proper context, right? >> it's fair for the. to the make that case and fair for paw lent ai yen the others to try to push back in their way. the truth is it doesn't matter what either side is saying. what matters is how americans are feeling in late october and in early november. lot of this is really out of their hands and that's why the administration is worried now and that's why the republicans are smelling blood here because they believe that things are not going to improve particularly in the jobs picture in time to help president obama. that's why people believe that the white house needs to take a different tack here and take a more aggressive position. >> meanwhile, the economy remains topic number one. susan, i want to show everybody because mitt romney said at this podium yesterday with the big repeal obama care logo, but if we talk about the supreme court, and taking issue, the issue off the table by striking down parts or all of the president's law, does the romney campaign lose key talking points with its

conservative base the supporters, talking about obama care? >> not really because it is going to come down to the economy, it will be how people are feeling in october, and what they see their future looking like, and if they don't feel there's a job in it or better employment for them or their families, president obama is not going to win. >> keith, i want to get this with you. newt gingrich sat down with reverend al sharpton on "politics nation" last night and i want to remind everybody how that conversation went. take a look. >> what the public wants in their leader is delivery, and the great challenge for president obama is that with all due respect, with all the problems republicans gave him in the congress and that they did, with the challenges he inherited from george w. bush, and they were real, by the time you've been there three and a half years, people want a sense not of why you couldn't do t but of the fact that you are getting it done. >> looks like a straightforward interview that newt gingrich provided there, using the phrase inherited, also using the phrase, "with all due respect" talking about president obama and the realities of what this

economy has been, but for president obama to convince the all-important independent voters out there, is it going to have to remain a conversation of constantly looking into the rear view mirror of the past presidencies or casting the brighter, bigger economic future for americans concerned about the economic recovery and the struggles. >> two things, elections are always a choice about the future and in order to talk about the future you have to understand how you got to this point where you are right now. so the president is going to look back at where we were three or four years ago and talk about the economic crisis, but talk about how we got out of that crisis and we're now in a recovery and building jobs, we've got 27 consecutive months of private sector job growth but it is a choice and mitt romney's opportunity hasn't been much better. mitt romney was the governor of massachusetts and they were 47th out of 50 states in job creation so he's got to still overcome that and he inherited a economy that wasn't doing that well. when he left massachusetts was lower in the national average in unemployment and started out higher than the national average in unemployment, so he actually

may -- sorry, i got that reversed. he made the unemployment rate worse in massachusetts than it was before. >> it actually dropped versus the national average but it did drop. it dropped but president obama would love to have a 4.7 unemployment rate right now. if he had that he'd be winning hands down. >> wasn't it a different time in 2004 than what we have in 2012? >> alabama had a lower unemployment rate than massachusetts and they had the whole hurricane katrina crisis and still had a lower unemployment rate than massachusetts. >> we can talk about massachusetts and inheriting the bush economy. if people don't see a vision for the future for them and they will decide between romney or president obama, who is going to get us there. right now they don't have a lot of faith in what's happened in the last few years. >> has romney cast enough bright ideas or just focusing too much on commenting on what the president has. does he have ideas? >> has to come up and show his proposals. at the end of the day in politics, if you could make it a

referendum on an incumbent, that's what the american also buy-in on. >> his proposals are basically the same proposals george w. bush offered. if we're offered a choice about the past and present, tax consultants fcuts for the wealthy, continue the foreign policy of the bush administration, no new investments in teachers. >> continue foreign policy as president obama. >> what do you have, you have the bush policy that cost us the great economic recession we just recovered from. >> let's bring dana back in, brings us to the point about where we stand in terms of the party ideologies are right now and dana, i want to mention the piece you have in "the post" highlighting jeb bush's comments how his father and ronald reagan would fit in today's republican party. jeb carrying "the burden of responsibility." can democrats and mainly president obama carry that burden today and look like the adults in the room so to speak to voters out there especially when the word "moderate" has become a dirty word? >> right. what republicans are doing which

makes sense for the opposition party is just to make the situation in washington look awful, look even worse than it is, because then they'll blame all the incumbents, including president obama. so there's a rationale behind the strategy, so of course by comparison, the democrats look like the grownup in the room because they're dealing with a bunch of preschoolers. the question is, does that change if the republicans actually get elected and have to be in a position of governing or have they poisoned things so much nobody will be able to govern this place no matter what is in charge. >> susan, when we talk about jeb bush, moderate leaders who could be just like him, is that slowly evaporating in our culture? >> most people consider jeb bush a small government conservative. frankly the party has gone to extremes and what jeb bush clarified his remarks from monday it happens on both sides and causing gridlock on both sides but it is absolute a a

problem for the republican party if they're not opening themselves up to new ideas and to compromise and to governing but the same holds true for the democrats. >> jeb bush can go on tv and make some sense for the republican party, because he's not pandering to one extreme fringe or the other. >> yes. >> he's not running for office. >> so it makes for a logical conversation to be had to hear thoughtful ideas that again, the word moderate is a dirty word. >> just like president clinton when he was talking about what you do on venture capital and how that is actually not a bad thing. i think you have two leaders of the party both saying that you know what? we actually have to be grownups and we have to work together and we can't just let things, the extremes of both parties get in our way. >> the problem is you have a party that everybody who is running for president signed on the republican side the whole grover norquist pledge, every one of them said they wouldn't

accept a deal for $10 in tax cuts or spending -- i'm screwing everything up today -- $10 in rev -- $10 in deficit reduction for $1 spending increase and still wouldn't go along with that. it shows you how far extreme they are in terms of the republican party versus where the republican party was under ronald reagan. >> good for jeb bush saying that's a good deal and he would have been in on it and good for senator graham saying i'm not buying into that. we have to work on revenue and expense. >> except the outcry was so great poor jeb bush felt like we to retreat from this. that's the state of things right now in the party. >> susan, tax records, mitt romney, when do we get them? >> oh, i don't know. >> when do you think we should get them? >> i don't know, he hasn't told me. >> check your blackberry, maybe he has in this eight-minute block. >> my guess if he's going to be -- >> december 1st. >> november or after the

election. >> thanks so much, great to have you all here. on to other news in the graphic details emotional testimony in the jerry sandusky trial, former assistant coach mike mcqueary describing what he saw in the showers on the campus, as two more alleged victims prepare to take the stand today. plus arming syria, russia defending its sale of arms to the syrian government but accusing the u.s. of arming the other side. and baby on board. the shocking end to a police pursuit after the vehicle flips over. back with more after this. ♪ to check your credit score before it gets too late ♪ a

[ male announcer ] great tasting tap water can come from any faucet anywhere. the brita bottle with the filter inside.

more sexual abuse victims taking to the stand as prosecutors lay the groundwork in a damaging case against accused pedophile jerry

sandusky, after a day of stunning testimony, the biggest from penn state's former assistant football coach mike mcqueary who told the jury in no uncertain teams he saw sandusky in a university locker room shower with a young boy engaging in something he described as sexual and wrong, prior to that a heartwrenching account from victim number one who openly wept on the stand as he described repeated molestation from the 60-year-old defendant. john, in addition to this testimony that we're hearing today court watchers speculate on whether sandusky will ultimately take the stand. however, juror also hear from the former coach no matter what. tell us more about that. >> reporter: that's exactly right, thomas. we may have a situation where both the prosecution and the defense uses sandusky's own words. the prosecution subpoenaed that interview sandusky did with bob costas on "rock center" on nbc. they have, they even reference

it, referred to it, prosecutor joseph magedigan, costas asked if he was sexually attracted to young boys and the response that sandusky gave. at the same time, in his opening statement, defense attorney joseph amendola assured the jury that they will hear from sandusky as part of this trial, that sandusky will take the stand in his own defense, once the defense takes over the process later on. right now, of course, the prosecution is continuing to present its case, earlier this morning, mike mcqueary's father, john, was on the stand, to corroborate that mike mcqueary said in 2001 what he said on the stand yesterday of what he saw in that locker room in february 2001, in those showers, in 2001.

he appeared briefly this morning, and also, we heard from victim ten, the young man who is now 25 years old, who said that he was a victim of sexual abuse by jerry sandusky, when he was 11 and 12. so there are more victims to testify, more alleged victims to testify, once the prosecution wraps up and the defense takes over, we do expect to hear from jerry sandusky. thomas? >> nbc's john yang in pennsylvania for us, thank you. joining me from boston with more perspective attorney and former prosecutor legal analyst wendy murphy. it's nice to have with you us this morning. as we were just discussing with john, there is word that the prosecution is planning to play the interview that jerry sandusky did for nbc's "rock center." it was really a bizarre interview, that was the takeaway for a lot of people but here's a small portion. take a look. >> are you a pedophile? >> no.

>> are you sexually attracted to young boys, to underaged boys? >> am i sexually attracted to underaged boys? >> yes. >> sexually attracted, you know, i enjoy young people. i love to be around them. i -- but no, i'm not sexually attracted to young boys. >> so that's just part of that interview, bob costas did with sandusky there. if the defense is truly serious, as john yang was reporting there, about really putting sandusky on the stand, do you think that they really want to do that, in light of interviews and statements like that, that are going to play out in the courtroom anyway, and that gives the prosecution a chance to really zero in on this guy especially after all this emotional testimony from victims. >> yeah. you know, i've said this before in other cases. i'll eat my shoe if that guy takes the stand. now mind you, this guy is so nutty, and he's done such crazy

things, i may end up eating a shoe. i hope it's chocolate, but i don't see it. when there are ten different victims, eight are going to take the stand and the testimony is so abhorrent and disturbing the reason you don't put a defendant on the stand no matter how great a guy you think he may come across as in front of the jury, then the prosecution gets to go through each and every statement by each and every victim, over and over and over again. i think it's malpractice to put a guy on the stand in a case like this, frankly. i don't think it's going to happen. i think when the defense said in its opening you're going to hear directly from jerry sandusky, i think what they meant is, they are going to play some of these media interviews that he's done, which are not that good for him at all. >> wendy, didn't a lot of people think it was malpractice for

amendola to allow him for the tv interviews, two of them? >> yes, it was a bad idea, but amendola is not a dummy. he knows he had to get sandusky on the record in some form that he could then use at trial, denying guilt, because he knew he could never put him on the stand, so it's kind of a trick of the trade, when you got a case like this and you know you got to get your guy "on the stand" but you can't do it physically, give an interview, get him on some media interview, on record saying, "i didn't do it," you can at least claim to the jury he denied it. he has told you he's innocent, and at least that's something. that's what i think the defense approach is here. >> the shoes you have on today are not the ones that potentially that you would eat, correct, if sandusky takes the stand, i just want to make sure. >> i'm saying it, i got to eat a shoe, i hope it's chocolate but i hope i win the bet. >> wendy murphy, thanks so much. appreciate your insight. risky business, ceo jamie

dimon apologizing for the $2 billion trading loss, still defending his bank and the risk-taking involved. plus, take a look. have it your way, bacon on your burger or now on your ice cream sundae, too? wait until you see this. first going for the gold in london, no one's eating bacon sundaes there. michael phelps making history in '08 earning a record eight gold medals at the beijing games. he's pushing for three in london so he can retire as the athlete with the most olympic career medals. the 27-year-old who traveled as an athlete looks forward to seeing the cities he visits, when he retires and a boy from my hometown, tausen, maryland. do you see it ?

there it is ! there it is ! where ? where ? it's getting away ! where is it ? it's gone. we'll find it. any day can be an adventure. that's why we got a subaru. love wherever the road takes you. wow, there it is. but they can be really well thexpensive.ted a puppy, so to save money i just found them a possum. dad, i think he's dead. probably just playin' possum. sfx: possum hisses there he is. there's an easier way to save. geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance.

it was in my sister's neighborhood. i told you it was perfect for you guys. literally across the street from her sister. [ banker ] but someone else bought it before they could get their offer together. we really missed a great opportunity -- dodged a bullet there. [ banker ] so we talked to them about the wells fargo priority buyer preapproval. it lets people know that you are a serious buyer because you've been credit-approved. we got everything in order so that we can move on the next place we found. which was clear on the other side of town. [ male announcer ] wells fargo. with you when you're ready to move. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

for a cookout with world champion grill master brett gallaway. he's serving his guests walmart choice premium steak. but they don't know it yet. they will. it's a steakover! the steak is excellent. very tender... melts in your mouth... so delicious... tonight you're eating walmart steak. what? it's good steak. two thumbs up. look, i ate all of mine. it matches any good steak house if not better. walmart choice premium steak in the black package... it's 100% money back guaranteed. try it for your father's day barbeque. it's 100% money back guaranteed. we charge everything else... maybe it's time to recharge the human battery. only the beautyrest recharge sleep system combines the comfort of aircool memory foam layered on top of beautyrest pocketed coils to promote proper sleeping posture all night long. the revolutionary recharge sleep system from beautyrest... it's you, fully charged.

stop foreclosure now! stop foreclosure now! stop foreclosure now! stop foreclosures now! >> jpmorgan chase ceo dimon hearing it from protesters on capitol hill. senators are wondering how a banking giant could lose billions of dollars in a risky trading strategy and if internal controls are in place to prevent another major loss like it. dimon told lawmakers his bank is taking steps to ensure they don't make the same mistake twice. >> this foportfolio morphed int something rather than protect the firm created new and potentially larger risks. as a result we've let a lot of people down and we are very sorry for it. in hindsight the traders did not have the understanding of the new risks that they took. we will not make light

losses but they should be put into perspective. >> cnbc washington correspondent, eamon javers joins me now. it was a big morning with the protesters getting a lot of attention. otherwise it's been a docile exchange. we had the exchange with the phrase russian roulette being used. >> when you reduce a hedge or hedge a hedge, isn't that really gambling? >> i don't believe so, no. >> so this transaction that you said morphed, what did it morph into, russian rule ♪ >> it morphed into something i can't justify. >> so let's talk about that, because both sides of the aisle, right and the left, what do democrat/republican lawmakers want to get out of this hearing? >> well, look, this is a fight over this $2 billion loss in a trade that jpmorgan made. the intention was to hedge risks, but what dimon is saying this morning is what happened

was they ended up taking on more risk, that defies common sense. he can't defend it, but the subtext is all about the battle over regulation of wall street, leave aside this particular trade, what democrats are suggesting here is that we need more regulation of wall street, and that in fact if the volcker rule had been in place prohibiting proprietary trading by the banks maybe jamie dimon and his team wouldn't have gotten in this trouble all along. republicans skeptical of that and skeptical of new wall street regulation. >> what does this do pr wise the hit to jamie dimon and his reputati reputation, jpmorgan chase as a whole? >> it's tough. you can't overstate the degree to which dimon is the lion in the field of finance. jpmorgan was one of the few firms that came through the 2008 collapse relatively unscathed. he's one of the most highly visible, highly regarded fina e financiers in the country and

the world. this is a black eye for him and for the firm, there's no question but what he's trying to do in his testimony that's still going on right now is suggest that, you know, you got to put this thing into context, we lost $2 billion but it was our money, not taxpayer money and we've got plenty more money left so we can swallow this and move on, and no harm done. >> cnbc's eamon javers, thank you. >> thank you. looking at mitt romney's fiscal record while governor of massachusetts, why some of the numbers don't match up. plus on the hot seat, eric holder has no intention of resigning after a really contentious grilling on capitol him. also, out of control, 19 wildfires burning in nine states and it's just the beginning of the season. and a choice. take advil, and maybe have to take up to four in a day. or take aleve, which can relieve pain all day with just two pills. good eye.

to help protect your eye health as you age... would you take it? well, there is. [ male announcer ] it's called ocuvite. a vitamin totally dedicated to your eyes, from the eye-care experts at bausch + lomb. as you age, eyes can lose vital nutrients. ocuvite helps replenish key eye nutrients. [ male announcer ] ocuvite has a unique formula not found in your multivitamin to help protect your eye health. now, that's a pill worth taking. [ male announcer ] ocuvite. help protect your eye health. ♪ power surge, let it blow your mind. [ male announcer ] for fruits, veggies and natural green tea energy... new v8 v-fusion plus energy. could've had a v8.

i would not say i'm into it, but let's see where this goes. [ buzzer ] do you like to travel? i'm all about "free travel," babe. that's what i do. [ buzzer ] balance transfers -- you up for that? well... too soon? [ female announcer ] fortunately, there's an easier way with creditcards.com. compare hundreds of cards from every major bank, and find the one that's right for you. creditcards.com. it's simple. search, compare, and apply.

creditcards.com. it's simple. 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. weer concerned about the latest information we have that there are attack helicopters on the way from russia to syria, which will escalate the conflict

quite dramatically. >> hillary clinton dressing down the russian government for allegedly sending attack helicopters into syria. russia insists its arms shipment had nothing to do with syria's internal conflict but clinton says that's "patently untrue." more than 50 civilians were reported dead in the last 24 hours and one official calling the situation in syria a civil war. nbc news richard engel is monitoring it all from cairo. this is truly an uneven struggle but one day after secretary clinton's comments we have some stronger statements coming out today. catch us up to date. >> the french foreign minister says it is absolutely a civil war and says that a no fly zone is under consideration. now of course a no fly zone which we remember from libya and other conflicts is a militarily enforced action. it means attacking syrian air defense sites. it means something of a war

without troops on the ground against syria. nato says it is not planning this kind of offensive, but france certainly going out on a limb here potentially not by itself. also, the british foreign minister saying that syria is on the verge of a total collapse, or on the brink of an all-out civil war. so a lot of very strong statements coming out today, as the situation on the ground continues to get worse, as you said, at least 50 people killed today. syrian forces entering that town of haffa which had been surrounded for days, the same town where the u.s. officials warned a potential massacre was under way. now syrian troops entered haffa and about 2,000 refugees have crossed, leaving syria and crossed into turkey. >> richard, this has been going on for 15 months. the international community not doing what it did to help libya and as you've reported, this is

basically the sectarian issue of civil war within this country, neighbors fighting neighbors. what is it going to take for an international community response to help with the peacekeeping there and a political solution? >> well, if you look at what the french foreign ministry and hillary clinton are saying, they're talking about helicopters, and if there starts to be a massive air campaign where the syrians are regularly using helicopters, then i think we could start to see more movement toward that no fly zone which would be a significant development. >> richard engel for us in cairo, thanks so much. texas senator john cornyn is urging attorney general holder to resign. >> the u.s. attorney to his credit has appointed two very excellent u.s. attorneys to investigate this matter. i think it's really important we allow this investigation to go forward. that process is extremely

important. it should not be involved in politics. >> nbc justice correspondent pete williams joins us. republicans are taking aim at the department of justice. house committee is holding this contempt vote. what is the worst case scenario for the attorney general out of it. >> as to where it would go it's a good question. if this committee votes for attempt, the full house votes for contempt and it gets referred to the justice department for prosecution. >> as we talk about the attorney general, eric holder taking his seat on actuals for the leak investigation, is the department of justice going to take heat

for their hours of action, after the two u.s. attorneys released their findings, basically rushing up this timetable here? >> i guess it will depend on the results. there was a special council brought in. eric holder is saying, by using these two u.s. attorneys in the warm wash area they can move much more, the fbi has done over 100 interviews including the attorney general and the fbi director. you don't have to find somebody new or get them a staff, you don't have to find them office space, you can get moving quickly and he says it's the better course and the experienced u.s. attorneys know how to handle its cases. >> pete, what is the percentage of political theater we're watching going on through all of this? >> sorry? >> what is the percentage in political theater? is this getting actual work done and 50% political theater trying

to call for his resignation? where does it tip the scales? >> good question and i'm probably not the best one to answer that question. it's in there is there. >> pete williams, we'll let you off the hook. thanks so much. appreciate it. here's a look at other stories topping the news, about 800 firefighters in northern colorado are battling a deadly wildfire raging outside colorado springs. the fire covering 73 square miles, making it one of the largest in state history, just 10% of the flames have been contained. meanwhile new mexico is battling its own massive blaze, one of the largest in that state's history, this one scorching 56 square miles, destroying over 200 homes. police chasing an suv after a reported robbery in texas, the vehicle flips ejecting a toddler through the back window. the 18-month-old stands up and chases out the car before one suspect hops out to grab her. the girl is doing fine.

both of her teen parents were in that suv. it is becoming harder and harder for teens to land those coveted summer jobs, fewer than three in ten teens in the u.s. will work this june, july and august. this is according to the associated press and the drop is being fueled by the tight job market as well as more teens opting to spend their summers in school or away at camp. okay, so you may like bacon on your burger. one fast food chain wants to you give it a try on your dels sert as well. burger king adding bacon, a bacon sundae to its menu. vanilla soft serve topped with fudge, caramel, bacon crumbles and a full strip of bacon. the sundae weighs in at 510 calories. one of the cornerstones of mitt romney's presidential campaign is to paint the former mass mass governor as a fiscal hawk but a new report shows romney is leaving out key facts during his stops along the campaign trail and among them, the fact that state spending rose by 22% on romney's watch,

double the rate of inflation. and that romney inkreelsed corporate taxes and state fees by $750 million a year, exceeding his tax cuts and yesterday i spoke with alice stewart, national press sec.er to for rick santorum's presidential campaign and here's what she had to say about romney's record. >> governor romney brought the state from 50th to 30th, and when he left office, the unemployment rate in massachusetts was near 4.5% been compare that to 8. % with president obama and he also closed a $3 billion budget shortfall and left a $2 billion rainy day fund for the people of mass mass. >> i'm joined by glenn johnson, politics editor for "the boston globe." great to have you back on. alice said massachusetts was 30th in job creation under mitt romney, bringing the unemployment rate down to 4.5%. it was 4.7. 4.5 closer to that sounds better. the obama campaign and everybody else on the left is saying that it was 47th. your colleaguing at "the globe"

found there's truth to both of these claims. so break down the new math that everyone's using here. >> well, first of all it's funny to hear alice say that, where she spent the whole winter trashing mitt romney's record, now she's a supporter of his and making the exact opposite argument. there's actually truth in a lot of these statistics. when democrats hit mitt romney for having an economy, running a state that was 47th out of 50th in job creation that's true, over the span of his four-year term. when you have people like alice and eric fernstrom and romney spokesmen saying when he left office the state was 30th in job creation, that's also true so you have to look at the context of a four-year span or look at it in his last year in office, and i think inarguably over the four years he was in office he was starting with a budget deficit and a budget crisis, and he transitioned out of it, but part of the way he did it was by raising fees, almost by $1

billion, and also by cutting programs. so there's no, you know, arguing around those facts >> another major discrepancy is vetoes. he vetoed more than 80 spending items passed. the legislature overrode most of the vetoes, correct? >> correct. you got to remember he's in a state with a heavily democratic house and senate, and so he was the governor and he had his veto pen but they also had the power of the numbers in both of the legislative bodies so he would make his case sometimes for show, sometimes for substantive reasons and the house and senate would do what they want to do. >> a lot of people tweet me and ask why didn't mitt romney stick around for a second term if he did so well the first time around? >> it was the night of our state house press christmas party in december of 2005 when all of a sudden we got this notice that mitt romney wanted to talk to us out in the governor's press office, press conference room, and announced that he was not

going to seek a second term, more than a year to go in his term, and he had said basically he had accomplished all he felt he could accomplish, that there wasn't much more for him to do in a second term, and that it was time for him to leave office. it was just surprising because he still had about 25% of his term to go and everybody sensed he was going to run for president. you got to look at the reality of it isas a politician. he gained enough time in office to assemble some record but not enough time to accrue the kind of scar tissue that you get if you're a senator, say a john kerry or somebody else, running for president. it's much the same as president obama only in the senate for one term himself. >> stay mean and lean politically. glenn, thanks so much. appreciate it. coming out, republicans begin to embrace marriage equality, we'll talk about a new super pack. fair fight? former amateur boxer harry reid now weighing in on manny

pacquai's loss. tee times are the official start of what we love to do. the time for shots we'd rather forget, and the ones we'll talk about forever. in michigan long days, relaxing weather and more than 800 pristine courses make for the perfect tee time. because being able to play all day is pure michigan. your trip begins at michigan.org. yoo-hoo. hello. it's water from the drinking fountain at the mall. [ male announcer ] great tasting tap water can come from any faucet anywhere. the brita bottle with the filter inside.

a little bird told me about a band... ♪ an old man shared some fish stories... ♪ oooh, my turn. ♪ she was in paris, but we talked for hours... everyone else buzzed about the band. there's a wireless mind inside all of us. so, where to next? ♪ with less chronic osteoarthritis pain. imagine living your life with less chronic low back pain. imagine you, with less pain. cymbalta can help. cymbalta is fda-approved to manage chronic musculoskeletal pain. one non-narcotic pill a day, every day, can help reduce this pain. tell your doctor right away if your mood worsens, you have unusual changes in mood or behavior or thoughts of suicide.

antidepressants can increase these in children, teens, and young adults. cymbalta is not approved for children under 18. people taking maois or thioridazine or with uncontrolled glaucoma should not take cymbalta. taking it with nsaid pain relievers, aspirin, or blood thinners may increase bleeding risk. severe liver problems, some fatal, were reported. signs include abdominal pain and yellowing skin or eyes. tell your doctor about all your medicines, including those for migraine and while on cymbalta, call right away if you have high fever, confusion and stiff muscles or serious allergic skin reactions like blisters, peeling rash, hives, or mouth sores to address possible life-threatening conditions. talk about your alcohol use, liver disease and before you reduce or stop cymbaa.lt dizziness or fainting may occur upon standing. ask your doctor about cymbalta. imagine you with less pain. cymbalta can help. go to cymbalta.com to learn about a free trial offer. 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! welcome back, everybody. the question of whether the legalization of marriage equality should be overturned in washington state is going public. opponents of same-sex marriage now backing initiative 74 as it's called. gathered nearly 250,000 signatures to qualify it as a referendum on the november ballot. still, there's a question of just how legit some of those signatures are. election officials say they are investigating approximately 1,000 that appear to be fraudulent. however, over the past year, leading democrats along with president obama have voiced support for marriage equality and other lgbt issues but support on the republican side, that's also growing. the gop now has its own pro-marriage equality super pac so is this a game changer for the grand old party? timmy is executive director of go proud. as we talk about the new

superpac, american unity pac launched by the hedge fund guy paul e. singer, a heavyweight for your party. does it mean conservatives are evolving, distancing themselves from pro-discrimination-type thinking when it comes to the lgbt community rethinking the stance on marriage equality? >> thanks for having me. i don't think conservatives are any different than anyone else in america. in 2012 every person has a gay person in their life, friends and family. mr. singer has gay people in his family, we all have come to think about these issues in a very personal way, and so everyone in america is having this discussion and thinking about these things in a personal way, and many people, including many conservatives, are coming to the conclusion that supporting same-sex civil marriage is the right thing to do. >> jimmy, when you talk about

conservatives not being different from other people in america, the gop contender is not for marriage equality, there are many who came out as well and the president demonstrated he's pro-marriage equality so how do those two equate that you're saying conservatives aren't different when the person that most conservatives would like to elect to be president is against it? >> well, remember that president obama was dragged kicking and screaming by his grassroots base to that position, and what's happening in the conservative movement among grassroots conservatives is a shift in opinion and discussion on this, and we're seeing particularly among young conservatives, i don't talk to any young people when i'm across the country talking to young people, almost all of them either support same-sex marriage or think like i do, that the state should decide it, and so it's very much a generational thing. we know that politicians don't always lead on difficult issues

like this. so you know, i disagree with mitt romney on this issue. i think the states should decide marriage. i think that marriage is good for people and i think it's a conservative position, and more and more of my fellow conservatives are joining me and others in that position. >> jimmy, is it an incentive like a superpac like the one singer created is that enough incentive to get the attention of someone like mitt romney and to go back to the way he used to feel about marriage equality when he was trying too beat teddy kennedy in massachusetts when he said he'd be to the left of him when he went back to the far fringes of the right? >> i don't know, you'll have to talk to mitt romney about that. it's evidence of the way paul singer leads his life, he supports republicans because he knows conservative policies are good for the country and he supports gay issues because he knows that it's good for gay people and his family, and so he loves his country and his family and that's just evidence in that

superpac, you know, what governor romney thinks about it, i don't know, but it's certainly good sign of progress that the conservative movement and republican party is having this same discussion that the rest of america is having. >> we'll continue to watch it. go proud executive director jimmy lasalvia, thank you for your time. >> thank you, thomas. the first lady experiencing another first of her own, michelle obama greeted about 150 people at the washington barnes & noble for her very first and probably only book signing. "american grown: the story of the white house garden and gardens across america" gardening as a family craft. it's skyrocketed to the top of "the new york times" best seller list and according to the first lady her daughters approve, too. >> they actually got pulled in by the pictures, and then they couldn't put it down and they started looking through and then they started actually reading it, and then eventually i got

actually a thumbs up. >> there you go, a thumbs up from the kids, whether you're on the left or the right. this is some of the pictures of the kitchen garden on pinterest. "the veggies taste even better when you grow them yourself." harry reid took a break from refereeing feuds on the hill of the boxing matchup between manny pacquiao and timothy bradley. he doesn't expect anything improper occurred but if critics want an investigation, they should get one. [ male announcer ] this is lois.

the day starts with arthritis pain... a load of new listings... and two pills. after a morning of walk-ups, it's back to more pain, back to more pills. the evening showings bring more pain and more pills. sealing the deal... when, hang on... her doctor recommended aleve. it can relieve pain all day with fewer pills than tylenol. this is lois... who chose two aleve and fewer pills for a day free of pain. and get the all day pain relief of aleve in liquid gels. there it is ! there it is ! where ? where ? it's getting away ! where is it ? it's gone. we'll find it. any day can be an adventure. that's why we got a subaru. love wherever the road takes you. wow, there it is.

but when i was diagnosed with prostate cancer... i needed a coach. our doctor was great, but with so many tough decisions i felt lost. unitedhealthcare offered us a specially trained rn who helped us weigh and understand all our options. for me cancer was as scary as a fastball is to some of these kids. but my coach had hit that pitch before. turning data into useful answers. we're 78,000 people looking out for 70 million americans. that's health in numbers. unitedhealthcare.

a new study disproves a popular belief that spending money on lobbyists and political contribution yields big benefits for businesses.

researchers from rice university in texas and long island university in new york found the opposite to be true. according to their work, companies that spend more money on political interests typically performed worse financially. i'm joined by the assistant professor of management at long island university and co-author of that study. good to have you here. as we talk about this, it analyzed the stock value of more than 940 companies in the s & p -- >> 1500. >> and over an 11-year period. >> indeed. >> what did it find? >> well, thank you for having me, thomas. what we found is that when you look at the activities of these firms and donations to politicians, at lobbying expenditures, even having former politicians on the board, most of these firms over the 11-year period of the study failed worse in terms of market value, even when they hired former politicians to the board which you would assume would be a strong way to gain access. the only caveat was that if a regulated firm such as a utility, oil company, a bank, and you repeatedly give donations and hire lobbyists,

only then do you reap financial rewards but that only applies to 10% of the firms in our sample. most firms don't reap financial rewards and actually suffer worse financial performance. >> a lot of people would be surprised by that one figure of 10%, reaping a financial benefit. you're talking about big oil, telecommunications -- >> utilities. >> industries like that. >> yeah. >> so only 10%. so why is there this perceived notion, then, that this actually exists for influence? >> that's a great question. i would argue that there are three reasons. first of all, washington is flooded with lobbyists. one study i read argues that for each legislator, you have ten lobbyists. i don't know if that's the actual number but these lobbyists often represent different interests, often conflicting interests so what happens is the political activity of one firm is often counteracted by that of another firm or another party, and they cancel out each other. it's kind of a zero sum game dynamics. we saw this happen across data for 40 years, actually. that's one thing. another thing is when you go

into this political arena, it's not like selling a product in the market. when apple sells ipads it has a sales revenue. but what happens when you give money to a politician, when you hire a lobbyist? you never know what they're going to do with the money behind the scenes. you're not there. you can't control the process. there is no feedback loop. you keep giving because you think it's going to work, has to work, that's kind of the mindset which is the third point, a lot of these companies have an overconfidence bias. it's going to work it's been working for 100 years, it will work for me and they don't really understand the process so they keep on giving in hopes that one day it's going to work because it eventually has to work, right? kind of an insurance policy. >> amazing. great study. thanks for coming on. i appreciate it. that's going to wrap things up for me. thanks for your time. see you back here tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. eastern. don't go anywhere. "now" with alex wagner is coming up next. it may be romney/obama in the race for president but these days, it's sounding a lot more like reagan/bush.

we will discuss the great national history lesson playing out on the political stage. and planned parenthood's cecile richards will join us to discuss the latest on the battle over women's health and the cultural divide over choice. meanwhile, the department of justice fights governor rick scott, who is fighting the department of homeland security. over a largely imagined problem. all that when "now" starts in 180 seconds. [ boy ] come on. ♪ wait. ♪ happy father's day. ♪ sorry. sore knee. blast of cold feels nice. why don't you use bengay zero degrees? it's the one you store in the freezer. gives that instant cold sensation. that's chilly. same medicated pain reliever used by physical therapists.

and it lasts for hours. [ sigh of relief ] [ short breath ] [ longer breath ] [ short breath ] [ male announcer ] new bengay zero degrees. freeze and move on.

that's good morning, veggie style. hmmm. for half the calories plus veggie nutrition. could've had a v8. what to do when the economy's down, your message is muddy and people don't really like you? jump into the way-back machine and channel the gipper. this is "now." joining me today, msnbc political analyst, richard wolffe. nicolle wallace, former communications director for

president george w. bush, senior advisor for the mccain campaign and author of "it's classified." patricia murphy of citizen jane politics and a contributor to the daily beast. and mr. sunday morning himself, the "new york times" magazine's hugo lindgren. ronald reagan's legacy is causing a bit of fracture in the gop as party leaders debate what role the herolded republican president would play today. jeb bush is taking flack for saying republicans today have moved too far right for reagan to be accepted in the party. meanwhile, this morning, tim pawlenty said mitt romney embodies reagan's principles. >> say the republican party currently wouldn't endorse ronald reagan or something like that, we just nominated mitt romney or presumptively nominated mitt romney, who is in the reagan tradition, a conservative with a conservative record, governed effectively in a blue state, working across the aisle, somebody who has produced results. >> but as republicans make comparisons