with only weeks to go before the general election. and what we have seen is that people do find that very helpful, that it is helpful not only in terms of the content of the debate but in watching the way the candidates respond to a question, how they think, how they respond to a competitor, to the moderator. there are a lot of different images and lessons people are taking away from this, and i'm not trying to dodge the question of how it will sway people, but i am trying to say there's no question people look to it for helpful information. i think it's only after the fact that you can see in any given year specifically how it sways people. sometimes it's like the '76 example that steve shows where there's a specific answer that gets people's attention. other times there are images they take away that again remain touchstones for people in a given campaign. >> tim, who outlined many of the stories in the book the students have read, tension city, i want to touch on the book and your reflections on it, but there's a photograph of the 1

the primaries may not be over but the general election has begun. we examine the battle lines tonight on "washington week." >> the republicans running congress right now have doubled down. and proposed a budget so far to the right it makes the contract with america look like the new deal. >> what exactly does president obama intend to do differently once he's no longer accountable to the voters? gwen: fighting words as the leading candidates for president visibly shift tactics. mitt romney is no longer running against republicans. >> mitt romney has already pivoted to the general election campaign. that whether rick santorum stays in or not is now basically irrelevant. gwen: and president obama, like all incumbents, is defending his own policies. >> under president obama, domestic oil production is at an eight-year high. so why is big oil attacking him? because he's fighting to end their tax breaks. gwen: the economy, the voter, the supreme court, the candidates, all caught up in one big political stew. covering the week, jackie calmes of "the new yo

will he moderate those positions for the general election? will he try to pretend that he didn't take all of these anti-gay positions that he, in fact, has taken over the last few months of the primary campaign? only you in the future have the answer to that. us back here, on april 18th, we are left essentially with a betting pool, trying to figure out which of his primary stances mitt romney shakes the etch a sketch on first. him refusing to say anything about north carolina while he's in north carolina, the night before they start voting on a gay rights thing, after having made a huge deal about how anti-gay rights he was in the primary, i sort of feel like this issue is teetering for him already. but i have to tell you, the smart money in the betting pool right now is that he's going to shake himself clean and start over on the issue of immigration, even before he shakes himself clean and starts over on the issue of being anti-gay. this is kris kobach, the secretary of state in kansas, and his specialty and anti-immigrant stuff. he is the g

and do you think that those things happen in the general election, there's only a few weeks before the actual question can be asked, before the actual vote, so in the case of gingrich, people got to actually see that he wasn't qualified to be president and moved on from him, but when you have three weeks between a debate and a general election, and people throw out questions like they did to dukakis, do you think that hurts the process and that those thing need to be eliminated, or do you think they should be commonplace? >> oalthough they're two different points in the process, too, which is a key element. >> i think, chris, that one of the things you need to remember is that the responsibility that the moderators of the general election debates feel is quite different. they're journalists just like the people you have seen in the primary debates clips. but the onus when you know that you are days and weeks out from the election, you're absolutely right, is one that you had best not squander this time. you had best really focus on those issues that are very important for people to und

he is way behind in getting the general election campaign going. getting on par with the campaign. that that, it would have been more damaging to mitt romney had he stayed in this race. had he gone through may. had he possibly won primaries in may and sort of lengthened the. a time that the romney campaign could fully put together. let's remember that some of the santorum's rise had to do with mitt romney's campaign skills. and a lot of it had to do with the fact that he was the last remaining viable anti-romney alternative in the conservative movement. and i think that that is what we'll try to figure out over the next four or eight years of how much of santorum's support was pro santorum and how many of it was anti-romney. >> let's me go back to ron mott in gettysburg. what more do we know about the event that santorum will be participating in? he did cancel and reschedule. he is it a point to be with james dobson and this american heartland conversation on faith and family and the american values. >> i think it is a shoutout to the folks who supported him in this campaign. throw

the general election, oh, it has begun. plus, another case of mad cow disease discovered in the united states. we have the latest on how this happened. and i'm here in jerusalem tonight. my exclusive interview with prime minister benjamin netanyahu about iran, about mir mitt and what lines he's drawing in the lines. let's go "outfront" from jerusalem. >>> i'm erin burnett. i'm live tonight in jerusalem where i sat down for an extensive and exclusive interview with the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu at his home and we're going to bring that to you in full in just a few moments. but first, voters tonight went to the poll in five states. it was a very big night for mitt romney. new york, connecticut, pennsylvania, delaware and rhode island, ballots were cast and the general election has begun. it was a big night for mitt romney. just moments ago he talked to supporters and talked about his democratic rival. >> four years ago, barack obama dazzled us in front of greek columns with sweeping promises of hope and change.

without much fanfare, the general election began. the battle between mitt romney and president obama is taking shape. it's kicked off with outside groups. a multimillion-dollar ad war funded by a group and on friday the american energy alliance is a group that ties to the koch brothers. they pay $3.2 million ad campaign hitting the president on high gas prices. the $9 gas ad is running in eight states. colora colorado, florida, nevada, new mexico, virginia and michigan. here's a piece. >> since obama became president gas prices have nearly doubled. obama opposed exploring in alaska and give millions to is solyndra. we need to boost the price to the levels in europe. that's $9 a gallon. what does he care? >> i don't own a car at the moment. >> this morning president obama's super pac priorities usa action is launching a counter attack with the response ad in the same eight states, but with not nearly the same amount of money. here's the response. >> who is behind this ad smearing president obama? big oil, that's who. the money they mak

. >> perhaps religion will be less important in fall in the general election than any time since 1972, because it's not in frankly in either candidate's interest to get into theological debates. >> reporter: gingrich accepted romney will probably win the nomination. >> i'm glad i did this. for me it was important as a citizen to try to do some very hard things, to try to bring new approaches. turned out to be much harder than i thought it would be. this is a great campaign. we've had great experiences. some things work, some things don't work. >> reporter: gingrich plans to stay in the race at least till the north carolina primary may 8th. meanwhile, republicans and democrats are sharpening their arguments for the general election. both casting it as a choice in how much of a role government should play in americans' lives. melanie alnwick, fox 5 news. >>> two arrests in a string of shootings that caused terror in a mostly african-american community of does at that -- tulsa, oklahoma. jake england and alvin watts charged with killing two people and sending others to the hospital. all

oh really is the general election. new week, new policy. h policy are you going to get if you elect this guy? the house republican paul ryan budget which mitt romney has signed onto would allow the student loan rate to double. that's not great way to get students to vote for you, which the democrats seem to understand very well. >> one republican congresswoman said she had very little tolerance for people who tell me they graduate with debt because there's no reason for that. i'm just quoting here. i'm just quoting. she said students who rack up student loan debt are just sitting on their butts having opportunity dumped in your lap. i'm reading it here. i didn't make this up. now, can you imagine saying something like that? >> somebody the audience, according to the transcript said to president obama that they trusted him when he said he was quoting there. if you don't trust him and you want to know what he was quoting from, this is what the president was referring to. >> i have very little tolerance for people who tell me that they graduate

the general election has begun. president obama ramps up his economic message with another event touting the buffett rule. we will discuss what the rominee and the president need to do now. next. whoa. right? get. out. exactly! really?! [ mom ] what? shut the front door. right? woop-woop! franklin delano! [ male announcer ] hey! there's oreo creme under that fudge! oreo fudge cremes. indescribably good. diarrhea, gas or bloating? get ahead of it! one phillips' colon health probiotic cap a day helps defend against digestive issues with three strains of good bacteria. hit me! [ female announcer ] live the regular life. phillips'. >>> if it will help convince folks in congress to make the right choice, we could call it the reagan rule instead of the buffett rule. >> just a short time ago, president obama stood with millionaires and their assistants and reminded americans that ronald reagan supported higher taxes on the rich for two straight days he has been setting the narrative for his fight. joining the panel is ryan

i am joined by the editor in chief of hot line reads with the general election -- as the general election start today? >> it started a few weeks ago. this just makes it formal. mitt romney is the republican nominee in waiting for all intents and purposes. we knew he was the likeliest candidate to be the nominee. we knew he was almost inevitable as of a few weeks ago when he racked up a string of victories. it has been since late march that any candidate has won a significant number of delegates. with rick santorum leading, how mitt romney and barack obama match up this fall. >> what does it say that it lasted this long? what does it tell you about the state of the party and state of the general election? >> the republican party is evolving. the democratic party is, too, as was evidenced four years ago when barack obama and hillary clinton with all but the nest until the nomination fight was settled, but there is a sort of struggle within the republican party between moderates and conservatives over who is best equipped to lead the party in a general election. mitt romney, the slightly mor

i think speaker gingrich, his campaign is about that. >> with the general election effectively underway, tax policy is becoming a defining issue in the race. president obama is rolling out a populous push to change a law so wealthier americans no longer pay a lower tax rate than most middle class americans. in a speech to college students in florida yesterday, the president said a policy that levels the playing field will serve the entire country. >> the share of our national income going to the top 1% has climbed to levels we have not seen since the 1920s. the folks who are benefitting from this are paying taxes at one of the lowest rates in 50 years. that's wrong. that's not fair. and so we have got to choose which direction we want this country to go in. do we want to keep giving those tax breaks to folks like me who don't need them or give them to warr warren buffett or bill gates or keep investing if those things that keep our economy growing and keep us secure. >>> the senate is set to vote on the so-called buffet rule next monday where the legislation faces tough opposition from

mitt romney chalks up five more primary wins and turns his sights on the general election and president obama. >> i have a simple message. hold on a little longer. a better america begins tonight. >>> mine men out. more fallout from the secret service prostitution scandal. and president obama weighs in. >> a couple of knuckleheads shouldn't detract from, you know, what they do. >>> and we interrupt this broadcast. a family of bears runs off. a pennsylvania weatherman moments before he's scheduled to go on the air. >>> this is the "cbs morning news" for wednesday, april 25, 2012. >>> good morning. thanks for joining us. i'm michelle miller. the race for the republican nomination started last year as a bitter fight amongst half dozen candidates but last night it turned into a rump for mitt romney. the former massachusetts governor swept five primaries in the northeast and he did it in convincing fashion, scoring double-digit victories in every contest. the win solidified his standing as presumptive gop nomination. during his victory speech he focused on the general election and president

election candidate of a major party had not taken it for the general election. there was a lot of public matching funds that were handed out in the public matching funds that were handed out in the primary of that election but not in the general for the democratic nominee. the republican nominee did take the grant which was about $87 million. and the issue about whether our campaign -- our public funding for the presidential election system is sufficient has been on the table for a long time. there have been efforts in congress to revise how it's working, to expand it to congressional campaigns, because of course in our system it only exists right now in the presidential system. and the concerns are a number of them, but whether you can keep pace with given the spending that is going on by others in the system is really i think a legitimate question to ask. i think that a public funding system, from my perspective, is a very good thing. it does allow for candidates to spend more time doing things like campaigning rather than raising money. but it's -- i think i

we had the false starts where we heard the general election has started, the general election has started. i think with the dropping of rick santorum yesterday, the suspending of his campaign we have finally reached the beginning of general election. the romney campaign will want to frame this about leadership. president barack obama had an opportunity to lead the country at a time of crisis and he didn't get the job done. today he is spending his time talking about things like the buffett rule rather than talking about entitlement reform. you heard how jim messina and obama campaign want to frame this they think mitt romney is not likeable candidate. republicans are not popular and barack obama will be reelected on the strength of things he has done to this point. bill: newt gingrich may have a completely different view of all this. we'll talk to him about that in about 10 minutes. back to what the president said just this week. it's the biggest contrast and vision since 1964. lyndon johnson against barry goldwater. explain that. >> you know i actually agree with the president on that. t

it is a huge five-state sweep for mitt romney tonight in the northeast and the general election has begun. in the speech in new hampshire tonight, he laid out the themes for the general election. drawing a clear contrast with president obama on the issue of the economy, pointing to his private sector experience and saying that the real hope and change is still on the way with proven economic policies rooted in the free market. romney dearing up despite the fact that newt gingrich and ron paul are still in the race. he's looking past them and lighting up a crowd, eager for what's ahead. mitt romney, a strong night. effectively locking up this republican nomination. erin? >> thanks, john. well, as we talk about the election in the u.s., one of the most crucial issues has everything to do with where i'm sitting right now. that is what will israel do about iran? it's a crucial question and i had a chance to talk about it with the prime minister of israel, benjamin netanyahu. i went to and visited him in his home. it's an important week for israel. memorial day and the country's 64th anniversa

>> president obama pivots now to the general election. the latest is coming up. >> a dramatic twist in the case of two brothers accused of beating up a teenager. the victim is refusing to testify. >> the forecast as we continue. [captioning made possible by constellation energy group] captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> live, local, late-breaking, this is wbal-tv 11 news today. >> good morning. i'm mindy basara. >> and i'm stan stovall. thanks for joining us for 11 news today. >> do we need an umbrella? >> i would take an umbrella. the current temperatures in the upper 40's and mo 50's. take a jacket. it is kind of cool. the rain is sparse. i think the rain will pick up in coverage. the might be a thunderstorm this afternoon. high temperature of 63. we will check the seven-day forecast going all the way into the weekend. -- there might be a thunderstorm. >> in little sluggish out there. leave early if you can and avoid this accident at 140. they crashed further south at patapsco avenue. the rest of the majo

it may hurt you in the general election, but you won't get to the general election if you get taken out in the primary. >> see, that is the idea that you could look at ken buck, sharron angle, joe miller, christine o'donnell and all these people and decide that the idea is to not lose to those people in the primary. when all of those people got killed in the general election, that's what gets you into sort of a constant purification ideological death spiral. >> i think it's the story of mitt romney's primary campaign because on issue after issue, anything that is a litmus test, he is taking the conservative position on that. terrible position for the general election, but he's felt he had to do it. >> and the president today criticizing republicans for condemning their own past positions as socialist just because he has now embraced those positions. i said at the end there what i think that is. and i put that to stephanie cutter earlier tonight as the deputy campaign manager for the obama re-elect saying is this the president sort of stopping short of criticizing republicans? he named s

those are the people that decide general elections. y, really stumbling there. >> how much is about message, and how much is about money? >> in this particular instance, i'd much rather see santorum out there beating up romney because santorum doesn't have the money to spend on focus groups to hone a message that's truly going to be as effective as obama will have. every single day the obama administration and the campaign will spend hundreds of thousands of dollars figuring out what key phrases are going to work best to make romney into the most unappealing candidate possible. so you have santorum out there throwing blind punches, really not knowing what's going to work and what's not whereas once romney or our nominee is the central focus for the obama administering, those messages are going to be very carefully crafted, and one can bet they're going to be crafted to be maximally effective, and that's just not happening right now. >>> speaking of spending money, it looks like the easter season will be giving retailers and the economy

so he's ready to turn to the general election, as many republicans are. so is it cocky? sure. but he's right. the math is not really there for rick santorum at this point. >> let's figure out what's going on on the ground in wisconsin. let me bring in nbc's ron mott who is in milwaukee. what are you seeing and hearing? >> reporter: hi, chris. what we're seeing and hearing is more frustration on rick santorum's part. he's getting frustrated with the questions about him exiting the race with what he believes is a long way to go. he's trailing in the delegate count. one thing i wanted to mention, the santorum campaign saying that they're in it to try to win this thing. they're not in it to make a point. so they want to look forward, they want to look forward to the race in pennsylvania on the 24th. the problem for them is that they've got a current issue, a current problem in terms of tomorrow. will they win here? we'll have to see. take a listen to what rick santorum had to say last night when asked about will he get out of this race. >> i'm not talking about this anymore. we're

he sort of riding that money wave into the general election? >> reporter: he's going to talk about, you know, not only his experiences as a business man, but sort of the solidity of somebody who created jobs and knows the economy and juxto piece himself against a failed president, president obama and somebody who is not up to the job. you will hear a lot of negative campaigns coming out of the romney people saying that president obama has not been up to the job. put someone in the office who can get the job done. >> and quickly, the mormonism question, it hasn't reared its head. when it does, it gets stamped out. do you see that playing a bigger role into the bigger stakes now? >> i think americans are inclusive and are intolerant of intolerance. i think if someone tried to raise the mormon issue, it would create a splashback on those trying to raise it. i think that, you know, brings up another larger issue. mitt romney has not revealed much about him. he has to humanize himself and talk about his faith. he has to talk about his family, talk ab

the race is now on for the two candidates to find ways to define each other for the general election.e now is the chief correspondent for "the washington post," lois, politico senior political writer, and democratic pollster fred yang. week three of the general election, this campaign to define romney over the weekend we learned that now, and we saw with david axelrod romney's conservative now and david plouffe calling him the most conservative since barry goldwater. so a slight change in tact here, is it not? >> well, a slight change in tact but i think they think there is a lot that they have to work with because of what romney had to do and say during the primaries and they think that he drove himself further to the right than he should have and they're going to try to keep him pinned down there. one of the questions is whether that will be credible over time and whether romney will prove as a general election candidate to be more appealing and less conservative than he looked like in the nomination battle. >> fred, it struck me when i read that david plouffe quote, most conservati

what surprises might be in store for mitt romney if he confronts president obama in the general election? we'll talk about those surprises and more coming up next. what the world wants to know and share is here. demand media expands on the big board. that's good morning, veggie style. hmmm. fohalf the calories plus vgie nutrition. could've had a v8. jenna: new information on a few crime stories we are following for you here on "happening now." a manhunt in bam requires underway for a convicted furnished derer. timothy richards is believed to have escaped from custody in greensboro yesterday morning. he's serving a life sentence for murder and he's been behind bars since 2000. we'll keep you updated on that. two men in oklahoma are now charged with murder, accused of terrorizing a tulsa community, killing three people in a shooting rampage there. cops say online pose inks indicate one of them may have been trying to avenge his father's death. the family of a missing california teenager is offering a $10,000 reward for her return. she disappeared in march while on her way to school. invest

it may hurt you in the general election, but you won't get to the general election if you get taken out in the primary. >> see, that is the idea that you could look at ken buck, sharron angle, joe miller, christine o'donnell and all these people and decide that the idea is to not lose to those people in the primary. when all of those people got killed in the general election, that's what gets you into sort of a constant purification ideological death spiral. >> i think it's the story of mitt romney's primary campaign because on issue after issue, anything that is a litmus test, he is taking the conservative position on that. terrible position for the general election, but he's felt he had to do it. >> and the president today criticizing republicans for condemning their own past positions as socialist just because he has now embraced those positions. i said at the end there what i think that is. and i put that to stephanie cutter earlier tonight as the deputy campaign manager for the obama re-elect saying is this the president sort of stopping short of criticizing republicans? he named s

so this primary's overs are we are pivoting to the general election. romney was in arizona, last friday. and i was there with him. let me tell you, he has found his voice, he is looking to the general election. >> eric: newt is still in it and he is not going anywhere. >> but he is laying out big, good ideas, particularly in the energy area, which i think will be useful to romney, going forward. >> eric: now that we have the primary on tuesday, what do you think will happen as the race continues for the general election in the fall? >> i think it can be a big one. i analogize this to 1980. in 1980, at this point, ronald reagan was 34% in head to head. he picked up 16 points and won 50-43 with a third-party candidate picking up the difference. the incumbent doesn't get more than they pull in head-to-head polls. >> eric: you are predicting a big win for romney? instant that dangerous, over confident? are you worried about that? >> you asked my opinion. we are going to work for every vote. we are pivoting to the general election and working hard. >> eric:

when the general election has one on one general elections and see again or are reminded of the realws. that gender gap will dissipate quickly. >> does governor romney get fed up with how it went before a few years ago and he is back in and clearly the front-runner. everyone assumes he is going to win. is he champing at the bit to get in. >> no doubt about it, this campaign was built for the long haul. quite frankly the great divide and what you want. you wanted great contrast of presidential elections. it will be a big race. obama care and energy and taxes and spending and deficits. they have profound differences on the issues. i like differences between the candidates. it's what the people have a right to expect. >> how is hoos mood. how is he feeling in himself? >> i was with him last week and i asked him, you don't look tired. i have been through state-wide campaigns and you have to look worse. he looks good. he's confident and look, quite frankly i'm a person who believes that this prolonged campaign helped him and made him a better debater and candidate and the dollars is on th

much. >> chris: up next, a preview of the general election campaign. the general election campaign. a debate have two car insuranc we're going to have you taste. the first one we're going to call x. go ahead and take a sip, and then let me know what the baby thinks of it. four million drivers switched to this car insurance last year. oh, she likes it babies' palates are very sensitive so she's probably tasting the low rates. this is car insurance y, they've been losing customers pretty quickly. oh my gosh, that's horrible!, which would you choose? geico. over their competitor. do you want to finish it? no. does the baby want to finish it? no. i bathed it in miracles. director: [ sighs ] cut! sorry tinterrupt. when'the show? well, if we don't find an audience, all we'll ever do is rehearse. maybe you should try every door direct mail. just select the zip codes where you want your message to be seen, print it yourself, or we'll help you find a local partner and you find the customers that matter most. brilliant. clifton, show us overjoyed. no, too much. jennessa. ah! a round of applau

the base and challenged the establishment and now leaves mitt romney free to focus solely on the general election, but will santorum's conservative supporters flock to romney and what happens to his delegates? tax fairness in the swing state florida, will he find it for the rest of the election and the obama campaign releases their first big swipe at romney since santorum stepped down. hillary clinton says the u.s. will proceed with appropriate action, but that isn't stopping them from starting to fuel up the missile. our report from inside north korea ahead. good morning from new york city. it's wednesday, april 11, 2012 and this is "the daily rundown." i'm luke russert in for chuck todd. after 32 states, 20 debates and $180 million of candidate spending and 15 more from super pacs effectively ended yesterday when rick santorum suspended his campaign. >> against all odds we won 11 states, millions of voters, millions of votes. we won more counties than all of the other people in this race combined and we made a decision over the weekend that, while this presidential race for us is over, for me,