home. from wisconsin to washington, it's all about the money and the message. just moments ago the paycheck fairness act was shot down in the senate 52-47. democrats did not get the votes in an issue pushed by the president. and in the presidential race last night found former president bill clinton warning that a romney presidency would be calamitous for the country combining with the current president to deal some body blows to republicans at a new york fund-raiser last night. >> there's no vision for the future there. there's no imagination. somebody is going to have to explain to me how repealing obama care and throwing 30 million people back to a situation where they don't have health care, somehow that's an economic development agenda. nobody has really explained that to me. >> who would have thought after years and years and years, even decades, in which the republican right attacked old europe, that they would embrace the economic policies of the eurozone?

austerity and unemployment now at all costs. i mean, after all, their unemployment rate is 11% and ours is 8%. we can get right up there if we. >> indeed. and while mr. clinton as well as mr. jon bon jovi helped the president raise at least $3.5 million last night, it's out in the midwest today that big personalities and big money are making wisconsin a test ground for a big political divide. on defense, wisconsin governor scott walker, fighting to keep his seat against an angry backlash after he decided to crush public sector unions backed by a flood of outside cash. the man seeking to oust him, milwaukee mayor tom barrett, the underdog in a tightening race facing a 7 to 1 fund-raising disadvantage. it's like the yankees versus the brewers, anheuser-busch versus milwaukee's best.

indeed, this two year political drama is drawing national attention for both parties with the obama campaign releasing a video backing barrett just today. and make no mistake, both candidates are vowing to fight for every last vote. >> we're not conceding any vote anywhere across the state of wisconsin. i'm here tonight to ask for your vote to move wisconsin forward. >> it's like a heavy weight boxing match. and in this corner we've got scott walker with his millions and millions of dollars of out of state dollars. and in this corner we've got tom barrett and he's got you. >> it is going to be a very interesting night. msnbc's ed schultz has been on the story from the get-go. the host of "the ed show" joins us live from madison. ed, this really is a david and goliath battle. scott walker's $30 million versus tom barrett's $4.2 million, and given how mitt romney carpet bombed his

opponents during the primaries, is this the same republican playbook right there in wisconsin? >> well, i really think it is in many respects, martin. they think money is going to be able to put scott walker over the top, but the ground game here has been absolutely incredible by the democrats and the progressive movement. we are seeing unbelievable turnouts all over the state. it's going to exceed in many respects the 2008 turnout. in north milwaukee they are moving poll workers. in madison in dane county they are talking about an 88% of the vote turnout. they're also bringing in more ballots to make sure they have enough. this is something that we've never seen unfold in the state of wisconsin. it is amazing what's unfolding. it's the people versus the corporate money. and it's going to go down to the wire. i mean, scott walker could win this, but there is a phenomenal turnout. >> ed, teachers have been at the forefront of this battle. your mother was a teacher. given his approach to public

service employees, what does governor walker think of those who work in the teaching profession? >> well, just recalling what some of the teachers told me in the cities that i was in over the weekend, martin, is that they feel like they're being attacked. one teacher in baraboo, wisconsin, said to me, ed, no matter what happens, will you please tell the country that i am not the enemy? they feel vilified. they feel like they've been attacked. their profession has been attacked, their pension has been attacked, their health care benefits have been attacked. they have been made out to be the problem when it comes to the budget. and martin, speaking of the budget, what the right wing has been able to do is they have infiltrated a lot of collective thinking within the media that somehow this state has a budget surplus. it does not. i had tom barrett and senator tim larson on this -- chris larson on this program today on the radio show telling me there is no budget surplus. and george will of abc and

brooks who writes for "the new york times," they got it wrong. they absolutely have it wrong. there have been some gimmicks that have been done within the budget that have kicked the expenses down the road on the next generation. and there's flat out lies that are being perpetrated throughout the media, and i think people in this state have got it figured out on this election day. >> congressman paul ryan has said if scott walker wins this vote, it will be a signal to the country. but what kind of signal? that workers and union members should give up hope of ever representing themselves collectively? is that the signal? >> they've made the workers and the middle class out to be the problem in every budget in america, martin. there's no question about it. you can count if walker wins this recall and he retains his gubernatorial chair, they are going to use this as a narrative nationally. we heard that from congressman paul ryan, who was out doing stumping this weekend in the state of wisconsin. he's pointing if walker is defeated, this is going to slow down other governors, this is

going to slow down other legislative body that is want to bring reforms. it's not reforms. it's nasty massive cuts to middle class americans and i think the voters have got it figured out. this is all about saving the middle class and it's going to be a narrative for the republicans if they're able to retain the power in the senate and retain the governor's chair. >> ed schultz, as ever, thanks so much. be sure to tune in for a full hour from wisconsin tonight on the ed show live at 8:00 p.m. eastern. our political panel is with us now for more in washington. msnbc political analyst david corn, washington bureau chief from mother jones magazine, joe williams of politico, and here with me in the studio in new york is msnbc contributor and democratic strategist crystal ball. david, isn't scott walker just the latest manifestation of the new politics of money trumps everything in this country? mitt romney outspends his opponents and he wins. scott walker could do the same, couldn't he? >> you know, in american politics we've often had the golden rule. he who has the gold rules, and

that's always -- you always have to handicap in favor of the people with money. but what -- listening to ed, one thing that occurred to me is what will one of the lessons be learned if scott walker wins? you're going to have karl rove and others going around to these republican billionaires who want to vent, i call them the villionaires, and they will say it worked. you gave half a million dollars in wisconsin and it worked. you can do this with barack obama. you can do it with state senators. you can do it with u.s. senators. you can do this across the land. you 20 billionaires can join the koch brothers and be part of a vanguard and shape this country to your liking. that's one lesson that will come out of this if scott walker wins the day tonight. >> crystal, david's point is this isn't a democracy. this is a blue toplotocracy.

>> on the other hand, what is the lesson ordinary people learn who elected this guy and said this is not what we voted for? that sends a chill down the spine of every american who just wants to have their vote count, and that i think is the really scary thing, but i do want to sound an optimistic note here because, you know, we have to believe that people power is the ultimate residence of real power in this country, and i think that that is true, and i also think that we're increasingly -- >> that may not be true in wisconsin tonight. >> it's going to come down right to the wire, and i still think we have a shot there. but increasing will i we have the tools and the organization at our disposal to retake that power and that's what we have to do. if we come short in wisconsin, we can't give up there. because that is what this fight is ultimately about. who is going to craft the direction of this country? will it be a handful of billionaires who create the

rules and then live by them? or will it be ordinary people across the country? >> absolutely. joe, we're awaiting mitt romney who is giving an economic speech down in texas just moments from now. no doubt it will be charismatic and scintillating. i wonder if he'll be mentioning the paycheck fairness act which has just fallen because majority leader harry reid earlier today called him out. take a listen to this. >> even mitt romney has refused to publicly oppose this legislation. he may oppose it, but he's afraid to say anything about it. why? because tit's obvious why. he should show some leadership. my opinion, governor romney, and tell his fellow republicans that opposing fair pay for all americans is shameful. instead, no one knows where he stands. >> joe, once again he doesn't know where he stands. it's so difficult for him to comment, isn't it? >> well, difficult in the literal, not necessarily in the abstract. who can be against something

like this except the candidate on the right who has a continuing problem with the gender gap here? i mean, he's closed the gap a little bit with women but i think that's due in large part because the bruising primary is over with. a lot of those things that got said during the 2012 republican primary, they're on the dust bin for now. but i think come summer time, they will get resurrected. they will have to make a stand at some point and he has to get asked these hard questions because that's where the real truth lies. when he's asked directly do you favor this or do you not, that's when the real truth will come out about whether or not he supports these sorts of initiatives, and by the way, he needs to at lease give some consideration or even lip service to this given the fact that his consistent inconsistent message on women's issues is probably going to surface and harm him more than help him in 2012. >> and here is the bottom line on this -- >> consistent inconsistency. >> he's been consist in that one

way. here is the bottom line, mitt romney can't support paycheck fairness because his chamber of commerce and corporate backers don't support it, and so he can't go against them. so the best he can do is this sort of nonanswer because he knows how politically toxic it is to actually be against it. >> he can only do what he's told to do. >> that's right. >> crystal ball, joe williams, david corn, stay with us. next, mitt romney, deep in the heart of texas. stay with us. >> walk me through the mitt romney endorsement situation. there's been some questions about that-like did he call -- he called you? like he called you on your cell phone or how did that go down? >> he did call me on my cell phone after i authorized that he could. i said, all right, everybody, mitt romney is either going to vow or not vow no more gun restrictions. ♪ your hair is on fire ♪ ♪ all the other kids with the

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at this very moment mitt romney is in ft. worth, texas, about to deliver another scintillating speech on the economy while the senate just moments ago failed to pass the paycheck fairness act which would ensure women receive equal pay for doing the same job as men. hardly revolutionary. we're anxious to see if mr. romney supports women earning the same as their male counterparts. so in the unlikely event he mentions the issue, we'll keep you posted. still with us are david corn, joe williams, and crystal ball. david, i don't mean to sound dismissive, but is it really hard for mitt romney to get his head around the idea that women should be paid an equal amount or equal labor or is that simply

a socialist mythology that's being imported from europe? >> well, i think i'd bet you $10,000 that he doesn't mention this particular piece of legislation when he talks in texas. you know, mitt romney said this publicly, that he's in favor of equal pay for men and women. now, the issue though is whether you want to do anything about it. that's really the issue here. it's very easy to say you favor this. mitt romney has spent much of his life in male-dominated arenas where there was high finance or the higher ranks of the mormon church where only men were allowed to be part of the professional -- >> the priesthood. >> the priesthood. and so you can decide for yourself whether that has any impact on how he sees women, but the bottom line here is if he thinks there's something wrong with this bill or with the lily ledbetter act, he should come out and say this is what i think the problem is. but he just dodges the issue

again and again and again, and i have just been walking around looking for any moment when the guy has shown a dollop of guts. he just says this is what i think, this is what i believe. i know it may not make me popular with this group or that group, but he just won't do it. >> good luck with that. >> he can't do it. >> crystal, the u.s. chamber of commerce is saying the reason they oppose this is because it was encourage financial settlements that will be punitive if women choose to pursue action against employers for not giving them equal amounts of pay, but that's the point, isn't it? isn't that the point? there should be equal pay and if there isn't, women have a right to pursue that legally-how can that be wrong? republicans in the chamber of commerce have long been on the side of big corporations against people who are legitimately victimized. i mean, that is a long-standing pattern, and that is certainly the case here. and also with mitt romney in texas, texas has an interesting

issue going on right now, too. rick perry and his republican allies have essentially gotten into a pissing match for lack of a better term over funding for planned parent and over 100,000 low income texas women are in danger of losing access to any kind of well-woman preventative care. i'm very interested to see while he's on the ground there if he gets any questions about what's going on in texas because that's something that we've seen playing out at the federal level in terms of trying to defund planned parenthood and in state after state across the country. >> right. joe, mitt romney -- >> he's not going to get any questions at all because he's been so insulated from even the merest of questions at the rope line. a lot of people have been trying, a lot of reporters have been complaining they get virtually no access to the candidate. while that's not that surprising, certainly it helps to camouflage a lot of what mitt romney really thinks about these

issues and it also has the effect of keeping him on script and very tightly controlled because as we've seen during the primaries, once he gets off that control, anything can happen. and he can actually speak the truth but then have to walk it back a couple days later. >> he stands by what he says, whatever it was. so that's the important point. >> what did you say? you're talking about cookies now? >> he said he could start talking about cookies if you let the guy talk. that's the thing. i think people react to the fact he comes across as stiff and awkward because he comes across as stiff and awkward and when he's allowed to cut loose, it almost never works. remember who let the dogs out? i mean, how can you say that line and not smile? he can. i don't know how he does it. >> coming up, mitt romney as hip-hop artist. >> oh, my gosh. >> david, joe, and crystal, thank you so much. next, more spelling trouble for team romney. where have we seen this before? and this piece of video is from years ago this month. stay with us.

>> try it one more time. >> add a little bit to the end there. spell that again there. >> i think it's potato. there you go. final -- former british counterterrorism expert developed tough mudder while at harvard business school. it's a miles long obstacle course that inspires people and builds teamwork. with more than 30 events in 2012, tough mudder will earn more than $70 million. for more watch "your business" sunday mornings at 7:30 on msnbc.

down here, folks measure commitment by what's getting done. the twenty billion dollars bp committed has helped fund economic and environmental recovery. long-term, bp's made a five hundred million dollar commitment to support scientists studying the environment. and the gulf is open for business - the beaches are beautiful, the seafood is delicious. last year, many areas even reported record tourism seasons. the progress continues... but that doesn't mean our job is done. we're still committed to seeing this through.

have you ever partaken in a car insurance taste test before? by taste? yes, never heard of it. well, that's what we're doing today. car insurance x has been perfected over the past 75 years. it's tasty. our second car insurance... they've not been around very long. mmmm... no good! no good? no good! so you chose geico over the other. whatever this insurance is, it's no good. ok so you... pointing a gun at you. >> that looks like gum. that doesn't look like gun. >> no, it's gun. >> no that's gum. >> no, that's an "n," g-e-n. >> spelling, it can be so tricky. if three makes a trend, then mr. romney, well, spell-check is screaming.

first, it was amercia, the country you sing about in painfully discordant tones, fundamentally misspelled in a campaign iphone app. >> so let's join mitt and all our fellow amercian s by singing our new nation's praises. ♪ amercia >> that was just the beginning. then it was social media. a facebook page sneak peek. the only problem, your campaign was promising an early look, no the a mountaintop. and finally the treaded missing "i." not official romney gear on facebook, but offical. the campaign was quick to correct the atrocious spelling knowing full well even mitt romney believes some political company is not worth keeping like michele bachmann, the long since departed tea party favorite who couldn't spell her

own name when filing paperwork. but maybe that wasn't such a surprise. and, of course, you say potato, i say potato, but that's hardly helped dan quayle who never quite lived down his spelling mistake. so in the name of discipline, the romney campaign has a job posted this very moment. the title copywriter. we can only assume the job starts as soon as possible. the day's top lines are coming up. >> we got a couple of americans back here? >> wisconsin. >> from wisconsin? >> go packers. >> big recall election going on. >> absolutely. i don't know if i can say who i'm going for -- >> go ahead. >> tom barrett. we love tom barrett. >> there you go. matt and meredith, from the land of cheese to the land of royal cheese, back to you. ♪ let me go out ♪ i got a blister in the sun [ kimi ] atti and i had always called oregon home.

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from red baiting republicans to bubba on broadway, here are today's top lines. the first rule of fight club. >> i think it's essential to re-elect the president. >> it's like a heavy weight bocking match. >> hit me as hard as you can. >> we've got scott walker with his millions and millions of dollars. >> how much can you know about yourself if you have never been in a fight? >> and in this corner we have tom barrett and he's got you. >> go packers! >> big recall election going on. >> we love tom barrett. >> from the land of cheese to the land of royal cheese. >> and awaken an entire nation. ♪ i just met you and this is crazy ♪ ♪ but here's my number ♪ so call me maybe >> president george w. bush returned to the white house for the unveiling of his and his wife's official portraits.

>> if you use big words, no one will know you aren't doing jack squat. >> for a party that seems to fear gaze, now that republicans have fallen head over heels for a big stiff one. >> george romney -- wrong guy. >> george romney, who was a crazy man. >> crazy good or -- >> crazy good. crazy unbelievable good. >> they're not offering anything new. they're just saying things are tough right now and it's obama's fault. >> people as recently as last week were still saying he wasn't born in america. >> the biggest hand i got was when i mentioned place of birth. >> the house of representatives that had one of the tea party members claim that 78 to 81 members of the democratic caucus were members of the communist party. >> get the hell out of the united states of america. >> and neither the presidential nominee nor any of the leaders rebuked him for saying that. >> okay. >> this is not the 1950s? >> okay. >> let's get right to our panel

now. msnbc political analyst michael eric dyson joins us live from washington, d.c. we're also joined in the studio here in new york by ari of the nation magazine and david corn is still with us. the hardest working man on television live from washington. david -- >> you can't get rid of me. >> we don't want to. we just heard bill clinton point out how they lacked the decency to rebuke. he remains the most suggestible politician in the country. >> are you asking me? >> yes, i am, corn, i am. >> you know, george romney was a moderate republican who showed a lot of guts in 1964 when he walked out of the republican convention because he disagreed -- he had an honest policy agreement with barry goldwater on civil rights legislation. can anyone imagine even with the use of drugs mitt romney doing

anything like that? just taking a stand. probably didn't help george romney politically over the years, but it was a stand -- he showed he was a standup guy. we've seen time and time again when mitt romney panders. someone calls barack obama a traitor in front of him, he doesn't say no, no, no, no. it's not really hard to do this sort of stuff, but i guess he just hasn't found the right moment or opportunity. >> well, there isn't a medicine for moral courage. ari, politico has a story today about the doubts and misgivings that republicans still have with romney. let me quote. here is a partial list. his stiff public appearance, his ideological inconsistency, his trouble confronting and controlling the donald trumps of the party. his knack for change-worth stabs at connecting. even with a bad economy, this man is struggling to attract the trust of his own party. >> i looked at the story. i think they had a list there that's familiar. some of those things won't matter, the fact that romney can't really connect in a room, that the longer you watch his

speech, the less it makes sense because he's just not very good at it. i don't think that's going to decide this election. on the other hand, they had a couple substantive things on the lis and that you have spotlighted on the show. how you deal with the people around you gives us a preview of the people you want to staff. the most important company around, which is the federal government in our system. so the fact that he not only doesn't confront trump but far from it has traveled around with him, i think we give trump too much attention generally. but when the nominee breaks bread with him this much and doesn't confront the racism, that's a big sign and a big problem. >> we are waiting for another scintillating speech from the candidate, as you can see. we have pictures there. why do you laugh when i say that, corn? you know he's a scintillating speaker. now, professor dyson, let's take a listen to something else that bill clinton said last night about mitt romney. >> his plan is to go back to the bush program except on steroids.

>> professor dyson, every day brings a new reminder of how close romney is sticking to that bush team. today he's in dallas on a fund-raiser, right where bush is living. can we expect a nice photo-op at some point when mitt and wosm"w? >> he's certainly trying to secure it. i guess he's the roger clemens of the republican party right now. i think that the problem here is that as has been indicated, this is not just simply guilt by association or gild by association with those big bucks, it's the difficulty to stand up and think critically on yourself. you're ratcheting it up way beyond reason. you're looking like a mad man. let's stand up on principle, not on unprincipled assaults upon people that then make me vulnerable.

but he can't even do that. and if he can't even do that, we don't think he has the intestinal fortitude that is demanded of the commander in chief because as has been indicated, it's not just the stuff on the paper, some of which is problematic and some of which is rather more fickle, the bottom line is where do you stand in the time of crisis? who are the people you depend upon to give you advice, and how do you argue with competing interests so that you're able to come up with your own plan? that's the inability that mr. romney has shown that's deep and profound and i think his republican base finds it problematic. >> professor dyson your timing is exquisite. we're watching the republican nominee approaching the stage where he will be about to speak. i wanted to ask you, ari, romney still has a massive problem with latino voters. to your point about the way he's breaking bread with donald trump, that's hardly the best introduction, is it, in terms of

minority groups, particularly in a place like texas where there are so many people who draw their origins from, you know, hispanic backgrounds. >> i think that is a problem for governor romney. i know we could see him on screen right now and whether he's making this pitch today or going around the southwest, these are issues that he's going to have to confront. there's one big interesting thing here, which is the pundits have been wrong. the traditional narrative is you go to your base during the primary and then you move to the center and we all hear that talk. he's not doing that. he continues to be appealing to some of the more divisive members of the party. we'll see how that plays. >> professor, could it be that a terrible economy, even the worst since the great depression, might not be bad enough for such a weak candidate like mitt romney to win? >> i'm afraid you're right. it's a brilliant analysis in capsule form and the reality is that barack obama faces invisible resistance that we've already spoken about on this program. issues of race, issues of him

being made the other. that's why donald trump's nefarious chipping away at the integrity of his individual identity has political consequences because he's raising questions not only about barack obama the man, he's raising questions about whether he's fit enough to serve in office. and if you bring together the personal prejudices of the worst of your base along with questions about politics, they have a negative effect net, and i think that in that sense this is why it's very important for the obama campaign to stay on message and to continue to hammer away at the weaknesses of mr. romney because even a weak economy may not be enough to keep mitt romney out because he's not proved that he's capable of addressing something on such a grand scale and to constantly talk about what he's done with bain capital and private equity is quite different than what you can do with the government, but i think they have to stay on that message. >> professor michael eric dyson, ari melber, and dave corn.

coming up, mitt romney's blind trust problem. stay with us. >> any investments that i have are managed by a blind trust. >> i can see! i can see! ♪ i was blinded by the light ♪ surf's up everybody get your boards and your wetsuits ♪ free-credit-score-dot-com's gonna direct you ♪ ♪ to check your credit score before it gets too late ♪ ♪ and you end up strapped for cash ♪ ♪ patching your board with duct tape ♪ ♪ so hit free-credit-score-dot-com ♪ ♪ find out what credit's about ♪ ♪ or else you could be headed for a credit wipeout ♪ offer applies with enrollment in freecreditscore.com™.

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republicans to acknowledge that a woman should earn the same as a man if they do the same job? >> isn't it remarkable? equal pay for equal work in the year 2012, about 49 years after the equal pay act passed but has been -- but has failed to be enforced. all these years and still women are making an average of 77 cents for every dollar that a man earns. it will take us 45 years at this pace to get equity in the workplace when it comes to our paycheck. >> you see, the problem with this is it doesn't matter what the subject is, does it? the pay fairness act, student loans, the american jobs act. republican leaders won't allow anything to pass that might actually help the american economy. >> that's exactly right. last week when we were concerned about the jobs numbers, there was one group that was absolutely giddy with excitement, and that was the

republicans who couldn't wait to rush out to microphones to declare barack obama at fault. and now they want to prevent women, and it's not just women, it's about families, when you've got the breadwinner or co-breadwinner in a family making 23% less than a man doing the same job. this affects her retirement. it affects the family income. this is a serious economic issue, and they chose to vote no. >> and, of course, getting a straight answer out of mitt romney, as you know, is like trying to catch a mosquito by the river. he says he's for equal pay but he can't say if he supports this legislation. he's speaking at this moment in texas where he has a huge banner reading "putting jobs first," but i guess he can't confess to holing a particular position unless he's told what that position is by the party, is that right? >> i think he was told what the position is. they were against it, and so mitt romney simply hid under his

desk. he could have very easily, if he's really for equal pay, made a few calls to republican senators and asked them to vote for the legislation. but i'll tell you, martin, the women are watching. this gets right to the heart of their economic security and their futures, their daughters, their children, their sisters, their mothers, and so i think that this is going to be a very damaging vote for the republicans in this election and in particular in some of the senate races, and for romney himself. i think he has really demonstrated his entire lack of leadership and concern for women and their sense of the economy, our sense of the economy. >> and yet congresswoman, speaker boehner says it's people like you who have invented a war on women. that it's a fabrication by people like you, that it has no substance in truth. >> well, you know, lily ledbetter was here today.

the house women went over to the senate. lily ledbetter stood with barbara and with harry reid. lily ledbetter now makes barely over $20,000 because her paycheck was about 40% less than what we are male counterparts were. this affects not only her pension, but her social security. so women face discrimination throughout their lives and throughout their retirement when their paycheck is lower, and so this is not manufactured. it's not manufactured to lily or the millions and millions of other women who are just struggling, sometimes with their husbands and sometimes as head of families, to just make ends meet. this is a very simple idea, that for the same work with the same qualifications, that women ought to be paid equally. this isn't manufactured. >> it sounds as though it's far too revolutionary for some republicans, obvious as it seems. representative jan schakowsky of

illinois, thank you so much for joining us. >> thank you, martin. next, we go to the white house. [ male announcer ] whoa, megan landry alert. and she's looking directly at your new lumia, thank you at&t. first, why don't you show her the curved edge... now move on to the slick navigation tiles -- bam, right into the people hub. see megan, colin has lots of friends. hey, colin, what kind of phone is that? whaaa -- oh megan -- when did you get here? [ clears throat ] ohh yea no, let's... [ male announcer ] introducing the beautifully different nokia lumia 900. only from at&t. rethink possible. more than 50 times a day? so brighten your smile a healthy way with listerine® whitening plus restoring rinse. it's the only rinse that makes your teeth two shades whiter and two times stronger. ♪ listerine® whitening... power to your mouth. listerine® whitening... like, keep one of these over your head.

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the white house this afternoon confirmed the killing of a top ranking al qaeda official in a drone strike in the country of pakistan. nbc's kristen welker joins us live from the white house. kristen, we're talking about a man described as al qaeda number 2. >> he served as al qaeda's general manager responsible for overseeing the group's day to day operations in the tribal area of pakistan, and he managed outreach to all of al qaeda's regional affiliates. >> just how big a blow is this, kristen, to this terrorist

group? >> martin, white house officials are arguing this is a real blow to the gut of al qaeda. they say al-libi had such high duties it will be difficult to replace him. they see this as a real setback, a degradation of al qaeda. it adds more pressure to the current leader of al qaeda to try to do some of those day-to-day activity that you talked about. the white house has been saying for a long time that al qaeda is knocked on its heels. they say this is one more step in the completion of ruling out al qaeda. they won't give us specifics of how this occurred, they won't tell us if any civilians were killed in this strike at any point in time, but they're stressing the fact this is a real blow to the terrorist organization, martin. >> so many people, including mitt romney, cast aspersions to the foreign policy given

effects, and this al qaeda official was instrumental in planning future attacks on western targets; is that right? >> those are some of the things we are hearing as well, and again, that is why the white house is saying that this person is not someone who can be easily replaced. and we said, how can you be so sure of that, and they said simply because he performed such high-level functions for the group, because he was planning future attacks, because he was engaged in the day-to-day operations, in outreach to the tribal areas. so they believe this is really a big blow to the organization, martin. >> indeed. just one other thing, kristen, i wanted to put to you. there are reports coming out all day from europe about the problems with spain having very serious problems now. what is the white house doing? because we know about the video conference call that the president had last week with european leaders. are there plans for any further interactions in order for some

kind of resolution before this becomes contagious for the united states? >> well, jay carney was asked specifically if president obama had been speaking to european leaders. he wouldn't answer that directly, martin, but he also didn't rule it out, so i would not be surprised if president obama is speaking to his european leaders, pressing them to enact pro-growth policies which is what he did during the g8 summit. we expect him to do that again during the g20 summit coming up in just a few days. mart sn martin? >> thanks for joining us, kristen. next, mitt romney's real lack of vision. stay with us. [ male announcer ] this is lois. the day starts with arthritis pain... a load of new listings... and two pills.

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the teacher that comes to mind for me is my high school math teacher, dr. gilmore.

i mean he could teach. he was there for us, even if we needed him in college. you could call him, you had his phone number. he was just focused on making sure we were gonna be successful. he would never give up on any of us. to provide a better benefits package... oahhh! [ male announcer ] it made a big splash with the employees. [ duck yelling ] [ male announcer ] find out more at... [ duck ] aflac! [ male announcer ] ...forbusiness.com. ♪ ha ha! it's time to clear the air. and when mitt romney decided to drop his latest financial disclosure report at close of business on friday, he was obviously hoping that nobody would notice. and when you add this to the fact that he secured an

extension for the submission of his tax returns, again, it appears that romney is being less than transparent about his own financial activities. why would that be? nobody begrudges anyone the right to make money and be successful, so why does mitt romney behave with such apparent secrecy, particularly since he wants to become president? the question of mitt and his money now raises an important question of trust. throughout the campaign to become the republican nominee, romney repeatedly said his hands were entirely clean and that all of his investments were made by others, specifically a blind trust. >> any investments that i have are managed by a blind trust. i don't make investments in maine or anywhere else. that's done by a trustee. >> first of all, my investments are not made by me. my investments for the last ten years have been the blind trust. my investments, of course, are managed not by me for the last ten years.

they've been guided and managed by a trustee, they're in a blind trust. >> they're a blind trust. my investments are not made by me. okay. so what does mr. romney understand by a blind trust? how does he think a blind trust works in practice? well, quite wonderfully, mr. romney has been completely up front and crystal clear about what he thinks a blind trust is and how it works. >> the blind trust is an age-old ruse, if you will, which is to say you can always tell a blind trust what it can and cannot do. you give a blind trust rules. >> a blind trust is an age-old ruse. a ruse, a sham, a dodge, a deceit. that's what it is, isn't it, mr. romney, a sham. you want to be president of the greatest nation on earth having run your own investment portfolio with an undercurrent of deceit. and just in case you decide to change your tune for the sake of

your ambition to become president, here's is the line of your campaign from your very own mouth. >> i'm not familiar precisely with exactly what i said but i stand by what i said, whatever it was. >> thanks so much for watching. dylan ratigan is here to take us forward. dylan, do you have a blind trust? >> no, no. i have neither a trust and unfortunately have vision, and as such, none of those characteristics apply to me. i do, however, always find it intriguing when a man or a woman stand by anything they may or may not have said, no matter what. >> it is a remarkable admission by the man. >> i myself have a difficult time with that. >> you do? why is that, dylan? >> if i stand by something, what if it was from when i used to drink or something? i might not want to stand by it. >> true. >> what if i hadn't slept that night? >> okay, dylan. >> you don't want to stand by things that you don't remember

saying. >> or people that you met when you were drunk or asleep. >> or any other situation. my point is you only want to stand by things, martin, that you remember saying. i've had the benefit of 20 years of doing that, obviously, but before that, you get into situations you don't remember. what if mitt doesn't know what he said, you know? he can't stand by it. you shouldn't do that. >> absolutely. >> it's nice to see you. >> great to see you, dylan. the show starts right now. >> well, good tuesday afternoon to you. i am dylan ratigan and today's biggest story. auction 2012, the quest for power in america. another primary day. voters are at the polls today in california, new mexico, new jersey and california. these states have congressional primaries on their ballots, and in wisconsin, just the third recall election in u.s. history is und