. >> republican tim pawlenty, the minnesota governor until december 2010, is on the attack. he's become a strong surrogate for the romney campaign after trying to win the presidential nomination himself, notably in the gop primary last year, 2011. here's the special credentials mr. pawlenty brings to the table. one, he's just enfat cal. both romney and pawlenty were republican gophers of so-called blue states, hostile gop territory during the same time period. rom thee governed massachusetts for one term. pawlenty, three terms. two, he's religious. pawlenty is an evangelical christian, a possible draw for evangelicals not drawn to romney's mormon faith. three, he's a solid political ally. as governors, pawlenty and romney shared ideas, also political spouses ann romney and mary pawlenty are good friends. four, he's every man. pawlenty brings to the table what may not be mitt romney's strongest suit. namely, every man appeal. pawlenty grew up in a meat packing town where pawlenty's father was a truckdriver. few my mom died when i was in 10th grade, and my dad got laid off not

romney supporter tim pawlenty. welcome back, governor. >> captain morgan, it's good to be back with you. >> i like that phrase, thank you. let's turn to your own captain or the guy who wants to be captain, mitt romney. we got clear dividing lines emerging over the economy now, haven't we? this whole issue of the tax a the bush tax cuts and so on, president obama clarified his position. he says, look, i'll extend them for a year, from january, and everybody under $250,000 a year gets to have the tax cuts. what is wrong with that in principle? >> well, two things, piers. one is, it really is class warfare. if you look at the people in this country who make over $250,000 a year, many of them are small business owners, entrepreneurs. they pay their taxes. not in corporate context but on their personal returns. so you're really raising the taxes on a lot of the people in the country who are the entrepreneur, small business owners and the like. it's the backbone of the economy. it's wrong headed. it's misguided. it's goi

>> tim pawlenty has been through the process. he was running for president this cycle on his own before withdrawalling. rob portman and tim pawlenty we've seen indeed being vetted. we know that much. the buzz around capitol hill is that paul ryan is being vetted as well. bobby jindal, we don't know for certain. of course bobby jindal is not in washington. he hasn't been on the campaign trail as much but the romney campaign put him on on "meet the press" to combat howard dean as the romney -- >> you're right. i notice no chris christie, no marco rubio. why? >> as you know, at first it was reported that marco rube rubio was not being vetted and mitt romney said he was the. i talked to people close to marco rubio 24 hours that are story and at that point he had not been asked for any documents. to maybe marco rubio is being vetted but it's hard to tell. he's doing his own bus tour and promoting his book. it doesn't look as though he's being vetted. you saw chris christie was the surrogate in chief for mitt romney and doing events on

. >> tim pawlenty and rob portman are atop of the list. both have tried to dodge questions, but two weeks ago tim pawlenty said this -- >> everybody brings something different to the table. we are a product of where we are from and where we were raised. >> also under consideration is marco rubio and paul ryan. but could the timing be determined by a horse? and romney is heading to britain to announce -- it seems unlikely mitt romney would make the announcement without her by his side. >> meanwhile, tickets to see president obama are being handed out right now. present will be speaking on thursday. people began lining up at around 3:00 for their chance to get tickets to see the president speak. >> next up, with more promise for the nation's housing market. the latest on home prices. >> and things are heating up once again. warmer temperatures are headed our way. >> at the nationals are getting ready to take on the phillies. the first of a three-game series. at redskins park, the skies opened up. still make up the practice in. >> an ntsb rep

let's talk about tim pawlenty. we just talked to him and he's been through this before. i asked him about being on the short list yet again. >> there's a little bit of deja vu i suppose to all the speculation. i'm committed to governor romney, not because i think i was looking to be vice president. i've said many times i think i can best serve him in other ways but anybody would be honored to be asked. but the real issue here isn't necessarily the particulars of a vp candidate. the issue is does barack obama deserve re-election. >> he was quickly pivoting to that message. the virtue to tim pawlenty is partly that he got out of the race after the ames, iowa straw poll so he wasn't in all those subsequent debates, taking shots. there isn't a whole lot of video out of him attacking mitt romney. >> the one critical thing he did say, he backed off, he declined to make the charge of what he called obama -- i'm not sure i can say it. >> obamney care. >> he declined to pick up on that. i'm sure mitt romney remembers that. he got out early on, like his r anywhere, and governor ro

let me go back to governor tim pawlenty. you know there's been a lot of information from conservatives. they are saying the romney campaign is relying on the anemic economy and the high unemployment rate. the campaign doesn't have a growth message for voter, middle class, otherwise. can uh you tell me what are the key bullets of economic growth from the romney campaign? >> great question. important point, larry. >> we want to grow the whole pie and not do what the president is doing, having people fight over increases or shrinking pieces of a smaller pie. key points, cut the corporate tax rate from 35% to 25%. number two, across the board income tax cuts. number three, elimination of taxation on interest dividends and gains for mid incomers. number four, an american -- number five, repeal obama care and replace it with market and consumer oriented health care. number six, get a lighter touch and more modern touch on regulation. mitt romney called for the repeal of dodd frank reducing the footprint of regulation more broadly.

pick a pleasant, unthreatening fellow like, say, tim pawlenty for the ticket. christie now joins the tuba section along with john sununu and other big boys brought in to pound away to obama. having won the nomination in a clown show, here come the parade of elephants. uh-oh. look out. there's some rogues out there. republicans who wonder why mitt romney won't release those sticky tax returns. and why he's letting the crazies attack hillary's closest aide for being islamic. desperate to change the subject romney ruminate about a running mate and could be close in coming. something has to change the subject. don't you think? david corn of mother jones always good for an insight. let me go to you, david corn. what do you make of this thing? christie, who he will not be on the ticket clearly, they are making him the blunder bust. what's your thought? >> you know, we see what's happening in the last couple of days. last couple of hours. as mitt romney gets mired in the tax return issue and shows that he really can't get his -- get out of it. they're going to, like,

>> no, i would not. >> he would have picked tim pawlenty the first time. >> i would have picked tim pawlenty. >> with the talk about how negative and horrible the campaign has been, and i have a lot of problems with not only what happened with governor sununu but about the stuff about how president obama is, quote, foreign and doesn't understand capitalism, i think those are dog whistle words. let's take a quick look a what happened yesterday in bowlinggreen, ohio, when mitt romney was confronted with a woman who called president obama a monster. let's watch what romney did. >> he's had to lay off people and he may have to close some stores and it's all because of what this monster has done to this country. we have to have you as president. >> that's not a term i would use, but -- >> i can. i'm an angry mom. >> you're an angry mom. you have every right to be angry. >> now, you know, at least he pushed back a little bit because, i mean, this woman is angry because apparently her son has had to lay off people and -- >> oh. >> and had been in a terrible position of putting people out of work. s

we see bobby jindal out there, tim pawlenty. this "s" this going to work as we look at the next two days? trying to offset the president as he's hitting strong that economic message and try to balance, if you will, the criticism of him and the economy over the last several years. >> i think clearly both sides want to talk about the economy, both sides are vulnerable in different areas. i think as far as the effectiveness of the obama campaign's focus on bain capital, you know, there was a recent poll on swing states and it showed that 33%, this is an nbc and "wall street journal" poll. it showed that 33% of respondents in swing states said that the more they learned about mitt romney's economic business record, the more negative of an opinion they had for him. regardless of the sman tiemanti outsourcing or whether or not mitt romney had a role in deciding some of these things, the fact is these negative attack ads are very impactful and they're having a big impact in swing state voters. >> talking about swing states, jonathan, w

pawlenty. standup: fern pizarwashington d.c.alimentando toda esta especulacion tambien esta el hecho de que varios de los candidatos y candidatas a ser los companeros de boleta de mitt romney han estadoion. recuerde que faltan 4-diaspara o su autores hde hac materialesel asesinato del general jorge gabela... sin embargo, la familia del ex comandante de la fuerza aerea ecuatoriana no esta satisfecha pues no se han sancionado a los autores intelectuales... la viuda del general patricia ochoa, relato que hubo amenazas contra su marido por denuncias qu helicopteros militares... buen ts, hoyl area meolitan estadjo que sobrepasadoin ados, actuale de h empera es 9 grad peindicecalor e el scio onal dmeteoria rios cons deea de ma dependean emin iso de c extrede y hast nuev la e...entre oncela ma staa actualestas sas noche se espera teatura minim 83 os con despejados.... maÑana es viernes y esperamos un pronostico muy similar al dia de hoy con cielos mayormente soleados y desdos, maximas en los cien gra

pawlenty. standup: fernando pizarro, washington d.c.alimentando toda esta especulacion tambien esta el hecho de que varios de los los companeros de boleta de mitt romney han estado haciendo campana junto al candidato presidencial republicano. desde washington, fernando pizarro, univision. barack obama defendio hoy sus politicas economicas, al asegurarle a los estadouniden ses que la proxihan perdido interes en los comicios de noviembre pese al actual estancamiento politico en el congreso. dijo ademas que el encrucijada.co esta en una olvine d sobre ely no proceso de votacion, llame de fl ganador de l presidencial mexicana dijo que las inconformidades oshechas luo de que la izquierda anunciara que presentara a las autoridades electorales pruebas sobre supuesta compra de votos por parte del pri para fovorecer a su candidato... desde la ciudad de mexico rey rodriguez con los detalles... 00:24 - 00:45 cameriárquez presidenciales a enrique peÑa nieto. ahora dice que pedirÁ al tribunal electoral d

then tim pawlenty was asked yesterday if he heard about the romney rumors. take a listen. >> have you gotten the call? >> which call is that, andrea? >> well, the call from boston or from new hampshire or from governor romney? >> well, i'm in contact with governor romney from time to time. this week, i'm focused on yard work and business things. the process will unfold in due course. >> he is playing his cards close to the vest here like most people do when asked that question. beth meyers you brought up. how much about vetting that they want to invest in doing this and we'll be ready to reveal prior to the convention? >> that is a question that only they can answer. those that we talked to seem to think there is a real upside to get this out early. one man can cover a swing state a day. you have two, you can do two. the big thing they hold this close to the convention, they are waiting for financing. that is not a constraint. there is a time to do this ahead of the convention. >> you are right. two is better than one. michael barbero, thank you. >>> former

why, in your judgment, would tim pawlenty make a first rate veep candidate running mate for governor romney? >> well, larry, who knows about the process? there is a lot of speculation and governor pawlenty is a good friend. he's proud to try to help governor romney however he can. you know, his qualifications are multiple. first of all, he's ready. he's wicked smart on policy. he brings electoral strength and appeal. he's a good communicator. he connects well in a retail setting. he brings a lot of attributes you would want in a president and frankly he's spent a lot of time working hard to help the romney cause. a lot of good choices. >> when he ran he had a good tax reform, budget reform plan. >> he did. >> he's a sam's club republican. a middle class republican guy. also i want to put in he's a hockey player. he has rough and tumble in him. are those qualifications for vice president or not? >> i don't know if his slapshot qualifies him to be vice president or not. >> did he play hockey for the university of minnesota? >> he did. he played high school hockey. he still plays hockey

pawlenty, bobby jindal, they haven't changed at all. >> i think tim pawlenty is a boring, safe choice. that's what mitt romney wants. he's not looking for a narrative changer. >> your list hasn't changed either. >> i might put pawlenty above ayout. >> you found me out. >> yours is also unchanged. >> i think he's still going to go with portman, i still think paul ryan is the best choice. tim pawlenty is moving up on my list too, he's been a very effective sure gas. >> i think john thune, i think he makes the most sense. he's not getting a lot of buzz right now, for what that's worth. portman seems too obvious to be the guy. i think they're going to do something risky and something bold. >> do you think of risky and bold when you think of mitt romney? >> that's it, this was fun. >> you know what we stop talking when we're supposed to. >> some of us. >> and of course the cycle every weekday 3:00 eastern time. right here, msnbc. >>> a possible threat against first lady michelle obama involving d.c. cop. details on that in the news now. t but centurylink is committed to being a different k

tim pawlenty and mitt romney both as governor supported a regional system of cap and trade and then they backed off of it. tim pawlenty apologized for it in one of the debates and also mike huckabee said in 2007 that he supported cap and trade legislation in 2009 and he changed that view. obviously there is a big shift within the republican party. and if you look at the websites for both barack obama and mitt romney, look at the energy tax for president obama and it says energy and the environment. for mitt romney it just says energy. there is a very different pathway had both take on this. >> is it a cause in search of a champion with vice president al gore not the dom in an player he had been on a national stage? it seems that there is no one with heft to marshall this effort. >> that's certainly true in washington, yes. looking for a champion in washington. there are champions, jim hanson, outside of washington who are pressing to do something about this. but -- no, the politicians don't see anything in it for them. and -- when you see public interest begin to wane, they will be even

tim pawlenty, your guy, your pick for this thing, he was much better. and he is somebody who's very good with words, and very good with sound bites. and i think in that way, he could be a good choice, but i think people still seem to think, at least the conventional wisdom is that it would be rob portman. >> my boy, pawlenty, embarrassed me a little bit with that beer and foam thing. he went way too far with the foam thing. jonathan capehart, there's a surprise here that we have in a public policy polling robo survey. not the most reliable form in the world, but it says that condoleezza rice, as a running mate, could give mitt romney a six-point advantage in swing states of michigan and pennsylvania. that would put romney into a tie at 45-45 in pennsylvania, narrow the gap in michigan, very significantly. i think more attention needs to be paid to condoleezza rice, because we don't see that kind of polling effect from anyone else on the list. >> well, i mean, she would be an interesting choice. african-american, woman, highly accomplished, former secret

so far later in the convention when mitt romney finally shows with or without his tim pawlenty vice president. >> let me -- bring new here in a second, john. take a look at this. by choosing chris christie to give the big keynote speech to set the tone for the convention in tampa, romney is ensuring what the theme of the campaign will be. come out snarling. here are examples of christie at his most charming. let's listen. >> you're a real big shot. you're a real big shut. shut your mouth. you're walking away. >> on monday, are you going to be addressing the legislature? >> did i say on topic? are you stupid? thank you all very much. i'm sorry for the idiot over there. first off, it's none of your business. i don't ask you where you send your kids to school. don't bother asking me where i send mine. it is people like you divide this country. we are here to bring this country together. not divide it. you've got to be one arrogant s.o.b. to be telling the people of new jersey he'll decide when you've been good enough to get some of your own money back. >> so joining us tonight is john braybender

former minnesota governor tim pawlenty and louisiana governor bobby jindal are there in their states to rebut the attacks. they have the unglamorous job of trailing the president through ohio and pennsylvania on what the romney campaign calls a broken promises tour. in romney prebutted the president in part of that interview tape with cbs yesterday. >> the reason i'm run for president is that i believe i have the experience and know-how and vision to help americans, to have the middle class american. the president is going on the a bus tour. he's got no new answers. i've laid out what i do to get this economy going and as long as i can continue to speak about the economy, i'm going to win. >> well, this is the news going forward. of course, the big story in this campaign has been what's been going on in the last six days. after 48 hours of silence from his campaign romney conceded yesterday that the health care mandate is, as republicans have insisted, attacks and not as a senior adviser eric told me on monday, a penalty. romney was caught on a rope line in new hampshire, and hoarse

rob portman, tim pawlenty, these are safe choices but lacking in a little charisma? >> that's what people argue. tim pawlenty was charismatic enough to get elected of liberal minnesota twice and rob portman was charismatic enough to win in ohio by 1 points last time, a swing state. both are excellent choices. both of them are clearly people who could be president in a heart beat. they've got a lot of experience. tim pawlenty has run for president and knows the rigors of the trail and many other people would be good choices. >> what about kelry ayotte? >> i think he's very impressive. there's going to be a natural tendency to look at someone who has been in a national office for less than two years and maybe that's not what we want to do this time. she has real expertise. she's been on the armed services committee, which is necessary for national politics. >> win webber is, always good to see you. we'll be right back. s country! including prilosec otc. you know one pill each morning treats your frequent heartburn so you can enjoy all this great land of ours has to off

. >> if you want people to be excited about tim pawlenty or portman or some other traditional candidate who we might have a lot of assets but might also be described as not exciting or charismatic, why would you put out a trial balloon about something as different in the republican scheme of things as an african-american woman with great foreign policy credentials? >> once you name tim pawlenty or rob portman, you want to be able to say we thought seriously about marco rubio and condoleezza rice -- >> kelly ayotte. >> right. we were willing -- these are great people, we considered for vice president. >> expansive view of the republican bench. >> we have settled on rob portman or tim pawlenty as the right guy at this time. i think you will be vice president on romney's ticket before condoleezza rice will be, or maybe you. >> one thing back to bain -- >> how unlikely would that be. >> i have a piece in the magazine this week talking to david plouffe, he has this theory he calls stray voltage which means sometimes you create controversy and there's extra wattage or voltage in the system th

we'll talk to one of the top contenders, tim pawlenty. >>> a new report from the national urban league on the hidden swing vote in this election. >>> and fixing america's debt. we'll talk to former senator sam nunn. that and more on "andrea mitchell reports" up next right here on msnbc. >>> the heat wave that grips the country goes all the way from kansas city to the eastern seaboard today. extremely hot day today, even areas of new england near 100, if not above, boston, new york city, mid to upper 90s. d.c., same for you. atlanta may get lucky, get a thunderstorm to cool you off. the only areas to avoid the heat, along the west coast. clusters of pustules, pimples. i had this shingle rash right next to my spine. the soreness was excruciating. it was impossible to even think about dancing. when you're dancing, your partner is holding you. so, his hand would have been right in the spot that i had the shingles. no tango. no rhumba. you can't be touched. for more of the inside story, visit shinglesinfo.com an accident doesn't have to slow you down... with better car replacement, availabl

tim pawlenty was on our show yesterday. here's a little bit of that. >> have you gotten the call? >> which call is that, andrea? >> well, the call from boston or new hampshire or from governor romney. >> well, i am in contact with governor romney from time to time but this week i'm focused on some yard work and some business things, but look, the process will unfold in due course. >> who do you think is on the short list from your reporting? >> i think the short list is the same one we have been talking about for the last month and a half and it very much includes tim pawlenty, rob portman, maybe bobby jindal, i don't think so. maybe it includes paul ryan. i don't think it extends much beyond that. now, there's always surprises in these processes but there's a few things you know about mitt romney. he rarely takes a risk. he loves people that he's comfortable with. he knows that all he can do is harm by having a bad pick, sarah palin type pick like mccain had last time around, so that really limits the field of people who fit that category. pawlenty undoubtedly fits that. portman

we should also say tim pawlenty later said he doesn't have any tats. just to keep the record straight. bobby jindal, talk about him. what are his chances do you think, realistically? >> i think he's got a pretty good chance here. i think arguably more than the other guys, he's really good on paper. he's the one good on-paper candidate in this group of four. he took over the state health department at the age of 25. he's barely past 40 and already a two-term governor and former congressman. this is a guy who republicans really drool over along with a guy like paul ryan. young guys who are seen as really serious and really smart and could really bring something to the ticket if they can put it together and really be a national candidate. >> aaron blake, good to see you on the program. thank you. >> thank you. >>> the tweet of the day comes from blogger paul solomon. mitt romney will be carefully reviewing the tax documents of his vp nominee because the last thing he wants is someone hiding something. [ man ] ever year, sophia and i use the points we earn

pawlenty, i should say former tim tim pawlenty. scott mcfarland ktvu channel 2 morning news. >>> and the latest on sheriff ross mirkarimi could be over shadowed on a perjury accusation against mayor ed lee. mayor lee testified he had never spoken to any san francisco supervisor about suspending sheriff ross mirkarimi but deborah walker told reporters that supervisor christina had discussed it with mayor ed lee. the question now is whether sheriff ross mirkarimi's attorneys will pursue the accusations on the next hearing on july 18th. >>> he is facing weapons charges and doug was stopped early tuesday morning for allegedly stopping on highway 101. deputies smelled marijuana in his car and then found several grams of marijuana and a gun in a locked box. he has not commented about the arrest. >>> they are vowing to crack down on sexual harassment. general david petraeus has sent a message to all of america's spy agencies and spells out the cia's zero tolerance policy when it comes to co-workers. they have responded to a large number o

. >> last one is tim pawlenty, minnesota governor. here he is talking today about how he might help win minnesota. of take a listen. >> well, minnesota has the unfortunate distinction of having the longest unbroken streak of voting for democrats for president of any state in the nation including places like massachusetts, vermont california hawaii and others. but we have shown that under certain circumstances and certain years republicans can win statewide in minnesota. did i it twice and others have done it as well. so it is possible. >> he picks tim pawlenty and he wins minnesota. >> 1960 was the last time a vice vice president nominee helps deliver his home state. tim paw pawlenty has nothing to do with it. >> he clearly wants it or he would not be making this argument. >> please take me to the prom, mr. romney. >> he may. he's a nice guy. >> it is the bland leading the bland again. >> that's portman too. you're so welcome here. thank you so much for your great insights, donnie fowler and david mermin. he's still not sure how to sp

that's governor tim paw lae -- pawlenty. the month of june was a good one for fundraising on the romney campaign. romney bought in $100 million last month. heather? >> all right. molly henneberg, thanks so much. that's a lot of dough. mitt romney calling it the -- that was a long one. the name of the tour doesn't roll off the tongue. molly henneberg. >> middle class promise gap tour. >> the middle class promise gap tour. >> ok. >> thanks a lot. >> thank you. >> it's time for a look at who is talking on mitt romney's past comments about the president's health care law is the big talker this morning. >> charles krauthammer responding to the presidential hopeful's comment saying the romney campaign is misplaying the situation. >> the romney campaign which is otherwise solid and a lot of professionals in it and he's a solid guy completely misunderstood what's at stake here. romney is obsessed with trying to show what he did in massachusetts was ok because he's obsessed with people saying if he doesn't, somehow he repudiated and