the obama's team's focus on both candidates suggests momentum has shifted towards santorum nationwide. >>> a developing story? the district, with a rash of new robberies -- story in the district with a rash of new robberies, six just tonight. >> those six robberies came in the span of two hours tonight. police say men armed with guns are targeting people carrying smartphones and other personal electronics. they're happening from northwest to southeast and in some cases the systems are violent. >>> stop the profanity, it's official, the d.c. council passing an amendment to the code of conduct banning swearing among council members at council gatherings. it all stems from a profanity laced fight between david cha venezuelan and marion barry at a retreat last week -- catania and marion barry at a retreat last week. >>> amine el khalifi was arrested friday. an agent posing as al-qaeda gave ill khalifi a vest -- el khalifi a vest packed with inoperable explosives and a gun. he took those items to the capitol. >>> metro wants your help to name the new silver line stations. >>> plus is this

aflutter about it, particularly a memo leased in this book called "the escape artists," about the obama economic team the decisions made in '08 and '09, specifically decisions behind what the author of this new book claims was the obama economic team's fumbling of the economic recoveries. gno nome shriver is the senior editor at the new republic and has written a book that explains how, my favorite question, how obama's team fumbled the recovery. what's the answer? >> i think there are three key moments. the first was the initial stimulus decision in late 2008 when they huddled during the transition. i write in the book his top economist thought it would take between $1.7 trillion and $1.8 trillion to fix the hole in the economy. they only gave president an option for $850 billion, that was the highest option they presented to him. i don't think they could have gotten the full $1.8 trillion, but they certainly left a couple hundred billion dollars on the table. second, between late 2009 and early 2010, there was a period there where the team was totally paralyzed. you had one faction that was adamant

clearly, underlying all of this is the assumption that the obama team assumes mitt romney will still be the nominee in the end and they just are looking at different scenarios and ways that he harms himself even further before he gets to be the nominee, anderson. >> it's a big night in american politics. we'll take a quick break. our coverage continues. yeah, we're continuing. we'll be right back. ♪ ( whirring and crackling sounds ) man: assembly lines that fix themselves. the most innovative companies are doing things they never could before, by building on the cisco intelligent network. for you today ? we gave people right off the street a script and had them read it. no, sorry, i can't help you with that. i'm not authorized to access that transaction. that's not in our policy. i will transfer you now. my supervisor is currently not available. would you like to hold ? that department is currently closed. have i helped you with everything you needed ? if your bank doesn't give you knowledgeable customer service 24/7, you need an ally. ally bank. no nonsense. just people sense. ( set

served as chief economist and economic adviser to vice president biden and a member of president obama's team. before joining the obama administration, he was a senior economi economist. between 1995 and 1996 he was at the u.s. department of labor. he holds a ph.d. in social welfare from columbia university. dr. matthew mitchell is senior research fellow for economics at the mercatus center. his primary interests include economic freedom, growth, fiscal policy, public choice, and institutional economics. dr. mitchell currently serves on the joint advisory board for the commonwealth of virginia. dr. mitchell received his ph.d. from george mason university. he received his undergraduate degrees from arizona state university and i have no idea what the school colors are so we'll move on. let me again explain our lining system. i think most of you were here before. it's a green, yellow, red system. green when you start, yellow when you have a minute left, and red when you're out of time. please try to wrap up your testimony when you see that red light. finish your thought. and then we'll have a c

the obama team's focus on both candidates, rather than just one suggests a shift. >>> and gas prices are high now. brace yourself. the troubles in the middle east and persian gulf are changeed and that is some of the reasons we might see $5-gallon gas this summer. this their is concern what they can do to the economy. >> reporter: rising fuel prices having a domino effect on grocery store, the shopping mall and the airport. and what is behind the latest surge is the world events and gas is more expensive. >> he doesn't have his microphone on. we'll talk about the gas prices. >>> in the meantime, let's move on and they monitoring metro. the dulles projects taking iss from 9 public. on new station names and there are going to be eight metro stops and they're offering up some preferred names. they getting flack for being dull. tyson's acclaim, tyson's one and two, tyson's central and spring hill road and reston wheelie avenue, herndon west and east, the one closest to dulles, innovation, copper mind and to route 28. more information about a dangerous case of road rage that ended with on

. >> the obama team is raising money as well. the president is visiting florida. the first lady is in ohio and also kentucky. and vice president biden is rallying the democratic base in the northeast. >>> members of the u.s. senate are watching their mail for a potential threat. letters were sent to several lawmakers' district offices, including speaker of the house john boehner. investigators say the letters contained harmless powdery substances but letters sent to comedy show host stephen colbert and john stewart have messages that warned every senator would receive a letter that macon obtain.son. the threats brought back memories of the november 2001 incidents when anthrax was mailed to two senate office buildings. four people were killed. >>> coming up next, howard has the forecast and a friend to introduce to you. >> that's right. this is chika, our feature dog. it's so nice outside. going to be nice for a little while longer. look at these temperatures as we go to break. upper 50s in the shenandoah valley already. 63 here in town. will we get to 70? the full

but for every republican vote that is turned out in michigan tuesday by shock talk, the obama team sees a possible gain from swing voters in the center. here's some evidence of the no-hold-barred climate out there right now from just last week. starting with franklin graham on "morning joe." >> under islamic law, they -- the muslim world sees barack obama as a muslim. >> we see a president who isistically trying to crush -- who is systematically trying to crush the original judeo-christian principles in this country. >> this is the most dangerous president on national security grounds in american history. >> we moust not allow iran to have a nuclear weapon. if we re-elect barack obama it will happen. chris: the hatred these fellas have for barack obama is palpable. it's so far off the charts. is this going to hurt them when they get into the general election environment? whoever comes out on top. >> it could. but look for the pivot. once the nominee is settled, they'll pivot more toward the middle because i think they have to. this election is going to be decided by independents, suburb

for now the obama team is relying on its own fund-raising and of that the dnc. >> you may have seen the story where rick santorum spokeswoman referred to president obama's, quote, radical islamic policy during an interview with andrea mitchell. sgle wasn't questioning the president's character or the president's religion. as he said, as he's clarified the statement, he was talking about radical environmentalists. he was talking about there is a type of theological seek cuellarism when it comes to the global warmists in this country. he was referring to the president's policies in terms of the radical islamic policies the president has and specifically in terms of the energy exploration. >> stewart called back into explain what she meant. she said she slipped up, she meant on say radical environmental policies as she said many times in that same interview and not islamic policies. >>> eurozone finance ministers have finally agreed to give greece a $172 billion bailout in an effort to keep that country from going bankrupt. let's take an early look at the markets as we get up in your busin

the obama team thinks if if they can pick up nevada, colorado, north carolina, iowa, new hampshire, those states together could make up for a loss in ohio if they have to put up with that and still get a victory and win the white house if in november. they look at different alternative ways to win in november. >> jessica yellen at the white house. the neve tablet thing, that's not enough. >> it doesn't work. it's funny because when the romney campaign started there was an air of neve tablet about hem. >> it's connected with electability. what the people in the campaign learned quickly is inevitablelit is not a campaign message. voters think they ought to vote and decide who is the candidate. that's not a message. what he has to play upon is what you just mentioned. i'm the most electable in these swing states. look at my numbers against barack obama. but, again, he's still going to have to pay some attention to newt gingrich and rick santorum both out there criticizing him as just more obama. >> i agree with you, soledad. there's a lot of volatility and unpredictable about this. it could

. >> reporter: michelle obama teaming up with members of the cowboys and top chef in a healthy cooking competition, part of her three-day trip across america promoting her let's move initiative students from nancy moseley elementary school creating healthy meals with the help the chef and cowboy stars like miles austin and demarcus wear. the event celebrating eating well, exercising and an overall healthy lifestyle. >> i'm proud to announce that 1,589 schools have already earned awards in the challenge this school year. >> reporter: the first lady took on the issue of childhood obesity because almost a third of u.s. children are at least overweight and about 17% are obese. mrs. obama's trying to curb this by promoting the healthier u.s. school challenge program. the dallas independent school district is the leader in making healthy changes for the students and has the most gold schools of any district in the country. >> and right here in dallas, more than 150 schools have been recognized in the challenge. that includes 78 schools that have earned gold awards, which go to schools that m

then there's a don't want to help her out ok when he came down i don't know if i don't get the obama team blood ok and why aren't they helping or yeah i'll get a watch in or who did you know doing it and they're just watching her ok eat the contact the nurse or doctor let them know to bomb any blood they don't believe they're not gonna let him in if he's causing a problem he's to contact the county police officers at the security dept there was no doubt medics are not going to pick him up or pick is why a proper mop will catch the already at. one tooth to whine. like a merchant hopefully will build up well. it went first it will not look appealing that but that's why i guess that's why. we have about it going to court let me just remember that that was out at the pentagon where we're going to benefit your you're at that you're at the hospital ma'am and i asked them i cannot wait for you for the quality of the hospital they're your campaign just like i want to use commercial purposes only ever have it much it's about emerging ma'am as it is not a merchant topic maybe yeah ok well that's no

a don't want to help you out ok when he came down i said i want to be in the fight against the obama team bloods ok and why aren't they helping or yeah i'll get to watch it or. you're not doing it and they're just watching her ok eat eat eat the contact the nurse or doctor let them know to bomb any blood they don't believe they're not going to let him in if he's causing a problem he needs to contact the county police officers at the security dept there was no doubt medics are not going to pick him up or pick is why apart from optical coaches are already at. one to two one. with the persian gulf a little bit on the ground. and if we want to hurt the will of the people there. are. one. thing that i think that the going. to do prevent. their lives than that of the other you're not you're at that awful man. i cannot for you for the quality of the hospital they're very likely to want to use for murder are going to grab it out of them to merge. it is not a murder. maybe they're ok well that's not a criminal thing with the. contract offer. them just lying i want to use for murder only where. it

. >> reporter: one of romney's senior strategists telling us today this is the picture that the obama team would love to paint of romney, that he's out of touch, but they argue it's the president out of touch on the economy, with unemployment still above 8%. while here in the royal oak theater outside detroit they will hold one last rally on this eve before the big michigan primary. this campaign also watching rick santorum very closely. there are some who believe santorum might have shot himself in the foot these last 24 hours, delving into some tricky territory when it comes to social issues which is why we saw santorum himself switch back to the economy today. >> all right. thank you, david. which brings us by the way to "good morning america" co-anchor and host of "this week" george stephanopoulos who interviewed rick santorum yesterday and i watched every minute of it, george, couldn't believe that he was going on the offensive on church and state and the separation of them, against john kennedy. >> and that classic speech that john kennedy gave in 1960. catholic running for president

and then there's a don't want to help you out ok what am i going to be in the fight against the obama team of blood ok and why aren't they helping or that i'll go watch it or to do it you're not doing it and they're just watching her talk abt to contact the nurse or doctor let them know hey mom any blood they don't believe they're not going to let him in if he's causing a problem he needs to contact the county police officers at the security dept there was no doubt medics are not going to pick him up our pick is why apart from optical coaches are already at. one fifty one. with the merchant hopefully it will build up well. and your first one is well. below the. plate there's one. thing that i think that the going. to do prevent. their lives than that of the other you're at but you're at that awful man. i cannot for you for the quality of the hospital there is something like i want to use for my purposes only a very good part of it out of the birds. it is not a mirage maybe they're ok what about a criminal think of it than a. contract awful. to do with them just lying and i want to use for

>> well, it is almost as if the obama team is taking a bye week while the republicans tear each otherrt on the republican primary process field. but i think it's a strategic decision that the longer this primary process goes on, the more they see that it drives romney to the right. and it will shorten the amount of time that he can court the independent vote. that of course going to decide this election. quite frankly if you look at the polls, you see that romney's disapproval rating among independents has actually spiked recently. president obama is focused on the message that he laid out in his state of the union address, talking about housing, jobs, and trying to push up his numbers among independents. >> schieffer: michael, why do you think mitt romney has such a hard time, for want of a better word, connecting with people? >> you know, mitt romney really grew up in a series of bubbles. a very wealthy community. his father was the governor. went on mormon mission for two-and-a-half years and to harvard and a world of private equity. he wasn't a mayor. he didn't run for city counse

there's a don't want to help you out ok when he came to die they want to get in the fight against the obama team blood ok and why aren't they helping or yeah i'll go watch in are. doing it and they're just watching her talk abt to contact the nurse or doctor let them know mom any blood they don't believe they're not gonna let him in if he's caught in a problem he needs to contact the county police officers at the the purity dept there was no doubt medics are not going to pick him up or pick is why apart from optical questions are already at one. one too cute one. with the persian gulf a little bit on the ground oh and norman first will know what i don't want to look over their faces all month when i was playing i mean yes there was. one other guy that was going to make good women duke remember some of them were glad of their god where with them out of the water you're at the. you're at the hospital ma'am i don't like them i cannot for you for the quality of the hospital they're saying they're going to want to use for murder purposes only that it's out of emerging ma'am if it is not a murder the

leader says more people are joining the obama team every week. >> in san francisco, high winds and rough tides had a couple of it could surfers in trouble. the water rescue team was called into service. one surfer's it could went into the water. another surf issue needed more help after he broke his board out there. the surfers're about 300-yard offshore but were able to get back to the beach on their own. >>> some falling branches knocked man unconscious in oakley. the crowd was trimming branches when the man was struck on his head and shoulders knocking him out cold. >> established a rescue system and were able to attach our rescue system to the victim and bringing him down, and then transferring patient care to amr, where he was flown to the hospital. >> the fire departments combined forces and equipment to get the man down. >> the wildfire burning in napa county is fully contained but fire crews are still on the scene to mop up any hot spots. the fire torontoed -- started thursday as a controlled burn but got out oft control. >> firefighters takenning a funeral in crock cet

the obama team is not attacking rick santorum. i feel like we say this often. it's because they want rick san torp up to continue to stay strong and watch this primary last for several more months as the president holds back the official event, raises money and also focuses on the economy. we saw something change this last week in our own cbs news poll. the president hitting 50% in his approval ratings for the first time also in head to head match-ups defeating all of the four potential republican challengers. the president may have a little bit of his mojo back. as the republicans are advertise tracted on social issues and not focusing on president's economic record that may give the president breathing room for a short time. >> schieffer: i'm not one of those that is saying newt gingrich is dead. i've already said he's dead twice. twice he's risen from the dead. he now has the new infusion of money, i guess, john, so i'm not sure it's a two-man race yet. it might be but i'm not sure it is. >> it's not. and the best thing that can happen to newt gingrich's cam

want to get in the fight against the obama team blood ok and why aren't they helping or yeah i'll go watch it or. you're not doing it and they're just watching her ok eat the contact the nurse or doctor let them know hey mom and blah they don't believe they're not gonna let him in if he's causing a problem he needs to contact the county police officers at the security dept there was no doubt medics are not going to pick him up are pick is why apart from optical coaches are already at. one fifty one. with the merchant hopefully it will build up well. well. look you know there. are only. one. thing that i think that they're going to. do prevent. their lives than that of the other you're not you're at that awful man. i cannot for you for the quality of the hospital there is something like i want to you from are going to grab it out of the birds man it is not america. ok well that's not a criminal thing with the. contract offer. we do with this line and i want to use for only where i live. it is not. a hang. for every day after that incident we actually have patients who are actually not

barack obama won florida by four points in 2008, the obama team in chicago looks at this as a very crucial battleground state and already doing a lot of organizing in the state, and gingrich is trying to make the point already he won the most conservative voters in the panhandle well those aren't necessarily the voters a that are going to go with barack obama in november, so this is where we see romney having a strong organization statewide, he did well among latino voters, as we pointed out earlier, that immigration was actually not a motivating factor in the races, so a lot to watch for. >> and, stu, what about november and the lessons? if you are sitting at the white house what are you thinking? >> i think folks in the white house are happy that the republican race is going on indefinitely and that speaker gingrich seems to still be adopting a take no prisoners approach. but i think you have to say this is still a very competitive general election, the president has gotten good news over the past month, both the economic news and the polling data, there is a sense that the republicans a

that slogan, the gutteral feeling captures something i think the obama team has been attempting with mixed results to project. the idea of it's halftime in america is an idea we are now mid-way through a project of national reconstruction, there is promise and possibility just ahead and we have survived and come through the worst. that ad i think more than anything else man abled to project a theme the obama campaign has been struggling toward. that ad is about the auto bail out specifically, a specific piece of policy the president pushed through. the reason the auto bail out is important because of all the recovery policies put in effect by president obama that is the one that has most directly and visibly borne fruit. it's difficult to prove to people without the stimulus package things would have been worse though every analysis says just that. to say to people that gm is now the number one car company in the world again, because of what we did as a country, that is a powerful message. it's particularly useful because none other than mitt romney was himself so adamantly against i

. >>> plus, rick santorum surge is serious enough now that the obama campaign is thinking of taking him on. team obama doesn't want to elevate santorum but they're getting a head start on operation research to portray him as a fringe figure out of touch with americans. >>> motown or no town. headlines like this one. "let detroit go bankrupt." now he's making matters worse by try i trying to get outright wing santorum. is this any way to win a michigan primary? what happens in november if either guy wins? tea parties have seemed to have sprung a leak. are they a governing party or permanent protest party? a friend of this show and a colleague of mine for years, pat buchanan. we begin with the fight over birth control and how republican men might be reaching for trouble, especially woman trouble. michael steele is chairman of the republican party. both are msnbc political analysts. i see the smile on my colleague's face and therefore, even though she's wearing green at least a month ahead of time, which is appropriate for my friend, joan, and i would expect a month celebration for st. p paddy's da

democrats, the obama team, thk

president obama's campaign team was thrilled with the endorsement. the campaign's twitter feed posted video of trump and romney with a helpful note saying, in case you missed it. the timing couldn't be worse for the romney campaign. yesterday romney said he's not concerned about the very poor. now he's endorsed by a guy who is concerned about one thing, and that's being very rich. get this, the washington post reported 25%, a quarter of the money amassed by romney's campaign in an allied super pac has come from 41 people, each of whom has given more than $100,000, nearly a dozen of the donors have contributed $1 million or more. the pro romney super pac even got a $250,000 donation from a company with only a post office box for a headquarters and no known employees. go figure. it is the republican way. a very small number of very rich people are really making mitt romney the next nominee, don't you think? romney is the candidate of the 1%, the obama team knows what the guidelines are. make sure the american people know what this is all about. get you

. >> reporter: one of romney's senior strategists telling us this is the picture that the obama teamuld love to paint of romney, that he's out of touch. but they argue it's the president out of touch on the economy, with unemploy s

democrats, the obama team, think they can play there this time?ey are insistent they can because of the surge in registered latinos there. they're convinced they

the obama team knows what the guidelines are. make sure the american people know what this is all about. get your cell phones out. i want to know what you think. tonight's question -- which candidate is more concerned about the poor? text a for president obama, text b for mitt romney to 622639. you can always go to our blog at ed.msnbc.com. we'll bring you the results later on in the show. i'm joined tonight by michael eric dyson, msnbc political analyst and georgetown university professor and caroline heldman, professor of politics at occidental college. welcome tonight, both of you. appreciate you being here. get this, romney is walking back his comments about the poor this evening. he told a nevada news program we don't have the tape, but we got the quote, it was a misstatement. i misspoke, he said. i've said something that is similar to that, but quite acceptable for a long time. now, here are some examples of what romney has been saying for a long time. >> we've got to provide help to the people who have been hurt most by th