Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), the ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, today lashed out at Pakistan for the jailing of the doctor who helped lead the United States to Osama bin Laden.

That came as the Senate Armed Services Committee, of which McCain is the ranking Republican, said it wants to require the Defense Department to certify that Pakistan is open to maintaining supply lines -- and not supporting militant extremist groups -- before releasing U.S. funds to Pakistan's armed forces.

"All of us are outraged at the imprisonment and sentencing of some 33 years, virtually a death sentence, to the doctor in Pakistan who was instrumental not on purpose but was instrumental and completely innocent of any wrongdoing."

He added, "It is our goal to make sure that this doctor is not sentenced to death which is basically what he got for helping us apprehend Osama bin Laden."

In announcing this action today, McCain and Chairman Carl Levin (D-MI) said they would not put a number on the restricted funds to Pakistan's military. They said they are open to discussing it with the Obama administration.

McCain also reacted to NBC's Andrea Mitchell's interview with President Zardari's son -- he called him "a very articulate young man," but then went on to challenge everything he said.

McCain believes Pakistan's demand for an apology over the airstrike that killed 24 Pakistani's last year is connected to their decision to convict and jail the doctor.

A very animated McCain told reporters,  Why convict an innocent man in response to your dissatisfaction that you didn't get an apology from the United States of America? What's that all about? This is a human being, a human being."

He continued, "To somehow allege that under any countries law that this doctor violated any law is of course just beyond ludicrous. It's outrageous."

McCain said the U.S. has expressed regret over the airstrike and he wants to know more details about it. He said once a complete investigation is done President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will decide if an apology is in order.

Levin and McCain held a press conference to announce completion of the markup of their Defense Authorization bill which included the Pakistan aid restrictions.

Earlier today, the Senate Appropriations Committee voted unanimously to cut an additional $33 million in U.S. aid to Pakistan.

The amendment sponsored by Lindsey Graham (R-SC) cuts $1 million for every year of the 33-year sentence received by the Pakistani doctor.

The cuts will impact U.S. military aid to Pakistan. The Obama administration requested $2.27 billion in aid for the next fiscal year, but the committee pared that back and proposed $800.3 million. This $33 million cut to military aid will reduce that number even more.

As the 2012 general election heats up, Mark Murray and Domenico Montanaro discuss the return of issues from the 2008 election including President Obama’s former pastor Jeremiah Wright and Obama’s birth certificate and how they might affect voters in November.

Thanks Steeler-Fan- 380417 for the question! Keep an eye out for our next installment of Inside the Boiler Room, and our next post asking for your questions!

Don't forget, you can also tweet us, @NBCFirstRead, @mmurraypolitics or@DomenicoNBC, or post on our Facebook page.

Edited by NBC's Matt Loffman.

Newt Gingrich will make his first appearance with presumptive GOP nominee Mitt Romney on May 29 in Las Vegas.

NBC News has learned the former House speaker will attend a fundraiser for Romney at Trump Towers in Las Vegas Tuesday evening. Donald Trump will also attend.

The last time Gingrich and Romney were in Nevada together was in early February, amid a bitter fight for the nomination.

Rumors broke just days before the Feb. 4 Nevada caucuses – and were confirmed by several news outlets -- that Trump himself would endorse Gingrich. Hours later, however, the casino mogul endorsed Romney.

A joint public event with the two former competitors may occur next month.

PHILADELPHIA -- Mitt Romney took his newly-announced education agenda to a west Philadelphia charter school on Thursday, where he was met by tough questions from both inside and outside the school.

The former Massachusetts governor capped a week of campaigning devoted to education following a major policy address on Wednesday detailing an education plan emphasizing increased school choice and teacher accountability.

But during a roundtable discussion, Romney's faced disagreement from educators regarding his beliefs about class size, and he defended his views on the importance of the involvement of parents' in order to fix ailing public schools.

Mario Tama / Getty Images

Republican candidate Mitt Romney greets students in a third-grade computer technology class at Universal Bluford Charter School on May 24 in Philadelphia, Pa.

While Romney toured classrooms and spoke to students afterward, supporters of President Obama protested outside, attacking the former Massachusetts Governor's economic credentials, and mockingly accused him of only newfound interest in urban communities.

In the library of the Bluford Universal charter school, which has a predominantly African American and economically disadvantaged student body, Romney referred -- in more direct terms than in his policy speech yesterday -- to the achievement gap between white and minority students.

"The gap in the educational opportunity and achievement of people of color in this society, I believe is the civil rights issue of our time," Romney said.

Romney's education reform policy centers around encouraging school choice, and a question by the CEO of another Philadelphia charter school system cut to the heart of the matter.

"Whenever they talk about providing education for low income kids, they always talk about sending them to a school somewhere else," said David Hardy of Boys Latin of Philadelphia. "Why can't we have good schools in this neighborhood?"

Romney did not answer Hardy's question directly, but thanked him for it, and later expounded on his views about the importance of school choice, and that those choices must include options in the communities most in need.

Educators also challenged Romney over his belief, backed by a McKinsey study and stated often on the campaign trail, that class sizes are largely unimportant to student success, and not that small classes are not an educational panacea.

"It’s not the classroom size that is driving the success of [other nation's] school systems. And then [McKinsey] looked at it and said well what is driving the success of those school systems? It’s parents very involved and the idea of choice means you have chosen to be involved, parents are involved, excellent teachers, drawing teachers from the very best and brightest of graduates," Romney said. "And administrators that are able to guide the school with good policies of discipline and getting the right resources."

But another teacher on the panel contested Romney's statements, citing a separate report.

"There was a study done by the University of Tennessee, a definitive study about class size and what they said was that in first through third grade, if the class size is under 18 those kids stay ahead of everybody else all the way through school, including classes where you might have 25 in the class and co-teachers," the teacher said. "Those students lose their gains after a couple years. If you have small classes in those primary years, those most important years, that’s what makes the difference."

Romney rarely discusses social issues on the campaign trail, but today he made clear that his education policy has a home-based component as well, pointing several times to importance of an engaged, two-parent home in the progression of a child's education.

"Having two parents in a home makes an enormous difference," Romney said. "And so if we're thinking about the kids of tomorrow, trying to help move people to understand you know getting married and having families where there is a mom and a dad together has a big impact. And that's, in my view, that is critical down the road."

If Romney and his roundtable panel did not always agree, on specific policy points, the atmosphere in the conversation was collegial and productive. That was not the case on the West Philadelphia street corner nearby, where Obama campaign aides organized a protest and press conference with Philadelphia's Democratic mayor, Michael Nutter.

Nutter accused Romney of having "no record to stand on," regarding education from his time as Governor of Massachusetts, and mocked the presumptive GOP nominee for making an exceedingly rare visit to an economically depressed, urban, democratic and largely African American neighborhood.

"It’s nice that he decided this late in his time to see what a city like Philadelphia is about -- It’s May. The election’s in November. I’m not sure what he’s going to learn here today," Nutter said. "I don’t know that a one-day experience in the heart of West Philadelphia is enough to get you ready to run the United States of America.”

Today's campaign appearance will be Romney's final public stop in a short week, which a campaign adviser told reporters last week would be focused on education. After spending Monday and Tuesday raising money in New York, Romney unveiled his education policy in a speech Wednesday in Washington. Tonight, he returns to Boston for a fundraiser. For Romney, and the nation's schoolchildren still in class, this Memorial Day is a holiday weekend.

Mr. 48%: Obama at or near 48% in all our recent polling… Is that a good thing or bad thing?... The importance of FL, OH, and VA… The importance of cell phones, too… Given the JP Morgan and Facebook news, does any political candidate want to be tied to Wall Street right now?... Romney’s singular message vs. Obama’s multiple ones… Romney unveils a new TV ad… And Obama heads to Iowa.

*** Mr. 48%: What’s striking about our new NBC/WSJ poll -- as well as our new round of NBC-Marist polls -- is the consistency of the numbers for President Obama: He’s at or near 48% every way you slice it. In our new national NBC/WSJ poll, the president’s approval rating is at 48%, and his percentage against Mitt Romney in the ballot test is 47% (vs. Romney’s 43%). Then look at these numbers from our brand-new NBC-Marist state polls: In Florida, Obama leads Romney, 48%-44%; in Ohio, he’s up 48%-42%; and in Virginia, he’s ahead, 48%-44%. What does this mean? Is 48% a good thing or bad thing? On the one hand, he’s leading and in the high 40s, despite what’s been a rocky and volatile last few weeks (the April jobs numbers, the worries out of Europe, the rushed gay-marriage announcement, etc.). On the other hand, he remains below that important 50% threshold that’s usually considered safe haven for an incumbent president, and Romney is well within striking distance, especially given all of Europe’s economic uncertainty. Bottom line: 48% is really the knife’s edge; not quite close enough where you can just fall over the 50% finish line, but close enough that it doesn’t take much. It’s a number to follow in the months ahead.

Jeff Chiu / AP

President Barack Obama waves before speaking at the Fox Theater in Redwood City, Calif.

 
*** A matter of party ID: By the way, how do you explain that Quinnipiac poll that shows Romney leading Obama in Florida (47%-41%) with our NBC-Marist poll that has Obama up in the Sunshine State (48%-44%)? It’s a matter of party ID in the survey; both pollsters use sound methods to conduct their surveys and neither weighs by party ID (it’s too volatile; most pollsters do NOT do that). There was a three-point GOP registration advantage in the Quinnipiac survey, and our NBC-Marist poll has an eight-point Dem registration edge. What did the exit polls show in 2008 for Florida: Dem +3. (So if you assume a 2008 turnout, that means that Obama and Romney are in a dead heat in Florida.) Here are the party ID breakdowns for our other two NBC/Marist polls:

OH: Dem + 9 (the 2008 exit poll had it Dem +8
VA: Dem + 2 (the ’08 exit poll had it Dem +6)

All of the raw data of the NBC/Marist polls are public and available for your scrutiny! We’re a full disclosure operation.

*** The importance of Florida, Ohio, and Virginia: Here’s something else to consider regarding our new NBC-Marist polls of Florida, Ohio, and Virginia: All Obama has to do is win ONE of these, and he’ll likely surpass 270 electoral votes. Yet even if Romney wins all THREE, Obama still has a viable, though, slim path to 270 (if he wins Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Iowa, and New Hampshire). But make no mistake: Romney most likely needs to win all three states, while Obama’s goal is to win two -- or maybe even one. Why is this the case? It’s the president’s advantage in the West right now. If Romney can’t pull at least Nevada, it puts a TON of pressure on him to sweep these three battlegrounds.

*** The importance of cell phones: Want to see how cell phones make a difference in political surveys? In our NBC-Marist poll of Florida, Romney leads with landline respondents, 48%-45%. But Obama leads among cell phone respondents, 57%-34%. And in Virginia, Romney’s up one among landline folks, 47%-46%, while Obama is up 54%-36% with cell users. (By the way, 28% of our interviews in OH and FL were conducted on cell phone; 27% in VA.)

*** Just askin’: Given the recent stories involving JP Morgan last week and Facebook this week, does any political candidate want to be defending Wall Street or be seen as on its side? Folks, this is a development worth watching over the next couple of months…

*** Romney’s one message vs. Obama’s multiple ones: Yesterday, Romney spoke to a Latino audience -- the Latino Coalition Economic Summit in DC -- but he didn’t say anything about immigration or even Marco Rubio’s DREAM Act. Instead, he rolled out his education plan before this audience. The Romney campaign believes it needs just one message, rooted in the economy, to speak to everyone (Latinos, women, seniors). By contrast, the Obama campaign’s message is much more targeted. (Just compare the Team Obama’s Spanish-language advertising, which individually targets Latinos, to Team Romney’s, which simply translates an English ad to Spanish.) And by the way, Romney has plenty to work to do with Latinos, according to our NBC/WSJ/Telemundo oversample: Obama is leading Romney here, 61%-27%. 

*** Going a bit too far? Speaking of Romney’s education speech, he said yesterday that American children are getting a “third-world education” under President Obama. “Third world”? This kind of rhetoric is part of a larger pattern with Romney -- first on foreign policy, now education -- where Romney wants to draw a distinction with President Obama, but has to go far out on a rhetorical limb to make the case. In fact, Obama’s economic policies have won plenty of praise from the right, including Romney. “I think Secretary Duncan has done some good things,” he said back in September. “I hope that’s not heresy in this room… He, for instance, has a program called ‘Race to the Top,’ which encourages schools to have more choice, more testing of kids, more evaluation of teachers. Those are things that make some sense.” Romney continues to talk education when he campaigns in Pennsylvania today.

*** Romney’s 2^nd general-election TV ad: The Romney camp is up with a new TV ad (airing in just Iowa, Ohio, North Carolina, and Virginia), and it’s another positive ad. “What would a Romney presidency be like?” the narrator states. “Day One, President Romney announces deficit reductions, ending the Obama era of big government, helping secure our kids’ futures President Romney stands up to China on trade and demands they play by the rules.” More:  “President Romney begins repealing job-killing regulations that are costing the economy billions.”

*** Obama in the Hawkeye State: Meanwhile, President Obama heads to Iowa today, where he gives remarks on the economy and clean energy in Newton at 5:15 pm ET, and then he holds a campaign organizing/grassroots event at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines at 7:55 pm ET. The Obama camp has released a video tied to this event at the state fairgrounds, noting that it’s where Romney said, “corporations are people, my friend.”

Countdown to WI recall: 12 days
Countdown to GOP convention: 96 days
Countdown to Dem convention: 103 days
Countdown to Election Day: 167 days

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*** Thursday’s “Daily Rundown” line-up: Marist’s Lee Miringoff with more on the new numbers in Florida, Ohio and Virginia… RNC Chairman Reince Priebus… NBC’s Mike Isikoff with some of the notable (and new) big-dollar super PAC donors… More 2012 headlines with The Grio’s Perry Bacon, Democratic strategist Tracy Sefl and one of us (!!!).  

*** Thursday’s “Jansing & Co.” line-up: MSNBC’s Chris Jansing interviews pro-Obama Super PAC head Bill Burton, USA Today’s Susan Page, RealClear Politics’ Erin McPike, former Manchin chief of staff Chris Kofinis, GOP strategist Hogan Gidley, and Social Media Magazine’s Eric Yaverbaum.

*** Thursday’s “MSNBC Live with Thomas Roberts” line-up: MSNBC’s Thomas Roberts talks with MSNBC’s Ed Schultz, GOP strategist Alice Stewart, the AP’s Kasie Hunt, NBCLatino Contributor Raul Reyes, Actor Joe Mantegna, and Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese (Obama Campaign Co-Chair).

*** Thursday’s “NOW with Alex Wagner” line-up: Alex Wagner’s guests include the New York Times’ Nicholas Confessore, the Huffington Post’s Sam Stein, NY Daily News Columnist S.E. Cupp, POLITICO’s Ben White, and TIME’s Michael Scherer.

*** Thursday’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports” line-up: NBC’s Andrea Mitchell interviews NBC’s Chuck Todd, Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE), NBC’s Ali Arouzi, NBC’s Amna Nawaz, former MA Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey, Center for American Progress’ Neera Tanden, former Bush spokesman Tony Fratto, NBC’s Robert Bazell, the Washington Post’s Jonathan Capehart and author Lynn Sherr.

“Mitt Romney pledged Wednesday that if elected president he will drive down unemployment to 6 percent or lower by the end of his first term,” the Boston Globe writes. “Romney has made the promise at least once before, at a North Las Vegas truck dealership in September, but he has rarely given voters such a specific figure to which he could be held accountable. The guarantee is also notable because Romney has repeatedly claimed President Obama broke a promise to hold the jobless rate under 8 percent. Romney’s 6 percent promise bears the appearance of bold one-upsmanship.”

“Mitt Romney on Wednesday proposed a significant restructuring of the American education system, one that would revamp the funding formulas, encourage more charter schools, and revive the debate over how poor and disabled students choose the schools they attend,” the Boston Globe writes.

Reuters: “Romney said millions of American children are getting a ‘third-world education,’ and offered proposals that he said would reward teachers for their results instead of their seniority. And he would give parents greater choice of where to send their children to school and take other steps to reduce the influence of powerful teachers’ unions.”

The AP: “Despite his criticism of Obama, the president has embraced some reforms that started as Republican ideas, according to Michael Petrilli, executive vice president at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, a Washington-based think tank. Through their ‘Race to the Top’ competition, for example, they have encouraged states to lift caps on the number of charter schools, a policy that Romney supports as well. ‘It doesn't leave a lot of room for Mitt Romney to draw contrast with President Obama,’ Petrilli said. The Obama campaign responded by releasing comments from a series of Republicans — high-profile Romney supporters Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell and Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, among them — praising Obama's education policies.”

Colin Powell yesterday took shots at Mitt Romney on foreign policy. In 2008, Romney said he’d pick Joe the Plumber over Powell.

AYOTTE: The Boston Herald interviewed New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte: “In a sneak peek at a potential fall showdown, New Hampshire U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte said tangling with Vice President Joe Biden on a debate stage ‘would be quite enjoyable’ and poked fun at Biden’s foot-in-mouth malady. ‘The vice president does have a way with words,’” she said. Of being veep, she said: “It’s certainly an honor to be mentioned for consideration as vice president, but serving New Hampshire in the Senate is the greatest honor I could ask for.”

And: “I think Gov. Romney is going to pick who he thinks is best and he will do that not worried about the gender of the person or what their particular background is, except for when it comes to qualifications,” she said. “I think that anyone who is nominated to serve as vice president will expect there will be tremendous media scrutiny on them.”

JINDAL: Awwwkward: GOP 12: “On The Daily Rundown, Chuck Todd asks Bobby Jindal if he'd be Mitt Romney's running mate. Jindal runs through some talking points; then Todd notes ‘Governor, that's not a denial. You know that, right?’ Bobby then smiles (see screencap above) and does nothing else, making this the most uncomfortable pause since Jim Irsay asked Peyton Manning if he wanted to be Andrew Luck's backup.”

PORTMAN: Why did John McCain want to punch Rob Portman in the face?

RUBIO: “Sen. Marco Rubio on Wednesday blamed Washington’s inability to produce a comprehensive immigration policy on Democrats who prefer that the issue remain unresolved so they can continue to leverage it to win the Hispanic vote,” Politico writes. Rubio said on FOX: “I think there are some people in the Democratic Party that think that the immigration issue’s more valuable to them unsolved, that it gives them something to talk about, that they can go back to Hispanic communities and make unrealistic promises every two years and win votes.”

It’s worth pointing out, however, that Democrats were just a few votes short of passing the DREAM Act, which was blocked by Republicans.

ARIZONA: Ron Barber, looking to replace Gabrielle Giffords, couldn’t bring himself to say he was voting for Obama this fall?

MASSACHUSETTS: Scott Brown and Elizabeth Warren are in a statistical dead heat, with Brown up 48%-47% in a new Suffolk poll.

NEW MEXICO: AP looks at the Senate race there. Its primary is June 5.

NORTH DAKOTA: It probably doesn’t help to be on a poster for a boat safety because of an accident you were in if you want to be Senator.

WISCONSIN: Political Wire: “A new Reason-Rupe poll in Wisconsin finds Gov. Scott Walker (R) eight points ahead of challenger Tom Barrett (D) in the recall race, 50% to 42%. A new St. Norbert College poll finds Walker leading by five points, 50% to 45%.”