and bring more latinos on board. polls are showing that a lot of those states are very, very close, neck and neck. so even states where latinos are only 3% or 4% of the electorate, that might swing the election. >> because as we saw in richard lui's piece, the most recent polling show that is latinos overwhelmingly support barack obama. the latest polls, 66% to 23%. what's behind those numbers? >> i think what you've seen is that romney has nod had an ability to make that personal connection. he hasn't been able to sell something specifically to latinos that they feel comfortable with. so when he talks about repealing the health care bill on day one, we find regularly in our polling that latinos were very supportive of the health care bill and health care reform. hef the highest rates of being uninsured. and romney had to go far right on the immigration issue. he's trying to backpedal from that now. but that caused a lot of damage. those statements have really resonated with latinos in a negative light. i think it's

the president's health care act gives latinos 9 million latinos, christine, health care coverage thatouldn't -- they wouldn't have it without the affordable health care act and what does mitt romney want to do? repeal it on the very first day. and let me just mention one important issue about immigration. we do know, we all agree, it is not the number one issue for latinos. jobs and the economy is, the same as it is for all americans. but immigration has become for latinos what we call a filter issue or a litmus test issue. >> right. >> meaning that if latinos do not like the way that you are talking to them about immigration, about the people they know and the family members they may have in their own family without legal status, they're not going to listen to you on anything else. >> you say that romney has been the problem area but, leslie, i want to ask you this first, it is president obama's aggressive policies on deportations that makes people on the left very, very unhappy about his own -- their own president's policy on immigration. so is that something that mitt romney can so

>> that the supreme court went against the latino community.a terrible narrative, because what the supreme court did today was extend police officers with the opportunity to be immigration agents. that's not good for anybody, because it prevents people that are undocumented or from mixed status families to actually ask for help. it makes these communities incredibly vulnerable as a result. that's another issue. what's going to happen is this actually going to exercise and this is a terrible day for romney because the only narrative that folks have with romney is arizona is a model of immigration for the rest of the country. he's going to try to skrak bell. you mentioned that he lands in phoenix. he has to create more than just a piece of paper statement but also have a conversation with the latino community saying ints okay to racial profile and this is something i don't stand for. >> you know, e.j., there's so much criticism of mitt romney at this point, that he avoids these questions and goes on rope lines and they don't want the media there.

john: immigration policy and the fight for latino votes. the white house and congress wrestle over documents and political advantage. and can the u.s. and europe prevent economic disaster? i'm john harwood sitting in tonight for gwen ifill on "washington week." >> i will priorityites efforts that strenten legal immigration and make it easier. we may not always agree but when i make a promise to you, i will keep it. >> your speaker from yesterday has a different view. in a speech he said that when he makes a promise to you, he'll keep it. well, he has promised to veto the dream act and we should take him at his word and i believe that would be a tragic mistake. john: dueling philosophies and dueling pitches to latino voters. did president obama's bold move settle the fight or convince hispanics that romney has a better plan m the ayes have it and a contempt order is ordered to the house. joongs a -- john: a showdown between house republicans and eric holder. and the countries of the euro zonal keep struggling to resolve their debt crisis. >>

mitt romney makes an appeal to latino voters. will a softer tone win him a second look from a constituency he says president obama takes for granted? >>> attorney general eric holder, hold him in contempt of congress an election year stunt. nancy pelosi ups the ante call it payback for holder's opposition to what pelosi calls republican voter suppression efforts. >>> watch george zimmerman re-enact his deadly fight with florida teenager trayvon martin. why the defense wants you to see and her zimmerman recount that fateful night. >>> up first tonight, presidential politics. a major shift in tone. not much new on policy front. mitt romney makes a direct appeal for latino votes. speaking to a national conv convention down in florida one day before the same group hears from president obama governor romney began by asking hispanic voters to remember promises the incumbent failed to keep on immigration and other issues. >> that you don't really have an alternative. i believe he's taking your vote for granted. i've come here today with

you see the latino vote tomorrow will be a top focus. they showed you with the younger students on student loans, the ad on women, he has a new radio ad aimed at african-americans. i'm over at our electoral map now, where we stack it now, dan. 247, strong or leaning for obama, 206 strong or leaning for romney. as you well know, you have to get to 270 to win it. i want to come out to the national map. you get mixed results. i talked about the bigger picture, the economy. that's not good news for the president. there's a brand new poll out in florida today. look at this. it's close. it's close. you have the president ahead now, this same poll back in may had governor romney ahead. in one of the biggest battleground states they have to feel better about that. we thought after the wisconsin recall, boy, should we make that a tossup? might that be trending republican? a new poll out of wisconsin the other day shows the president, again, this is still close. the president still on top in this battleground state. dan, i'm interested in getting

latino community 11% unemployment to whites 7%. >> wow, double-digit unemployment for blacks and latinosat could really hurt obama's chances amongst... well, just the latinos. i mean, that's... let's be frank. (laughter) for more on this, we turn to senior latino economic analyst al madrigal. al, thanks for joining us. (cheers and applause) does 11% in the latino community put the latino community in play for this election? >> i mean, it may. but even 11% pales in comparison to the 98.7% unemployment latinos face elsewhere. >> jon: 98.... where? >> right here, jon. show business. (laughter) televisione. (laughter). >> jon: you're latino and off job in show business. >> yes, i have the job, jon. do me a favor: try to name one other latino on television. >> jon: oh. all right, let's. .. >> not geraldo. >> jon: okay. oh! >> lopez was canceled jon. >> jon: (bleep). is whitney... >> no! >> jon: either of the broke girls? >> you'd think so, but no. (laughter) "desperate housewives" with eva longoria? that was canceled. >> jon: doe equis man? the most interesting man. >> you know what the real

only about half of all you aeligible latino voters actually voted four years ago. the obama campaign believes they still have enough latino voters on their side but if romney begins eating into it even somewhat, that's a big problem for them. arizona, i think most people still think it's -- it's a big reach for democrats because a lot of the latino voters there aren't voting. but we have the big supreme court coming up. john: this fight's not going away the rest of the election year. thanks, guys. house republicans in the obama white house -- and the obama white house have been at war for a long time and this week it got worse. the reason? the since-abandoned gun walking program. the justice department refused to turn over some documents, the white house complamed executive privilege and now the committee has voted to hold attorney general eric holder in contempt. major, how did we come to this? >> this is about a 16-month investigation. the house government and oversight committee has subpoena power. this line was originally started in the senate by charles grassl

latino or asian. we have surname matched filipino. which one would like to see first? which population group? chairman mcdonnell: latino. >> as you can see this as percent latino population. the darker the color, the higher the population. this is the area around cayuga. cayuga is right here and you see the district boundary in black. chairman mcdonnell: i will start with you with any questions related to the data she sharing. >> this is the present latino population. the black line is that andrea. the darker the red, the higher the latino published -- personages by block. this street here in the center is cayuga and to have the 280 freeway -- you have the 280 freeway right here. chairman mcdonnell: any questions relevant to this data? >> what is the darkest blocke? >> it is 50% to 75% latino. chairman mcdonnell: any other questions related to this data? ok. >> what is the total population [inaudible] >> just one second. >> sure. that is the population of 838 people. would you like to hear the deviati

>> i think there has been a game changing moment, particularly for the latino community, the latino voters. that came before mitt romney even became officially, or unofficially, but before he became the front-runner. and that is when he said that the response, or the answer to the immigration issue would be the self-deportation of undocumented immigrants, and when he vowed to veto a dream act if it ever came to his desk. because the hispanic voter, even though most polls show it's jobs, the economy, that it's health and education, the issues that they most care about, of course, jobs, there's 10.3% unemployment among the latinos. the issue that drives their vote is definitely the immigration issue. so you can see right off the bat, the latest polls, president obama has 64% to 67% of support from the latino voters. and romney has 20% to 25% from latino voters. for there to be a change in that, i don't know what would have to happen. either he would flip-flop on his positions and then he would be accused of flip-flopping. right now it will be an uphill battle for the republicans to get the l

we know that the latinos have the numbers now. we're going to look at another group of voters who could play a decisive role this election year. they are asian americans and pacific islanders. last week i traveled to central valley and the south bay to report on the growing political clout of these diverse communities. >> have you heard about the new top two primary rule? >> belva: with the california primary around the corner, get out the vote efforts are in full swing. the prime target at this santa clara county phone back, a voting block whose political potential is on the rise. >> in the city of san jose one out of every ten people who go to the poles will be vietnamese. what that tells you is the asian influence is significant. >> belva: but if the feedback these volunteers is any indication, both political parties could do more to reach one of the most diverse electorates in the universe. >> we have been able to talk to a lot of people in their language and they say nobody's ever called me before. nobody's ever talked to me

>>> plus, president obama tells latino leaders, i'm your guy. i'll ask former governor bill richardson if he thinks it will work. >> i think latinos sense that the president is on their side, and he is on their side. and this is why he enjoys this overwhelming support. [ male announcer ] it isn't just your mammogram. it's your teenager's first varsity game. it isn't just your annual exam. it's your daughter's wedding. did you know with your health insurance you may now have some preventive benefits with no co-pays or out-of-pocket costs? it isn't just your cholesterol screening. it's all the tomorrows you're looking forward to. learn more at healthcare.gov. it's all the tomorrows you're looking forward to. see life in the best light. [music] transitions® lenses automatically filter just the right amount of light. so you see everything the way it's meant to be seen. experience life well lit, ask for transitions adaptive lenses. that's a good thing, but it doesn't cover everything. only about 80% of your part b medical expenses. the rest is up to

that is insulting to latinos. i think demoats have been very continued sending towards latinos, trying to group them. we had a herd mentality. the truth is there's a lot of diversity. depending on the states you go to, take florida for example, a very die verse latino community and the president cannot take it for granted. host: from jim, says there is a clear path way. it is called legal immigration. in 2000 there were about 35 million latinos in the u.s., in 2010, 50 million. you can see the increase. colorado, florida, north carolina, virginia, and arizona, some key battleground states. the headline, these eight states where latinos could sink the republicans. guest: there's no question about that, steve. this is why mitt romney went to speak there, even though he had very little to say because he knows he cannot win the white house without at least 40% of the latino vote. that is a percentage that actually came from a republican pollster back in 2004 when george bush was running. so imagine from there to now,

there are latinos who won't forget this. to attack the dream act in such unambiguous terms and you know that will be all over television in october, is something that 90% of latino voters support. so this is all about getting latinos to the polls. romney is -- i would be shocked if he got 35%. i think he's probably going to get 30% at the most. i think this is a huge problem for romney and he didn't do himself any favors yesterday by dancing around. he got very little applause yesterday in that speech. i think the president's just got to keep the heat up. i thought this was a brilliant move last week. there's no downside to it because the people who don't like immigrants are going to vote against him anyway. >> let me show you what marco rubio had to say yesterday because he clearly sees the downside in the short-term approach. >> when the president does this in an election year, five months from the election without including anyone in the conversations about how to do it, after viciously, some people on the left condemning

romney among latino voters. but romney's strategy may not be to win among latinos. he is simply trying to cut into the lead. >> is the america of 11% hispanic unemployment the america of our dreams? we can do better. >> reporter: telemundo's jose diaz vallard says both candidates need to convince latinos they know what is important to them. >> for latino voters the economy, unemployment, the home crisis, the foreclosure crisis, all these issues that affect all of us in the country, have been disproportionately affecting latinos. >> reporter: high stakes. for mary servent it will be her very first time voting for president. you are the decider in the fall. >> i can't believe it. both candidates trying to find the latino american vote because it's important. it's a power for us. >> reporter: power but for now a tough choice. david gregory, nbc news, leesburg, virginia. >> david's guest on "meet the press" this sunday will be florida senator marco rubio. he has written a new book on his immigrant roots and will talk to david about that sunday on "meet the press." >>> a

also, if you were to judge mitt romney and president obama's speeches to latino officials on reaction alone, it would be a slam dunk win for the president but the big question for team obama, can they translate the enthusiasm we saw today into votes? plus the jury now has the sandusky case butt jurors don't know the two latest explosive pieces of news about this matter. and the debate over attorney general eric holder and fast and furious has moved from the right wing fringe. why has the republican leadership been treating this story like kryptonite? and let me finish with my homemade solution on obesity question. >> mitt romney frequently says he'll stand up to china and hope bring jobs back home from overseas. a damn being if you newreport from the "washington post" lays out clearly just how invested bain capital was in companies that outsourced jobs, including to china. "during the nearly 15 years that romney was actively involved in running bain, it owned companies that were pioneers in the practice of sifing work from the united states to oversea call centers and factories, accor

a quarter of the vote latino. up more than last time. the latino population is more complicated.ricans, et cetera. florida is tougher for the president this time. this is the place where the impact of the decision could help. watch that as we go ahead. go to a smaller state in the sense that in virginia, the president won it last time, turned it red to blue. a tinier slice of the electorate latino. look how much it is growing from 2008, up nearly 2%. two-thirds of the vote for president obama, senator obama, one-third for senator mccain. this is another place to watch this. virginia more red this time than in 2008. it is a tossup question to watch whether this plays out there on that. how will it help, how much will it help? help at all, tara wall, senior communications adviser to romney, and cnn political contributor, hilary rosen. tara, president does it, you think it is the wrong way to do it, your candidate says it makes long term immigration harder to get to, but will it help him where it matters most? >> if the goal is to bring out his base, then yes, if that's what the int

stop the killing of young latinos. people of santa ana i am going to march to come together as one voice i have no more fear no more fear you have the power. i. thank. us i thank you so much my fight goes beyond the iraq war when the young people should stay in school the moon the fish when he knows who i am shouldn't become soldiers and fight for calls noble or not already legal or illegal he got a. report that this is just these young people should not end up like his. going to be nothing to be read will be. i. wish them were on day four of the peace march that we began in tijuana on sunday. so you can see if you will was. ten to fifteen miles a day. everyone is welcome to remote just latinos everyone who supports peace i start coming up to the but. thank you thank you who. thank. god people around the world are very interested in us and chicanos and she gun us why because a lot of us are fighting and dying in iraq right now a lot of our party and is a you all may know are in the military. we work hard to create jobs

but the president is going to win the latino vote by a large margin.hat mitt romney needs to do is to attempt to eat away at the margins of it selectively in certain key states and if he is able to do that i think it could actually go a long way. i don't know that he accomplished much towards that end in his speech. but i'll also say that for the folks who are really closely following this issue, when the president gets up and says that he would sign a dream act if it came to his desk and blames the senate and republicans for blocking it, folks who really followed the issue and pushed on it were disappointed that he did not invest more political capital in it so for him to get up and blame congress now i think is a little bit disingenuous. >> okay. karen, florida's governor rick scott also spoke sounding like he had been hired by the state tourism board to do so. there were lots of facts and descriptions about how wonderful florida is right now and good on him. but precious little about how he is suppressing the vote in his state in an attempt to favor

, how will it resonate with latino voters? >> so far it seems to be resonating pretty well. but i think the obama white house is going to be shocked at how little staying power this ultimately has. i think by election day, this isn't about election day, this is about election day november, that what is going to really influence voters is the fact that the unemployment rate among latino americans is officially 11%, actually closer to 13%, you have about 25 million households with their homes underwater, i think those are the facts that will end up resonating, come november. >> i think this was a master stroke on the part of the president, because he puts romney in a box. mitt romney can't be for this and he can't be against it. and at the same time, the president, both augments and cements his base in the hispanic community. grand, unemployment is a biggish -- granted, unemployment is a big issue, but there are certain issues that really affect their community and i think the president hit the sweet spot on this one. >> susan?

president obama speaks to latino officials here this hour. president has a wide lead over mitt romney among latino voters. what's he plan to do? shore up the support, bring in juan carlos lopez to talk a little bit about that and jessica yellin, inside where president obama will be speaking shortly. jessica, i want to start off with you. yesterday we heard from mitt romney. he highlighted the poor economic conditions among hispanics. 11% unemployment. 2 million hispanics living in poverty. how will the president address the concerns of latino community when it comes to the economy? >> i expect he will draw on the same message we heard recently from the president about the two different visions for the future economy of the nation talking about how he believes he will build on the middle class and fare -- fair shake, fair future, building on the middle class and mitt romney is proposing a return to bush economic policies which in the president's conception builds on helping the upper classes and then that leads to trickle down economics. this

they have been playing with latinos, and it hurts me to see it.he dream act, and why didn't they do this two years ago and how many people have been deported since? >> let me put that question actually to the congressman, because i did have that down for you, and can you explain to me why the dream act which dealt with these young illegal immigration went down a year and a half ago, and why did it take the president until five months before the election to make this move? >> first of all, cancandy, it w november 2010 and i was there leading the fight. 216-208. and 208 against the dream act. >> he lost it -- >> and if i could. we pass ed the dream act in the house of representatives, and we went to the senate, candy, and there were 55 senators willing to overcome the ability to move forward with the the action there on closure. 51 democrats and 4 republican, and there were republicans working with then secretary of commerce gutierrez when he came to the congress under the bush administration who would not vote for it. that is the simple fact they o

president obama kept up the heat on congress today speaking before the national association of latino and elected official. it's the same event where challenger mitt romney addressed this key constituency yesterday. the president may reference to romney's visit, including a pause for dramatic effect. >> your speaker from yesterday has a different view. in a speechy said that when he makes a promise to you, he'll keep it. well, he has promised to veto the dream act and we should take him at his word. [ applause ] i'm just saying. >> president obama needs latino vote to be motivated in november. their turnout could be key to his reelection. david is is an msnbc political analyst. erin pike is a rort for clear politics. does it seem the president did what he needed to do? >> president obama simply said that he would sign the dream act if it made it to his desk, which deals with a smaller portion of the nation's illegal immigrants, not all 11 million of them. we heard from a lot of republicans today that said while president obama continues to support the dream act, he didn't go farther t

right now there are 21 million latinos eligible to vote in the u.s. but only 10 million, less than half, are registered. and in the crucial states that the president's campaign is targeting to win, that will make the difference for him including florida, colorado, virginia, and a number of others, latinos, the president won 50% of the latino vote but the population has grown in those states. so the question is will their campaign be able to register them to vote? will he energize them to turn out to vote? speeches like this but also his move to help it -- help more immigrants find a way to stay in this country if they were brought here as young children. those kinds of moves could help energize them to register and vote and that's what the president's campaign is hoping to be able to do. >> all right. thank you, jessica. i want to bring in juan carlos lopez. you and i were talking about senator marco rub wroe. he addressed this crowd and i want to play very quickly something that he said that seems to make this a very -- accusation against the preside

latinos remember.l what's in the actual agreement that is signed or the legislation. it's the tone of the debate that makes latinos and african-americans feel uncomfortable and feel like the republican party and this is part of why the base of the republican party is shrinking, is not a place that understands their issues. and our issues. in 2005, it was the rancor of the debate that actually all of the latinos, all of the gain the republicans had made in the prior election, came to the democratic party. they remember the tone of the debate. they remember that no republicans would support the dream act over the last year, and they also know that it is the party of mitt romney that is out there trying to dissen fran choice right now our voices at the ballot box in this fall election, not to mention this guy is somebody who a champion at shipping jobs overseas. >> maybe the media's tone, no one will ever question the tone of mitt romney. that is a very measured, very kind, very straightforward man in my

if it is latino leaders, it is the economy. and keep in mind that he is going to be talking to the naacp next month and he will be talking about the economy and that is the message from here to e election day. jeb bush is coming up and that is a speech coming up and he is obviously a popular political figure in the state among latinos and tomorrow senator marquee rubio ma marco rubio is going to be talking, and what we have not talked about here at naleo is what will happen with marco rubio and whether or not he is being vetted and whether or not he is going to be put on the republican issue, and not just immigration, but a issue that a lot of latinos are going to be watching in this state, suzanne. >> and don't forget as well that president obama will be addressing this group tomorrow to talk about the immigration policy, and economic policy and the reasons that he believes that the latino community should vote for him for another four years. jim acosta, thank you so much, and juan carlos lopez, and mr. vargas, thank you for t

national association of latino elected officials had a big meeting of latino.resident went and spoke and got a rousing ovation. watch this. >> obama: on friday we announced we're lifting the shadow of deportation on children who people who were brought to this country as children. when it came up to a vote a year and a half ago, republicans in congress blocked it. >> cenk: so that was a great reaction. wait until you see the reaction that mitt romney got the day before. watch this. >> romney: as president i would reallocate green cards to those seeking to keep their families under one roof. [applause] and mr. exempt from caps the spouse and minor children of legal permanent residents. >> cenk: i love it. i guess. >> they were just being polite. that was a polite applause at a golfer's club. >> cenk: let's skip to the results. in the swing states, five critical swing states. you know how much obama is winning? rushing, 63% to 27%. that overestimates it because florida is heavily influenced. when you take florida out he's getting crushed. dean, any chance that th

latino unemployment is 11%. on a social issues more conservative than the average democratic voter. doesn't he have a case to make? >> he should have a case to make. economy, education, always come out above of unemployment when you pool them. he's now trying to play hide and seek on the whether he supports what the president did for all of those young americans, the dreamers. at the same time, i think it was very telling, in miami, the heart of republican latinos, where you find more than anywhere else, mitt romney goes and speaks to a crowd, he gets polite applause. barack obama goes into miami and he gets standing ovation from a crowd of mostly latino officials. it's become clear for mitt romney it's trying to sketch his way out of what he said in the primaries. he still associates with these guys that are so conservative. tell me with whom i walk and i tell you who are. he walks with russell pierce, wilson, all folks identified in the latino community as being anti-latino. >> the republican response when pre

community, is that the way to actually woo latino voters? could he move a point or two in states in the southwest, in places like florida, virginia, with that kind of message? >> well, i think the speech that governor romney gave was disappointing because he's at about 25% of the latino vote nation nationally. he's going to need over 35% to be competitive and possibly get elected. i don't see how he can make that ground. he's had a very harsh position on immigration. what he simply said at the speech was he changed his style, substance, was more positive on words, but on deeds he fell far short. he still claims he's going to veto the dream act, which gives a path of citizenship to those who served in the military, those students. he's not for comprehensive immigration that legalizes the 12 million. he has refused to take a position on the deportation of the almost 1 million children. so on substance it's very hard for him to change the substance after a primary where each of the republican candidates were competing on who is harsher on immig