how about mr. t? >> thats with a good one. we had a lot of weiners, a lot of a-rods. my favorite is edward snowden's girlfriend. i think that would be good. listen, "morning joe" starts ♪ >> good morning, everyone. look at that. it's thursday, august 8th. welcome to "morning joe." with us on set, we have former communications director for presidents george w. bush and former senior adviser for the 2008 mccain presidential campaign, nicolle wallace. we have the chairman of deutsch incorporated. >> what's with the glasses? >> they're new. >> vanity glasses. >> are they? >> can i see them, please? >> i have -- >> are they real? >> willie and i like to go up and down madison avenue on saturdays and we saw this -- >> put them on and find out they are not real. let's see.

oh, my god, they're vanity glasses. try. >> those are reading glasses. >> they look good ob you. >> allows him to make a point like this too. >> eyes look bigger. >> all right. that is subtle and in washington, msnbc political analyst and former chairman of the republican national committee, michael steele. good to have you all on board this morning. >> good morning. >> vanity glasses and all. get right into it. >> willie and i do want to first point out, radio for europe, one of the great songs -- >> we haven't heard it recently on the show. >> no. >> r.e.m. >> cold war overtures. >> perfect. all right. speaking of, there is no love loss between the united states and russia since edward snowden has been granted temporary asylum by moscow. the white house has officially cancelinging president obama's planned bilateral talks with his russian counterpart.

president obama and vladimir putin were expected to sit down and discuss, among other things, syria's ongoing civil war. the kremlin said it is disappointed by the cancellation. the decision reportedly unanimous by the president's national security team. the icy standoff rekindles a debate between mitt romney and president obama during the 2012 campaign. >> this is to russia that this is, without question, our number one geopolitical foe. they fight every cause for the world's worst actors. the idea that he has more flexibility in mind for russia is very, very troubling, indeed. >> governor romney, i'm glad that you recognize that al qaeda is a threat because a few months ago when you were asked what's the biggest geopolitical threat facing america, you said russia. not al qaeda. in the 1980s are now calling to ask for their foreign policy back because the cold war has been over for 20 years. >> white house -- >> boy, that's a cute line. it's just so dead wrong.

it's not even funny. and every single country that's causing problems right now, whether it's iran, whether it's syria, of course we've got the snowden issue now, it is russia at the center of it and russia has now made fools of two presidents, nicole, yours and barack obama. >> right. i mean, look, he's a shirtless thug and he's someone who really has made a fool of this president, who i think earnestly intended to re-set relations but naively thought that was possible. >> can i say, donny twitched when -- >> shirtless? >> look -- >> when the phrase shirtless thug, because -- no, no, willie. >> he did. >> when you said shirtless thug, it was as if donny was walking down like the streets, the mean streets of southampton. >> shirtless. >> that shirtless thug, he said he was going to call me, he hasn't called me in a week.

>> i have to tell you, i hate to ever acknowledge something kind of bespoke felt when she said shirtless thug. >> and the bridge too far. attack all shirtless thugs. >> attack all shirtless thugs. we will be showing you pictures of donny deutsch later in the hour. yes. >> jay carney says the u.s. will continue to work with russia on a number of issues and the president does still plan to attend the group of 20 summit in st. petersburg next month. >> why should he go? every time the president goes and sits there with putin, i'm just talking about meetings in the future too -- >> or the secretary of state. >> putin slouches -- >> three hours late. >> the hell with him. >> if he wants to play the games let him do that to like merkel or something. better things to do. >> the debate during the campaign was because of his off mike comments that, you know, wait until after the election i will have more flexibility.

flexibility to do what? >> well, and -- >> take off your shirt and go fly fishing, i don't know. >> it is interesting that it took snowden to cancel the meeting and not the fact that putin backs assad who murdered hundreds of thousands of civilians. >> hundreds of thousands are dead. let's go up to like new hampshire, i have to say, kid always says it, kid's always right and drives the right wing nut balls, remember, willie, we like them though. we don't want them walking around in the street. they have to be doing something. don't want them to get hit by cars. their mamas get them and take them down in the basement, give them bag of cheetos, keep them busy all day and they just go -- and so the cheetos brigade has been encouraging people like marco rubio -- >> oh, yes. >> to engage in sort of activity that builds a mailing list and makes people forget about your

position on immigration reform but hurts you in the polls. >> really? >> i'm sure it helps ted cruz. let's see. >> let's see. new polls out of new hampshire are giving us an early look at the state's 2016 presidential primaries and according to the latest wmur granite state poll, new jersey governor chris christie leading the pack among likely republican contenders. christie has a 21% support up from 10 points in april, followed by senator rand paul, jeb bush in third, up five points in the past few months. support for marco rubio, however, down pretty significantly. knocking him to fifth place in the poll. favoribility rates for the first term senator dropped 18 points from april. for governor christie his net favoribility is down 14 points since february. on the democrats side, again it appears to be hillary's nomination to lose. >> never seen a poll like that. >> wow. >> that's amazing. >> the former secretary of state ran away from the field, receiving 62% support from

likely democratic primary voters in the granite state. that's essentially unchanged from april. not surprising, joe some. >> not surprising. i want to go to nicole really quickly, though, on the marco front. you were a big fan of marco, talking about him for a while. his numbers are falling precipitously. you could have predicted it, i could have predicted it, anybody that doesn't get gened up by the most extreme talk radio hosts would understand that marco is not an extremist, but he's been playing one on tv for some unknown -- i don't know who is advising him but we've been saying it on the show every day, people can hate me all they want, marco can be disappointed in me all he wants, i've been saying it every day, this is not how you get elected president. >> right. >> and the numbers -- his numbers have collapsed. >> the heavier burden for marco is not his position on immigration reform. even if you disagree with it.

it's undeniable it was a bold position to stake out and one our party continues to be not ready to do the right thing on immigration, but i think even people disagree with him could respect his leadership and his unique biography and perspective on this issue. what they can't tolerate is someone who takes a stand and then walks away from it. that never, ever, ever works. >> one thing in english, another thing in spanish. i'm dead serious. and then goes extreme, says he's going to shut down the senate if they have a vote on background checks that over 90% of americans support. says he's one of three people that's going to kill the budget process because there may be negotiations between the house and the senate. i mean, that -- >> look, i'm still a big marco fan and i think what you can see in the polls by the fact that rand paul and chris christie are at the top after being in the news for the last couple weeks with their big fight is they can shift in a nano second if you are in the news and in the headlines again, so marco still

has time to -- >> this is very, very early, but his strategy has not worked. ted cruz, obviously, at the bottom. everybody talking about ted cruz. who wouldn't love to have ted cruz's mailing list right now. >> right. >> don't win general elections. >> and michele bachmann did this. >> right. >> before and herman cain did this. they all had their sort of explosions in the springs and then they collapsed. >> here's something for you, joe, and michael steele. chris mathews his prediction for the gop nomination, he made last night on "hardball." take a look. >> obama won in 2008 over hillary clinton because the opponents of the iraq war had had it with the party leaders who played it safe and backed the war. i believe that republican base will do the same in 2016. they put up with george bush the first, bob dole, deeply disappointed with the big spending george w. and last year again by mitt romney and are now going to come loaded for bear for the race for 2016. i predict the hard right is going to take over the

republican party in 2016 and the nomination is going to -- rand paul. you watch. this is what i do for a living. >> by the way, i do it to and i don't think that's happening. michael steele, though, there's no doubt that rand paul is going -- rand paul, i think, in most polls you see in the early states, rand paul is going to have a big chunk of support. he's not going to win. >> well, joe, i don't know about that. i think that rand paul offers a voice out there that very much like his dad, taps into a new generation of folks coming into politics and that's something to watch. i have a piece up now on the grio talking about rand paul's visit to howard university and the subtle messages that were overlooked in the face of, you know, the way that conversation unfolded. he's doing some things that are staking out new ground for a potential run in 2016. >> you think -- you think rand paul can win the republican nomination some. >> pardon me?

>> you think rand paul can win the republican nomination? >> as legitimately as anybody else at this point absolutely. i think a lot of people will short change this process if they look past him and continue to focus the lights on the guys with the shipy coins. i say he's someone to watch. >> listen, i voted for rand paul against a big spending corporate pigs that have taken over -- >> can't say it with a straight face. >> that have taken over the republican party. i wrote a column about it. voting for rand paul with all the big spending republicans, rand paul in 2012, one of the easiest votes i've taken in my life. one of the easiest votes. he wasn't going to be elected president. and maybe i'm skeptical, maybe i'm the old republican, like you, but i don't think rand paul is going to win the nomination. >> we need to get out our google and check the google. >> i hear that google even has

glasses, willie. >> this is real. this attraction to rand paul is real. he's bringing out a new coalition which no republican has done. young people are attracted to his libertarian -- >> can he win? >> he will not be president. >> guys -- >> excuse me -- excuse me -- >> time out. >> michael, let me speak for a second. >> wait, wait, wait. hey, come on, man. you got to take those glasses off. >> why can't we all get along? >> i just want to -- >> donny -- >> i have to say this -- >> donny, you got to take those glasses off and put on a big old suit of love. >> oh, no. >> oh, my god. >> can we get some tom jones going. >> get him a horse. >> come on. i don't know what that's about. >> if i missed the last few years where basically the republicans need to pay attention to the suburbs of philadelphia and understand -- >> he's learning. >> these people are not electable in a chris christie is the answer. forget what they do with each other. who's going to win a general

election. no chance rand paul wins a general election in this country. >> why not? >> he's angry and people don't want angry. >> you're talking more style. >> hey -- >> you have a guy in chris christie who is -- the most left leaning state in massachusetts there is who basically will get 70% of the vote the next time around. he is a candidate just right of center with the right attitude that wins national elections. >> michael steele, understanding that we are 18 years away from this election. >> thank you. >> i do have to say, though, maybe rand paul grows as a candidate, but i do think it's style over substance. i voted for ron but he's a quirky guy. rand is a quirky guy. little quirk to them. you have somebody that looks like ronald reagan that's carrying that libertarian message that person could win. i don't know that rand is the guy that does win the subburs of philadelphia, the i-4 corridor. >> now joe, are you talking about winning the nomination or

presidency? there are two different questions with two very different answers. i think the question is the nomination, he is going to be a competitive player for the nomination of this party. look, the party has to come to a realization, and chris laid it out yesterday, you've nominated guys that you've gone back on afterwards and said what the heck did we nominate them for. let's nominate a true conservative. the question that the base is going to ask themselves over the course of the next 18 years, is who is that true conservative coming up for 2016. >> i just -- right. and by the way, i think we all agree here, we have to elect a true conservative. >> i agree. >> with all due respect. i thought george w. bush was a true conservative. in my opinion he didn't govern as one. mitt romney wasn't a true conservative. bob dole wasn't a true conservative. in my definition of true conservative. john mccain loves sticking the sharp stick in the eyes of true conservatives on policy. so yeah, i want a true conservative but you know what, i want one that can win.

by the way, by the way, though, michael. >> yeah. >> you know, the general election, we always have to divide between the general election and primary election, i wrote this column yesterday "crazy never wins" at the end of the day, crazy doesn't win our primaries either. i'm not saying rand is crazy, but yeah, you get a big explosion in iowa, you get a big explosion in new hampshire, then go down to south carolina and get a big explosion and then it starts grinding down a little bit in florida and start going to the midwest and guess what? crazy, it withers up in the sun. quirky withers in the sun. and suddenly you have guys like my dad, i wrote about this a couple years ago, guys like my dad, that don't watch cable news, that don't listen to talk radio, guys that work and they go to the factories or their blue collar or white collar jobs and they come home and they go who can run my country? and they don't care what the crazy person on-line is saying. they don't care what the crazy

talk radio extremists at their local radio station is saying. they're like, who can take care of my country. >> they don't care what the mainstream media is. this is where you knock out the elites. they want competence, someone that can run the country. >> they do what my dad does, he always picked the nominee. some years, dad you can't vote for -- ford's too liberal! i was like -- reagan, reagan. but those are the guys that do it. >> so with all that in mind, michael, go back to the last election, mitt romney wasn't a true conservative who would you have nominated, who would have been better and beaten president obama in a way that mitt romney didn't. >> that i think is -- that's the ultimate question. i mean at the end of the day, you had someone like a rick santorum who actually showed the perseverance, the ability to really stand in there through that course, through that gauntlet. >> rick wasn't going to win the general election. >> again, i understand that. >> rick scared -- >> conservatives -- >> rick scared republican

housewives across america. >> this is true, joe, but i'm just trying to get to the point that conservatives going into 2016 have to answer the question that you've already begun to answer, who is that true conservative in the crop of guys and gals who show up and they didn't do it in last -- in '12 and will they do it in '16? >> i think they will. >> rand paul, chris christie, will all be battling for that. >> i think other people will jump in. governors out there, a lot of other people, remember barack obama at this point wasn't even on the list. this hasn't begun. donny deutsch hasn't stripped down to his shirt yet but he came close. >> i know. >> somebody who will not be on that list. >> yes. >> made a few mistakes, we've all made mistakes, i make mistakes and ask for forgiveness, you and the lord, forgive me, but bob filner, we need a bucket. this one. this is just about -- let me get this right. there was like this support group for ladies in the

military, women in the military, that have been sexually harassed, right? >> assaulted. >> assaulted. actually assaulted. and filner decides to go to the meeting? willie, and what does he do? >> worse than going to the meeting. mika has the story. >> i have it right here. >> it's horrible. allegedly horrible. >> allegedly horrible. >> read this and then tried to do some research here, it only gets worse. look at that and see if we should share. 13 women have now accused san diego mayor bob filner of sexual harassment. two women who say they were raped during their time in the military, say filner made unwanted advances at a san diego support group for military assault victims according to cnn. the former congressman who once served as a ranking member of the committee veterans affairs, is undergoing a two-week therapy program. his former communications director has slapped him with a sexual harassment lawsuit. top political consultants have

joined a growing movement to recall the embattled mayer who acknowledged in youtube video he has a problem and in need of help. i mean it goes on, i'm looking on "the huffington post" apparently left a voicemail to one veteran, hi, it's your newly favorite congressman. bob filner. you know, the one who fell in love with you at your last speech. and then one at this -- >> these are the women that got sexually -- >> a victim raped, she says, in the green room at some area that they were doing a support group, he got as close to me as he could, his jacket touching my jacket, i was bent down, he bent down with me, rubbing like he cared, like he was consoling me. >> oh, my god. >> those are just two of many stories. i think there are eight from that one -- >> what's wrong with him? >> all women who have been sexually assaulted and he was on the veteran affairs committee house so he's at these events and alleged by these women who are veterans of the united states military who are to be taken very seriously, that he

was -- one woman has a voicemail that she alleges is from him where he makes crude comments and tries to force himself to dinner with her, that she deleted. it's one after another. i don't know what it takes to get thrown out of office here. >> what do you have to do in san diego? >> charged with a crime. at some pointp where have you crossed the line. >> asking the city to pay his bills. >> any time there is a scandal, anthony weiner, it can't get any more heinous and ridiculous and absurd and it does. where is the bottom? >> this is absolutely terrible. >> okay. we'll see what happens there. coming up on "morning joe," nbc news political director chuck todd joins us. >> he's going to take actually his shirt off. >> and wink. >> and wrestle the chairman of the rnc. >> actually -- >> wow. >> we'll be talking to reince priebus. also the so-called opt out -- the so-called opt out generation, ten years ago, "the new york times" profiled women who left the work force to raise

families. just as they were hitting their professional stride. now the times revisits those women. many of whom want back in. the author of the original article and one of the woman profiled join us this morning. up next, the top stories in the politico playbook. first, bill karins with a check on the forecast. >> he should opt out. >> donny, you look good. >> by the way, the shirt is coming off in the 8:00 hour. >> great. >> 8:00 hour. >> that is a -- >> we'll do a countdown clock on that. >> a good tease. >> good tv. >> yeah. >> willie will make sure he's gone by then. >> long gone. >> good morning, everyone. shirt or no shirt, the people are getting drenched this morning once again in the areas that don't need it. yesterday the national guard was even called out by governor jay nixon of missouri to help some of the people there around the newburgh area in waynesville, where flooding had struck two days in a row and we're going to make it three days in a row shortly. let me show you the radar from this area. the worst of it is over in cap

sass, northern oklahoma, just near the springfield area. rain is picking up and it's going to move you away as we go throughout the day. kansas city looks okay for now, but notice the heavy rain is starting to shift northwards and swallow you throughout your morning rush hour. one line of storms rolling through western new york approaching syracuse and weakening. near elmira and ithaca and binghamton. as far as other weather concerns today, not too bad this morning, but this afternoon, thunderstorms. the big cities of the northeast, we could see some minor airport delays and how about the heat in texas. 104 today. and look at dallas throughout the next week and through the weekend. we're going to continue what should be about a 10 to 12-day heat wave there in central texas. nice beautiful morning, reagan national airport. the humidity is up and will spark a few thunderstorms. you're watching "morning joe" brewed by starbucks. hi, i'm karissa.

hi, i'm sherri. and i'm going to show sherri how collecting box tops for education earns cash for our school by shopping at walmart. come on. sherri, look at all these products that you can buy for your family with box tops. and look, four box tops in one box. that's awesome! more cash for our school. only at walmart you get 4 box tops on over 100 items. karissa i got it and you only had to tell me four times. find 4 box tops on your family favorites like general mills cereals and nature valley granola bars backed by our low price guarantee.

the beach on your tv is much closer than it appears. seize the summer with up to 50% off hotels at travelocity.

5 past the hour. time to take a look at the morning papers. the "new york times," a lawsuit over new york city's controversial stop and frisk program has led the city to the city expudging hundreds of thousands of names in a database of people police have stopped. the city is volunteers purging about a half a million names. the new york civil liberties union is hailing it as a victory saying the city is acknowledging at least this aspect that the program went too far. >> and "the los angeles times," president obama will commemorate the anniversary of the march on washington. with his own speech at the lincoln memorial. he will deliver it 50 years after martin luther king gave his famous "i have a dream" speech on august 28th, 1963. the president last spoke on the steps of the lincoln memorial before his inauguration in 2009.

>> "the new york times" with new higher standards in place the number of new york city students passing state reading and math exams is plummeting. the new standards emphasize deep analysis and creative problem solving. last year 47% of new york students were proficient in the english tests, 60% in math, those rates have practically been cut in half. >> from"the wall street journa journal", the justice department issued subpoenas to organizations including on-line payday lenders. this is a shift in strategy for the d.o.j. which is now going after the infrastructure that allows companies to withdraw money from private bank accounts. >> "usa today," federal investigators are looking into jpmorgan chase for its sail of mortgage backed securities between 2005 and 2007. jpmorgan says the justice department has preliminary concluded they have broken the law. both the d.o.j. and bank have

declined to comment. >> also in the "usa today," at least three people will share in one of the biggest powerball prizes of all time. two winners from new jersey and one from minnesota are going to be splitting $448 million. more will get $1 million each for matching five numbers. and the top four lottery prizes of all time have now come since march of 2012. >> all right. that's a look at the papers. now it's time for politico with willie geist. what's going on over there, willie? >> failed powerball ticket is what's going on. >> you played? >> you know, you're walking by and say what the hell. 2 bucks. didn't work out this time. usually does. joining us with the politico playbook, editor and chief john harris, good morning. >> good morning. don't feel bad, willie. i didn't win either. >> that makes two of us then. the pentagon is pushing forward on a plan to fight sexual assault in the armed forces. yesterday the president made clear he's committed to this issue. listen to what he said. >> keeping our military strong

also means ensuring the safety of everyone who puts on the uniform. so i want you to hear it directly from me, the commander in chief. it undermines what this military stands for and it undermines what the marine corps stands for when sexual assault takes place within our units. >> that was out of camp pendleton, yesterday. some critics who said the pentagon and president aren't doing enough. defense secretary hagel came out earlier this year and said this is a scourge on the military. what are they doing now? >> well, those were very strong words out of camp pendleton in california yesterday. but up here on capitol hill in washington, many of the lawmakers who are pushing this issue, basically think that the president and the administration have been awol on this issue, basically on the sidelines and they're saying they won't tolerate this. but what they're also not doing is getting in the trenches and backing the specific legislative

remedies that many of these lawmakers want. they say the only effective way to take on the issue of sexual assault in the military. the reason the president is not getting in the middle of this, this is very controversial within the military. what some of these law make wears like to do is take sexual assault cases out of the traditional military chain of command when they're being reviewed and set up basically a separate system for sexual assault. >> we're glad they're at least starting to take this seriously and see what that full read out is on the rest of the rules. another story, pete ruse, leaving the white house, one of the go-to guys for president obama. anything to be read into this or par for the course? >> interesting sign of the times. if you look at the disparity in washington between celebrity and influence, there's nobody who's got more influence and yet with a lower profile probably than pete. he's one of president obama's most trusted aides. he put forward the sort of grand strategyhen obama was in the

senate. look, here's how you can get to the white house even as a freshman senator. incredibly trusted. one of the real kind of adults, if you will, in the white house. somebody whose judgment is totally respected. and basically a lot of the original core, this will be true once he leaves, a lot of those people are gone, axelrod gone, whole bunch of of the other people, robert gibbs, david plouffe, the creation of obama's launch to the presidency, are now not around him. it's a new crew. >> why does he say he's leaving? anything in particular? just as the read, said it's time to move on. >> like a lot of guys, he's pooped. he's been telling people for years, i got to get out of here. president obama always talks him into staying. this time he's telling his associates in the white house, no, i really mean it. i got to be out of here by september. wouldn't surprise me at all if it turns out september turns into october and a few more months after that. >> nicolle wallace --

>> real debate, obama wants him to say and sounds like rouse wants to go. >> you're nodding your head, time to get out of the white house. >> deeply held fantasy of every white house staffer to announce their resignation. you spend an inordinate amount of time planning and dreaming about your resignation, not because you don't love the president you serve, but you miss the daylight and the seasons. >> it's a grind. >> all the things -- it's a privilege and honor to serve but on the human level, it's an extraordinary grind and anyone that's been there since in the beginning is not only nearing a team when they're probably truly burned out but past that point. >> pete has been there since the beginning. thank you so much. we'll see you. >> coming up jfk's last 100 days. author thurston clarke examines the final days of the president's life and asks what might have been. up next, a fan storms the pitch in miami, but renaldo has a

reaction that might surprise you. pitch and renaldo. we'll be right back. helicopthierhis hibuzzing, andk engine humming. sfx: birds chirping sfx: birds chirping [ male announcer ] you wait all year for summer. ♪ this summer was definitely worth the wait. ♪ summer's best event from cadillac. let summer try and pass you by. lease this all-new cadillac ats for around $299 per month or purchase for 0% apr for 60 months. come in now for the best offers of the model year.

♪behold! ♪the power of a well booked vacation!♪ ♪booking.com ♪booking dot yeaaaahhhh! "stubborn love" by the lumineers did you i did. email? so what did you think of the house? did you see the school ratings? oh, you're right. hey babe, i got to go. bye daddy! have a good day at school, ok? ...but what about when my parents visit? ok. i just love this one... and it's next to a park. i love it. i love it too. here's our new house... daddy! you're not just looking for a house. you're looking for a place for your life to happen. i'to guard their manhood with trnew depend shields and guards. the discreet protection that's just for guys. now, it's your turn. get my training tips at guardyourmanhood.com

wit's hard to find contractors with the passion and the skill, and that's why we use angie's list. online or on the phone, we help you hire right the first time with honest reviews on over 720 local services. i want it done right. i don't want to have to worry about it or have to come back and redo it. with angie's list, i was able to turn my home into the home of my dreams. for over 18 years, we've helped people take care of the things that matter most. join today. ng out of pipe. sfx: birds chirping.

all right. time for sports and about 30 minutes from now the last major

of the year starts in golf where tiger woods and phil mickelson will go in as favorites as they usually do. the pga championship gets under way later this morning at oak hill country club in rochester, new york. tiger looking for his first major since 2008. still looking. he did win last week, though. las vegas odds makers have tiger at 3 to 1. mickelson at 12 to 1. the first group goes off at 7:10 this morning. interesting to see how they do up in rochester. looks like a-rod will be in the yankees lineup for the rest of the season. an independent arbitrator will rule on a-rod's 211-game suspension. that decision is not expected until the end of this calendar year. it means he can play through the rest of the season. mlb has declined comment but the head of the player's union says the suspension is, quote, way out of line. the yankees were in chicago last night trying to avoid a three-game sweep. bottom of the ninth. that's mariana rivera in the game. adam dunn slaps a single to tie

the game, 4-4. mariana's third blown save of the year. going to the 12th inning, the yankees trying to hold on to a one-run lead. alejandro dehas knocks it off the wall. they get the walk-off win and sweep. can you believe this, the yankees are 11 1/2 games behind first place boston who beat the astros last night. the red hot braves going for their 13th straight win against the nationals. top of the eighth, game tied at 3-3. jason heyward finds the hole for a simm. braves up, bottom of the ninth, nates threatening with the bases loaded. kimbrel, what's he going to do with wilson ramos. he lines out. braves win, 13 consecutive victories for the atlanta braves. they are 15 1/2 games up on the second place washington nationals. another streak in cleveland with the detroit tigers looking for their 11th straight win. seventh inning after striking

out in his first three at-bats, miguel cabrera gets ahold of one, boy that's a bomb, gives detroit a one-run lead. they went to extras. top of the 14th inning, prince fielder hits a two-run double gives detroit the win, their 11th in a row, up six games on cleveland in the al central. >> cabrera is close to triple crown again. >> he's incredible. >> this is "star wars" night in st. louis. with a bit of a twist. a gangnam style danceoff. >> wow. >> wow. not sure what was going on there. the dodgers, trying to start another streak after their 15-game road winning streak that ended on tuesday, bad news for the cardinals early, carl crawford smokes one off the pitching elbow of shelby millerp. miller left the game. l.a. broke it open in the second. skip schumacher singles in gonzalez and yasiel puig, dodgers win 12-4. the l.a. dodgers up five games in the nl west. usually within a fan crashes a

sporting event it's kind of annoying. little amusing as well. renaldo led real madrid to a 3-1 win over chelsea in the guinness international champions cup. his two goals prompted a fan in the spot shadow in the top of your screen, wearing a renaldo jersey, may have been the reason the soccer star decided to embrace the intruder instead of running away from him. >> so nice. >> a 15-second hug. guy gets a chance to tell renaldo how much he means to him. where's security, one wonders. 15-second hug. >> a little love. >> renaldo didn't mind it all that much. >> look at that. >> football. >> that's a nice hug. >> what just happened? >> really nice. >> i like that. >> man-man bonding. renaldo is t biggest soccer star in the world. >> biggest, best paid and most annoying. a nice touch. >> one man that can openly show emoti emotion. >> i do it all the time. >> with their shirts on. >> with their shirts on. >> mika's must-read opinion

pages and the families of the fallen hotshot firefighters say the community has let them down in arizona. and one widow is taking her story public. you're watching "morning joe" brewed by starbucks. the postal service is critical to our economy.

delivering mail, medicine and packages, yet they're closing thousands of offices, slashing service and want to layoff over 100,000 workers. the postal service is recording financial losses, but not for reasons you might think. the problem? a burden no other agency or company bears. a 2006 law that drains $5 billion a year from post office revenue while the postal service is forced to overpay billions more into federal accounts. congress created this problem, and congress can fix it.

and then another. and another. and if you do it. and your friends do it. and their friends do it... soon we'll be walking our way to awareness, support and an end to alzheimer's disease. and that? that would be big. grab your friends and family and start a team today. register at alz.org

i missed a payment. aw, shoot. shoot! this is bad. no! we're good! this is your first time missing a payment. and you've got the it card, so we won't hike up your apr for paying late. that's great! it is great! thank you. at discover, we treat you like you'd treat you. get the it card with late payment forgiveness. all right. 44 past the hour. time now for the must-read opinion pages. we have two for you. i've never seen anyone write something critical of chris christie. >> no! >> good god. >> unless in new jersey. gayle collins has done it. >> talk about governor christie. everybody is. he's the politician of the hour. at the top of the latest poll of likely republican presidential primary voters in new hampshire, just two and a half years ago until iowa, if he winds up running it could be a fantastic test of my theory that women

won't vote for men who yell. there's a side to christie that reminds women of their worst boyfriends. in his race for governor in 2009 he won male voters by a wide margin but women went for his opponent governor jon corzine. this is a particularly startling figure when you add in the fact that corzine had the personal warmth and communications skills of an unconscious flounder. >> you know, that's interesting because -- >> i don't see it. >> the new quinnipiac poll that came out this morning has chris christie up 58 to 30%. and among women, there is a gender gap. >> yeah. >> it's on chris christie's side, nicole. 56 to 34, women for chris christie. if that's the case, then women in new jersey right now, like their boyfriends screaming at them because women -- that's one of the biggest gender gaps i have ever seen. and it comes in a state that

barack obama won, what, by 12, 15 points? >> i think women understand the difference between men who scream because they're angry and scream because they're passionate. i think maybe what gayle missed is that what we love about christie is he's unfiltered. he's passionate. and so i think women are -- women are also wildly attracted to a winner and i think chris christie, as i said the other day, he's got that sort of air of a winner. >> that's been our problem all along. women wildly attracted to winners. >> to losers -- >> that's why we're sitting in the park talking to each other about baseball cards with sunglasses. >> i don't think so. >> exactly. you're exactly right. women, i think, are more disc n discerning than men when it comes to voting. and when they look at chris christie, they see something that's obvious to everyone on the political spectrum. he's different than the rest of the candidates. he's not a cookie cutter washington candidate. he's not marco rubio trying to

water down whatever position he took a year ago. he's going to tell you what he thinks and that's what they're -- >> he's running against a woman, again, and he leads among women, 56 to 34%. >> interesting concept. so let's move on to the next must read new york times. i love this one. fast food fight. and this is what the paper writes. the fast food workers who have been walking off their jobs illustrate a fact of contemporary work life in america. as lower wage occupations have proliferated in the last several years, americans are increasingly unable to make a living at their jobs. they have been motivated to act by the inaction of the nation's leaders. republicans against a higher minimum wage and democrats too timid. at some point as strikes continue, well-paid executives in low wage industries will have to confront the fact that low worker pay is at odds with their company's upbeat corporate images and their self-images as top executives. political leaders will likewise

have to confront their own failures. the great recession and the slow recovery have reinforced trends towards inequality and inadequate pay that were evident even before the last downturn. fast food workers are fighting back in just cause and we're going to detroit on august 29th. and there happens to be a protest that day. so we'll be going. i'm going. congressman keith ellison told me about it. >> michael steele, what do you think about these protests, these fast food protests? >> you know, look, it's what the market is willing to bear. and at some point people have to recognize, you know, in business, that in this economy, we have to do something to stimulate it. maybe it is looking at the minimum wage. maybe it is looking at the relationship between management and how they are dealing with their workers in this economy and how the workers have the opportunity to fight for and maybe get more ground. that's a debate we haven't had and we kind of hide away from it

and at lot of republicans i think can really make a sound argument, if you just stop, get off the talking point, and look at the economy from the perspective of the worker and the manager and realize that there may be a synergy here that helps us boost this economy in a different direction than the one we're currently on and may start with workers in places like a mcdonald's or fast food restaurant who are growing part of this. you have people pushed out of big paying jobs who now are having to realign themselves in this economy and so this is not just touching the low wage worker, it's touching everybody in a significant way. >> absolutely. >> you know, michael steele, is at the edge of truth here because the -- >> the edge. >> something has gone awry in our culture, our political culture over the last 20 to 25 years. whenever the economy is in the state of flux or in a state of trouble, too many public people in politics take aim at people living at the economic fringe.

rather than top of the spectrum. after minimum wage workers. after americans jobs. we can't give them a pay raise. something deeply flawed about the way we address this stuff. >> at the same time and i hate to pick on mcdonald's because i see the changes they're trying to make in their menu, but when you have to put out a budget plan for your employees and you think you're helping them by helping them with their budget and literally laying out a plan that tells them that in order to even save like $100 a week or a month, you have to get another job. >> but that's been the nature -- >> kyou can't live on this job. >> that's the nature of fast food jobs for half a century. let's stop pretending for half a century families of four have been supported by flipping burgers. we all know -- don't look shocked. >> no. >> we've all had friends that have worked at mcdonald's and burger king and wendy's and it has been a lot of times it's

been starter jobs, it's been students, it's not been to support a family of four. >> now millions because there's so many of them. >> you know, so go ahead and increase the wages. >> they should. >> do that and you will have less workers. listen, this is basic supply and demand. if the workers can go out and protest and get $15 an hour and health care cadillac plans, god bless them. i'm happy for them. it's not going to happen because the cost of the burgers will go up, that's going to actually adversely impact a lot of people that might go to mcdonald's. this is basic -- this is basic econ 101. >> fine. >> no. i'm just saying, econ 101. yeah. treat people badly, pay them terribly and be proud of your profits. econ 101. >> there's nothing i can say here. if a market supports it, fantastic. i hope each one of them gets a massarotti, that's fine. if it supports that i'm for it. if it supports $15 an hour i

support it. come on. let's just not pretend that we can bend the laws of supply and demand. mcdonald's doubles their prices. wendy's doesn't. guess what? wendy's burgers cost less than mcdonald's. guess what? people start making the choice all across america every day, they're going to start going to wendy's. guess what, people get laid off at mcdonald's. well that's great. well i had a $15 an hour job and i had health care last week. what happened, bob? i got fired. why? because everybody's going to wendy's. i'm going to wendy's. how much do they pay $7.5. i mean, play it out. we all -- we all would love fast food people to get paid $15 an hour and if the market supports it i support it. >> i guess you won't be at the protest with me? >> oh, i will. >> thank you. >> with a bull horn on the sides. >> on tomorrow's show, former white house senior adviser david axelrod joins the discussion. "morning joe" will be right back. >> positive or negative?

>> why aren't you positive this time? >> yeah. big market forces on twitter. ♪ (tires screeching) red hot deal days are back. (alarm beeping) stop for no one. what? it's red hot deal days. get $100 off the samsung galaxy note ii with features like pop-up play. lets you use any app while watching video. or use the s pen for hand-written notes. just $199.99. hurry in, sale ends august 11th. getting the best back to school deals. that's powerful. verizon. "that starts with one of the world's most advancedy," distribution systems," "and one of the most efficient trucking networks," "with safe, experienced drivers." "we work directly with manufacturers,"

"eliminating costly markups," "and buy directly from local farmers in every region of the country." "when you see our low prices, remember the wheels turning behind the scenes, delivering for millions of americans, everyday. "dedication: that's the real walmart"

these are sandra's "homemade" yummy, scrumptious bars. hmm? i just wanted you to eat more fiber. chewy, oatie, gooeyness... and fraudulence. i'm in deep, babe. you certainly are. [ male announcer ] fiber one.

all right. what do we have? >> you. >> the mystery is solved. >> there was a mystery on the n train, new york subway. >> yeah. >> what happened? >> lady gets on the subway, notices a fishy smell. anybody who's ridden the subway knows that's -- >> that's fish. >> you know what that is. >> there was a dead -- some marine life. a shark. that is a shark. a sand shark.

>> a real one? >> a real sand shark. >> it's shark week. >> some said promo for shark week, it's an actual dead shark found on the subway. no explanation whatsoever except perhaps this. >> watch out. >> can't just wait here for sharks to rain down on us. >> we're going to throw bombs into the tornadoes. >> too dangerous. >> too many of them. we need a bigger chopper. >> all right. >> claudia, move. >> yes! >> we're going to need a bigger chopper. huh? >> "sharknado." >> when are they doing that again? >> it's coming out pretty soon. shark week. >> don't waste any time on this. >> this is shark week. >> the ziering star never shined brighter. up next, nbc white house correspondent chuck todd. >> give us a wink. come on. >> shirtless. >> dodgers won. >> yes! >> "morning joe" back in a

moment. [ male announcer ] this is bob, a regular guy with an irregular heartbeat. the usual, bob? not today. [ male announcer ] bob has afib: atrial fibrillation not caused by a heart valve problem, a condition that puts him at greater risk for a stroke. [ gps ] turn left. i don't think so. [ male announcer ] for years, bob took warfarin, and made a monthly trip to the clinic to get his blood tested. but not anymore. bob's doctor recommended a different option:

once-a-day xarelto®. xarelto® is the first and only once-a-day prescription blood thinner for patients with afib not caused by a heart valve problem, that doesn't require routine blood monitoring. like warfarin, xarelto® is proven effective to reduce the risk of an afib-related stroke. there is limited data on how these drugs compare when warfarin is well managed. no routine blood monitoring means bob can spend his extra time however he likes. new zealand! xarelto® is just one pill a day, taken with the evening meal. and with no dietary restrictions, bob can eat the healthy foods he likes. do not stop taking xarelto® rivaroxaban without talking to the doctor who prescribes it for you. stopping may increase your risk of having a stroke. get medical help right away if you develop any signs or symptoms of bleeding, like unusual bruising or tingling. you may have a higher risk of bleeding if you take xarelto® with aspirin products, nsaids or blood thinners. talk to your doctor before taking xarelto® if you currently have abnormal bleeding.

xarelto® can cause bleeding, which can be serious, and rarely may lead to death. you are likely to bruise more easily on xarelto®, and it may take longer for bleeding to stop. tell your doctors you are taking xarelto® before any planned medical or dental procedures. before starting xarelto®, tell your doctor about any conditions, such as kidney, liver or bleeding problems. ready to change your routine? ask your doctor about once-a-day xarelto®. for more information including cost support options, call 1-888-xarelto or visit goxarelto.com. like carpools... polly wants to know if we can pick her up. yeah, we can make room. yeah. [ male announcer ] ...office space. yes, we're loving this communal seating. it's great. [ male announcer ] the best thing to share? a data plan. at&t mobile share for business. one bucket of data for everyone on the plan, unlimited talk and text on smart phones. now, everyone's in the spirit of sharing. hey, can i borrow your boat this weekend? no. [ male announcer ] share more. save more.

at&t mobile share for business. ♪ live look at washington, d.c. at the top of the hour. welcome back to "morning joe." nicolle wallace and donny deutsch back with us along with michael steele in washington. and joining us now from washington, nbc news chief white house correspondent and political director and host of the daily run down chuck todd. >> you can settle something for us. nicole had heard yesterday me talking about the division

between nbc news and nbc entertainment and you can say the same thing for nbc sports. there are all these different silos. and she said really, like nbc news and nbc entertainment don't cross. literally don't do they? i would guess most of the people in nbc news would prefer that entertainment didn't, you know, get in the middle of political campaigns. >> the two entity are sometimes at war with with each other. i can't tell you how many fights we've had internally whether to cover -- we want to cover some live news event and those, you know, guys in the west coast, they want to, you know, run some rerun of -- >> "doogie houser". >> or "parks and recreation" or whatever and they will make money that way. so there's -- it's actually they -- the relationship is -- >> age old. >> is bad. it's never great. it's either okay or really bad. >> i can't believe we're airing our corporate dirty laundry on the air. >> that's the point.

>> the republicans think -- >> let me just say, though, the fact that nicole, who comes here and -- a good bit and worked for other networks asked me before, is there a real division, makes you realize that people really don't understand chuck, as you said. >> that's right. >> like news hates entertainment and -- >> entertainment hates news. all we do is take up -- we take up precious time they can sell ads promoting "america's got talent." but -- >> notice thor. >> -- the snooer he said that with. >> nbc entertainment, can you please make some money. >> oh, my god! the gloves really come off. >> watching this. >> thank god for all of the cable channels, right. bravo, usa, number one network. >> but the real issue is, it goes to the fact that nicole didn't know that, that's somebody who's well informed about the mass nations of how the media works. this is why this mini series is

a total nightmare for nbc news. because it doesn't, you know, we know there's this giant firewall, we have nothing to do with it, we know that we'd love probably to be as critical or whatever it is going to be if it comes out, but there's nothing we can do about it and we're going to only owns the negative. whether it's negative because it's the clinton people are upset it's too tough on them or negative because the republicans think it's this glorification of her, no matter what, only we are going to own it because people are going to see the peacock and nbc and see nbc news and they think, well, they can't be that separate. >> you get the negative and they get the cash. >> correct. >> i've been in a lot of deals like that. >> i would like to be on the other side of that deal sometimes. >> move to hollywood. >> right. >> to be honest, we're giving this story too much attention. even if it's an hour or two-hour series, the amount somebody is going to see over a two-year political campaign about hillary clinton, is so infen tess mall

it's a nonevent and a little inside baseball. >> maureen dowd makes a great point about the effect that the queen had on the film "the queen" of softening her image in the post-diana era people thought she was callous and heartless, that two-hour film -- >> that about ten people saw. >> more than ten people. >> listen, republicans have long believed that it's a giant kaball, two dozen people sit around a table and doesn't matter whether they're from entertainment -- >> it's not two dozen. it's six or seven of us, just want you to know. >> six or seven sit around the table and whether or not you explicitly say we're going to run a mini series to promote hillary clinton, it's this mindset, shared world view that hillary is going to be the next president and you all think the same thing. so we're not paranoid, but that is certainly what republicans think. >> and by the way, if you look at this as a screenwriter, if you look at this as a director, a producer, a as a network, you have to have a happy ending.

>> sure! of course. >> doesn't matter whether it's hillary clinton or chris christie or whoever it is. you want to go out with a person walking -- if it's reagan, they're riding into the sunset. >> right. and look smart in 2016. >> that's why -- >> it's a loser for nbc news. it's terrible. >> loser for us. but i don't get why to do it. why would you do something if you think she's going to be president, why would you want to do a story up until -- i mean it becomes completely out of date if you believe she's going to be president of the united states in 2016, be so then you're creating a mini series you can never air again. it's completely out of date. it becomes irrelevant because if she becomes president well then that's her story. do a, you know, do a movie on bush or somebody who's already -- who's done with their political career. that's what i don't get. >> as a marketer why you do it. she is the most compelling female figure in the modern age in the last 20 years. they're doing it at the height of toppy callty.

>> stop. i'm trying to talk them out of it, donny. >> i'm telling you why they're doing it. you're saying why are they doing it. that's why they're doing it. >> chuck's friends in hollywood have released a statement, right? >> right. >> my friends. >> i was going to say, i think reince priebus is making the most of an opportunity for him. i think he has a really clear argument with the cnn doc, but on entertainment, he doesn't. he's capitalizing on the perception of one and again, we get the bad of it, whether it's right or wrong and it's wrong because it's entertainment, it's a drama. nbc entertainment released a statement, quote, nbc entertainment has many projects in development and this particular mini series which has nothing to do with the nbc news division is in the very early stages. the script has not been written nor has it been ordered to production. it would be premature to draw any conclusions or make assumptions about it at this time. >> joe, to your point about the republican party, the party of no and negativity, i love michael steele's opinion, if i

was the republican, i would not want the rnc chair to be spending his time on this. spend time on job creation, find the right candidates. this is one more -- >> i would. >> you think this is a good -- >> oh, my god -- >> i think it makes them still look angry, the party of no. >> it's not looking angry. listen, we have been beaten up in the mainstream media for 50 years. >> and in entertainment. >> that's what i'm saying. >> republicans look like idiots. >> whether it's hollywood movies, tv mini series. >> you mentioned bob on "the view." >>s the american presidents, michael douglas looking like the hero and it's always the republican, the conservative looking like richard dreyfuss slumped up. >> and we never walk well or have nice posture or strapping and hot. >> this is how much, donny -- >> you poor victims of the liberal media. >> this is how much hollywood hates republicans.

one of my favorite movies of all time, love actually, they even write in a point where they make it so americans will stand up and applaud when hugh grant delivers an anti-american speech against george w. bush's character and i'm sitting there and everybody is clapping and i'm going, god, they really do hate republicans. michael steele, michael steele, we -- perhaps we conservatives, we republicans are oversensitive about this but i don't think so. i mean for the most part, you know, especially guys from the south, white guys from the south, the only way we're depicted is usually, you know, we either got white sheets over us or we're "the dukes of hazards" and some good old boys and it's been this way 50 years. >> the combo the good old boy with the white sheet over your head. it's the one-two.

to mika's point just because it's entertainment doesn't mean it's less political or insidious in how it's perceived and the effect it can have longer term. to donny's point, you're talking about well, this doesn't matter. and it's so early or a small slice of the pie is going to watch it. it's the noise from it that's created. the vibe generated around hillary for good or bad, but to joe's point, for republicans, it's like okay, so where is the wonderful glowing biopics on republican political players out there? there is no conversation about that. so the fact of the matter is, we're sitting back and i think the rnc is right to just raise this flag and say before this campaign gets started we're going to nip this in the bud. we're not going to sit by and let you guys begin the conversation one-sided as you typically do. >> i think on the entertainment side, they might say get a republican whose story is dramatic and would sell. on the news side, i think it should be done.

if you're going to do a documentary on a potential presidential candidate, on one side of the political aisle, you better find another one for at least the perception of balance. >> i suspect cnn will. they know when it gets closer who the nominee will be there will be a documentary about chris christie, absolutely. >> joe -- >> grab the nominee right now. >> joe, you talked about a capitalistic system and supply and demand as far as minimum wages and mcdonald's, this is the same thing. don't watch it. it's a network -- >> why do you think fox news exists. because of supply and demand. >> exactly. but my point is that's -- >> why does hollywood only do liberal movies. has anybody ever figured out if they would stop doing anti-war movies and do a movie where some of our heros in iraq and afghanistan look like, i don't know, heros, americans would actually go. there is a reason why "band of brothers" struck a cord and "the pacific" didn't. there's always a liberal slant.

there's always a liberal slant coming out of hollywood. when is hollywood going to stop being stupid and start realizing that there are millions and millions and millions and millions of conservatives out there that would pay good money to go see movies that aren't sided. please, i ask you, name the last conservative political hero you have seen in a mainstream movie? >> the last conservative hero? >> we're going to need about 20 minutes. >> we'll be back. >> oh, my gosh. >> there are two dozen movies about jfk. >> american president -- >> 20 years. so i'll go bruce willis as a vigil anti-in "guy hard." >> you just assume that somebody that kills a lot of people is a conservative? >> that was touche. >> okay. >> you never have conservatives as political heros. even when they do the reagan biopics they have to have him stumbling around looking stupid.

>> and nancy and her astrologer. >> "the butler". >> i hear the reagan -- >> "the butler" does brilliantly, is it elevates every president, frankly, because the string it pulls through every president i think they go through six american presidents, democrat and republican, is what every administration did to further voting rights and to -- and race. so "the butler" stands in a class of its own in the republican presidents are depicted -- >> they don't have horns. >> nbc was going to run the jack kennedy mini series and people on the left freaked out, they were going to pull back the veil on camelot. is the media liberal leaning? yes. creative people as a whole tend to be more progressive. that's a fact. i don't think they sit around in a room, i don't think the head of nbc or jeffrey katzenberg running the studio or whoever, let's do a movie that's going to make this candidate -- >> they don't sit around. you're all at the same restaurant, spin class. you all run in the same circle.

>> same spin class. >> you must spin. >> i did spin until i hurt my -- >> oh, my god. now to russia, no love loss between the united states and russia, particularly since edward snowden has been granted temporary asylum in russia. >> the white house is canceling president obama's planned bilateral talks with his russian counterpart. president obama and vladimir putin were expected to sit down and discuss, among other things, syria's ongoing civil war. the kremlin says it is disappointed by the cancellation, the decision was reportedly unanimous by the president's national security. >> putin is upset. he had a chance to slump. >> he wanted to be late. >> be insulting. >> and he wanted a shot of himself weight lifting in a tank top while everyone waited for him. >> and slumping and scratching himself while the president talked. >> and perhaps like killing some beast. >> yeah. >> in a barn. >> to the audience, we defamed shirtless thugs before. that is a demographic and, you

know, we have to -- >> you threatened to disrobe on this show. >> i promised. i didn't threaten. >> i dare you. >> so chuck todd, what's the decision on russia pretty easy for the president and the white house, right? >> it is. but by the way, putin, sort of reminds -- the ron burgundy of world leaders, right? always sort of -- because they always are faking it the way burgundy does, faking 1,000, doing his curls and find out later putin is staging half these things. it was a -- it was an easy decision for them not to do this. a real snub would have been not going to the g-20 at all, not acknowledging -- not stepping foot in the country. but that is an international event and they decided to go there. some of this is symbolic but a reminder, think about you have russia, the issue with snowden that highlighted our struggles sometimes to convince china and russia to do some things that we would like them to do. look at the struggle we're having to get egypt to do what we want them to do.

this has been a rough six months for this administration as there's a lot of -- in the foreign policy world, there's a lot of evidence out there that this u.s. influence is waning and in many ways a natural thing to happen because of the global sort of flattening of everything, but, you know, the u.s. influence in general is clearly waning -- is waning. we don't -- aren't able to sort of push our way around some things the way we used to. >> all right. >> all right. we've got some new numbers out of new hampshire giving us an early look at the state's 2016 presidential primaries. according to the latest wmur granite state poll new jersey governor chris christie is leading the pack among likely republican contenders. christie has a 21% level of support, up ten points from april. he is followed by senator rand paul. jeb bush is in third up five points in the past few months. support for senator marco rubio, however, is down pretty

significantly. knocking him to fifth place in the poll. favorability rates for the first term senator dropped 18 points from april. on the democrat side it appears to be hillary's nomination to lose. the former secretary of state ran away from the field, receiving 62% support from likely democratic primary voters in the granite state, essentially unchanged from april. >> chuck, we can talk about the hillary clinton numbers in a min. back to the republicans, 62 to 8, marco rubio, and you see the slip he's had over the last couple months, what lessons does he need to learn from his performance over the last few months if he wants to be a nominee for president? >> by the way, that 62 to 8, isn't that what -- who does alabama have in the first game of the year, like murray state. that's about what the score is going to be, right? on rubio we saw the poll to clearly to immigration.

his aggressiveness at pushing to get the immigration bill passed, there's no other real explanation to it when you look at -- because he -- when the year started, his numbers had popped everywhere nationally in places like new hampshire where you have an engaged political electorate there and we saw across the board, whether in national polls or this one, he's taken a hit and it's with core conservatives. we break it up in our poll, i'm sure the same way in the new hampshire poll, the more moderate or, you know, business republicans, the non-tea party wing of the party, they're still like -- they still like rubio as much as before. where he's lost the most ground we noticed was among the tea party wing of the party, the more conservative wing. immigration took a big hit. >> hbo, glowing documentary on bush senior a couple months ago. that's your answer. >> that's all you got? >> weintraub -- >> a love letter to george bush. that's your answer. >> oh, jerry, i want to move

you, man. give me a movie. >> we got one. that's good. >> mika was looking up the top ten conservative movies of all time, to tell you how much they had to reach, "rocky". >> do we count "air force one." what do we think of "air force one" that president. >> sort of a republican. come on. >> he was tough on russia. right? he was tough -- >> i just want to know -- i want to know why "rocky" -- >> "top gun". >> "rocky iv" takes down drago and ends the cold war. >> i stand corrected. he's ours. >> in 24, in all honesty, in 24, at least on international issues. >> fox entertainment there. >> "deer hunter." >> who was the republican. >> "black hawk down". >> what is this? >> i don't understand. >> maybe it makes your point. >> yeah. made my point.

>> chuck todd, thank you. see you at 9:00 a.m. on "the daily run down". >> your friends at nbc entertainment filled your inbox. >> i know. yeah. i'm going to be ducking that. great working here. it was wonderful to work here. i'll see if i have a show by 9:00. >> chuck, there's some openings at cbs, just saying, all right. >> he's going to go dvr all the nbc prime time shows. >> i love them all. >> playing "rocky". >> bring back manimal. >> we're going to reveal the new cover of "time" magazine. up next from cold warrior to conflicted family man, here we go, a new book examines the transformation of jfk in his final 100 days. author and historian thurston clarke joins us next. you're watching "morning joe" brewed by starbucks. [ male announcer ] if she keeps serving up sneezes... [ sneezing ] she may be muddling through allergies. try zyrtec®. powerful allergy relief for adults

and kids six years and older. zyrtec®. love the air. and kids six years and older. itabout the walmart time and welow price guarantee.ia got your list? let's go. yeah! look at that price! oh wow. that's amazing. my kids love those. it's so fast and easy in the morning for us. now all your back to school meals are covered. thank you. ok, ready? what?! that's the walmart low price guarantee backed by ad match. save time and money getting your kids ready for school. bring in receipts from your local stores and see for yourself. save more this back to school on quick and easy breakfast with low prices on kellogg's cereals, pop tarts and jif chocolate hazelnut spread with our low price guarantee backed by ad match. the beach on your tv is much closer than it appears. seize the summer with up to 50% off hotels at travelocity. no-charge scheduled maintenance. check. and here's the kicker... 0% apr for 60 months. and who got it? this guy.

and who got it? this guy. and who got it? this guy. that's right... [ male announcer ] it's the car you won't stop talking about. ever. hurry in to the volkswagen best. thing. ever. event. and get 0% apr for 60 months, now until september 3rd. that's the power of german engineering.

if an american, because his skin is dark, cannot eat lunch in a restaurant open to the public, if he cannot send his

children to the best public school available, if he cannot vote for the public officials who respect him, if in short he cannot enjoy the full and free life which all of us want, then who among us would be content to have the color of his skin changed and stand in his place? who among us would then be content for the counsel of patients and delay. >> with us now, the best-selling author and kennedy historian thurston clarke, author of "jfk's last 100 days, the transformation of a man and the emergence of a great president" and the transformation began, you say, with the death of his premature son patrick. >> that's right. >> that's where you start the book? >> i start the book there a few days before the 100 days begins, but he spent probably 36 hours with his son. jackie was in the hospital and when patrick died, jfk was

holding his hand. he came back -- >> you say it transformed him. we heard about all the women he was with. you said this made him recommit to his marriage. >> i believe it did. there's enough evidence, not just the wishful thinking of people who knew them who afterwards said they're becoming much closer, real concrete things that happened. the first thing that happened was after the funeral he came to her bedsside, burst into tears and said jackie, we can't be sad. we can't let this grief harm the work that we have to do together. and this was a tremendous thing. her mother said this made a tremendous impression on her. the first time he had been talking about them doing work together. >> which takes us to this picture. you say he was a man that was impossible for many to figure out. >> yes. >> because he didn't break down and cry. talk about this picture. >> that shows elaine, who had been commissioned to do one

portrait of kennedy for the truman library and she had been hired because she was known as the fastest brush in the east. the idea was she could finish this off in a few hours. she came to palm beach, 1962 christmas, stayed four days, and for the rest of the year, she did nothing but draw and paint and sketch -- >> they couldn't figure him out. >> she thought to find his essence, she had to look -- see him as people saw him on television and newspaper and she clipped all these magazine things. she couldn't stop. she couldn't stop. she admitted she fell a tiny bit in love with him. more than a tiny bit. >> one of the great mysteries of the evolution of his presidency and sudden end of his presidency has to do with vietnam. >> yeah. >> you know, where was he going. what was he thinking? and you can see just not only from your book, but anecdotally it seems he was headed in a different direction than he ended up going.

>> there's been material that's come out in the last 15 or 20 years that backs this up. in october he announced that there were going to be a thousand advisors coming out with a hopefully having all of the advisors out by 1965. now since then, in the last 15 years, his national security adviser mcgeorge, maxwell taylor, chairman of the joint chiefs, robert mcnamara, said they don't think that kennedy would have sent combat units to vietnam which is what johnson did. throughout his presidency six or seven occasions he was urged by his advisors to send combat units to vietnam and every single time he refused to do it. >> is there any trepidation about writing about president kennedy in this manner? the full rounded human being. after the assassination he's depicted in one dimensional way and a lot of regards and you bring him in his 3d -- >> absolutely. i found that it illuminates some

things. we're talking about vietnam. for example, he gave a green light to a coup against president diam ten days after his son died, he was in hyannisport, carolyn was acting up, being difficult because she was sad to have lost her brother. he kept reading and re-reading the condolence letters he had gotten, passing them around and at that moment, he's asked to approve a cable that essentially green lights a coup against deyam and he does it. he realizes what he's done and tries to claw it back and it's too late. >> unbelievable. you say the assassinations is like a black hole that sucks in all these events close to the assassination and you believe paints an unfair portrait of the president the last 100 days or perhaps the most important in understanding him. >> yes. i think one of the important things that happened then was this idea that there was a detaunt, really was a de taunt

in the cold war. the british foreign secretary at the same u.n. meeting which kennedy proposed a joint moon mission, said i think we're seeing the beginning of the end of the cold war. of course the joint moon mission, if that had happened, we would have seen neil armstrong and maybe yuri getting out of that thing and walking on the moon together. it was not impossible. >> all right. thurston, thank you so much. >> you're welcome. >> greatly appreciated a great book. the book "jfk's last hundred days, the transformation of the man and the emergence of a great president." thanks again. >> thank you. >> appreciate it. >> nice to see you again. >> coming up next, video out of china. a camera captures a devastating bus crash. it's hard to believe everybody on board survived. that story and what happened next. mine was earned in djibouti, africa. 2004.

vietnam in 1972. [ all ] fort benning, georgia in 1999. [ male announcer ] usaa auto insurance is often handed down from generation to generation. because it offers a superior level of protection and because usaa's commitment to serve military members, veterans, and their families is without equal. begin your legacy, get an auto insurance quote. usaa. we know what it means to serve.

delivering mail, medicine and packages, yet they're closing thousands of offices, slashing service and want to layoff over 100,000 workers. the postal service is recording financial losses, but not for reasons you might think. the problem? a burden no other agency or company bears. a 2006 law that drains $5 billion a year from post office revenue while the postal service is forced to overpay billions more into federal accounts. congress created this problem, and congress can fix it.

a bus crash in eastern china caught on tape it from inside the cabin as the driver backs up the bus hit from behind by a semi trailer. >> oh, my. >> the impact is so severe the driver flies outside the window. the other clip shows passengers being tossed around as the bus flips, everybody -- so everyone survived. one person inside the semi was killed. >> okay. >> moving on. a little over a month ago when

19 members of an elite fire crew were killed in the massive yarnell hill fire in arizona. the flames may have been put out, but the fire's impact is still being felt today by the families of the fallen. nbc's miguel almaguer reports from arizona. >> reporter: in front of the county courthouse, juliann ashcraft went public. >> i stand here not just for me but there were 19 men that perished in the fire. >> reporter: a widow, mother of four, her husband andrew killed in the yarnell hill fire, ashcraft says the city of prescott has turned its back on the families left behind. >> these good employees of theirs that perished, did everything they could for the city and the city is doing the bare minimum in return. >> reporter: in the days following the tragedy, the city pledged to help families of the fallen. >> we will be here to support you, to include you. >> reporter: but andrew ashcraft and 12 other hotshots were classified as temporary

employees, fighting wild land fires as seasonal workers, an injustice says the firefighters union. >> these are seasonal completion they work full time, they work their full fire season, they take the full risk, but unfortunately, their families do not receive the full protection. >> reporter: across the country, more than 10,000 firefighters are classified as seasonal. in many cases, they don't get full benefits or wouldn't qualify for a significant family payout should they die in the line of duty. in a statement the city of prescott says it has been mistakenly suggested the city made a promise it would somehow find a way to retroactively reclassify temporary employees as permanent. the city cannotp do this legally. ashcraft and all of the families will receive a payout of nearly $330,000. millions less than a full-time employee. >> to me, it's not a matter of which of the 19 deserve

benefits, but that they all do. >> reporter: in prescott the fire fight may be over, but the battle over benefits has just begun. >> up next, how the loss of an insect is impacting everything from farmers to the economy. the new issue of "time" magazine, imagines a world without bees. executive editor radhika jones reveals the cover next on "morning joe." lecoca-cola is partneringg. with nashville parent

and charlotte parent magazines, along with the mayors of those cities, in the fit family challenge. a community wide program that offers free classes that inspire families to get out, enjoy moving together, and even track their activity online. it's part of our goal to inspire more than three million people to rediscover the joy of being active this summer. see the difference all of us can make... together. american express credit card, every purchase earns you 2% cash back, which is deposited in your fidelity account. is that it? actually... there's no annual fee and no limits on rewards. and with the fidelity cash management account debit card, you get reimbursed for all atm fees. is that it? oh, this guy, too. turn more of the money you spend into money you invest. it's everyday reinvesting for your personal economy.

i'm bethand i'm michelle. and we own the paper cottage. it's a stationery and gifts store. anything we purchase for the paper cottage goes on our ink card. so you can manage your business expenses and access them online instantly with the game changing app from ink. we didn't get into business to spend time managing receipts, that's why we have ink. we like being in business because we like being creative, we like interacting with people. so you have time to focus on the things you love. ink from chase. so you can.

aren't you afraid of getting stung? >> you got to keep your calm around bees. they can sense fear right off. it makes them panic. you stay back here just to be safe.

>> that was a scene from the 1997 movie "ulee's gold." it's been a tough profession. honey bees dying over the past few years and as anne thompson explains we don't exactly know why. >> hey, gary. denise, how are you? >> reporter: denise is a match maker, hooking up farmers and bee keepers so honey bees can pollinate $15 billion in crops that make up one third of the american diet. this year was almost a natural disaster. >> reporter: because the bee die off, what some call colony collapse disorder appeared to accelerate. >> this year it seemed like it got the whole nation. >> reporter: brett is the largest bee keeper in the country. a decade ago he would figure on a 5% loss in his hives. this winter he lost 42%. >> i don't think there is anybody else we can call to get

bees if we have, you know, a shortage again. >> reporter: a shortage that drove bee prices skyhigh for almond farmer eric. >> turns into a bidding war who has them and who doesn't have them. >> reporter: this year he paid twice as much for bees as he did five years ago. >> and this week's "time" cover story on the possible causes behind the massive bee deaths and "time" magazine executive editor radhika jones joins us with that. first of all, talk about why they're important because nicole is scared of them. >> we want you to be less scared of bees and on the side of bees. y we need bees. they're pollinators. we have a chart in the magazine about all of the crops that we produce in america, fruits and vegetables, we consume and produce that depend on pollination, almonds, 100% depend on bee pollination. >> i didn't know that. >> i didn't know that. >> it's true. they're a huge export for california and -- >> what else? >> and they're really in

trouble. apples, avocados, asparagus, those are just the as. >> without bees what happens? >> without bees there's a lot of pressure on these crops and farmers are going to have to find, you know, if you imagine as we say on our cover line, a world without bees, farmers will have to imagine different ways to pollinate these crops. it's a huge challenge. let alone as we saw for the bee keepers who are also going out of business. >> how significantly a rate are they dying off? >> so there's good news and bad news. i'll start with the bad news. bad news, last winter, for example, one third of the honey bee colonies died or disappeared. >> what? >> and this is what was labeled seven years ago when this first started happened, colony collapse disorder. the problem is scientists since that time have been trying to figure out what's going on and they have sort of got a range of possibilities but there's no silver bullet yet. it's not exactly one theory or another. >> the biggest guess theory of why it's happening?

>> recent pesticides, newer pesticides are a theory. australia uses similar pesticides and not having this problem. france banned them years ago and not having this problem. there are mites and bacterial diseases that may be causing problems for the bees. but the other things we've changed our environmental profile so muchp that for a lot of bees it's like there's not enough wild life in america to sustain them. all of these things are a factor and, you know, if they don't come back, we're going to have to invent new ways to pollinate which is obviously a huge task. >> okay. great cover story on "time" magazine. you have a piece on ted cruz. and also -- i like this a lot, i'm going to be reading this like right now -- the digital parent trap. should your kids avoid tech or embrace it? i actually like sought help for my family. >> what's the answer? >> somewhere down the middle. >> embrace it. >> you have to also, to me, there's a danger.

pull your kids away. they can't have their faces in. >> engage with them. >> you need both. but you have to embrace it to understand their world because it is their world. >> also, they need the skills. >> they need those skills. >> what you're saying -- >> technology -- >> just to me squashes so much creativity, individualism, time alone to think. >> social interaction, love. >> eye contact. >> i was doing research for my book -- >> love? >> i'm serious. >> don't tell anthony weiner you can't have love. >> no. i meant with -- oh, god. >> oh, god. you had to go there. >> don't tell the kids to use tech for that reason, no. >> i will say, when i was doing research for knowing your value, i did an interview with cheryl sandberg and we devolved into talking about our kids and i was complaining about my kids always being on the computer and she's like, let them play games. are they girls? let them play games. we need more women in technology and they develop the skills

intuitively when they're young. >> when you watch kids with technology it is amazing how intuitive they are. i'm sure you have everything. the kids are the ones that do tech support for the parents and grandparents. i'm all in favor of that. >> the new cover of "time" magazine is "imagining a world without bees." radhika jones, thank you so much. up next the educational experiment, speaking of tech. how high-tech innovation may just save our country's schools. stephanie dua here to explain how reading apps for kids can be a game changer. you're watching "morning joe" brewed by starbucks. "i'm part of an american success story," "that starts with one of the world's most advanced distribution systems," "and one of the most efficient trucking networks," "with safe, experienced drivers." "we work directly with manufacturers," "eliminating costly markups,"

"and buy directly from local farmers in every region of the country." "when you see our low prices, remember the wheels turning behind the scenes, delivering for millions of americans, everyday. "dedication: that's the real walmart" a regular guy with an irregular heartbeat. the usual, bob? not today. [ male announcer ] bob has afib: atrial fibrillation not caused by a heart valve problem, a condition that puts him at greater risk for a stroke. [ gps ] turn left. i don't think so. [ male announcer ] for years, bob took warfarin, and made a monthly trip to the clinic to get his blood tested. but not anymore. bob's doctor recommended a different option: once-a-day xarelto®. xarelto® is the first and only once-a-day prescription blood thinner for patients with afib not caused by a heart valve problem, that doesn't require routine blood monitoring. like warfarin, xarelto® is proven effective to reduce the risk of an afib-related stroke.

there is limited data on how these drugs compare when warfarin is well managed. no routine blood monitoring means bob can spend his extra time however he likes. new zealand! xarelto® is just one pill a day, taken with the evening meal. and with no dietary restrictions, bob can eat the healthy foods he likes. do not stop taking xarelto® rivaroxaban without talking to the doctor who prescribes it for you. stopping may increase your risk of having a stroke. get medical help right away if you develop any signs or symptoms of bleeding, like unusual bruising or tingling. you may have a higher risk of bleeding if you take xarelto® with aspirin products, nsaids or blood thinners. talk to your doctor before taking xarelto® if you currently have abnormal bleeding. xarelto® can cause bleeding, which can be serious, and rarely may lead to death. you are likely to bruise more easily on xarelto®, and it may take longer for bleeding to stop. tell your doctors you are taking xarelto® before any planned medical or dental procedures. before starting xarelto®, tell your doctor about any conditions, such as kidney, liver

or bleeding problems. ready to change your routine? ask your doctor about once-a-day xarelto®. for more information including cost support options, call 1-888-xarelto or visit goxarelto.com.

49 past the hour. with new higher standards in place, the number of new york city students passing state reading and matt exams is plummeting. the new common core standards emphasize creative problem solving instead of simpler, short answers. but the new policies have hit report cards hard. last year 47% of new york students were proficient in the english tests. 60% in math. this year, with the new standards in place, those rates have practically been cut in

half. some poor districts faired even worse. joining us now, former chief executive of new york city's fund for public schools stephanie dua. in 2009 named cain's 40 of 40. the stephanie wah. >> stephanie, it looks like new york city kids need them. only 1 in 4 deficient in reading now. we've believed for year these students were taking great gains, steps forward. ways going on with your schools? >> we have new standards in place. this is the first year which children were taking exams against those standards. standards are higher. the 45 states in the district of columbia that signed on to the new standards realized that children were not being prepared for careerings. the bar is not only higher, it's different. we're asking children to master

different types of tasks. it's not going to happen overnight. >> a lot of complaints from unions that teachers are just teaching to the test. they're teaching test taking and not critical thinking. is this new approach supposed to take care of that problem? >> standards are not an approach, first of all. they're a set of standards. i think what's been happening over the last couple of years as city and states prepare for the new standards, they're adopting different teaching practices to try and really develop those critical thinking and problem solving skills. >> when i say approach, we're talking about critical thinking. we hear these tests reward critical thinking. >> correct. >> so how -- so why was -- why was there a change from where we were to where we are now? >> the current tests are rewarding critical thinking. the prior tests rewarded more memorization. in addition, the exams are focusing more on mastery. so instead of being able to have two correct answers against a

skill, you really have to demonstrate mastery of that skill. >> you concerned? obviously been involved in new york city public schools. how serious is this problem? >> i'm very concerned on a number of fronts. one, i'm a mom to three little girls. very young girls. part of what i saw as the ceo of fund for city schools as well as the adviser to the common core literacy standards is there's nothing for parents, right, and we know that parents play an incredible role in their child's education. in particular, in their early childhood education. and so we looked around and i looked around. i had access to enormous resources. literacy experts. nobody could point to anything worthwhile for parents. at the same time, the app store is exploding. 75% of downloaded apps are for children. and yet nobody could point to anything that was really worthwhile. >> which leads us to the app we're talking about today. does that involve parents and

does that necessarily address the problem we're talking about here in new york? >> so learn with homer was created, it's an ipad app, to be the first comprehensive early literacy app. so two things have to happen at the same time for a young child. one is they have to learn the phonetics. they have to learn how to decode and fluently read. they also have to build knowledge. that can't be built in vocabulary through flashcards. we've brought two of those together. both of those components of learning together for the first time on an i-pad. >> nicole and i both have young kids. this speaks exactly to what i'm trying to figure out because i'm so jealous of my friends who say their kids love reading. i don't have that in my 7-year-old yet. we try to do things on the ipad. they're clunky, they're boring, they're slow. i want to know what you've learned from the clunkiness out

there to make it actually enjoyable to go through while they're learning. >> it's a good point. i went through the same thing. when i was working on the common core, my 5-year-old wanted to learn how to read. she was saying, help me, mommy. so part of what you're saying is there's a lot of claims to teach a child to read, but they're really single skill practice, . c-a-t and moving blocks. that assumes a child knows how to read. it's not teaching a child to read. turns out learning to read is the single hardest thing a child is going to have to learn when they're young. we're born to speak but we're not born to learn how to read. confidence comes into play. i don't know your situation with your 7-year-old but if they're not engaged and excited then confidence over time comes into

play. >> stephanie, thank you. we'll be following the scores in new york. we're all concerned about that. there are so many opportunities out there. i got a son that has asbergers. you go on the app and there's some apps that are extraordinary and help him get through it. one of the most unbelievable things is -- you don't have any really young kids. it is amazing by the time they're 6 months. give them the ipad and they intuitively know how to go around. it's unbelievable. by the way, kate scarborough turns 10 today. it's a big, big birthday! >> i got a present for her. >> you do? >> of course i do. >> very good. >> we'll continue the conversation online with stephanie. use #mojoe. up next, it was considered a gaffe during the campaign but did mitt romney have a point when it comes to america's

strategy for dealing with vladimir put be? also, the head of the rnc is grabbing headlines with a threatened boycott of both nbc and cnn. >> it sounds like chuck todd's ready to boycott nbc entertainment too. >> leave chuck alone. >> boycott his show -- >> what we say about nbc, good lord. >> "morning joe" will be right back. honey... it's time to go. no. honey, it's too perfect. over a quarter million properties... you'll never want to leave. booking.com booking.yeah a quarter million tweeters is beare tweeting. and 900 million dollars are changing hands online. that's why hp built a new kind of server.

one that's 80% smaller. uses 89% less energy. and costs 77% less. it's called hp moonshot. and it's giving the internet the room it needs to grow. this&is gonna be big. hp moonshot. it's time to build a better enterprise. together. f-f-f-f-f-f-f. lac-lac-lac. he's an actor who's known for his voice. but his accident took that away. thankfully, he's got aflac. they're gonna give him cash to help pay his bills so he can just focus on getting better. we're taking it one day at a time. one day at a time. [ male announcer ] see how the duck's lessons are going at aflac.com one day at a time. "stubborn love" by the lumineers did you i did. email? so what did you think of the house? did you see the school ratings? oh, you're right. hey babe, i got to go. bye daddy! have a good day at school, ok?

...but what about when my parents visit? ok. i just love this one... and it's next to a park. i love it. i love it too. here's our new house... daddy! you're not just looking for a house. you're looking for a place for your life to happen. i save time, money,st, and i avoid frustration. you'll find reviews on home repair to healthcare, written by people just like you. find out why more than two million members count on angie's list. angie's list -- reviews you can trust. like carpools... polly wants to know if we can pick her up. yeah, we can make room. yeah. [ male announcer ] ...office space. yes, we're loving this communal seating. it's great. [ male announcer ] the best thing to share? a data plan. at&t mobile share for business. one bucket of data for everyone on the plan, unlimited talk and text on smart phones. now, everyone's in the spirit of sharing. hey, can i borrow your boat this weekend? no. [ male announcer ] share more. save more.

at&t mobile share for business. ♪ but when it comes to investing, i just think it's better to work with someone. someone you feel you can really partner with. unfortunately, i've found that some brokerage firms don't always encourage that kind of relationship. that's why i stopped working at the old brokerage, and started working for charles schwab. avo: what kind of financial consultant are you looking for? talk to us today.

good morning. it's 8:00 on the east coast. 5:00 on the west coast. live look at new york city. welcome back to "morning joe." we have nicole wallace, donny deutsch -- don't take the shirt off -- and michael steele in washington. there is no love lost between the united states and russia, mashly since edward snowden has been granted temporary asylum by moscow. the white house is officially canceling president obama's planned bilateral talks with his russian counterpart. >> good. >> president obama and vladimir putin were expected to discuss among other things syria's ongoing civil war. the kremlin says it is disappointed by the cancellation. the decision was reportedly unanimous by the president's national security team. the icy political standoff between the two nations rekindle also a debate between mitt romney and president obama

during the 2012 campaign. >> this is russia. this is without question our number one geopolitical foe. the idea that he has more flexibility in mind for russia is very troubling indeed. >> governor romney, i'm glad you recognize al qaeda's a threat. a few months ago when you were asked what's the biggest geo political threat facing america, you said russia. not al qaeda. you said russia. independe and the 1980s are asking for their foreign policy back. the cold war's been other for 20 years. >> boy, that's a cute line. it's just so dead wrong. it's not even funny. and every single country that's causing problems right now, whether it's iran, whether it's syria, of course we've got the snowden issue now, it is russia at the center of it. russia has made fools of two president's, nicolle, your, and barack obama.

>> look, he's a shirtless thug, and he's someone who really has made a fool of this president. who i think earnestly intended to reset relations but my evmy y naively thought that was possible. >> donny twitched when the phrase "shirtless thug" because -- no, no, willie, when you said "shirtless thug" it was as if donny was walking down the mean streets of southampton. >> shirtless? >> shirtless thug. he said he was going to call me. he hasn't called me in a week. >> i have to tell you, i hate to ever acknowledge any insight on your part. something very kind of bespoke felt when you said "shirtless thug." >> it's too far? all shirtless thugs. we'll be showing pictures of donny deutsch later in the

house. by the way, jay carney -- >> jay carney says the u.s. will continue to work with russia on a number of issues. the president still plans to attend the group of 20 summit in st. petersburg next month. >> why should he go? every time the president goes and sits there with putin, i'm just talking about meetings with the future, putin makes sure he slouches -- >> shows up three hours late. >> the hell with him. if he wants to play games, let him do that to merkel or something. >> the debate in the campaign was because of -- off my comment that, you know, wait until after the election, we'll have more flexibility. flexibility for what? >> newell pos opolls out of new hampshire. according to the latest, new jersey governor christie leading the pack among likely republican contenders. christie has a 21% support, up from 10 points in april. he's followed by senator rand

paul, jeb bush in third, up 5 points. in the past few months, support for rubio down significantly. knocking him to fifth place in the poll. favorability rates for the first-term senator dropped 18 points from april. for governor christie, his net favorability is down 14 points since february. on the democrat's side, it appears to be hillary's nomination to lose. >> i've never seen a poll like that, amazing. >> the secretary of state ran away from the field, receiving 62% from likely democratic primary voters in the granite state. that's essentially unchanged from april. not surprising, joe? >> not surprising. i want to go to nicolle really quickly on the marco front. you're a big fan of marco. his numbers are falling precipitously. you could have predicted it. anybody that doesn't get ginned up by the most extreme talk

radio host would understand that marco is not an extremist. but he's been playing one on tv for some unknown -- i don't know who is advising him, but we've been saying on the show every damn day -- and people can hate me all they want, marco can be disappointed in me all he wants. i've been saying it either damn day. this is not how you get elected president. his numbers have collapsed. >> the heavier burden for marco is not his position on immigration reform. it's actually, it's undeniable that it was a bold position to stake out and one that our party continues to be not ready to do the right thing on immigration. but i think even people who disagree with him could respect his leadership and his unique biography and his perspective on this issue. what they can't tolerate is someone who takes a stand and then walks away from it. that never, ever, ever worked. >> says one thing in english. says another thing in spanish. and i'm dead serious. and then goes extreme.

says that he's going to shut down the senate if they have a vote on background checks that over 90% of americans support. says he's 1 of 3 people that's going to kill the budget process because there may be negotiat n negotiations between the house and the senate. i mean, that -- >> look, i'm still a big marco fan. i think what you can see in these polls is the fact that rand paul and chris christie are at the top. they can shift in a nano second if they're in the news again so marco still has time -- >> this is very early but his strategy is not working. ted cruz obviously at the bottom. everybody's talking about ted cruz. who wouldn't love to have ted cruz's mailing list right now. >> you don't win general elections like that. >> michele bachmann did this before and herman cain did this. they all had their sort of explosions in the springs and then they collapsed. >> so here's something for you,

joe, and then michael steele, chris matthews, his prediction for the gop nomination he made last night on "hard ball." >> obama won in '08 over hillary because the opponents of the iraq war had had it with the party leaders who played it safe and backed the war. i believe republican base will do the same in 2016. they put up with george bush i. put up with bob dole. and last year by mitt romney. now loaded for bear for the race for 2016. i predict the hard right is going to take over the republican party in 2016 and the nomination is going to rand p l paul, you watch, this is what i do for a living. >> he could not -- >> i do it too and i don't think that's happening. there's no doubt that rand paul is going -- rand paul, if you look at most polls in the early states, rand paul is going to have a big chunk of support but he's not going to win. >> joe, i don't know about that.

i think rand paul offers a voice out there that -- very much like his dad -- taps into a new generation of folks coming in to politics. i have a piece up right now talking about his visit to howard university and the subtle messages that were overlooked in the way that conversation unfolded. he's doing some things that are staking out new ground for a potential run in 2016 that other people aren't doing. >> you think rand paul can win the republican nomination? >> pardon me? >> you think rand paul can win? >> i think legitimately as anyone else at this point absolutely. i think people will short change this process if they look past him and continue to focus the lights on the guys that have the big shiny coins. this guy's methodical. he's bringing different voices. and i just say he's someone to watch. >> we have to elect a true conservative. >> i agree.

>> with all due respect. i thought george w. bush was a true conservative. in my opinion, he didn't govern as one. mitt romney wasn't a true conservative. in my definition of true conservative. john mccain loved sticking the sharp stick in the eyes of true conservatives on policy. so yeah, i want a true conservative, but you know what, i want one that can win. by the way, though, michael, the general election, we always have the general election and the primary election. wrote this column i brought up ye yesterday, "crazy never wins." i'm not saying rand's crazy but yeah, you get a big explosion in iowa, then you go down to is being south carolina, get a big explosion. then guess what, crazy, it withers up in the sun. quirky withers in the sun.

you have guys like my dad, i wrote about this a couple years ago, guys like my dad that don't watch cable news, don't listen to talk radio. guys that work. they go to their factories or their blue collar jobs or their white collar jobs and they come home and they go, who can run my country. and they don't care what the crazy person online's saying. they don't care what the local crazy in talk radio's saying. >> they also don't care what the mainstream media says. this may knock out the elites and -- they want what you said, competence. >> they do what my dad does. what he always did and he always picked the nominee. some years, i go, dad, you can't vote for him. ford's too liberal. i was like, 8, going, you know, reagan, reagan. but those are the guys to do it. >> with all that in mind, go back to the last election. if mitt romney wasn't a true conservative, who would you have nominated? who could have beaten president

barack obama in a way mitt romney didn't? >> that is the ultimate question. at the end of the day, you had someone like a rick santorum who showed the perseverance, the ability to really stand in there through that course, through that gauntlet. >> rick wasn't going to win the general election. >> again, i understand that, but -- >> rick's scared -- >> but conservatives -- >> rick scared republican housewives across america. >> that's true. i'm trying to get to the point that conservatives going to 2016 have to answer the question that you've already begun to answer. who is that true conservative in the crop of guys and gals who show up? if they didn't do it in '12, will they do it in '16? rand paul, chris christie, all those guys, are going to be battling for that. >> other people are going to jump in. a lot of other people. remember barack obama at this point wasn't even on the list. this hasn't even begun. donny deutsch hasn't stripped down to his shirt yet. but he came close. i will tell you somebody who

will not be on that list -- >> yes. >> made a few mistakes. i make mistakes every day and i ask for forgiveness from the lord and you, please foregive me. but bob filner, holy cow. we need a whole big bucket. this is just about -- so let me get this right, there was, like, this support group for ladies in the military, women in the military, that have been sexually harassed, right? >> assaulted. >> assaulted. actually assaulted. and filner decides to go to the meeting? really? >> it's worse than going to the meeting. mika has the story. >> yeah, i've got it right here. >> it's horrible. allegedly horrible. >> allegedly horrible. all right. >> i actually read this and then i tried to do some research here. it only gets worse. look at that and see if we should share. 13 women have now accused san diego mayor bob filner of sexual harassment. two women who say they were raped during their time in the military say filner made unwanted at vances at a

san diego support group for military sexual assault victims. this is according to cnn. the former congressman who once served as a ranking member of the committee veterans affairs is undergoing a two-week therapy program. his former communications director has slapped him with a sexual harassment lawsuit. top political consultants have joined a growing movement to recall the embattled mayor who has acknowledged in a youtube video he has a problem and is in need of help. and it goes on. i'm looking at the huffington post. apparently, left a voice mail, hi, it's your newly favorite congressman, bob filner, you know, the one who fell in love with you at your last speech? >> these are the women who were sexually -- >> the victim who was raped, she says in the green room in some area they were doing a support group, he got as close to me as he could. his jacket was touching my jacket. i was bent down, he bent down

with me, rubbing like he cared, like he was consoling me. >> those are judst two of many stories. i think there's eight from that one woman's group. again, all women who had been assaulted. alleged by these women who are veterans of the united states military, who are to be taken very seriously, that -- one woman has a voice mail she alleges is from him, where he makes crude comments and tries to force himself to dinner with her, that she deleted. it's one after another. i don't know what it takes to get thrown out of office here. >> what do you have to do in san diego? >> or charged with a crime? at some point, where have you committed a crime? >> and asking the city to pay his political bills? >> any time there's a scandal, you go, it can't get any more heinous or ridiculous. and it does. where's the bottom? >> this is just absolutely terrible. >> coming u on "morning joe,"

the opt out generation wants back in. ten years ago, columnist lisa belkin profiled highly educated women who gave up their careers to stay home. a new article uncovers the struggles involved. lisa joins us with one of those moms profiled in the piece. up next, rnc chair is giving two thumbs down to planned projects about hillary clinton. first, bill karins with the forecast. >> the forecast in missouri has been dreadful all week long. we expected some serious weather concerns and it has happened. it came to fruition yesterday morning near newburg where they had to evacuate the home. hundreds of homes under water unfortunately. it is still raining. this is three mornings in a row with torrential rain.

the areas that got hit yesterday are about to get hit again. the other developing thing that happened late yesterday is because it's been too dry in california. we had a wildfire that quickly burned out of control in river side county. we had about 15 structures burn. three people were hurt including one person that was burned head to toe. of course, the firefighters on the scene. about 1,000 of them on the scene trying to get that blaze under control. otherwise, airports are looking pretty good. just a 30-minute delay now down to 15 at jfk. at least in the air we're doing okay. later this afternoon, some thunderstorms on the east coast will cause some minor airport problems. you're watching "morning joe." we're brewed by starbucks. "i'm part of an american success story,"

"that starts with one of the world's most advanced distribution systems," "and one of the most efficient trucking networks," "with safe, experienced drivers." "we work directly with manufacturers," "eliminating costly markups," "and buy directly from local farmers in every region of the country." "when you see our low prices, remember the wheels turning behind the scenes, delivering for millions of americans, everyday. "dedication: that's the real walmart"

you may be muddling through allergies. try zyrtec® for powerful allergy relief. and zyrtec® is different than claritin® because it starts working faster on the first day you take it. zyrtec® love the air. from capital one... boris earns unlimited rewards for his small business. can i get the smith contract, please? thank you. that's three new paper shredders. [ boris ] put 'em on my spark card. [ garth ] boris' small business earns 2% cash back on every purchase every day. great businesses deserve unlimited rewards. read back the chicken's testimony, please. "buk, buk, bukka!" [ male announcer ] get the spark business card from capital one and earn unlimited rewards. choose 2% cash back or double miles on every purchase every day. told you i'd get half. what's in your wallet?

all right, back to "morning joe." >> he's back. why would this guy come here? >> i don't know. >> he is so nice to us. you have been defending him. >> i like half of the point he's making. the other half i think is ridiculous. >> but you defended his right to make it. >> you defended him the first day. and then all of her liberal friends, sort of the cocktail circuit, you know -- >> people like -- >> like donny, like, you can't defend this guy. >> chairman of the republican national committee ryan priebus. >> we may even get chris

matthews to call. >> i got to ask you this question. if you're in milwaukee, i got to ask you this question. some of the greatest baseball fans in the world have really been hit hard. everybody knew a-rod was juicing. nobody's shocked. but man, ryan braun, he was supposed to be one of the good guys. how hard is that for brewers fans? >> yeah, it's really hard because, you know, not just hard for our hard-core fans and the cameraman here in front of me is wearing a brewers hat, a throwback hat on. but all the little kids, right, i mean, all the little boys and girls with the ryan braun jerseys on. in a place like milwaukee where it's really close, tight-knit family, things like this really, really hit hard. and so it's tough. i mean, it's been a tough season. they won last night in san francisco. the wins are a little bit too far between, that's for sure, joe. >> little -- it's just got to be

tough for milwaukee fans. >> no, absolutely, absolutely. >> so i'm sure you've been following it. we have been debating this. aggressively. so yesterday mika and i were debating and we, like, brought in fox versus msnbc. >> -- all week -- >> this morn, we open it up and chuck todd just trashes nbc entertainment in a way that i think is going to get him in big trouble! >> no. >> big trouble! >> on the new nbc sports channel. >> yeah, chuck todd's now on the nbc sports channel. so obviously a big debate. tell me, what is your take? >> well, i wasn't quite sure because, listen, i saw mika on the first day and i left the house and thought, wow, that's pretty cool, mika's supporting my position here. and then when i came home last night, you know, i knew that there was this argument between you and mika and i wanted to get on youtube and try to find it and i did finally find it last

night. but, you know, actually nbc news and nbc entertainment made my point for me when nbc news tweeted about jay leno having barack obama on the entertainment side of the aisle. the fact of the matter is is i watch brian williams that i watch jay leno and sunday night football. it's a distinction without a difference. >> you know the difference between news and entertainment, come on. >> listen, it doesn't matter. just like when you bring me on the show, and i'm happy to come on. i know you asked for me to come on yesterday and that's why i'm here. >> thank you. >> the fact of the matter is, as chairman of the party, and when i'm brought on to ask a question and i'm talking about either todd aiken or i'm asked about something about ted cruz and this issue that we had the last time i was on, or the fact that some county chairman in the middle of the country said something, you're not bringing in the state chairman from that particular place, you're asking the chairman of the rnc.

my point is, it really doesn't matter, because i have to set a debate calendar that has the best interests of our party and our nominees in mind. if i've got nbc doing a mini series with diane lane starring on behalf -- or portraying hillary clinton on a four-day mini series, i got to tell you, it makes my choice of moderators much easier. the fact of the matter is, this happened now. so i wrote the letter now so that before nbc goes any further, i give them fair warning. >> if i may, i think you are making news and it's very savvy of you. but there is a difference. i think viewers know it and you know it. between nbc news and nbc entertainment. you got me on the cnn -- >> well, the point -- >> hold on, i'm not done. the cnn documentary on hillary clinton, i have to tell you, it gave me pause and i thought it was an opportunity. that makes sense. that to me is a fair fight for you to take on and make hay

over. but to go over nbc entertainment which is making a movie. it's not nbc news. i think it actually -- you actually cut into your own argument because it's not as strong. >> well, mika, i happen to -- i don't think there's a real difference there. i think people see nbc and you're in the business -- not you but nbc is in the business of news. they're in the business of entertainment. they're trying to do well in all those areas. i have to tell you, there are times when decisions that are made by nbc, whether it's entertainment or whether it's the news that are going to have an effect over the entire brand. i mean, the umbrella brand might suffer because of the decisions that are made. you can't be everything to all people. if nbc is trying to do that, obviously, they're going to suffer some consequences. the fact is, they can wait two years. if hillary clinton doesn't win, they can have all the movies in the world. it doesn't have to happen now. the other point is this. the fact of the matter is nbc

entertainment or whoever made the decision decided that the reason they wanted to do this miniseries early is that they didn't want to get into fair play doctrine. what that tells you is they know darn well that what they're doing is going to have an effect on the election. it's very cleeshar, mika. you're caught in this little gray area that most people in the country have no idea what you're referencing. >> nicolle came on and we were talking off set and she said, is there really a big difference between nbc entertainment and nbc news. and what chuck todd showed everybody is, he's, like, yeah, we hate them. like, obviously, you do understand that somebody like brian williams is pulling his hair out going -- i mean, i haven't talked to brian but i can tell you the entire news division's got to be pulling their hair out going, we're doing what? you know? you do understand there is that split there. >> i understand but the fact is

i cannot have companies that are in the business, whether it be nbc entertainment or whoever's making the decision, i cannot have companies in the business of making what i consider to be promotional movies about the life of hillary clinton, when at the same time, we know that her people are gearing up for a presidential run. then i'm going to bring those people in to depose the candidates running for president on the republican side of the aisle? it's ridiculous. >> nicolle wallace, obviously you've been involved in the republican white houses. maybe it's just because of my personal prejudices towards the way hollywood has treated liberals in the past and democrats in the past. i to thtally agree with the chairman. i would be mocking anybody that was going to give four days -- four days, are you kidding me? >> i'm sure you've been in the position of having to sell candidates on debates and having to convince candidates. i promise you the moderator's

going to be fair. but i'm curious what you're hearing from the grassroots because one of the things i hear all the time is, oh, my god, how do we fight against this kabul of the liberal media? you must be hearing cheers from the grassroots. >> yeah, absolutely. the grassroots -- if anything, i would say that -- if i'm being -- if anyone's being critical, there are some folks in the grass roots saying, what took you so long to actually take control over thesed me raters? the fact is is our party never really had control over the rule making authority on these debates. now we do. this is totally in the weeds. but this is actually the first time that our party's going to be able to set a debate calendar and then hold our candidates to the debate calendar that we make. they're very excited about the fact i'm talking about this. they think it's about time. now, this is one small part of

my day. i'm going to county parties. we're talking to victory -- or excuse me, volunteer centers in wisconsin and we're setting up an early ground operation here for the 2014 election. >> donny does drive republicans, conservatives like us crazy, because you have liberals will be the moderators for republican debates and they'll spend 30 minutes out of the hour talking about, like, creationism and contraception and these liberal moderators will play to type. because that -- not because they're trying to be biased. because that's their world view of us, that we're all knuckle draggers. so why shouldn't we have control of who asks our presidential candidates questions? >> i want to ask the chairman -- >> wait, wait. i want -- why are you so shocked by that, mika? >> i'm not, i'm not.

>> i'll be glad to get clips. >> i respect your position. let me give you the other side of what entertainment does. great entertainment, great movie making, reflects the times. i think in the last 20 years, we've seen the emergence of two of the most prolific female political figures we've ever seen. one is sarah pail be. one is hillary clint be. we all know as far as "game change," huge movie on hbo. >> they made her into a cartoon character. you talk to steve schmidt, he said, they nailed it. >> steve and sarah palin aren't exactly on the christmas card list together. >> i think it is relevant -- by the way, who's to say there's -- hillary is a polarizing figure and they will be skewered if they don't show all sides. what i also challenge the party -- the big problem the party has, you're going to turn this around of course, is the party of no. this is one more you can't, you can't, we're the victims, the

liberal media. is that the message the grassroots wants out there right now? >> well, i mean, first of all, i don't think it matters whether or not it's positive or negative. i think political elections are about the cut of personality in american culture. i happen to think that's a challenge for our party. it really doesn't matter to me whether it's positive or negative. listen, like i said before, this is a small paris of t of my day. i came because i was invited to come on. you've all been spending a lot of time talking about it , but i'm not spending the rest of my day talking about this issue. i have to make sure we do well in 2014 and i'm going to have a 15-hour day ahead of me so it's not like this is like the world the republican national committee. this is one piece of the day. i think i'm being very reasonable here. and i'm simply raising a flag

and telling nbc, look, you can go forward with the -- and there's going to be plenty of time. why now? what are you going to do if hillary runs and loses, won't there also have to be another four day miniseries about that? why now? >> maybe that's what they're thinking. we get 'em before, we get 'em after. think of all the women watching. we do appreciate -- mika's got a question. you do come back here. you defend us. i was listening to a talk radio show the other day. a guy tried to trash -- you said, "morning joe's" okay. now here's mika to totally undercut everything i just said. >> no, it's right on what you're saying. this small part of your day. and this is sort of making the point. about the whole thing. coming on the show this morning. >> as we're a part of nbc --

>> i didn't think it was going to be an easy interview. you get up at 5:00 to drive up to milwaukee. i came on because you guys have been -- listen, you've had me on times in the past. you've been fair. you spent a lot of time talking about it. if your debate with joe said, why doesn't reinse come on. i said, i'll be happy to get on the show. >> we appreciate it. >> my point is you expected an honest and fair conversation here even though we're a part of nbc. that you understand there's a difference. >> mika, i'm not going to -- listen, i'm not going to have you moderate the republican debate -- >> why not? >> i mean, there's a difference. >> why not? >> because you're not interested -- because you're not actually interested in the future of the republican party and our nominees. it's not a slam on you, mika, but i have to choose moderators

that are actually interested in the republican party. it's not going to be nbc if they continue to go forward with this miniseries. >> i think mika would be great. that said, you know us and you know -- but you know us, you know we're fair. i'm making your point here. but you don't know nbc entertainment. and i just got to say, donny, this may shock you, but i see three republicans here for sure who we are just naturally suspicious of pot smoking markists hanging out in santa monica writing scripts trying to be political. >> they're snorting cocaine, they're not -- >> they snort coke, i stand corrected. we do appreciate you coming on. do i need to offer an apology to the coke-snorting --

>> i don't think so. >> that is correct thanks for c. >> he is a good guy. >> guess what, he comes on the show. >> i think he's wrong. i think mika should -- mika would be a great moderator. >> i think he also made the point i made yesterday but i won't make that again. coming up, a generation of women would walked away from their careers to focus on their families. "the new york times" explored that trend ten years ago. today a piece asks what about the women who now want it all back. they want to go back in. that's next on "morning joe." i'm tony siragusa and i'm training guys who leak a little, to guard their manhood with new depend shields and guards. the discreet protection that's just for guys. now, it's your turn.

get my training tips at guardyourmanhood.com thto fight chronic. osteoarthritis pain. to fight chronic low back pain. to take action. to take the next step. today, you will know you did something for your pain. cymbalta can help. cymbalta is a pain reliever 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. anti-depressants can increase these in children, teens, and young adults. cymbalta is not for children under 18. people taking maois, linezolid 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 cymbalta. dizziness or fainting may occur upon standing. take the next step. talk to your doctor. cymbalta can help.

have you ever been, nicolle, uninvited to something you're not invited to? >> of course i have. >> now i know what that feels like. >> it hurts your feelings. i think you'd be a very good moderator. you'd be very fair. >> i said that. >> it's all right. >> nicolle thinks that too. >> here with us now, senior columnist on life work and family for the huffington post, lisa belkin. in 2003, lisa wrote the cover

story for "new york times" magazine on the so-called opt out revolution. women leaving the workforce just when they were hitting their professional stride. nearly a decade later, "the new york times" magazine is revisiting opt out and their desire now to opt back in. the magazine's upcoming cover story reads in part what haunted many of them as they reckoned with the past ten years of their lives was a more unquantifiable sense of personal change. they'd been supremely self-confident when they took the plunge into full-time motherhood. as a former full-time corporate lawyer put it. now they were learning some things were beyond their control. also joining the table, one of the mothers featured in the latest pete, kuae kelch mattox. she's the president of mocha moms and former nbc producer. great to see you again. >> great to see you too. >> wow. lisa, here you go again. >> here you go again. >> overall, do they regret it?

>> same conversation. they -- the women judy talked to in this latest piece, the women i've been talking to from the original piece, it's more complicated than just do they regret it. they are in a different place than they would have been if they had stayed in. they all to a one say that they're satisfied with that. but they gave something up. there was a cost. there was a money cost. there was a success cost. there was sometimes, you know, a marriage and relationship cost. there was a cost. so -- and it was one that they probably didn't go into calculating as much as they should have. >> okay. so kuae, explain your experience and what you bring to the table in terms of an opinion in terms of opting out or opting in and what changes are we seeing now as a result of ten years gone by with a group of women, highly educated, highly successful. the glass ceilings are broken in many ways. yet they say, you know what, not for me, i'm out of here.

>> i think i echo what lisa said. it has become complicated for many of us. i think we thought, oh, pie in the sky, stay home with kids, things will be wonderful. i'll make bonbons and have a pot roast ready for my husband. but i don't think we thought about the mess that we get wrapped up in. the volunteer work. the feeling sometimes of not being valued. i don't think that we realized how much it would impact our families and our marriages. and -- >> which thing, opting out or opting in? >> both. that's why this resonates with so many women. because regardless of whether you work or don't work, opt in or opt out, these are all issues that we're all grappling with. >> when you left the workforce at 39, you wouldnent home -- >> fired, not by choice. i didn't opt out. >> stay at home mom. within two weeks,er w everybody

like, get the hell out of here. >> my children, my husband. >> they wanted you out. >> when i read this article yesterday, i started reading it and i was just sucked in. i sat down on a bench in the park and read the whole thing. i thought about your first book all things at once. that scene of you falling down the stairs. what you're saying, it's complicated. i sat here, i sat right there when i was 7 months pregnant and you two said, what are you going to do? i said, i'm going to stay home and kiss his little feet. you both said to me, oh, god, you got to do something. >> that ain't going to happen. >> the reason i put on shoes and blow dry my hair is to come here once a week. you have to do something. >> it's the question that you ask yourself through almost every phase in your life. when you have kids, what are you going to do? when you leave work, what are you going to do? >> the stress of this, lisa, actually, it's a perfect seque into this conference. i think i saw you there.

with argianna. not whether you opt out or opt in but how do you do what you do productively and still have a sense of yourself? >> that's what i think has changed about the conversation in ten years. when i wrote "opt out" i reread it when all this started. there's not a single man quoted in that story. because ten years ago, and it's just ten years, but ten years ago, this was completely a women's conversation. it was the burden on women. women felt this was their choice. was theirs alone to carry. and now it is -- men are starting to say, whoa, wait a second, this isn't working for us either. the reason women left is because they couldn't do both. they were the first generation in a position to do both. >> as you see in the article, that's what my husband said. >> he was so honest in that article. >> i have to be honest with you, it was hurtful a little bit. but i'm glad that he was honest.

because that's how you communicate. that's how you get to the healing part. >> when her husband said, i'm jealous, why do you get to do what you want and i do what i have to do in order to enable you to do what i want? >> i don't know. there's what i did, plow through with a trail of destruction behind you. i don't know. i don't know what the good answer is. >> i think what the good answer is, is the realization that the decisions are hard because the workplace is still back in the, you know, industrial revolution. we every worker had someone at home who was taking care of home. when it wasn't a 24/7 economy. when your work started at a specific time and ended at a specific time. we need to reinvent the relationship between work and our lives. >> yeah. >> and then we won't have to make decisions that look like, okay, i'm going to do this and then i'm going to do that. >> okay. this is an ongoing conversation. lisa belkin, kuae, thank you so

much. up next, new unemployment numbers crossed just a few moments ago. cnbc's kelly evans has today's business headlines straight ahead. keep it right here on "morning joe." ng out of pipe. sfx: birds chirping.

a quarter million tweeters is beare tweeting. and 900 million dollars are changing hands online. that's why hp built a new kind of server. one that's 80% smaller. uses 89% less energy. and costs 77% less. it's called hp moonshot. and it's giving the internet the room it needs to grow. this&is gonna be big. hp moonshot. it's time to build a better enterprise. together.

hing, helicopthierhis hibuzzing, andk engine humming. sfx: birds chirping sfx: birds chirping it's time for business before the bell. a beautiful look at sunny new york city. isn't this just the most beautiful place? seriously, it's gotham. you know what, fall -- summer didn't come till the middle of july and fall's here before the middle of august. fantastic. so kelly, what are we looking at as far as weekly job claims go? >> we saw despite a small uptick the pace of claims other the past month, new claims for

unemployment benefits, is running at its lowest since 2007. definitely a sign the pace of layoffs has slowed. the u.s. consumer is still under pressure. it goes back to the payroll tax cut -- the payroll tax hike i should say to some extent. mcdonald's july sales up just 1.6% for the u.s. doesn't see an acceleration in the back half of the year. a lot of retail names reporting a similar theme. what it takes to do well in this kind of environment is a hit. that brings me to today's important news. the pretzel bacon cheeseburger. >> i'm certainly going there. >> are they great? >> phenomenal. >> they are driving went yip's to what could be a 5% increase in sea sales for the third quar. so wendy's shares up 60% this year. mcdonald's up 10%. now analysts are excited they can introduce the pretzel bacon

chicken burger or -- >> throw some bacon on that and it's other the moon. >> of course you have bacon on it. people have talked about how americans aren't innovating like they used to. >> that's innovation. >> kelly, thank you. >> tell me, also, news on tessa? what's with this car? this is like pet pets.com. like 145 or something like that. >> but the car is awesome. what she didn't say is people who have money are spending it. you have $80,000 for a really nice car. you can get this tesla sedan. >> you can buy it? >> i'd rather get the pretzel burger. >> yeah, and save $80,000. kelly, what's the deal with this car? i mean, wall street has to be very cynical about the valuation of this stock. >> no, but you know what happens. we see this repeatedly. you don't want necessarily want to look for stocks that seem incredibly cheap because they're often incredibly cheap for a

reas. as much as tesla's been a high flyer, it has actually come off its peaks. then the earnings come in. they snow a behow a beat. but they're selling cars. tesla is setting itself apart. >> we'll be right back. we've been bringing people together. today, we'd like people to come together on something that concerns all of us. obesity. and as the nation's leading beverage company, we can play an important role. that includes continually providing more options. giving people easy ways to help make informed choices. and offering portion controlled versions of our most popular drinks. it also means working with our industry to voluntarily change what's offered in schools. but beating obesity will take continued action by all of us, based on one simple common sense fact... all calories count.

and if you eat and drink more calories than you burn off, you'll gain weight. that goes for coca-cola, and everything else with calories. finding a solution will take all of us. but at coca-cola, we know when people come together, good things happen. to learn more, visit coke.com/comingtogether where over seventy-five percent of store management started as i'm the next american success story. working for a company hourly associates. there's opportunity here. i can use walmart's education benefits to get a degree, maybe work in it, or be an engineer, helping walmart conserve energy. even today, when our store does well, i earn quarterly bonuses. when people look at me, i hope they see someone working their way up. vo: opportunity, that's the real walmart.

like carpools... polly wants to know if we can pick her up. yeah, we can make room. yeah. [ male announcer ] ...office space. yes, we're loving this communal seating. it's great. [ male announcer ] the best thing to share? a data plan. at&t mobile share for business. one bucket of data for everyone on the plan, unlimited talk and text on smart phones. now, everyone's in the spirit of sharing. hey, can i borrow your boat this weekend? no. [ male announcer ] share more. save more. at&t mobile share for business. ♪

on tomorrow's show, former

white house senior adviser david axelrod. up next, besides joe's birthday girl, who's in the house, who, if anything, did we learn today? [scream] ♪ don't tell mom. don't tell mom. don't tell mom! don't tell mom. okay. don't tell mom. don't tell mom. don't tell mom? yeah. the best stories you'll ever tell start with, don't tell."

don't tell dad. start yours in the new santa fe. from hyundai. bob will retire when he's 153, which would be fine if bob were a vampire. but he's not. ♪ he's an architect with two kids and a mortgage. luckily, he found someone who gave him a fresh perspective on his portfolio. and with some planning and effort, hopefully bob can retire at a more appropriate age. it's not rocket science. it's just common sense. from td ameritrade.

bjorn earns unlimited rewards for his small business. take these bags to room 12 please. [ garth ] bjorn's small business earns double miles on every purchase every day. produce delivery. [ bjorn ] just put it on my spark card. [ garth ] why settle for less? ahh, oh! [ garth ] great businesses deserve unlimited rewards. here's your wake up call. [ male announcer ] get the spark business card from capital one and earn unlimited rewards. choose double miles or 2% cash back on every purchase every day. what's in your wallet? [ crows ] now where's the snooze button? jack got bored, didn't he? we had hip out here for a second. what did we learn today? >> i thought we learned joe did something right in life. he