that's "fantasy," by the way, is all long islanders who have contributed to the great cultural contributions of our nation. we're celebrating long island this morning, everybody. our panelists this morning, washington correspondent for the new yorker, nice to have you. where about? what town? john fugal is with us, asked the question of the day on this show yesterday. we'll talk about that straight ahead. >> i'm representing stony brook as well. >> that's right by me and will cain. >> thank gadness i'm here. >> helping it out. let's get to our "starting point" this morning. the standoff we've been watching for days is now over. cnn affiliate in france says the terror suspect is now dead. police stormed the apartment after 30 hours. that included a shootout and several explosions. the suspect is named mohammed merah, wanted in the killing rampage that left three jewish children, a rabbi and three french paratroopers dead. fran townsend joins us live by phone. fran, there was so many sort of interesting elements out of this. i was surprised how quickly they were able to get information about this suspect. he was the one who said he was aligned with al qaeda. he was the one who, we're told, admitted to the shootings. what do you make of not just the ending, but the beginning of this standoff? >> reporter: well, soledad, look, this is exactly the sort of slone wolf scenario we've heard about, from peter king in new york that held hearings about. this is the very thing we've been concerned about here in the united states. you've got an individual. you realize in retro expect now, looking back, he travelled to afghanistan. we don't know. there are many questions that remain unanswered. who did he meet with there? what did he do? was he trained? was he radicalized during that trip? he obviously had contact with french forces in afghanistan, who made the decision to return him. if they notified their internal intelligence and security services in france they were aware of this, their travels to afghanistan? we don't know. we've also suffered in the united states with the lack of information sharing between agencies. so this very much sounds like the sort of individual we worry about in the united states. >> i know there was tremendous interest, fran, and i think the reason this standoff went on for so long is they really wanted to get him alive. that they thought there was information to gather from him, if he were alive, as opposed to how it has now ended with this suspect dead. >> reporter: that's right. in a barricade situation, which is what this was, the longer you wait, the better the likelihood of that. you also run the risk he may have taken his own life over that time. in the end, this concluded he was the only one who was killed or hurt in the barricade situation is a success story actually. yes, you would have preferred to get him alive and get that information. the fact that nobody else was hurt and no security forces were hurt or innocent civilians is to the credit of the french service. >> i'm getting word that there were, in fact, three officers who were injured over that 30-hour standoff and they are now the -- the french interior minister is confirming that the suspect is now dead. we were working to get that confirmation. where does this investigation go now, fran? >> reporter: there's no question, they'll now look at who and what were his other contacts in france, can they help identify other individuals who may have been radicalized? they'll look at the mosque he was attending. they'll see if there's a radical group involved here. was there a pipeline of others who left france and have gone to afghanistan? there will be a lot of information exchanged among allied services, the cia and france. probably back to those who had contact with him in afghanistan and see what they can learn about at that end, is there a pipeline. so, there's a lot of sort of lessons learned and information to be gleaned from his travel and his contacts yet. >> which is what they'll be looking into. fran townsend joining us this morning. we appreciate you joining us by phone. all right. a return to the campaign trail now where that iconic etch-a-sketch toy is shaping up the gop race. it began right here. literally right there yesterday morning when long-time romney adviser eric fehrnstrom was sort of doing the victory lap. romney had a win the night before. and he was asked whether forced too far to the right by his opponents when it went to a national campaign, ultimately hurting him in november. that was the question that john asked. here was the answer. >> i think you hit a reset button for the fall campaign. everything changes. it's almost like an etch-a-sketch. you can kind of shake it up and we start all over again. >> well, from there, literally, from right there, etch-a-sketch went absolutely everywhere, on every single newscast. take a look. >> it was an unusual day on the campaign trail. mitt romney and his campaign had wanted to talk about his victory in the illinois primary, but then the debate over this iconic children's toy, the etch-a-sketch, threatened to erase all that. >> you have to stand for something that lasts longer than this. people aren't stupid. >> he said you just turn it over and shake it and then you start all over. >> if i were elected and congress were to pass the dream act, would i veto it? the answer is yes. >> planned parenthood, going to get rid of that. >> we begin with our panelists on this etch-a-sketch. it really should be a big conversation about a great night and it changed. will is checking his watch. >> two hours left in this show? it will be done by 10:00 am eastern. i love john. it's a good question. it's much ado about nothing. this is a twitter-fueled political granular story that most of the people watching at home rightfully are like, what, what? he said what about an etch-a-sketch? >> social conservatives may disagree with you. >> i have $5 on this. >> let's bet 10 grand. >> five? you really feel strongly, don't you? >> i'm cheap and i have four kids i have to send to college. that's why. john mccain's 2008 presidential campaign adviser and contributor to "the daily beast" and author of a new article. an open letter that offers advice to romney's advisers. you heard a little bit of the exchange. after the exchange there was a clarification from eric fehrnstrom. let's play a little bit of that clarification. >> organizationally, a general election campaign takes on a different profile. the issues i'm running on will be exactly the same. >> my apologies. that was actually, obviously, governor romney doing his own clarification, which came after eric's clarification. what do you make of this? will cain just said this is going to last another couple of hours and then it's done. >> i disagree. i think it's going to last the whole campaign. one, the problem is that every time romney has a big win, they step on their message. two, there's nothing more powerful than using a campaign's own words against them. three, it's the perfect metaphor. four, it immediately reminded me yesterday when i heard that of the time in 2004 when i heard the words i actually voted for it before i voted against it. this is problematic. it has lasting damage. >> it will stick. let me read to you the clarification. this is what eric fehrnstrom said after all this hoopla about the etch-a-sketch. he says i was talking about the race. as we move from the primary to the general election, the campaign changes. it's a different race with different candidates and a focus on different issues. do you think that's true and, in fact, that clarification is accurate? >> well, again, the problem is in politics if you're explaining, you're losing. and, again, it's the perfect metaphor for the vulnerabilities and weaknesses romney has on a day when it should have been one of his greatest days of the campaign. they killed the news again with an incident that i believe -- listen, i'm an ad guy. i can think of a perfect ad to do with this etch-a-sketch piece. i guarantee you that the obama campaign is already cooking up the ads. >> will cain is strongly -- i can tell how he is physically writhing in his chair, mark, he has to get in on this. >> i am capable of being wrong. i'm wrong often, but what i'm curious about is i guess if i'm wrong it's because i'm giving the voting public too much credit, mark. i'm not in the romney camp. i actually buy eric fehrnstrom's answer. he was talking about the campaign being different from a general election to a primary. if the public can see through this, this is being spun by his adversaries. >> let's go back and replay the question and the answer, the actual question. mark, i'll have you jump in and answer it. let's play that, guys. >> any time. >> we don't have it. >> i'll act it out. >> but the question was, as john said, you asked the question. you repeat it. >> senator cain had been referenced, i pointed out that senator mccain was more moderate than the gentlemen he now faces. from santorum and gingrich, is it possible that he would tax so far to the right that it would make him difficult to reach the voters. >> and the answer was the etch-a-sketch remark. answer, mark, if you can, will's question. >> ultimately, it may not be fatal. it's a big hurdle they've thrown themselves when it should have been on offense, should have been celebrating a victory. it puts a spotlight on the weakness romney has, which is that people think he shifts positions. it was an error on a day they should have been on offense. i wrote a column saying about the romney campaign, saying that they get a lot of criticism, a lot of it unfair, but this one, i think, is problematic. but all that said, i think he'll get the convention, give his speech, an s on his chest and he'll get a cape and ultimately could be a strong nominee for the party. >> in the "daily beast" column you wrote you said, life was hard in the presidential microwave during the last three cycles but i can't imagine what it's like now with the carnivorous tentacles of social media at every turn, no matter which way you turn. and the rate of both cash and people must be enormous. this race is being dragged out, which could be linked to the fact that people won't get out of the race, which is linked to the facts that super pacs are giving people money who could get out of the race -- >> it's a human microwave. it was bad before. it's impossible now. incidents like yesterday get magnified and blown -- really blown up, just like we're talking about it today. it's just very, very difficult. i have a lot of sympathy for what they're going through. it's been a very tough campaign. at the end of the day, they built a campaign to last. they should get credit for overcoming a lot of hurdles. as i said in the column, this is a candidate who overcame possibly the greatest vulnerability, which was his position on health care. i compared that to -- it would have been like obama being for iraq and winning that primary. at end of the day, you have to salute the campaign for hanging in there, going through very tough days and months and ultimately getting to the place where they are today. >> appreciate you talking to us. >> okay, thanks. kick it hard. >> i'm not sure what that means, but i will, sir. thank you. let's get right to the chairwoman of the tea party express and grass roots coalition. i was told to kick it hard, amy. i'm not sure what that means. so i'll welcome you and thanks for talking to us. >> it's my pleasure. >> talk with us about this etch-a-sketch. >> i disagree with will. it's not going to go away because his opponents will keep it front and center. you saw speaker gingrich holding the etch-a-sketch. it's kind of comical that now this primary process has come to what it has. now we're talking about children's toys. you know, the bottom line is, we need to flush all of this out now. because that's what the primary process is for. the tea party movement wants the candidate most aligned with the principles of the tea party movement. at the end of the day, these people are educated on the issues. while we're talking about social media, not only is it fueling stuff like this, but social media has also, and the internet has also allowed people to go back and do research on these candidates and their records. they don't make decisions based the talking points they're given at a podium. >> governor romney seemed to be getting some traction on the tea party. you looked at the exit polls out of illinois. he won tea party. he won conservatives. it was sort of tone of the thins we were discussing in the wake of the victory there. if the vote were held again in illinois, would you see some of that disappear? >> no, i'm not saying that. i think at the end of the day, people are making educated decisions. but soledad, one thing we've learned since the last election, especially with this movement, is that four or five years ago, people used the term republican and conservative interchangeably. what we've learned is that just because you're republican doesn't mean you're a conservative. people across the country want a fiscal conservative. that's what matters to them. that's why we want these candidates to stay focused on the economy and fiscal issues of jobs, jobs, jobs, getting the gas prices down. that's affecting every person out there. they need to get off the social issues and focus on what's important to americans and that's what we want them to do. >> amy kremer, thank you very much. >> thanks for having me. million hoodie march, demanding justice for trayvon martin and also the arrest of the man accused of shooting him. have you seen this video online of the apache chopper buzzing a base and then it makes -- look at that -- a hard landing and -- into the snow and goes back up again, narrowly missing soldiers on the ground. it was crazy. we'll look at that and see if it was a stunt that actually just went wrong. plus our "get real" this morning. remember that woman who was texting and walking and ended up in a fountain? another woman, walking and texting. bad thing happened to her. she's okay. i actually have walked and texted and it ended up badly as well. we'll leave you with ryan's play list. 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(laugh) quaker oats. in every way, a super grain. ♪ super for the fiber that helps fill us up. super for the energy it gives to get us going. super for the oats that are so good for our hearts. ♪ super for how it makes us... super. quaker oats. energy. fiber. heart health. super people eat super grains. well, first it was a country. now his own community is turning on the sanford police chief, bill lee, after trayvon martin was killed by a neighborhood watchman. they voted 3-2 that they had no confidence in lee, who has been on the job for less than a year. at the same time, national anger over the shooting is growing. yesterday afternoon in sanford, the naacp held a forum for residents to complain about alleged abuse by the sanford police department. last night in new york city, trayvon's parents joined the million hoodie march and demanded that the shooter, george zimmerman, be arrested. >> trayvon martin did matter. i just want new york to know that we're not going to stop until we get justice. >> our son was not commit iting any crime. our son is your son. you've got to stand up for justice and do what's right. >> later today, the reverend al sharpton is going to lead a rally in the orlando suburb where martin was killed. a civil rights investigation is now under way at the u.s. justice department. ben jealous is the president and ceo of the naacp. also, norton bonaparte jr. is a city commissioner. what does a no confidence vote mean? >> certainly an expression of the city commission's feelings in terms of how they feel about the chief. let me also start by saying this is a tragedy. we regret what's happened. on behalf of the city, we want to express our condolences and simp sympathies to the family of trayvon martin. also i learned today that the reverend sharpton's mother's passing. express his con do express my condolences to him as well. >> oh, i did not know that. so this vote lead to you firing the police chief. are you going to do that? >> i would like an independent review, did the sanford police something they should have done or not do something they should have done? >> mr. jealous, would you like to see the police chief fired? >> yeah. you know, he needs to go right now. the reality is that it has been a month since trayvon was killed. and for thousands upon thousands of parents in this community, they simply don't feel like their children will be safe with the leadership of this chief. and, you know, i realize he has only been on board for a short time, but the reality is that when the buck stops with you, it is possible for you to make a mistake so big that that one big mistake is sufficient for you to go. >> seems like the position, ben, of the police department circles around this stand your ground law, which makes self defense sort of a good enough reason to shoot and kill someone, according to, some have said, this particular law. that seems to be what the police department is sort of relying n on. where do you stand on that? >> it's a gross misinterpretation of the law. any common sense interpretation of that law, you read it, it's very short. it's in plain english. what it suggests is that, look, if you're stalked, if you're attacked, somebody pulls out a gun and tries to kill you, you have a right to use equal and opposite force. trayvon martin is a person who was stalked, attacked and threatened and ultimately killed with a gun. and all this law says is that he could have defended him. this law does not say you can go hunting for little boys. trayvon martin was not the first black boy that this -- you know, mr. zimmerman had followed throughout the neighborhood and confronted. it does not say you can go hunting for little boys and then kill one of them and claim you got scared while you were hunting him down and that's why you shot him. i mean, it is -- the fact that this city has tolerated this chief so misinterpreting this law is just deeply disturbing. and that's why people don't feel safe. the reality is, the law is there for people like trayvon, not lick mr. zimmerman. >> a lot of this case, as you both know, going to the department of justice civil rights division, a lot of this case is going to hinge on the 911 tape that we know, the conversation betw