Transcripts For MSNBCW News Nation 20130315

This friday, the news nation is following some developing news. The return of mitt romney. He left the stage moments ago. It was his first public speech since losing his bid for the white house in november. Governor romney has been keeping a low profile ever since election night. Today he addressed cpac, the annual conservative conference taking place right now in maryland this morning. Romneys former running mate got a standing ovation from the faithful there. But he did not mention romney one time in that 14minute speech. The wisconsin congressman focused on his new budget. A case of the old versus the new with more than half a dozen potential president ial contenders taking a turn rallying the republican base, including tonights key note speaker. Jeb bush. Political reporter, there at cpac. Give us a sense of how romney was received. What was the mood as he took stage and delivered the speech . I think it is safe to say he was the best received speaker so far. Rousing, standing applause when he came in to speak. It was a thank you to the crowd, conservative activists who stood by. This room fits 3500 seats and it was packed. Every seat was filled. Rousing applause, like i said. This was a thank you to these activists. Very well received. You know, and it was largely a lot of what we had heard on the trail for mitt romney. Most of the stump speech and he did say that im sorry i wont be your president but i will be working with you shoulder to shoulder. Why cpac . Why did he decide to go there . It is important to know that cpac has been really important to mitt romney over the last several years. Since 2007, each of the last six straw polls, mitt romney has been either first or second. This is a place in 2008 where he dropped out. It is also in 2012 where he declared himself a severely conservative governor which insome in massachusetts pushed back against, of course. They feel like this is a place where it all starts for him and he had some very deep support and that was evident today. Besides the thank yous, any policy stuff in there . Any other specifics . Well, he did say that he is still optimistic about the country that his election didnt make him pessimistic. He said that it is up to the conservative activists to make sure that the company doesnt go in a wrong direction. He said he feels like it is going in the right direction as he can see. From cpac, thank you. Steve has not been shy in his opinions. First let me get your take on the speech. I thought the speech was very gracious and i would agree with pete. I didnt think that he was hinting at any president ial run, thank god. But it was very gracious and a tip of the cap for a guy that has had a lot of time in the spotlight and wanted to thank people that helped put him in a position that he ended up in. He was only given 15 minutes to speak today by cpac organizers. This is how politico put it. Saying mitt romney gets blist treatment at cpac. The base moved on four months ago and most republican activists dont really care what their failed nominee thinks anymore. What did romney add to the conference . I think he is still the form he standard bearer for the party for better or worse. That comes with a certain cache. I think for your liberal viewers, if jimmy carter shows up at a conference, he is going to get his just desserts at a liberal conference and respect as a former standard bearer. And i think it is also an opportunity to frankly turn the page and move on to the next era of conservatism and mitt romney represents the past and the focus of this conference, more than him, has been the future. Thats where there is excitement about the Bobby Jindals who will speak later this afternoon. Lets talk about rubio and paul here. Made a lot of contradictions that seem to be emerging from the first days at cpac. You had marco rubio saying conservatives dont really need new ideas. Then you had rand paul calling the gop stale. You had the first cpac immigration, marco rubio didnt mention immigration. Reporter i think it is not a contradiction but a distinction. Ideas are not the same as solutions. I think what i hear rand paul saying, we have to have solutions to peoples problems. Not just say im for this and im for that. What does that mean . Why will that make my life better . What i hear marco rubio saying, a more generic statement saying the ideas, the principles we believe in are timeless truth that have been true on this planet from the beginning of its existence. We dont need new ideas. What we need are solutions. And really, marco rubio and rand paul are sort of the yin and the yang of conservatism. Rubio does a phenomenal job of articulating and rand paul articulates specifics on policy. I think if you were to run them as a ticket. If you told most of the conservatives right now, that would be the ticket in some order in 2016. There would be a the love excitement for that. Do you think rand paul has the ability to reach out to maybe stream gopers . Gosh. I hope not. I hope he has the ability to defeat them. They have been killing us. So i hope frankly, my excitement with rand paul, as i looked at the Liberty Movement around the country emerging, i look at my home state, what im excited about even though there are some issue disagreements them want to defeat the party establishment. I hope he doesnt have the ability to reach out to them. I hope he has the ability to defeat them. There are a lot of folks that, even if rand paul does manage to defeat the party establishment, that he is not the kind of candidate that can win a general election in this country. That he would be emblematic of a problem that republicans have had in the past by going out and getting the person who is, you know, severely conservative, if you will. Who can win primaries but cant win in november. Reporter i would say we havent had a severely conservative nominee since probably 1988. If you look at john mccain, mitt romney, those were not conservatives. You heard rick perry say that about mitt romney last night. I think if you look at history and you quoted politico earlier, i wrote a column for politico looking at 40 years of republican president ial results. And theres two kinds of ways, two things the republican must do to win the presidency. The number one thing is, they have to inspire the base the way obama inspires his base. And then in the general election, they have to be able to articulate a populist right of Center Message and be strong on national defense. Lets look at the last election. Mitt romney did not inspire his base. He lost 11 states to severely underfunded rick santorum. He lost the South Carolina primary to newt gingrich. Then we got into the general election and it was about 47 and how many homes he owns and he couldnt get beyond crony capitalism. I think we need an empowering economic message. Key in the general election. We have to come out of the primary with an inspired base. Something we havent had in either of the last two election cycles. Steve deace who started with some compliments for governor romney after his speech and ended with me the same way that steve deace usually does, when hes talking about mitt romney. Friday to you, sir. Thank you. Thank you. A bit of deja vu. As governor romney was delivering his speech. The president will deliver a Campaign Style speech where he will ask congress to authorize some 2 billion in Renewable Energy investment. Theres a split screen that you probably havent seen in some time there. All of this comes a day after the president wrapped up his weeklong socalled charm offensive. He met with congressional, to for a more bipartisan approach. With republicans riling up the base with cpac as you just saw, the president on the road pushing his second term agenda. Will this weeks meetings end up making a difference at all . Joining me now, politico managing editor. Good to see both of you. Lets start with you. So much of the talk this week was about the, perhaps change of tone in washington. But today at cpac, you had kelly focusing most of her speech on benghazi. Mitch mcconnell calling for a repeal of obama care. Now the president is back giving speeches as well. Has anything really change . You mentioned the split screen and that is the perfect visual screen. They are past even other, each in their own portion of the screen. Rae not needing anywhere in the middle to xin ever combine the two pictures. President obama asking for more revenue to come in. More government spending. Republicans very much want to cut government spending. We keep hearing talk of a grand bargain. Not seeing any progress toward that at this point. Chris, republican senators reportedly asked the president in one of these closed door meetings to tone down political attacks. Well hear from president obama in just a few moments. Do you expect the tone to be any different than it has been from either side . Well, i find it kind of amusing when the republicans suggest the president has been too harsh with them. If you look at the scope of the problems the country is facing, wanting to meet in the middle somewhere is not necessarily a negative attack when you point out that the other side doesnt want to move. With respect to the republicans, listen, they have a love hate relationship with president obama. At least politically. They love to hate him. They love to hate his politics and policies. Im not sure thats going to change any time soon. Because they havent gotten i think the key message. If you look at the polling, the key message is the American People want these two parties to work together. Thats what i think was very smart about what the president has done. Receiving out again and again. Fubls keep slapping that hand more or less away. That is not a good strategy for them. That is what theyre doing. I think it is mostly because they need to again rally a disaffected demobilized base. Rachel, Republican Congress members, a lot of them are still facing a great deal of pressure from the right flank today. The wall street journal had this article. They say in part, im going to paraphrase it. Conservative activists and organizations have started warning republican legislators, if they agree to raise taxes in any broad budget deal with the president , they should expect to face challengers from the partys right wing in the next primary elections. If you believe that president obama has done his part by reaching out, can republicans, can they reciprocate without getting blowback from the far right . Republicans feel that they have reciprocated. That theyve made some Movement Toward president obama, that they gave him revenue as part of that fiscal cliff deal, that last round of brinksmanship they had here in washington. They feel theyve done their part and want to see president obama begin to move on entitlements, to really ask his party, his own party to make some sacrifices. Of course, president obama and the democrats see that very differently. But that helps explain why it is so hard to get any progress toward a grand bargain. Chris, i know youve been following all that is happening at cpac very closely. We just heard from steve deace a few moments ago. He said just to paraphrase, if they had a rubio, if they had a rand paul rubio ticket, all would be right with the gop. What do you make of that . Is that their dream ticket in 2016 . Thats a dream ticket. A dream ticket for the democratic party. I mean, lets be serious. You cannot win, and this i think they keep making the mistake. You cannot win if you have candidates that are not reflective of where the country is on not only the key Economic Issues but also the key social issues. And you see that in terms of on immigration, gay marriage, abortion. The country has moved in a more moderate progressive direction. And they want to keep moving the country backwards. That i think is a big problem. When the republicans go out there, you hear that they dont want to talk about immigration. Thats smart. An immigration bill is coming up and theyll have to sell it or tell the Hispanic Community again that we dont agree with it. So i dont know if they understand why theyre losing elections but it isnt because they havent elected a sneefr conservative. They havent elected a qualified candidate. Good seeing you that. Good to sigh. Thank you. Folks, we continue to follow some developing news on the u. S. Drone program as well. A federal Appeals Court has unanimously reversed a Lower Court Decision that allowed the cia to deny that it had any documents about the Drone Program. Nbc news justice correspondent Pete Williams is in washington, d. C. He is following this story closely for us. What can you tell us . This is a three judge panel of the d. C. Court of appeals. It says the cia cant simply refuse to say that it cant confirm or deny that it has any kind of records. The court said that position has been completely undercut by public statements about the Drone Program made by the president , made by leon panetta when he was director of the cia, and john brennan when he was the white house Counter Terrorism adviser. The court says that given these acknowledgement thats the u. S. Has participated, it doesnt make any sense for the cia to say that it would reveal anything that is not already in the public domain, to at least say it has an intelligence interest. Then heres a statement from what the court said today. It that those statements make it implausible that the cia does not possess a single document on the subject of drone strikes. Now, this ruling does not hand the cia the key to the documents because the court has sent the case back to a federal judge who has to decide whether the cia can still argue that handing over the documents would dang national secured. So that is yet to come. But at least the first round goes to the aclu. The next step is it will go back to the lower court. Reporter it does. The court ruling today even holds out the possibility that the cia doesnt have to be very explicit at all in saying what documents it has. In other words, what the court has said, look, you cant deny that you have something. Now the question is, whether the something you have has to be turned over or whether doing that would violate National Security and that is to be decided. Our justice correspondent Pete Williams. Thank you for breaking it down for us. A senate panel accusing of misleading investors. Senator mccain sending a warning saying theyre not too big to fail and theyre not too big to go to jail. Also, senator rob portmans change of heart on same sex marriage after his son comes out. Ive come to the conclusion that for me personally, i think this is something that we should allow people to do. To get married. Is portmans reversal a sign that more republican lawmakers will slowly begin to embrace same sex marriage . Well talk about that. And we would love for you to talk to us as well. You can join the conversation. We are on twitter. All over twitter. You can find us there. [ bells jingle ] [ Cash Register dings ] [ male announcer ] wow. A brave choice. Okay, focus. Think courage. 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First a pretreatment balm then the effective cream. For gentle hair removal at far less than salon prices. Theres no place like home. Today executives from jpmorgan were on capitol hill reacting to a new scathing report. And the outcome could influence how they deal with huge banks. They are accused of misleading investors about a 6. 2 trading loss. The banks former chief Investment Officer made her first public appearance today since resigning. Ina drew claims she had no idea what was happening at the time. Clearly mistakes were made. The fact that these mistakes happened on my watch has been the most disappointing and painful of my professional career. Meanwhile the dow had a record ten fresh Straight Days of gains. There are questions about whether washington needs to shrink down the largest banks. The columnist for the atlantic cnbc, zachary is here with us. Good to see you. What exactly is jpmorgan accused of doing and why should someone watching at home even care about it in. Accused of is the operative word. No one is saying they broke any law. And unequivocally last year, a set of trades that were done by a group of jpmorgan traders in london that used derivatives and mortgage instruments, the same stuff in 2008, lost 6 billion for jpmorgan. People are still trying to get their heads around it. This was internal bank trading. This wasnt trading customer money explicitly. It was trading the banks money to increase or decrease their capital and they blew it. And jamie diamond, the ceo of jpmorgan has been very explicit of, we blew it. We made mistakes. And one of the folks in the banking business thats generally held up as a finance leader that everyone else should emulate in the industry. Why should the average person care . There are two things going on. One problematic and one even more problematic. The problematic for my perspective is judge jpmorgan is a privately held bank that lost a lot of money. It is an issue for the board. For shareholders. It an issue for you and me. Unclear why this is an issue for the u. S. Senate to get involved in unless there is any indication that jpmorgan internally broke laws and thats pretty fuzzy and not clear at this point. The larger picture is the reason the senate is looking at this is because of the whole too big to fail issue from 2008. Which is, everyone knows at the end of the day, jpmorgan is too big. If they really mess up as private business, we will all publicly come to their rescue. Thats the sub text and sometime not so sub thats going on. In the wake of the financial crisis, many folks, many lawmakers if not all called for greater regulation. Weve seen some additional regulation. Have lawmakers gone far enough . And i guess, even simply, even more simply, are our banks any more stable than they were before the crisis . The partisan response is the republicans say its gone too far. The democrats say it hasnt gone far enough. What were left with is a structural reality that we have just not dealt. With it is just as true as in 2008. If a bank like jpmorgan internally mismanages itself and gets on the point of collapsing, well all be on the hook. It really is too big to fail of there is nothing that has gone on that has changed that. No matter how many hearings where they pound the table. Rhetoric wont change that. I dont get the sense in the current Political Climate that were going to do more than complain about it. It is out there and it is a risk and well to have get used to it. It aint going away. Always good to have you. Appreciate the insight. More on a stunning reversal in gay marriage. Rob portman has come out in support of Marriage Equality. The ohio politician who was considered a frontrunner to be mitt romneys running mate says his evolution on the issue started when his own son came out a few years ago. Ive now come to the conclusion for me personally, i think this is something that we should allow people to do. To get married and to have the joy and the stability of marriage that ive had for over 26 years. I want all three of my kids to have it, including our son who is gay. Portman backed up his stand making the argument for Marriage Equality. His son will tweeted this morning, quote, especially proud of my dad today. Joining me now is Michael Schwartz of the human rights campaign. In that op ed, senator portman made the case that supporting Marriage Equality is a conservative value. He wrote in part, ultimately it came down to the bibles overarching theme of love and compassion and my belief that we are all children of god. How significant is portmans argument in furthering the cause of equality . It is really important. It shows the partisan divides on this issue are really crumbling. This come down to the golden rule. You should treat others the way you would want yourself to be treated. When you look around and you see that gay and lesbian couples are people who are your friends and neighbors, your sons and daughters, and other loved ones, that you want for them the same happiness that you have. Thats why were seeing record numbers of republicans and even people in prominent positions like senator portman coming to our side. You mentioned that the partisan divide was crumbling. House speaker John Boehners Office Issued a statement a few moments ago saying senator portman is a great friend and ally and the speaker respects his position. The speaker continues to believe that marriage is between a man and a woman. This is also congressmans reaction earlier today on jansing and company. I happen to be one that think thats a lot of this should be made at the state level. How we do it in utah may be do it than how they do it in massachusetts. Thats where we ought to be having this discussion. I happen to believe in traditional marriage. Thats what i believe in. Rob portman has changed his position. I respect that. There does not seem to be a tectonic shift underway just yet in the gop. The reaction is very friendly. A lot of people have said they respect that hes changed his mind. This evolution is something that a lot of people can relate to. They want to do the right thing them want to be fair. But they might have some concerns about what Marriage Equality would mean. But as you think about it, as you consider the golden rule and how you want to treat others, people come down more and more every day on the side that senator portman has. In two weeks, the Supreme Court will be taking up two Marriage Equality cases. The defense of marriage act and californias prop 8 as well. How much will it take the heat off republicans if the Supreme Court rules in favor of equality . Well, i think that would be an enormous victory for the country and for american values. When you think about the partisanship on the prop 8 case, you have ted olson and david boyes, theyve come together now on the side of equality to argue that proposition 8 is unconstitutional. I think the court has a great opportunity to be on the right side of history and to have a very important ruling that all americans deserve equal protection under the law. Michael, thank you, have a good weekend. Coming up, the mother of a new york teenager shot and killed by detectives speaks out. I want to know why even after the first shot. One shot. Why a second bullet, why a third bullet. Police say they were forced to shoot the teenager because he pointed a gun at them. Were going to talk to a writer who questions whether the victim was quote, murdered by nypd officers in cold blood. [ male announcer ] Marie Callenders believes a little dessert can make any old day a special occasion. So she makes her new mini cream pies with real cream filling and milk chocolate on a cookiecrumb crust. Marie callenders. Its time to savor. And milk chocolate on a cookiecrumb crust. For over 75 years people. With geico. Ohhh. Sorry . Directors voice here we go. From the top. And action for over 75 years people have saved money with gecko so. Directors voice cut it . What. What did i say . Gecko . I said gecko . Aw. For over 75 year. laughs. But still trying to keep it contained directors voice keep it together. Im good. Im good. For over 75. uncontrollable lahtuger . What are you doing there . Stop making me laugh. Vo geico. Saving people money for over seventyfive years. Gecko dont look at me. Dont look at me. Accomplishing even Little Things can become major victories. Im phil mickelson, pro golfer. When i was diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis, my rheumatologist prescribed enbrel for my pain and stiffness, and to help stop joint damage. [ male announcer ] enbrel may lower your ability to fight infections. 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And today im asking for justice. And im asking why. Why was kimani murdered and slaughtered . I want to know why even after the first shot, one shot. Why second bullet, why third bullet. Meanwhile, angry residents have held four straight nights of protests, demanding justice and answers. Another vigil is planned for tomorrow. Joining me now, edward williams. He just wrote an article, kimani gray. Another nypd usual suspect . Police insisted that he pointed a. 38 at him. What do we know at this point about what happened . The official Police Report said that kimani gray was with a group of other young kids and then they saw him separate from that group, adjusting his waist band in a quote unquote suspicious manner. At that point we believe they pursued him. He started running and eyewitnesses say he was running for his life. He had no idea they were police. And eyewitnesses say no one ever identified themselves as police. So the two nypd officers ran him down. They then claimed that he turned on them and pulled a gun from his waist band. But no shots were ever fired. Forensic reports have not been released so we dont know if the gun they claim was there and was his was actually his. And i think there are a lot of people questioning the veracity of the Police Report. And we are waiting on the forensic report that should give us an indication about the gun. What do we know about the teenagers criminal background . They say the young man had, i think he had been accused of having been found with stolen goods and for quote unquote inciting a riot, im not sure what that means considering the people rioting in brooklyn in response to his murder might as well have criminal records for the same reason. To that end i fight that the release of information about a quote unquote criminal background is basically another attempt to criminalize the child who has been killed. Weve seen that happen with trayvon martin. This idea that because he had possibly been caught with marijuana justifies the murder of the boy. I think that it is really problematic that we still live in a society that always and everywhere does not give the benefit of the doubt to young black males. And theyre always seen as suspects before theyre seen as victims. Thats why i wrote the piece. And there are a lot of folks who said this should at least give more pause to the citys stop and frisk policy. Folks who are not familiar with the stop and frisk policy, what is it . It is a carte blank policy to stop and frisk anyone they choose. But under the program which has been justified by liberal mayor michael bloomberg, theyve been specifically focused on young black and latino males to the extent that all 87 stop and frisk are of young black and latino males. Despite their claims that they are looking for guns, they have found evidence in the stops of the few white males they stopped, white males were twice as likely to actually have a weapon. And 90 of the people who were black that they stopped had no weapon at all. We should note the officers who are being questioned in this particular case are black and hispanic. Thats something we should note. And i think it is problematic that even black and latino people criminalize young black males and have bought into this idea that somehow young black males are far more likely to be committing crime. Despite that fbi reports show white males commit the majority of Violent Crime in this country. Well have to leave it there. Thank you so much. Thank you. As promised, president obama delivering right now in illinois, just outside chicago. His first Energy Speech of his second term. Talking about what should be our top priority as a nation. Thats reigniting the true engine of americas Economic Growth. A rising, thriving middle class and an economy built on innovation. In my state of the union address, i said our most important task was to drive that Economic Growth and i meant it. Every day we should be asking ourselves three questions. How do we make america a magnet for good jobs . How do we equip our people with the skills and training to do those jobs . And how do we make sure that hard work leads to a decent living . Those of you who have chairs, i was not sure everybody had chairs there. Please feel free to sit down there. Im sorry. Everybody was standing. I thought one of the effects of the sequester, you had to get rid of chairs. Thats good. Im glad we got some chairs. So i chose Argonne National lab because right now, few areas hole more promise for creating good jobs and growing our economy than how we use american energy. After years of talking about it, were finally poised to take control of our Energy Future. We produce more oil than we have in 15 years. We import less oil than we have in 20 years. Weve doubled the amount of Renewable Energy that we generate from sources like wind and solar. With tens of thousands of good jobs to show for it. Were producing more natural gas than we ever have before with hundreds of thousands of good jobs to show for it. We have supported the first new Nuclear Power plant in america since the 1970s. And were sending less Carbon Pollution into the environment than we have in nearly 20 years. So were making Real Progress across the board. And it is possible in part because of labs like this and outstanding scientists like so many of you, entrepreneurs, innovators, all of you together to take your discoveries and turned them into a business. So think about this. Just a few years ago, the American Auto industry was flatlining. Today, thanks in part to discoveries made right here at argonne, some of the most hightech fuel efficient, pretty spiffy cars in the world are once again designed, engineered and built here in the United States. And thats why we have to keep investing in scientific research. Its why we have to maintain our he know. Because the work youre doing today will end up in the products that we make and sell tomorrow. Youre helping to secure our Energy Future. And if we do it well, then that will help us avoid some of the perils of climate change, it will leave a healthier planet for our kids, but to do it, we have to make sure that were making the right choices in washington. Just the other day, dr. Isaacs directors of two of our other laboratories wrote about the effects of the socalled sequester. These across the board budget cuts put in place two weeks ago. And specifically, the effects it will have on americas scientific research. One of the reasons i was opposed to these cuts is because they dont distinguish between wasteful programs and vital investments. They dont trim the fat. They cut into muscle and bone. Like research and development being done right here, that notton gives a great place for young researchers to could that and ply their trade but ends up creating spinoffs that creates good jobs and good wages. So dr. Isaac said these cuts will force them to stop any new project coming down the line. Im quoting him now. He says, this sudden halt on new starts will freeze American Science in place while the rest of the world races forward and it will knock a generation of young scientists off their stride, ultimately costing billions of dollars in missed future opportunities. Essentially because the sequester, were looking at two years where we dont start new research. And at a time when every month, you have to replace your smartphone because something new has come up, manning what that mean when china and germany and japan are all continuing to plump up their basic research. And were just sitting there, doing nothing. We cant afford to miss these opportunities while the rest of the world races forward. We have to seize the opportunities. I want the next great job creating breakthroughs, creating a energy or Nano Technology or bioengineering, i want those breakthroughs to be right here in the United States of america. Creating american jobs and maintaining our technological lead. So [ applause ] so i want to be clear. These cuts will harm, not help our economy. They are the smart way to cut our deficits. Thats why im reaching out to republicans and democrats to come together around a balanced approach, a smart, phased in approach to deficit reduction that includes smart spending cuts and entitle. Reforms and new revenue and that wont hurt our middle class or slow Economic Growth. If we do that, we can move beyond governing from crisis to crisis to crisis and we keep our focus on policy thats actually create jobs and grow our economy and move forward to face all the other challenges we face from fixing our broken immigration system to educating our kids to keeping them safe from gun violence. And few pieces of business are more important for us than getting our Energy Future right. So here at argonne, and other labs around the country, scientists are working on getting us where we need to get ten years from now, 20 years from now. Today what most americans feel first when it comes to energy prices, Energy Issues are what they pay at the pump. Over the past few weeks, we saw, we went through another spike in gas prices. Some people ared noing here. They werent happy about it. The problem is this happens every year. It happened last year, the year before that. And it is a serious blow to family budgets. It feel like youre getting hit with a new tax coming right out of your pocket. Every time it happens, politicians, they dust off their threepoint plans for 2 gas, but nothing happens. Then we go through the same cycle again. Heres the thing. We havent just talked about it. Weve started to do something about it. Weve work with auto company to put in place the toughest standards in our history. What that means is by the middle of the next decade, our cars will go twice as far on a gallon of gas. The standards that we set are part of what is driving some of the amazing scientists and engineers lou are working at argonne labs. Weve set some achievable but ambitious goals. So in the middle of the next decade, we expect that youll fill up half as often. Which means you spend has as much. Over the life of a new car, the average family will save more than 8,000 at the pump. Thats worth applauding. Thats big news. [ applause ] in fact, a new report issued today shows that america is becoming a Global Leader in advanced vehicles. You walk into any dealership today and youll see twice as many hybrids to choose from as there were five years ago. Seven times as many cars that can go 40 miles a gallon or more. As costs go down, sale are going up. Last year General Motors sold more hybrid vehicles than ever before. Ford is selling some of the most fuel efficient cars so quickly the dealers are having a tough time keeping up with the demand. So by investing in our Energy Security, were helping our businesses succeed and creating good middle class jobs right here in america. So were making progress. But the only way to really break this cycle of spiking gas prices, the only way to break that cycle for good is to shift our cars entirely. Our cars and trucks off oil. Thats why in my state of the union address, i call on congress to set up an Energy Security trust to Fund Research into new technology thats will help us reach that goal. Now, i would like the take credit for this idea because it is a good idea but i cant. Basically, my proposal builds off a proposal that was put forward by a Nonpartisan Coalition that includes retired generals and admirals and leading ceos. These leaders came together around a simple idea. Much of our energy is drawn from lands and waters that we the public own together. So what they propose is, lets take some of our oil and gas revenues from public lands and put it toward research that will benefit the public so we can support American Ingenuity without adding a dime to our deficit. President obama there in argonne, illinois, talking about a 2 billion new Energy Security trust. He mentioned it in his state of the union address. He is unveiling it there at that Research Laboratory there. It is an idea in the past has received some bipartisan support. The president saying all of this designed to help break us, break the cycle of spiking gas prices, to get our cars essentially off oil. President obama calling for 2 billion Energy Security trust. I want to bring in newsweek and daily beast correspondent michael, good to see you. Thanks for coming on. Thank you. He tried to turn the page in his relationship with republicans. There was talk of polite meetin meetings, renewed hope of bipartisan. But you wrote they wont negotiate. Is it your sense in a few weeks, well forget these number even happened . Im not happy to say that but i think so. The charm offensive, lets face it. It is not working. It is not really obamas fault. It is just that the people he is trying to charm, are uniquely and emphatically immune to his charms them dont care whether he is charming or rude or buys them lobster dinners the rest of their lives. Whatever. They are just against any kind of revenues period, as long as thats their position, were not going to see any progress. No grand bargain. No medium size bargain. I cant see it, craig. I dont see how it happens. It is true that democrats are, whats the best word . Theyre skittish about, theyre resistant to, Many Democrats in congress, Something Like a chain cpi on social security. I dont want to take the time to explain what that means. Ill assume your viewers know what that means. Many democrats are reluctant to do that. But obama has put that forward. And democrats are considering it. So at least democrats are considering this entitlement change. Republicans arent considering revenues at all. Michael tomasky. Thank you so much. Have a great weekend. Still ahead, yet another Carnival Cruise ship having some trouble. The second in two days and fourth in a month. Well tell what you the company is doing to compensate passengers this time. Is really made of cheese . 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[ male announcer ] a lot of sinus products dont treat cough. They dont . [ male announcer ] nope, but alka seltzer plus severe sinus does it treats your worst sinus symptoms, plus that annoying cough. [ breathes deeply ] oh, what a relief it is [ angry gibberish ] i dont wanna be right [ record scratch ] what . its not bad for you. It just tastes that way. [ female announcer ] honey nut cheerios cereal hearthealthy, whole grain oats. You cant go wrong loving it. Physical activity is not only good for your health, it is good for your happiness. Cumulative data from surveys over 15 years show that physically active people are over 85 more likely to report feeling happy when compared to those less active. Right now, Carnival Cruise lines are scrambling to handle technical problems on two different ships. The latest problem is affecting the sailing speed of the carnival legend. That slip is returning to tampa after canceling a port of call in grand cayman. All other systems are functioning normally. Meanwhile passenger from the dream are traveling back after their trip was cut short. The dream has an issue with the emergency diesel generator and is not able to leave the caribbean island of st. Maarten right now. They flew passengers back to the mainland. Some say carnival handled it reasonably well. The Customer Service was playsing. Truly. I would be very happy to take a Carnival Cruise. Way to go. They really did take care of us truly. They chartered planes for us. We were riding in first class. Thats how it felt. We dont usually travel that way. All of this coming nearly a month after an engine fire left the carnival triumph stranded in the gulf of mexico for several days. Coming up know our news nation gut check. Does romney have a future in the Republican Party . Uh, im in a timeout because apparently riding the dog like its a small horse is frowned upon in this establishment luckily though, ya know, i conceal this bad boy underneath my blanket just so i can get on etrade. Check my investment portfolio, research stocks. Wait, why are you taking. Oh, i see. Solitary. Just a man and his thoughts. And a smartphone. With an etrade app. Nobody knows. [ male announcer ] etrade. Investing unleashed. The longest 4g lte battery in a razr thin profile. With 32 hours of battery life that turns an allnighter, into a twonighter. The droid razr maxx hd by motorola. Droidendurance. Droidpowerful. You dont decide when vegetables reach the peak of perfection. The vegetables do. At green giant, we pick vegetables only when theyre perfect. Then freeze them fast so theyre are as nutritious as fresh. [ green giant ] ho ho ho. Green giant news nation is following news in maryland where governor Martin Omalley is poised to sign into law a repeal of that states death penalty. The maryland General Assembly passed the measure just moments ago. When it happens, when governor omalley signs it, maryland becomes the 18th state in this country to outlaw capital punishment. Time for the gut check. Mitt romney mostly thanked his supporters and said that the gop had much to learn from his bid for the white house. He did not say anything about his future plans. No hint of another run for the presidency. He turns 66 earlier there week. No mention of what role if any he might play in the party as it looks ahead to 2016 of is there a future for mitt romney in the Republican Party . What does your gut tell you . Go to facebook. Com news nation to vote. The cycle is up next. W jetta and you want to buy one like mine because its so safe, right . Yeah. Yeah. 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