new poll shows that voters don't think that mitt romney is honest or trustworthy or likeable or admirable. i could go on and on. i think i will. >> morning, y'all. good to be with you. >> how excited are they about willard mitt romney? >> so far they're not. >> we know that romney has his own problems. >> mitt. >> chiefly likability. >> they're just not that into you. >> romney's favorable rating is 35%. his unfavorable rating is 47%. >> for all intents and purposes, everyone sees mitt romney as the nominee. >> for all intents and purposes. >> are you ready to endorse him? >> why hasn't rick santorum endorsed mitt romney yet? >> i'm not making official endorsements. >> i can't find anybody that's excited about romney. >> could it be he's out of touch? >> are you too rich to relate? >> corporations are people, my friend. >> he's a 1% if there ever was one. >> right now people would vote for romney if they think he's competent. >> mittsewing up the rock 'n' roll vote. >> mitt romney becomes president in november, i will either be dead or in jail. >> he's got kid rock, ted nuj e nu

and pulling that lever even though they would not be happy with the idea of mitt romney as the nominee. when mitt romney gets this nomination, what case can he make to those voters? that he hasn't already been able to make to them? what can he tell them that has not persuaded them already? or does he just have to count on them falling in line? it's going to be fascinating to watch. stay tuned. that does it for us tonight. we will see you again tomorrow >>> good evening, americans. welcome to "the ed show." >>> it's a clean sweep from mitt romney tonight. the former massachusetts governor is creeping closer to the republican nomination for president. nbc news called the state of wisconsin this evening. romney is also the projected winner in washington, d.c. nbc also projects romney as the winner in the state of maryland in their republican primary. paul ryan played the role of ann romney tonight. ryan introduced the candidate to supporters in milwaukee in what might have been an audition to be romney's running mate. >> we need solutions not excuses. we need a president who takes

romney tonight. the former massachusetts governor is creeping closer to the republican nomination for president. nbc news called the state of wisconsin this evening. romney is also the projected winner in washington, d.c. nbc also projects romney as the winner in the state of maryland in their republican primary. paul ryan played the role of ann romney tonight. ryan introduced the candidate to supporters in milwaukee in what might have been an audition to be romney's running mate. >> we need solutions not excuses. we need a president who takes the lead not one who spreads the blame. we need someone who appeals to our dreams and our aspirations, not to our fears and anxieties. >> romney continued where ryan left off portraying president obama as someone who wants to transform america. >> i don't want to transform america. i want to restore to america the economic values of freedom and opportunity and limited government that has made us the power house of the world. >> time, money and math are against rick santorum's chances to have any further success in the presidential race, but toni

the real mitt romney please stand up. with his three primary wins yesterday he has all but won the nomination. now the task of defining romney is on, and the obama campaign is happy to paint him as a wealthy flip flopping tool of the right. today romney responded and said that the president is hiding his intentions until after the election. one thing that everyone agrees on is that romney needs to do something to jump start his campaign. is there anyone out there who could join a romney ticket and make a difference? meanwhile is it possible that the only person in america that doesn't know that rick santorum is dun is rick santorum? does he think he can win, or is it erasing the legacy of a big loss in 2006. americans are divided between black and white and democrat and republican for the trayvon martin shooting. and what republican senator is staying close to obama and away from romney. we begin with the race to define romney. michael steele was chairman of the republican party, david corn is the author of "show down" bout are msnbc analysts. let's define romney and what's at stak

gwen: mitt romney and barack obama square off. 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

. >>> good evening americans. welcome to "the ed show" tonight. the romneys have been caught on tape. mitt is hiding his plan to cut government and ann is raving about her early birthday present. we'll unwrap it all tonight on "the ed show." let's get to work. >> start packing. that's what i like to say. >> mitt romney is already measuring the white house for car elevators. he's totally busted when it comes to the war on moms. >> i said, for instance, even if you have a child two years of age, you need to go to work. i want the individuals to have the dignity of work. >> joe walsh on mitt's failure with women. richard wolf and howard fineman on romney's hidden ageneral dap and hidden taxes. >>> 72% of americans love the buffet rule but the republicans killed it today. tonight, a eulogy for fairness. >>> scott walker is so desperate that he's kael calling in the big guns. the fight for wisconsin is hotter than ever. >>> good to have you with us tonight. the romney campaign is busted. they spent the better part of last week creating a public spect cal about of comments made by a democratic stra

know that the mitt romney for president campaign is trying to do this, because they have explained that they are planning to do this. it was that etch a sketch moment, right? but the important thing about the etch a sketch moment was the question that the romney campaign spokesman was answering when he explained their etch a sketch plan. >> is there a concern that the pressure from santorum and gingrich might force the governor to tack so far to the right that it would hurt him with moderate voters in the election? >> well, i think he hit a reset button for the fall campaign. everything changes. it's almost like an etch a sketch. you can kind of shake it up and we start all over again. >> the question is, to get from the republican primary campaign to the general election, what are you going to have to do? and the campaign has already said that it will hit the reset button. lit shake the etch a sketch. it will abandon previously held positions to run governor romney instead as a moderate in the general election. and when mitt romney announces those new policy positions to try to se

fastreliefchallenge.com to get your free bottle. >> bret: mitt romney sweeps through five more eastern primaries this, is a special edition of special report. >> good evening, i'm bret baier. it could not have turned out better for the presump tiff republican presidential nominee. mitt romney sweeping the line up of primaries and solidifying his claim for the g.o.p.. and we are in denver tonight and we begin with carl cameron, tonight said mitt romney's rally in manchester, new hampshire. >> hi, bret. new hampshire mitt romney won the first primary this year, tonight he sets up for the republican race is over. the general election is over president obama used rhetoric discussing the economy playing well the last time an income bent was unseated. take a listen. >> tonight is the beginning of the end of the disappointment of the obama years. all of the thousands of good and decent americans i've met want nothing more than a better chance. a fighting chance to all of you i have a simple mess yanl. hold on a little longer. a better america begins tonight. >> bret: he focused his campaign on jobs and the

the president and mitt romney fully engaged in the general election battle. with enough polls to create, well, a random sample bonanza. >> a couple new polls. >> they new polls came out. >> our new cnn poll finds a 56% of americans have a favorable view of president obama. >> a quinnipiac poll out today shows the president up 4 points on mitt romney. >> romney romney wins, beats barack obama in two of the three. >> a new gallup daily poll shows him holding a slim edge over the president. >> both get 46% support. >> despite the see-sawing polls, it is the favorable issue. a brand new "wall street journal" poll showing romney at a 15 point favorability deficit. of the candidates and their wives, he is the only one underwater with higher negatives than positives. and one need look no further than mitt romney's recent roundtable picnic and the outrage being labeled cookie gate to see why. >> i'm not sure about these cookies. they don't look like you made them. did you make them? no, no. they came from the loco over. >> bakery. >> the 7-eleven bakery or wherever. >> it is the first th

mitt romney by name. >>> on this gsa officials, government speak here, folks, are out after a report finds that taxpayers bank rolled $800,000 worth of training in sin city. the story is more damaging to washington as it only reenforces the stereotype of washington bureaucrats who waste money. good morning from washington it is tuesday, april 3rd, 2012, a primary day. this is the daily run down, i'm chuck todd. get right to my first read of the morning, start in wisconsin. rick santorum claims the state suspect do-or-die. yes, it is. we all disagree. voters going to the polls in wisconsin, maryland and here in the district of columbia. three contests where mitt romney is comfortably ahead earthquake the romney campaign seems to be taking nothing for granted. >> take the next step in which is, which i need to you go out in vote. i need to you get out and vote are get your friends to do the same thing. >> santorum is counting on a rural turnout in yet another big industrial midwestern state to keep his candidacy alive. >> i'm asking small-town america, rural america, rural america, rur

>> comments made by romney during a private fund-raiser. >> romney suggested he could gut all kinds of agencies. >> things like housing and urban development. >> cuts to housing and education. >> it is so outrageous. >> agencies like hud provide some of the safety net. >> i'm not concerned about the very poor. we have a safety net there. >> for folks who are in the middle class. >> my campaign is focused on middle income americans. >> this is the problem with mitt romney. >> mitt romney, naked and unplugged, is kind of a scary thing. >> he was just throwing out ideas. >> ann romney and mitt romney were described as giddy over last week's hilary rosen flap. >> my career choice was to be a mother. we need to respect choices that women make. >> griddy over what it. >> that was really a defining moment and i loved it. >> that wasn't how it meant it. >> it was politically a gift. >> they were desperate for something, anything! >> she took it, she ran with it, it was a victory for her last week. >> my career choice was to be a mother. we need to respect choices that women make. >> even if

romney. >> mitt romney, naked and unplugged, is kind of a scary thing. >> he was just throwing out ideas. >> ann romney and mitt romney were described as giddy over last week's hilary rosen flap. >> my career choice was to be a mother. we need to respect choices that women make. >> griddy over what it. >> that was really a defining moment and i loved it. >> that wasn't how it meant it. >> it was politically a gift. >> they were desperate for something, anything! >> she took it, she ran with it, it was a victory for her last week. >> my career choice was to be a mother. we need to respect choices that women make. >> even if you have a child 2 years of age, you need to go to work. i want the individuals to have the dignity of work. >> dignity of working. >> it's the dignity of work if you haven't got any money. >> it doesn't do any good to be malleable with your principles, to be half measured with your principles. >> i placed your tip in this envelope. make sure you give it to your husband when you get home. he'll know best what to do with it. >>> big surprise, the romney campaign w

believe it is mitt's time. i think it is our turn now. >> the romneys on a roll and they know it. >> this campaign is just getting going. it will be fun. >> fun indeed. just ask romney supporter ted nugent. >> your goal should be to get a couple of thousand people per person to vote for mitt romney in november. >> we need to ride into that battlefield and chop their heads off in november. any questions? >> we will get to ted noog ents comments in a moment. in the battleground state of pennsylvania. what better excuse to send the bridge players shuffling off from the bethel park communicate center for mitt to roll up his sleeves and have a spot of lemonade with a female bus driver to his left and tim from the warehouse to his right. >> tim, you're working in a warehouse? are you paying tax this year or are you getting money back? >> we got money back. >>> although you paid a lot in. >> we have our two deductibles. >> indeed. mitt has five deductibles of his own. sons. or wait. does he have more than that? we won't know, will we, because he's filed for an extension on his taxes until octobe

captions paid for by nbc-universal television >>> this morning, romney versus obama. and what i consider to be two questions at the heart of this week and this race. who exactly is mitt romney? what did his victory speech this week tell us about how he's going to run? >> it's still about the economy. and we're not stupid. >> to the deciders in this election. one key group i can tell you is women. the big question is still, how will they be won over? i'm going to discuss it this morning with two campaign insiders. the senior adviser to mitt romney ed gillespie and robert gibbs, senior adviser to president obama's campaign. >>> also, after the firestorm. she started by going after ann romney. democratic strategist hilary rosen is back, and only here, with a few more things to say. >> also here this morning, msnbc's rachel maddow. republican strategist alex castellanos. and vice chairman of the house republican congress, congresswoman kathy mcmorris-rodgers. >>> plus, it's the morning after. a big night here in washington. the washington correspondence dinner adds a little glitz. i

>> chris: i'm chris wallace. with republican leaders uniting behind mitt romney, rick santorum fights for his political life. we'll talk with the candidate about his chances in tuesday's important primaris and growing pressure on him to drop out. presidential candidate rick santorum, live only on "fox news sunday". then a preview of what an obama/romney campaign might sound like. two party leaders debate the issues in the election, health care to rising gas prices. former republican chairman haley barbour, and former democratic party chair howard dean. plus the trayvon martin case and racism in america. we'll ask our sunday panel if there is a rush to judgment. and our power player of the week, saving lives in and out of the operating room, all right now on "fox news sunday". and hello, again from fox news in washington, well, after a week off republican voters return to the polls on tuesday for three more primaries. joining us from brookville, wisconsin is the candidate that needs to persuade leaders and voters that the race is not over yet. welcom to "fox news sunday". >> tha

mitt romney tonight out of the great state of wisconsin. the good news, of course, is the biggest news. nbc news now projecting that mitt romney, the former governor of massachusetts, has won the wisconsin primary. the biggest prize of this entire election night. at this hour with 93% of the vote reported in wisconsin, romney with 42% of the vote, santorum with 38% of the vote, ron paul and newt gingrich running a distant third and fourth behind them. so that's the good news for mr. romney. that win for mr. romney in wisconsin tonight puts him one step closer to securing the republican presidential nomination. it escalates the calls for his rivals to drop out of the race. it solidifies his image as the presumptive republican president ideal nominee. it's all good for him. the bad news for mr. romney is that he might be going to jail. i don't think he will, but theoretically, i mean, mitt romney campaigning in wisconsin today appears to have broken the law. i'm not kidding. what you're looking at right now is a mitt romney campaign event this morning in waukesha, wisconsin. he is at a s

governor romney. i believe he's the right person for the job. ♪ when old mitt claps his hands for the paul ryan plan, that's amore ♪ >> seems to be the republican establishment, everyone sort of coming out of the wood work. >> it's time to turn our attention to the fall campaign and begin to make the case against the president of the united states. >> the other day he said that he's doing a great job. is he that far out of touch with what the american people are feeling? the answer is yes. ♪ you're out of touch i'm out of time ♪ >> governor romney called the president of the united states out of touch. as an old friend of mine says, that's chutzbah. >> but i never had to change anything i said in the primary. there was no etch-a-sketch issue for me. >> we don't need people who write their public policy in etch-a-sketches. >> i did have etch-a-kesketches for my children, but i thought they were children's toys, not actual presidential campaign design systems. >> i wish my wife ann were here. for a lot of reasons, i wish she were here. >> this is not your father's republican p

chemistry between paul ryan and mitt romney, that on the campaign trail in wisconsin, mr. romney had also joked that paul ryan was not his son. which is a little less eyebrow raising than joking that paul ryan is not his spouse. but it does remind you that there's actually a very big age difference between paul ryan and mitt romney. paul ryan is 42 years old. mitt romney is 23 years older than that. he is 65. he is the same age that george w. bush is now, which means that mitt romney is of the vietnam generation. we think of mr. romney, i think, as younger than that, in part, i think, because he's very handsome and he's very fit. but he was 19 years old at the height of the vietnam war. mr. romney was healthy, he was of the right age, and he was therefore, theoretically, quite draftable for vietnam. but he did not serve, either in the active duty military or in the guard or reserves, like george w. bush did. mr. romney, instead, lived in france during the vietnam war. he was a missionary for his church in france for nearly three years during the height of the vietnam war. now, of course,

o'donnell. have a great night. >>> "saturday night live" has zeroed in on the core weakness of the romney campaign, and that weakness turns out to be mitt romney. >> it's all coming to the for the republican party. >> you know, when people ask me, mitt, just how many piercings do you have, i always say, more than i need, but less than i want. >> looks like they found their nominee. >> this guy is not a good politician. >> a detached guy. >> wildly out of touch. >> not one of us. >> a terrible candidate. >> can you win a party's nomination for president when hardly anybody in the party likes you? >> mitt is not a perfect candidate. >> the republican base and party is never going to be in love with mitt romney. >> he has a number of problems. >> he's a business guy. >> corporations are people, my friend. >> he needs more than that. >> i'm not concerned about the very poor. we have a safety net there. >> i don't see very much else to work with. >> we've tried charm. let's go boring and dull. >> he offers at this point such a stark contrast to the president's record. >> i'm stuck with him and

, i think what you say from what mike and evan have done, is that romney probably could have used in his own mind less of a time of testings but ultimately what does matter in a primary obviously is if you win, and zpt seem to me anyway, that the down side of this is that i think the independents who decide presidential elections are probably not coming out of the primary feeling particularly warmly toward the republicans. >> mike, let me bring you back in here, you obviously collaborated on this e book. i was fascinated by romney's gym ritual. let's take a look at president obama, mitt romney and rick santorum all on vacation. it's quite revealing. >> most people when they go to the gyms they trust that the person before them has wiped down the equipment. you make sure you do it after you've worked out. not mitt romney, when he was in the mesa marriott and mitt romney almost always stays on marriotts when he's on the road. right before a debate, when he comes into a gym, he wipes down the equipment before he uses it and after he uses it. when he's making those organic peanut butter

mitt romney effectively clinched the republican nomination. are they buying the fairness doctrine? here's one hint from our pollsterz about november, this election is look ing a lot like the 2000 and 2004 cliffhangers. people thi mitt romney thinks obama is out of his head. mr. obama says mitt romney is out of touch. also the latest on the secret service scandal tonight including hot new details on just what happened. >>> the world's most exclusive fraternity. right now there's only five members, the five living presidents of the united states. >>> if you're running for senator of massachusetts, there is one organization -- hint hint -- you don't want to have on your side. the new york yankees, believe it or not, and fortunately for him, brad made the mistake of taking a check from them. political director and chief white house correspondent, and msnbc political analyst. gentlemen, let's look at the numbers. let's take a look at how mitt romney and barack obama match-up in terms of favorability in that new poll in west virginia. people positive about the president at 48, positive

good stuff. >> and maybe this is why mitt romney's so trim because he didn't partake in those >> cliffhanger. let's play hardball. good evening, i'm chris matthews. leading off tonight, who is going to win in november? we've got a brand new nbc news wall street journal poll just out tonight, the first since mitt romney effectively clinched the republican nomination. are they buying the fairness argument? who will do better the economy, and who is leading in the swing voters. here's one hint from our pollsters about november, this election is looking a lot like the 2000 and 2004 cliffhangers. how does either candidate break the log jam? mitt romney thinks obama is out of his head. mr. obama says mitt romney is out of touch. the winner of that debate could decide the winner in november. also the latest on the secret service scandal tonight including hot new details on just what happened. >>> the world's most exclusive fraternity. right now there's only five members, the five living presidents of the united states. so do you think these guys really root for each other, apparently

president obama tuesday, mitt romney yesterday, and the gloves are off. >> the president came here yesterday and railed against policies no one is making and criticizing policies no one is making. it is one of his strategies to distract us from his record. while i understand the president doesn't want to run on his record, he can't run from his record either. >> fighting words indeed. joining me now, "the new york times" columnist, charles glow and cheryl from new york. thanks for coming. we talked about romney's ability to connect with voters. "the washington post" showed favor ability 20 points lower than president obama, and romney ended with this comment yesterday, essentially saying you have to -- don't just like me, believe in me. i want to play this to you. >> this november we'll face a defining position. our choice will not be one of party or personality. this election will be about principle. >> to me, a very sober mitt romney. we heard all along from mitt romney, believe in america, believe in this optimistic that we're in the dark ages under president obama. he seems to

amount of support from general imhoff. >> i've never been a fan of mitt romney. he's a nice person but i've not agreed with him pitically on a lot of things. >> republicansound like they would rather be doing just about anything rather than endorsing romney. and while it's not unusual for a politician to leave his party, it is news when a rising star mps ship. that just happened in california where a promising republican has just decided the gop is much too conservative for him. madmen wanted to have its say in the presidential election. michael is, of course, the nbc news information correspondent. michael, please bring us the latest. >> reporter: pretty significant development today. they showed up at the gated community where the martin shooting took place, going door to door, interviewing witnesses, questioning them about what they might have seen, what they knew about the shooting at all so we have a background of george zimmerman. also taking photographs. the residence response team, fbi, all gathering information of what's going to be a comprehensive investigation of everything

obama versus romney. game on. >>> we'll have exclusive interviews with top officials from both camps. chief strategist from the obama campaign, david axlerod and senior romney advisor, ed gillespie. axlerod and gillespie. only on "fox news sunday." >> iran and north korea continue to pursue their nuclear programs. we'll ask our sunday panel is another round can rein in the rogue nation. >> i remember my dad. >> what do you make of mike wallace from brookline, massachusetts, having had this extraordinary journey. >> it is extraordinary. >> all right now on "fox news sunday." >> hello again from fox news in washington. first i want to thank all of you who sent me notes on the loss of my father. some of you met my dad for a moment, some watched him on television for years. but he meant something to you and your notes have meant so much to me. i'll have more on my father later in the program. >>> now on to the 2012 battle for the white house which shifted to the general election this week when mitt romney became the presumptive republican nominee. we'll talk with one of his senior

mitt romney went to the site of this year's democratic national convention. and just got thunder. >> be an effort by the "vast left wing conspiracy". >> the crazy right rears its head. >> mitt romney's vast left wing conspiracy. >> not part of some grand scheme. >> he believes in a vast left wing conspiracy. >> this is not exactly a grand idea. >> mitt romney is giving a pre butt al to president obama. >> set to be on a rooftop venue overlooking bank of america stadium. >> site of the convention in charlotte, north carolina. >> o moved indoors due to rain. rain on mitt's parade. >> we'll continue to hear more. >> even if you like barack obama, we can't afford barack obama. >> he will contort his thoughts and beliefs to meet that. >> he's got these ideas. >> mitt romney has begun the process of choosing a running mate. >> we've got a long list of people. >> something with a different ethnicity who appeals to women. his first choice is president obama. [ laughter ] >> how do you move back to the center on immigration. >> republicans have been running on alienating hispanic voters.

wins tonight for mitt romney, the presumptive republican nominee. now it is time for "the last word" with lawrence o'donnell. have a great night. thanks for being with us tonight. >>> we have breaking news in tonight's election coverage. we have a nominee. the associated press is predicting that after tonight's results are in, president obama will have the, 2,778 delegates he needs to secure the democratic nomination for president, but mitt romney has not yet won that republican nomination. when all the votes are counted, mitt romney is expected to gain another 200 delegates after winning all five contests tonight in pennsylvania, connecticut, new york, rhode island, and delaware. in the one state where newt gingrich claimed that he had a slight chance tonight, delaware, mitt romney is expected to win with more than 50% of the vote. with no competition left standing, mitt romney read a teleprompter attack on the president tonight in new hampshire where he trails the president by nine points. >> four years ago, barack obama dazzled us in front of greek columns with sweeping promises

news learns what he did his first night in jail. >>> surprise attack. ann romney comes out swinging for being a stay at home mom. and look at the famous first ladies who jump into the debate today. >>> egg investigation. conditions inside one of the nation's most trusted farms. brian ross on the story. >>> and, arcade of dreams. a 9-year-old boy needs a friend. and a whole town conspires to make his day. >>> good evening. today, for the first time, we see and hear the man at the center of the nation drama that has raged for 46 days. george zimmerman, the neighborhood watchman accused of second degree murder in the death of trayvon martin. today, he appeared in court for the first time. abc's matt gutman has the latest for us tonight. matt? >> reporter: good evening, diane. we learned so much more about george zimmerman, the mystery man in this case. he spent his first night in jail last night, weeping for hours. and today, he and his attorney plan on a year-long legal battle. he shuffled in, shackled, noticeably thinner than in that old mug shot. george zimmerman finally emerging from t

delegates he needs to secure the democratic nomination for president, but mitt romney has not yet won that republican nomination. when all the votes are counted, mitt romney is expected to gain another 200 delegates after winning all five contests tonight in pennsylvania, connecticut, new york, rhode island, and delaware. in the one state where newt gingrich claimed that he had a slight chance tonight, delaware, mitt romney is expected to win with more than 50% of the vote. with no competition left standing, mitt romney read a teleprompter attack on the president tonight in new hampshire where he trails the president by nine points. >> four years ago, barack obama dazzled us in front of greek columns with sweeping promises of hope and change. but after we came down to earth, after all the celebration and the parades, what do we have to show for 3 1/2 years of president obama? because he has failed, he will run a campaign of diversions and distractions and distortions. that kind of campaign may have worked at another place and in a different time. but not here. and not now. it's still

he would not want to wage a battle here against mitt romney. when voters go to the polls only to lose. at love folks will remember his resounding defeat for his senate re-election bid that he lost to bob casey by 17 points. a lot of folks are saying that rick santorum would lose all that he has risked on this campaign that has been run on a shoe string. he would risk losing all of that and his standing within the national party by continuing to stay in this race. so that is the word right now. we don't know specifically what he will talk about. >> now let me bring in mark murray. thank you for joining us. you have a new poll out. "washington post"/abc news. 52% said stay in. 43% said drop out. we know the stakes are high for pennsylvania. we also know that he has a little daughter who is ill. who has been hospitalized. she is now back home with the family in virginia. is this the right time for him to drop out given the personal challenges which are absolutely heartfelt and we know of great concern to him and his wife. and the reality of, he could take a shellacking in pennsylvania. >

tonight, which means more bad news for mitt romney. >>> a couple of new polls out. the new nbc news "wall street journal" poll -- >> polls -- >> polls indicate -- >> we've got months of this. >> this is the first full week of the full-on campaign. round one of the general election. >> i'm probably going to need a helmet between now and november. what do you think? >> a poll out today shows the president up. >> 42% of registered voters have a favorable view of the president -- >> this is a snapshot in time. >> does 29% see romney in a favorable light? >> president obama leads by ten points in the enthusiasm gap. >> the likability factor is part of all of this. >> and the trustworthy thing. >> romney has a lot more baggage than the president. >> i wasn't born with a silver spoon in my mouth. >> i know the president likes to attack fellow americans, particularly those successful like my dad. >> the "new york times" poll shows the candidate lost in a dead heat. >> i'll use my energy to help the american people go to work. >> everywhere he goes, he's talking about the economy. >> this el

governor mitt romney responded to the santorum news. >> this has been a good day for me! [cheering] senator santorum has decided not to proceed with his campaign, and i had the chance to speak with him this morning. we exchanged our thoughts about going forward and we both have a great deal of interest in seeing the country take a very different path. he will continue to have major role in the republican party. >> question, why is santorum exiting the race now instead of slugging it out in his own home state of pennsylvania, and its primary? pat buchanan? >> that's the reason, john. let's assume he won pennsylvania, it would have no meaning at all since it's his home state. and if he lost pennsylvania, it boob a humiliation and defeat and people would say, that guy can't win his home state, and that would damage him in the future. i think he's not mr. conservative, but he is mr. social conservative, and what he ought to do now get himself a prime time speech at that convention, do what governor romney asks him to do. he's the only one of these four folks who has a chance in 2016 as

against. and that's not stopping team obama from promptly pounding mitt romney to release his returns all the way back to the 1970s. all they're trying to do is discredit romney's business success. the romneys, by the way, pay 20 times what the obama's pay for 2011 taxes. tonight we begin with the late-day stock plunge. we welcome cnbc's jackie deangelis. she has all the details. good evening, jack e!. >> good evening to you, larry. stocks log their worst two-week slide since november with today's slide driven by the lower than expected first quarter gdp growth in china and worries the recovery has stalled. renewed concerns over europe this week adding some pressure on the way down as well. we saw the dow sliding 137 points, the s&p shedding 17 points, and the nasdaq composite losing 44 points as well. on the s&p large cap sectors we saw fijs lead the way lower despite good reports from jpmorgan and wells fargo this morning. but the sectors that are linked to growth, those are the materials, energy, and financials, they took the brunt of it today. the s&p 500, the dow, the nas

my mouth. gwen: the economy. where the battle of 2012 will be fought. mitt romney narrows the gap with barack obama as each campaigns on a single theme. whom do you trust? and as both sides work overtime to raise big money, $13 million last month for romney. $53 million for obama and the democrats. with more to come. meanwhile, the scandal industry is back in full swing. this time involving the secret service. >> these 11 agents did put the -- potentially puts any president at risk and themselves at risk, and leaves themselves open to blackmail and to threats. gwen: and the general services administration. >> when you're wasting taxpayer money, what happens in vegas does not stay in vegas. gwen: covering the week, jeff zeleny of "the new york times." jim tankersley of "national journal." jeanne cummings of bloomberg news. and michael duffy of "time" magazine. >> award-winning reporting and analysis. covering history as it happens. live from our nation's capital, this is "washington week with gwen ifill." produced in association with "national journal." corporate funding for "washi

are too nice. and another one, at least mitt romney doesn't eat dog. god, republicans are just too nice to president obama. and c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c or seven year old. all right. "viewpoint" with eliot spitzer is next. ♪ [ theme music ] ♪ >>> good evening, i'm eliot spitzer, this is "viewpoint." it was fun four months for democrats, and especially president barack obama. watching the gop debates was a lot like having a front row seat at the roman coliseum with a bunch of mismatched glad aidtors taking their whacks at the only possible survivor mitt romulous. that was last week now the president finds himself in a dead heat with romney and hoping for a white house welcome next year like the one he gave this year's college football champions earlier today. >> it is my pleasure to welcome the alabama crimson tide back to the white house. [ cheers and applause ] >> and congratulate them on winning their 14th national championship, their second in three years. >> what does the president have to do to regain his mojo turn the race in his direction a

around for chuck. >>> after a five state northeastern sweep mitt romney officially accepts the unofficial title of presumptive nominee. he makes his best case for why president obama should leave the white house. but that's just half the battle. he still hasn't made the why me case yet. meanwhile, the president mixes it up with college students in speeches, fallon, even a little bar hopping. is this an official trip or a se series of campaign stops? the fine election year line between policy and politics plus another compelling car crash like day of testimony in greensboro at the john edwards criminal trial, sex, money, ambition, and politics. hollywood couldn't have written it better. but do prosecutors really have a case? good morning from new york. it's wednesday, april 25th, 2012. this is "the daily rundown." i'm chuck todd. right to my first read of the morning. mitt romney made his best case yet why the president doesn't deserve a second term in what was basically for many an acceptance speech in new hampshire. but rom think fell short of the second test for any challenge

to two of mr. romney's severely unconservative homes and perhaps it was nice to be back in new england where canned corn is more prevalent than canned talk of grits because it wasn't the latest polling that has the president holding a 9-point lead. mitt used his speech to reintroduce his moderate mannequin to america. taking a leap to the right from the past several months. >> i spent my life in the private sector, 25 years. >> i was in business for 25 years. i happen to have spent 25 years in the private sector. >> yes, yes, yes, we remember, mitt, and now mitt is out with a new pitch to the american voter. >> this america is fundamentally fair. we will stop the unfairness of urban children being denied access to the good schools of their choice. >> fairness indeed. this from a man who we know cares deeply about those poor urban children. >> by the way, i am in this race because i care about americans. i am not concerned about the very poor. we have a safety net there. if it needs repair, i will fix it. >> of course, of course. he does now. >> for every single mom who feels he