paul ryan. watching ryan introduce romney tonight and seeing how base republicans reacted to president obama targeting paul ryan today in that speech, i think there's going to be a lot of pressure on mitt romney to pick paul ryan. while that might leave some democrats giddy about it, that makes the base just as giddy for the republican party. could be a fascinating ticket preview that we got tonight. >> the romney/ryan ticket taking shape. joining us now is rachel maddow and steve schmidt, nbc political analy analyst. rachel, these republicans just talk right through your show and rick santorum seizes part of your show and romney seizes part of your show. do you have any unexpressed thoughts on tonight's proceedings? >> i have very many. >> that your audience would have heard if mitt romney didn't grab your microphone. >> thank you. you are very kind. the romney/ryan prospect is interesting. the democratic and particularly the liberal perspective on that is oh, please, go there. we had yourself

if it's not paul ryan, it has to be something like paul ryan. >> rachel maddow made the point that ryan can be a really boring speaker. does he have the capacity with rhetoric to light up a room? >> no. he's not a particularly exciting speaker. you saw that when he did the response to the president's state of the union last year. >> yeah, yeah. >> but one thing about paul ryan people should understand, he is a very charming man. he is very, very good in tv interviews, and he can handle himself. he can take the hits, and so in many ways they will look at him as an appealing candidate. he's not the guy that wows the convention with a great stump speech. >> john nicholls and steve kornacki, thank you both for joining me tonight. >> sure. >>> coming up mitt romney has decided to attack president obama on religion. now mitt romney is saying the president is a secret atheist. that's next in the rewrite. >>> later, as the fbi continues to investigate the killing of trayvon martin, george zimmerman has added a second lawyer to what is is now his defense team. we have video of that lawyer appear

he loves being next to paul ryan because paul ryan will be around no matter what. walk ser a much more volatile player. romney and santorum are glad to talk about how they agree with walker there, big for the anti-union stuff, big for the cuts, but to be photographed with scott walker at this point is a rather dangerous thing. i think walker and romney understand that. that picture comes back to haunt men if walker is defeated in recall or runs into big legal trouble, that's embarrassing for romney. walker is going into a recall election where he's going to desperately be trying to present himself as a moderate figure, so he really doesn't want a picture of him next to presidential candidate who has had to run hard hard to the right. bottom line is, i think they have sort of decided to keep their distance but they have talked each other up in all these cases. >> great to have you with us. in the news tonight,

he loves being next to ryan because ryan will be around no matter what. he's a steady figure. walker is a much more volatile player. romney and santorum are glad to talk about how they agree with walker. they are big for the anti-union stuff. they're big for the cuts. but to actually be photographed with scott walker at this point is a rather dangerous thing. and i think walker and romney both understand that. that picture comes back to haunt both men. if, by chance, walker is defeated in a recall or if he runs into big legal trouble, that's embarrassing for romney. by the same token, walker is going into a recall election where he's going to desperately be trying to present himself as a moderate figure. so he really doesn't want a picture of him next to presidential candidate who's had to run hard, hard to the right. so bottom line is, i think they've sort of decided to keep their distance, but they've talked each other up in all these cases. >> john nichols, great to have you with us. thanks so much. >>> in the news tonight, mitt romney has won the state of maryland and the

he knows what is in paul ryan's mine. other than $5 trillion in tax cuts -- >> that is simply false. on social security, ryan has offered to raise the retirement age and reduced the amount the rich get rid the democrats have offered zero. on medicare, for which ryan and republicans have got slaughtered, he proposes to go to a premium system. the democrats have offered zero except it demagoguery. on discretionary spending, ryan has spelled out all kinds of cuts. i agree come in when area, he talks about lowering the rates but did not specify the lo opholes. having gone out on a limb on everything else, you are asking the republicans to commit political suicide when the democrats have offered nothing on anything. >> he is much more specific on entitlements than the democrats. if enacted, it would have a shot at controlling medicare cuts. the democrats are shamefully non-specific. but both sides are not willing to tell the voters about the problem. >> the people who pay the most are between $60,000 and $120,000. they get abo

at the end of the day i am not sure that paul ryan and the ryan budget, and we have two years of ryandgets and it is the same thing over and over again is a very smart thing. what will come out of the obama machine and the defensiveness that will come out of the romney camp about old people and poor people, et cetera, it is going to get to an elevated point where it will scare people. it is going to scare soccer moms. who do they care about? their kids and image aing parents. that's not helpful under a ryan budget. you can put him on the vp ticket. it is perfectly fine. he is young, dynamic. >> you don't believe he has the ability to appeal -- >> no, i don't. >> independents who may not quote, unquote soccer mom of the day. >> i think he is a handsome man. i am not sure his policies -- >> you boil him down to the way looks. >> no, no, no, i would never boil that down. i am just saying. he is an approachable guy. he is a nice guy. >> midwest. >> absolutely. i look at someone more like mike huckabee and people laugh when i say that. >> why do you think they laugh? >> they say mike hucka

. >>> obama takes on ryan's hope. let's play some "hardball." >>> good evening, i'm in for chris matthews. leading off tonight, game on. polls close and republican primaries in one hour in maryland and washington, d.c., and in two hours in wisconsin. wisconsin is critical for rick santorum. it may be the last best chance for him to make a stand and keep his candidacy alive. msnbc will have complete coverage of the primary results starting in one hour at 8:00 eastern time. but earlier today, president obama was clearly looking past the primaries, and on to november. the president hit mitt romney where it hurts. right in his support for paul ryan's budget plan. the president called the plan a pro january horse that would deepen inequality in the u.s. the republicans have doubled down and proposed a budget so far to the right, it makes the contract for america look like the new deal. thchblts w. >> this was the latest in a series of addresses mr. obama has made portraying republicans as social darwinists. while listening

let me show you how paul ryan responded. quote, like his reckless budgets, today's speech by president obama is as revealing as it is disappointing. while others lead by offering real solutions, he has chosen to distort the truth and divide americans in order to distract from his failed record. his empty promises are quickly becoming broken promises and the american people will hold him accountable for this violation of their trust. your response, the white house response to congressman paul ryan. >> well, what i'd like you to do is contrast that brief bit of boiler plate from congressman ryan to the substantive fact-filled presentation the president gave today. what's lacking from congressman ryan and what is lacking in his budget are any of the statistics and facts and numbers and math to back up his promises. what we know is that in order to pay for substantial new tax cuts for the wealthy, the money has to come from somewhere. and it's going to come from nondefense discretionary spending, only. and from entitlement progr

ryan has run right into a conflict with the catholic church. leaders understand how draconian these cuts are. keep in mind this budget was passed in union -- this is what they want. protesters were outside toot, they said the dignity of the he was sharply critical of president obama today. here is what ryan said about his plan to end medicare as we know it. >> our idea is to force insurance companies to compete to better serve seniors. as president obama likes to call it, social darwinism. >> of course, we disagree with that characterization. >> balm has called it social darwinism. >> it is thinly vailed social darwinism. it is -- >> the president is back by the catholic church and leaders, the organize niedser said, i'm afraid chairman ryan's budget reflects the values of his favorite philosopher. rather than the gospel of jesus christ, survival of the fittest may be okay for social darwinist, but not for followers of the gospel of compassion and love. ryan is directly at odds with the catholic church, and he tried unsuccessfully to deal with

the ryan budget keeps the level of progress exactly where it is. obama wants to keep inflating the amount of spending the government is doing. it is the highest since the send world war. he is now 25%. what he calls a cut the not increasing of a budget he has inflated radically. >> he says if we enacted the ryan budget that it would deal with the budget? >> absolutely. >> do you say that? it does not say anything about loopholes. >> look, i find it interesting that you're dense of the adminirati -- >> i am not defending the administration! what loopholes is the closing? >> he is going to leave it to the house ways and means committee. party has not -- >> not my party -- >> what have the democrats offered on medicare? >> i think the democrats are irresponsible on medicare. i thk the democrats are terrle. it will be capping of the mortgage interest rate deduction. that will be -- >> let me bring this up and go to mark and nina. >> evan is right. paul ryan has a budget where there is none of the spinach. it is in general and vague. charles apparel has

and where exactly is paul ryan getting his radical ideology say to. just put a picture of me when i was like nine years old so to live through. an excess and i am and will get a sense that i love rap and hip hop music and pretty. she was kind of a yesterday. i'm very proud of the all the belgian cd it's played. look look look . you know sometimes you see a story and it seems so sleep you think you understand it and then you glimpse something else and you hear or see some other part of it and realize that everything you thought you knew you don't know i'm sorry welcome to the big picture . as a president said today about the republican budget plan proposed by multimillionaire congressman paul ryan from wisconsin take a look. it is a trojan horse disguised as deficit reduction plans is really an attempt to impose a radical vision on our country it is thinly veiled social garm darwinism. question is where does this radical vision come from whose ideology is it that's motivating people like paul ryan in the rest of the republican party to push for proposa

, and paul ryan live, coming up later in the show. please stay with us. he'll respond to all of these charges. social darwinism. i'm not even sure what that means. we'll break it down for you. americans are always ready to work hard for a better future. since ameriprise financial was founded back in 1894, they've been committed to putting clients first. helping generations through tough times. good times. never taking a bailout. there when you need them. helping millions of americans over the centuries. the strength of a global financial leader. the heart of a one-to-one relationship. together for your future. ♪ so why exactly should that be of any interest to you? well, in that time there've been some good days. and some difficult ones. but, through it all, we've persevered, supporting some of the biggest ideas in modern history. like the transatlantic cable that connected continents. and the panama canal that made our world a smaller place. we supported the marshall plan that helped europe regain its strength. and pioneered the atm,

that is what paul ryan says.f mitt romney would spend time with brian and mitch daniel the party will clarify it's description of the proper role of government. romney i think is capable of carrying that forward. >> paul: we have to take one more break. hits and misses of the week when we come back. rsting with more f. [ crunches ] mmm. ♪ [ male announcer ] pringles... bursting with more flavor. [ crunch! ] ♪ i have two products in front of you. we are going to start with product x. this is a very affordable product that will help save you a, lot of money. i like it.. i like it too. this is product y. this is a much more expensive product. you will not see a lot of savings with this one... harsh. you chose geico and you did not choose their competitor. was this your first car insurance taste test? >> paul: time for hits and misses of the week. james, first to you. >> the hit to the president. kudos to president obama signing the jobs act. it will make it easier for companies to raise capital. >> and with win for

i don't think that ryan is romney's achilles heel.s about organizing and fund raising and the things that obama excelled at the republicans are going to have to do that because basically, it's a discussion between the debt and deficit. and scaring grandma. if they don't get their message out there and somehow convince people that the obama path means higher taxes and lower standards of living for the american people they're not going to be able to do it. scarring grandma is more powerful. >> mary is basically saying that the republicans don't get lost in the weeds whether you're down syndrome and autistic children are on the street. play with obama, but fight back on debt and deficits and growth? >> i think that basically, they have to fight back on the condition of the economy. look, paul, that speech and the things that you just described, i not only is he going to run it on. i think it's a fairly potent strategy it run on. >> it's particularly asked women, it plays to their-- >> here is the irony, paul. barack obama had resided ove

should pick paul ryan as vp.ul ryan budget, he ought get the guy to sell it and push it. on the other hand if you are somebody else who wants to be president in 2016, why would you sign on thinking you should have called the romney campaign? they are going down fast. more people see mitt romney the less they like him. mitch dan yields or chris christie or jeb bush or anybody who thinks they have a chance, i don't want to be anywhere near this ship. >> paul ryan, the paul ryan plan and augusta, the master's jamal simmons, democratic strategist in studio with us 866-55-press, your ticket to join the conversation here on this thursday, april 5th. how about it? >>welcome to the war room. >>jennifer granholm joins current tv. a former two-term governor. >>make your voice heard. >>detremined to find solutions. >>that partnership in order to invest in our country is critical. >>driven to find the truth. >>how did romney get his groove back? >>fearless, independent and above all, politically direct. keeping it real. ♪ >>

paul ryan denounced them as false. is it good politics for the republicans to be running defending the ryan budget or is that a loser? >> i think it is. i think there was a question, i mean this has been an internal debate among republicans for quite some time. a stewardship election that focuses on the president and his record on jobs or is it going to be about something bigger about vision, about the future of the country. and i think as byron and david have pointed out both campaigns seem to have settled on this debate being one about the big picture. and i think republicans look embracing paul ryan's budget gives republicans an opportunity to make it also about leadership and to say we have taken political chances and gotten specific on a number of issues the president has told us starting in february of 2009 would be at the center of the debate about the fiscal future of the country and he hasn't given us leadership on that. >> i think that romney's decision to embrace paul ryan in the way that he has is a bold mo

and so there are two problems with this statement for one ryan is undermining his apology by calling dempsey a liar again on friday the general said the following about the white house plan he said this was very much a strategy driven process to which we map the budget if he still thinks of the generals lying their lives i'm just saying it now the second problem is the paul ryan is the last person who should be criticizing a budget driven strategy will be like the catholic church criticizing former congressman mark foley creeping out under aged boys take a look at this one. this coming debt crisis is the most difficult places we've ever had in this country. and look what's happening this is why we're acting this is why we're leaving this is why we're proposing and passing of the house budget fix this problem would save our country for ourselves and for our children's future. pretty scared yet and i agree with the budget eventually one day has to be balanced but if you actually look beyond the talking points the ryan budget which was passed by the house last week cut the problems it c

>> ryan is proposing something, republicans proposed something.ts proposed nothing. look, the former cbo director points out that average spending for the federal government in the last 50 years has been over 20% of the economy every year. what is the average spending the ryan budget in the next decade? exactly that. over 20%. obama is the one who has been radical. 25% of the economy that he is spending out of washington is the highest since the second world war. he is the one who has been radical. $1 trillion deficit. we never had one in american history. he has had four in a row. he's increased the debt by $5 trillion in one term. radical unprecedented. he says he admits openly, he says medicare is going to become incontrol vent, he proposed nothing on that. as you pointed out, he, himself, proposed a budget which defeated his own in the house by 414-nothing. one he proposed last year defeated in the senate, which he controls 97-nothing. that is radical. >> bret: they point out that the house version was put up by a republican as a stunt vote. b

and this from ryan.ica was absolutely pure china and other countries would just keep polluting, this is a diversionary tactic for the election in an effort to shift focus from the dwindling economy and soaring gas prices. keep the conversation going. facebook.com/carolcnn. thanks as always for your comments. cnn "newsroom" continues with

and here's what's coming up tonight on the big picture alice republicans again passed paul ryan's budget yesterday and under it forty six million americans on food stamps will see massive cuts to their benefits over the next decade is this really the moral way to govern the nation by stealing from the board giving to the rich also mitt romney may be the republican nominee for president his fellow republicans are less than thrilled romney really when americans vote if he can't win over those in his own party that is more than i said low liberal and just weeks after the anniversary of the focus human disaster more bad news is coming out of that crippled nuclear power plant what are officials now saying about the possibility of another nuclear disaster one that would be even more devastating and sure noble. you need to know this tuesday night house republicans even as multimillionaire congressman paul ryan's radical budget for the romney rich coincidentally republicans use the same deem and pass tactic to pass the budget that they've criticized democrats for trying to use back in two thousa

ryan is right. that's what i this ryan plan adventure is so costly. >> all right. hold on one second, because i want to ask james carville, there are two interesting stories out today. we look at these gaps between mitt romney and barack obama and the hypothetical tie-up. obviously the gap has increased in barack obama's favor, but there are some who think this race could be tight. muslims make up less than 1% of the population but there's muslims in swing states and they could turn the vote. that sort of sounds like the jewish conversation a few months ago when it came up that 46% of the jewish population that supported barack obama were not excited about voting for him this time around. can you see a small group like this making a difference? >> look, if it's a close selection which is a possibility, they could. there's 150,000 -- there are more mormons in florida than i thought when i was reading up on the florida primary. they could make a difference. once you get down to, you know, really tight numbers, any number of groups can make a difference. you know, tur

he be introduced by paul ryan. he and paul ryan have been joined at the hip the last few days. why did the president focus on the house republican budget and name mitt romney personally in this speech today? does he see mitt romney's policy essentially as what paul ryan has prescribed? >> well, yes because mitt romney said that his policy is what ryan described. he's been campaigning with ryan over the past week traveling around wisconsin saying ta one of the first things he'd do as president is pass the ryan budget. i think it was appropriate to mention him today and talk about the consequences of ryan's policies, romney's policies, the ryan-romney budget on seniors and middle class. >> what was the allegation that it was thinly veiled social darwinism? i think about letting the weak die and letting the strong survive. is that what the president was saying? >> look at what the budget does. it ends medicare. it's the largest cut in medicaid we have seen. it makes the mid class and seniors pay for tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires. >> i have to interrupt you for a momen

washington's high standards well to me it seems like ryan's of ocracy is recently level of absurdity which is why tonight he is the clear winner of articles i'm working. hi guys it's time for happy hour and joining me this evening archie producer jenny churchill and jim hansen retired special operations master sergeant and military blogger at black eye dot net hey guys i am having monday. so this one i just really i love first but first saw you know mitt romney has a little bit of a people problem people call her robe if he can really relate and there's one other word that we see a tribute to him alive. mitt romney say what you will about the guy but you say it is a stiff mitt romney who is known as being so stiff it turns out that he's even stiff we eat. all right so his wife ann romney who actually does have personality and comparison to mitt romney trying to save the day but. this is too funny she said i guess we better and let the real mitt romney out because he is not not stiff. i think i think she had to have now. i mean really i think this is her china has some personality and

paul ryan announced in this fall.d politics for the republicans to be running, defending the ryan budget or is that a loser? >> i think it is. there was a budget -- question. is this going to be a stewardship electionn or focused on the president and his record on jobs or about something bigger and vision and future of the country. i think as byron and david pointed out. both campaigns have settled on the debate about the big picture. and republicans, look embrace the paul ryan budget say we have taken political chances and gotten specific on a number of issues that the february said in february 2009 would be at the center of the debate and fiscal future of the counselry and he given us leadership. >> i think mitt romney's done a bold move and helps him with the base and helps him also repair his image as someone who is too cautious and not willing to do something bold. >> there is a lot of flies on the paul ryan plan that would be hit by the democrats. it slashes domestic spending. it will not mention the tax loop ho

>> he was very auditory on the ryan republican budget, and the ryan republican budget doubled the interestates in july 1st of this year. that's why we're fighting so far. and finally the republicans have joined us in saying they're now for lowering the interest rates, but they're going to take that out of the hide of the most vulnerable people. i mean, just now women are getting full access to health care because of the health care reform bill, and now they're going to take away screening, once again for women, for breast cancer and cervical cancer. >> there is no connection between student interest rates and the health care bill, what roy blunt was talking about. it's amazing where the republicans will go. congressman george miller, great to have you with us tonight. >>> senator majority leader harry reid is singing the praises of a bill to save the postal service. hold the phone. i think i -- we still have some work to do on this. bernie sanders will join me next. i'm not saying there's not some victories, but we've got work to do. the president slow jams the news. the right wing flips o