romney could only say those weren't the words he would have chosen. mr. romney, you are not going to be the candidate we choose. because if mr. romney can't stand up to extreme voices in his own party, then we know he will never stand up for us. >> let's bring in sandra who is an attorney and women's rights activist who hit the trail earlier today with president obama. nice to have you with us tonight. you are in the mix of it right now. no doubt. the director of colorado's future project, a conservative group said president obama's approach to men voters is insulting and called your presence a side show. what's your reaction to that? >> that's completely incorrect. president obama was in colorado today and i was there to try to talk to the women of colorado about the important choice that we have in this election. a choice between a president who helped to move us forward on women's access to preventive care and health care and making sure it's affordable to all of us versus a candidate who promised to take us backwards and kill obama care and defund pla

mr. romney is ahead of mr. santorum there, and again, this race has not been called. more than 90% of the vote in and it is not called. nbc's ron mott is with us, and we have a report that the santorum campaign is moving on to intimating that newt gingrich should get out of the race to clear the way for rick santorum to actually calling on the party activists and tea party supporters and others to speak to that issue on the santorum campaign or does that seem right to you? >> well, hey, there, rachel. maybe a little divide in the santorum campaign, because the national spokesperson said they are not going to ask newt gingrich to get out of the race, but a senior strategist is saying that they will ask that of the conservative tea party voters is to persuade newt gingrich to give up the bid. if you look at the scorecard, rick santorum with victories tonight has seven primary caucus and victories to newt gingrich's two, so they want to make the case that he is the conservative choice in the race. the spokesperson is saying that if newt gingrich did in fact drop out of t

mr. romney is getting attacked by his enemies and his friends aren't helping. newt gingrich says he will release his own tax returns tomorrow and says that romney should do the same. >> we can confirm. me be clear. the 21st century has an optional 15 kris flat rate for every american. michael. >> my goal is not to raise the mid rummy's taxes but to let him pay his rate. i will not criticize ronny but say that shouldn't we all have the option of the flat tax at the same time. >> he stand to gain a lot from his own tax policies. citizens for tax justice brought down the tax proposals. under the president's plan, romney would be taxed at 24%. under his own plan he would be taxed at less than 15%. his new friend, chris christy, tried to run interference for him this morning. he may have done more damage. >> the way i have conducted myself all along is i have released all of my tax returns and did it during the campaign. i released them every year after i filed them, right after i filed them so they could see everything. that is what i would tell governor romney to

romney, you're not going to be the candidate we choose. because if mr. romney can't stand up to extreme voices in his own party, then we know he'll never stand up for us. >> let's bring in sandra tonight, attorney and women's rights activists who hit the campaign trailier today with president obama. sandra, nice to have you with us tonight. you're in the mix of it no doubt. krista cafer, director of a conservative group, says president obama's approach to women's rights is instults and what is your thought about that? >> that is complete plea incorrect. i was trying to talk to the women of colorado about the important choice that we have in this election, an approach that has moved us forward on women's access to preventative care and health care and making sure it's affordable for all of us, versus a candidate who has absolutely promised to take us backward, to and that's why we were there, to make sure that it was clear that this affordable care act has economic consequences for women and is so vital to both our health security and economic security as

mr. romney claims that he's mr. fix it for the economy because of his business experience. and so i think voters entirely legitimately want to know, well, what exactly was that business experience. >> for the american people, it comes down to what? responsibility. mitt romney cannot adequately explain his involvement with bain capital between the years 1999 and 2002. the latest line is romney retired retroactively. >> he actually retired retroactively at that point because he ended up not going back to the firm after his time in salt lake city. he was retired from bain. >> just in case you thought ed gillespie made a mistake, he repeated it on cnn. >> he took a leave of absence and ended up not going back at all and retired retroactively. gr did romney give back the salary he made between 1999 and 2002 when he retired retroactively? look here, folks, here's the bottom line, the s.e.c. filings shows romney made at least dlr $100,000 a year as he was allegedly doing nothing at the ceo of bain. maybe he should have followed the lead of his father, he stepped down of the americ

romney and have mr. romney tell those two gentlemen what really happened. why did they lose their jobs? have a conversation with these people. because after all, mitt, you say you're the job creator. what about the people that fell on your watch? mitt romney and other republican candidates better come up with some real job solutions, right? don't you think? the current president's kind of on a role. he as a record of job creation and the economy is slowly improving. without any real plans of their own, republicans hope this country fails. you can only look at the way they vote in the house and the senate. they have done nothing. nothing. when it comes to job creation since mr. boehner has gotten the gavel. they've had a record number of filibusters. they've stopped everything. it's been obstruction after obstruction. president obama could make the case, his ego won't allow him to do it. he could make the case on the campaign trail, republicans have given me no help. i have done this on my own. i have had to do this on my own in 22 months of private sector j

let's talk about, if we can, the gentleman you just mentioned, mr. muskey versus mitt romney. mitt romney, is it in his character to be a political attack dog? i mean, it seems to me that newt gingrich has got mitt romney out of his wheel house right now. >> he will do it -- i will say this about mitt romney. muskey was a thoughtful, creative man. i didn't mean to compare him with romney. romney does have a great advantage in this race. he is totally unenkcumbered by any political principle. if do you that to an extreme, it becomes a disadvantage. i think the answer is romney will do anything to be angry with gingrich. romney has made money for 20 years and running for the president for 20 years. a very wise old school president in massachusetts. he said, look, when some people when they become governor of a state they get potomac fever. romney had potomac virus. he will try, and i don't think he'll be very good at it, but he will try. >> i have the contract newt gingrich had with freddie mac. i quickly read through it before the program tonight. it really is favorable to ging

in virginia, mitt romney won a two-man race over ron paul, mr. gingrich and mr. santorum were not on the ballot in virginia. in vermont, mitt romney is the projected winner of the vermont republican primary. and i should tell you the caucuses are underway in north dakota. we have no characterization from north dakota, we don't expect one for some time. here is where the race stands right now. mitt romney's win in massachusetts is his tenth victory of the campaign. you can see his wins marked in green. mr. santorums in purple, mr. gingrich's in orange. those are the states that mitt romney has won, massachusetts, vermont, virginia, washington state, arizona, michigan, maine, nevada, florida and new hampshire. chris, too close to call right now in tennessee, too close to call right now in oklahoma. >> those are two states -- >> too early. >> it will keep him in the race if santorum wins. if he can't win in ohio he can't win the nomination but he can stay in it. >> a close race in ohio is not enough to keep rick santorum viable? >> it's close in ohio i'm guessing he

his speech was more like a cow pie of distortion. >> mr. romney has to rely on a cow pie of distortion because he can't rely on the truth. romney likes to say president obama has made the national debt larger than all other presidents combined. actually, the debt is up by about half under president obama. it tripled under ronald reagan. don't forget the majority of our current debt is from the bush tax cuts and unpaid wars in afghanistan and iraq. federal spending under president obama is growing at the slowest rate since the 1950s. mitt romney needed to distort president obama's record in iowa because romney seems to have problems when he tries to talk about his own policies in iowa. >> there are various ways of doing that. one is raise taxes on people. that's not the way -- corporations are people, my friend. we can raise taxes on. of course they are. everything corporations raise goes to people. where do you think it goes? people's pockets. >> there was also a time when a struggling iowa worker asked mitt romney how he could keep jobs in

romney to do anything? not ask us to do a single dime's worth of sacrifice? >> the obama campaign rubbed salt in the wound by releasing this ad today linking romney's tax returns to his 47% comments. >> mitt romney attacked 47% of americans who pay no income tax including veterans, elderly, the disabled. >> my job is not to worry about those people. >> doesn't the president have to worry about everyone? mitt romney paid just 14.1% in taxes last year. he keeps millions in bermuda and the cayman islands. he won't release his tax returns before 2010. maybe instead of attacking others on taxes, romney should come clean on his. >> what's going to happen? the american people are going to render judgment on mitt romney based on whether they think he would be a fair-minded leader. romney is making a pitch to the american people by saying that he is fair. but his tax returns and the tax policy he believes in tell a totally different story. this might be a reason why so many people have trouble connecting with mitt romney. >> polls consistently show you trailing and yo

had mitt romney lost ohio to mr. santorum, i think that it would have been seen as a spectacular night for rick santorum. the states that he won the night included north dakota, tennessee and oklahoma, but in the end, not ohio despite having been close all night. this has been a heck of a night. super tuesday tonight, and we are waiting for some of the results from alaska. which, you never know, might end up being definitive at any point. >> and sarah palin voted for newt. >> did she? >> sarah palin voted for newt so anybody who tells newt to get out, she will be all worked up about that. >> well, mitt romney owes thank you letters to newt gingrich and ron paul without whom he could not have won ohio. >> and no question that going for ward a vote for newt gingrich is a vote for mitt romney. so it is wise for the santorum campaign to start articulating that and see how much pressure they can bring, because they don't have much of a path with gingrich in in the race. >> how do you do that? where does the pressure come

. >> mr. romney, you were not for the loan, you know you weren't. mitt romney can't hide from his past. he killed jobs as a corporate ceo, he wanted president obama to kill jobs in the automobile industry and his policies will kill jobs if he's the president of the united states. his opponents are figuring it out, that is why they are going after him. not because they think he might get the nomination. this guy has a chance to destroy the republican party based on his business model. we're in a country that is trying to create jobs. he has a record of butchering labor. i must say all of the republican candidates don't have a good word to say about labor at all. santorum said president obama didn't save the automobile industry, he saved the unions. really? tell the other side of the story, mr. santorum. talk to the unions about how they took a haircut and came back with a reduced package to keep that industry alive and saved millions of jobs. get cell phones out. the question will more americans receive pink slips if mitt romney becomes president. a

people won't like being ruled by mr. 1%. >> romney has said some things that are just amazing to me. he's never thought about getting a pink slip before. of course he gave a fistful of cash to unemployed woman attending a rally. joy-ann, your response to that? >> a guy born on third base and thinks he hit a triple. he has never experienced insecurity and trying to relate to people is not his strength. even today when he tries to give this woman, african american woman in south carolina, $50 it came across at least to me like some old guy from the 20s throwing a nickel and tusseling their hair. it didn't come across as genuine compassion. i don't know it was an empty gesture made her look bad, like she was needy. >> if he wanted to do something to help this woman he could have a tax plan and economic plan that wouldn't in all likelihood raise her taxes to fund another tax cut for him and his peers. that is why this comes across as continue in gener disingenuous. you have a plan that goes to the pocketbook of lower and middle income folks, that will be a major issue for him. >> joan wa

mr. gingrich, mr. santorum, mr. romney, would have no interest whatsoever in considering that. there are employment implications. if you listen to john boehner he says 50,000 jobs will be created. cornell university did a study. they think a total of between 2,500 and 3,000 jobs. the fantasy that newt gingrich beautifully uses that term is theirs and not this president. >> alan west attacked the president on facebook. he said it took $70 to fill the tank of my 2008 h3 hummer. what does it cost you and what does it cost the president to fill his gas tank? richard, what's wrong with this statement? >> the guy should get a smaller car. something more efficient and up to date. there are a number of options out there. but his bigger problem is his party's problem, right? this is a party that says we understand the private sector. we understand business. this president is clueless. we could be producing any amount of gasoline and crude oil in this country and it would not affect the price of crude oil around the world. it is so much of a bigger market. saudi arabia has more direct im

. >> if he wants to defund planned parenthood, mr. romney and mrs. romney should give back the money they contributed to planned parenthood in 1994. the hypocracy shows how weakest. he's running disgrace fully, pandering to everything that moves because he will say anything to get elected. >> here he is, another infamous comment yesterday about women's health care. here it is. >> of course you get rid of obamacare, that is the easy one. planned parenthood we'll get rid of that. >> he previously attended a planned parenthood fund-raiser and sought the endorsement when he was running for governor in massachusetts. this is as big a flip-flop as you can find in his entire repertoire. >> also a flip-flop for the republican party this, is not new to many listeners. think about the fact richard nixon and george bush father helped found title x, the family planning program which mitt romney wants to roll back. this is not a women's issue, ed. you know what it is? it's an issue for families in the country. any partner, any man who has a partner or spouse or d

the "new york times" is out with an insider piece about mr. romney's campaign and their vice presidential vetting process. hinting that a likely short list of potential vps has emerged. according to the "new york times," the finalists are tim pa -- sorry, the mild mannered former minnesota governor tim pa-- pa-- tim pawlenty. in addition to governor snoozy, there's george w. bush's budget director, rob portman, and then what the "times" refers to as the two dark horse choices, paul ryan, the guy who became nationally famous when he suggested taking away medicare from old people and giving them coupons instead, and also louisiana governor bobby jindal. yesterday, he joins bobby jindal in louisiana for fund-raisers. the beltway press describing him as buzzed about as one of romney's most visible supporters and as a vp short lister.

that, mr. romney? i have to ask you that tonight. as we go from georgia down to florida, newt gingrich is carrying baggage with him but that doesn't matter, this guy has all the confidence in the world right now. he wins south carolina, he's leading in florida, and the pro-gingrich super pac wrote him another $5 million check, that is coming from adelson family. gingrich you know what he's looking like? like a winner right now. the way he talks, the way he walks, the way he acts. confidence is pouring off newt gingrich right now. on top of that he's making romney look pretty weak. >> i have been told by a variety of people that governor romney has been saying unkind things. i prefer personally not to believe it. but on the other hand, if you have been campaigning for six years and you begin to see it slip away, you get desperate. such baloney. used to be pious baloney now it's desperate baloney, that is the success se shun of the ca campai campaign. >> why is newt gingrich connecting with these

czar has drawn with mr. romney is on family values issues. things like abortion, even in rick santorum's case he's campaigned against contraception and things like that. if that's the sharpest contrast he can draw between himself and mitt romney is there fertile ground for that among new hampshire voters. >> well, actually, no, because but i do think another thing he's done, he's the only candidate that said we got to revitalize the manufacturing base. you know, he's a little bit -- he almost is talking about having government help get involved to revitalize the manufacturing sector. and that is something that can resonate there. remember, new hampshire has this conservative populist streak that was able to launch pat buchanan back in '96 so there is -- i do think there is an economic populism aspect to rick santorum in his message on the manufacturing -- trying to revitalize the manufacturing sector that could connect there. i think if he runs a campaign only on social issues, he wouldn't be able to i think go toe to toe with romney but you

these experiences give mr. romney the unique skills and capabilities to do what president obama has failed to do -- focus on job creation and turn around our nation's faltering economy." i'm joined tonight by dr. james sanderson, president of the united steel workers local union 7898 in georgetown south carolina. mr. sanderson, good to have you with us tonight. we keep hearing these stories about bain and mitt romney's involvement. what can you tell us about this? what happened here? what is the public in your opinion need to know? the first thing i'd like to say is good evening to everybody in the labor movement, the brothers and sisters that also understands the dilemma that we face here in south carolina. south carolina has over 10% unemployment right now, and we are very much in need of jobs. and to hear mitt romney running around this state, talking about that he's a job creator is very disturbing and is not true. he does, indeed, like to fire people, like you already said. we go back to 1997, whenever bai

romney? is she concerned about this at all? when you have the president of the united states call sandra fluke, when you have questions from the media to the president at the press conference about this, we'll get to that in a moment how can the republicans say he's an entertainer. that what is they're saying. >> you know what this reminds me of, there was a moment in the campaign trail when a woman was spouting off about obama's a muslim and john mccain bumbled his response but he at least had the courage to say you know what, ma'am, we disagree but he's a good man. what will happen when romney has the same chance when faced with the same moment, this is a similar moment and he failed the test. >> nina turner, how this is playing in ohio, big night last night, people paying attention to politics, will this run the female vote right in the democratic camp, what do you think? >> absolutely, ed, i have been hearing from women and also men across the state of ohio and actually the country who are absolutely outraged. everyone that