murrety. welcome to you. glad you're here. patricia, i'm going to go to you first because you were the last to get seated and micced up. the president spoke at the big fund raiser at actor george clooney's house. he said yesterday we made news but it was an extension of what america is supposed to be. there was speculation that hedging on this issue damaged the obama brand. do you think the white house is in repair mode or has it already succeeded. >> i think with this group in particular they've already succeeded. this group was waiting for the president and they were very frustrated with the president he hadn't come out sooner. i do think his hand was forced by vice president joe biden when he came out with his own comments. but just hearing the president say every american should be able to get married to whom ever they choose, they are predisposed to like him already. he's repaired those relationships by now. >> okay. there's been a lot of discussion about the role of vice president biden in all this, having been the catalyst if you will. his son spoke out about this. let's see what he said. >> my dad spoke about an important issue. about civil rights. i'm proud of what he said. i'm even more proud about what the president of the united states said. >> the white house is also saying on wednesday at some point joe biden personally apologized to the president because of forcing his hand. but was that necessary? >> i think ultimately the rollout of this is an insider game, it's an insider conversation. and it's inside with the white house and those who follow the white house and watch this closely. for swing voters, ultimately it's the contrast between the two presidential candidates and however much you think he doesn't want to talk about this issue, mitt romney really doesn't want to talk about this issue. the president feels more comfortable talking about this than mitt romney who can't get traction on these issues and has a discomfort. >> let's talk about campaigning here. the obama campaign is using the president's endorsement to draw a comparison with mitt romney. here's the new ad from the campaign. check this out. >> as with anything, robert, what one campaign feels they have a winning strategy and something to go with, it can get overplayed. does the president risk that here? >> a little bit. look, as a gay american who's out, obviously the president is on the right side of history with this. i need to say that. but there's two things to distinguish here. this is his personal view. there's nothing that's going to change from a federal standpoint. he's got to be careful in raising people's expectations too much. again, there's nothing federally that's going to change here. i have to say this because it's the obvious issic it's ironic but also in a good way that he is taking cheney's stance on this is where he personally believes they should be able to marry but it should be up to the states. >> listen to this. >> i hope the issue as tender and sensitive as the marriage issue is is not a source of fund raising for either of us. >> they're focusing on the fund raising element. is this now what the romney campaign will focus on will there be a republican argument against the president's evolution? >> all the republicans want to do is get back to the economy. they say the president has their own reasons, they're probably political, that's what republicans say. we're focused on what americans are focused on. it's true the americans are most focused on the economy. this ask going to be an election about jobs and the economy. for romney it's going to be a tactic. they like the president more but they might trust romney more on the economy. i think the republicans want to focus solely on the economy between now and november. that's how they dismiss every other issue and get back to the issue they want to talk about. >> i'm going to get to -- go ahead robert except i want to ask you something being you're the out republican, if you will. speaker boehner had tried to turn the political situation and to the economy yesterday. listen to what he said. >> i believe that marriage is the union of one man and one woman. and the president, the democrats, can talk about this all they want. but the fact is the american people are focused on our economy and they're asking the question where are the jobs. >> are republicans, robert, afraid to take on the social issues because by most accounts, they are in the minority across this country. so they can look at these social issues as being like quick sand. is that why they want to focus on the economy? >> well, i'm not sure that's entirely accurate. look. the bottom line is i think most americans out there, the latest poll i saw, majority saying we don't a care who you sleep with, we don't care what faith you worship. what we care about is the economy. please make sure you work together to get this economy moving again. that's the most important issue when it comes to the polls. that's the most important issue when you look at 8.2% unemployment. that is the number one issue that earn manies really care about and feel passionate about and they want the president and republican leaderships to focus on. it's not about gay marriage, abortion, or the social issues. it's about the economy. that's exactly what republicans are saying. that's exactly what the american people are begging people to listen to. >> so what do you think, margie? with the democratic convention in north carolina, is this going to be a platform based on just the economy or are we going to hear all about the social issues like lgbt equality and gay rights and the like? >> i think you're going to hear about all of that. and how they're related. you're going to hear about women's issues and the contrast between the candidates. it means that president obama is about moving forward. and when you look at gay marriage in particular but a whole host of other issues, nothing emphasizes forward as much as this difference. >> can you categorize in a priority. the number one thing on the agenda. >> i think it's going to be about who has a better vision to get the country continuing on the right track. obama -- under obama's administration. there's been 4.2 million new private sector jobs. and romney says whatever obama does he's going to do the opposite of that. so i guess he's the opposite of making sure there's mandatory maternity coverage and those things that people like. >> all right. always a good chat with all three of you. thank you so much. developing news this hour on the two young tennessee girls rescued by police after their kidnapping fatally shot himself. they will hold a conference in is few hours to talk about adam mays. after the fbi had placed him on the ten most wanted list. he shot himself as they closed in on him. mays had been charged with first degree murder in the deaths of joe an bain and her daughter adrian. those girls were found suffering from dehydration and exposure. they were released from a hospital earlier this morning. >> thank god that the little girls were safe. i think really that maybe he done it to have possession of the two children that he claimed were his biological children. they were not his children. >> i'm joined now by michelle segona. while these girls are physically okay, think of the horrors they've gone through. losing their mother and sister. he was holed up in the woods for three days. what was he doing? do we know about the last days with the girls? >> we do know that a tip led investigators out. that's when mayes held the gun up to his head and pulled the trigger. he was pronounced dead. the two girls were safefully recovered. they were dehydrated and had poison ivy. they were treated and released. they are physically okay. but as you mentioned, this is going to be a very long road for them dealing with the loss of their mom, their sister. this entire kidnapping ordeal for almost the last two weeks. we can only imagine anything else that has happened to them. >> with his death, does that close the investigation? >> not by far. you still have the wife and mom. the wife murder and kidnapping charges. we're going to move forward in that portion of the investigation. you have to figure out where he's been and how this took place. you have an alleged murder that happened in one state. a trailer according to the affidavit that i read, that was rented, bodies were put the that. brought across state lines and buried in a back yard. i mean, there's a lot to sort of figure out and uncover. a lot of mistakes made along the way on his part. >> you look at something like this and have to ask why. what was the motivation here? any motive? >> we heard from his mother-in-law that allegedly he thought that those girls were his. we don't exactly why he wanted to kidnap them or what he thought about all of that. you know, there apparently is at long history here. as far as an exact motive, how the mom and the other daughter were killed, we just don't know yet. so there will be a lot that i'm sure will be uncovered under the next few days. but great job to law enforcement working so quickly and so precisely and to be able to move on to him and rescue these girls. >> indeed. michelle sigona, thank you. $2 billion gone, poof, just like that. how jpmorgan made such a huge mistake. plus that george clooney fund raiser raised a cool $15 million for his president's re-election campaign. chris hayes is up on a friday morning. chris joins me next. ♪ coach. but when i was diagnosed with prostate cancer... i needed a coach. our doctor was great, but with so many tough decisions i felt lost. unitedhealthcare offered us a specially trained rn who helped us weigh and understand all our options. for me cancer was as scary as a fastball is to some of these kids. but my coach had hit that pitch before. turning data into useful answers. we're 78,000 people looking out for 70 million americans. that's health in numbers. unitedhealthcare. [ fe male pop in the drum of any machine... ♪ ...to wash any size load. it dissolves in any temperature, even cold. tide pods. pop in. stand out. you do a lot of no.aking? look i'm going through the rapids. okay... i'll take it. sync your card with facebook, foursquare and twitter for savings. that's the membership effect of american express. president obama is upping the ante when it comes to campaign cash. this is thanks to hollywood. last night's dinner with george clooney raised almost $15 million according to the head of dreamworks. that is better than mitt romney. this is in one night. joining me is chris hayes. good to see you. >> great to see you. >> let's talk about all this speculation that had been out there that the democrats would have trouble keeping up with the gop. is the president reminding us he's the president of the united states and with that comes an amount of clout. >> that's been true historically. rick's piece in the new york times magazine about the way that wall street has fallen out of love with barack obama does highlight challenges they have. the first is mitt romney is a creature of finance and wall street. he ran a private equity for years and has been getting money from that sector. also a small amount of people could bank roll him. among other sectors and hollywood is one of them. >> and you've got to wonder, out of what played $40,000 a plate for this dinner. outside of hollywood, does the president have trouble doing these big hall donations? >> well, right now the affiliated super pac has lagged far, far, far behind the romney super pac. and that i think is genuinely a cause of concern in the white house and democrats because there is a sense that the amount of money that's going to flow into those super pac coffers on the republican side is going to be unprecedented. wrote to gingrich to a campaign everyone knew was doomed. that was $50 million down the drain. if he can do that to the person he knows will lose, imagine what he can give to someone who will actually be the president of the united states. >> let's talk about one of the glee cocreators, he is openly gay. he's going to host a fund raiser for the president next month. but what the president did this week by talk about marriage equality, the white house says in the wake of that, instantly instarted pouring the donations. is this an avenue to tap into? >> absolute already was an avenue. there's or t there's no question that the amount of money there is to be raised amongst gay donors is there. and there's no question this is going to move him going forward. >> the campaign what i love, it's so interesting when they're getting interested in money now. the campaign is saying the president will tweet your mom a happy mother's day message for a price. obviously it's a fund raising tool. how cool is that? do you think that's the thing you'll see getting creative. >> because they're going to have to raise a lot of money in small dollar donations, they have to come up with new ways to incentivize that. we've all accepted basically the way we raise money for campaigns these days. and i think it's easy to lose sight of how strange it is. it almost feels like it's a commercial raffle. right? like if you give enough money, your mom might be tweeted by the president of the united states. it makes me think that there might be better ways of raising money for campaigns. >> if you have creative thoughts, pass them along. yeah or do it on the show. i'm sure they're listening. we'll see you tomorrow at 8:00 a.m. eastern. be sure to catch the show. it is 8:00 a.m. tomorrow and sunday as well on "up with chris hayes." well, the prosecution rests its case in the edwards case without hearing rielle hunter. plus why michele bachmann dropped her dual citizenship with switzerland. 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[ female announcer ] sam's mom is muddling through her allergies. what can she do? she can get answers at walgreens. with guidance and information to help her make informed choices for her allergy needs. like zyrtec -- with the strength of 24-hour rtec, you get relief from your worst allergy symptoms, indoors and out. right now, buy one and get one 50% off. ♪ find answers at walgreens. wall street's reacting today to the stunning announcement by jpmorgan chase that it lost $2 billion over the past month and a half through risky trades with its own money. after opening lower, the markets are up right now. look at the dow up almost over 52 points now. but jpmorgan points, that is down more than 7%. it is off the lows this morning. mary thompson is joining us live now. so, mary, in terms of what happened here, this is a big loss thanks to a single trader they call the london whale. really? $2 billion thanks to one trader's risky moves? >> i think we need to clarify a couple things. it was not only one trader. the bank had said in a conference call, there were a number of people involved in this. this was a trade put on four years ago to protect the company in the case there was a big credit event. they started to unwind that trade. what happened is the strategy put on to unwind the trade basically got out of control. this has resulted in a trading loss. what we do want to point out, the company still expects to earn money in the quarter in large part due to other businesses so strong to make up for it. >> and chase is the bank that really came through the banking crisis the best, right? they have been for successful overall. >> you know what? you bring up a great point there. what jpmorgan has been able to do was say we were the best risk managers at a time when the government was making the managers take the loans. jpmorgan didn't need that loan. it was the one bank thought not to need that loan. they were the best risk managers. what this proves is that there are chinks in that armor. that's the concern about the stock today. what you need to see is an overhaul of the risk management. people would say there was a prem yum built into that stock because people thought they were good risk managers. >> something interesting that came from jamie dimon, he says he doesn't see this effecting other banks. here's the quote. just because we are stupid doesn't mean everybody else was. >> right. >> are people hearing that? >> characteristically blunt. his calls are always entertaining to say the least. a number of people, certainly there is impact on the rest of the banks because if you read the endless notes people do think this is a jpmorgan specific problem. the concern now becomes do politicians or critics of the big banks use this as another bludgeon. with the risky, non-transparent trades they have, this hard to understand business. is it time to peel back those layers, make it simpler again. would that be a better way or a better means for the financial system and investors who have to be stunned right now because a lot of them probably never knew they had a trade this risky on the books. >> which makes a good. thanks so much. >> sure thing. >> we'll have more of all this when jamie dimon join eed david gregory. the first lady is addressing students at virginia tech today. should politics play a role? plus new details on al qaeda's alleged suicide bomber turned informant for the u.s. and details on how it went down. 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