one interview with former president bill clinton. what he tells me he's sorry for, why he doesn't think he has to be hostile to mitt romney and what trait his daughter got from him. plus president obama's david -- the romney campaign gets its chance to respond to all of this. my interview with the junior advisor to the romney campaign. we want to kel come our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer you're in "the situation room". ment obama sounding an urgent note about the u.s. economy and the new risks it faces from europe's growing cries. he warns that so-called head winds from europe can setback the recover in the united states. he says the u.s. businesses are improving and creating jobs but he's pressing congress to take action on the public sector. >> the big challenge we have in our economy right now is state and local government hiring has been going in the wrong direction. you've seen teacher layoffs, police officers, cops, firefighters being laid off. the other sector that's still weak has been the construction industry. those two areas we've

now. and blow the lid off later. >> no one better to deliver this message than bill clinton. >> you have to take the facts out there. >>> nbc news declares republican governor, scott walker, the projected winner over democratic milwaukee mayor, tom barrett, in the governor's recall election. governor walker will keep his governorship after the most expensive campaign in wisconsin's history and what a difference a supreme court decision made. the citizens united ruling allowed 6 allowed $63 million to be spent in a wisconsin statewide election, double what was spent in the 2010 election, that delivered the governorship to scott walker. here's how all the money breaks down. governor walker has spent $29 million. pro walker outside organizations have spent a total of $16 million, including $6 million from the cook brothers super pac americans for prosperity. $250,000 from former gingrich backer aid adelson and $100 from foster freese. and tom barrett that ran against walk her 2010 has spent just $3 million pro barrett outside groups, mostly unions, have spent another $6 million. in 201

shouldn't. >> president bill clinton has a very high favorability rating as an ex-president. i'm going to put this up here. it's 66%. so do you think going forward that the obama campaign is going it to continue to use him, or are they a little fearful sometimes he speaks his mind too much? >> i think they're going to continue to use him because he's such a huge draw. as those numbers show he's incredibly popular. what he did here is undermine the central message of president obama's re-election campaign, which is that mr. romney's work at bain capital does not call fi him to be president is not good business and good for the country. president clinton said in that interview with wolf that it he believes he was a good businessman and that this is the reality. he doesn't feel like he needs foose bad things about mr. romney. the president does, so that puts them in direct conflict. he gets back on message. it's clear that once these guys, all these surrogates when they say thing that is don't jive with the campaign message, they get quickly back on message. that's what we've seen w

sorry about what happened yesterday. >> a cnn exclusive. bill clinton apologizing for steps all over president obama a's economic message five months from election day. we look at the fallout and future for clinton in the presidential campaign. >>> this is bizarre. toss your caps into the air, and they might not come back. amazing video of a funnel cloud crashing an outdoor graduation. >>> caught rhett handed and rhett faced. a robber sprased and spanked. you're going to see it. good morning, everybody. who love this is one. >> i love that one, too. >> bang, bang, don't come back. it's nice to have you here. i'm ashleigh banfield. >> and zoraida. it's 5:00 a.m. in the east so let's get started for you. up first bill clinton getting back on script and back in step with the white house at least for now. in an exclusive interview with wolf blitzer, the former president doing a lot of apologizing after praising mitt romney's sterling business record and suggesting he would be open to extending the bush tax cuts with the wealthy, a position directly at odds with president obama. here's cl

, courageous scott walker, faces recall. we're there live. also this evening, is bill clinton doing everything possible to sabotage president obama? first he called romney's record sterling. last night, a direct jab, clinton couldn't help himself by boasting his four budget surpluses. moments ago, in an exclusive interview with maria bartiromo, the former president advocated the extension of the bush tax cuts to curb a recession, another jab at obama. take a listen. >> i don't have any problem with extending all of it now, including the current spending levels. they're still pretty low, the government spending levels, but i think they look high because there's a recession. >> yep. he did say extend the tax cuts and notice, he said we are already in a recession. so is clinton in a sense an evil political genius setting obama up to fail? plus, new revelations that the justice department may have lied about the fast and furious gun walking scandal. will attorney general eric holder be held in contempt? might there be impeachment hearings? oversight and reform chairman congressman darry

have to contribute. i'm very sorry about what happened. >> that was bill clinton on cnn this afternoon, but obama re-election senior strategist david axelrod says no apology is necessary. >> i'm not asking for an apology from bill clinton. i have deep admiration for bill clinton. i watch this parade of republicans saying, oh, we got to listen to bill clinton. they should listen to bill clinton. bill clinton understands what it takes to grow this economy. he understands that we can't cut our way to prosperity. he understands that we have to bring these deficits down in a responsible way. there's no separation between him and this president. they have the same understanding of how you grow the economy. >> you want him to go out there and campaign. >> he's a tremendous asset to us. i have no compunction about that. >> joining me now are howard dean, former vermont governor, and former chairman of the democratic national committee, and howard fineman, editorial director of the huffington post media group and an msnbc contributor. howard dean joining us from vermont. i'm told ther

of team obama in damage control mode when congress goes crazy over bill clinton's interview on cnbc. clinton got it right. the recession needs a tax cut extension. with "the kudlow report" moments away. >> the fellow over there, has something up his sleeve. i think u.s. a king. but if it's a six or something lower, we're going back to the macro salt lines, we careful. there is a bull market somewhere. i promise to find it somewhere. i'm jim cramer, see you tomorrow. hey, larry, what do you have? >> jimmy, public sector unions and democrats in wisconsin got spanked, and the markets loved it. good evening, everyone. i'm larry kudlow. this is "the kudlow report," the top story, scott walker landslide. historic election was a grassroots, taxpayer tea party revolt to curb public union benefits and monopoly bargaining power, governors will heed the pull to hold down entitlements, and as rails, the dow had its best day of the year, up 287 points, and tmarkets love the s walker win. investors see balanced budgets without income tax hikes, see it going national. san diego and san jose, pass

bill clinton in new york, including one tonight with entertainment by jon bon jovi. >> what the other side's counting on is fear and frustration. that in and of itself is going to be good enough because they're sure not offering any new ideas. all they're offering is the same old ideas that didn't work then, won't work now. we will not go backward. we will go forward and we will remind the entire world just why it is the united states of america is the greatest nation on earth. thank you, new york. i love you. >> the president's remarks came hours after the campaign released its first television ad that exposes what mitt romney now considers the most shameful period of his life. no, not the prep school bully years. the governor years. >> it started like this. >> i speak the language of business. i know how jobs are created. >> but it ended like this. one of the worst economic records in the country. so now when mitt romney talks about what he'd do as president -- >> i know what it takes to create jobs. >> remember, we've heard it all before. >> i know how jobs are created. >> a

speaking at a news conference on friday. now my indepth interview with former president bill clinton. i sat down with him at the clinton global initiative in chicago and he began by repeatedly apologizing for comments he made about the so-called bush tax cuts that seemingly contradicted the president. >> mr. president, thanks very much for allowing us to come here to your cgi, the clinton global initiative. we're going to talk about that. i know you've got major initiatives, you want to help four million americans. we'll talk specifically about what you have in mind. but let's get to the issues right now, the economy, jobs. you've caused a stir, as you know, by appearing to suggest that you would be open to temporarily extending the bush tax cuts even for the wealthiest americans in that cnbc interview. you backed off of it a little later, but where do you stand right now, if necessary, to keep the economy robust? >> well, first of all, i don't think it's necessary to keep the economy robust. what i was saying yesterday, which is apparently not accurate, is that if this fiscal cliff com

about what happened yesterday. >> bill clinton apologizes. he's certainly a powerful campaigner for president obama but does he do occasionally more harm than good when he goes off message? >> my one-on-one interview with the former president of the united states. >>> who is spilling u.s. intelligence secrets with a stunning display of bipartisan outrage, lawmakers demand an end to the leaks. >>> a new breakthrough can reveal the entire genetic blueprint of a baby still in its mother's womb, detecting thousands of diseases, but at what cost? i'm wolf blitzer in chicago. you're in "the situation room." -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >>> bill clinton can certainly work wondzers out there on the campaign trail, but he can also work himself into trouble from time to time. first, he praised what he called the so-called sterling -- that's a quote, sterling business record of mitt romney right here on cnn. then he contradicted president obama seemingly by suggesting that the bush tax cuts should be extended even for the wealthiest americans. i just sat down with the former president

. you're in "the situation room." -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >>> bill clinton can certainly work wondzers out there on the campaign trail, but he can also work himself into trouble from time to time. first, he praised what he called the so-called sterling -- that's a quote, sterling business record of mitt romney right here on cnn. then he contradicted president obama seemingly by suggesting that the bush tax cuts should be extended even for the wealthiest americans. i just sat down with the former president here in chicago at the clinton global initiative, and i asked him about that. >> what i was saying yesterday, which is apparently not accurate, is that if this fiscal cliff comes to the president and the congress and the country before the election, he can't afford to give up his position and he shouldn't. that we'll have revenues to deal with this debt long term and asking those of us to pay taxes. i support that position. i always have, and -- but the republicans feel they can indirectly ratify it, so i was talking whether they needed to put off after the election, but

a lot of invested in this. >> bill clinton making news as mr. obama's numbero uno surrogate. >> i don't have any problem extending all of it now. is it the news the obama campaign was hoping for? >> he's a double agent. >> the new york times publishes stories based on high level leaks, details which could put our nation at risk and congress wants it to stop. >> and there's been just a cascade of leaks coming out of the intelligence community over the last several weeks and it's our clear intention to put a stop to this. >> who is behind the leaks and should the press play along? barbara walters, the grand dame at abc, gets, syria assad, paying back the favor for one of his former aides. what's wrong with that. >> pomp and celebration for queen elizabeth and loyal subjects honor her jubilee, did one network go overboard on the coverage? >> on the panel, fox news writer judy miller. and monica crowley, jim pinkerton, and host of the alan colmes radio talk show, alan colmes, i'm jon scott, fox news watch is on right now. nbc news has been characterizing the race as too close to call.

story line, and the fourth story line, what got into bill clinton or has he gotten too old? in politico talked about. >> jon: one of the story lines, too, judy, why did this recall election ever make it in the first place. walker hadn't committed a crime, hadn't been convicted with a sex offense or caught in office, you know, with his pants down. >> right, right, and that was i'll add number five to jim's list of four. it's really hard to recall a governor and only happened twice and in recent american history, 1921 and 2003. aen therefore, this was always a long shot. as opposed to the obvious story, which was this was a huge setback for democrats and for liberal union people in particular. >> jon: the money spent was often cited by those who, you know, lost the walker recall election, they say, oh, he outspent us 7 or 8 to one. when you add it up, all the spending for all the candidates, it was really a lot closer than that. >> and what i read, and also to keep him out of state, much of walker's moint came from out of state as opposed to barrett's. why you r laughing and smil

bill clinton channeling links? think about that. ♪ oh. let's go. from the crack, off the backboard. [ laughs ] dad! [ laughs ] whoo! oh! you're up! oh! oh! so close! now where were we? ok, this one's good for two. score! [ male announcer ] share what you love with who you love. kellogg's frosted flakes. they're gr-r-eat! i've been fortunate to win on golf's biggest stages. but when joint pain and stiffness from psoriatic arthritis hit, even the smallest things became difficult. i finally understood what serious joint pain is like. i talked to my rheumatologist and he prescribed enbrel. enbrel can help relieve pain, stiffness, and stop joint damage. because enbrel, etanercept, suppresses your immune system, it may lower your ability to fight infections. serious, sometimes fatal events including infections, tuberculosis, lymphoma, other cancers, and nervous system and blood disorders have occurred. before starting enbrel, your doctor should test you for tuberculosis and discuss whether you've been to a region where certain fungal infections are common. don't start enbrel if you have

point? it certainly does explain a lot about why this president couldn't triangulate like bill clinton and adjust to the marketplace and he holds and clings to this rigid ideology of his. now, he -- he downplayed his relationships with the radical friends. he downplayed his relationship with a.c.o.r.n., he denied a relationship with this group. what do you think this means? what does this tell us about him? >> well, sean, there was really a vast network of radical connections that barack obama was part of. i lay it out in my book, radical in chief. i think that obama denied his a.c.o.r.n. connection, not because his limited work with them on voter registration was so bad. but because he was afraid that if he acknowledged the a.c.o.r.n. connection, the much more damaging connection to a third political party would come out and he was afraid, maybe the whole network of leftist connections would unraffle and then he would be in serious trouble? i have notice that the left wing is afraid of the piece you put out there today. so the spin is well, this is like hillary clinton being on the -- wha

the new party were frustrated by the democratic party under bill clinton. they believed it was far too pro business, they wanted it to be for leftist. the leaders and founders of the new party called themselves social democrats. they very consciously wanted to model their party and its platform on the leftist parties of europe. their goal was to create in the united states a giant welfare state of the type we see in scandinavia. of course, mitt romney says this is exactly president obama's goal. the fact president obama joined the party that has -- had as its open goal, imitating the social democratic welfare states of europe certainly strengthenaes romney's point? it certainly does explain a lot about why this president couldn't triangulate like bill clinton and adjust to the marketplace and he holds and clings to this rigid ideology of his. now, he -- he downplayed his relationships with the radical friends. he downplayed his relationship with a.c.o.r.n., he denied a relationship with this group. what do you think this means? what does this tell us about him? >> well, sean, there was

. >> i know you've helped run a few campaigns. bill clinton will be on the stump for wisconsin. basically pulling what's being referred to as a corey booker. veering off message and calling bane sterling. how hard is it to keep the campaign on message? especially when bill clinton is going to take to the air waves and say he had a good business record. it usually leads to you pulling hair out. i think there's a problem with the obama campaign. when you step back and think about this message about private equity versus the president's approach these are very two different visions about the role of government can and should be. this notion doesn't fly for one simple reason. you don't look at it that way. you invest in government in the future. you wouldn't have the hoover dam. you wouldn't have the interstate highway system. this is not about investing for the quarter. but at the end of the day, for whatever reason, some of the surrogates aren't getting the message across as clear and crisp as they could. >> let's ask about what romney said asking to grade the president's first t

information. >> these leaks have to stop. >> if bill clinton is on barack obama's team, why is he praising mitt romney? >> i don't think i should have to say bad things about governor romney personally to disagree with him politically. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> in november of 2008, barack obama won virginia. a year later, bob mcdonnell, a republican, became governor of virginia. in 2010, scott brown became senator in massachusetts. november 2010, republicans won control of the u.s. house. this week, republican gov. scott walker survived efforts to kick him out of office. he cut benefits for teachers and government workers, but he also turned a deficit into a surplus. does his win spell trouble for president obama in november. is this a scott brown moment for democrats, evan? >> i don't think so. there is a deeper underlying issue here, how we spend public money. there is a growing feeling that too much has gone to the pensions and public employee unions. that could hurt obama if he gets on the wrong side of it, but it is is a little bit separate f

lot more to come on hafnlt former president bill clinton is abandoning obama and the administration talking points, throwing his support behind the policies, believe it or not, of george w. bush. [ male announcer ] what's in your energy drink? ♪ wer surge, let it blow your mind. [ male announcer ] for fruits, veggies and natural green tea energy... new v8 v-fusion plus energy. could've had a v8. and he didn't stop for three days and nights as he escaped life as a child soldier. twenty years later, he was still running, he just had a different thing driving him. every step of the way. ♪ visa. supporting athletes and the olympic games for 25 years. join our global cheer. have an over the top experience. being hands ons key! i make sure every plate looks just right. [ male announcer ] don't miss red lobster's four course seafood feast, just $14.99. sta with soup, salad and unlimited cheddar bay biscuits followed by your choice of one of 7 entrees. like new coconut and pineapple shrimp or shrimp and scallops alfredo. then finish with something sweet. all four courses just $14.99. [

that conversation we had in the car. and bill clinton at this point i think is 43 years old. 1988, he was born in '46. how old is he in 1988. >> he's -- he's 42. >> 42. he's 42 years old in 1988. 42. she tells me that -- she's the same age, no, a year younger. she was born in '47. he's thinking of running for president and she doesn't want me to commit to support anybody else. as if my support for anybody makes any difference which although i've been a contributor it makes no difference. so i say the to her, hillary, i know we discussed this in the past, something like that, but he may be tentative now, he may be kind of young, 42 years old. to run for president. though john kennedy ran when he was 42, 43. she says well, he's deciding. just don't support anybody else. okay. i'm not supporting anybody else. and a week later i get a call from her, i believe, yeah i did, saying he's not running. so i said well. supporting michael dukakis in 1988 to great effect as you can tell. actually i went to the convention in 1988, and i was on the floor of the convention and when bill clinton spoke

. >> that was fast. >> then it happened again, president bill clinton going rogue. what's his real agenda? we'll talk with ron reagan, son of another former president about that. plus a real -- real slap in the face for mayor tom barrett after losing the recall election. why did that supporter have to hit him? that carries our favorite tools... for our favorite people... armed with a budget and a mission... and see what happens when we put those tools to work for us. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. right now, get the ryobi four-piece 18-volt super combo kit, just $99 - our lowest price ever. progressive saved me money on my car insurance for doing the right thing behind the wheel. what a concept. excuse me, sir, do you know how fast you were going? exactly 25 miles per hour. that makes you a safe driver. keep driving safe. -are you serious? -absolutely. i couldn't help but notice, you applied your brakes smoothly and evenly. you know, progressive rewards safe drivers. think of this as a reward forward. thank you! nice -- you stopped at the stop sign. yo

you will not want to miss maria's big interview with former bill clinton. may earnings out after the bell. how is the housing market doing? we'll find out coming up on the "closing bell." >> announcer: the future of the economy -- >> what i think we need to do is find some way to avoid the fiscal cliff. >> announcer: a crisis in europe. >> should the imf, u.s. taxpayer money, help to bailout europe right now? >> i don't know that it's needed. >> announcer: the presidential election -- >> the most important thing in this election is what will president obama do and what would governor romney do with the economy? >> announcer: bill clinton weighs in on those hot button issues and a whole lot more in a first on cnbc interview with our maria bartiromo. it all begins on this special edition of the "closing bell." >> and it is 4:00 on wall street. do you know where your money is? i'm maria bartiromo. we're moments away from my first on cnbc interview with bill clinton. you won't want to miss what he had to say about the looming fiscal cliff and how to jump-start this economy in the u.s

year just doesn't count. and they may be allies, but bill clinton and president obama are battling for opposing candidates. and let me start with this dirty angry money. this is "hardball," a place for politics. >>> a state to wash this year in virginia. romney needs to win it to have a shot of the white house. we have a new virginia poll and for that we check the "hardball" score board. a new poll has president obama holding a five point lead over mitt romney in virginia. the race is getting tighter and it was eight in march. now to michigan, the state thought to be leaning to obama, romney how has a one point lead over the president in a new poll, romney 46-45. >>> there it is, welcome back to i have heard you're great and you are, i love your league of women voters organization. coming up, dirty angry money, we saw what the money did in wisconsin this week, do the sharks smell blood? apparently so. will the republicans spend their way to victory? and mitt romney says it's okay to blame president obama from the millions of bush job losses in mr. obama's first year, but for romney

take no prisoners? >>> well, a week after former president bill clinton went off message calling mitt romney's business message sterling, clinton found 0 another adjective to describe what a romney presidency would be like. he called the idea of a romney in the oval office calamitous for our country and the world. >> a lot of work out there so let me just be as simple as i can. i don't think it's important to re-elect the president. i think it's essential to re-elect -- >> the off message remarks on bane arguably they brought more attention to last night's obama show where the former president made nice with the president and democrats at a trio of fund-raisers by hammering the republican party. clinton argued republicans have adopted the economic policy of the eurozone. >> who would have thought after years and years and years, even decades, in which the republican right attacked old europe that they would embrace the economic policies of the eurozone? austerity and unemployment now at all costs. i mean, after all, their unemployment rate is 11% and ours is 8%. we can get right up th

going. >> bill: once again bill clinton goes against president obama saying the bush tax cuts are helpful to the american economy. dick morris with the inside story of why mr. clinton is contradicting the man for whom he is campaigning also tonight, dennis miller on the most hated people in america. >> i have been everywhere, man. ♪ i've been everywhere, man. >> and watch out, why have the best of watters world. >> what about rick santorum? are you a fan of him. >> see, that's how much you know about him. i don't even know who he is. >> caution, you where to enter the no spin zone. the factor begins right now. >> bill: hi, i'm bill o'reilly. thanks for watching us tonight. liberal orthodoxy take as big hit in wisconsin. that is the subject of this evening's talking points memo. governor scott walker keeping his job defeating the progressive forces by a wide margin yesterday. at issue, future compensation for state union workers. the government wants to cut that back the left does not. but since cities and counties are going bankrupt all over the u.s.a. because they can't pay the

to 46. >>> welcome back to "hardball," bill clinton made three fundraiser appearances this weekend as a defender of the president and his policies. he made the best case we have heard yet against mitt romney, but he has given fauder to republicans on their part to use. what is the cost benefit analysis as having bill as a major surrogate out there. we have joan walsh, an msnbc political analyst. let's look at what's coming in today, let's look at the interview he had the other day, the former president. >> i don't have any problem with extending all of it now including the current spending level, but the real issue is not whether they should be extended for another few months, the real issue is whether the price the republican house will put on that extension is the permanent extension which i think is an error. >> well, realizing or expecting how bill clinton's tax remarks there would be misinterpreted, a spokesman put out the following statement. as he said many times before, he supported extending all of the cuts in 2010 for the budget agreement but does not believe the cuts for th

of this country and the world. bill clinton. >> do you see chelsey or hillary in the white house? >> hillary says she's going to retire. >> i talk to hollywood greats to tell me what movies mean to them. >> i wanted to have shirley temple curls. >> and this is piers morgan tonight. good evening, i'm harvey winestein filling in for piers morgan. when piers asked me to do this, i thought he was kidding. he wasn't. so i went to one of the smartest people i know to ask for advise, oprah winfrey. she said if you're nervous, tell people you're nervous. i am a little nervous, but i'm also very excited. i'm a friend and such porter of bill clinton. it's my honor to introduce my next guest, the 42nd president of the united states, william jefferson clinton. >> the things i do for you. >> you're so comfortable, mr. president of people. how do you do that? >> you look them in the eye and forget about what else is going on. >> an area that i am comfortable with is talking about movies and i know you're a great movie fan. over the years we have watched a lot of movies together. what is your f

up to 1285. >> i hope you don't miss my interview with bill clinton, sitting down with me a little bit ago. the last president to tackle the budget, talking about the economy and elections and the european debt crisis. why he thinks president obama has a better strategy to deal with the deficit than mitt romney. it's all ahead on this edition of the "closing bell." he did discuss europe. this was one of his most important issues. >> the weakness in stocks is attributable to what is going on in europe. is it something to be bought or do you avoid it? we have one strategist going all in here. plus, the emergency talks on europe as concerns grow that the debt crisis could spiral quickly out of control. one official was quoted today assaying it's not a matter of weeks on the spanish bank issue. it's a matter of days that they come up for a solution for that. the market is holding up. >> ready in days, not in weeks. breaking it down with courtney reagan, a portfolio asset management. lee, let me kick this off with you. europe is really dictating the markets in the united states. how do

bill clinton. some democrats aren't very happy with what the former president is saying right now. >>> and a congressional candidate is breaking the mold in romney's home state. >> being gay in massachusetts is no problem. being a republican is a little more difficult. great shot. how did the nba become the hottest league on the planet? by building on the cisco intelligent network they're able to serve up live video, and instant replays, creating fans from berlin to beijing. what can we help you build? nice shot kid. the nba around the world built by the only company that could. cisco. and how much the people in your life count on you. that's why we offer accident forgiveness... man: great job. where your price won't increase due to your first accident. we also offer a hassle-free lifetime repair guarantee, where the repairs made on your car are guaranteed for life or they're on us. these are just two of the valuable features you can expect from liberty mutual. plus, when you insure both your home and car with us, it could save you time and money. at liberty mutual, we help you mo