >> if republicans have declared war on women, we're longalf ofrepublans are women. some of have enared th. it nuctina cris. t re t pital atu ti's hands, and this is such an obvious attempt to divide the country along every conceivable issue in access except the economy where he can't debate.

we're seeing a debate rich versus poor, right? men versus women. employer versus employee. they're trying to divide the country everywhere because they can't litigate -- >> wait, wait. >> i'm going to get -- >> we end up talking about iowa legislatures instead of the economy. >> what are we supposed to talk about? >> let me get in here. i want to get one more word from hilary. then i'moing to take a break. >> let's go back to where mitt romney is here. this is not abouiowa. even though mitt romney s bracedve one othe stteeglarsndovno inthe titi. oth wage. t t'lo acore. 'sooatitt nd sllessm by the way, this is not a democrat/republican thing. kay bailey hutchison, other republican women have agreed that these attacks on women's reproductive health is bad for the party. it's bad for america. let's look at where ryan takes us and where romney goes. cutting day care. what do women depend on? they depend on -- working women. cutting education.

what are women depending on to equalize this? >> that's not true. >> of course it's true. >> not what we're doing. >> mitt romney wants to decimate the department of education. paul ryan -- that's exactly where mitt romney's taking it. that's going to disoptionately fect women. >>'moi tcuaith rtf e ba. want tgea eainer > reroourod bl congp. wee sooi t fm gog tk oulis e siba ma bin laden. later, general election preview. on a lighter note, "saturday night live" style. it's all coming up. "meet the press" is sponsored by ge. imagination at work. you think you take off all yr make-up before b. but doou really? [ fe announcer ] neutrogena® mp remover erases of your stuorn makeup with oneowelet n youreup r do t femannounc] utr® mup r

wre bacwi o rnd tae. wreoi tgoo w rk noto brian wlis,anin edorf iglyew w w kid ou tjo uth mointoalabt spia upocs' gin what did you take away from really going back one year later inside the decision making? >> well, we asked, david, and thank you for having me. we asked to recreate this picture. i carried this particular copy of the photograph around and handed it to all the people in the picture. we asked to talk to all of them about the anatomy of this military mission, destruct what

you knew to be the chances, what you knew to be the risks, those last 48 hours once it was in motion, including the atmosphere in that om we asked to gba io at ro, d y'lsease scer, e otraeror thwhe us pe uzwh thfausho, lled bk re so we'll show that. >> there you are. >> here i am, sitting right here. >> that's -- that's an intense look on your face. >> yeah. >> and everyone is intently watching that screen. >> this is -- if i'm not mistaken, pete, this picture was taken right as the helicopter was having some problems. but you may not remember. >> i can't say for sure. >> yeah. that's what it feels like. because i remember hillary putting her hand over her mouth at that point.

the's silence at this poi side t rm. >> wn you lookt -- ah >>--hado icourup indeou llth'sheay uay okhemyusnd dr aon running through my and every other person in that small group. it was just an extraordinary experience and a great privilege to be part of. >> journalistically, brian, this is so much like other efforts in the past on anniversaries of 9/11 or ordering war in afghanistan or iraq to go back to the decision making, which is what makes your reporting on this so interesting. separate from that, there is the political context of how this re-election campaign is using the killing of osama bin laden against governor romney and the fallout from that. >> right. and i think everything, bviously, has to be viewed throh e isof eleion arolic

me reestoo e coti on. eeqstraiven access -- first time in 50 years of it being there in the basement of the west wing television news cameras have been allowed in the situation room. even when we pan to the other end of the room, the fact that we can see what they had been watching that day, we'll deconstruct that, go into a little more detail, is so valuable. so i'll let others talk about motivation. that was not our cause in going in there. obviously, we will note it along the way. we wanted to take apart this mission and look at aten tit, escilyonsideng d ge on pneal ulha h tgouto errin miestwchpe successfully, of course, for all of us got out of there that night.

>> our own brian williams. the special for "rock center" is called "inside the situation room." it airs wednesday at 9:00/8:00 central. brian, thanks a lot for doing this. >> thanks for having me. >> appreciate it so much. we're going to get another break in here and come back with more from our round table, including previewing press pass. a look at my interview with "saturday night live's" jason sudeikis and fred armisen, otherwise known as romney and obama. that's coming up after this. w, weart every. bese dg uv r e everre n b s of hay pe to2% il

help raise our flag, add your stitch at teamusa.org. we are back, giving you a chance to preview press pass. i sat down with jason sudeikis and fred armisen who play governor romney and president obama on "saturday night live." i want to show you a portion of that conversation on this big comedy weekend. gus, thas r havi uhere d ingingutll thees inrvw r dointhis teie lk e olth

>> it is interesting. i would say that comedically what it helps is getting everybody on the same page. everybody's paying attention to the same things. then it feels like you're making a bunch of inside jokes or observations that maybe people share with one another or on the tip of their mind, tip of their tongue, if you will, we get to actually portray as a people. i would say that's where politics usually helps. >> what about the personalities? romney is not exactly lighting it up on t campaign trail to be an excingigure. what doeth do codically? thk mest eninof en tt? ionw ido me prheidomhisog with unsalted butter and the crust cut off. >> you've been impersonating president obama now for some

time, since he's come into office. >> it's a time to look forward and acknowledge the sacrifices we're all going to have to make. but before we do that, remember the election night? >> h h this deveped fo yo it's ceecset' y kn, thk ats e bl isve w hisndin outorabt m,'moi eamthg. ndhas th o ready, i like to say, hello. >> this is kind of silly. in just a few seconds, in character, sort of making the case for election, mr. president, can we start with you? >> yeah. first of all --

>> pretty good. he doesn't have to say much. the record speaks for itself. >> ye. >>ses gil. gerr mn? [ asomy ts eanaonf rsi n hters, you know, sons. nephews. >> if i could interrupt for a moment. >> i guess you're going to do it. if he's going to do it, you've got to let him do it. >> let me take an applause break. thank you! thank you! thank you! >> they were good. good sports. you can see the full press pass conversation on our website. meehepressnbc.com.

thanks to all of you the untae. e is soucmo tgeto toy. t vpske cpang romy ndba. ftute wwot dng th otevion >> " tptions by vitac -- www.vitac.com lpo