his opponent in this campaign, romney or obama? be right back. chris: welcome back. president obama openly cartoons mitt romney as a poster boy for the 1% in this country, the very rich. this week romney again said obama has failed as president. this week's big question -- for whom is it more dangerous to go totally negative? >> they're both doing it. chris: who is going to look worse doing it? >> i think it's not going to matter. chris: a wash? >> i agree. maybe a slighter bigger risk for obama because romney we've seen going negative already in the primary. it's worse for obama. i think he would be shooting down. chris: that's a nixon reference, by the way. always be shooting up. >> exactly. >> they're both going to need to do it but it won't matter that much but it is more dangerous for obama because his record matters more. chris: they should run on their records the thank you to the round table, michael duf what'll it be? i'll have blueberry pancakes. uh huh. actually, make that glazed pecans... ok. with chocolate... no... caramel sauce. whipped cream? uhhhhhhh,

chris: when we come back, who risks more by trying to destroy his opponent in this campaign, romney or obama? his opponent in this campaign, romney or obama? be right back. it's kind of a big deal. to find nutritious and gluten-free cereals my whole family actually loves? well, the word "wow" comes to mind. and then a friend told me chex has five flavors that are gluten-free. even a cinnamon one the kids love. a nutritious cereal that makes everybody happy? like i said, wow. [ male announcer ] chex cereal. five flavors. good and gluten free. chris: welcome back. president obama openly cartoons mitt romney as a poster boy for the 1% in this country, the very rich. this week romney again said obama has failed as president. this week's big question -- for whom is it more dangerous to go totally negative? >> they're both doing it. chris: who is going to look worse doing it? >> i think it's not going to matter. chris: a wash? >> i agree. maybe a slighter bigger risk for obama because romney we've seen going negative already in the primary. it's worse for obama. i think he would be shooting down.

if that's where america is, who is right, romney or obama? game on. romney versus obama.ame from chris christie. >> when the american people no longer believe this is a place where only their willingness to work hard and to act with honor and integrity and ingenuity. then we'll have a bunch of people sitting on the couch waiting for the next government check. >> for president obama, the election is about fairness. >> i want to spend trillions of dollars more in tax breaks for the very wealthiest of americans, even if it means adding to the deficit, even if it means gutting things like education, clean energy or medicare. >> on fox news, republican pundit accused republicans of stoking class envy and fears of entitlement programs. they zing back with socialism and welfare state. romney equals the robber barron, obama welfare. translation, sound government programs help the economy. republicans say less government, less regulation and lower taxes accomplish the same thing. the talk back question for you, rich versus poor, if that's where america is, who is right? romney or

what's funnier, romney or obama?'s start with the stipulation that that's not really a fair comparison. they're at different points in their comedy careers. these days, barack obama is working big rooms where it's easy to get the big response. >> as some of you heard, the state of hawaii released my official long form birth certificate. tonight for the first time i am releasing my official birth video. (laughter) >> jon: book! he's killing! literally, actually. during that speech, as it was taking place, around the same time seal team 6 was taking out osama bin laden. that's true. (cheers and applause) meanwhile, romney is working the smaller venues slugging it out dealing with small crowds like this appearance before a group of out-of-work voters. >> i should tell my story. i'm also unemployed. (audience reacts). >> jon: okay, two things. as a seasoned comedian, i'm going to tell you. one, you want to put distance between you and the audience. there's a reason comedy isn't done around a table. and number two, you do

romney or barack obama?a is working the big rooms where it's easy to get the big response. >> i am releasing my official birth video. >> boom, he's killing. >> literally, actually during that speech as it was taking place, around the same time, the s.e.a.l. team 6 was taking out osama bin laden, that's true. meanwhile, romney is working the smaller venues, slugging it out. dealing with small crowds, like his appearance before a group of out of work voters. >> i should tell my story. i'm also unemployed. >> you don't want to heckle your audience. lately, obama has been a little off his game comediwise. >> with a rule like that i guess it was worth crying over spilt milk. >> so in the final analysis, i'll going to give the edge in being funny for mitt romney. you know why? for him comedy is not just a pasttime. it's a passion. >> i live for laughter. >> the edge goes to romney because he lives for laughter. unless there was a piece of videotape somewhere improbable of him saying the exact opposite of that on t

kids ten and twelve years old are ron paul supporters so ron paul is the future even if it's romney or obama was inaugurated coming in january now a lot of what's behind this whole phenomenon with ron paul is that if he's been called consistent in his message anti-war message small government message to what extent do you think ron paul has been successful and changing the political conversation especially within the republican party. well certainly among you know the young people are a different story from the republican party that were i to say i don't have much respect or liking for the republican party programs already is pretty bad bunch will have to look at what they did when george w. bush was sort of the romney it is time you know fast deficits past wars expansion of the police state i'm in a bamma is just george w. bush with a different haircut so it's. i think the republican party i don't know i mean i i think it has to be my own view is that this is an educational struggle and hearts and minds are changed outside of political parties which are just partisan and it's just about my

that people do right and then sure absolutely i'm not going to recommend that somebody vote for romney or obama obama any night. you know in two thousand and eight mary a lot of ron paul supporters were pretty upset after giving him millions of dollars for his campaign that he didn't run as a libertarian i know that he was also going to run for congress again and maybe had something to do with it and people like to you know put him in the box of you were a libertarian are you republican libertarian or what not but would you say i mean would you support him running libertarian you think that that's a chance that he would run as a libertarian if he does not win the nomination i mean it's his last horizon what does he have to lose. i really don't know if running as a libertarian is the answer i would definitely encourage him to run i will make as big of an support for him as i can no matter what the name of the party is or whatever but i really strongly feel our roots are in the republican party people are joining the republican party getting back to its roots and this is after his two thousand an

romney is worse on this issue. obama's campaign is funded by small donors who give $250 or less. campaign is only 10% small donors. 90% of romney's super pac gave $20,000 or more. with romy, it's all large donors. his campaign is literally funded, supported by and catered to the richest americans. >> look, i agree with everything that ari said, but the problem is you'll have the worst of the worst, or you're going to have someone who is a little better. is that fair or is that not fair. >> it's kind of fair. ari is right. there is a fundamental problem that we shouldn't have a search that functions this way. now that we do have a system that function this is way we're getting the lesser of two evils with obama. i agree with that. and i also have to point out there is a qualitative difference between a meeting at a white house or a presidential retreat. that implies that you're hiking with the president and canoeing with the president. if you're canoeing with the president you're going to get a tax cut. that must be a rule. and i mean also, on an ideological level obama may be tak

again, it is fine for romney or obama to jump in on this.hey are playing politics, we have to get to the core issue on the student loan program and it is the overspending issue. >>neil: thank you, day. the president is taking this issue head on but are his facts off? >> you have one member of congress who compared the student loans, i'm not kidding here, to a stage three cancer of socialism. stage three cancer ... i don't know where to start. what did you mean? what are you talking about? >>neil: shear where we can start. getting right what the congressman said. and i quote, "america has the equivalent of stage three cancer of socialism because the federal government is tampering in all kinds of stuff, it has in business tampering in." the republican congressman, any reaction, congressman from the president misquoting you? we >>guest: yes, the president clearly misquoted me and he is good at personal attacks but he is terrible at attacking problems. part of the reason he uses the same solution for every problem. more government. more and mor

. >> romney or obama, who has -- you have to keep this quite brief, the best solution, if it's thoseonomic woes america is facing? >> i have problems with both. of the two, i would take obama at this point. the key weakness obama has, he's not talking about the revenue. 40% of people who use social, you get a pension. or use medicare to pay for the welfare costs. those are not just the quintessential government programs, you have to explain to people why the government provides these services. these are very important. elderly americans would not survive well. you see a lot more poverty. you have to have the tax revenue to put thoses ises on a sustainable basis. >> i think there's a weird sort of thing that you cannot raise any taxes ever again in this country. the fascinating white house burning on national debt, why it matters to you coming up. matters to you coming up. >>> masters winner bubba watson. went down in that fiery bus crash. sisterhleee lost a beautiful n that day but we gained the knowledge that priceline has thousands and thousands of hotels on sale everyday so i can

have you decided we without will support this time, romney or obama? and in a minute, what are your thoughts of the two of them? >>guest: i am going to try something different this year. i am going to try to stay out of this. i am not running for re-election. i am enjoying not being involved in the nastiness of campaigning in america these days and this year, when it comes to the presidential election, i am going to do what most americans do, go into the voting booth on election day and in the privative the booth cast my vote. this is a very important election, and i will say that, it seems obvious from the polling that is going on the whole year, the american people are very unsettled, very uneasy about the economy, about the government, and they have changed their mine a lot as this goes on and this is going to be a very close and unpredictable presidential election to election day. >>chris: senator lieberman, thank you for coming in today. service storys. >> thank you. >> up next, indiana governor mitch daniels joins us to talk about the economic re

obama's approval rating is 46-47%. not at 50%. voters don't like obamacare or the stimulus or the notion of $1.2 trillion deficit forever. president romneyromney." governor romney, candidate romney needs to make a case he can be president romney. the election is romney's to win. don't disqualify obama. he is the incumbent and has 45%, not much more. this is contrarian i think, every conservative i know wants president romney -- governor romney to hammer president obama as much as possible. i actually think it's a mistake. the best way to convince voterrous can be president is to be presidential. that means giving serious speeches about foreign policy, supreme court, about the debt and deficit and running a high-road, big picture campaign. >> chris: joe, agree with that? >> that is what romney should try to do. i don't think he will be able to do it. look, this is going to be a really mean-spirited campaign all the way down to the wire on both sides. we have already seen it. it is going to happen. i don't think the romney campaign will be able to stay above it. >> chris: how about the can date himself, and candidate obama? >> well, the ca

have you decided who you are going to support this time, romney or obama? and in a minute, what are your thoughts about the two of them? >> i'm going to try something different this year. i'm going to try to stay out. >> chris: hasn't worked out the last -- >> i'm going to try to stay out of this one. i'm not running for reelection. i'm enjoying not being involved in the nastiness of campaigning in america these days. this year when it comes to the presidential election i'm going to do what most americans do, go into the voting booth on election day and in the privacy of the booth cast my vote. this is an important election. it seems obvious from the polling going on the whole year the american people are unsettled and uneasy about the economy and the government and changed their mind a lot has this has gone on and this will be a close and unpredictable presidential election right down to election day. >> chris: senator lieberman we have to leave it there. thank you very much for coming in today and we will stay on top of the gsa and secret service storys.

let's try to figure out what the cotry would look like in a romney adnisttion, or second obama administration. >> if you want to spend trillions of dollars more in tax breaks for the very wealthiest of americans, even if it means adding to the deficit, gutting things like education and clean energy and medicare -- >> we have got enough, and we will make you live with what you have got r. >> roger wrote a column this week about the joy of putting money into money-market accounts. mit asell t yo money in a shoebox in the attic. roger asks, "the question for millions of americans find ways what, if anything, is the next president going to do for me?" >> mitt romney said in a speech recently that if you work hard and take some risks -- a word president, never uses -- there will be the opportunity for a better life in america. no guarantees, take risks, work hard, no governnt safety net, whicis what present obama promises. we will free the free enterprise system to work for you. forget about the government working for you. free enterprise will take care of you. >> president obama -- what is he goi

has worked is that former close political associates of the candidates whether it's mitt romney or president obama, have left or have set up these super pacs. in the case of president obama, two white house staff people left the white house and a few months later set up priorities usa action this has happened over and over again where the people who are running them are closely tied to the candidates. up you also have in the case of president obama and mitt romney, they are sending their top aides to these fund-raising events. they're claiming we're not there to solicit unlimited money for the super pacs, we're only here to ask for $5,000. but the reality of what's going on here is they're coordinating with the expenditures of those fund-raising events. i mean, i think that happens to be blatant. so this is happening all over the place everyone is doing it. that's not good. that doesn't make it right. and in the end i think the highest priority here is to protect the interest of the american people, not the democratic party or democratic candidates or republican party or republican candidates. the

the idea that you're going to deploy all this as a way to vote romney or vote obama strikes me as completely not mapping on to the reality of women's lives. let me see if i understand it. there was a word, the word choice. that women were choosing to pursue one or the other of the options you laid out. what you're saying there is really no such freedom. these are imperatives, and some how the prism through which we were seeing some of the so-called choices were not in themselves real. >> i think it's one notch deeper. what i wanted to suggest in that piece when i cowrote it. we wanted to suggest why do we only talk about women through this lens of choice? we never talk about men, oh, and then they choose to work. they choose to stay home. they choose to take three months off for paternity leave. men get to live. women are bound up in this language of choice. and choice suggests to me not just already fraught with the word choice because of the abortion wars, but already fraught yet again because of the idea that at every turn women have to bargain barter, settle, compromise that the well's l

are they for romney or against president obama? nst the other guy and not for the guy. 63! they want a bouncer. they don't want a president. they want a guy that will clear the other guy out, but don't they realize they're going to get him in the bargain, ron. they're getting him. >> that's absolutely true. the best thing romney has going for him is there is a certain segment of the supublican party that will vote for anybody except barack obama. beyond that, you have a real problem. and he seems to be totally, totally tone deaf about his wealth and how that relates to other people. here are some words that you should never say if you're running for president of the united states. austrian warm blood and dressage. >> how about driving the bus and describing the poor people as marvelous. >> chris, could you go back to that number, though? if you look at the poll we're talking about, barack obama beat mitt romney by double digits on likeability, honesty, confidence, values leadership, every characteristic you can think of, but yet the

we should be talking about either romney or president obama's policies. rent tangent about a bipartisan ticket. >> because of the question of whether mitt romney or president obama is going to tackle the big problems that we know the country faces and is going to be able to move us forward. it's not a question of tackling the big issues, it's getting stuff done and moving us in what people consider a positive direction. you know, you could argue that president obama has taken us where half the country thinks we are moving in a positive direction and the other half thinks we are going to hell. so, i think if mitt romney were elected, the result would be similar. but, you know, the difficulty in talking about a third party is trying to find -- somebody who is somewhere in the middle, where is the middle these days? i think you have to think three dimensionally on a different access or something, not just a little from the democrats, a little from the republicans. i think it's got to be above that plain somehow. >> back to the news of the day, joe, we have th

clearly it's not a direct vote for mitt romney but it's to help mitt romney or barack obama or newt gingrich or any other candidate. >> uh-huh. sure, and that is all part of the debate in their country. again, this gets into areas where i think most voters would read that, would see that ad and assume it is about the election, and i personally think they'd be right. but the strictures of our law, the definitions of our law, don't always cover the same types of ads that we might think. clearly, if it says vote for someone that is clearly an election ad that falls within the vic of the fica. if there is an ad that is running about, for example, this happened in the 2008, there was all this discussion of financial reform and bailouts for banks and there were also issue ads that were run in that time frame. and because both senator mccain and president obama were sitting in the senate at that point in time, they were also people who were voting on some of these issues. so they actually had legislative issues as well. the line between legislative issues, what we call issue ads, and political ads,

and so i think some of the same things will be discussed should the only get behind mitt romney or barack obama both men are bought and paid for by the same financial interest and so the discussion will be which candidate can basically con the american people into laying down a tyranny for another four years on down we'll be discussing wars with iran ways to censor the internet that's been discussed in past years the head of google and others were attending in switzerland last year when my team covered it so they're going to be discussing a lot of things also how to sell the public on more banker bailouts that is more taxpayer money paid to the private banks that have hijacked our country and they'll also be discussing how to ram through carbon taxes because their environmental hoax has imploded but alice i mean when you talk about the decision being made about which candidate to support i mean we still you know have a system in this country where people go to vote when you talk about future policies being made we still do have a process legislation has to be written laws have to be voted on i

will it still favor a republican candidate, specifically if mitt romney or will it favor president obama? >> i love the echo there at the end, but as you look at the political map, who does it favor, barack obama or mitt romney? >> today the south does not favor anybody. and i say that because if you looked at florida, obama carried florida. he carried north carolina, he carried virginia. i would think rather than to say it favors anybody, i would think that obama has his work cut out for him to carry florida, to carry virginia and to carry north carolina. that being the case, those other states that i did mention in the south, my judgment will be voting republican. so if you had to say anybody was being favored, it would be the republican nominee. >> let me go to some of the students from the washington center. we'll begin with kevin rutherford, a question for you with governor wilder joining us from richmond. kevin? >> i was just wondering, like, in the coming years, do you think that african-americans in politics will have a greater role, or do you think it is just going to stay the s

romney. take a look at this. >> the obama time machine has started spending millions to sling mud or oil at mitt romney. why? because in the five states where obama's attacking romney, gas prices are roughly doubled. >> mitt romney and president obama both looking each other squarely in the eye knowing they're going to be challenging each other. how much, chuck, is the gas price issue going to dog the president through all of this? >> in my history of watching gas price politics, it strikes me as sugar high politics. it always feels good moment doing the attack, and it never is a sustaining attack because, as we know, that number just inevitably fluctuates. overall what you have, you have romney and the republicans trying to shift the conversation on the economy, still keep it tops but they don't want to be judged solely on the jobs number now that is improving. i say, thomas, i want to put a plug, it's coming in your hour, it's interesting to see today, we'll have mitt romney being treated as sort of the nominee. his first sort of what i call speech as a presumptive nominee to the newspaper editors in washin