mr. axelrod. let me start with this. as the price of gas has gone up, the president's approval ratings have gone down. but when the republicans started pummeling the president about this, he sort of poked fun at them. here's what he said last week. >> they tell the same story. they head down to the gas station. they make sure a few cameras are following them. and then, they start acting like "we have a magic wand and we will give you cheap gas forever, if you just elect us." every time. been the same script for 30 years. it's like a bad rerun. ( laughter ) >> schieffer: but here's the irony, mr. axelrod. it is like a rerun because this is what candidate obama said about george bush four years ago. >> all the while, while here in ohio, you're paying nearly $3.70 a gallon for gas, two-and-a-half times what it cost when george bush took office. >> schieffer: what about that? what is the strategy? is the price coming down? do you have a plan to do that? i mean, in the short run? >> well, first of all,

mr. axelrod. >> do a pregnant pause. when you don't know the answer do a pregnant pause and meet someone in the eye and think about it. >> bill: and then say i don't know how to answer the question. >> he had ten seconds to come up with an answer. >> bill: there is no answer. that question was so well crafted he couldn't answer it. >> he says you understand. >> bill: what you understand is 1,050 days and they can't pass a budget. >> he was looking for approval there as well. >> mitt romney went and jay leno last night. interesting body language there. go. >> a list of candidates and one word on each person. >> a couple of words maybe? >> chris christie. >> indominable. >> all right. okay. >> a man of strong will. >> strong will. >> great strength. indominable. 23 f. you attack h him you will get more than you bargained for. he comes back strong. >> i will try for smaller words. >> all right. romney to me looked under control in a situation that i don't think he was expecting. >> here is what leaked out. the little twitch

mr. axelrod. >> do a pregnant pause. when you don't know the answer do a pregnant pause and meet someone in the eye and think about it. >> bill: and then say i don't know how to answer the question. >> he had ten seconds to come up with an answer. >> bill: there is no answer. that question was so well crafted he couldn't answer it. >> he says you understand. >> bill: what you understand is 1,050 days and they can't pass a budget. >> he was looking for approval there as well. >> mitt romney went and jay leno last night. interesting body language there. go. >> a list of candidates and one word on each person. >> a couple of words maybe? >> chris christie. >> indominable. >> all right. okay. >> a man of strong will. >> strong will. >> great strength. indominable. 23 f. you attack h him you will get more than you bargained for. he comes back strong. >> i will try for smaller words. >> all right. romney to me looked under control in a situation that i don't think he was expecting. >> here is what leaked out. the little twitch

mr. axelrod does not want to go there. >> the other thing that's been out there.how, but decided not to appear on it because of all of this. did you get into all of that with him? >> i have seen that as well, wolf. we did not talk about whether he denied to go on to bill maher's show. i think the real issue that seems to be so difficult, when you walk out on this limb, as they have, and said that rush limbaugh is the boss of the party and it's so awful he said these things, i don't think anyone would disagree with the fact that what was said was insulting and inappropriate, but then to avoid being hypocritical, you do have to be consistent. i think paul begala is right, there are still more questions to be answered on that front. >> thank you, erin. we'll be watching your show on cnn at 7:00 p.m. eastern. >>> last time was in the ncaa tournament, harry truman was president, but harvard hoops are now hot. the crimson side is bhursing. >>> and new fbi warning of possible violence in the united states in retaliation for the massacre of afghan civilians. ♪ ♪ one, two,

. >> pelley: we met axelrod at the headquarters that covers 50,000 square feet. 300 staff are devoted to advertising, social media, and building support for mr. obama in communities nationwide. >> i'm wondering whether you're still a supporter? >> reporter: the assumption here is that the election will be close. as you approach the beginning of the campaign, what are the president's weaknesses? >> it is no secret that we've come through a very difficult period for our country, a recession that began in 2008 and when we came to office was the worst that we've seen since the great depression. this is a difficult environment, no one would deny that. >> pelley: we wondered what the

mr. plouffe and axelrod getting too much credit and if the president loses probably a little bit too much both. thank you so much. >>> all of you be sure to watch "meet the press." today's guests include actor and activist george clooney. arizona senator john mccain. don't miss the re-air of "meet the press" at 2:00 p.m. eastern. right here on msnbc. >>> we are going to get an update on today's new information on the american soldier who will soon be charged with shooting 16 afghans a week ago. army sergeant robert bales passed misdemeanor charge against him that were dropped and he was also having career and money problems. nbc's miguel almaguer is at join base with the latest. good day to you. tell us what you know about the new details on sergeant bales. >> reporter: we are hearing two different stories about the staff sergeant. one is a decorated military man who joined the service after 9/11. he was a decorated sniper and had served four deployments, lee in iraq, one in afghanistan. one of his former leaders told us this was a valiant soldier and went into the military with hopes of

. >> but david axelrod and mr.f them will tell you, not spinning you. they are going to say, this is going to be a close race. forget what it looks like right now. it's going to be close. >> because if you look -- i think george will was saying this yesterday. if you look at how the, you know, economy is beginning to come back and how things seem to be turning up -- >> some trends. >> he should be doing better in the polls than he is right now. >> in the swing states especially. >> exactly. >> you look at the swing states. >> considering how bad the republican party has been beating up on each other, and how intense the primaries have been, you would think he would be riding much higher. >> that's true. >> look where we were three months prior to now. obama was apparently the lame duck legislator who couldn't get anything done. the jobs package was dead on arrival. barely getting pieces on there. and we were all writing about how he was going to be one of the worst presidential incumbents heading into re-election i

mr. limbaugh continued that falsehood and it needs to be challenged. >> david axelrod, thank you very much. >>> up next -- our powerhouse roundtable. weighs in on all of the week's politics. the super tuesday showdown, can anyone stop mitt romney? >>> senate surprise. what does olympia snowe's of our politics? retirement say about the state of our politics? >>> drum beat of iran, is it coming with iran? ♪ [ male announcer ] how could switchgrass in argentina, change engineering in dubai, aluminum production in south africa, and the aerospace industry in the u.s.? 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. my dad and grandfather spent their whole careers here. [ charlie ] we're the heartbeat of this place, the people on the line. we take pride in what we do. when that refrigerator ships out

. >> pelley: we met axelrod at the headquarters that covers 50,000 square feet. 300 staff are devoted to advertising, social media, and building support for mrin communities nationwide. >> i'm wondering whether you're still a supporter. >> reporter: the assumption here is that the election will be close. as you approach the beginning of the campaign, what are the president's weaknesses? >> it's no secret that we've come through a very difficult period for our country, a recession that began in 2008 and when we came to office was the worst that we've seen since the great depression. this is a difficult environment. no one would deny that. >> pelley: we wondered what the campaign intends to do with super pacs, those new political action committees that can take in unlimited donations from millionaires and billionaires. >> the president feels strongly that super pacs are a very bad development in our politics because it gives disproportionate voice to people who can write enormous checks. >> pelley: if the president's so against them, why are you inviting people to contribute to the super pacs that support them. >> because you can't play touch

axelrod took a swipe. >> we thought we'd have a nominee by now, but every time it looks like mr. romney has some momentum he gets set back. he hasn't been able to make the sale to his own party. if he thinks he's an economic heavyweight, he must be looking in a fun house mirror. >> reporter: why the long nasty campaign even before we get to general election? for one thing explained senator john mccain on meet the press more states are now% ling out delegates instead of win -- are now parceling out delegates instead of winner take all. >> when you have a las vegas casino mogul pouring $20 million into one campaign and most of those are in negative ads, obviously that drives up people's unfavorable. so it's a result of the worst decision the united states supreme court has made in many years, the citizens united decision where out of naiveness and is here ignorance the majority of the supreme court -- and sheer ignorance the majority of the supreme court just released all money now. there will be scandals, david. there will be scandals and then maybe we'll reform again. >> reporter

mr. rahm emanuel. [applause] we have representatives dan schakowsky and bobby rush. [applause] the trees were always trim debt. the snow was always shoveled. [laughter] i want to thank axelrod and daley for the pre-program. he might have noticed that we have some guests in illinois this week. apparently things have not wrapped up on the other side. [laughter] there is interest in chicago in the primary on tuesday. my message to all of the candidates is welcome to the land of lincoln. [laughter] i am thinking maybe some linkedin will rub off on them when they are here. -- lincoln will rub off on them when they are here. [laughter] [applause] he was the leader who saved our union. in the midst of the civil war, he launched the transcontinental railroad, understanding that in order for america to grow, we had to stick to ourselves together to be connected coast to coast. he said of the first land grant colleges in the midst of a war because this self-taught man understood that education gives the people the chance to realize their potential and if we were able to get them the opportunity to learn, that would be good for all of us, not just that person. he created the national

mr. rahm emanuel. [applause] we have representatives dan schakowsky and bobby rush. [applause] the trees were always trim debt. the snow was always shoveled. [laughter] i want to thank axelrod and daley for the pre-program. he might have noticed that we have some guests in illinois this week. apparently things have not wrapped up on the other side. [laughter] there is interest in chicago in the primary on tuesday. my message to all of the candidates is welcome to the land of lincoln. [laughter] i am thinking maybe some linkedin will rub off on them when they are here. -- lincoln will rub off on them when they are here. [laughter] he was the leader who saved our union. in the midst of the civil war, he launched the transcontinental railroad, understanding that in order for america to grow, we had to stick to ourselves together to be connected coast to coast. he said of the first land grant colleges in the midst of a war because this self-taught man understood that education gives the people the chance to realize their potential and if we were able to get them the opportunity to learn, that would be good for all of us, not just that person. he created the national commanded -