, who's been watching the region for decades and is the executive director of the maureen and mike mansfield foundation in washington. what is your take on the u.s. evaluation of the threats from north korea? how serious are they taking their threats? >> well, the obama administration has a very difficult task. they need to, on the one hand, balance the need to reassure allies in south korea and japan and reassure the publics in those countries well as the american public and at the same time avoid falling into a tract where you're buying into the north korean rhetoric and building it up. the threat at this point is more words than actions. and it appears to be a lot of kind of hot air bluster, rhetoric. at the same time you can't ignore it altogether. so the administration has been, again, striking i think a pretty successful balance, less rhetoric, but more actions. sending over the b-52 bombers, the b-2 bombers and f-22 squadrons to make it clear our deterrence remains strong but not seeking to further ratchet up the rhetoric. >> why do you think north korean leaders are escalating their

i.e., mike mansfield, walter mondale both lived in a beautiful ambassador residence in central tokyo.ow you lived there and worked there. >> not in the residence. quite a bit smaller where we lived. >> but you and your husband were both working journalists. the bureau chief for the new york times. and you know that going all the way back to mike mansfield and howard baker and vice president mondale, the japanese loved having ambassadors with big names. and there isn't a bigger name in politics other than obama and clinton and kennedy. >> and of course, you know, the white house is extremely grateful to caroline kennedy for her support of obama in 2008. her early support. it was a big moment. so it makes a certain amount of sense, although i don't know what caroline kennedy, what her background is in japan at this point. >> and is there going to be any kind of a kerfuffle about whether she is credentialed? we know that the ambassadors to many of the big camdepitals are people who raised big money and have had a lot more experience. she's had a lifetime in and around the political world

, who's been watching the region for decades and is the executive director of the maureen and mike mansfield foundation in washington. he shared his insight on how the situation has been perceived in washington and the possible u.s. reaction. >> well, the obama administration has a very difficult task. they need to, on the one hand, balance the need to reassure allies in south korea and japan and reassure the publics in those countries as well as the american public, and at the same time avoid falling into a trap where you're buying into the north korean rhetoric and kind of building it up. the threat at this point is more words than actions. and it appears to be a lot of kind of hot air bluster, rhetoric. at the same time you can't ignore it altogether, so the administration has been again, striking, i think a pretty successful balance, less rhetoric, but more action, sending over the b-52 bombers, the b-2 bombers and the squadrons. just to make sure they understand, but not seeking to further ratchet up their rhetoric. >> this is difficult to know. in my mind, has a lot more to do with dom

long list of high-profile ambassadors to japan including former vice president walter mondale, mike mansfield and also howard baker. it's a high-level position. good for her. we'll be right back. >>> do you see the party ever pivoting or doing a 180 on gay marriage? >> they might. if they do, they're going to lose a large part of their base because evangelicals will take a walk. >> take a walk. welcome back to "hardball." social conservative wing of the republican party is not about to roll over and be ignored. as "politico" reports today they're sick and tired of gop autopsies that point the finger of blame for 2012 losses at them. anyway, culture conservatives like rick santorum and mike huckabee intend to stand firm on social conservative ground. that ground is pretty far to the right. remember rick santorum's comments about contraception when he was running for president? >> one of the things i will talk about no president has talked about before the dangers of contraception in this country. the whole sexual idea, many in the christian faith have said, that's okay, contraception is okay,

and mike mansfield and jim survived yesterday., mansfield faces off against the man he replaced in the u.s. senate as majority leader, the number one seed, lyndon johnson and modern bracket is ted kennedy versus daniel patrick moynihan. you can read more about the historical senators and vote. you're watching "the daily rundown" only on msnbc. to maste. [ sneezes ] [ male announcer ] you may be an allergy muddler. try zyrtec®. it gives you powerful allergy relief. and zyrtec® is different than claritin® because zyrtec® starts working at hour 1 on the first day you take it. claritin® doesn't start working until hour 3. [ sneezes ] [ male announcer ] zyrtec®. love the air. [ female announcer ] this week only, save up to $7 on zyrtec® products. see sunday's newspaper. and you'll dump your old duster. but don't worry, he'll find someone else. ♪ who's that lady? ♪ who's that lady? ♪ sexy lady, who's that lady? [ female announcer ] swiffer 360 dusters extender cleans high and low, with thick all around fibers that attract and lock up to

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