a report that came on the heels of another report that focused on the fiery rhetoric of jeremiah wright. the mainstream media did no vetting whatsoever. perhaps ms. palin didn't see those and the hundreds of other reports done by abc, cbs, msnbc, and even fox news. strike one for ms. palin. onto the other reason. the line trotted out by ms. palin is this. bill maher is a horrible man. here is how it works. rush limbaugh characterizes a student as a slut and a prostitute for daring to stand up for a sick friend. there's no condemnation for that attack, no krift schism for rush. there's a defense and it's this, bill maher once called ms. palin a very nasty name. >> i don't know anyone can sit in the audience and laugh. i think it's disgusting and it's dirty money that he's provided barack obama's campaign. i don't know how barack obama can sleep at night and if he thinks about his daughters and the treatment of some women today how he can accept that dirty money. >> for the record, mr. maher does say outrageous things on his late night show. i've been on it. he's a comedian. he's better read than ms. palin. he's never run for office. he knows about domestic and foreign policy, but he's not looking for a cabinet post and he does make donations to political campaigns, but he has no influence and seeks no basic s access and did use a four letter word. why is there such a long line of republicans who keep apairing on his show. people like darrell issa who's very committee deemed her unqualified to speak on the matter. she's a regular guest. i'm beginning to wonder if the only conspiracy here is that of certain congressmen at a timers flailing about trying to find a coherent line of attack. they went for the culture wars in contraception. that didn't work. they love to focus on the economy, but that's improving. they went for gas prices, but people are not stupid and they understand that the administration has very little control over the cost of a gallon. in the absence of creative thought or evidence they went back to the tried and the trusted, insult the president. >> barack obama has never been, i think seen in the conventional, traditional way of we who describe man of valor. >> diversion, make believe, victimhood and insults. they think bill maher is a bad guy. joining me now is karen finney, jonathan capehart and julian epstein. good day to all of you. karen, just so that we can understand her argument, ms. palin says that rush limbaugh is a good guy because she was called a four-letter word by bill maher and the president pals around with terrorists and radicals, right? >> apparently that's her argument. i'm hearing this from women let's not get distracted. this is not just about a couple of words that rush used about sandra fluke. it's about the whole picture he painted of her as a slut/whore/make a vitd owe. it was far more disgusting than just two words. he is a public person. sandra fluke isn't. you can make the argument whether you like what bill maher says you do put yourself out there in a way a private person testifying in congress should not expect to be attacked. >> yesterday fox news had this conspiracy involving derrick bell. he's passed away and has been raised from the dead by fox news and every aspect of his personal achievement working from difficult circumstances working himself up is completely rubbished. we're supposed to refer to him as a radical, is that right? >> apparently so. we're talking about derrick bell and the victimhood of sarah palin. we're talking about all of these other issues. the main things the republicans have been running on since 2009 is the economy. the economy is by all measures doing better and could be doing much better three, four months from now and maybe at least the administration is hoping by november. they have to do something, talk about something to gin up some kind of questions in the mind of voters before they go to the polls. >> they scrape the bottom of the barrel? >> of course. of course, they do. >> julian, is anyone thinking clearly about what it means to rally around and protect rush limbaugh? >> i think until the republican leadership repudiates, they have to stand for the grand old philistines. let's understand why the analogy to bill maher doesn't make sense. she's not the spiritual leader of the democratic party as rush limbaugh is of the republican party. secondly, many democrats have said that when bill maher has used some of the offensive words that he has crossed the line. third of all, comparing what bill maher's rift on sarah palin is she is an empty suit when it comes to public policy, and that i think is true and factually based, comparing that to calling a woman a slut because she advocates to contraception policy is like comparing bernie madoff to a shoplifter. the point is that the republican leadership is still yet to repudiate what has to be the number one most disgusting comment made in politics in 2012. >> guys, i've got to step up here for the women. it's not just about the comments. it's about this man saying if i'm going to pay for your sex, i want you to video tape it and put it on the web. women feel this very deeply. it's more than just those two words. >> it was dressing. >> everybody agrees on that. >> the most insulting manner. >> everybody agrees on that. >> i notice everybody keeps saying the to words. >> i didn't say anything about this. >> that's true. karen, this conspiracy theory which is being proposed by several come men at a timers that she was planted by the white house, are they going to say the reason rush limbaugh had a massive assist on his backside is because he was infected by democrats? >> here is be problem. >> answer the question. is that cyst caused by democrats? >> sure. here is the problem republicans are having. women aren't that stupid. they were counting on women being really stupid. this has brought up a whole host of issues that have been going on in this war on women in the last year. it's about the measures that the state legislature that are basically telling women you're idiots and you're too stupid to make any decisions about your own body. the government has to tell you when you've been raped. has to make sure you're not so frivolous with your sexuality that you won't use rape to get an abortion. this kind of conversation coming from rush limbaugh. republicans know, to me this says we're winning this argument. they are trying to change the suggest on two things that are not parallel. this is supposed to be the party of smaller government yet they want to get all up in our uterus uteruses. >> i suggest we take a pause. that was a powerful argument. we have much more. we have much more to discuss. next, i do declare is pandering i hear way down there in the land of cotton. stay with us. >> it's turning me into an unofficial southerner. i'm learning to say y'all, and i like grits. strange things are happening to me. ♪ we spend a lot of time on the feed because a chicken is what it eats. [ jim ] this seal verifies we feed my fresh all-natural chickens an all-vegetarian diet including corn, soybeans, and marigolds. no animal by-products. no meat and bone meal. when you put my chicken on the table, you know where it came from. about providing for his little girl. hey don't worry, e-trade's got a totally new investing dashboard. everything's on one page. i'm watching you. oh yeah? well i'm watching you, watching him. [ male announcer ] try the new 360 investing dashboard at e-trade. delicious gourmet gravy. and she agrees. with fancy feast gravy lovers, your cat can enjoy the delicious, satisfying taste of gourmet gravy every day. fancy feast. the best ingredient is love. fancy feast. this one's for all us lawnsmiths. grass gurus. doers. here's to more saturdays in the sun. and budgets better spent. here's to turning rookies - into experts, and shoppers into savers. here's to picking up. trading up. mixing it up. to well-earned muddy boots. and a lot more - spring per dollar. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. show the yard who's boss, with this cordless black and decker trimmer, just $84.97. mitt romney is in the deep south doing his best to fit in to the delight of news anchors everywhere. >> morning, y'all. good to be with you. i got started right this morning with a biscuit and cheesy grits. >> yes he, rick santorum and mitt romney are doing the good old boy routine. polls show a tight race, which may be why romney is saying anything, no matter the facts. >> if the federal government were run more like the government here in mississippi, the whole country would be a lot better off, don't you think? >> absolutely. if only the nation as a whole were like mississippi a state ranked dead last in personal income. an annual income almost 20,000 less than what mitt makes in day and also the fattest state in the nation. back with us karen finney, jonathan capehart and julian. was that a yawn from you? i haven't started yet. >> it wasn't a yawn. it was more of sigh about mississippi. >> how would you rank romney's y'all? how much gravy to drown out the taste? >> i thought his y'all was fine. what i have a problem with is it's not cheesy grits. it's cheese grits, man. i love cars. >> do you have any cadillacs, jonathan? >> i have a couple at home. >> this is the point. martin, this is the point because romney's leading with his chin. the biggest crack is his lack of authenticity. they say he needs better political consultants to get past this problem. i think he need a psychiatrist because he seems to have multiple personality disorder. bill maher likens him to mannequin at jcpenney he has more positions and identities than a game of twister. he has no core like a mannequin and he is inauthentic. >> what does a win for romney mean if practice? does he have to win in mississippi and alabama or would a gingrich win spoil santorum enough for romney still having trouble with conservative voters. >> romney needs to win -- he doesn't need to come in first but he has to come in a relatively strong second and show some ability to be effective among those voters. i think the only way they will try to deal with that would be on the vice presidential start to put out rumors they would put somebody to carry that piece. another thing why it was so ridiculous, mississippi is also a state that has their last in education. they have not been investing in their people or in new technologies or in jobs. yet, they call themselves fiscally responsible. they cut the programs with the same debates we're having in washington. people are falling behind. the economy is falling behind. he makes the exact point for why we should not dpo back to the republican policies. >> john, do you detect in romney this desperate lack of self-esteem so that where ever he goes he will say anything so long as it gets a response of affection toward him? he seems in need of personal a f affirmation. >> you have to get love. then you won't get the nomination. to jump on julian's jcpenney mannequ mannequin analogy, he is the mannequin but it's as if it goes from the jcpenney in michigan and changes clothes and becomes the one in another state. he's willing to change his mannequin clothes to fit with what he thinks the audience in those particular states want to hear. the only problem is he looks and sounds ridiculous doing it. >> he does. julian -- >> jonathan, i didn't mean to insult mannequins or jcpenney. >> we shop there and it's a good store. we brn through the performance on contraception. pe heard him insult the president as a snob. that doesn't go down well. he walked that back. he's also walked back his comments about j.f.k. what's next for rick santorum? >> he's following mitt romney's point of changing positions and identities. the kinder, softer, rick santorum. let me make a point and i think karen can relate to this. in 2008, i was in the hillary camp. >> i was at the dnc. i was neutral. >> karen was at the dnc. >> for those of us that were in the clinton camp, it was a hard fought campaign but never at any time did one camp lose respect for the other or did either camp think that the other candidate wouldn't be a superb president. when the campaign was over there was no hesitancy going embracing obama from the clinton side. that is not true to what's going on now. they dislike to the point of hating each other with a visceral disregard. think they are incapable of being elected president. they they do not represent the core of the republican party. this idea of what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, that's true in some cases. not this this one. >> it doesn't look that way. thank you so much for spending friday with us. >> thanks. next, positive jobs numbers have everyone feeling a little bit, well, almost everyone. stay with us. ♪ rocket man ♪ [ molly ] wash your paws, mr. man! [ female announcer ] think your kids are getting a dependable clean -in the bathroom? -[ gasps ] [ female announcer ] think again. try charmin ultra strong. for a clean that passes inspection with fewer pieces left behind. its diamondweave texture is soft and more durable versus the ultra rippled brand so it holds up better for a more dependable clean. fewer pieces left behind. now who's the man? you both are. [ female announcer ] we all go. why not enjoy the go with charmin ultra strong? immerse yourself in all over relief [ female announcer ] feeling that flu all over your body? with alka seltzer plus. it's specially formulated to speed relief to every inch of you. liquidate your flu symptoms with alka seltzer plus. looking for low prices. that burns a lot of gas. yep. want to see if this walmart low price guarantee can help you out with that? ok! every week they lower thousands of prices and check over 30,000 competitor prices. check out that low price. you want to grab one? grab two. what happens if she does find a lower advertised price somewhere else? i'll match it right here. so what did you learn today? every dollar counts and now i get to bring more home to my family. [ male announcer ] that's the walmart low price guarantee! see for yourself how much it can save you. we're going to make sure the next generation of life changing products are invented and manufactured here in the united states of america. >> the president once again placing his bet on american workers touting a growth in u.s. manufacturing jobs. he spoke a short time ago at a rolls royce aircraft plant in virginia following the release of the jobs report. the unemployment number remains unchanged. the committee added 227,000 jobs, which is higher than many economy i economists expected. joining me is brad woodhouse. the president keeps reenforcing there's more work to be done to make sure the middle class doesn't just survive but thrive. can this be accomplished with the jobs act still stored in the congress? >> there's a whole lot more that the president would like to see the republicans do. he'd live to move on helping states keep teachers and police and firefighters on the job. he's live to move on inf infrastructure investments. there's a whole lot that the president woultd lid like to se congress do. republicans wake up this friday every month hoping that the unemployment rate goes up, hoping people are losing jobs. that's what they want to see because they want to win an election. we should put creating jobs above politics. that's what the president is trying to do. >> i was wondering if speaker boehner had woken up because i haven't heard thing from him today. some of the republican candidates are trashing the jobs numbers. it's getting harder and harder to claim the economy isn't getting better. >> it's somewhat unfathomable. martin, we have created just short of four million jobs in the past two years. 1.3 million in the past six months. there's no one who is not a complete partisan who can't say that while we have more to do, that we're headed in the right direction. look, this really undermines any claim that mitt romney has on the presidency. he's supposed to be about the economy. we know he had a sorry record on that in massachusetts. we know he was a corporate raider, eliminating jobs for his own profit. he really dunt have an argument against the president anymore because we're slowly, but surely headed in the right direction. >> brad woodhouse p thank you for joing us. stay with us. the week's top lines are coming up. >> it's super tuesday. it's like the super bowl of politics if the super bowl was one team slowly destroying itself and just like the super bowl i've pantsed my face with the team colors. white. [ male announcer ] this is lawn ranger -- eden prairie, minnesota. in here, the landscaping business grows with snow. to keep big winter jobs on track, at&t provided a mobile solution that lets everyone from field workers to accounting, initiate, bill, and track work in real time. you can't live under a dome in minnesota, that's why there's guys like me. [ male announcer ] it's a network of possibilities -- helping you do what you do... even better. ♪ with scottrader streaming quotes, any way you want. fully customize it for your trading process -- from thought to trade, on every screen. and all in real time. which makes it just like having your own trading floor, right at your fingertips. [ rodger ] at scottrade, seven dollar trades are just the start. try our easy-to-use scottrader streaming quotes. it's another reason more investors are saying... [ all ] i'm with scottrade. from the great lakes to great brits, the not so super tuesday, and the very warm voice mail one viewer left me. here are our top lines, the week in review. >> rick may have a surprise up his sweater vest. >> it's gut check time. >> the heavy weight champion in my life. >> talk to the hand. >> it's super tuesday. i have painted my face the team colors. white. >> what would you like to say to mr. romney? >> good luck tonight. >> do you feel lucky, punk. >> it wasn't a super night for anyone. >> we don't need a mamby pamby leader. >> you are a lucky dude. >> mitt romney could be the prince charles of the republican nomination. >> i voted for the cheerful one. >> i'm all for mitt romney. i'm for everybody getting out. i wish president obama would hand me the thing. the government thinks he's now ordained by god to win. >> he could walk on water and they would say the president fails to swim. >> it means you're a slu to the best of your recollection. >> republican leader are afraid of rush limbaugh. >> not the language i would have used. >> the republican leaders are frad of rush limbaugh. you have a response. >> the point is snp. >> martin, that's why i love you. you like us smart women to come on your show and say what we really think. >> wimp. martin bashir. girly man. >> place has a special feeling in my heart. >> trees are the right height. morning y'all. >> this race has been a roller coaster. >> let's get right to it this friday with our triple panel. all three of whom pound the beltway. you're all great. washington insiders, i want to start with newt gingrich. let's show you a picture of the historian teaching a class on the dance floor with the lovely wife busting some moves, showing he still has the seductive technique that renders some women weak at the knees. he says alabama and mississippi are must wins. will newt dance on or will tuesday be the day the music dies? >> i think there's a chance next tuesday would wind down the gingrich campaign. rick santorum is close. we've seen some polls in alabama that show a close three-way race between romney, newt and santorum. santorum's got the momentum and the sort of dynamic appeal in the race at this moment. newt gingrich has been a spent force except for georgia. i think it's possible that rick santorum could get the outcome he wants in those two states and really accelerate the end of the gingrich campaign. >> i notice you were concentrating on that fabulous image of newt and his wife. what are your initial impressions because newt has got the moves. >> she wants to cut in. >> it's yours. go ahead. >> it's a sign to me that newt gingrich is feeling good. he's calling his opponents bunny rabbits. this thing could take on a while even if he loses the two contests coming up on tuesday. there are some southern states down the road. he's got a sugar daddy to really help him stay in this race. as long as he's fun, we could see newt gingrich go on. i will say he was down in mississippi or alabama a couple of days ago and one of his surrogates did talk about him being tired. maybe he was tired because he stayed up with his wife dancing. that could cause some problems too. >> i think you're right. we don't want him to overdance before tuesday. joe, let's put rick santorum in the scenario that he's been asking for. let's imagine it's head to head mitt romney. if he was out, that wouldn't speed up the process. >> santorum is the guy who mitt isn't. he's not the kind of stiff cut upper lip guy that mitt romney seems to be on the campaign trail. it gives people a viable alternative that they will want to turn to and makes more problems for -- i'm so lost. >> he was dancing late last night too. >> apparently that's the problem. too many happy feet. it gives mitt romney some problems. it highlights what he's not. that's the bottom line. >> john, thinking of the president and the jobs numbers today, you've got a certain kind of expertise on the economy as well as white house politics and general election politics, is it in the interest of the president for this nomination process to continue as a mud fight into a brokered convention or do you think it's in the president's interest to know that he's going to be facing off against one guy as soon as possible and then the battle can really commence? >> he'd rather have the mud fest go on for a while. if he's not going to face rmitt romn romney, the president is confidence and will have a much easier time running against newt gingrich and rick santorum. toez two fight the fight. >> we've noticed that santorum is finally come to his senses and decided that saying things like j.f.k.'s speech makes him throw up wasn't a good idea, insulting the president and others as snobs if they wish to have a college education, he's beginning to change his rhetoric and become sensible. >> that's right. you saw the comments hurt him in some of these contests. it hurt him among catholics to be criticizing j.f.k. i think it's going to be tricky territory going down south. he's going to really talk to the choir down there and rev up his whole identity as somebody that is focused on social issues. that's going to play very well down there in places like mississippi and alabama and gives him an edge over newt gingrich who had his own personal problems there with the last two marriages. i think that's going to give him the edge. he has to be careful. if he does think he has a shot in the general he has to tiptoe around these more, i think, extreme social issues that he's been talking about. >> if i can ask each of you, we know that newt gingrich would win dancing with the stars based on that paragraph but in terms of mississippi and alabama, who is going to win snp. >> i'm going to forecast santorum. we have been surprised at every turn in this race. i think the signs are looking good for rick santorum in both places. >> joe. >> i would say that romney takes alabama. santorum takes alabama. romney takes mississippi. a very, very prominent backer in haley barbour. >> no predictions for me. i think we have been wrong so many times the, so i am giving up. >> taking the darrell issa approach and offering no opinion what so ever. thank you very much. >> thank you. next, they just won't give up. the rights never ending search for radicals. stay with us. ♪ # turn left. the passat is one of nine volkswagen models named a 2012 iihs top safety pick. not...that... we'd ever brag about it... turn right. come on, nine. turn left. hit the brakes. huh? how did that get there? [ male announcer ] we can't hide how proud we are to have nine 2012 iihs top safety picks. so we're celebrating with our "safety in numbers" event. that's the power of german engineering. right now lease the 2012 passat for $219 a month. it may be time for the fbi to investigate the biggest conspiracy. republicans now claim that the white house was behind rush limbaugh's decision to call sandra fluke a slut and the prostitute. one website says they uncovered devastating video of president obama as a student at harvard praising the first tenured black professor who they referred to as a radical. well, that got sarah palin thinking. that can sometimes lead to some curious history lessons. >> derrick bell who believed that white men oppress blacks and minorities and barack obama evidently, at least at the time, believed what derrick bell believed. >> for more on all these evil plots, let's bring in goldie taylor. goldie, this is an absolutely astonishing allegation. the very idea that in one time in the history of this country white men oppressed blacks and minoritie minorities. i know there was slavery but what a radical idea that white men at one point in history oppressed blacks. >> it's pretty shocking to me to learn about all this slavery stuff and lynches and jim crow and separate housing and education. it's all shocking to hear this and hear sarah palin tell me that once and for all it wasn't true. it's stunning to me. it's amazing to me that dr. derrick bell, who rest his soul was one of this nation's pioneers in terms of civil rights in the legal arena. one of the few african-americans in that department refusing to give up his membership in the naacp. writings and a full body of work that advanced civil rights in this country not just for african-americans but for all americans so we could deliver on the promise of what the american dream is for everyone. it's surprising to me that someone like a sarah palin hasn't herd of him and never read anything he wrote and never followed any of his speeches that now he is cast as a loon radical that wanted to see the downfall of the white man. >> one imagines that professor bell's family, which saw him climb from humble origins to such seniority laid him to rest last october, i imagine they may feel a sense of disgust that the idea this man's entire history is now being entirely rewritten by someone as ignorant as sarah palin. >> i think it's one of the most unfortunate turns in this political process. populism rises every once to 30 to 40 years where people feel threatened in their economic position. derrick bell wrote an awful lot about this very kind of dynamic. with barack obama in this white house, this president, serving with the level of integrity that he served with and the kind of come togetherness that he's urged for this nation, to see the kind of obstructionism and the bigotry and hate hurled toward him when he hasn't returned any of that fire is really pretty disconcerting to me. they will keep on looking for a boogey man until they find pit. they're not going to find it in this president's background because it isn't there. >> there was an attempt to rewrite the story in preference and defending rush limbaugh. is there any comparison? >> there is not an ounce of comparison that you could make between a man like derrick bell and rush limbaugh. to breathe their name in the same sentence is a tough thing to do. i've seen the kind of disgusting language hurled by rush limbaugh. i've heard it hurled against women. i've heard it and it's distasteful and it's wrong. it ought to be called out and this time it happens to be rush limbaugh and he needs to be called to account for it. it's conserdisturbing to me tha conservative women have failed to stand up and call it for what it is. it's just wrong. >> thank you for joining us. a note before break. hundreds are gathering today many montgomery, alabama to mark the 47th anniversary of bloody sunday. marchers went together to highlight voter id and anti-immigration laws which they believe are being used to disenfranchise voters in time for november's presidential election. >> let's have the same id we had when we elected george bush jr. for president. you not going to get to the re-election of barack obama and now we need a different id. we gone play the game by one set of rules. >> tonight on politics nation, the reverend al sharpton will have an exclusive interview with martin luter king iii the church where his father preached. that's at 6:00 p.m. tonight here only on msnbc. we'll be right back. [ male announcer ] what if you had thermal night-vision goggles, like in a special ops mission? you'd spot movement, gather intelligence with minimal collateral damage. but rather than neutralizing enemies in their sleep, you'd be targeting stocks to trade. well, that's what trade architect's heat maps do. they make you a trading assassin. trade architect. td ameritrade's empowering, web-based trading platform. trade commission-free for 60 days, and we'll throw in up to $600 when you open an account. splenda® essentials™ no calorie sweetener with b vitamins, the first and only one to help support a healthy metabolism. three smart ways to sweeten. same great taste. splenda® essentials™. diarrhea, gas or bloating? get ahead of it! one phillips' colon health probiotic cap a day helps defend against digestive issues with three strains of good bacteria. hit me! [ female announcer ] live the regular life. phillips'. oh! [ baby crying ] ♪ what started as a whisper ♪ every day, millions of people choose to do the right thing. ♪ slowly turned to a scream ♪ there's an insurance company that does that, too. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy? ♪ amen, omen as republican candidates like rick santorum try to ward back some of the most embarrassing comments like calling the president a snob and referring to a speech by then candidate kennedy with contempt, there's little sign of them backingoff attacks on women. in 2011 alone, more than 1,100 reproductive restrictions were upheld in states. texas reduced its reproductive health budget by 66%. six states passed restrictions on family planning funds. and new hampshire prevented planned parenthood from receiving funding. congressman jan shakowski joins us. all twelve democratic female senators sent a letter to john boehner asking him to drop plans to take up the issue of c contraception in the house. first of all, do you know if speaker boehner has bothered to respond to that letter? and isn't it time someone whispered in their ears that this crusade is only damaging them, if only in political terms? >> i don't know what john boehner is going to do, but if they want to make contraception controversial in the united states of america in 2012 as a political strategy, i say bring it on. because the american women, 99% of whom use contraception, are not going to stand for it. i think it's going to be a very strong election year issue. >> do you know if speaker boehner responded to the letter from the 12 democratic females. >> i don't know that. >> this is what rick santorum said a few hours ago. >> you have to stand up about what's right and wrong. that's what we're doing. >> he says he wants to stand up and talk about what's right and wro wrong. if that's the case, why has he not yet offered a comprehensive condemnation of rush limbaugh's attack on sandra fluke? >> i certainly think he ought to, but you know what? it's not just about choice of words. that's where romney has decided to go to say that he would have chosen some other words. this is about a coordinated attack on women's fundamental rights. when rick santorum talks about right and wrong, he's talking about his own version of right and wrong, which he is entitled to have. but he's not kpooit led to repress the rest of us with his decision of what's right and wrong. >> earlier this week, i think you were the victim of an am bushes of sorts on this issue as a freelance reporter asked you with questions about the rush limbaugh controversy. first of all, what goes through your mind when you get blind sided like that? do you compare that with rush limbaugh's comments against what the comedian bill maher said? >> i didn't want to get into it with this individual who clearly knew there was an equivalency between bill maher and rush limbaugh. while i do condemn these kinds of verbal attacks and name calling, especially if they are directed toward women in the way that they are, i don't approve of that. but that is not the main point. bill maher is not trying to take away contraception from women. and bill maher is not the leader of any party. he's a comedian. so you know there was no way out of that kind of conversation. i decided to not answer this individual. >> indeed. i'm assuming, final question, that as this republican nomination process carries on and people continue to say defensive things, one assumes it's the president who appears to benefit given that his approval rating goes up every time there's a primary. >> you know, there's no question about it. i think the president really did a great thing when he called this young woman sandra fluke, who has been the object of the rath and the terrible attack by rush limbaugh. and to say to her that your parents would be proud of you because rush limbaugh is trying to go to character for this brave young woman who stood up for all young women. and so the president is doing very well. and there's going to be a huge gender gap. i think women are going to bring him home in november. >> you say that with a sparkle in your eyes. congresswoman, thank you for joining us this afternoon. >> thank you. >> we'll be right back. [ male announcer ] if you think tylenol is the pain reliever orthopedic doctors recommend most for arthritis pain, think again. and take aleve. it's the one doctors recommend most for arthritis pain. two pills can last all day. ♪ because a chicken is what it eats. [ jim ] this seal verifies we feed my fresh all-natural chickens an all-vegetarian diet including corn, soybeans, and marigolds. no animal by-products. no meat and bone meal. when you put my chicken on the table, you know where it came from. have given way to sleeping. where sleepless nights yield to restful sleep. and lunesta can help you get there, like it has for so many people before. when taking lunesta, don't drive or operate machinery until you feel fully awake. walking, eating, driving, or engaging in other activities while asleep, without remembering it the next day, have been reported. abnormal behaviors may include aggressiveness, agitation, hallucinations or confusion. in depressed patients, worsening of depression, including risk of suicide, may occur. alcohol may increase these risks. allergic reactions, such as tongue or throat swelling, occur rarely and may be fatal. side effects may include unpleasant taste, headache, dizziness and morning drowsiness. ask your doctor if lunesta is right for you. then get lunesta for $0 at lunesta.com. there's a land of restful sleep. we can help you go there on the wings of lunesta. thanks so much for watching this afternoon. dylan ratigan is here and ready to entertain and inform. dylan, what you got? >> a delightful friday to you. are you doing something fun this weekend? >> i'm not doing any music, but i'm hoping to run around the park. i haven't done that for about three weeks. so i'm going to have to give it a bit of a run tomorrow. >> spring is in the air. it's a beautiful thing indeed. let us begin.