there was a spur and business association sponsored bus tour in san francisco with state senator michael rubio in an attempt to introduce different parts of our community to some of the issues of c-e-q-a by visiting projects which had some c-e-q-a problems. and with the acknowledgment that all the stakeholders would be brought to the table to review the issues and collaborate and come up with some mutually agreeable changes. but in reality as an architect having worked on large major projects and programs like the candlestick park renovations or youth guidance center renovationses or airport projects or muni railway projects, and as you have seen on any project that comes before you, there is a very detailed critical

martha: marco rubio has been very outspoken, michael on the way that he wants to see immigration changedn this country. some people think that if mitt romney had got even on board with the legislation that marco rubio wanted to propose in the senate things might have gonna little bit differently in the election. what do you think your side needs to do to create an immigration reform environment that is better all around? >> well, as a guy -- i refuse to take any responsibility for the disaster that is mitt romney. but you don't win by saying that we are not going to apply the laws equally to all people. everybody who wants to come here legally should be able to go through the process and come here legally. to reward the people for breaking the law is an insult to all of the legal immigrants, whether from brazil or ireland who have done it it the right way. i think people like myself who want this nation to be a nation of leaguele immigrants should stand up on behalf of legal immigrants instead of attacking illegal immigrants. you don't need a culture war. stand up for what makes america

be talking t romney in the coming weeks, michael, bear me out, i don't think the republicans are going to look to mitt romney as the leader of the pa a marco rubio governors. we have other republican senators as blem is going to the core the activists, the base the fire brands out there have to appreciate the difference campate. or governing a as a u.s. senator or member ofco a that bag american citizen who lives in that state or lives in the country. it's not just that small collective group of folks that a real test for the to understand how we communicate d how we gooss was two huge the ground we gave away ones on that tax the ground we gave away on simp bowls, thground we gave away in a number of areas could have carvehat grand2sissed mruth half of campaigning, thise have a democratic basically so watching people watching today, watching the american people today think >> for one cliff,ax cuts spepding -- tax cuts and spending it must bei think out of that are politics ll change. have to choose whether to work with the president or not.think, will get historic bipartisanievement when he pulls this off. and theobama care in place enshriningdo

michael, it seems the race for 2016 already under way. some have mentioned paul ryan as well. you have marco rubio heading to iowa next week. you also have the gop governors meeting in vegas next week. new jersey's chris christie expected to be there. who would you say is the current front-runner for the 2016 republican nomination? >> on the republican side, i think it's very convoluted. you know, it might be a jeb bush if he decides to assert himself and get into this. i think it's a far clear picture on the democratic side of the aisle. and i would say it's secretary clinton. and i would point out that president clinton sure did collect a lot of ious in the final couple of weeks of that campaign. >> that's a good point. you mentioned hillary clinton. a lot of folks have indicated that america's happy warrior, joe biden as well, he could be in this thing. andrew cuomo, that name pops up on a lot of lists. >> it does. and i don't think that there is really a clear definition on either side of the aisle. but one thing is self-evident after what happened on tuesday, and that is that the gop needs to focus on its nomination pr

rubio in a commanding leadership position on these issues. the party should and i hope will look to them for signals on how to deal with this. >> michael gerson thank youh t can congress break the gridlock? pat toomey and joe manchin. this is "andrea mitchell reports" only on msnbc. why do we have aflac... aflac... and major medical? major medical, boyyy, yeah! [ beatboxing ] berr, der berrp... ♪ i help pay the doctor ♪ ain't that enough for you? ♪ thers things major medical doesn't do. aflac! pays cash so we don't have to fret. [ together ] ♪ something families should get ♪ ♪ like a safety net ♪ help with food, gas and rent, so cover your back, with... ♪ a-a-a-a-a-a-a-aflac! [ male announcer ] help protect your family at aflac.com. [ beatboxing ] >>> west virginia senatoroe manchin another democrat who held on last night but did anger some in his party along the way. senator manchin joins me now. congratulations on your re-election, senator, and i know it's -- >>hank you. appreciate it. >> but you didn't say up until the last minute whom you were going to vote for. you are a democrat. can we ask, did you vote for barack obama? >> here's the

in the coming weeks, but, michael, bear me out, i don't think republicans are going to look to mitt romney as the leader of their party. they are going to look to a marco rubiotwo governors, some impressive governors, suzanna martinez, kelly ayotte, as well. >> the core, the activists, the base, the fire brands out there have to appreciate the difference between running campaigns and governing a state or governing a country as a u.s. senator or member of congress. it is a very different piece of baggage that you carry because in that bag is every american citizen who lives in that state or lives in that country. it's not that small collective group of folks around your rah, rah brand of rhetoric. it's how we communicate and how we govern. part of our loss on those two fronts we had huge missteps. the ground we gave away on taxes, the tax debate, the ground we gave away on simpson/bowles and a number of areas where we could have carved out the grand bargain undergirded by conservative principles was a missed opportunity. >> mark, after a year and a half of campaigning and this debate over ideas we have a re-elected democratic president. we still a development