elusive title he so desperately coveted. >> lebron james averaged 28.6 poin points, 10.2 rebounds, 7.4 assists, and is the unanimous choice for the mvp. >> when the clock hit triple zeros what's the first thing that ran through your mind? >> as about dam time. it's about dam time. >> good morning. finally did it. took a couple years. it's friday, june 2nd. welcome to "morning joe." with us on set we have the executive editor at random house, pulitzer prize hisser to zan and "time" magazine contributor jon meacham to give us insights on lebron. the chairman of deutsch incorporated, donny deutsch, give it signsights on anything. >> not since jim baucus, has there been a blazer worn. >> mike barnicle, yep. hi, mike. how is that "way too early." a little too early for you. >> no, it was fine. >> he rocked it on the sports. >> been up since 3:00. >> in miami, telemundo's jose diaz-balart. and in washington, senior national correspondent from bloomberg business week, josh green. good to have josh on board given one of the headlines, the bank downgrade. >> jon meacham, compare yesterday, last night, with what happened on 14 june 1940. >> it's 1980. >> no, no, no. >> 14th of june, 1940, when hitler's troops rolled into paris and occupied that great city and you had people crying. i mean, compare the two events. >> why would you do that? >> well, because, i mean you have -- >> two great, great horrors in western civilization. >> dark hours. >> darkest of hours. who was our churchhill who will lead us from this grim, grim, epic. >> i was talking to my son last night about what john maynard cane said. >> how old is your son? >> he's 10. >> go ahead. >> he's very interested in this. he hung up actually, like the great depression was like the dark ages. it lasted for 400 years. >> yeah. >> no one knew why. that's what we're entering. >> i will make a historical reference. all kidding aside -- >> i need a -- >> no, this is very interesting. >> first there was an arrogant press conference. >> when i get near the pulitzer prize winner things happen in my pores. >> why do we wait -- >> never say that again. >> we've had two guests leave in washington. they want no part of this. >> this is a very -- >> i don't want to hear anything about pores. >> not only because lebron james is very unlikable, it sets up we are in the time in this world where it's fair and unfair and the heat are an unfair team. it's stacked. we don't like that. just like big business/small business. everybody feels the world is stacked against them. the heat are the embodiment. >> another theory you hate the heat so much. they're not in your town. >> oh, look at the smug faced jose diaz-balart. >> part of the reason why the heat have become such a loathsome team is because of the questions that are asked of their stars, like lebron james, after they win a title the question is, you've been through so much, you've suffered so much pain. >> poor guy. >> they make $40 million, $50 million what pain are we talking about? >> a fake story. >> what about last year, after he loses and they ask him to explain and he basically says, oh you know what, all you guys will go back into your trailers. i get to be me. i get to be me for the next 365 days. >> i went back in my trailer and we were fine. >> hey, guys, just a question, again objective question, coming in to do "morning joe" this morning, 4:30 in the morning. >> yeah. >> when you guys were coming into work, were there celebrations in the streets because there are nba champs anywhere? >> no. just because barnicle was awake. >> just wondering. >> jose the question is -- >> how do you tell the difference in south beach? >> that's true too. >> all rightp. >> that's a good point. >> we have a lot to get to. >> yesterday we had a bloomberg poll out that showed actually the president way head by 47 points. we have a couple different polls out -- i think mike bloomberg was asking his friends on the upper east side those questions himself. but we have two new polls out this morning that show a tad different story. >> we do. they show a tightening race between president obama and mitt romney. pew research finds among all registered voters the president holds a four-point lead over mitt romney. >> looks closer. >> just a tad bit. while the associated press showing romney up two points from a month ago, but still trailing the president 47 to 44%. later today, president obama will address a group of influence a.m. latino officials in florida one week -- well you know, you got -- >> coincidence. >> you have to meet the people. >> it is the season. >> yes, it is. >> of the latino. >> if it's -- >> as the zombies once sang. >> if it's the right thing to do and happens to be politically smart that's just good. >> that is a two-fer. >> after announcing his administration would not deport some 800,000 children brought to this country illegally by their parents, mitt romney, yesterday, he cut the cord and was clear about this. >> bold. he was bold. >> he was bold and, of course, this is the follow-up i talked about how i've been in a turkish prison the past three weeks. his idea during the primary season in iowa was to deport all illegal immigrants to turkish prisons. let's see if he softened up his stance since the primary season and the iowa caucuses. >> some people have asked if i will let stand the president's executive order. the answer is that i will put in place my own long-term solution that will replace and supersede the president's temporary measure. as president, i won't settle for stop-g stop-gap measures. i'll work with republicans and democrats to build a long-term solution. he may admit that he hasn't kept every promise. and he'll probably say that even though you aren't better off today than were you four years ago things could be worse. he'll imply that you don't really have an alternative. i believe he's taking your vote for granted. i've come here today with a very simple message, you do have an alternative. your vote should be respected and your voice is more important now than ever before. >> jose, we know there's a subtle change of tone since the iowa caucuses. there is, of course, no threat of turkish prisons. no sum marry executions. no fingernail removal. >> no self-deportation. >> yeah. none of that stuff. it seems that mitt romney is moving to the center on this issue and it seems as if president obama is finally starting to move the direction he promised to move four years ago. >> yeah. that's very interesting. i think that these closing polls, these tightening polls may have something to do with this. but i got to tell you, probably one of mitt romney's better speeches in front of the organization of national elected latino leaders. there were a few things. he pounded on the economic story and the economic reality that as you know the hispanic community is hit with 11% official unemployment. the unemployment in places like texas and nevada and florida and california, for the most part is a lot higher than that. and then, you know, he actually confronted the issues that the president started putting the conversation straight in the center of our headlines when he made that announcement a couple fridays ago that -- and mika, i think more than 800,000 people. it would be 1.4 million people that could benefit by the president's decision on immigration. >> am i missing something? did he say anything there? that was a good speech? he said nothing. >> no, he didn't. >> listen -- >> let's talk about what he said. >> we're going to -- >> i'm sorry. >> no. >> what that means, get off the set. >> all right. >> i thought it was party time. that's what i thought this meant. >> exactly. >> you were just having a spasm. >> exactly. >> another story to get to. this happened late yesterday. global markets are reeling today as moody's downgrades 15 of the world's largest banks. citigroup, goldman sachs, bank of america, jpmorgan chase and morgan stanley joined several banks in the downgrade. officials said these banks were vulnerable to quote outside losses creating fears they would not be able to repay their debts in times of severe financial crisis. the downgrade marks the first time since 2007 that maddy's has taken across-the-board action against the banks. give us a sense of where this goes from here. >> the headline is worse than the actual news. this is bad news for the banks because a downgrade means they're probably going to face higher borrowing costs and some of them may have to post collateral now which will squeeze their profit margins. this doesn't come as a huge shock and most investors were expecting this. you saw morgan stanley in afterhours trading rallying last night. the initial reaction wasn't one of panic and investors being upset. the obvious criticism is why now, why three years after the financial crisis are these cuts coming? and i think part of the answer is that these ratings agencies which got such a black eye in the financial crisis are kind of playing a game of catch up. >> mike barnicle, that's the question i was going to ask you, josh. you're absolutely right. i don't think it was -- you didn't sense any surprise along wall street or within the markets about this downgrade. it was anticipated, it was expected but the downgrade by moody's is given by a ratings agency that seemingly completely missed everything in late 2000 and all of 2008. >> right. part of the reason for the lack of surprise i think was that moody's had placed all these banks under review back in february. and since then, you did see there that the ratings drop a bit and so when the official announcement came yesterday, as i said, it wasn't a big shock. i think the other thing to keep in mind here is that ratings agencies don't get a whole lot of respect anymore. if you remember, standard & poor's downgraded u.s. debt last year and since then u.s. borrowing costs have fallen to record lows. so investors in markets are making up their own minds about u.s. stocks and about these bank stocks too. >> we'll come back to this. other big stories this morning, the political fallout continues after a key congressional committee found attorney general eric holder in contempt over his refusal to turn over documents relating to fast and furious. a botched atf gun sting that resulted in the death of a u.s. border agent. republican speaker of the house john boehner continued to be vocal on the issue, hinting that the white house may be involved in a coverup. >> the decision to invoke executive privilege is an admission and the white house officials were involved in decisions that misled the congress and have covered up the truth. what is the obama administration hiding in fast and furious? >> boehner intends to bring a contempt vote before the full congress next week. the contempt vote came in response to president obama's first use of executive privilege to block the release of some 1300 pages of documents about the case. white house press secretary jay carney bristoled during reporters' questions yesterday. >> is there not a legitimate investigative and oversight -- >> look i think -- >> responsibility to find out what the department of justice knew when they were giving false information to congress? >> i think that matter has been thoroughly discussed in congressional testimony including nine appearances by the attorney general, including the 600 -- 7600 documents that have been provided. the issue -- look, i would refer you to a leading member of congress in the republican party who himself called this politics. >> can you say categorically that there is no -- there has been no cover-up. >> absolutely. >> nothing being covered up by the justice department, by the white house as far as your involvement in -- >> the attorney general -- >> the initial -- but in the -- >> the attorney general referred this matter to the inspector general. the inspector general has full access to all documents we are discussing right now. >> the investigation began in 2010 after border patrol agent brian terry was shot and killed by a gun involved in the fast and furious. >> jose, what's going on here? because yesterday, terry's parents released a statement saying, quote, our son lost his life protecting this nation and it's very disappointed that we're now faced with an administration that seems more concerned with protecting themselves rather than revealing the truth behind operation fast and furious. if my son had been killed working for the united states and the law enforcement capacity, there had been a botched raid or a botched program, put together by the administration, and the administration wanted to block the united states from hearing about it, for its people, i would be a little upset. what's going on here? >> and add to this, joe, what about the 55,000 people that have died in mexico because of the drug cartel wars? what about the little kids that on a daily basis almost are dying in the streets of mexico because of gang violence between one gang and the other, the shoot-outs, you know, little kids are caught in the cross fire. what about the violence that continues to occur in mexico, all because of american drug consumption. i may add. and all of this together, has, i think, frustrated many. i'm not sure that the congress and a publicing here hearing it place to air out this botched federal program. i have to tell you something, the fact of the matter is that no one has really -- no heads have rolled, real people in authority that were behind this operation. you know, where are those people that organized this operation and where are they, you know, out of a job, for example? >> and mike, nobody talks about it, certainly, rarely talks about it on the nightly news, any of the nightly news programs. there's been all this dead silence over this raid and also over the much bigger issue, which jose just brought up, that it's more dangerous, as you've said, in juarez than in baghdad. >> we have a story coming up about the taliban shooting up a lakeside resort outside of kabul, afghanistan, in which 14 or 15 civilians are killed and yet, it's safer per capty pa, you can prove this, it's safer living in kabul, afghanistan, than it is living in see ya dad juarez mexico right across our border and we pay zero attention to it. >> i think the fundamental question here about -- it is the republicans on the hill that needed to be telling this story better. i think that a lot of folks are hearing about this first and foremost as a subpoena showdown fight against the president, and then it moves into a political realm that is just chaotic. there's a basic narrative here that -- >> what's the story? what was fast and furious? >> what was fast and furious? what was the raid. matter of fundamental political communication that could make this much more front and center and go to this question about mexico which is, you know, dam near a failed state. >> donny, the administration has distribution there's no doubt fast and furious has been botched. there's no doubt the administration wants to prevent information from coming out during an election year because it would be embarrassing for them. the republicans have every right to do what they're doing. to push as hard as they're pushing. and the parents want answers. the american people i'm sure that know about this, want answers. at the same time, it's always dangerous politically, just politically, election year, to start holding members of the administration in contempt because it makes it look political, draws a bigger divide, and i would say for republicans, distracts from issue number one which is economy, economy, economy. >> yeah. i think the republicans quickly want to get back to the economy and just to shift for a second -- not to shift but stay on this. this is unfortunately this is not going to be an issue that stays in the public consciousness for a while. it's an important issue and tragic for that family but at the end of the day it's always going to come back to jobs and on the democratic side, say six out of ten are still better op. i don't know where this story goes for either side. >> speaking of juking and jiving, what sort of throwback 1970s retro disco bar are you going to be going to tonight singing "sister sledge" songs in that jacket right there? >> i want you to answer this honestly. >> is there like a cruise ship off the hamptons that just goes around the hamptons? >> jim backus. >> ted knight. >> that actually is captain -- >> i'll be tony you be the can tain. >> will you go home, does your wife say to you -- what is with donny, is he threatening to you? are you jealous? >> no. >> are you upset he's more handsome. >> these are for my kids. >> my kids gave me this. >> caddie shack. judge -- >> josh green, josh -- >> snails. >> who was the judge in caddie shack? >> snails. >> your honor -- >> you're all jealous. >> you're all jealous. >> what was the question that judge snails asked danny? >> one of the great questions. do you like being good or bad or something. what was that again? >> are you a gentleman? but you know, it's been a while since i watched "caddie shack." for the record he looks pretty good. he could be selling scotch. >> captain and tin kneel too. >> talk about your pores later. >> do you want to do what is right? or what is wrong? >> how about a fresco. >> i'll be your cruise director. we can head that way. >> jose diaz-balart, thank you. >> thanks. >> stay with us, josh. by the way, i've got to say, to willie geist great point a few weeks ago, there is -- donny is wearing a snake skin watch. there is no snake in nature that is that color. i just -- i just want to say for the record. i'm from florida. >> coming up, we'll talk to louisiana governor bobby jindal before he attends mitt romney's weekend retreat in utah and governor of maryland martin o'malley will be here on set. up next the top stories in the politico playbook plus, willie's week in review. first, bill karins with a check on the weekend forecast. bill? >> good morning, mika. the heat wave will be ending today for areas of the northeast but will end with a bang. thunderstorms will roll through all the big cities later this afternoon. keep that in mind for your afternoon travels on i-95. by the way, it's a very hot morning. this is the warmest morning in washington, d.c., since 1991. so this is just an indication this was an extreme heat wave. the forecast today, does include the chance of some damaging thunderstorms. those areas in yellow, watch out late this afternoon. baltimore, d.c., philly and new york, all included in that risk of very strong storms. let me talk about your weekend forecast. because we have to watch the gulf of mexico carefully. we could have a tropical system developing. anywhere near the beaches from florida, mississippi, alabama, possibly even coastal louisiana we have to watch that but the hot weather will really dominate the map. check out denver, 96 today. dallas, 95. as we go through the weekend, we're going to see the temperatures soar near 100. this way the summer is setting up, it's one area of the country or another that's going to be very, very hot and it looks like it's going to be the midwest down through the south central's turn. washington, d.c., thunderstorms this afternoon. couple more hours and your heat wave is over. you're watching "morning joe" brewed by starbucks. ♪ ♪ [ multiple sounds making melodic tune ] ♪ [ male announcer ] at northrop grumman, every innovation, every solution, comes together for a single purpose -- to make the world a safer place. that's the value of performance. northrop grumman. ...more talk on social security... ...but washington isn't talking to the american people. [ female announcer ] when it comes to the future of medicare and social security, you've earned the right to know. ♪ ...so what does it mean for you and