it is not the same as romney. lot of republicans don't think that mitt romney had a mitt romney problem. >> there is a difference. >> there is a difference. and by the way -- i am a big mitt romney fan. i would you with president now. they are not exactly the same. romney made a lot more money. that is not the difference. >> he has offshore ties. >> mysterious donors. >> avoiding paying taxes in america. >> i think rightly so, because he deserved it. mitt romney made part of the rationale of his candidacy his job. the obama campaign said, you want to make your private equity career your platform? let's open it up. 3 is not running on that. -- jeb is not real. -- jeb is not running on that. he has ties. so does chris christie. so does ted cruz. >> here is my question. we were talking about the two guys. one of the presumptions people had recently is that mitt romney would not run if jeb bush ran. he and his wife have spoken positively about jeb in the past. we are starting to hear a little bit of shading on that. w

neil: president romney. i am neil cavuto, go ahead laugh, i tell you mitt romney is suiting up. he could make a compelling case he should be suiting up. he is only republican that makes a better run than hillary clinton. so, could mitt be it? could the third time be the charm? don't laugh, republican fund-raiser said that money guys in party are not. they are looking at him more seriously? >> wow, you know they are. there was a lot of buzz did it this summer will possibly mitt romney run again, h he is saying and his wife is saying he is done, but now, i even saw a facebook page, i am sure they did not set up, it has 15,000 likes on a photo, compare to ronald reagan, where he ran a third time and won. neil: i get that on my facebook page with people that like me. benefit he has tied to money guys. they think he did run a poor campaign last time, what would change that view? >> as a fundraiser working with candidates this last cycle, one thing, you will remember, mitt romney was number one serogate. a lot of people wanted mitt romney to raise money for them, i know asa hutcheson,

the question is k-6 ann romney -- kasich ann romney -- and romney.f bush runs, romney probably does. it is christie versus bush most likely. >> if we did christie versus bush or christie versus romney those are ferocious fight. i agree. even though jeb bush lead you to believe he is seriously thinking about it i'm still hearing from a lot of people that he is ambivalent. a lot of people around him still don't know what he is going to do. i will say this. it is hard for me to see romney going after christie. it is hard for me to see the entire establishment being happy with christie. i have said since bridge gate receded a little bit, he is an undervalued stock, he is a strong establishment candidate who will raise a decent amount of money. but some other establishment candidate will get in the race. i don't think kasich will run. i don't think ryan will run. portman took himself out. it's jeb. >> if you look at the governors mike pence might try to make itself and the establishment candidate. >> she can try, but that would be a stretch. >> john thune

if jeb bush decides to get in that romney would take a step back.extraordinary thing unfold in the congress led by elizabeth warren. we were talking about this in the beginning of the show. elizabeth warren said last night on rachel maddow's show, if you want to learn more, go to elizabeth warren.com and she's leading the charge and a member of the senate. what do you think it says about 2016? >> i don't know what it says about 2016 and she has the power to set the agenda. in order to really set that agenda she have to get in as a candidate because whatever she stands for becomes the litmus test that hillary and everyone else have to toe the line on. she's saying she's not going to be a candidate and setting the terms of the debate and everyone else is having to fall in line and it's a fascinating thing to watch. >> dare i say it's a page from the crusian playbook. >> coming up, a house divided. internal splits among democrats and republicans have stalled a vote on the budget bill. i will talk to white house press secretary josh earnest ahead on "no

>> absolutely, jeb bush has two mitt romney problems. one come in the piece in "business week" it takes a look at the fact -- my cowriter, talented, financial. he has opened three funds, including 13 weeks ago. not the action that you would take. they said are you running for president of trying to get rich? the other problem, with barclays, you don't want to be associated with private equity, and certainly not a scandal-plagued bank like our clays -- like barclays. stepping down makes that story, hopefully for bush, a little tougher for journalists like us. >> one of the most striking things in the week of this story is mitt romney being quoted in politico saying, you think i have a problem with this, wait until you see would jeb bush is doing with barclays. >> mitt romney came out and said, "i'm worried about --" supposedly, "i'm more jeb bush has a private equity problem." >> first you are saying that vladimir putin is a hairless bear and now you're comparing mitt romney to a big hairy troll. this is a very vivid episode. >> send all

governor romney is the supply.e's a businessman and he knows the law of economics, supply and demand. >> well, i understand. i raised it with both the governor and his wife when i talked to them both. that is that ronald reagan proved the third time could be a charm. richard nixon after failing to get the win in 1968 years later comes back and gets the nomination and the win. so there is some precedent. but that it would be an uphill battle because so many other contenders are in the mix. >> for governor romney to not announce or have stated that he wants to run or is leading the pack, that states volumes about the desire. >> and make sure that i can have everything in place and, if i choose to run, then i will choose the time and place of but i wouldn't be rushed. >> has he talked to you about this, what you're up to? >> i'm the chair of the party, the way we think of this is that we're kind of peasants out of there,'re grass roots, that's right, we come and we push individuals like governor romney and not just th

mitt romney were on it. he wasn't on it. what is interesting the last time he was he swamped jeb bush. do you know why he wasn't included in the list? >> well, would think he wasn't included so it can be a great story for cnn. >> i don't know about that. i don't know what the criteria -- maybe they were saying well, mitt romney said he won't run, but none of the other guys have formally jumped into the race and so that criteria seems wanting. where would the advantage be for jeb bush if one of the biggest vote-getters isn't even included? >> well, i don't think that the poll is really relevant without mitt romney being included because, frankly, he is still in the minds of most republican voters, and whether he gets in the race or not is still to be determined. so if you're going to do a poll and have it one that is relevant you have to include mitt romney. >> i'm beginning to think there's a strategy that if you're a money-raiser for republicans and you want to channel a lot of the now jeb bush you don't ri

romney will not run. still think that's the case. jeb hasn't announced. if he does announce my guess is governor romney will not run. >> you know the inside talk what's going on between romney, between jeb bush. liz: christie. >> let's stick with jeb and romney. that would put you, if they both ran, that would put you in a difficult position. you believe they both won't run at the same time. >> i believe that will be the case. for the viewers' benefit, when you're in the fund-raising side you are never super on the inside, i want to fully disclose to people. in my role in a campaign, dial 9 and call? and ask for money. i'm a romney guy, i don't think romney is going to run. >> you don't think -- >> a presidential rotisserie baseball, my next draft pick is jeb bush. >> you don't think romney is going to run. >> i don't. if jeb bush announces candidacy for the presidency, governor romney is a establishmentarian. he's a world-class guy, unbelievable team sflier have they spoke to each other. >> one is a dere

romney has said of the romney family and presidential campaigns that we are done, done, done she wasery much eager for her husband to win that election. and deeply disappointed when he didn't. and so she is clued in politically. she wouldn't be saying that if she thought he were running. now, look, i think it's possible to imagine some scenario in which the party kind of turns to him if the infighting is to terrible and no nominee is really emerging i think we are a long way away from that. >> okay. as far as the mitt romney saying he has had his turn, by nature is he a humble man. you know him. is he not braggadocio. is he humble. i'm not surprised at that. >> what do you mean? saying he has had his turn is one thing. saying time for somebody else is entirely different, bill. >> yeah. i don't know. you know how politicians are though. >> i do. that's not the way they act when they run for about the. >> heim not going to do it unless you want me to do it. you have got to come to me. i'm not going to campaign like did i last name. i think that's all true. i still think he might pop. i

romney leads the pack with 20%.ut take romney out -- i bet you romney does not run -- bush does lead the deal, bunched up with rand paul, a bunch of others. what does that do to the rest of the republican field? >> they have to get out in force, especially the establishment bracket. i am with you. i think the likeliness of mitt romney running is pretty small. but someone like chris christie who has been running with jeb bush voters -- if they want to see christie and bush going for the establishment donors, it allows them to triangulate up those guys, push off those guys, take on a different kind of candidacy. >> as people except the deal for the last year, i think money is not sufficient. if jeb bush ends up signing a bundle or or trying to raise money, it would be a huge development. i think, despite my saying there will not be a front runner until someone wins iowa, i think he is a chance to be a front runner. these guys, some have been more active than others. they better get in, as you have said, because jeb bu

from "the hill" newspaper this morning, romney tops candidates. romney, the 2016 -- some would be the parties best candidate -- gets 14% in the new poll released llate wednesday. better than points jeb bush, a favorite of the gop establishment who announced exploring that he is a possible campaign. rand paul bush comes 10% -- chris christie, 10%. scott walker gets 5%. rick barry gets 4%. and bobby jindal, 3%. again, republicans only. who would you like in 2016? party or tico -- tea braces for primary challenge from the establishment. four years ago when he knocked off the sitting senator, now the establishment might strike back. as the 43-year-old lee plotz's 2016 reelection bid, he is leaders under ess the radar hoping to head off a primary challenge backed by and other eaders establishment figures in his home state. billionaire john huntsman senior, and a former gop party chairman. some party establishment are tired s in utah of lee's hard-line positions. he stood with ted cruz of texas when the government closed, and again this month on n they

the state legislators were outnumbered it was between the goldwater wing and rockefeller romney.hat is what nixon inherited with his great to come back. that is the situation i a encountered and how did i get bored? as i was the editorial writer and having some difficulty with my publisher at the time. and i thought maybe i should get out of the office and into the real world. so nixon was invited to fill in for a speech in illinois 50 miles across the river. so he was going to go to a cocktail reception who was a cartoonist at the globe democrat and a good friend. and i said i want to meeting he said i will do it. the event to go over to his house he introduced me to richard nixon. ice said mr. vice president how are you? i would like to get on board early for 68. don't be around the bush. [laughter] he said what do you do? i said in the assistant editorial editor. he said i don't want to know your title. what do you? and i said i write editorials we have to and i rise on everything, local politics national tax policy form policy come on everything. so he seemed pretty impressed

match mitt romney up against jeb bush. mitt romney was doubling him up a month ago. bush was running in third place. the defeated candidate from 2012 running way ahead of jeb bush. this new poll this week, they didn't even include romney. i don't know if romney is going to run. i doubt it. did you i would love to see how romney is zoing right now. these are all the national polls in the last few months that match up mitt romney, jeb bush, chris christie, sort of the three big hitters on the republican side. look at this. every single one of these polls shows mitt romney beating jeb bush winning by 9, by 5, by 8. this idea that he has suddenly surged to the front of the pack, i'm not buying it. we don't have the numbers to back that up right now. why he might be struggling like this, i think we can put it in some perspective. let's go back to the 2000 presidential cycle. he was trying to do then at roughly at this point in the 2000 campaign cycle, this is early 1999, you look a national poll, a favorable impression of george w. bush, 60 to 8. this is among all voters.

i think it's romney to block out romney.e's telling his bunglers, and i reported this the other day that he believes that romney will not run. that's what he's telling the major northeast money man bundlers that do this kind of stuff. whether it happens or not, i can tell you this, jeb comes out with this, you would think that romney would say something if he really was in it, if his heart was in it. we've heard nothing. crickets over the past -- neil: why should he respond? >> well, i don't think romney will run either. i really don't. i think that he's going to be -- he might have an important role in 2016. but back on the money part with jeb bush, i've gotten a call from a lot of my donors saying what do you think i should do because i want to support candidate a who said he won't have a exploratory committee or run. i'm telling my donors, if you get a call from jeb bush, a legacy last name, a guy that will pull up there anyway to hedge your bets, go ahead and write a little check, but don't put your full force. neil: why

while carson was at 10% compared to romney's 20%, let's take romney out of the mix.n comes out in second again trailing by only 3 percentage points from jeb bush. so who is ben carson and where did he come from? >> reporter: dr. ben carson first registered on the political radar in 2013? we can solve the problems at the usually apolitical breakfast he seemed to go after president obama's policies. >> i'm sorry. you know, our deficit is a big problem. >> reporter: fast forward a bit and the criticisms became far more cutting. >> obamacare is really, i think, the worst thing that has happened in this nation since slavery. >> carson is known for his blistering rhetoric as well as an up from poverty personal story. he grew up in inner city detroit and boston. his mother, one of 24 kids, referenced by president bush when he was awarded the presidential medal of freedom. >> she was married at the age of 13 and ultimately was left to raise his two kids alone. >> reporter: in his younger years, carson was a terrible student and even tried to stab another boy and eventually f

>> i think he is more formidable than mitt romney. i think there was romney fatigue last time. beat him by five million votes. the problem with bush, he has some of the same romney problems, off-shore money stuff. but on my birthday, there was a piece written about all the reasons why jeb bush is not going to be the president. some very compelling information. mother jones put out a piece on it today. but i think that bush has the fund-raising ability and the ability to win a general election. a primary, that's a different matter, though. >> caroline -- and we'll ignore jimmy plugging his birthday. [ laughter ] >> i think it's what christina has said. it's very much up and running, despite the fact that he announced it in a very couched way, that he maybe was sort of investigating a run. but i think that a lot of americans are going to be sad to hear that he is, because again, it's what we talked about before. it's another dynasty. to be honest, the idea of another bush president makes me feel a little bit queasy. i don't know about the rest of the panel, but i can't imagine to

mitt romney did not have a mitt romney problem. does this story, a major exclusive, show the dimensions of jeb bush's experience and what does it say about his chances in 2016? >> there is a technical thing with some of these investment vehicles whether he is a key man, meaning that he can walk away from this, and he is not apparently designating himself a key man, so he could walk away from them. some investors would be upset, thinking they had invested in a jeb bush vehicle. we both cover 2012 carefully and went through a lot of stuff related to debate and capital. sometimes there was real stuff there and sometimes there was phony stuff that now there are all of these questions. who are all of these investors? you remember al gore at the buddhist temple. it is a massive treasure trove to dig into. republicans and democrats alike, if he became the nominee. >> regardless of whether he has a mitt romney problem, the story the other day in the "washington post" says he wants to make money and is going to go on board and give paid spe

mitt romney -- this is a game changer in the sense that it could keep mitt romney out.e has said he is not running again. multiple times. guest: yes, but who knows. think this is probably -- this probably speeds up decision to get an. have seen you might decisions in late spring. host: what about the influence party movement in 2016? paper s quoted in the saying, jeb bush does not necessarily speak tea. guest: i think they have done great things, i think, and they are obviously an important constituency and part of the conservative base. but you don't need them to win. mccain mney and john have been nominees. keep ther thing to really -- eye on is whether or not you know -- what happened in 2012 was essentially that we to ught rick perry was going be the man to step up and take on romney. but he fell apart. see you ended up having romney versus the field. when that happened, the conservative split each other's vote. so they can get the jock and not running. meanwhile, romney has the establishment money. what happens, though, if jeb bush and chris christie are running. t

architect of romney care in massachusetts? >> i was economic adviser to governor romney just as i was to president obama. >> do you have documents from those years that we might want to subpoena? let me withdraw the last part. do you have documents from the romney period? >> probably. >> i would hope, mr. chairman, if we were going to have a broad subpoena suggested from my friend from north carolina that it be broad and encompass the romney documents dr. gruber was involved in because i want to see whether this is a pattern. shouldn't be limited just to president obama because after all there is an antecedent. romney care was the model for obamacare, is that not true? >> i believe it is true. >> for example, the tax consequences, is it not true that right now in massachusetts you can be fined if you don't comply with romney care and all through the tax administration in the commonwealth of massachusetts. >> if you don't have health insurance and don't meet certain exemptions you have to pay a tax penalty. >> what happened to

i won't be saying things like the only difference between mitt romney and a statue of mitt romney is and it will be wrong to say that if you guess ron paul's real name he has to teach you how to spin straw into gold. not going to do it. and i am not going to answer the gotcha question am i interested in an open marriage. though i am flattered that newt gingrich asked me. so it is my great honor to introduce to you the herman with the plan, the plan so fine they named it 9, 9, 9, the man of the flat tax, the indiana jones of opportunity zone, the herman, the her-myth, mr. herman cain! (cheers and applause) >> thank you very much, mr. colbert. and i will also like to thank all of you for being here. >> i know he is a pokemon word. i believe the words go like this. i didn't say i was going to say it. to be all these thing, not because i told you ♪ ♪ to ♪ but believe in yourself ♪ america ♪ my brotha from another mother mr. stephen colbert! (cheers and applause) >> stephen: that man has got a beautiful voice. all i can add to herman's eloquent quotation from pokemon is got to catch them

it will force romney's hand. he'll be the team player and see to jeb the establishment move to the party. will he go in there and mix it up? neil: what will he do? >> my instincts is he won't do it. governor romney has a phenomenal life. great-grandkids. the christmas card is fantastic. >> it opens up like a book. >> every kid in the romney family is fantastic looking thanks to ann. i don't know if he'll do it now. neil: he's got to be tempted by the poll numbers. he's got to be tempted by the money guys who is run, mitt, run mitt. >> he's up 19% in the polls. if you're an ambitious person, want to be president, up 19, a lot of things can happen. they're going to start shooting the potato gun at him if he makes the announcement. neil: they'll do the same with jeb bush. >> jeb bush has an old name. but he's a new player in republican presidential politics. old name, old family, but think about what he's doing. he's announcing first. he has a different story on immigration than the average republican. he has a diff

and said romney will drop out? so nixon walks out and what do you have to say about governor robb gave dropping out? and dixon said that is the first i have heard about that. [laughter] but romney bush's gone. then two weeks later they have the new hampshire primary. nixon won with 70 percent of the vote. but people looked at the total votes with rockefeller and kennedy and mccarthy and johnson but nixing got more votes. more than all the others put together because of a project we had. and to people did not notice but ince said the country is turning to this man who is to be the greatest of all time. but eugene mccarthy against lyndon johnson and his johnson's name was not even on the ballot so i was astonished. people who wanted johnson to be tougher. and then robert kennedy jumped into the race against johnson to say he is appealing to the darker impulses of the american spirit than was just brutal. and then called him a complete opportunists. it was a brutal attack. so then we expected rockefeller to go after u

governor romney said this. because health insurance will now be affordable and subsidized we insist that everyone purchase health insurance from one of our private insurance companies as though all massachusetts citizens would have health insurance. the goal of democrats and republicans and has been achieved by a bipartisan effort through market reform as i close, this is exactly what the aca was modeled on and was supposed to be. governor romney was wrong about one thing. that goal was not shared by republicans. for the last four years house republicans have been trying to repeal the aca, but they never explain what they we will replace it with what they we will replace it with. in a few weeks republicans will control both houses of congress, and they we will be out of excuses. governing responsibly does not mean eliminating essential healthcare protection for our constituents with no alternative. it means promoting the health and economic security of millions of americans who desperately need help. with that

that will frame the race in a good way. >> romney wins. >> they'll be. >> the romney-christie race. > will be a big one. >> maybe not. >> i don't think so. i personally don't think so. i think you got a very disciplined candidate who has been through it a lot before who did a lot of things right o and you got another guy that's never been on the field. he doesn't understand what it's like in iowa or new hampshire. >> there are a lot of things even tow mitt romney does well with high rec physician. there is, i think, some reluctance on some republicans, especially staff republicans to say here's a guy, what are the states romney wins if 2016 that he didn't win if 2012. you look at the electoral math, there are a lot of established republicans who think we like mitt romney. >> how about, florida, ohio, virginia? >> well, those are states that you obviously need to win a couple of those to win the presidency. not clear that mitt romney is a favorite over hillary clinton. >> i saw charlie cook was saying, he doesn't think jeb or hillary are likely to run. >> right. >> i think there was a

and when you have romney in there, bush holds at the 14, but romney appears at 19 as the very clear front-runner. and so e.j., when mitt romney hears what jeb bush has to say today, and he looks at these polls, what does he do when his family discusses the future of our nation. >> i'm struck by the accounts with every potential candidate saying this duchbt have any effect on my decision, which means this has a lot of effect on my decision. and i think partly for some of the reasons david suggested, the base for funding a romney campaign is essentially the same base for funding a bush campaign. and i think one of the reasons he may have gotten out ahead of where people thought he was, like moving a little more quickly is because he wanted to send a signal to those funders who might be interested in another romney run. i'm probably going to do this, so don't go over to romney. my hunch is that romney's chance of running just went way down. and i think that poll reflects what always happens this early, as you know, which is romney has the best name recognition because he spent millions and misdemea

is this the kiengd of stuff -- does he have a romney problem? >> i think he does.y do we know about his involvement in lehman brothers around and he tried to bail them out. we know he has been engaged in tax schemes over sea that's mitt romney was involved in. not only does he have a mitt romney problem that may present itself in the primary or if he made it in the general election but he and romney are tussling behind the scenes over who has the bigger problem in equity investments. i think jeb's problems makes it more likely that mitt romney will be in a little bit more enticing. i don't think he wants to give over the mantle to jeb bush. >> bush was there when leman burned down. it's not just wall street. he has project for new american century that hasn't been talked about. this is a guy who wrote the mission statement for cheney, hayden, bush, that are defending bush, he wrote the mission statement for it. it's what got us involve in iraq. it's why we're in afghanistan. it's not just a wall street problem. it goes well beyond that. when this discussion starts

but mitt romney. >> we were in the anti-mitt romney. any of those other candidates had proven to be a viable candidate h proven to have any kind of staying power, it's entirely conceivable that they would have won. it's no longer a given that the candidate with the most money is the candidate that automatically wins. >> he has name recognition, which is both good and bad. but i think that his primary advantage is that he would be the establishment choice. >> yeah. >> i think the grass roots conservatives will have a lot to say about this before this is over. >> right. but also how does it effect the other people who are maybe in his sphere, which is the mitt romney, the chris christies, others who might fit that that ideological bin, if you will. >> no. i think it is a big deal. because those who would be on his wing of the spectrum have a to think whether they are going to go up against jeb bush and how good of a chance they will have. clear out some of his wing. as for the others, there are other people who would otherwise be on the f

we could not have gotten the affordable care act with the -- without mitt romney. it really is true. i am as disappointed as anyone that he has walked away from it the way he has. >> thank you very much for your clear presentation. your answers are terrific. my question is about the public option, which died a sad death. and whether genuine cost control is even possible without a public option to drive it. you discussed these various experiments that we will be doing, but meanwhile my understanding is that in massachusetts, the costs, particularly for employers, are skyrocketing at an unsustainable rate. it has to be sustainable for it to work. can you have cost control without a public option? >> a great question. at first, in massachusetts, it has risen fast, but no more than in the regular market. -- employer market. the public option is a great issue. i am a big fan of public option, partly because it is the brainchild of an academic like myself. he had a great idea. the left wants a single payer, the right wants a competitive exchange. let's put them together.

i think mitt romney would have been a spectacular president in this time. and he was proven right in a lot of his beliefs and ideas shortly after the election as well. >> chris tire is walt is fox news digital politics editor and may guest today. all right, so, he is releasing all these e-mails and an ebook, he is gonna run, right? >> well, he didn't tell me. i don't know. >> come on. >> yes this is what somebody does when they are -- when they are going to run. this is the action of somebody who is making ready for a presidential run and certainly, he has made no secret about the fact that he is weighing it and we have reported before that his people, 'cause remember, it's been a long time, since 2002, that jeb bush ran a successful campaign, ran any campaign in 2002 for second term of governor of florida so they are trying to get it back together, trying to get the band back together, they are checking it out to see what's going on out there but this, and sitting down for that interviewed and the speech he is giving in south carolina today are all provoca

on the republican side, mitt romney, yes, mitt romney is still the front-runner.he two-time presidential candidate keeps on saying he is not a candidate. that would put another former governor on top of the republican polls, at least right now, that would be jeb bush, the former florida governor. he says he is considering a 2016 run. >> i don't know if i'd be a good candidate or a bad one. i know -- i kind of know how a republican can win, whether it's me or somebody else. and it has to be much more uplifting, much more positive, much more willing to be practical now in washington world, lose the primary to win the general, without violating your principles. it's not an easy task, to be honest with you. >> let's bring in our chief national correspondent, john king. walk us through these new cnn poll numbers on the republican side. >> you say, mitt romney says he's not going to run. he says that. but if romney runs, he would be the front-runner if you look at the numbers. 20% for romney, you see governor christie, governor huckabee. if romney does not run, then jeb

so nixon was spking and i grabd him and i said romney will drop out this afternoon.o he walks out andike wallace saidhat u have to s aut veoromy dropping out he saihat is the first ve heard of that. [laute somemes you jt t the co. aughter] but roey wasuthento weeks later the had the new hampshire pimary he had over0 percent of theote he had the right ton r roefeller eene mary and ldo joso more than all e others put together people did notote becae e country is turning to is this man w islose to thrte o alti. but eugeneccthy you got 54 pernt a i don'tnow if there we'rehiin but johnson's day snot even onhealt. i wa astonied that he did this. people wantejohnsoto be tougher. they handled it rribly reye four days later then kennedy jumd in against johnson and began to savage him saying he is apalg to thdoctor it -- t darkermpulses just brutal. d ul kennedy the cole opportunistt was a butal attack then expect did rockefeller he hos press confenc and mr. nin h a habit he did not watch television that we were then were telling him our ipression. th was smart because h wante

joining us about the mitt romney problem, joshua green, welcome, terrific piece. before we get into the politics, give us a quick overview of what bush is investing in, it's mainly energy. >> he's investing in shale oil explore rare, and the companies that have giant oil container ships, and he appears to be invested in a company that does airline servicing in hong kong. the big picture story is he's attempting to profit from china's growing demand for energy through a number of different venues, and he's doing it through these three entities that he started up under britain hill holdings company. >> is that the biggest hurdle, and what are some of the other hurdles he may be facing? >> the link to china could an hurdle. china has been a hot-button issue in a lot of campaigns. one of the big hurdles is the fact that his latest fund is offshore and running in the wake of mitt romney's loss in 2012 we know what hidden investments and off-shore accounts comes with a baggage that proved damaging to the last republican nominee. and so i think there is good reason to su

>> i think mitt romney is one who will not jump in. i know what carl just said and i agree with him. to the degree that mitt romney implied he will get in if the field is cleared and you saw those names. no one will back down just to give somebody a free shot. so i think the ones who are maybe marginal are not even going to be dissuaded because, as we all know. running for president gives you a platform that you otherwise would not have. leah: >> absolutely, jonah your thoughts? >> agree with lynn. i think mitt romney will not get n jeb makes much more difficult for him to get in. he will soak up a lot of establishment donor money. a fresher face than mitt romney which is the best thing you can say about jeb in terms of the fresh face department. ted cruz is obviously going to get in. i think, what could be happening we'll actually see, what you sort of standard model for a lost presidential elections on the republican side, a lot of the sort of conservative base guys dividing up the base o the establishment guy, basically having a muc

romney was moderate. he did his best to convince people he was a quote, unquote, severe conservative, which did kill him in the end. i think if jeb runs, what you see is what you get. and there's going to be a big uproar in the republican party. >> what was the thinking at that event? >> think about who the crowd is. it's a ceo council. a gathering of basically members who are running big corporati corporations. so jeb bush in some ways is the kind of candidate they're looking for. he's somebody who could be seen as pro business. he's been supportive of common core, for example, which is something that the business community is very supportive of, but something that the base of the party is opposed to. and the same thing goes for immigration. you know, businesses are looking for more byes to get employees for their em businesses into what the united states. they' been support i have of immigration reform. that's another thing that the base of the party is just completely against. i think that was the tens

do you have documents for the romney period? would hope if they had a broad copy, if we had everything you are involved in, i want to see if this is a pattern that should be limited to president obama. romney care was the model for obamacare. >> i believe that's true. >> is it not true right now in massachusetts you can be fined if you don't comply with romney care and it's run through the tax administration in the common wealth of massachusetts. >> it is true that if you don't have health insurance you have to pay a tax. >> right. by the way, what happened to the uninsured percentage of massachusetts. did it go up and did a lot of people lose their health care? >> the rate of uninsured fell to 3%. >> 3%. how many other states have a 3% uninsured rate? >> massachusetts is by far the lowest in the nation. >> lowest in the nation. there were predictions that the fines were so relatively modest that employers would be tripping over each other to divest of employee-provided insurance plans and go on to the state exchange. did that h

bush, bob dole, mitt romney.ing point post citizens united where that rule fails to hold? what do you think? >> perhaps. but the most interesting part of this discussion right now is mitt romney. and when you talk to -- >> that's an amazing sentence. >> i know but it is because of the political dynamics at play. a lot of concern that chris christie is still damaged by the bridge episode and jeb bush has not been on a ballot since 2002. whether he could be a candidate for these times with this republican base san open question. that's why they are still going to romney. woody johnson and others saying are you interested in is this something you can consider? i think romney will wait and see whether jeb bush runs and whether chris christie stumbles. >> nothing makes me more sympathetic to people that i think normally i think of as quite ideologically distanced from me. insurgent tea party activist, than reading accounts of debe hind the scenes donors. if i were them i would be like, who are you? we did it. the guy

make you an intimate of the romney administration and the architect of romney care, massachusetts? >> i was an economic adviser to governor romney just as i was to president obama. >> thank you. do you have documents from those years we might want to subpoena? >> ah -- >> let me withdraw the last part. do you have documents from the romney period? >> probably. >> i would hope, mr. chairman, if we're going to have a broad subpoena suggested by my friend from north carolina that it be, indeed, broud and that we encompass all of the romney documents dr. gruber was involved in. i certainly want to see whether this is a pattern that should be limited just to president obama, because after all there is an antecedent. not just an antecedent. romney care was the model for obamacare, is that not true, dr. gruber? >> i believe it's true. >> i mean, for example, the tax consequences. is it not true that right now in massachusetts, you know, you can be fined if you don't comply with romneycare, and it's all run through the tax administration in the commonwealth of massachusetts. >> it is true

. >> some say he has the romney problem.many ways they changed the subject to say this guy is running, he's not afraid of looking like romney. >> quickly on the democratic side, elizabeth warren being so front and forward in this debate, some people say great, she's in the senate leadership, that will be good for liberals but democracy for america, moveon, thare they raising mone because of her or do you think they'll listen? >> because secretary clinton is out there in such the front-runner whether it's governor patrick of massachusetts, whether it's senator warren, someone will get in, someone of substance with real stature and challenge her at some point. i don't know when. >> don't know when. we'll watch around the democrats, great. >>> up next, tomorrow's news tooed. our great reporters share from their notebooks. e financial noise financial noise financial noise financial noise intbladder leak protection.ant new always discreet underwear for sensitive bladders from always, the experts in feminine protection new always

the early money is going to jeb bush, chris christie, mitt romney.erino has been following the money to those who dispense them. is there truth to this? these three are the ones the money guys are -- >> the money guys are talking about narrowing to them. >> why? >> lots depends on -- consider the front runners and they span a more establishment -- romney and jeb would say they're more conservative than chris christie. i say this. the real sort of thing here is where the money will go will depend on what jeb bush does. if jeb bush runs all the money that mitt romney would get from the super pacs would go to jeb bush. is karl rove going to raise money for jeb bush? he can raise a lot of money. and christie is a dark horse. he is head of the republican governors association and theoretically has favors but i think he is still a dark horse. >> well, if he is right -- i never doubt charlie are but if he is right, and they're sitting their sights on three as you call them rinos, you don't like that. >> i think charlie made a great point that a lot of this