"the new york times." and comedian and actor, the outspoken bill cosby on politics and the man who killed trayvon martin. >> doesn't make a difference if he is racist or not racist. >> i'm candy crowley and this is "state of the union". first two break stories we are following, a series of attacks across afghanistan and a deadly tornado outbreak here in the u.s. let's start with those tornados slammed the midwest and the plains overnight. the national weather service says there were 121 reports of possible tornado touchdowns across four states. in the northwestern oklahoma town of woodward, five people were killed two children. in kansas, 100 tornadoes between last night and this morning causing extensive damage there were no reports of any death he is. twisters also caused massive damage in twist iowa in the town of thurman. three out of every four homes were damaged or destroyed. more severe weather expected across the midwest with dangerous conditions affecting wisconsin, minnesota and iowa. we are joined on the phone by alan riffle, from oklahoma. i understand that you did suffer five casualties overnight. what more can you tell us about the state of your town right now. >> door to doors and seeking unaccounted people, we believe everyone has been accounted for at this point. we know that there have been 89 homes destroyed and 13 businesses have been lost. these are not counting those been damaged. not completely destroyed structures. >> looking right now at aerial pictures of your town. clearly doesn't look like there is a lot left there. what do you need now? >> people are grouping as far as identify i identifying the needs of the victims, those seeking shelter and what we can do to assist them. we are also waiting some disaster declaration, both on a state and a national level and expect those on the state level to come today. we have had people from surrounding agencies and communities and at this point, we concluded the door-to-door search. >> so you expect this death toll, which is terrible, five people, including two children, as i understand, to stand now that you have completed the door-to-door search. is that correct? >> i don't have any condition reports on those that have been hospitalized. i don't have any way of assessing the critical nature of those injuries. >> i'm watching pictures of of this town, look at what appears to be in so many tornadoes that it is random in its damage, that there appear to be parts where everything is fine and other parts that look completely destroyedsome that an accurate assess? >> yes, unusual how those things happen, a neighbor next door to one completely demolished and their house is fine. that is the nature of the beast. >> we talked earlier with the governor of kansas, sam brownback and thought in some ways, kansas and elsewhere, there were fewer death he is than you might expect in this kind of strong tornado because there was so much early warning. was there early warning for you? were you all hunkered down for tornadoes. >> we had tornado warnings in -- one system move through about six hours prior to this. and this one very quickly and they took out our transmitter for our public siren and warning notification system before it ever got to town. we not only lost that but lost our manual override to the system as soon as the electricity went up and we were able to sound one siren for about three minutes prior to the testing of the tornado. >> understand. understand. well, certainly, you have our sympathies as you move forward and try to put the city back together. those that were affected. thank you so much for taking time. alan riffle, the city manager of woodward, oklahoma, which appears to have borne the brunt of these 100-plus tornados that have ripped through the plains i in the midwest. it is at a dangerous pursuit but some people actually chase tornadoes. one of them is jeremy carter. he joins us on the phone from oklahoma city. jeremy, which tornadoes did you watch going which direction? >> all righty. i first started on the tornado warning just north of woodward. it was moving northwest. followed it up into kansas. and i popped back up with another cell near cherokee, oklahoma. and it was running toward kansas, actually went north, the town of manchester. right on the kansas -- state line. >> was there periodic damage or widespread damage? >> i did see some damage in some areas. it was just a terrified monster. did you see signs where there were homes that people had indeed known something was coming? >> i think people were pretty aware coming into town. i tried to stay just outside of the damage path, see a lot of the damage but it was a very large tornado by the time it crossed of near kansas. >> what are you hearing about what's coming up. is your area, oklahoma area, tornado free or others bearing down? it is the season, i know. >> i believe we got all-clear for the rest of the day. we have major damage in eastern oklahoma also. >> can you give us a comparative to other tornados you have followed. did this seem like it was on the high end or the low end in terms of strength. >> i would say -- it wasn't as strong as any setup but it was very strong. it was definitely a killer tornado. >> and so what -- as i understand what you're saying to me, it did cross in some unpopulated areas, may at least help explain that and early warnings that we have seen, tragic deaths but not as many as one might believe in tornadoes this strong. >> yeah. i think it was probably -- i bet if they give a rating on it, probably go f-3. >> so, when you decide which way to follow, are you -- you follow the weather service and you take out after these tornadoes. are you ever finding yourself caught up in them? is that your -- your game plan? have you stopped some times and seen something hit? how does that all work? >> get as close as i can to them and possibly safe. i have several coms in my truck. i went into a state of panic for a little while. we had one that was multivortex, just north of cherokee and fear of another vortex coming up behind. >> well, i tell you, just the pictures are frightening. jeremy carter, thanks so much. be careful out there chasing those storms. >> yes, thank you. we want to go on the phone now with me u.s. ambassador to afghanistan ryan crocker. mr. ambassador, thank you for joining us. we had heard earlier you put the embassy on lockdown because of these explosions. is that still the case? >> that is still the case. i'm not sure for how much longer because the afghan national security forces pretty much have the situation under control in kabul now. still some reports of a couple of terrorists out there, but i think this one is clearly winding down. >> and is it your understanding, from what you've heard from afghan authorities that some of the perpetrators have either been killed or captured. >> it can be a little bit confusing out there. what we're hearing from the afghans is that they have been successful in killing and capturing the terrorists who put together these attacks while suffering relatively few casualties of their own. they equipped themselves very well, very professionally and it's all afghan security forces not international forces. >> we know that in some way, shape or form the taliban has claimed responsibility for this saying it's the beginning of a launch, an assault. do you have any reason to believe that is or is not true? >> well, the taliban are really good at issuing statements. less good at actually fighting. my guess, based on previous experience here with a set of network operations out of afghanistan and pakistan tribal areas. frankly, i don't think the taliban is good enough. >> mr. ambassador, one final question and that is you and i have spoken before about the feeling in the u.s. that we need to end this war more quickly than the president currently has in mind. we talked about that in the wake of a number of things that have happened there. i think this will likely add to that with spectre of the u.s. embassy being, you know, locked down so as to avoid the danger in the streets of the capital of afghanistan. what is your response to what i'm certain will be a feeling like here's more proof we need to get out of there. >> candy, i see it in exactly the opposite way. attacks like this demonstrate why we need to be here. again, we've seen a very professional performance by afghan security forces. they are able to deal with events like this on their own. a clear sign of progress. and, you know, that's how we do get out responsibly as they take over. but there's a very dangerous enemy out there with capabilities and safe havens in pakistan. to get out before the afghans have a full grip on security, which is a couple of years out, would be to invite the taliban and haqqanis and al qaeda back in and set the stage for another 9/11 and that, i think, is an unacceptable risk. >> the u.s. ambassador to afghanistan, ryan crocker. thank you so much for your time. stay safe there, sir. >> just would add one thing. you know, we did not suffer any casualties, mercifully throughout this country. but a number of innocent afghans were killed by these terrorists. our hearts go out to their families. they are our allies and partners. we mourn their loss. >> thank you for your assistance, mr. ambassador. americans are always ready to work hard for a better future. since ameriprise financial was founded back in 1894, they've been committed to putting clients first. helping generations through tough times. good times. never taking a bailout. there when you need them. helping millions of americans over the centuries. the strength of a global financial leader. the heart of a one-to-one relationship. together for your future. ♪ [ man announcing ] what we created here. together for your future. what we achieved here. what we learned here. and what we pioneered here. all goes here. the one. the accord. smarter thinking from honda. how math and science kind of makes the world work. in high school, i had a physics teacher by the name of mr. davies. he made physics more than theoretical, he made it real for me. we built a guitar, we did things with electronics and mother boards. that's where the interest in engineering came from. so now, as an engineer, i have a career that speaks to that passion. thank you, mr. davies. for a hot dog cart. my mother said, "well, maybe we ought to buy this hot dog cart and set it up someplace." so my parents went to bank of america. they met with the branch manager and they said, "look, we've got this little hot dog cart, and it's on a really good corner. let's see if we can buy the property." and the branch manager said, "all right, i will take a chance with the two of you." and we've been loyal to bank of america for the last 71 years. mitt romney still has primaries to go and a restless newt gingrich on his right but that's the least of it. he needs to preset for the fall and that means wooing those lukewarm conservatives who don't trust him emphasizing that part of his agenda and candidacy that will appeal to moderate swing voters by not going too far one way or the other, feeding into the rival-fueled rap he is too conservative. joining me now to discuss the presumptive nominee's spring and summer agenda is republican party chairman. i want to start out with something that will happen on the senate floor tomorrow and that is the so-called buffett rule that would have a minimum tax for millionaires. and i want to show you and our view ears gallop poll recently that said, talking about adults nationally, 60% favor the buffett rule, 37% are opposed. forget arguing, it doesn't help with us the debt, it doesn't do this. politically it appears that you're on the wrong side of this. >> i don't think so, candy. i think that people once they see what this is all about, and once they see what this whole strategy of barack obama is all about it's all about dividing and conquering. let's face it. listen, this is and we all know what this is. this is a shiny object that barack obama wants the country to look at which as you know if you added up every dollar of revenue that this little rule would put into place, if you took every dollar over a year, it would add up to paying for 11 hours of the federal government. so i think the bigger question is why is it that the president is using all of this time, 23 public appearances, air force one, bringing it on the floor of the senate when these same democrats haven't proposed or excuse me haven't passed a single budget in over 1100 days. i mean, come on. designee must be doing something right since 60% -- my point is of that politically you all seem to be losing this argument that there's a fairness issue here that people look back and say why shouldn't millionaires pay more in taxes? >> part of the problem here, candy, we're just not talking about millionaires, we're talking about small businesses pass through s corporations. we're talking about a president who promised that he would get the economy back on track. that he would lower unemployment below 8%. we've had 38 straight months of unemployment over 8%. the deficit he said he would cut in half. the point of this is here we are talking about one single, tiny alteration of the tax code which he said he would reform completely that amounts to 11 hours. this is obama's strategy. look over here at this shiny object here. don't look at the big picture. an economy on the brink that i didn't do a thing about and made things worse. that's what this is about. >> let me just point out because democrats are very sensitive to this that the president did not himself say hey listen unemployment will stay under 8% it was his soon to be economic advisors that drew up a report. but i understand your point. >> said 6% by now. to tell truth. >> by now in that projection. >> we're talking about 11 hours of revenue. this is where we've shut down washington, d.c. to talk about 11 hours of revenue while millions of people are out of work. >> let me ask you about your presumptive candidate, mitt romney, who said on friday, listen i'm not going -- i need an extension on my tax returns due is it monday, the 17th of april. i just wonder if that is a good move for your nominee because you know the democrats are going to pound him. why not get this stuff done and put it out there? he's a wealthy man. we all pretty much know how much he's going to pay in taxes and you saw how much he got hammered during the primary for not putting out his taxes. don't you think this is a bad mistake? >> talk about irony coming from the obama administration that won't talk about solyndra,that is going to plead the fifth on the gsa debacle and now let's talk about tax returns for mitt romney. first of all, mitt romney released his 2010 tax returns. he released the estimate to the 2011 tax return. what we're talking about is an extension to file paperwork. but the worse than the irony here is the tactic. the tactic of this president to talk about tax returns and a buffett rule when in reality we have bigger issues to talk about and this election won't come down to the timing of a tax return. this election will come down the state of this economy and how barack obama failed this country. >> given all the things that mitt romney has on his plate it seems to me this is an easy one. put the things out there. >> first of all, he did put out the estimate for the 2011 tax return. when you run for president, just so the viewers understand, you know this, but the type of the rigorous financial disclosure requirements when running for president are so expansive and vast that if you were to look at what john kerry, john mccain, all of these other presidential candidates -- mitt romney will do the same thing. >> let me ask you about the course of the campaign as it moves forward. we got this presumptive nominee, but you also have two other men still in this race, newt gingrich and ron paul. how much of a problem is this given that this season is pretty rushed now. you don't have time to sit around all summer and, you know, wait for the convention to make something official. and yet you do have folks still running against him. >> well, i mean we haven't officially declared a presumptive nominee. out of respect for ron paul and newt gingrich, obviously -- >> you haven't officially declared it but you're out there thinking it. >> sure. mitt romney a great month and he's clearly on a pathway to be presumptive nominee and we'll have a unified party when this is all said and done and the reason we'll have a unified party is no matter where unit in, republican, conservative, independent, this is not candy about the future of the republican party. i can promise you that. i think people around this country know that this election is about the future of america, and we want to be able to tell people that you can work hard, you can play by the rules, and you can still live the american dream but we need to have a republican in the white house. >> republican party chairman, a busy man. come back and see us. >> thank you, candy. gender politics and a sex scandal involving secret service agents up next. or visit your local liberty mutual office, where an agent can help you find the policy that's right for you. liberty mutual insurance, responsibility -- what's your policy? with odor free aspercreme. powerful medicine relieves pain fast, with no odor. so all you notice is relief. aspercreme. joining me now is republican congresswoman kathy mcmorris rogers of washington state and democratic congresswoman from new york, carolyn maloney. i want to start out with a topic i said at the end of the week enough and that's the whole, you know the mommy war, war on women. let me start with you. do you think that the republicans, we know the republicans in the form of mitt romney, has a 20-point gap between women who support president obama and women who support mitt romney. what do you think is wrong that accounts for that 20-point gap? >> as the republicans are able to rally around our nominee, governor romney, i believe you're going to see that gap close. >> how? >> because the policies that governor romney is promoting. they are policies that will help women succeed in this country. and all people in this country succeed. president obama's policies are the ones that are failing, americans failing women. you saw in 2010 where the republicans won the women's vote. first time since reagan. in some ways you can say that it was american women that stood up and said president obama, we don't like your policies. and whether it's health care and the fact that women make 85% of the health care decisions, the economy, the debt, you have seen where women are really, they are rejecting the policies of president obama. >> congresswoman maloney, it's true the republicans made inroads in 2010 and what we've seen is since january where mitt romney trailed president obama among female voters by 5% it's grown 20%. what do you think accounts for that? >> i believe that women will turn out in droves to vote for president obama in this election. because they realize how much is at stake. >> because women do tend to vote democratic since the early '90s i think. >> for good reason. because of the policies that democrats put forward to protect women, children and families. when president obama took office, this country was jetting 700,000 jobs a month. we're now in the 25th month of job creation and job growth. and when you look at the republican initiatives, not only on the federal level but in the state houses across this country, their attempts to roll back and assault the rights and programs and services of women is absolutely stunning in its scope and appalling in its indifference to women. and to pretend that that does not exist is to double down on that indifference to women. >> let me mo