"the post" reports cuts across the country turned away medicare patients blaming the sequester budget cuts. colleges say the reduced funding which took effect for medicare on april 1st makes it impossible to administer expensive chemotherapy drugs. patients would need to seek treatment elsewhere such as at hospitals. to give you an example, sacramento schools will see special education cuts. utah felt cuts in their emergency unemployment benefits. a west virginia program to end poverty stopped all new projects until september. and down in chapel hill where i went to school, they could lose a bunch of work study opportunities for students down there. so until now, at least, republicans feel they've had the high ground on this issue of sequestration. it may take more reporting on the effects the cuts have been having to even the score. joining me, two "hardball" strategists on how their own party is jockeying for position on the issue and how it should be. robert gibbs, of course, a genius, served as white house