if i had a bishop like gene robinson, i might go to church again. president obama back in the white house with a full schedule coming off of his trip to the middle east with the president in the middle east from politico, josh gristene, joining united states on our news line this morning. josh, welcome home. >> thank you, bill. it's good to be back. >> bill: >> bill: so any accomplishments that the white house can point to out of the trip to the middle east? >> i say there are two basic accomplishments. the judge seemed to have lifted his standing which was pretty low with the israeli jews. he really had a major, i guess term we are use, a charm offensive there and laid it on pretty thick folks new when he went to pay his respects and he aligned himself with zinism but he didn't wait to do that. the minute he stepped off of the plane, he started talking about the juice had been in this plannedland for thousands of years they are fulfilling their degree, abraham and sarah. he laid it on thick >> bill: if i can jump if. he took a stone from the grave

gene robinson is ready for this one. he's a political expert. emily heil is with "the washington post." emily, what do you make of david vitter's durability? going to professional sex workers, they are called now, everybody knows about it. all his voters knew about it. he's back and they are talking about him for governor. >> it's truly amazing, it really is. i think it shows how much we are willing to forgive. i mean, david vitter was put out to the woodshed for a while here in washington. you would see him down on the floor and the senate and nobody would be standing around him. he would be loan knee and off to himself. i don't know what went on behind closed doors. maybe they were a little friendlier and didn't ostracize him but he's put that behind him and a couple years later, he's a-okay. and he's completed his rehabilitation. he's out of the woodshed, so clearly there's a template for this. and i think what he did is sort of stuck around and kept his head down, which is one strategy, but there are plenty of others. there are plenty of way

joining me now is pulitzer prize winner for washington post, gene robinson. gene, very good to see you. thank you for being here. >> great to be here, rachel. i mean, where do we begin? may i just say, dios mio. >> i have to say my favorite part, don young is amazing hp his first explanation is he didn't know it was bad. which says, okay, you didn't know. but presumably that means you've been using this in other context and nobody you have ever spoken to raised an eyebrow or told you that's a bad thing? then he came around and apologized. you did see republican leadership, other republicans jump on don young and say he had to apologize today spp that a sign of progress? >> i suppose. it is a sign of progress but doesn't get them very far because don young set them so far back. so really they are just recovering a tiny bit of ground they might have lost earlier in the day. and let me just interpose a word about rand paul and reefing the poem to the chamber of commerce. was he aware that poet was a communist? one of the great poets of the 20th century, but he wa

bishop gene robinson from new hampshire, who was our guest here monday. and then from the ravens brendan iambodazo, who was in studio and we had on by phone, too. >> the champ. >> the champ, part of the world champion baltimore ravens who has been here. and one of the things that he's been very strong on is the fact that the n.f.l. should certainly be open to an openly gay player on the team. so the two of them were hanging out together yesterday. >> it was awesome. >> from the supreme court. >> i saw them. said hi. >> a good photo you sent out. happened to get here from -- hear from another friend of mine later on in the morning who said he went to lunch at a famous restaurant near the capitol, near the supreme court called the manacle, and there having lunch at the monacle, they were together. at any rate, it was a big day in front. supreme court. yesterday the arguments were about proposition 8. today, they will be about the defense of marriage act. you know, this is a huge issue. and the issue facing the people of this country is: should the law apply

>> high praise indeed from somebody like gene robinson. >> bill: indeed.e in court for the last two days. >> yes. >> bill: congratulations. >> thank you. >> bill: on reaching this point. and in advance for what the court is going to do. we'll talk more about that. you've met our team, peter ogborn and dan henning. >> thank you. >> bill: stevie lee webb has the phones and cyprian bowlding keeps us looking good on the video cam. quick sports story. we've been telling you and updating you on the miami heat. they were at 26 and then there were 27. and last night, they were going to make it 28 in a row. the bulls had another idea. >> inbounds to james. and that is it. 27 games they win in a row. it is all over and it happened in the windy city. as the bulls come off of an offensive display and they outgun the heat 101-97. >> bill: had to end some time, peter. >> yeah, it did. we talked several weeks ago when this whole thing started to our friend cindy boren in "the washington post" who said it is nice to have this win streak at this point in the season. it is

gene robinson, you're a wordsmith of the first order. was it a lie or a mistake?have to go to lie. simply because, you know, if they say, well, we didn't know, know, know that he didn't have weapons of mass destruction, but they knew that the evidence they were supposedly relying on for wmd was shaky, because they were told that by the guy who went to gather the evidence. he said, this isn't really yellow cake uranium or what you said it was. >> right. >> and because it's clear that from day one of the bush administration, they had iraq on their minds, and they had getting rid of saddam hussein on their minds. the idea that they didn't know he would be tenacious? look, what this ten-year anniversary says to me is that they lied, they failed, whatever. we failed too, you know, and i'm speaking for journalism,ll

and gene robinson pointed this out in the "washington post." "he said the issue here is mental health, not firearms, but there are plenty of young men who play gory video games and harbor violent fantasies. that's going to be a big part of the argument here going forward, isn't it, josh? >> i think what it really comes down to is when you talk about, again, gay rights, immigration, in those cases there are big, engaged communities who really care about this ongoing over time. you have gay americans, their friends and families, a whole very big, even a majority of the country now who believes this is an important issue. you have the overlapping hispanic and immigrant communities in the u.s. the advocates on this issue have not been able to create that kind of -- you say there is 90% of american support background checks but the support tends to be thin. it's not people who deeply, deeply believe in this and are ready to vote on the issue and stuff like that. that's the kind of transformation that you have to have to have that sea change and the

joining me now, gene robinson and political analyst, dark par putinly, chairman of the south carolinay. you have been manning the south carolina desk here. counting every one of these votes as they come in. stephen colbert's sister won with 151% of the voters. >> ran against a perpetual candidate who, you know, wasn't going to win. so she won. so this will be very interesting. she's an interesting candidate in her own right and has a shot at a very red state of winning a congressional seat. >> dick, is mark sanford maybe the only republican she could beat in that district? >> well, i think that he is not the only republican but certainly is the easiest target. he is by no means home. we prefer to run against him. he has not only the app latch and trail and promised term limits and is running again. the scandals of his governorship, ethical and moral are renowned in the state. i think he is a candidate of choice for us. >> let's listen to mark sanford talk about re-entering the world of politics. >> you know, you step in with more than a bit of fear and trepidation because you knew you

. >> the reverend gene robinson and the baltimore ravens champ brendan.morrow at 11:00 a.m. eastern. the supreme court is taking up the defense of marriage act. joining me tomorrow, former rnc chairman, ken mehlman, new york city council member and mayoral candidate, christine quinn and charlie morgan, son of the late lgtblo activist, joy morgan. and lobster tacos. come in now and sea food differently. now, buy one lobsterfest entree and get one 1/2 off with a coupon at redlobster.com. now, buy one lobsterfest entree and get one 1/2 off [ dog ] we found it together.upbeat ] on a walk, walk, walk. love to walk. yeah, we found that wonderful thing. and you smiled. and threw it. and i decided i would never, ever leave it anywhere. because that wonderful, bouncy, roll-around thing... had made you play. and that... had made you smile. [ announcer ] beneful. play. it's good for you.

. >> thank you, gene robinson., jonathan alter. >>> up next, it's happened yet again, the right wing falls for another story without checking into whether it's true. this is "hardball," the place for politics. >>> late today the senate intelligence committee approved president obama's pick to run the cia, john brennan. the vote came after the obama administration provided the committee access to the top secret legal opinions that justified drone strikes against terror suspects. still, some key senate republicans are threatening to oppose brennan's confirmation unless the white house provides classified information about the september 11 attack in benghazi, libya. the nomination now goes to the full senate later this week. we'll be right back. >>> we're back. looks like the right wing media may be at it again, failing to fact check a story that makes a democrat look bad. remember last november when the conservative website the daily caller reported that senator robert menendez paid prostitutes for sex in the dominic

. >> you gene robinson.nathan alter. >>> up next, it's happened yet again, the right wing falls for another story without checking into whether it's true. this is "hardball," the place for politics. her recipe with sharon, who emailed it to emily, who sent it to cindy, who wondered why her soup wasn't quite the same. the recipe's not the recipe... ohhh. [ female announcer ] ...without swanson. the broth cooks trust most when making soup. mmmm! [ female announcer ] the secret is swanson. thto fight chronic. osteoarthritis pain. mmmm! >>> up next, it's happened yet . today, you will know you did something for your pain. >>> up next, it's happened yet 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

. >> thank you, gene robinson.than alter. >>> up next, it's happened yet again, the right wing falls for another story without checking into whether it's true. this is "hardball," the place for politics. but we can still help you see your big picture. with the fidelity guided portfolio summary, you choose which accounts to track and use fidelity's analytics to spot trends, gain insights, and figure out what you want to do next. all in one place. i'm meredith stoddard and i helped create the fidelity guided portfolio summary. it's one more innovative reason serious investors are choosing fidelity. now get 200 free trades when you open an account. if youthen this willbrids arbe a nice surprise. meet the 5-passenger ford c-max hybrid. c-max come. c-max go. c-max give a ride to everyone it knows. c max has more passenger volume than competitor prius v and we haven't even mentioned... c-max also gets better mpg. say hi to the super fuel efficient ford c-max hybrid. if by blessed you mean freaked out about money well we

. >> gene robinson and richard haass, please stay with us.t means andrew ross sorkin is able to join us because he doesn't have a backpack. you're watching "morning joe" brewed by starbucks. ♪ 25 miles from home girl my feet are hurting ♪ get the new it card at discover.com and sign up for 5% cashback at restaurants now through march. many cereals say they're good for your heart, but did you know there's a cereal that's recommended by doctors? it's post shredded wheat. recommended by nine out of ten doctors to help reduce the risk of heart disease. post shredded wheat is made with only one ingredient: one hundred percent whole grain wheat, with no added sugar or salt. try adding fruit for more health benefits and more taste in your bowl. it's the ideal way to start your heart healthy day. try post shredded wheat. this has been medifacts for post shredded wheat. >>> any parenting tips? >> parenting tips? yeah, i would say a couple of things. kanye has to decide early on whether or not he is a baby bjorn guy. the minute you put that on there is

. >> bill: i met bishop gene robinson who is a fellow now at the center for american progress. >> yeahays admired him very much. we have the whole team here. president obama leaves wednesday for the middle east. his first visit to israel as president. he gave an interview to israel too the other day where he talked about one of the things he misses most. he lives not so far from where you live, jennifer. i forget the name of the park -- >> stanton park. >> bill: right. so he lived in the hood here and he liked to just walk around, pop into restraints can't do that anymore. >> obama: sometimes i have this fantasy that i can put on a disguise and wander through teleaeve and go to a bar and have a conversation or go down to a university and meet with students in a setting where it wasn't as formal and we're going to try to find as many opportunities as i can to interact with the israeli people, but you have tapped into something that chases at me. >> bill: i have heard the first lady say the same thing, wouldn't it be nice to go for a walk? no, there was a time. eleanor roosevelt used to

[cheers and applause] i have so much gratitude for the tremendous life of and work of bishop gene robinsonw my pleasure to welcome melba majors and karen bailey. you know what's beautiful about this couple? they've been together for 55 years, and they're from phoenix, arizona. [cheers and applause] so come on up. [inaudible conversations] >> hello. my name is karen bailey. first, i want to thank the united for marriage coalition for inviting us to speak today. i am here with my partner, nelda majors, and we have been in a loving, committed relationship for 55 years. [cheers and applause] we met when we were in college when i was 18 and nelda was 19, and at that time we chose a song by roy hamilton called "the right to love." 55 years later, though we may have the right to love, we still don't have the rights of legal marriage. although we have gone through the good times and the bad times, our love and respect for each other grows stronger each year. we loved our parents and took care of them in their elderly years. we take our daughters to the movies, we play with our pets, we laugh and c

>> gene robinson, you have richard haass talking about greater efficiencies.f course, we all want to be as efficient as possible. u.s. workers, more productive than ever. but the down side of that is, of course, manufacturing jobs that used to pay $33 an hour go overseas. they come back. and as we were saying yesterday, they come back in the form of $14, $15, $16 an hour jobs that, again, can't support a family of four the way they did back in the '60s and '70s. >> no. and also, those jobs don't have the benefits and pensions that they used to have. you know, you look at the dow. and you say, you know, what's the basic reason why it's so high? corporate profits are terrific. so, you know, celebration in the boardrooms. but why are they so high? well, because corporations, like countries, can borrow money at essentially no interest. it's so cheap for them to borrow capital. and also, because labor is cheap. because there's so many people unemployed. so these are great signs for the dow. they're not such great signs for the economy as a whole. and meanwhile, the

this isn't that kind of court, i'm afraid, writes gene robinson.ot of opinions and discussion today as the arguments get underway. >>> there is some news overseas where the united states military is formally transferring a majority of prisons being held in bagram prison to the afghan government. hamid karzai praised the handover as a positive step during his meeting with john kerry. nbc's chief foreign affairs correspondent andrea mitchell is traveling with secretary kerry. >> all right. >> reporter: john kerry's trip to afghanistan was all about damage control. defusing tensions with the country's erratic president hamid karzai. two weeks ago, karzai infuriated the president and congress suggesting that the u.s. had colec colluded with the taliban on car bomb attacks. he said he was misunderstood. >> do you standby your statement, your recent statement that the united states is conspireing with the taliban on recent terror attacks? >> i never used the word collusion between the taliban and the u.s. and those were not my words, those were words pic

the "the washington post" gene robinson and also "meet the press's" david gregory. >> turn the musici like it. first, here is bill karins with a check on the forecast. bill! >> that's what we need. >>> good morning, everyone. we are getting ready for stst. pa st. paddy's day weekend. winter well in control from the northern plains all the way through the northeast. the windchill is 8 this morning in boston. we are in the 20s for windchills down into the mid atlantic and windchills of 40 in florida this morning and hasn't been the best week to be down there on spring break. snow coming down in fargo this morning. drive carefully and soon in minneapolis where you could get a couple of inches throughout the day today. this is a very weak storm that we are dealing with today and tomorrow. it's going to bring light wintry precip to ohio valley and light rain showers to the mid-atlantic region and unsettled weekend especially in the d.c. and virginia area and saturday and sunday will be chilly and raw. weekend forecast starting out cold on the east coast and there should be a little bit of

. >> pulitzer prize winning columnist eugene robinson of the "washington post," the only person i know who has met hugo chavez. genek you for helping us understand this tonight. i really appreciate it. >> happy to be here. >> all right. we'll be right back. what's next? he's going to apply testosterone to his underarm. axiron, the only underarm treatment for low t, can restore testosterone levels back to normal in most men. axiron is not for use in women or anyone younger than 18. axiron can transfer to others through direct contact. women, especially those who are or who may become pregnant, and children should avoid contact where axiron is applied as unexpected signs of puberty in children or changes in body hair or increased acne in women may occur. report these signs and symptoms to your doctor if they occur. tell your doctor about all medical conditions and medications. do not use if you have prostate or breast cancer. serious side effects could include increased risk of prostate cancer; worsening prostate symptoms; decreased sperm count; ankle, feet, or body swelling; enlarged or painful breasts; problems bre

. >> pulitzer prize winning columnist eugene robinson of "the washington post," the only person i know who has met hugo chavez. gene, thank you for helping us understand this tonight. i really appreciate it. >> happy to be here. >> all right. we'll be right back. [ male announcer ] when ziggy the cat appeared at their door, he opened up jake's very private world. at first, jake's family thought they saved ziggy, but his connection with jake has been a lifesaver. for a love this strong, his family only feeds him iams. compared to other leading brands, it has 50% more animal protein... ...to help keep ziggy's body as strong as a love that reaches further than anyone's words. iams. keep love strong. in the middle of the night it can be frustrating. it's hard to turn off and go back to sleep. intermezzo is the first and only prescription sleep aid approved for use as needed in the middle of the night when you can't get back to sleep. it's an effective sleep medicine you don't take before bedtime. take it in bed only when you need it and have at least four hours left for sleep. do not take intermezzo if you have had an

. >> pulitzer prize winning columnist eugene robinson of "the washington post," the only person i know who has met hugo chavez. gene, thank you for helping us understand this tonight. i really appreciate it. >> happy to be here. >> all right. we'll be right back. (music thr) why turbo? trust us. it's just better to be in front. the sonata turbo. from hyundai. [ male announcer ] how could a luminous protein in jellyfish, impact life expectancy in the u.s., real estate in hong kong, and the optics industry in germany? at t. rowe price, we understand the connections of a complex, global economy. it's just one reason over 75% of our mutual funds beat their 10-year lipper average. t. rowe price. invest with confidence. request a prospectus or summary prospectus with investment information, risks, fees and expenses to read and consider carefully before investing. okay why? more is better than less because if stuff is not le-- if there is more less stuff then you might want to have some more and your parents just don't let you because there's only a little bit. right. we want more, we want more. like you really like it, y

robinson. >> stay with us if you can, gene. >> if you can. >>> still ahead on "morning joe," what the u.s.d countries. that's the subject of a new book by peter blair henry, the dean of nyu's business school joining us straight ahead. >>> coming up next, debbie wasserman-schultz joins us, also chuck todd. you're watching "morning joe" brewed by starbucks. [ male announcer] surprise -- you're having triplets. [ babies crying ] surprise -- your house was built on an ancient burial ground. [ ghosts moaning ] surprise -- your car needs a new transmission. [ coyote howls ] how about no more surprises? now you can get all the online trading tools you need without any surprise fees. ♪ it's not rocket science. it's just common sense. from td ameritrade. [ sneezing ] she may be muddling through allergies. try zyrtec®. powerful allergy relief for adults and kids six years and older. zyrtec®. love the air. >>> taken aback to your answer about the question about organizing for action. >> you're taken aback? >> it's no different than if the president sees this group, it's no different than the dscc --