Transcripts For MSNBC Morning Joe 20110613

"the book of mormon." >> i was worried that's where you were going. i thought you were talking basketball. >> there was a game last night? >> i was watching both. >> a split screen. >> tony's on the tv, game on my ipad. >> very good. very good. willie geist, tony's are great, aren't they? >> they are. the stars come out. it was funny. excellent show. >> it was fabulous. >> the basketball game last night, willie. >> yep. >> who would have believed the dallas mavericks would be able to do this with dirk not showing up until the end of the game. >> he made one out of 12 shots. jason terry, a guy who toiled with the atlanta hawks having his moment. he was fantastic. kept them in the game. gave them a two-point lead going into halftime then they win by ten points. lebron james, 20 points. did not take over the game. dwyane wade did not have a good game. the big three, they came out and danced with smoke machines and strobe lights. they were beaten on their home court. the mavericks are world champions. >> a great defense against lebron. he never got that much open space. >> it really was surprising and steve rattner, if you are the heat, at this point, what do you do repairing for next year? they have set up something where they have to win it all every year or they are total failures. >> they fired the big guy this year and it didn't work. >> yeah. what's the next big bullet, willie? >> i don't know. they have three of the best ten players in the nba. i don't know how much more talent you can get. i think it's time to accept lebron james is not one of the all-time greats. >> you know, sometimes you don't have to have, mika, the best players in all your sport, spend tons of money. look at the red sox, the little engine that could. >> such sweet boys. >> chug to the top of the mountain. >> they are the good news bears. >> go red sox. >> humiliating people, too. >> it is unbelievable. >> started badly, but going well. >> a lot to talk about, obviously. >> yeah. >> debbie giffords back in the news. >> yeah. >> newt gingrich back in the news and of course, a story that we didn't touch on an awful lot. just reported it and moved on. it enraged people on the right. people on the far right. the e-mails, we'll read some of the e-mails. the same thing people on the left were upset when i didn't wallow in scandals. we didn't do it with spitzer, either. at this point, nancy pelosi is speaking out and the majority is speaking out, i mean the house leadership is saying he has to go. at this point, it's taking on a new angle. >> it's news now. we'll get there. there was an interesting debate about the hypocrisy matter on this. let's go there. the new york daily news is reporting anthony weiner is considering the possibility he may have to resign. a source close to weiner was adamant about keeping his seat, but the non-stop media coverage, calls to step down and more photos made him realize he may not be able to survive the controversy. it comes a week after he admitted to exchanging inappropriate messages to women online. he's entering a treatment center to quote, focus on becoming a better husband and healthier person. he requested a short leave of absence. many lawmakers say it's not enough. nancy pelosi is among the many democrats pressuring him to leave office. employee say saying congressman weiner has the love of his family, constituents and the recognition that he needs help. i urge him to seek that help without the pressures of being a member of congress. more photos of the congressman were posted online yesterday. this time, he's posing in the locker room of the congressional gym. it prompted more calls for his resignation from both parties. >> it's extraordinarily difficult to represent constituents in a good way considering the circumstances. >> at the end of the day, a member of congress makes their own decision. itis going to be up to anthony weiner. we made clear, he needs to resign and focus on getting his personal issues in order. focus on his family. >> it's a distraction. yes, he should resign. i don't take pleasure in saying that. we have work to do and this is a distraction. >> in a heated debate, the heads of republicans and democratic party argued on handling the weiner scandal. they accused them of inaction. >> let's not go there. that's so stupid. >> it was dumb of him. he should be quiet about this. unless he's going to do the same thing. >> exactly. >> it's wasting time. it's sad. >> that's what i hate about the coverage of scandals, politicians jump up and down whether they are trying to exploit someone, weiner, spitzer or sandford. seriously? back off. >> it's obviously sad. it's obviously going downhill. wouldn't you back off and let the train keep going? >> you would think so. the fact is it's not happened. those are stupid exchange over the weekend. >> it was. all of them saying, you know, get out. anyway. >> good. >> this took a turn last -- at the end of last week. you look at the poll numbers out there, most of his constituents want him to survive, then the police show up at the home of a young 17-year-old girl who met anthony on a trip to washington, i think with her class and he was sending text messages. i think at that point, that was probably the bitter end for him. then these new photos come out. the personal recklessness. >> i'm not sure how he was communicating with her and i don't think they were deemed inappropriate for the record. >> it's extraordinary. what was the guy thinking? >> right. >> this was going on before his wedding, during his wedding and after the wedding. there's self-portraits. >> there's the problem. >> you don't know where it ends. >> i was in the house gym for eight years, when did he do that? there's always guys around. i'm saying seriously, who would think of even doing that? >> seriously, it's become a distraction for the democrats. it's why you see the leadership coming out. you may not like what the rnc chair said on "meet the press" but it's what we are going to hear as long as he's there. >> the best parallel to the scandal was the mark foley scandal. it was messy and the republicans did take a long time to handle the foley problems. they knew about it for a long time. it became a potent political issue. it did become relevant. i don't know that's the case here because the democrats have come out so quickly and said he needs to go. >> relatively quickly. they will do everything they can to make anthony weiner staying in office improbable. they will strip him of every office perk he could have. they think he could hold on if he wants to. >> anthony weiner worked for chuck shumer many years ago. >> chuck has been clear publicly and privately, he's not going to pressure him. he's a friend and going to leave it up to anthony of what to do. >> the republicans are going to get asked about this. you can't blame them for answering if they are pressed. all they need to say is he needs to step down. >> if democrats drag their feet on this, it becomes an issue. when you are texting underage girls. they have all come out aggressively and pushed him. that's why i say shut up. seriously, by the time republicans were complaining about this on sunday, if i'm not mistaken, every member of the democratic leadership told him to step down. thursday of last week, remember harry reid threw him overboard, said get out, don't talk to me. willie, that's why it seems like a desperate plea. it seems like a cheap shot. >> it was a cheap shot. you heard the news friday about the 17-year-old and then nancy pelosi's voice over the weekend. it's over. who cares about the story. if you talk to progressives, they feel they are losing a leading voice. he fought for them on health care. he's a smart guy. a leading light. >> it's all very sad. >> his personal recklessness is causing them a voice. >> part of the reason he's not got a lot of support, he alienated the white house and his colleagues by being too aggressive. >> i'm talking out in the country, not in the caucus. >> i will say, willie, on this show, while barack obama was afraid to admit whether he's for a public option or not, when the white house was striking deals with foremans and big hospitals and everything, anthony weiner was coming on this show and many others and fighting the fight and talking medicare for all and doing it aggressively. >> it's a big loss. >> on the issue of health care reform, he was not a back bencher. he was relevant to the debate. >> in all likelihood, one of the big challenges now is how to go from thinking of a career as a member of congress and maybe mayor of new york to rebuilding his life. it's a hard adjustment to make for him. he was focused -- >> i'm not sure he's not going to hold on. >> i think the caucus can make it impossible for him to stay. >> let's move on to another story. >> a lot going on over the weekend. republicans are gearing up for a debate in the 2012 nomination. it's tonight in new hampshire. a few key jabs at president obama and a few others. tim pawlenty slammed the president and mitt romney on health care yesterday. >> president obama said he designed obama care after romney care and made it obomney care. the president said he patterned in large measure obama care after what happened in massachusetts. what i don't understand is they both continue to defend it. i oppose the mandate at any level. >> despite the criticism, romney is at the top of the gallup poll with 24% of republican voters backing him. sarah palin comes in second at 16% and herman cane trails at 9%. >> look at that. >> missing from the leaders is newt gingrich who resolved to stay in the race after most of the top senior advisers left the campaign. here is gingrich at a speech at a jewish coalition last night. >> as someone who has been in public life for nearly 40 years, i know full well the rigors of campaigning for public office. in fact, i have had some recent reminders. i will endure the challenges. i will carry the message of american renewal to every part of this great land, no matter what it takes. with the help of every american who wants to change washington, we will prevail. [ applause ] >> coming up, we'll hear from huntsman as well as texas governor rick perry. >> all right. did you see, it was like beatlemania for the mainstream media. did you see the obsessive countdown to sarah palin's e-mails being released? did they not make themselves look like fools and prove -- we have been critical of sarah palin, but did the media not prove how bias they have been on sarah palin? >> i would be interested to see how much was invested in flying to alaska because i believe you had to do this to get the e-mails. was this through a request? what was the reason for the need to see the e-mails? was there a potential illegal action? i'm sure it was serious. >> 50% bias against her and no one wanted to miss out on a big story. >> what was the reason for the request? >> it was pending for months. senator mccain chose someone who no one knew anything about. there was a chance to be vice president of the united states. >> but she's not vice president of the united states. >> that's important. that's legitimate. >> 24,000 e-mails. who knew what would be in there. maybe interesting. maybe titillating and off you go. >> it was interesting for the people of alaska. there were unanswered questions. i'm not sure anything law breaking came out. >> the countdown. i mean, was it not over the top? >> i don't disagree. >> there's 24,000 of them. >> it's unbelievable. at least they obsessed over barack obama's decade in chicago politics as much as they obsessed over sarah palin's two years, wait, they didn't. >> no, i don't think they did. we'll have to find out. >> you didn't see boat loads of reporters -- >> have you been reading this? >> that is one of the most shameful episodes of the 2008 election. the obsession over sarah palin's alaska records and what she told her hairdresser about todd versus barack obama in what's considered one of the most corrupt machines in america and there wasn't the same obsession with the guy who had been there for a decade. he ran blagojevich's campaign in '02. he and rahm. >> halprin? >> i have long said it was a failing of the press. should have been done. >> have you been reading the sarah palin e-mails? >> the first headline was nothing in sarah palin e-mails. >> i was going to say -- thousands of pages and there won't be one thing that changes what we already know. >> i want to talk, a fascinating story speaking of the president. a fascinating story on "the new york times." how the president kicks around wall street is a bunch of greedy crooks is now going to wall street trying to get their money. >> oh. >> "the new york times" writing about it. about the president seeking wall street cash. >> well -- coming up we're going to talk to senator john barrasso and tom brokaw will be on set and peggy noonan will join us. we have a look at the top stories of the morning. first, let's go to bill with a check on the forecast. bill, good morning. >> good morning to you, mika. hope you had a wonderful weekend. weird weather in new england. it was in the 50s and 60s and rain. a cool, damp weekend. the worst weather in the country. d.c. did not get a taste of that. you were 90 degrees yesterday. a chance of showers from hartford, providence. new york city, philly and baltimore sunny. hot from dallas to the deep south. the drought p continues with temperatures soaring. the rabbit corkscrew. 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[ grunts ] all right. welcome back to "morning joe." 22 past the hour. time to take a look at the morning papers. we start with the new york daily news. assemblymen in queens ban smoking in a car with children under the age of 14. good idea. the goal is to reduce the amount of secondhand smoke children are exposed to. other states have similar laws. l.a. times, the pentagon and iraqi government are finally closing the books on a program that shelled out money for redevelopment programs. the defense department still can't say what happened to more than $8 billion in missing cash. wall street journal, the first public image of gabrielle giffor giffords. two photos show the congresswoman smiling and having shorter hair. they were taken in mid may just before surgery. the congresswoman is expected to be released later this month. "the new york times" front page article here, obama seeks to win back wall street cash. steve rattner, is he going to be able to do it? >> i think in the end he will. wall street is a pretty sen tryst place. they trusted hillary clinton. when obama came along, they believed in hope and change. they thought it was a guy they could deal with. a lot of them were disappointed with what happened. there will be a core group that will stay with the president, for sure. he's got a lot of work to do. he's working hard at it. it's going to take a lot of convincing to get it back. >> are there some friends you know who have completely sworn him off or most can be swayed back? >> there's a number who have sworn him off. one of his classmates who was a supporter is for romney this time. in the end, i think he will get his money whether it's wall street or someone else. he'll get his money. they are playing catch up. they are having to do a lot of work because of what he said in '09 and wall street didn't feel they were listened to. >> okay. >> right. thanked. okay. i have a big question. back from what but we'll save it. we are going to politico. back from what? what has changed between wall street and main street. i don't think people feel he took wall street to task, am i wrong? >> wall street did. the rhetoric was ugly. whether he did anything, the rhetoric was tough about bonuses and practices and all that stuff. >> it was tough to the sensitive ears of those on wall street. >> exactly. let's turn to politico with mike allen with a look at his political playbook. hello, mike. >> good morning. >> you are looking tanned and rested. >> rested and ready. >> we have a big republican debate up in new hampshire. mitt romney released a new web video ahead of it. let's watch. >> there's always going to be bumps on the road to recovery. >> i'm an american, not a bump in the road. >> i'm an american, not a bump in the road. >> i'm an american, not a bump in the road. >> there you go. mitt romney releasing that ahead of the debate tonight. this is the message we are going to hear tonight, economy, economy, economy. >> right. mitt romney is trying to soar above the rival. he's going after president obama. the last part of the video is the last frame talking of hope coming november 6, 2012. romney is looking ahead to the general election. his republican rivals have to go at each other. we had tim pawlenty yesterday. ahead of the debate is a curtain raiser quoting the term obomney care. the toughest hit at romney. romney is focusing on obama with the video of menacing music. dusk in america portraying the country in a dust bowl like affair. >> the united states could be on the brink of a new great depression. he's going to keep his head down and talk about the economy, isn't he? >> there's not much difference. they are auditioning tonight. who can make the case they can do better on the economy than barack obama? if one republican soars above the other on that, they will be the nominee. this romney video is intended to lay down that marker. he's trying to convince people barack obama has been a failure on the economy. >> each one they put out is more conservative. the pawlenty plan, which made little economic sense may play well to the republican voters. >> what should we look for in the debate tonight? >> jon huntsman is notable. we are seeing mitt romney for the first time. everybody is going to go after him. the coverage will focus on how he does. obama 2012 jumping into the mix. robert gibbs is jumping on a plane this afternoon. he'll be a surrogate for the democrats and critiquing the debate. >> mike, thanks so much for a look at the politico play book. mark cuban, coming up. >> he kept his mouth shut, huh? >> one of the most vocal owners in the nba. taking a shot at miami heat fans after the mavericks win the title. we'll show you some of the best moments from last night's tony awards. bono was there, chris rock. rock did a stand-up last night. we'll show you, when we come back. boy, i'm glad we got aflac huh. aflac! oh, i've just got major medical... major medical. ...but it helps pay the doctors. pays the doctors, boyyy! 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[ pigeons ] heyyy! hooo!!! sxz all right. talking sports. >> oh, is it 33 past the hour? >> it is. let's begin with the nba finals. we told you at the top of the show, the dallas mavericks are nba champions. here is how it happened. second quarter steal the pass, sets up deshawn stephenson. the mavs grab a 12-point lead. it goes back to miami. house gets a run for miami. they take the lead. looked like they were going on a run. pushing an shoving. three technicals all told in the back and forth. no punches thrown. dwyane wade works. he didn't do much. dirk coming alive. one for 12 in the first half. came back nicely. dirk, a little pull-up jumper, he's going to hit a baseline jumper. beautiful shot here over two guys. high, arcing jump shot. >> he stepped up. >> two minutes left, jason terry is left. a pull-up jumper to seal the championship. he had 27. mavs win 105-95. >> wow. >> they take the series. the first title for that franchise. dirk got emotional. started crying. he said he needed a moment to himself in the tunnel. he did come back to receive. >> cry in the tunnel. then we come back. >> he was named mvp of the nba finals. an emotional loss for the miami heat after the build up and hype. they got nothing. chris bosh dropping to his knees on the way to the locker room. lebron james had 27 points. he was asked if losing the championship was a personal failure for him. >> i get to the top of the mountain and you fall off, it's definitely a personal failure. i was a failure in '07 when we lost to the spurs. when i was in cleveland now losing to the mavericks. >> just didn't have the takeover game like you thought in the nba finals. >> it is so early in his career for anybody to draw any conclusions. you may remember -- people asking whether michael jordan would ever win an nba championship, whether he had what it took to get him over the top. >> he was a one-man show. >> the same thing about john elway for 15 years. this is a character building experience. i bet they come back next year with their heads down and we'll be an even better team. heads down, focus. >> not hanging their head. >> they are not coming out with smoke machines anytime soon. they are going to focus on their basketball game. >> michael jordan won his first title when he was 28 years old. lebron james is 26 years old. he's a young man. >> dwyane wade, what a leader. >> amazing player. tough player. they have a great, great team. >> mark, you have been -- a lot of happy stories. here's a guy a lot of people say talk too much. he's handled the whole thing remarkably quiet. >> restrained is the word that comes to mind. >> very outspoken. last night, talking to espn, he broke the playoff praising the fans. >> really? >> as much as our fans are aligned, our fans just pumped the [ bleep ] out of the miami fans. literally, that's the only way to say it. we had fans here, miami is a great city, i love miami. our fans were saying let's go mavs were louder. it was crazy. >> he couldn't help himself. jason kidd, his first nba title. a fabulous career. >> what about the red sox. >> let's do the red sox. they are on fire. first inning boston's adrian gonzalez. 1-0 there. in the fifth, justin shaking off a sore knee. 5-1 there. big poppings on a tear, puts the game out of reach with a three-run home run. red sox win 14-1. saturday, they beat the blue jays, 16-4. >> he's still hitting them out. >> don't talk about the size of his cranium. >> is that what you are suggesting. >> the thing is, he's leaving the team in batting average. he's in the .320s. >> fascinating. >> the little engine that could. >> still ahead, peggy noonan and tom brokaw when we come back. 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we are here. we are under a contract here and we are happy here. >> they didn't want to retract -- i don't know, whatever. >> they better retract it. >> it's weird, we were standing right there. >> steve, you know a lot about the media. if somebody is there and time warner saying bring your show over, knowing it's a joke and she reports we corner him, it's clearly a lie. she's clearly twisted the facts. shouldn't we be able to get a retraction on that? >> they should retract that. >> if you spit out your coffee on the paper so you could not read the article you would have been in better shape. >> it was licorice gatorade. >> there are some charts. can we move on? >> this is very important. >> it is. it's why he's here. we are going to talk about salaries and what's happening. >> everybody always talks about the jobless rate. steve, you are more concerned about the fact that salaries, wages are collapsing. >> i mean for the concerned. i was thinking about your trip to l.a. on friday and education. i'm not a quality of education guy, but i can measure quantity of education. there is a big difference. what's more interesting is what's happened to the big difference over the last 30 years. if you go back from 1979 to 2010, if you had less than a high school diploma, your real earnings after adjusting for inflation went down 25%. >> wow. >> 25% less purchasing power than then. if you had a bachelor's degree your earnings went up. >> in real weekly pay? >> real weekly pay. >> we are not just talking people in poverty and wall street tycoons, this is much simpler. if you don't have a degree you are down 25%. if you have a college degree you are doing pretty well. >> this is the whole point, the value of education. it's been studies. economists said education is worth 10% on your pay. think about going back and getting another degree. >> you have enough. i might need to. >> not only is the effect of education clear, but the trend is dramatic. >> it is -- >> what's heartening, if you look at the next chart, the fact that more people are getting education. the market works. people understand this. today, you have 56% of americans with some form of college education versus 44% in 1992. people are getting more educated. this is at the root of a lot of our problems on the wage side. >> and bachelor degrees jumped up from 21%. >> today, somebody with college makes 2.6 times than somebody with less than high school. 1979 it was 1.6 times. the spread is wide. >> why is that? why is it happening? >> it's simple, supply and demand at work. we have a demand for higher paid workers. the workers at the bottom with no skills are simply not in demand and their wages are being cut because of global competition. a gm worker makes about $28 an hour. a plant in tennessee is going to pay $14 an hour. it's not even a middle wage job. >> you could have a high school degree, go to detroit, work for gm, ford, chrysler, american motors, be in a union and make a real, living wage. >> in the old days, you would make $60,000 a year, health care, benefits, pension, all that stuff. >> taken care of. >> taken care of. today, we are moving in the other direction. >> can't do it anymore. >> in the education debate, and the quality, change the supply, demand and balance. >> look at the numbers. in crenshaw high school, in that area, at least, unemployment for african-american males, 30%. 35%. >> unemployment for kids without full high school is three times the unemployment rate than those with a bachelor's degree. >> bill clinton was great at making people feel he understood the dynamics. george bush was decent. somewhere in america, a city comes to life. it moves effortlessly, breathes easily. it flows with clean water. it makes its skyline greener and its population healthier. all to become the kind of city people want to live and work in. somewhere in america, we've already answered some of the nation's toughest questions. and the over sixty thousand people of siemens are ready to do it again. siemens. answers. hey, dad, you think i could drive? 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[ male announcer ] ducati knows it's better for xerox to manage their global publications. so they can focus on building amazing bikes. with xerox, you're ready for real business. time to recap the tonys. we call it news you can't use. >> perfect. >> "the book of mormon" cleaned up. they won nine awards. a great show, including best musical, best book of a musical, best original score, best actress in a musical. the list goes on and on. the record had been 12-1 in 2001. it fell short of that. >> i still haven't seen it. i can't get tickets. >> you can see all the awards. >> "war horse" won for best play. great, great night for the guys at "book of mormon." >> the mormon vote was split for best actor, wasn't it? >> josh. >> i like him. >> chris rock presented best musical doing a little stand-up leading into it and talking about the inevidentibility of "the book of mormon" win. >> if you would tell me two years ago that i would miss the best basketball game ever to hang out with nathan lang, i would have said you're crazy, but that's what happened. i remember my first musical like it was yesterday because it was yesterday. this is the best musical and it's -- come on, we know what the best musical is. this is a waste of time. it's like taking a hooker to dinner. >> oh, my gosh. >> that's a waste of time, apparently. of course, "the book of mormon" won. >> that's terrible. >> it wouldn't be tonys if they didn't speak about superman. neal patrick harris said let's get it out of the way. as many jokes as i can do 30 seconds. >> i'm not spending the whole show doing spiderman jokes. i's too easy. it's expected, but it is such a big story, i feel like we need to do something. let's put 30 seconds on the clock. go. pretty soon they will change the name to turn off the lawsuits. spider man the only show that shows you about strobe lights and falling actors. the only thing not falling are ticket prices. she woke up and found the head of war horse in the bed. i sent bono a cable but it snapped. >> we used to be famous for being in u-2. when i first saw the tony awards on our schedule i just kind of assumed we had been nominated. we can promise you tonight and it has been confirmed by the reverend that spiderman, turn off the dark opens next tuesday. >> we were ready in february, but wanted to keep the excitement level up at the new york post. >> it was a great show. >> they want everyone to come back and try again. >> you are going to watch again, right? >> i might. i don't know. >> yes, you are. >> i am? >> yes. >> all right. we'll go. we'll bring the kids. >> what a great show. >> neil patrick harris. he's amazing. peggy noonan straight ahead on "morning joe." óww?rñ&m&m@m@b [ male announcer ] this...is the network -- a network of possibilities. in here, the planned combination of at&t and t-mobile would deliver our next generation mobile broadband experience to 55 million more americans, many in small towns and rural communities, giving them a new choice. we'll deliver better service, with thousands of new cell sites... for greater access to all the things you want, whenever you want them. it's the at&t network... and what's possible in here is almost impossible to say. 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when you look at the middle east -- >> can we? >> i would argue we can if you are willing to pay another quarter tril dollars to do so. if it isn't in our interest and a logical exit strategy and don't know what the cost is going to be in terms of money and human lives, then i think you have to say, it's probably time we re-evaluate this. if we can't make the strong argument to the american people. >> president huntsman would want to be out of afghanistan earlier than 2014? >> my hunch is the american people want to be out of there as quickly as we can get it done. you have to leave behind some presence. >> okay. welcome back to "morning joe." top of the hour. joining the table columnist, peggy noonan. an msnbc contributor, ezra klein. just hearing from jon huntsman, very interesting. >> he's in control, isn't he? >> yeah. >> i say that in that he seems very sure of himself. he can speak in complete sentences. one sentence relates to the previous sentence. >> there is that. >> he reeled together a very effective paragraph. these days in american politics, that ain't nothing. >> there's more that meets the eye there. i think he's going to burst on to the national scene. it's a matter of timing. >> yeah, you know, huntsman also made a bit of history in that clip by talking about foreign policy. no one has been doing this in this cycle among the republicans. speaking in a way that suggests oh, i may be breaking with the past. >> yeah. >> with regard to the wars we have going. that was really interesting. >> ezra, we have, in the media, tend to focus on the big, flashy stories, the candidates that grab attention whether the michele bachmann's or sarah palin's or donald trumps and the list goes on. yet you get a sense, "back of mormon" last night, the two mormons that keep their head down are benefiting from that in the end. this circus side show that's been going on with the republican party for so long. >> i think huntsman is going to have trouble breaking through that. hundred thing on huntsman, we have a tendency to focus on the last couple of years and couple of elections when we do this. in 2008, you would think the next presidency would be about iraq. it was about a financial crisis. would have been nothing like we thought. there's something interesting about a candidate taking another path. oftentimes, it's closer to what they focus on than what they were concerned about in the campaign. >> huntsman is a smart guy. on that same show, john trashed huntsman saying it's not the fact he served in the obama administration, it's the way he fawned over him, supporting different policies, not just the ones with china. there are people in the party that are going to try to take him down based on his relationship with obama. >> they may do that or mitt romney had a health care plan strikingly similar to obamas. we have people that obsess over every policy detail. it all gets washed aside. it's a gut feeling. my dad, four years ago, when everybody said john mccain was done, we said this on the show. every time i would leave to come back to new york, he said you watch that john mccain? he was 2% in the poll. my dad was a republican voter. a hard working guy, didn't watch news shows day in and day out. he knew mccain and liked mccain. if people like huntsman, they are not going to focus on that and if they like romney, they are not going to focus on health care in massachusetts. >> he will probably announce fairly soon. i think his headline will be china. his subhead will be speaks mandarin. so many people are speaking of china. he brings expertise on it. the charge it was too cozy with the administration, he was a diplomat. he was courteous. >> i think it's what makes obama vulnerable. i think this candidate has the tools in his tool chest to take on president obama unlike any other in the republican field. >> after two and a half years, after two and a half years, this seems counter intuitive, republicans behaving badly, calling the president a marxist, and a fascist. hurting the party and the brand in these swing states. what stronger position than to say, i like the guy. i worked with the guy in china. >> yeah. >> i think he's dead wrong on foreign policy, on health care. take it out of the personal and go to the american people and say, this isn't a personal thing. we need to go in a new direction. >> what you are talking is centric talk. >> one of the things is you will be away for two years. is he in touch with how deeply primal the republican base looks like it is? >> how deeply primal the republican base is. it's primal. once you start chugging and churning and get to florida and you go to the midwest, it gets very sen tryst, very fast. john mccain, you know, with every talk show host in america trashing john mccain day in and day out, trying to kill him because if he lost on january 29th in florida, mccain would be out and romney, the nominee. you had hannity, beck, laura ingram, fox, everybody dedicated that john mccain must die. he waltzed through florida and the midwest and to victory. it is primal early, but it gets sen tryst down the road. if you don't believe that, ask how john mccain and gerald ford and bob dole win nominations. >> let's listen to huntsman on the economy. he revealed he is a week and a half away from making an announcement about his decision to run. he's wasting no time to hit the president on his economic policies. >> on the economic side, there are no signs of success. very little. in politics you have two to two and a half years to get something done and move out in a positive direction. here we are. >> you think it's failed on the economic side? >> failed on the economic front. >> let's go from the republican side to the democratic side. "the new york times" front page talking about how the president is now seeking money from wall street, trying to be nice. what's going on there? >> he needs money. he got money from hedge funds and investment bankers. this is a group of very wealthy people. the bush administration was temperamentally different from them. then obviously, there's financial regulation and they didn't like him for awhile. when they began watching the republican field, they get a tingle in their spine. maybe they aren't the folks that hitch the wagon. the debt ceiling doesn't make us feel comfortable. it puts him in a tough bind. he's going to have to run against the banks. a lot of people think he did t.a.r.p. people blame obama. on the other hand, he has to get money from somewhere. wall street is one of the largest big pots of money folks on the left can appeal to. >> he cleaned up on wall street. so much. more money from wall street than ever before. there's always misconception, misperception, i think, nationally that wall street loves republicans. they don't. >> it's not true in my lifetime. there's a cultural disconnection. it's been southern, tx an. >> it's been main street. >> it has been but running from georgia to houston, texas. >> true. wall street is divided from this republican party. it's fascinating, where are they going to go this year? >> i think obama is in that delicate position in 2011 of going to the too big to fail guys. the guys in the hbo movie the other night and by and large are still there who are not the most admired human beings in america. wall street bankers. the heads of wall street companies. he's got to go where the money is and he's got to go make his appeal. the great question is, whether or not they are going to stiff him. how they feel about him now. >> what did he do that was so insulting besides call them a few names. tell me what financial reform did to turn it around. >> made them bigger. they hate their new high profits. it's a case that wall street is incredibly thin skinned. if you don't bow down before them and say it was really, really great all these things you did before and after wrecking the global and financial economy, they get very, very upset. wall street swung to the republicans in 2010. boehner and canter are working very, very hard to keep it there. it created the unemployment of both parties vying for their support. >> i don't understand what's been done to change the situation? why wall street has been so hurt? >> because when you make the banks bigger after too big to fail, they are having to write out big bonuses. >> you're right. >> seriously, you get to the end of the year and write billions of bonuses. >> that's right. >> willie geist, let's go to, there's an advertisement that was brought to our attention last night. you and ezra both said off air that it's compelling. >> ezra thought it was comp compelling. an ad hitting president obama going above the rest of the republican field to hit president obama on the economy. watch this. >> there are always going to be bumps on the road to recovery. >> i'm an american, not a bump in the road. >> i'm an american, not a bump in the road. >> i'm an american, not a bump in the road. ezra, you said it. if mitt romney can stay on that message, president obama is going to have a fight on his hands there. >> it looks like the morning of waking the dead. they are running the unemployment rate. romney gets that. it's powerful. romney is not in the mix. romney is attacking barack obama. what romney gets is if he can be the most effective attack dog, a lot will be forgiven. >> peggy, november 6, 2012 talks about the election, not the primary. >> romney is fighting for the nomination. you would think he would attack the guys to the right and left. he's not. he's saying this is between me and obama. this is how i'll do it. it fits in with what ezra says. it could be powerful. we'll see. coming up. tom brokaw will be here. senator john barrasso joins us next. richard wolffe joins us next. first, let's go to bill with a check on the forecast. bill. >> good morning. we have thunderstorms today. we have heat in the south. there's no big weather headlines. the tropics are quiet. it's time we get a nice quiet spring week. showers and thunderstorms up north. massachusetts, connecticut, up state new york, be prepared for that. we should be dry from new york to d.c. thunderstorms from sioux falls to kansas city. a chance of thunderstorms this morning during the morning commute. look at dallas. sunny and 99 smoking degrees. you are watching "morning joe." ♪ ♪ ♪ [ sighs ] ♪ [ male announcer ] smart like a volkswagen. the 2012 cc. ♪ [ man ] ♪ trouble the 2012 cc. ♪ trouble, trouble trouble, trouble ♪ ♪ trouble been doggin' my soul ♪ since the day i was born ♪ worry ♪ oh, worry, worry worry, worry ♪ [ announcer ] when it comes to things you care about, leave nothing to chance. travelers. take the scary out of life. if it makes sense to protect the people against gadhafi and it did because they were going to get slaughtered. if we hadn't sent nato in, we may not be there yet, but getting close. if you care about protecting the syrian people from slaughter, now is the time to let them know all options are on the table. >> welcome back to "morning joe." well, it's going to be okay. it's -- >> what country doesn't he want to invade? >> it's okay. >> seriously. >> everybody needs a hobby. >> yeah. feisty. >> are we going to go into dearborn, michigan? seriously. they say double down on afghanistan, iraq, invade yemen, invade iran, invade -- now we are talking about going into damascus. where have they been the past decade. >> what's going on? >> we are out of money! we can't figure out how to get out of afghanistan and they are talking -- and libya and they are talking damascus. >> be fair, we could get out of afghanistan if you move folks right over to damascus. it's not that far. >> i'm sure that -- i'm sure that we can just trample through ten or 15 countries. i just -- >> they go case-by-case. in every case, they are for intervention. >> damascus? yemen? wow. >> all right. >> wow. >> let's take a turn here. >> joining us from washington, msnbc political analyst and author of "revival 2.0." let's talk to richard wolffe. interesting, you talk about the president's revival after two years in office. the democrats defeated in the 2010 midterms. the shellacking you talk about. now, there's a new spirit in the administration or how would you characterize it? >> you have to look back six months ago and say how everyone on shows like this, the guy was finished. they had taken a shellacking. >> we just have to stop you there. we never said he was finished. we were surprised despite unemployment, he was around 50%. but there were something -- >> conventional wisdom. this guy has to perform a clintonian maneuver. it would take a long time to dig out of it, if he could. senate defeat as we thought through the primary campaign, the guy bounced back. the swing from defection from within their own team. it's not everyone outside saying he was finished. the democrats were saying this is over. the defeat from triumph and back again. it's a repeated pattern. what we saw was an incredible comeback in a matter of months that went through with the bin laden assassination. it's not something people would put money on. >> it goes in cycles, doesn't it? after osama bin laden was killed, then the wisdom was no republican is going to be able to beat this guy. then bad numbers came out a couple fridays ago. then everybody saying this guy is going to get beat. as long as unemployment is at 9% and wages are falling, there is going to be an up and down, back and forth, is there not? >> yeah. but he had back and forth through 2007 and 2008. he was written off completely in 2007. didn't stand a chance. through the primaries, the same swing and cycle. they were idiots then geniuses and back and forth. why does it happen time and again. what is it about the guy and the time. i think the economy is part of it. that volatility is a recuring factor. it's what i'm trying to get out with this book here. >> richard let me ask you, this is peggy noonan. >> good morning, peggy. >> good morning. the economic news is getting pounded, pounded. things are not going to make a term. it's not going to be a recovery summer. what do they say? do they say, geez this is really tough, but structural. hang on. or no, you must understand we are doing a, b and c and that's going to make it better? do they choose candid or what road are they going to take? >> they are stuck in hope. >> stuck in hope. >> the second half of the year is going to be better. there's reason to believe that. they thought that before. what they are really looking at is the contrast with the other side. if it's a referendum on the economy, they are in trouble. >> you were talking the romney ad. what is romney's record on jobs? where the white house is focusing on they are saying his outsourced in downsizing. massachusetts governor was 47th out of 50 states in job creation. like 2004, when the iraq war was spiraling out of control, people were unhappy with bush. they weren't ready to hire the other guy, in that case, john kerry. it does come down to a re-election choice, not just about hiring and firing, you have to want to do both. >> ezra klein? >> when you talk that, it's not what will the political message be or what way will they go. in the lame duck, they had the don't ask don't tell. isn't this sort of the correct interpretation that you have to get things done? you have to get unemployment done and bills passed. you have to get a deficit deal or mick them feel they are addressing a problem. there's no campaign here that can sol it. >> i think part of the problem has been when they try to play the inside game. this is inside versus outside game. when they are in that campaign mode of risk taking, when they try and break the rules, that lame duck session really worked because they went for the whole enchilada. they want to go down low and take what you can get here. the risk taking piece, that was true of the bin laden raid, too. the signature moments of the guy. the temptation is to stay the course. it's not going to work with this guy. >> all right. richard wolffe, thank you so much. your knewbook is "revival 2.0." pictures of congresswoman gabrielle giffords. the latest on her recovery is next. keep it here on "morning joe." we'll be right back. the rabbit corkscrew. 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(high-pitched laughter) man: hey you dang woodchucks, quit chucking my wood! vo: geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. ♪ [ male announcer ] what is the future of fuel? the debate is over. ♪ lexus hybrid drive technology is designed to optimize any fuel source on the planet. even those we don't use yet. because when you pursue perfection, you don't just engineer a future-proof hybrid system. you engineer amazing. ♪ you engineer amazing. a vacation on a budget with expedia. make it work. booking a flight by itself is an uh-oh. see if we can "stitch" together a better deal. that's a hint, antoine. ooh! see what anandra did? booking your flight and hotel at the same time gets you prices hotels and airlines won't let expedia show separately. book it. major wow factor! where you book matters. expedia. live shot from the top of the rock. welcome back to "morning joe" at 33 past the hour. let's take a look now at the first public images of arizona congresswoman gabrielle giffords since rehabilitation to a gunshot wound in the head in january. the photo shows the congresswoman smiling and with noticeably short hair. they were taken in mid may. the congresswoman is expected to be released from a houston rehab facility. the team released to photo to calm paparazzi that may be vying to sell the first photos of the congresswoman. friend and colleague debbie waszerman schultz talked about it. >> i spoke to her for the first time. she spoke to me in full sentences. initiated the sentences instead of just responding. she's making remarkable progress. we are so proud of her. she is working so hard. >> ezra, we were commenting on articles out of arizona. along with the happy news, providing sobering insights to her state right now. >> you have more realistic articles. for the injury she suffered, she is doing well. there was talk of running for senate in 2012. now, people close to her and truly informed on how she is doing is going to be a tough road. she's having trouble speaking. she's not near back t her former self. >> the expression was her close aid saying she's a shadow of her former self. of course, we talk to men in the military who have been -- had friends that have gone through -- jack jacobs said you never know from a head injury, some die from it immediately and others, three years later will be revived. it's hard to say. right now, she's having difficulty stringing sentences together. >> right. >> it doesn't mean she won't be able to in the future. >> we don't know. >> maybe we have more of an optimistic view. >> people saying she was going to run for senate in 2012. people wanted a triumphant story. the story is she's alive and will make a recovery. the idea of being on the campaign trail in 2014, it seems, from what i'm reading, wishful thinking. sad news from the music world. e-street band clarence clemmons suffered a stroke. clemons is seriously ill at his home in florida. he's known as the big man in bruce springstein's band. he's sumped from numerous ailments, but his health was coming back. he performed with lady gaga on "american idol." >> he's a wonderful man. wonderful personality. our thoughts and prayers are with him. tom brokaw joins the table coming up on "morning joe." stay with us. ♪ we could've gone a more traditional route... ... but it wouldn't have been nearly as memorable. ♪ [ woman speaking chinese ] thank you. do you have an english menu? no english. 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[ male announcer ] to the 5:00 a.m. scholar. the two trains and a bus rider. the "i'll sleep when it's done" academic. for 80 years, we've been inspired by you. and we've been honored to walk with you to help you get where you want to be. ♪ because your moment is now. let nothing stand in your way. learn more at keller.edu. we're back. all right. welcome back to "morning joe," making choices here on our topics. 40 past the hour. you want to go there? >> no. >> i mean it's what it says here. i went to huntsman. i want to do huntsman. >> way too early. >> joining us now, nbc news tom brokaw. good to have you here. >> good to be here. miami heat couldn't miss, they have lebron james, dwyane wade. they lost last night. >> is that the metaphor for romney or obama? >> however you want to apply it. the front-runners at this time, i have been at this awhile. >> yeah. >> i don't put a lot of money up front at this stage. i think tonight is going to be very interesting. we will see a different pattern. >> debate in new hampshire. we have a long way to go here. they are getting increasingly frustrated at the white house. they have the inability to strike a deal on the budget and to move on and get the debate back on their own terms. they are having difficulty within their own party as well. joe biden's effort to pull everybody together for a spending deal. revenue is what they are having a hard time with. you can't get there without figuring out how to get revenue. probably not tax cuts, but loopholes and other things. it's hard. >> we have shown a romney ad this morning that mark told us about. it struck me, people getting up, out of work pointing to, it looked like the road, literally. but, you have been across the country. you have been reporting on this now for two, three years. there is a sense of loss across america about the country that they once knew, the people once knew. >> joe, that's indisputable. what is also striking about what they see when they turn on television every night. we have the donald trump saga. if anthony weiner can't get anything done, we need to turn elsewhere. they are saying my house is under water or next year, i may be laid off. these are the issues defining the country at the moment. i just got back from england. i was so struck there as i am here. if you go to london, new york, san francisco, at the high end, the great restaurants and good hotels and boutiques, people are spending money, having a good time. but, it's below that where the country is, quite honestly. there's a kind of, i think, false positive going on when you look at how consumers are spending their money and at the top end compared to what's going on in little america, main street. we have not been able to join those two, yet. >> my mother is a product of the depression. i love to take her to a popular restaurant in newport. parking lot filled with lexus'. people ordering great amounts of mexican food and ordering margaritas. this is what the great depression looked like. there are two americas. we represent one america at this table. we are our own form of prosperity. it's not affecting us in a way it is a lot of other people. >> we have the war in afghanistan. we saw it in london as well. against the backdrop of the economy and the struggle and the two americas you described, i don't know if we have the cover of the economist we could show. there's a bad republican field. a good ad by romney, baa bad field. >> he could still lose over all the republicans. he could still lose. he knows that. so does everybody in the white house. i'm saying we are at a very early stage. >> it's an interesting topic. >> pick the metaphor, the horses have not gone to the post. >> listen. why don't we do it this way. in 1979, ted kennedy was beating jimmy carter by 20 points. this happens every four years. you don't know what's going to happen. >> i remember '92, bill clinton was part of the field called the seven dwafs. buckley said they lack gravitas. they look like the small guy until one takes the president. then he's a big guy. george bush was in the mid to high 70s. he that has most successful war. then the economy went into a sharp depression. bill clinton proved to be more resourceful than anyone expe expected. they reduced it to the economy, stupid. >> bill clinton was part of a weak field, part of why he got the nomination. for years he could go into a living room in iowa or manhattan and light up the room. >> absolutely true. he had real talent. >> you need a star. someone who is not as exciting as barack obama, engage the country. >> but he has two -- >> not that great. >> that was bad. >> he was a star after that convention. >> he learned from that. the other thing he did was redefine the democratic party. because he went the third way. he opened it up on the right more than it had been at that point. a big test for the republican candidates this time is whether they are held hostage in the republican party or open it up. the largest party in america, everyone has to remember this, the independents. they are out there in the middle, they are moving around and making a choice, based on who can serve them best, not hard core ideology. >> everybody i have talked to that speaks off the record to the white house say that they just don't fear any republicans out there. they have no respect for the political ability of those who seek their office. is that true? >> it's accurate. they are cautious. they are going to have hundreds of millions of dollars to spend. they are going to figure out how to worry on any given day. right now, they worry most about huntsman and romney. the electoral college is what matters. if the republicans nominate someone half way decent, they start with electoral votes. >> let's start with huntsman. some don't like him because he worked for the obama administration. i have to say, if i could draw a candidate this year to talk on an issue that worries more people in middle america, i would get a guy that was in china for the past two years and understands why china is taking jobs from america. >> and had experience running a state and a budget. it's what huntsman has. >> he's an impressive guy. have you spent time with him, peggy? >> a little. >> i have a lot. he doesn't light up the room the way bill clinton does, but when he walks in with his family, he's accomplished, modest in demeanor, firm in terms of what he believes in. four years ago, his father was for mitt romney, he wasn't. so, this has been set in place for awhile. it's not just that he had a good record in china, but the huntsman company has been a successful company. a successful businessman. he ran utah in an effective fashion. he's worth keeping your eye on him. >> there's a fierce battle between romney and huntsman. huntsman pressed hard with that group. if he has success -- >> how is he doing? >> they claim he's got private commitments. i think you will see some people, they floated names of people that will be eye turning if they get them past obama supporters. >> he doesn't have the money to finance his own campaign in. >> it's not clear. his father is a billionaire. >> he as lot of money. >> he can write a check for 25 million, i think. he says he he needs -- >> is it possible huntsman is setting up for 2016? >> people talk about that all the time. i don't think anybody puts themselves through this to set themselves up. >> if you decide now, it's now. >> make an announcement of some sort. >> who is his natural constituency, joe? as you look at the base and look at huntsman? >> we have said it here before, you have got -- you have three groups of voters in republican primaries that way when i ran, it was that way in '80. that way now you have the economic conservatives. you have the religious conservatives and then you have the group that is called the tea partiers right now that used to be called the perot people that used to be called the reagan democrats, the populist part of it. so, the economic conservatives and i think, mark, you told me that he did very well in front of religious conservatives. >> he did. and tom's group is going to be key for his, independents can vote in the new hampshire primary and south carolina, counting on a big turnout for him, more moderate guy on some issues. ahead this morning, wyoming senator john barrasso joins the set. keep it right here on "morning joe." ♪ [ man ] at ge capital, we're out there every day with clients like jetblue -- financing their fleet, sharing our expertise, and working with people who are changing the face of business in america. after 25 years in the aviation business, i kind of feel like if you're not having fun at what you do, then you've got the wrong job. my landing was better than yours. no, it wasn't. yes, it was. was not. yes, it was. what do you think? take one of the big ones out? nah. ♪ water, we take our showers with it. we make our coffee with it. but we rarely tap its 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[ male announcer ] jetta tdi clean diesel. the turbo that gets 42 miles per gallon. ♪ okay, ferries can we justlet it go, please? >> ferries, please, come too far, we will get busted. >> a, you can never go too far. b if i'm gonna get busted it is not going to be by a guy like that. >> abe. ask for abe foreman. >> bonjour. >> may i speak to abe froman? the sausage king of chicago? >> abe froman? let me check the restaurant. could you describe him for me, please. >> leather jacket, white t-shirt, sweater vest. devastatingly handsome. >> wow. >> the greatest movie ever, willie. and mika has never seen it. >> come on. >> never seen that? >> you never saw "ferris bueller's day off?" . >> i saw part of "the hangover." >> what did you do? >> i went went to "star trek" and walked out. >> what did you do? >> this past weekend was 2895th anniversary, makes me feel very to old, the 25th anniversary of ferries bueller's day ofs buell. john hughes created a genre in the middle of it when that came out. you bring up dunce hoffman and "the graduate," john hughes really did help help shape youth culture in the 1980s. >> "the breakfast club." >> i saw that. >> so many, "breakfast club" another great example. >> "st. elmo's fire." >> "pretty in pink." >> did you see ferris bueller's day off? >> i did. >> i need somebody to bounce back. >> i'm useless. >> brilliant. brilliant moviemaker who defined a generation, which is hard to do >> he really did, didn't he? willie have you seen "ferris bueller's day off?" >> many, many times, mia sara, who played sloan, for many of us of a certain able, was the ultimate woman. >> she was. >> ferris bueller's girlfriend in that film. she was an icon. charlie sheen with a great cam yoechlt. >> add great cameo. >> the police precinct. jennifer grey. >> ben stein iconic. >> that was ben stein's big debut, too. >> all right, willie what is coming up next? >> matthew broderick on stage last night at the tonys reminded you of the great span of his career, a young guy doing this still doing it on broadway. great actor. >> i don't think the problem is with -- [ female announcer ] what if your natural beauty could be flawless too? discover aveeno positively radiant tinted moisturizers with scientifically proven soy complex and natural minerals. give you sheer coverage instantly, then go on to even skin tone in four weeks. aveeno tinted moisturizers. i've been looking at the numbers, and i think our campus is spending too much money on printing. i'd like to put you in charge of cutting costs. calm down. i know that it is not your job. what i'm saying... excuse me? alright, fine. no, you don't have to do it. ok? 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[ male announcer ] with xerox, an accident doesn't have to slow you down. introducing better car replacement. if your car is totaled, we give you the money for a car one model year newer. liberty mutual auto insurance. the dallas mavericks are the nba champions, the first tight until franchise history. good morning it is 8:00 on the east coast as we take a live look at new york city. back with us on set, mark halperin and steve ratner. >> last night, all of america transfixed late into the night and just this back and forth. >> with the tonys. i know. >> very exciting. and of course, at the end, who wins? the book of mormon. >> that's where i thought you were going. i was worried you were talking about baseball. mm-hmm. >> there was a game last night? >> no. no you were watching television, you were watching the tonys right? >> a split screen. >> i was watching both. >> a split screen. >> tonys on the tv, game on my ipad. >> that how you did it? >> you are good. >> willie geist. >> tonys are great. >> yeah, they are. >> they are. >> all the stars come out they do the numbers, it was funny. excellent, excellent show. >> it was fabulous. i tell you what -- but the basketball game last night, willie. >> yeah. >> who would have ever believed that the dallas mavericks would be able to do this with dirk basically not showing up until the end of the game? >> he had a terrible first half. he made 1-12 shots, great all series but jason terry, the guy who toiled with the atlanta hawks for a lot of years having his moment and he was fantastic last night, kept them in the game, in fact, gave them a two-point lead going to halftime and they won by ten points, wasn't even that close down the stretch. lebron james had 21 points. >> he disappeared again. >> seven in the fourth quarter did not take over the game like he hoped. dwyane wade did not have great game. the big three, the guys who 11 months ago put on a big show at their press conference came out and danced with smoke machines and strobe lights were beaten on their home floor, the dallas mavericks are world champions. >> mark, did you see the game? >> i did. carlyle devised a great defense against lebron, he just never let him get that much open space. when he had open space, forced him to pass. it really was surprising. and steve ratner, if you're the heat, at this point what do you do preparing for next year? this can be -- they have set up something where they have got to win it all every year or they are total failures. >> and they fired their big bull threat year and didn't quite work. >> yeah. and so what's the next big bullet, willie? >> i don't know. they got three of the best ten players in the nba. i don't know how much more talent you can get. how many more bullets you've got. i think it's time to accept as many already that lebron james is not one of the all-time greats. >> you know, sometimes, you don't have to have, mika, you know, the best players in all of your sport and spend tons of money and have -- you look at the red sox. >> mm-hmm. >> little engine that could. >> yes. >> nine games in a row. >> such sweet boys. >> chugging to the top of that mountain. >> that is correct. >> the good news bears. >> go, red sox. >> go, red sox. >> humiliating people, too. >> pretty unbelievable. >> started badly, but going well. >> so, a lot to talk about. >> yeah. >> obviously. >> yeah. >> gaby giffords back in the news. >> yep. >> newt gingrich back in the news. and, of course, a story that we didn't touch on an awful lot, just reported it and moved on, which enraged people on the right, people on the far right -- >> mm-hmm. >> eat mails. we will read some of the e-mails from these people. >> you really can't. >> the same thing that people on the left were upset when i didn't wallow in ensign scandal or sanford scandal, we didn't do it with spitzer either we just don't do it. but at this point, now that nancy pelosi is speaking out, now that the majority is speaking out, i mean, the house leadership speaking out, saying he has to go, at this point, it's taken on a completely new aim. >> i mean it's news now and we will get there and there was a very interesting debate about the hypocrisy factor between the parties on this. so, why don't we just go there the "new york daily news" is reporting that congressman anthony wiener is now considering to possibility that he may have to resign. the daily news has a source close to weiner claims the congressman had been adamant about keeping his seat but the nonstop media coverage, the calls to step down and the discovery of more humiliating photos have made weiner realize he may not be able to survive the controversy. it comes almost a week after congressman weiner admitted to exchanging inappropriate messages with several women online. he now says he is entering a treatment center to "focus on becoming a better husband and a healthier person." weiner requested a short leave of absence from the house for his treatment but many lawmakers say it is just not enough. nancy pelosi is among the growing group of democrats pressuring him to leave office. pelosi saying in a statement "congressman weiner has loft of his family, the confidence of his constituents and the recognition that he needs help." i urge congressman weiner to speak that help without the fresh be showers of bfing about member of congress. more potential photos of the congressman were posted online. the pictures reportedly show him posing in the locker room of the congressional gym. it prompted even more calls for his resignation from both parties. >> it seems to me extraordinarily difficult that he can proceed to represent his constituents in an effective way, given the circumstances. >> at the end of the day, a member of congress makes their own decision and that's certainly going to be up to anthony weiner but we have made clear that he needs to resign. he needs to focus on getting his own personal issues in order, focus on his family. >> he got to get this behind us, because it is a distraction. yes, he should resign. i don't take plaesh sure in saying that we got important work do and this is just a ridiculous distraction. >> in the a heated debit on "meet the press," the heads of the republican and democratic parties argued over the handling of the weiner scandal. rnc chair reince priebus accused -- >> let not even go there it was just so stupid. >> he should just be quiet about this, honestly, because unless he is going to do the same thing on his -- >> exactly. >> wasting time. it's sad. >> you know what that's what i hate about the coverage of these scandals and how politicians jump up and down and party spokesmen jump up and down, whether they are trying to exploit ensign or trying to exploit weiner, whether they are trying to exploit spitzer, whether they are trying to exploit sanford, i mean, seriously? >> is for the democratic party to deal with with it's obviously sad, it's obviously going down hill. weren't you, faurp republican leader, just back off and let that -- >> you would think so. but the fact is it's not happened and that was a stupid exchange over the weekend. >> it really was. >> especially when you had nancy pelosi and citizen any hire, debbie wasserman, all of them saying -- anyway. >> okay. good. >> this took an ominous turn at the end of last week would have survived. you look at the poll numbers thought and most of hit had hist constituents wanted him to survive. then you get the news late friday that the police in delaware showed up at the home of a young 17-year-old girl who had met anthony on a trip to washington i think with her class and he was sending text messages. i think at that point, that was probably the bitter end for him. then these new photos come out. the personal recklessness -- >> not sure how he was communicating with her and i don't think they were deemed inappropria inappropriate. >> but personal recklessness is extraordinary. it's -- what was the guy think? >> right. >> going on before his wedding, lit rally almost during his wedding, immediately after his wedding, new pictures today seemed to be self-portraits taken in the gym. >> there is the problem. >> you don't know where it ends. >> i was in the house gym for eight years. when did he do that? all these guys around did he run into -- ew. i'm saying seriously who would think of even doing that? >> but seriously, i think the problem is this has become a distraction for the democrats, why you see the leadership coming out. you may not like what the rnc chair said on "meet the press" but more of what we will hear about as long as weiner is still there >> mark halperin, the best scandal was the mark foley scandal, it was messy and the republicans really did take a long time to handled the foley problems them knew about it for a very long time and that's why that did with become a potent political issue and it did become actually relevant. i don't know that is the case here the democrats have come out so quickly and said he needs to go >> i think they will everything to make the prospect of anthony weiner staying in office improbable, strip him of every possible caucus perk he could have still think they can hold on if he wants to but the keys are bill clinton and chuck schumer, two people he looks to to advice and those guys start to pressure him hard to get out, he will find a way to resign. >> anthony weiner worked for chuck schumer many years ago. >> chuck has been very clear publicly and privately he is not going to pressure him his friend and going to leave it up to anthony to decide what to. >> do as far as the republicans are concerned, get asked about this can't blame them for commenting if they ask, especially on "meet the press." >> drag their fee. >> step down. >> if democrats drag their feet on this then, sure it becomes an issue. >> they are not. >> texting underaged girls. but they have all come out aggressively and pushed him overboard that's why i said shut up. seriously. by the time republicans were complaining about this on sunday, i'm not mistaken, every member of the democratic leadership had told him to step down. on thursday of last week, remember harry reid, just threw him overboard, said basically, get out, don't even talk to me. willly, that's why it just seems like a desperate plea for -- it seems like a cheap shot. >> it was a cheap shot and once you heard the news friday about the 17-year-old and heard nancy pelosi's voice over the weekend with, you really know it's over. >> right. >> i will say for people who say who cares about this story, if talk to progressives, they feel like they are losing one of their leading voices, he fought hard for them on health care, weiner, one of the smartest guys in the room, a leading light in the progressive movement. >> all very sad. >> his personal recklessness is costing them an important voice in their move the, they say. >> part why he has not got an lot of support, alienated the white house, being too far out there and alienated a lot of his colleagues being too aggressive, he doesn't have support. >> i'm talking about out in the country, not in the caucus but people, progressives. >> i will say, willie, on this show, while barack obama was afraid to even admit whether he was for a public option or not when the white house was striking deals with big far ma and striking deals with big hospitals and striking deals with everything, anthony weiner was coming on this show and many others, fighting the fight, talking about medicare for all and doing aggressively. so -- >> a big loss. >> the issue of health care reform, he was not a backbencher. he was relevant to the debate, mark. >> in all likelihood, anthony, one of the big challenges is how to go thinking about a career in public service, maybe mare of new york to private life and contributing in some way. he was singularly focused during the daytime -- i think the caucus can make it impossible for him to stay. >> why don't we move on to another story. a lot going on over the weekend, republicans are gearing up for their first major debate in the 2012 presidential nomination tonight in new hampshire. comes in a weekend where key candidates took a few jabs at president obama and each other. tim pawlenty who is scheduled to participate in the debate, slammed the president and fellow gop contender mitt romney on health care yesterday. >> president obama said that he designed obamacare after romneycare and basically made it obamney care. we have the same features, the same features, the president's own words he patterned energy large measure, obamacare after what happened in massachusetts. what i don't understand, they both continue to defend it. i strongly oppose the individual mandate at any level. >> okay. despite the criticism of his health care plan, romney is atop the latest "usa today"/gallup poll of presidential hopefuls, 24% of voters backing him. sar page second at 16 % and had herm herman cain trails at 9%. missing from the polls is newt gingrich, resolved to stay in the race even after most of his top senior advisers left his campaign. here is gingrich at the republican jewish coalition in los angeles last night. >> as someone who has been in public life nearly 40 years, i know full well the riggers of campaigning for public office. in fact, i have had some recent reminders. i will endure the challenges. i will carry the message of american renewal to every part of this great land no matter what it takes and with the help of every american who wants to change washington, we will prevail. >> all right. coming up, when we have more time, we will hear from huntsman as well as texas governor rick perry, who also made speeches over the weekend. >> did you see -- it was like beat mania for the mainstream media, did you see the obsessive countdown to sarah palin's e-mails being released? >> halperin, why -- >> did they not make themselves look like fools? and just prove -- again, we have been harshly critical of sarah palin but did the media not prove how biased, over-the-top biased every step of the way they have been on sarah palin? >> i would be very ready to see how much was invested in flying to alaska, 'cause i believe you had to do this to get these e-mails and what was the -- was this the -- request? so, what was the reason for the -- need to see the e-mails? >> the countdown? >> some sort of potential illegal action? i'm sure there was something serious. >> 50% biased against her and 50% no one wanted to miss out on a big story, comp tichlgts >> but what was the are reason for the requests? there must have been some -- >> "pending for months when they first chosen. senator mccain chose someone no one knew anybody anything about and chance she would be vice president of the united states. >> but she is not vice president of the united states. >> that was when the request was made. >> okay. that's important. that's legitment. >> prurient interest. maybe there would be something interesting, maybe something titillating there you go >> next guest is leaked charge the to block president obama's pick to lead the commerce department. we will bring in republican senator john barrasso of wyoming and also talk about the big winners and best moments at last night's tony awards with "new york times" chief theater critic ben brantley. but first, let's go to bill karins for a check on the forecast, bill? >> pretty quiet week ahead, mika. severe thunderstorms, heat continues in the deep south. break down your forecast, first for new england, showery weather, chillier weather, found today in new england. thunderstorms today early, hail producing storms, columbia, missouri, arrive in st. louis about an hour or two from now. severe thunderstorms likely this air in yellow, including kansas city, st. louis, back up into areas of nebraska where the thunderstorms will be, the heat all through the deep south. look at phoenix, 102, dallas, 99, where you are still celebra celebrating. you are watching "morning joe," fuelled by starbucks. 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[ female announcer ] new from neutrogena naturals. so skin feels pure and healthy. on the economic side, there are no signs of success version little. i found in politics you have about two to two and a half years after you are elected to get something done and to move out in a positive direction on something as important as the economy, and here we are. >> so you think it has find the economic side? >> failed on the economic front. >> welcome back to "morning j " joe." a live look as the sun comes up over washington. welcome back. 22 past the hour. joining us now, republican senator from wyoming, senator john barrasso. senator, thank you very much for being with us on the set today. >> thanks for having me. >> what do you think of huntsman? we just heard from him. we have been talking about him all morning. off gut feeling about him as a potential republican contender? >> i like him. i went to iraq with him to visit with general petraeus in 2007. >> oh, you did? >> and i think that he brings a lot to the table, as do a number of the other republican candidates. i'm not here either endorse or criticize any of our potential candidate bus i think he has a lot to offer. >> okay. and we heard from the -- he is speaking pretty clearly on foreign policy, which has been interesting for all of us to listen to some of the soundbites. the obama administration certainly is starting an internal debate about a troop withdrawal from afghanistan, so let's go there. why where do you think we should go and is it time to bring the troops home in large numbers? >> you know, i have supported the president in his efforts all the way through. i have been to afghanistan four times, most recently this year. we need to make sure that the afghan people are ready and prepared to stand up for themselves. >> well that will never happen. >> they are getting closer. >> pretend that will never happen. >> i'm not going to quibble with the president about the number of troop these brings home. they are talking different numbers. i'm going to leave it to general petraeus and secretary gates and the men and women in the field to make those recommendations to the president. >> well, senator, what do you mean by the people being able to stand up for themselves? how would you characterize or define that because that could be an endless debate? >> i was at the kabul military training center earlier this year. i have been there a couple of years ago. i think they are doing a much better job of training and preparing these troops. i'm not going tonight one to make the decision as to went actual time is to say, yes, they are ready, they are much better prepared now than they were two years ago, mika. >> tom brokaw? >> when you go out to casper, powell, wyoming, or sheridan or any of the towns, group and down main street, that's part of the country, of course where they do respond to the call to service and they have paid a big price. no better film in my judgment, taking chance, from a young man -- >> from duboiss. >> from dubois, wyoming. what do they say to you these days spendingmerican lives in afghanistan? >> i went to four different memorial day events with four families. named a street in cody, wyoming, where you are going to be later this year to the first wyoming man killed in iraq, great reverence for our veterans. we have done a world war ii bring back the world war ii veterans. people are concerned. they want to make sure that we continue to be free and safe. they are very supportive of the president and the -- in killing of osama bin laden. >> but rising doubts about our continuing mission in afghanistan and iraq? >> they are going to let it up to the men and the women and the deciders in the field. >> what else is on their minds in wyoming these days? >> the economy, the debt, jobs, spending, the fact we are borough $2 million a minute for our country we leaving our kids a mountain of debt. we are a big energy production state. we worry that the president's policies are throwing a heavy, wet blanket of other our economy by making energy more expensive, by sending jobs overseas because of energy difficulty, getting permits to explore for energy. the rules coming out of the environmental protection agency, which are going to make energy more expense sive for small businesses that are trying to create jobs. people in wyoming want it had to be easier and cheaper to create jobs and seeing an administration with policies making tougher and more expensive for the private sector to create jobs. >> but isn't it also a question of balance, frankly, and we need more energy no question about that well will continue to need energy, but there are environmental concerns, especially in wyoming, getting the natural gas out of the ground and the tracking method and what that does to the water, but isn't this also a time to be talking about energy conservation and wiser use and alternative forms of energy as opposed to what we get from carbon-based sources? >> you need it off. demands for this world for energy over the next 40 years are going to continue going up. china is using more and more of all forms of energy, as are. we the cheapest energy is the energy that you we don't use, you talk about energy efficiencies, we need the renewables, the solar, the wind, you need it all. china was putting huge amounts of money into renewable energy, they will even say 40 years from now, only 12% of their energy is going to be renewable, 88% from carbon sources and in wyoming and in this country, we yes, ma'aming is the saudi arabia of coal. we need to make energy as clean as we can as fast as we can, but do it in ways that don't raise the cost of energy for american families and that's the problem with this administration's policy and the environmental protection agency, with their new rules that are going to raise the cost of energy for businesses and for families and that's going to hurt the economy even worse. >> what are the chances that you're going to get a budget deal and the efforts are under way now with vice president biden presiding? >> the democrats haven't even proposed a budget in the last, what two years now in congress. so i want to see the president's budget. the -- that's what we are working on though is tying -- you asked for specifics of a budget deal. i think there is leverage to work toward what the president wants, which is raising the debt ceiling. he wants what -- you know, he wants really a new credit card and a blank check and i'm not ready to give it to him nor, i believe are any of my republican colleagues. you need to tie it to spending cuts and really dealing with the entitlements. bill clinton said if you don't deal with medicare, haven't you solved the problem. >> you like the paul ryan plan? >> i voted for the paul ryan plan. also visited with alice rivlin, the head of the cbo for bill clinton. she has an alternative that but it also includes premium supports, like paul ryan's plan includes. >> so which one do you like? >> well, i like the coming to a solution on medicare. i practiced medicine in wyoming for 25 years. medicare is a program that has been very successful for our seniors. we need to make sure it's there people talk about the fact that they have paid in, and they have, a couple retiring today will have paid in about $110,000, but they are going to use over $300,000 in services. so that can't continue. you want it long term, you have to have a solution that works. people that deny that there is a problem, you know, aren't really telling you the truth. >> i think everybody agrees there needs to be a solution, but here you are, a physician and a senator, so do you think that the ryan plan can work long term? you voted for it you looked at it. >> yes. >> is that the answer? >> the answer is yes it can work long term. i think that the president's plan of putting 15 people, bureaucrats in washington, to have this top-down approach, which i believe is the president's rationing board, something the american people are not going to want washington telling them what kind of health care to get. i would rather have decisions made by doctors and patients. i mean, paul krugman who has been on this had show, talks about the fact, well, canada has it. can't we do that in the united states in the people of canada don't like the fact that they have to wait for care, sometimes up to a year, for artificial joint replacements. i did orthopedic surgery, i have operated on people from canada who have come to the united states for care that was going to be free for them in canada, they couldn't afford to wait. >> it's very clear there are problems and that we have to make cuts. i would argue that the medicare debate is absolutely legitimate. what about defense though? you're on the senate foreign relations committee, what about these wars? can you just really say i'll leave it to the people in the field to understand whether or not we should be spending as much as we are in afghanistan and as much as we are at the pentagon? should that be on the table in a big way as well? >> defense cuts have to be it on the table. i think secretary of defense robert gates has specifically talked about that leon panetta coming in has talked about it general petraeus has talked about it reasonable as well. >> big cuts? pulling back in afghanistan? >> the president is going to make the decision as to the number of troops but there is going to be troop withdrawals this year. >> is it time for them to come home overall with this war? >> i think the afghan people are getting more and more prepared to take over. i believe they are not there quite yet. they are getting there. they are much closer to it now than they were two years ago. >> senator, can you strike a budget deal without getting additional revenue in some form to deal with -- can you get there on spending cuts alone? aren't you going to have to find some fashion, some way to get back? >> the best source of revenue is a vibrant, robust economy with people working and then paying their taxes. and with what this administration is doing i think is hurtful to the economy. even the secretary of commerce just nominated by the president, you know, he is the one that started the natural resources defense council. they have filed over 1,000 lawsuits against energy companies trying to explore for american energy. you know, he talk about the fact that the waxman/marquee cap and trade, a good way to hide a tax, the job of the secretary of commerce is to make us more innovative at home, more conthe pettive overseas, not somebody these going to continue to throw a wet blanket over the economy. >> he ran a reform in southern california edison, took a huge utility and adapt it had to the modern age, didn't he? >> he pushed for more of solar, which is their big push. right now, solar is the most expensive form of energy, it's not really the most available -- affordable, reliable and secure source of energy, that's coal we need to make coal can as clean as we can, as fast as we can, all sources of energy that way without raising costs for american families. >> all right, senator john barrasso, thank you so much for being on the set with us today. >> great to be here. thanks, mika. >> business before the bell with tyler mathisen, next on "morning joe." what's up, smart? oh, just booked a summer vaycay. ooo. sounds pricey? nah, with the hotels.com summer sale, you can find awesome deals for places nearby. interesting... wow, i'm blown away. you look great. hotels.com summer sale, save up to 30%. and get a free kindle. hotels.com. be smart. book smart. look, we have got an economy that is trying to climb a mountain with a bag -- backpack full of rocks on its back. everywhere i go folks deploy capital, do research, commercialalize it and do all the thing it is takes to have a private economy grow, not just a government economy grow say, look, we got no shot unless you get the government off our back, as measured by tax, regulation, litigation, a number of other things. this plan boldly does it. is it an absolute, bold and courageous and aggressive goal? you bet. but i'm not going to sit here and say america's in decline. we can expect anemic growth, we are just going to be average. i want to set the bar high we did it intentionally. >> tim pawlenty from earlier this morning on cnbc. let's get a check on business before the bell with cnbc's managing editor -- >> he is important. >> important title. >> i know. >> and look at him. >> necessary x. >> the tie to match that title. speaking of tyler mathisen. how you doing? >> i'm good and i'm still leaning forward, okay? >> all right, baby. >> i'm still leaning forward. one thing i would like to point out there is a big republican debate tonight, mr. pawlenty, i presume is going to be there absolutely no one on wall street will be watching tonight. i can guarantee you that they could not care less about the republican field at this early stage. what they do care about though is some of the things mr. pawlenty was talking about and that is jobs and competitiveness. to that end, the president meets later today down in north carolina, the research triangle park area and elsewhere with his jobs and competitiveness council because while we certainly have a debt and deficit problem, maybe our more immediate urgent problem is the fact that the economy is growing so slowly, too slowly, really to add jobs, guys. >> hey, so let's talk about the wall street -- you said nobody in wall street would be watching this republican debate. probably going to be having to take calls from the president or the president's people, the front page "the new york times" today asking the question whether the president can get back into the good graces of wall street to take all their cash for political reasons are. what is the answer to that question, tyler? >> i think the answer is just going to be a very steep hill for the president to climb. back in 2008, he did very well fund raising just generally, also, maybe counterintuitively, on wall street, it was a different moment in time there as we went into the run-up of the 2008 election. i think wall street was looking for a change, as was the country at that time, but since then, the people on wall street led, perhaps most tellingly, by the chairman of chase bank, jamie diamon, have really got big problems with the regulatory tilt that the obama administration has taken. t the dodd/frank bill, which they view as laying lot of regulation on them did not endear people to the regulatory side of wall street. they are pulling back, hedge their bets, contribute many to the president's re-election campaign but right now wait the money raising is going it is tilting back toward the gop side. >> tyler, thank you so much. as always, we love talking to you. >> thank you, tyler. >> me too, good see you. >> tom, how hard of a sell is it going to be for the president? jamie dime mon, we heard jamie diamon's name brought up, the most powerful, most respected man on wall street, very close friends with the president in 2009, but that friendship, i wouldn't say soured but cooled a bit. it has cooled a lot. not cooled just a bit but a lot. >> you know i understand things. >> he is kind of an exception, considered the statesman of the bank strike, to some degree of wall street. jpmorgan chase did not get in trouble during the great downturn, very aggressive what he thinks is beth interest of the financial industry but it is fairly amusing to me the financial industry could have been such a huge component of what we have been through in terms of the economic downturn and the meltdown that occurred in big banks, citibank among them, lehman brothers, all the others that led the country off the cliff and now they say, want to regulate this? i mean, want to look over our shoulder? it seems to me that however you feel about the details of the regulation, that was a natural reaction to what we were led to i think regulation is a big issue for manufacturers in terms of how they can do business overseas, how easily they can get visas to get customers to look at what they have got, how quickly they can ship things. i think that's big issue and i would go there much more quickly. >> but, tom, if you talk, i know you've talked to jamie, you have talked to a lot of people, people not just on wall street, but running businesses on main street. >> right. >> the bigger concern, i think even more than regulations, is the fact that they haven't had that person inside the administration that understands,run a business. they always felt a huge disconnect. >> in the top, the mild and on small businesses and i think there was a all right of money that corporations are sitting on, a lot of small businesses are anxious about expanding because of uncertainty. look, just when they think things are going to get better they get the jobs report. housing has gotten in many ways, worse, and that is a big subterranean issue in this country. that's volcano waiting to erupt that pulse down everything, no construction. >> yeah. >> all right. coming up, the best moments from last night's tony awards with the "new york times" chief theater critic, next on "morning joe." as much as i can about a company before i invest in it. that's why i like fidelity. they give me tools and research i can't get anywhere else. their stock screener lets me search for stocks with more than 140 criteria. i can see what their experts are thinking and even call them to bounce an idea off of one of their investment professionals. a good strategy relies on good insight. if you wanted to learn more about a company, i think you'd actually have to be there. it's me? 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[ male announcer ] marriott hotels & resorts knows it's better for xerox to automate their global invoice process so they can focus on serving their customers. with xerox, you're ready for real business. you know, if you would have told me two years ago that i would miss the best basketball game ever to hang out with nathan lane, i would have said you're crazy. but that's what happened. i remember my first musical like it was yesterday, because it was yesterday. this is the best musical and it's -- come on. we know what the best musical s this is such a waste of time. it's like taking a hooker to dinner. i mean -- >> oh, lordy. >> welcome back to "morning joe." with us now, the "new york times" chief theater critic, ben brantley. ben, let's just first of all talk about the show, before we get to the specifics, so much better than the academy awards, so much better done than the emmys. any show. >> the tonys. >> oh, yeah, no. >> done so w. >> they such a big embarrassment factor in awards shows, i think and usually i watch the tonys sort of like a parent, you know, watching -- >> oh, dear. >> but this was really loose. it was cool. it was -- >> organic. >> organic. >> he yeah. >> and people were crazy in a good way. i mean, everyone's so scripted and airbrushed at the oscars, it feels kind of pompous and institutionalized. >> i loved francis mcdormand came up with a denim jacket over her evening dress. mark rylance quoted poetry. nothing to do with it. it was like the spirit of "south park" minute pent feblgted the tonys and suddenly, really cool to be a theater nerd. >> you know, willy, ben says that the tonys last night, much like "morning joe," was a very gay show last night. >> oh, yeah. >> was it? i don't know. it began with a number -- >> i saw the opening number. >> normal heart, that was the serious gay part and as it should have been, i mean, that was a landmark play, beautiful revival, brought to out a lot of emotion, but i think the message really was you don't have to be gay to be gay. there's gay homosexual hadal and there's a gay sensibility, which is there are those of us who like to live in -- i mean, i'm both, but -- who like to live inside a musical comedy. >> i thought last night's show was reflective of what was what's happening on broadway it has reach sod far across the country with star power, frankly. bono was in the room, chris rock we saw, the guys from "south park" were there harry porter. >> harry porter was there i also think to the tonys credits and to their credit that these guys, were trey parker and matt stone, but daniel radcliffe wasn't nominated, chris rock wasn't nominated, though he is on broad watch they showed up, they were game. >> was daniel radcliffe snubbed? a lot of people thought he was snubbed? >> no. i mean, was he snubbed, yeah, of course. >> unfairly? >> no. no i liked him in "he can kiss," i thought he was good in that he is not a natural song and danceman man, you look at the other people in the category, watch norbert leo but thez, playing geriatric detective, he works it thank into the dance, that is a full character in the song. >> a banner year in new york. >> in terms of box office, for one thing. >> the range as well. >> the best year for plays, straight plays, so to speak, in my tenure at the times. there were four nominations. the one that won probably wasn't best play, "war house horse" but it is about a boy and his had horse, grown men go and cry at it. i think the voters were voting with their hearts in that case. >> obviously, the show right now with all the buzz, day in and day out is "the book of mormon." it won big last night. could you ever have believed the creators of "south park." >> nine tony awards. >> put together with the help of the guy successful with "avenue q." >> believe these guys put together something this successful? >> for me, the great movie musical of the best ten years was "south park, big, longer and uncut" i could thing sink to you my favorite song from that. >> why not? >> you just can't go there can you? >> no, i can't. but they had it in them. and these what i thought this show celebrated, was -- and i think "glee" has made it okay to be a theater nerd, too. suddenly, it's cool to be singing like barbra streisand on the streets. >> yeah. well, willy, again, that's something that you and i do all the time. >> your time has come, willie. >> we haven't talked about my summer stock period when i was young. >> my goodness. >> a lot of work in the theater, dig deep enough, you might find some tape what is a show we should be thinking about doesn't get all the headlines now, "book of mormon," "spider-man" what is your favorite show for people under the radar what is coming to new york? >> i love "jerusalem" the tony-winning performance mark rylance, a state of the nation play about widely and crazy guy, abouty we look up to unedited drug addicts' benders what they represent in us we repress. >> now i'm fascinated. >> she is fascinated. rylance is so great in it he goes over the top because that's where his character is and, you know, we are all up there in the clouds with him. the with the hat. >> yeah. >> that sort of added to the tone of the show, too, they tried to bleep so much, but that's really fun play. >> i'm curious, obviously "spider-man" made headline for the wrong reason, rebooting it, to so to speak. >> reimagined, new songs, new story. >> are you hopeful? it sounds like they have take on out the most objectionable part. >> i have seen it but -- >> oh. we will talk about it later. >> come back. >> "new york times'" ben brantley, thank you so much. >> that was fun. >> good to see you. we will be right back. down the hill? man: all right. we were actually thinking, maybe... we're going to hike up here, so we'll catch up with you guys. 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[ female announcer ] dermatologist recommended aveeno has an oat formula, now proven to build a moisture reserve, so skin can replenish itself. that's healthy skin for life. only from aveeno. welcome back to the show what did you learn? >> lebron james is michael jordan. he is 26, still time. >> what did you learn? >> i learned ben brantley reminded me of the factize watched the tonys last night, broad sway a community. academy awards is different, the emsmiles different, broadway is a community. they know each other, they help each other as they -- >> nice. >> very sweet with. >> very nice. >> as ben said, it was loose, it was fun. >> i learned when there's a republican senator on and there's some tough questions to ask him, mika doesn't ask. >> i have a big question that we have little trouble -- >> on that know. on that note. topic for tomorrow, what does let the generals decide really mean and why -- why can't they give us an answer? >> well, you know, actually, i think the civilians are in charge of the

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