but it doesn't sound good. and theton, mitt the twit. romneyshambles, stirring an international twitter hash tag. and the great rowback with the "today" show's matt lauer. >> after being here a couple of days, it looks to me like london is ready. and of course it is hard to put on games in a major metropolitan area. and what they've done that i find so impressive is they took the venues and put them right in the city. people -- you're going to be able in the back side of 10 downing street for beach volleyball, for instance. >> that of course after romney hit up some of london's big moneymaker types for campaign cash. after all, he better get something out of this visit, because he is certainly not getting any medals for statesmanship. romney made his other big blunder right outside number 10 downing street, confirming that he had met the head of britain's intelligence agency, mi-6. apparently not realizing that the british are a bit more into the whole secret aspect of their secret intelligence agency.

saying you just got chummy with the head of one of the most clandestine agencies in the world not exactly kosher. and speaking of kosher, it was enough to make stephen colbert wonder what romney might say on his next stop in israel. >> i say you open your speech in the knesset with america will always stand behind you and so will jesus christ. now where can a boy get some baby back ribs in palestinian? >> you know, maybe mitt's muffed it so bad, he'll have to release his tax returns to distract from this foreign misadventure. you think? >> we've laid out all that is required by law and then some, the same as john mccain, and we just don't want to give the dnc more things for them to pick at, distort in the way they have already. >> no, i guess not. let's get right to our panel in washington. democratic strategist julian epstein, and in minneapolis, anna marie cox, correspondent for the guardian. anna, let me start with you.

mitt is already being tagged on twitter as the american borat. now he has to go around giving the dreaded foreign apology tour that he loves to slap on president obama. what in the dickens went wrong here? >> you know, i'm not sure. but it is a very humorous situation. and i think we're all stretching for the right analogy from the comedic world. and i would like to offer for "arrested development" fans republican tobias for romney, because unlike borat, who showed some interest, his gaffes come from actually asking questions about the culture he is in and wanting to know more. mitt shows no interest whatsoever really in trying to understand what is happen around him. or any intellectual curiosity about london. he seems to have learned it is a very busy city, but that's about it. i think it's hard to apologize to people that you don't even care about. and i wonder if he is actually going to be able to be sincere with his apologies. >> julian, this seemed like a no-brainer.

if he could just keep the barclays bankers in quiet rooms, he would be gold. yet could 24 have been a worse introduction on the world stage? in all seriousness, is he ready to open his mouth in israel? >> you mentioned the word gold, and mitt romney gets the first gold medal for cultural insensitivity. as you said in your opening, this is really like a chevy chase-like foreign adventure kind of moment. you know, his charm offensive is zero parts charm and ten parts offensive. and you think of the guy. every single month this guy seems to say something that is just dumb. i mean i like firing people. i don't care about the poor. the trees are the right size. i don't like your cookies. i mean you really wonder if this guy is battle tested and ready for the international stage. and the reason why it's important is because people don't think of their president, and americans don't want to think of their president as somebody who is going to go abroad and embarrass them. in terms of israel, it's one kind of comedian yesterday said,

you expect he is going to go to the wailing wall and refer to it as michigas. this guy has a problem. and his real problem is he's a little bit goofy, and he is very awkward, and he constantly puts his foot in his mouth. and people don't want that in a president of the united states. >> well, let me ask you both. britain was supposed to be the easy stop. it's the olympics. his wife has a horse competing. they speak english there. it's supposed to be easy. now he goes to israel next, and then he goes to poland. what land mines could he possibly step on in israel when he goes there this weekend? >> well, he really has in israel. >> figuratively. >> i just want to be clear, figuratively. >> point well taken. he really has -- according to one of the reports that is coming out of london this morning, he said that the united states really shouldn't get involved in the negotiations between the israeli and

palestinians. well, that would be -- that would be real news to jimmy carter, to ronald reagan, to herbert walker bush, to president clinton, to george w. bush. the united states has always played a very, very important role as a mediator in that conflict. and, again, and it totally contradicts what he said before about the obama administration not doing enough. so it just seems like this guy is incapable of making mistakes. and you hear a lot of the republicans saying, although he is getting criticized by some republicans, you hear a lot of republicans saying this doesn't matter. i think it does because americans care how they're represented abroad. >> go ahead. >> i just have to jump in about this. i think this is not a good moment for romney, and it just sort of suggest he is not ready for the world stage. but i'm not sure how much american voters care about being embarrassed on the world stage. i mean we did elect george bush twice. and he wasn't exactly, you know, a good ambassador for american culture. i mean he was kind of the typical -- in some ways i think people were proud of his being

an ugly american. so i'm not sure how much this matters for voters. i think this is more a case of what kind of taste it leaves in people's mouths, you know. i think it's going to play into the fact, again, not so much that he offended so much of it is his arrogance in doing. so and that's the image he really has to fight. >> so ana, can mitt romney pretty much count on his foreign fumbles to distract from the little tax return issue? >> well, maybe that's the master plan here and we're not giving his team enough credit for playing three dimensional chess. but i kind of doubt it. and i think tax returns are something that people can care about. i mean, it is hard to get people to care about the absence of something. but if enough republicans demand that we release them, and it turns out there is something even just weird about them, even something that underscores again the fact he is a rich guy who plays by different rules than everyone else, then yes, i think that's going to be a problem. i'm sure they're hoping that the

sir lining to all this is that he will get a silver, that he won't have to talk about this anymore. >> there is one reason why i think that's not true, which is that he is weeks or days away from announcing his vip. he has to ask for probably at least ten years of tax returns from his potential vice presidential nominee. now how is he going to ask for ten years of tax returns from his vice presidential pick and not be willing to provide that same information to the american people? i don't think this is an issue that is going away. >> as we know, when mitt romney was being vetted by john mccain in 2008, he handed over to senator mccain 23 years worth of tax returns. >> exactly. >> so we've been talking than for a while. julian, last question to you really quickly. you mentioned mitt romney's vp pick. and then we go to the conventions and then there are the debates. next thing you know it's election day. and mitt romney's finances are still shrouded in secrecy. is that his plan? will it work?

>> i think he can continue stonewalling. it is his plan. but my guess is that given opposition research as it is today, we will be hearing the campaign information has more information to put out about foreign investments, about tax shelters. and again, the point here is not just secrecy. the point here is that he is gaming the tax system so that he can pay a much lower tax rate than anybody else. it's the kind of scheme that tax experts say skate up at the very edge of the law, if it doesn't cross the law. that's why he's not putting this information out. >> julian epstein, ana marie cox, thank you both. next, rick santorum and mike huckabee, birds of a feather. stay with us. ♪ [ kate ] many women may not be properly absorbing

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with everything going on in the world today, you might think rick santorum would have better things to do than lose his head over the controversy surrounding chik-fil-a and gay marriage. but you'd be mistaken about that. just take a listen. >> keep seeing this more and more, which is the absolute intolerance of the left in america. there can be no defense. >> people on both sides have been hopping mad ever since dan kathy, the ceo of chik-fil-a condemned gay marriage. so mad that one alderman in chicago threatened this week to block the construction of a new chik-fil-a restaurant in his district. he joins us right now, alderman joe moreno who represents the people of the first ward in the chicago city council, sorry. alderman, thank you very much for being with us. we want to talk about the issue in your district. >> thank you. >> but first. >> sure. >> we have just heard some very sad news coming from chik-fil-a. the company's long-time public relations head don perry died

suddenly this morning, reportedly from a heart attack. of course, our thoughts and prayers are with his family and prendes right now. is there anything you would like to say in response to this news? >> well, of course our thoughts and prayers are with that. i didn't know the gentleman. but any time a tragedy like that happens, whether it's in my ward or in the city of chicago or not, our thoughts and prayers go out to him and his family. >> now getting back to the controversy in your district, do you agree with me that it's possible even for people who support gay marriage to be against you on this because of free speech? >> well, i think it's not about -- it's not a free speech issue. i would agree that everyone has the right to speak and believe what they want to believe and speak what they want to believe where. rick santorum is dead wrong though is that just because someone is intolerant and i don't accept their intolerance doesn't mean that i'm being intolerant. that's a very naive and young argument. >> but ultimately -- you do

agree, though, that the chik-fil-a ceo does have a right to express his own viewpoints? >> absolutely. that's not what this is about. and i'm not going to allow them to frame it that way. this is about if that belief system transcends into policies that discriminate against those that are lgbt community. and just recently they put a statement out, a day or two after the president made his statements saying that they would no longer have these policies, that they open up to everyone. if that facebook message is a policy that they're willing to put into their employee handbook and it's part of their culture, then i think we've made a great stride in chik-fil-a's policies. and i would be more open to having them at the table and in my ward and in my community. but prior to that, i was very, very concerned that the belief systems, they were so strong, and they used the word "we" so much that thousand that was going to transcend to discriminating against lesbian and gay folks. >> we read this morning there

may be a chance of you backing off the threat to block the chill fillet in your district. any truth to that? >> well, i'm not going to back off my principles. i've been working with them for eight or nine months and the principles of the community. in those eight or nine months, from the day one had voiced my concern behind the scenes, not in public, about the potential of them having these anti- -- these discriminatory policies. and we've been working on that, making small stearns not big steps. if we make those steps, of course, i would want them to embrace anti-discriminatory policy and move forward and accept anyone to work there or to eat there. based not only on their sexual orientation, but race, creed, color, et cetera. if they're willing to raise that, i'm not going to sit here and say no to chik-fil-a because the ceo believes something. again, it's if the beliefs turn into policies that are discriminatory. >> so how has it been going in terms of conversations between chik-fil-a and the city and you and your district?

>> right. so it was going, you know, slow but well prior to this week. i would submit, and this is just my thought that they're probably waiting for this to settle to come back and discuss with me and the community, maybe clear up some things that they need to clear up. and maybe revisit their mission statement and their employee handbook. unfortunately, the tragedy of executive passing away suddenly i'm sure is going to -- they're going to need some time. and i'm willing to give them that time. but what i'm not willing to do and what the immunity is not willing to do is have a company that embraces policies that are going to discriminate against lesbian and gay folks. it's a human rights and civil rights issue of our time. and we've never had those in our history, civil rights and human rights have never progressed without being in the front, not in the back. >> one more question on this. other city officials, boston mayor tom menino has backed off from telling chik-fil-a they're not welcome there. bloomberg of new york says it's none of the government's business in the first place. do you think these guys are wrong?

>> well, if they're talking about it's none of the government's business if a company has policies that discriminate against people, yeah, i do think they're wrong. but if they're talking it's none of the government's business to try to craft free speech or try to change someone's belief system, i think they're right. that's what it is for me and my ward and my neighborhood. >> chik-fil-a says then, you can see the statement there on the screen. it says that chik-fil-a culture and service tradition in our restaurants is to treat every person with honor, dignity and respect regardless of their belief, race, creed, sexual orientation or gender. >> right. so that's the message i was talking about that they posted on their facebook. i mean that just happened within the last four or five day, maybe a week. >> that's a good thing, isn't it? >> yeah, it's a good thing. as i said, jonathan, that's a good step forward. and i'll repeat myself. if that's something that is not a facebook message post, a one day trying to do damage control, i believe. if that's something that is really a policy and is really going to be in place and they're willing to back that up, i think we've made great strides from

when we started talking eight or nine months ago. >> alderman joe moreno, thank you very much for being with us. >> thank you, john. trait appreciate it. next, why a million people in pennsylvania may be turned away from the polls in november. stay with us. you guys need to convince me that i can win pennsylvania. i got news for you, congressman, i am going to win pennsylvania. ♪ really want to see your love, but it takes so long ♪ [ male announcer ] let's say you need to take care of legal matters. wouldn't it be nice if there was an easier, less-expensive optn than using a traditional lawyer? well, legalzoom came up with a better way. we took the best of the old and combined it with modern technology. together you get quality services on your terms, with totalustomer support. legalzoom documents have been accepted in all 50 states, and they're backed by a 100% satisfaction guarante so go to legalzoom.com today and see for yourself. it's law that just makes sense.

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the united states justice department is now investigating the latest battle in the voter id laws. this time in pennsylvania, where up to one million people may not have the id needed to vote come november. nbc's mara schiavocampo has been following the story. how did we get to the point where one million pennsylvanians

may show up on election day only to find out they don't have the acceptable id? >> this report was commissioned in for use in the lawsuit against pennsylvania. they want the injunction to keep this law from going into effect come november. what the report found is there are a large number of voters who think they have the right id but they don't. this is different from prior studies that look at currently how many people don't have the right id to vote. this group of people, these are registered voters who believe they have a valid government-issued id that will allow them to vote when due to a variety of problems they don't have the right id. that includes an id that is expiring or that is expired, or a name that does not match the name on the voter roles correctly. so these people think they have the right id. and this group is of particular concern to voting rights groups, because they're ones that are most likely to find out they have a public on election day. because if you don't know you have a problem, you can't address it. they think they're in compliance already. once they get to the polls and realize there is a problem, they

can cast a provisional ballot, but they have to return within six days with proof of id. anyone who has dealt with trying to get an id knows it often take morse than that time. so that's what we're dealing with right now. that's what the numbers show. >> in pennsylvania house republican leader mike turzi had high praise for the voter id laws in his state. watch. >> voter id, which is going to allow governor romney to win the state of pennsylvania, done. >> so with pennsylvania once again a critical swing state, could the voter id actually decide the outcome in november? >> you know, we're seeing these voter id laws all over the country. but it does become a more significant issue when you're talking about a battleground state. and if you look at these numbers, it is clear that this could have a substantial impact on the election. because you have a million people according to the study who think that they have a prper id and they don't. in addition to that, you have about 379,000 people who don't have the underlying documents they need to get an id. so they don't have, for example, a birth certificate, or their social security card, the actual

copy of their social security card. we're talking about really substantial numbers. and the groups of people who are most likely to be affected by this are the elderly, the poor, people living in urban areas, people who are younger voters, minorities, and these are groups that traditionally support the democratic candidate for president. that's why you see a lot of those groups really concerned about what is taking place. >> nbc's mara schiavocampo with a very thorough report. thank you. >> thanks, jonathan. good to see you. stay with us. this week's top lines are coming up. ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] you've reached the age where you don't back down from a challenge. this is the age of knowing how to make things happen.

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just how well it will turn out. there are a few things that were disconcerting. >> awww! >> there was a guy called mitt romney who wants to know whether we're ready. >> it looks to me like london is ready. >> i'm really, really sorry. i apologize unreservedly. >> an apology where it is not due. >> what is he going to do in israel? look around and go the palestinians should probably have all of jerusalem? >> all olympians stand on the shoulders of those who lifted them. >> how do you feel about the president saying that you needed help to start this business? >> i would say that it's rude. but we did have help. our investors, our dad and stepmom, along with other prendes and family. >> you're competing against young people in beijing and bangalore. they're not watching "real housewives." >> he says, this is a quote, i have nothing to hide. well, isn't that what a guy would say who has something to hide?

>> i released all the information required that is required by law. we laid out that is required by law. all that is required by law. on christmas, my sons gave me a box and said if you wear this, mom will pay more attention to you. i opened it. it was a rubber horse mask. >> did you wear it? >>. no. >> there were a few things that were disconcerting. >> let's get right to our panel. toure is one of the hosts of msnbc's "the cycle." and dr. james peterson is a contributor to the greo.com. welcome to you both. toure, conservatives here and around the world don't seem to like mitt romney. here is the headline in the daily mail. they've branded him as, quote, devoid of charm, offensive, and a wazzock. so for those of you who don't know, dictionary.com defines wazzock as a foolish or annoying person. toure, i ask you, is mitt romney a wazzock? >> is it a wazz-ack or a

wazzock? i would put a longer oh on that. the rank and file, part of why the primary took so long. and the chattering class elite conservatives are not in love with him, are quick to sort of jump on his back from the rupert murdoch tweet to krauthammer, they're constantly ready to criticize him because this is not a guy who they are in love with. and i think secretly they would like to see him lose and put up somebody who they love in 2016, because they'd be stuck with him for at least four years and they would be grumbling. but how can they be grumbling when it's their guy. this london trip is not making any of them. >> it's been reported romney told a story, one he says former reagan chief of staff james baker tells where reagan told baker he wouldn't deal with foreign policy in his first 100 days, just the economy. the conservative bill kristol has offered baker dinner if this

anecdote is true. so dr. peterson, would you chip in for the bill if it is true? >> i definitely would chip in for the bill because i don't think he's going to have to buy him dinner. i think what you're going to find out is this is something reagan said rhetorically, but certainly didn't mean it literally. already research is embargo out he took national security meetings over the course of his first 100 days. bottom line, it's apples and oranges anyway. the things the next president is going to have to deal with in terms of syria and all these other issues developing around the world is one piece of it. so foreign policy is going to be very, very important. but also, our economy is quite different. this is a globalized economy. you are required in terms of working and focusing on the national economy to think very, very seriously about things that are going on globally. again, it goes to some of the reasons why some of the conservatives are so disappointed in mitt romney because there are serious issues and questions about his competency about a politician. though things just aren't resolved yet. this is why you people have coming on.

>> competency politically, people skills. romney is very low. you call him people unintelligent, right. some people are people smart. romney is the opposite of that. he keeps showing these things that show him insummiting the 7-eleven cookies things, insulting that woman in her home. and people can sense these things on a very deep subconscious level very quickly. this person doesn't get me. this person doesn't like me. this person doesn't understand me. this person doesn't have people skills. and they know those things. they sense them very quickly. and as more and more of the undecided start to plug into the race, they're going to go wait a minute, that guy, i just don't vibe with him. >> something is not right. so toure, several conservatives have hammered romney not just for telling the story we're talking about before the baker story, but from taking the wrong lesson from it. my colleague at the "washington post" also with the conservative american enterprise institute writes, quote, the fact that

romney thinks it would be desirable to ignore the world for his first 100 days is troubling. romney isn't running for treasury secretary, he is running for commander in chief. and those responsibilities begin on day one of his presidency. >> that's right. >> and bill kristol says, quote, so reminder to mitt romney. with respect to the presidency, national security isn't a bug, it's a feature. how big a hole in mitt's resume is foreign policy becoming? >> well, it seems that it's a gigantic hole. we don't have any idea what experience or what knowledge he has on foreign policy. and his whole campaign is i'm not going to tell you much about myself. i'm just going to say don't vote for that guy. eventually he is going have to become three dimensional, this is who i am. and not say i don't want to talk about massachusetts, i don't want to talk about bain, i don't want to talk about mormonism. at some point you're going have to to talk about who you are. to go to the core of his argument, i ran bain very well, i became very successful, ergo, i can run the united states that doesn't work. business people aren't able to come in and run the united

states or to run a large state because states and governments don't run like businesses. they are different. >> hey, james. >> yes. >> let's take a listen to wisconsin governor scott walker on morning joe on wednesday, what he had to say. >> i think the mistake that they have made is this feeling like it can just be a referendum on the president. people don't want to just vote somebody out that. >> want to vote somebody in. the two have to go hand in hand. >> now walker isn't the first conservative to publicly complain about romney and his campaign. do you think he'll be the last? >> he is not going to be the last. remember, some of these bigger name conservatives in the republican party are also sort of pushing and prodding the romney campaign because they probably want him to make a certain decision about his vp pick. and they're probably a little unsettled and unsure of that. at the end of the day, mitt romney does have to make the case not just to the independents, but also to his party. and part of the reason why you see so much critique coming from the right directed at him, again, it goes to competency. believe it or not, the folk who

put bush in office are seriously concerned about competency issues. and in the world that we live in, the world that we live in, you have to think really, really seriously and really globally. toure is right. people skills matter. diplomacy in 2012 and going forward is going to be a key part of everything that we do. being able to relate to and connect to people and being sensible and sensitive about interacting with people is a very, very important part of the american presidency, especially now that we have seen this in the presidency of barack obama. >> james, this gets to a question i was going to ask toure, but not liking mitt romney is becoming popular enough to qualify as an olympic sport. the new nbc news/"wall street journal" poll finds mitt romney is the most unpopular gop candidate in modern times. his negatives still outweigh the positives. toure, can he change these numbers with about three months to go? >> no, i don't think he can change those numbers. and i don't think that's his strategy to try to change the numbers, because he wants it to be just a referendum election. don't vote for that guy. he is not doing well in the economy.

obama is trying to make it ultimately a three-person race with george bush being the third person in the race, and saying it's a choice between me and mitt romney. and remember, george bush put me into these problems that you don't like. so don't blame me for the problems. some people are hearing that argument. ultimately, it's going to be a very small group of people, mostly in ohio, some in florida, some other states we know about, colorado, virginia, who are going to make this decision. because we are a polarized 47-47 electorate. a few people are going to make the decision. and if they don't like mitt romney personally, i see a very difficult time selling those voters on changing horses at this point in a difficult economy. >> one other thing. >> real quickly, james. >> we should not underestimate the impact of him not releasing his tax returns. i mean that is part of his negative sort of referendum here. people want to know what this guy has been doing with his money, how he has made it. >> right. >> that is vital to people liking him, because we don't understand how he is one of us without that information.

>> i'm sorry, toure, i know, it's about honesty, but it's also we're out of time. dr. james peterson and toure, thank you very much. >> thanks, brother. next, the president and mitt romney battle for jewish votes. stay with us. ♪ well another great thing about all this walking i've been doing is that it's given me time to reflect on some of life's biggest questions. like, if you could save hundreds on car insurance by making one simple call, why wouldn't you make that call? see, the only thing i can think of is that you can't get any... bars. ah, that's better. it's a beautiful view. i wonder if i can see mt. rushmore from here. geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance.

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a place where innovation meets determination... and businesses lead the world. the new new york works for business. find out how it can work for yours at thenewny.com. one day before mitt romney is scheduled to visit jerusalem, the president had t. >> how you? >> i'm peachy swell. >> mitt romney is going the same time the president signs the deal. just a coincidence? >> i don't want to paraphrase you from earlier in the hour you think? i don't understand. when you look at it, this bill was passed exactly ten days ago. then you look at your pocket's version of the constitution,

which i know you and i carry around. it's ten days the president has to either sign something or veto it, excluding sundays. so today was essentially the last day i guess technically he could have signed it tomorrow. but obviously they chose to do. this they've been very aggressive about counter programing, even during the primary season, jonathan. you remember super tuesday the president had a press conference here at the white house. so i think there is very little doubt, although the official explanation from the white house is congress operates on its own schedule. this bill happened to be sitting on the president's desk all week. granted he wut out of town the first three days. he still could have signed it. it's not every bill that gets a televised signing ceremony from the oval office. >> that's for sure. mike, romney gave an interview to a sheldon adelson-owned israeli newspaper that is running today. and in it he sounds critical of the president's stance on israel. what has been the white house's reaction to this? >> i think the white house is again aggressively pushing back on any notion. it's no secret that the president has not had the best

of relations with benjamin netanyahu. you remember that netanyahu virtually lectured president obama during another west wing photo op in, turning to face him, this turning what turned out to be the president's controversial comments about using the 1967 borders of negotiating a two-state solution with the sovereign palestinian state. this is something that the white house had been the official stance of administrations going back a generation. but something in the way it was phrased, something in the way that netanyahu took it, it did not go over well. the president then went to apac for the annual speech there, received a raucous welcome. they're pushing back here, releasing a fact sheet, the white house, emphasizing the fact that the president has given another $70 million towards this iron dome program, this defense system against short-range weapons striking israel. that's on top of $205 million they gave last year, listing $3 million in military funding for

israel just this year alone that they said the administration pushed for, jonathan. >> hey, mike, how closely is the white house watching mitt romney's travels, particularly his travels this weekend to israel? >> i think they're watching them closely. you won't get them to comment publicly on it. but obviously they're watching him closely and taking no measure of satisfaction in seeing mitt romney trip up, you know, in those very undiplomatic comments that he has made that have caused a stir amongst some of our closest allies there is something you have been talking about over the course of the hour. obviously a lot of glee. there is one cardinal rule, of course, jonathan in politics. if the other side is getting ready to hang themselves you don't get involved. you stand back. you hand them enough rope there is no point of them getting involved when mitt romney is making a big enough mess as it is all by himself. >> and on that note, thank you so much. >> all righty. next, why boehner and the boys want to have their f-22s, their c-17s and their cake, and they want to eat it too. but first, hampton pearson has

this cnbc market wrap. good afternoon, hampton. >> hello, jonathan. we're just a few hours away from the opening of the olympic games. but we saw major u.s. markets go for the gold today. the dow above 13,000 for the first time in months. the closing bells looked like this. the dow up 187 points. the nasdaq up 64. the s&p up 25 points. that's it from cnbc first in business worldwide. have a great weekend, everybody. [ male announcer ] when a major hospital wanted to provide better employee benefits while balancing the company's bottom line, their very first word was... [ to the tune of "lullaby and good night" ] ♪ af-lac ♪ aflac [ male announcer ] find out more at... [ duck ] aflac! [ male announcer ] ...forbusiness.com. [ yawning sound ]

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mitt romney wants to cut taxes on the wealthiest americans, as well as corporate tax rates on the country's largest businesses. at the same time, he promises to increase defense spending to even higher levels than the military itself is calling for. he is even taken to slamming president obama for defense cuts republicans demanded. >> this is no time for the president's radical cuts in our military. don't bother, by the way, trying to find a serious military rationale behind any of that,

unless that rationale is wishful thinking. strategy is not driving the president's massive defense cuts. >> dana milbank is my colleague and a political columnist for the pennsylvania coast. dana, thanks for being here. >> you're a natural there in the anchor chair, john. >> thank you very much. you're very kind. so in your column, you called those remarks by romney some of the most mendacious of this campaign. why? these are supposedly obama's defense cuts. that's true, but they're also john boehner's defense cuts. they're mitch mcconnell's defense cuts. they're the defense cuts of the vast majority of republicans in the house and the senate. and that is because it comes from the budget control act of last year. and how did we get to that? well, the republicans said they were going to throw the country into default unless the democrats agreed to certain cuts. and if the super committee didn't reach a deal, they had to agree to these automatic cuts. the reason they're in place is because the republicans held the

country hostage last year. >> right. so romney and his prendes in congress want to increase defense spending by more than $2 trillion. but he also wants to cut taxes on individuals and large corporations. has he even explained where the money would come from to pay for the military spending? >> no. but we figured it out for him. if you do the math on this. so if you're going to have the kind of tax cuts that he has endorsed in paul ryan's budget, and you're going to increase military spending by $2.1 trillion over ten years, you can cut all over government function, including current social security and medicare benefits by 15%, or if you want to leave those in place, because romney says he also wants to do that, you can eliminate all functions of eight cabinet agency, including the department of justice, the department of commerce, the national institutes of health, the department of the treasury. so you may actually want to send all this money to the pentagon, but you won't have an irs left to collect the taxes. >> so what about other things that could be done. say what mitt romney did in

massachusetts, raising fees. what about that? would they even consider these things? >> wow, $2.1 trillion worth of fees. >> it's a big country. >> look, this is the central dilemma for mitt romney. you can't have it both ways. you can either have a massive increase in military spending, or you can have a tax cut. arguably, you can't really afford either one. it's not just an abstract choice. it came on the floor of the senate this week. and you had the senate republicans saying no way to any sort of a tax increase. at the same time, literally the day after the leader of their party, the nominee of their party is bashing the democrats for cutting spending. >> real fast. on wednesday, senate republicans had a chance to vote for a small increase in taxes on salaries, over $250,000. even though that first $250,000 wouldn't be touched, only what is earned above 250. but instead they voted against

it, thus ensuring the cuts to the military would happen. so are republicans in congress really willing to sacrifice the military for another tax cut for the rich? >> exactly. that was $50 billion they could have had in that tax revenue, which is exactly the amount that next year the pentagon would be deprived of that mitt romney says is so devastating. >> interesting, dane. that i look forward the reading your next column. dana milbank of the "washington post," thank you very much. >> thank you, sir. and we'll be right back to clear the air. ♪ [ female announcer ] e-trade technology can help make you a better investor. our e-trade 360 investing dashboard shows you where your money is, live. e-trade pro is so usable you'll actually use it. and our apps are the ultimate in mobile investing. become a better investor at e-trade. begins with back pain and a choice. take advil, and maybe have to take up to four in a day. or take aleve,

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put me at 5 times greater risk of a stroke, my first thoughts were about my wife, and my family. i have the most common type of atrial fibrillation, or afib. it's not caused by a heart valve problem. i was taking warfarin, but my doctor put me on pradaxa instead to reduce my risk of stroke. in a clinical trial, pradaxa® (dabigatran etexilate mesylate) reduced stroke risk 35% better than warfarin. and unlike warfarin, with pradaxa, there's no need for regular blood tests. that's really important to me. pradaxa can cause serious, sometimes fatal, bleeding. don't take pradaxa if you have abnormal bleeding and seek immediate medical care for unexpected signs of bleeding, like unusual bruising.

pradaxa may increase your bleeding risk if you're 75 or older, have a bleeding condition like stomach ulcers, or take aspirin, nsaids, or blood thinners, or if you have kidney problems, especially if you take certain medicines. tell your doctor about all medicines you take, any planned medical or dental procedures, and don't stop taking pradaxa without your doctor's approval, as stopping may increase your stroke risk. other side effects include indigestion, stomach pain, upset, or burning. pradaxa is progress. having afib not caused by a heart valve problem increases your risk of stroke. ask your doctor if you can reduce your risk with pradaxa. it's time now to clear the air. and there are two really effective campaign ads blanketing the airwaves, one from each campaign. but only one of them is perhaps the most dangerous in its potential impact against its target, and democrats better beware. the obama reelection campaign hits mitt romney for outsourcing

jobs and having an offshore -- having offshore bank accounts and tax havens as a presumptive republican nominee warbles "america the beautiful" in the background. but where the obama ad is blunt, the offering from the republican national committee hits the president with a more in sorrow than in anger attack. and every time i've seen it, i get an uneasy feeling, the same feeling you get when you think you hear water dripping somewhere, but can't find it. you ignore it at your own risk. >> president obama came to the white house with big plans. he'd half the deficit, strengthen the economy, lower unemployment. what did we get? national debt over $15 trillion and climbing. unemployment above 8% for 40 straight months. and ongoing economic crisis with no end in sight. he tried. you tried. it's okay to make a change. >> inheriting a free-falling economy, followed by a stubborn

recovery coupled with republican recalcitrants have made achieving many of those goals impossible. what bothers me is that last line. he tried, you tried, it's okay to make a change. millions were proud to cast a ballot that helped elect the first black president of the united states. doing so was and will remain one of our nation's crowning achievements. but there is no denying that many of those same millions have soured on obama. yet they're conflicted. poll after poll shows that while the president gets low marks for his fiscal stewardship, people like him personally. the latest "wall street journal"/nbc news survey puts obama's favorable rating at 49%. that's the same as romney's unfavorable rating. by telling potential voters it's okay to make a change, the rnc is saying it's okay to like the guy personally, but not vote for him again. but the most effective message, it's okay to make a change and

not be thought of as a racist. you gave him a shot. he gave it his best shot. he failed. throughout obama's presidency, folks have complained that they are branded racist if they disagree with anything he says or does. and it doesn't help matters that some of president obama's most ardent supporters have done exactly that. that's why the it's okay to make a change ad is so dangerous for obama's reelection efforts. it gives those few yet undecided voters the pass they might be looking for to vote against obama. so squawk all you want about the unfairness of that "you didn't build it" ad that has been knocking the president around the last few weeks. it's the "it's okay to make a change" message that the campaign needs to counter as aggressively as the rnis pushing it. thanks for watching. i'm jonathan capehart. you can always follow me on twitter and the "washington post".com. be sure to tune in to the

olympic opening ceremonies today on nbc. "hardball" starts right now. london bridges falling down. let's play "hardball." good evening. i'm chris matthews up in new york. let me start tonight with the latest romney gaffe. did you hear the one about the big shot american who visits other countries and gets everybody mad about the guy who complains about the french waiters, who says it smells in venice. i could go on. but what about that guy who just told the british people that the london olympics look a bit dodgy? who got everybody over there so angry at him and us that they're more united than ever as a country. who is this clod, you must be asking. well, his name is mitt romney. and he has gotten the worse press in london since george w. mitt the twit invited the sun.

how should we react to this kerfuffle? it seems this man who has trouble speaking earthling here at home, who talks of flying on an aircraft of marvelous budgets, of being a severe conservative can be just as awkward when acting the diplomat abroad. here is a question. if a gentleman is someone who doesn't insult someone unintentionally, then mitt romney with all his posh schooling has not been very much of a gentleman this weekend. and if this insult of the london olympics calling the preparations disconcerting was intentional, what is this guy up to? i thought he wanted to improve anglo-american relations, not trash them. let's hear from two british reporters who are covering this story. simon marks and chris shipp of itv. just tell me what is going on here. why are the american people and their special relations with the brits, the british, causing trouble, and why are the british just jumping on this guy -- i don't know how to describe it. how do you describe it? >> chris, there is