from the "washington post," bob woodward, and from the "new york times" helene cooper. and finally, my conversation with george clooney to stop ethnic cleansing in sudan. nbc-universal television >>> good morning, puerto rico, universal television >>> good morning. >>> good morning, puerto rico, 48 hours to go until the big stakes illinois primary, 54 delegates on the line there. >> we're going to show on tuesday the conservative movement in illinois is alive and well on election night on tuesday. >> after a pair of third place finishes in alabama and mississippi, mitt romney is fighting hard for a rebound in illinois trying to cement his delegate lead. he stands at 423, and santorum at 184. and here to talk about the fight here at home and abroad, arizona senator, john mccain. senator, welcome back. >> thank you, david. >> i want to talk about afghanistan, but i want to start with politics. where we are in this race, rick santorum was interviewed on the "today" program this week, and he made a strong point. watch it. >> if you can't with an overwhelming money advantage

with us today, the "washington post" bob woodward, cnbc's becky quick, the "washington post" kathleen parker and the "national journal's" major garrett. while republicans are having to explain rush limbaugh's hatefulness this week, barack obama is radiating optimism these days. the president is channeling that old ronald reagan morning in america. here he was on tuesday. >> i'm not going to settle for a country where a few do really well and everybody else is struggling to get by. i promise you this. as long as you got an ounce of fight left in you, i'll have a ton of fight left in me. chris: a new poll has obama losing to mitt romney by four points believe it or not, even with all of the damage that romney sustained lately. other polls have obama winning or tied. those are snapshots. obama knows history. he knows that the trend in a president's job approval is the key. this chart shows his approval and disapproval since inauguration. right now his approval is going up decidedly, this is going down. reagan and bill clinton were other firm termers with rising in the spring of their ele

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. >> and bob woodward said the same thing on my sunday show, and he said watch the 30% or 40% out of there and some of them haters and bedrock conservatives are ready to back it regardless who the nominee is. >> and this is going to be close. and thank you, howard. >>> and i get the sense that it is not going to be charismatic or exciting but numerical. >> and howard said clearly, this is a groundhog day and mitt romney using the language himself and he said tomorrow we wake up and start again. just a day ago when we were with romney campaign in ohio, he said help me get the nomination and lock it up on super tuesday so i can organize against barack obama, but again, they have to continue to focus on rick santorum, and i'll be in the meeting with some of the senior advisers in the romney campaign tomorrow as they try to lay out the math for us, and they say that math is momentum, and delegates win nominations, and races win headlines. they go the ohio, and go 5 of 10 if they don't win alaska later this evening as well, but the headline may be lost obviously so late in the night, it i

. >> and bob woodward said the same thing on my sunday show, and he said watch the 30% or 40% out of there and some of them haters and bedrock conservatives are ready to back it regardless who the nominee is. >> and this is going to be close. and thank you, howard. >>> and i get the sense that it is not going to be charismatic or exciting but numerical. >> and howard said clearly, this is a groundhog day and mitt romney using the language himself and he said tomorrow we wake up and start again. just a day ago when we were with romney campaign in ohio, he said help me get the nomination and lock it up on super tuesday so i can organize against barack obama, but again, they have to continue to focus on rick santorum, and i'll be in the meeting with some of the senior advisers in the romney campaign tomorrow as they try to lay out the math for us, and they say that math is momentum, and delegates win nominations, and races win headlines. they go the ohio, and go 5 of 10 if they don't win alaska later this evening as well, but the headline may be lost obviously so late in the night, it i

. >> and bob woodward said the same thing on my sunday show, and he said watch the 30% or 40% out of there and some of them haters and bed rororock conservs are ready to back it regardless who the nominee is. >> and this is going to be close. and thank you, howard. >>> and i get the sense that it is not going to be charismatic or exciting but numerical. >> and howard said clearly, this is a groundhog day and mitt romney using the language himself and he said tomorrow we wake up and start again. just a day ago when we were with romney campaign in ohio, he said help me get the nomination and lock it up on super tuesday so i can organize against barack obama, but again, they have to continue to focus on rick santorum, and i'll be in the meeting with some of the senior advisers in the romney campaign tomorrow as they try to lay out the math for us, and they say that math is momentum, and delegates win nominations, and races win headlines. they go the ohio, and go 5 of 10 if they don't win alaska later this evening as well, but the headline may be lost obviously so late in the night, it i

and bob woodward said the same exact thing on my sunday show. he said just watch, that 30 to 40% out there, some of them haters, some bedrock conservatives are all ready to back the republican ticket no matter who leads it. that's why this will be one close general election. nbc's peter alexander joins us now. i get the feeling this will be a very professional painful it won't be exciting. it will be numerical. >> i think as you just heard howard say very clearly, this is going to be a groundhog day. mitt romney using the language himself saying, tomorrow we wake up and we start again. just a day ago when we were with the romney campaign in ohio, he said help me get the nomination. help me lock it up on super tuesday so i can organize against barack obama. again they have to continue to focus on rick santorum. i'll be in that meeting with some of the senior advisers tomorrow as they try to lay out the map for us. the headline they were looking for, at the end of the night, they won ohio. they go five out of ten if they don't win alaska later thi

about the soldier id'd behind the killings in afghanistan, and now the puerto rico primary, and bob woodward, the reality is that mitt romney is a weak frontrunner and he can't put away what a lot of people think is a weak field, and you hear from senator mccain his views on the accumulating toll on romney as a candidate and the party by the time they get to the general election. what are you expecting in the next week? >> well, not just the week, but there will be a republican running against obama, and senator mccain said under the supreme court decision, all of the new 21st century robber barrons can put tens of millions into the campaign, and it's negative and poison and venom, and we, nbc, "the new york times," "washington post," people in the media, i think we will be tested to say can we present a clear-eyed view of who the candidates are, and not just have this negative atmosphere, i mean, that is -- i have never seen anything like it. during the nixon era, they had slush funds of $700,000, and now the slush fund will be $100 million. my god, what they are going to do. >> if you look

in the movie, the character known as deep throat tells bob woodward to follow the money. even though that was not actually a line from the book, that was something that a screen writer wrote. it became kind of a rallying cry for generations of people who care about transparency and accountability. but i think it's fair to say that it's more difficult now to follow the money than it once might have been and there are number of reasons for that. the truth is, transparency has been eroding for some time now. it's not just because of the citizens united ruling. my own view is that the greatest threat to transparency, if you can be call it a threat, is the increased activism and political engagement of nonprofit groups, as i'm sure you guys know. the internal revenue does not require nonprofits to discover the source of their spending. there are minimal reporting requirements and that's probably for very good reason. it dates all the way back to the civil rights era when the irs wanted to protect groups active in issues like civil rights and protect the anonymity of their dono

>> well -- >> why isn't bob woodward told us that? >> well, because, i can't read bob woodward's mind. but i think he only knew felt. he had known felt for years. but there were at least four others who worked with felt. and they would meet at the end of the day. and collate their information. and woodward and bernstein, bless them, didn't get all the watergate stories. nor did they get everything right. sandy smith at "time" magazine, cy hirsch at the "new york times," remarkable justice department team, jack nelson and ron ostraud at the "new york times" and broke story after story and no one gave a damn frankly and richard nixon was elected in a landslide. >> and these guys would pick up the phone and call one of these reporters? >> you know, i doubt that they would pick up the phone at the f.b.i. and call the justice department press room. no. i think that these were clandestine meetings. >> which attorney general had the most difficult relationship with which f.b.i. director? >> oh, no contest. robert f. kennedy and j. edgar hoov

. >> i'm bob woodward of the "washington post." >> redford revisiting the dark side of american politics in "all the president's men" when he played an investigative reporter. he had a high regard for journalism when it was made. less so now. >> well, i didn't know it at the time, but i just happened to tie into a moment in history that was a high point. i think i came in when journalism had reached an apex of morality and professionalism so forth and i was very lucky. i think it's sad to say, it's pretty obvious, that it's declined since then. >> better get ready. >> redford found fame starring alongside paul newman in "butch cassidy and the sundance kid." >> the next time i say let's go someplace like bolivia, let's go someplace like bolivia. >> i asked him how he thinks life has changed over the years? >> i guess there's obsession with youth and now you have all these methods of reconstructing yourself to look younger and younger. i don't buy that. i like -- i like to see an older woman who's carried her age and with her.ence i find that very attractive. >> of course, plenty of people

he broke the watergate story, bob woodward is 69 and legendary singer diana ross is 68.ocker and "american idol" judge steven tyler is 64. john stockton is turning 50. country's singing star kenny chesney is 34. and pirates of the caribbean actress kiera nightly is turning 27 today i can't a happy belated birthday to our own monika samtani. we'll be right back. welcome back to 9news now. 5:45 after record heat last week, we have a freeze warning in our area. >> that doesn't surprise you does it? >> we know that nothing about this winner or spring or summer will surprise you. >> some people mowing the lawns over the weekend, but get ready for a freeze. with the early warmth, now we get back to a normal night in march where we are going to see 20s and 30s. that is why we have the freeze watches and warnings posted by the national weather service. look at the graphics. this is for the immediate metro and freeze watch. as you get up north toward washington and allegheny county, everybody there in the lighter blue had freeze warnings temperatures likely falling into the upper

bob woodward says he'll bring i 40% that hate the president. suppose he takes the base and becomes more of a moderate, offers up as a problem solver, on top of that right wing hatred can he build 51% against you? >> anybody can win, and we are prepared for a close, tough race. 47% voted against us in 2008 whether we won a massive victory, so we have the wind at our back then, we don't have the wind at our back now, so we're prepared for a tough race. i think it's hard for him, though, ultimately people judge who you are and they look at what you're proposing, and the essence of what he's proposing is a repeat of what we had in the last decade, tax cuts for the wealthy, deregulate wall street, a disaster for the middle class and disaster for the country. i don't think that is a winning platform. >> i don't think he defined himself, either. his campaign is effect i have at eliminating opponents, ran a dresden style campaign against newt gingrich. he did it in florida. then did the same thing in michigan to santorum, when he picked up the three st

join me and bob woodward, kathleen parker, becky quick and major garrett for a great roundtable. now for a look at what's coming up on "meet the press," here's david gregory. david? >>> thanks, chris. good morning, angie and erika. coming up, a special edition of "meet the press." we preview super tuesday. after a win last night in washington and earlier this week in michigan and arizona, can mitt romney emerge as the presumptive republican nominee? also, can newt gingrich wage a comeback in georgia, his home state? the former speaker will join me this morning to discuss the state of his campaign. then, two top party leaders on the fight for the nomination and some of the big issues of the campaign, including the fight over contraception. rush limbaugh apologized for his distasteful comments to a georgetown law student, but will it end the controversy? house majority leader eric cantor and dnc chair debbie wasserman schultz join me. plus, our "political roundtable" and new exclusive nbc poll numbers, all coming up this morning on "meet the press." and after "meet the press," be s

suppose -- bob woodward this weekend on my sunday show said, whatever you think of him, he'll bring ines obama, that republican angry base. they'll automatically vote against the president. suppose he takes that base and becomes more of a moderate in the general. offers himself up as a rational business problem-solver. on top of that right wing hatred, can he build 51% against you? >> look, anybody can win. we are prepared for a close, tough race. we -- 47% voted against us in 2008 when we won a massive victory. so, you know, we have the wind at our back then. we don't have the wind at our back now. so we're prepared for a tough race. i think it's hard for him, though. because, you know, ultimately people judge who you are and look at what you are proposing. and the essence of what he's proposing is a repeat of what we had in the last decade. tax cuts for the wealthy. deregulate wall street. it's been a disaster for the middle class and a disaster for the country. i don't think that's a winning platform. >> i don't think he's defined himself yet either. let me ask you about his strateg

and bob woodward said the same exact thing on my sunday show.ust watch, that 30 to 40% out there, some of them haters, some bedrock conservatives are all ready to back the republican ticket no matter who leads it. that's why this will be one close general election. nbc's peter alexander joins us now. i get the feeling this will be a very professional painful it won't be exciting. it will be numerical. >> i think as you just heard howard say very clearly, this is going to be a groundhog day. mitt romney using the language himself saying, tomorrow we wake up and we start again. just a day ago when we were with the romney campaign in ohio, he said help me get the nomination. help me lock it up on super tuesday so i can organize against barack obama. again they have to continue to focus on rick santorum. i'll be in that meeting with some of the senior advisers tomorrow as they try to lay out the map for us. the headline they were looking for, at the end of the night, they won ohio. they go five out of ten if they don't win alaska later this evening

we were just -- bob woodward and i were just out at the nixon library.rget in the nixon saga it is more than anything else a human story. when you're at the nixon library you get a sense of this struggle that he had, the overstriving, the demons i've referred to which constantly appear in his career. but yet you get a sense that the library of nixon, the almost tragic figure in many ways. and of course pat nixon was aware of the tragic aspects of his life. >> it's great to have you here on this story and perspective on it, carl. thanks for being with us. we appreciate it. >>> coming you, island of vice. a revealing new book shows the seedy side 19th century new york city and teddy roosevelt's crusade to clean it up. that's next on "morning joe". not in this economy. we also have zero free time, and my dad moving in. so we went to fidelity. we looked at our family's goals and some ways to help us get there. they helped me fix my economy, the one in my house. now they're managing my investments for me. and with fidelity, getting back on track was easier th

bob woodward and others and i sit down with george clooney to talk about sudan but also a little politicsregory, thank you very much. we'll be watching that. >> thank you. >> up next, a live report from richard engel in afghanistan as the u.s. military faces new challenges to the mission there. "morning joe" is back in a moment. [ female announcer ] if whole grain isn't the first ingredient in your breakfast cereal, what is? now, in every box of general mills big g cereal, there's more whole grain than any other ingredient. that's why it's listed first. get more whole grain than any other ingredient... just look for the white check. a living, breathing intelligence teaching data how to do more for business. [ beeping ] in here, data knows what to do. because the network finds it and tailors it across all the right points, automating all the right actions... [ beeping ] ...to bring all the right results. it's the at&t network -- doing more with data to help business do more for customers. ♪ i'm going to own my own restaurant. i want to be a volunteer firefighter. when i grow up, i want to

. >> bob: we have our own woodward and bernstein. >> greg: if you talk about the aboutface in the progressive much right wing activity is embraced by the left. simply being silent. going ah, it's okay. it's different under obama. everything is different. >> bob: aclu came out with a statement. >> greg: that's right. >> eric: it almost seems like he is now making a statement because we took out anwar al-awlaki with a drone. maybe wants to continue to do that, which is great. fantastic. all for it. what about this appointing, or promoting the d.o.j. guy west. >> kimberly: tony west to the number three position. >> eric: defended terrorist and now they will put this guy in position to dictate policy. >> greg: it's done to make holder look moderate. b. the fact is the law firm defended them ten years ago. >> kimberly: this individual defended john walker lindh. is this the important position to be given the number three position. is he being groomed? some speculate will holder step down and won't be there for the next administration should the president win re-election? as a former prosecutor we