out. my apologies sir. i am usually much better behaved than that. and editor and publisher of "the nation" and the editor of "the change i believe in." steve is back. political writer for "salon.com. our "starting point" this morning is the national polls and the polls show rick santorum is surging. up by double dinlg jimts. sometimes we say surge and it's not really a surge but i think this time it's fair to say surge. nine months before the election democrats are going on the attack. there are plans to hit both now rick santorum and mitt romney and there's a new e-mail on the democratic national committee yesterday that said this about santorum. quote, rick santorum has embraced the same philosophy that created the economic crisis. his tax plan would primarily benefit the very wealthy while adding $900 billion to the national deficit. it would be a disaster for middle class families. let's get right to jennifer, democratic strategist, former white house deputy communications director. it's nice to have you. >> good morning, soledad. >> the dnc is now attacking rick santorum because he's rising and he very possibly could be the nominee, or, alternatively, the dnc is attacking rick santorum to give him more credibility so he can undermine the process which, might have mitt romney leading. what do you think? which is it? >> well, look, this reflects the changing dynamics in the race. nobody would have thought a year ago that rick santorum would be giving mitt romney a run for his money. mitt romney is still out spending rick santorum more 2-1 in michigan right now and still leading in the polls. really, this is really more of a reflection from mitt romney and the fact that republicans can't get comfortable with him. people don't like what he's offering. they don't feel he's offering a genuinal tern tifr ae al terter for something else. look, it's like picking between liver and lima beans. >> i like lima beans. i like lima beans just fine and i make my children eat them. >> you may prefer pizza or something else. but you know, people will accept -- i know people in the republican party will accept what they're offered. it's not really something they're getting excited about. >> my question is, who do democrats want to ruin against? i know there are meetings about this. i know people strategize. the person we want the nominee to be is -- who is it? >> the reality, soledad, is that the strategy is the same both ways. you read before i spoke -- before i started speaking here about the e-mail that the democratic national committee saying yesterday, there are still concerns about the democratic party about what santorum represents when it comes to the economy. in addition to social issues. so regardless of who the nominee is the strategy is going to be the same. it's going to be who are you fighting for, the president is fighting for the middle class. santorum, romney, gingrich, if he has a surge. they're all fighting for the 1%. >> could i ask, i have a feeling sometimes that rick santorum believes he's running for theologian in chief or to be pope of the united states. how does -- how do you see the framing of rick santorum on women's issues broadly defined? i'm not just talking about choice or contraception, but on economic issues that are also very important to women? >> absolutely. i'm so glad you asked that question because, you know, in the last couple of weeks, as we have heard more from rick santorum as the spotlight has been shining more on rim, we heard him say things like questioning -- we've heard more about him questioning working women. we've heard him say birth control could pose a health risk. >> rising in the polls. >> yes. >> it might be work for him really well. >> well, i think it also -- the argument also could be that people just can't get comfortable with mitt romney and they have not -- no one is getting a mitt romney for president tattoo. you can't buy energy and enthusiasm for a campaign even with all the money he has. so looking for an alternative. and what's so interesting about it is how far out of the mainstream rick santorum's issues are and still looeding in the polls. >> i actually do like liver and bacon so there are something that coincides with lima beans. when you talk about whether the president is going to be attacking santorum or whether he's going to be attacking romney, isn't the focus here should be that the president really can't win at the end of the day if he just runs on his own record but rather the fact that he has to be attacking somebody? is that the fact that the president just can't win this race, if he just goes back and says this is how great the economy is after three years of the obama presidency? >> i'm actually going to contradict your theory here because last week you had mitt romney and rick santorum gouging each other's eyes out on the campaign trail and president obama was out in washington state talking about how to sell american goods abroad by increasing exports. so the contrast is clear. what we're talking about here is the campaign for whoever the nominee is. of course they're going to be prepared. but the president is laying out what his agenda is, who he is fighting for, what he's going to do for the middle class. haven't really seen many answers on that from the other side of the aisle. >> actually, i think you had. both in congress and by the candidates. i have not endorsed either one of the candidates but obviously romney has laid out 59-point plan. he had laid out exactly what he's going to do. santorum laid out a smaller plan. the presidential candidates laid out what they're going to do. i think it's natural the two of them would be battling themselves but what is not so natural is for the president to be engaged on what this segment is all about. engaged is attacking both of them. the president should be engaged not talking about the president or the republican primary. the president should be talking about what he's going to do. >> i have a filibustering from panelists, which i like, but final question. he's basically saying, listen, if the president were well positioned wouldn't he be running on his record and wouldn't have to bother about talking about the other candidate? >> if you look at fats the president is running on his record. he talked about exports last week. he's laid out what he would do for housing to keep people in their homes. he's talked about fighting for the middle class tax cut and putting an end to the tax cuts for the wealthiest americans. i'm glad you refers referenced the plan because in there i don't see three details of what mitt romney would to for the middle class. that's what this debate and campaign is going to be about. >> we're going to continue this conversation. >> thank you, soledad. >> thanks for being with us this morning. let's get right to christine though who has other headlines. good morning. >> good morning to you, soledad. new this morning, greece finally securing a second bailout. the largest sovereign debt bailout in the history of the european union. it's $172 billion. that's how much greece gets in aid and low-interest loans in return. greece agreed to even more spending cuts. another $431 million worth. leaders of the,u, the international monetary fund, and the european central bank all met late into the night last night ironing out actually hashing out details of this agreement, hoping to save greece from default. and markets like it so far at least. stock futures for the dow, the nasdaq, and the s&p 500 are up slightly right now, going into today's session, the dow is about 50 points shy of the 13,000 mark. closed at the highest level since may 2008 last week. markets were closed yesterday for the holiday. but even as the dow goes higher, so do gas prices. new worries over rising gas prices. aaa says the national average for a sgal lgallon of regular i $3.57. hawaii, it already costs more than $4 a gallon. analysts blame the hike of recent threats for iran. iran cut off oil sales for britain and france. they worry new threats could boast prices to $5 a gallon by summer. aftermath of severe weather, first responders desperately digging through this wreckage. video of an all-out search for two people who were trapped in oklahoma. the local sheriff confirmed that one person was killed. one was rescued. the mobile home shredded in that severe storm in kansas and oklahoma last night. the storm pounding the plains with hail, rain, and 70-mile-per-hour winds. just a couple of hours jury selection begins in philadelphia in a criminal trial involving city's catholic archdiocese. three priests and a catholic schoolteacher are charged with sexually abusing young boys. a fifth defendant is accused of child endangerment and conspiracy for allegedly covering this all up. the colbert report back on the air. stephen colbert took two days off last week reportedly to attend to his ailing 91-year-old mother. last night colbert gave special tribute to mom and a confidential message. >> evidently having 11 children makes you tough as nails. confidential to a lovely lady. >> oh, colbert placed a finger to his nose there in hop manage of actress carol burnett signal to his grandmother. he used to tug her ear to say, i love you. eat, drink, and be merry, it's fat tuesday, soledad. >> mardi gras. >> only partying in new orleans. a dozen parades getting ready to roll in and around the big easy. as you know, it's the last big blowout of carnival season before ash wednesday. >> oh, my gosh. people here haven't been. my panelists full of people haven't been. >> i haven't either. >> what is wrong with you people? >> you must be the least fun group of people i've ever met. so today this morn, 9:00 a.m., zulu, the crew of zulu rolls and i got to be mrs. big stuff in zulu in 2009. you have coconuts of throwing to people, i was worried about injuring people so i gently hand them. >> next year, a school trip. >>y, a school trip. down bourbon street. so much fun. christine, thank you. still ahead this morning on "starting point," we're going to talk to a teenager who fought to get a prayer banner out of her school. now she's receiving a scholarship from an atheist organization and receiving some death threats. public school system pays for openers to get plastic surgery. i knew i should have been a teacher in buffalo. truly, enough money to hire 100 extra teachers has been spent on breast implants and tummy tucks, et cetera, et cetera. it's our "get real" this morning. this is congressman garrett's play list, the doors. look at you, the doors. you're so cool. "break on through." what's this? [ male announcer ] quaker oatmeal squares have 46 grams of whole grains... mmmm. ...and a touch of sweetness. you'll be delighted to discover how good they taste. get your free sample of quaker oatmeal squares on facebook. the progresso chicken noodle you made is so good. it's got tender white meat chicken. the way i always made it for you. one more thing.... those pj's you like, i bought you five new pairs. love you. did you see the hockey game last night? [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup. yoyou u wawalklk i intna coconvnvenentitiononalal ms ststorore,e, i it't's s ry nonot t ababouout t yoy. ththeyey s sayay, , "w"weleu wawantnt a a f firirm m bebn lilie e onon o onene o of ff yoyou u wawantnt a a s sofou cacan n lilie e onon o onene o " wewe p prorovividede t thet inindidivividudualalizizatat yoyourur b bodody y neneede. wewelclcomome e toto t thehe slsleeeep p nunumbmberer . nonot t jujustst o ordrdininaran sasalele, , bubut t ththe e bn chchanangege y youour r lilifef. ththe e slsleeeep p nunumb. ththisis i is s yoyourur b bodo. yoyou u cacan n sesee e a a lile prpresessusurere i in n th. nonow w yoyou u cacan n fet hahappppenens s asas w we e rarr slsleeeep p nunumbmberer s seted alallolow w ththe e bebed d totr toto y youour r inindidivividud. wowow!w! ththatat f feeeelsls r reae. itit's's h huguggigingng m. itit's's n notot a abobt sosoftft o or r fifirm. itit's's a aboboutut s supuppope yoyou u fifindnd i it t momost. huhurrrry y toto t thehe f fif ththe e ulultitimamatete s slelr evevenent,t, w wheherere n mamattttreresssseses n nowot jujustst $ $59599.9. anand d sasaveve a an n asag 5050% % onon t thehe f fininalat ofof o ourur i innnnovovatae lilimimiteted d ededititio. yoyou u cacan n adadjujustst i r yoyou u wawantnt s so o yoyoue toto w wororryry a aboboutg ththe e wrwronong g mamat. ononlyly t thrhrououghgh s. ononlyly a at t onone e ofo0 slsleeeep p nunumbmberer s. good music, always a good sign. sometimes we start off slow on the music and it's like we cannot recover. that's katrina's list "fight the power." this is very apropos for our next story. story of a young woman who launched a fight to get a prayer banner taken down at her high school and in return she got a big boost for going to college. she filed a lawsuit over this banner which is hard to read. it was hanging in the auditorium. she's an atheist and she said the banner made her felt of of place. it says this. hour heavenly father grant us each day the desire to do our best and morally and physically to be kind and helpful to class plates and teachers. the banner has been ruled unconstitutional. just last week though there was a heated debate about appealing that ruling. and it was caught on youtube actually. parents who showed their anger by emphatically reciting the "pledge of allegiance." here's what that looked like. so you can see what this fight turned into. the school committee eventually decided not to appeal and we are learning that an atheist group has raised $40,000 for a scholarship fund for jessica. jessica joins us this morning from providence, ro rk, rhode i. we read a little bit as you heard about the banner. dear heavenly father, grant us each day the desire to do our best, to be kind and helpful. doesn't sound too objectionable to me. what didn't you like about this banner? >> well, it's objectionable because it's against the law. and also bautecause it makes pee feel excluded. when you have something like a school prayer it's, first of all, it's very christian. not many of the religions refer to their god as heavenly father or end with amen. and secondly, if you don't believe in any kind of god or you don't pray at all, then this is essentially saying that as a school prayer, it doesn't include you. >> so you were born catholic and then when you were about 10 years old your mom died. and this is really what changed your faith. can you tell me a little bit about that? >> my mom didn't die. >> oh, i'm sorry. your mom got sick. forgive me. >> yeah. my mother was sick. and i had some, you know, family issues going on. and it kind of started me praying. and from there, questioning what i believed in. and i eventually came to the conclusion that i didn't believe in anything. >> so what i have read is that when your mom got sick and you were praying for her to get better you realized that those prayers weren't actually working. is this the right way to put it and you felt like, well, then, there's nothing in this? is that appropriate to say? >> not only the fact that my prayers weren't being answered, but because i was praying, you know, i was thinking more about it, i was thinking do i really need god's assistance? i bet other people probably need it more than i do, more than my family does. why isn't he helping them either. it just kind of brought all of these questions to mind. and in the end i decided he must not exist. >> we were just showing some pictures of angry parents who were, you know, very loudly talking the "pledge of aallegiance" in this meet that clearly became very full of anger. what do you make of the hostility that's come out around this? you've gotten death threats, is that correct? >> that's correct. >> and -- >> it's been really difficult, obviously, just to constantly have this feeling of hatred towards me in my community. the meeting itself was difficult but it's kind of what's been going on for a long time now. and, you know, i think i'm ready for it at this point. but you never really get used to hearing about how bad you are really. it always hurts. and death threats obviously have always hurt my feelings. i just kind of gotten to a point to where i can cope with it. it's not so much that i'm okay with it happening but i'm able to cope with it now. >> there's a congress person, state rep who -- peter column who, and he said this about you. he said you are an evil little thing. and you've had to have a police escort take you to school. have you responded to him? >> yes. i haven't responded to him directly, but the response so far of that comment has -- it's almost a bit of a mockery. i feel it's immature and inappropriate for a state representative who represents me also, by the way, to be calling me something as petty as an evil little thing. and so while it does kind of hurt a bit, we've kind of turned it into a joke. >> i've heard about that. you have a friend who is now coopted the phrase. i hope you've trademarked that, evil little thing, and t-shirts that is selling to help fund your college education. is that right? >> that is right. there's a website where people have been purchasing the t-shirts. i have seen lots of people at the meeting wore them and people take pictures of themselves wearing them and post them to facebook so i can see. and i think it's really cute. and in a lot of ways i think he's little comment has kind of backfired because now we're using it as a positive thing. you know, it's almost a way of saying that people stand with me. >> jessica alquist, you are the recipient of more than $40,000 of scholarship money as well. are you going to be a lawyer when you grow up? >> i don't think so. >> maybe too much of the lawyer on that. jessica, thank you for talking with us this morning. i think the banner is going to come down next week. am i right about that? >> i don't know yet. it will be down shortly, i assume. >> the banner is still hanging in the school. thank you. still ahead on "starting point," the sheriff accuse of threatening to deport his gay lover. we're going to talk to the reporter who broke that story as well. plus, plastic surgery on the taxpayer's dime. botox, facelift, nose job. this sh a reason to be a teacher in buffalo. we'll tell you how this struggling town is getting away with it. you're watching "starting point." we're back in just a moment. forty years ago, he wasn't looking for financial advice. back then he had something more important to do. he wasn't focused on his future. but fortunately, somebody else was. at usaa we provide retirement planning for our military, veterans and their families. now more than ever, it's important to get financial advice from people who share your military values. for our free usaa retirement guide, call 877-242-usaa. ♪ this is big and rich, "coming to your city." this is sean spicer is going to be talking to us later this morning from rnc. this is his pick. i like it already. time to "get real" this morning. millions of dollars spent on plastic surgery in a single year. i'm talking nose jobs, liposuction, face lifts, breast enhancement. you name it. we're not talking about some out of control reality tv star. we're talking about public schoolteachers in buffalo new york. all of their plastic surgery is paid for under one of their insurance plan options. they are billed for nothing. it started in the '70s as a rider to cover reconstructive surgery for burn victims before cosmetic surgery was as common as it was today. last year the total spent was, $6 million. $6 million. that's down from $9 million that was spent in 2009. this as the buffalo board of education is projecting a $42 million deficit in the budget next year. listen to this. >> we do have this $9.5 million spen