>> i am mark halperin. >> i am campbell brown. what are you talking about? with all due respect to my cut to be. -- mike huckabee. >> rick jerry's yee-haw. mitt romney is getting his own state of the union tonight. will he approve a direct hit on hillary clinton. he will say how can secretary clinton provide opportunity for

all if she doesn't know where jobs come from in the first place. that sounds like a man repairing to run. >> it is not just the viewers. they are in the process of deciding and they will decide quickly. >> here is the data he is getting. some donors are saying i will not be with you. he wants to collect a high enough percentage that he can compete with jeb bush, and chris christie and others. here are -- it is hearing things that jeb bush is not is strong as some think and in the polls you still lead. this will be harder than running but you will win. >> if he wins iowa and new hampshire. it is less of an issue because he said he is willing to put his own money in. i think the frustration i have heard most not just from donors but activists is everything he said is a rationale, a process

oriented rationale. it's not about his candidacy. what does he stand for? >> that is why he puts out these texts. the other thing is focus on his personal wealth. donors feel he will be criticized for being out of touch. get some pictures our colleagues took of his famous house. the boston globe said they might sell but the fact is he has a lot of houses and there are people who say i love mitt romney but if he runs again he will have the same problem as he did last time. >> i do not think money will be as much of a factor. if the nominee on the democratic side is hillary clinton and she has enough issues on that site your. on the money issue he is doing another typical overcorrection. he is talking about poverty and

that does not resonate. >> we think the guy is going to run. >> i think we do. will rick perry go to jail? you is indicted after threatening a veto to -- that his opponents say was an attempt to pressure the da to resign. the da had been busted for some very drunk driving. today the former governor tried to make it seen like it is a good thing. >> what i hear is great support for standing up for the constitution. americans are looking for a leader. that is not afraid to stand up and be intimidated. standing up for the u.s. constitution and the rule of law is a good thing and people are supportive of that. >> can he spin this into a positive thing? >> it does dovetail with his antigovernment thing. if he is distracted in terms of time, if some people say i would like to see him but he is in

prison that makes it bad for him. >> people have seen the t-shirt with his mug shot on it. wanted for cutting taxes. >> i think this might be a positive. but on that this is negative. i am sure he is disappointed. who could forget really carter neil bush, roger clinton resident -- relatives of president say the darndest things. when they get into pickled the jews usually splashes on the -- the juice usually splashes on the candidates. this is mike pence's mom. on page six in the new york post after crashing the family suv into a parked car, will the candidates relatives be off-limits or on limits? >> on.

there are no boundaries anymore. you never get a break. you have to go in with wide eyes -- eyes wide open. and with the stomach for it. people have expressed concerns about family being a decision maker -- a factor in decision-making. if you think about the person who is likely to have the most liability issues is hillary clinton and not the republicans seem to be fretting over it. >> you have to wonder what roger clinton and hugh rodham have been doing. george bush said when i was -- george bush successfully put off not just his kids but himself. it is possible to wall off your family. the hardest thing for a first time candidate, the clintons know they have this coming. is to say to your staff and family not only joy have to tell you everything they could, but my parents and siblings and kids.

i bet this is the weakest link in the lot of these campaigns and if you're right, one or more of these candidates will go down on family stuff. >> i do not think you can do the george w. bush thing. in this current media environment there are too many , players in the game who were not there. >> you cannot stop the supermarket tabloids and drudge and other websites. if you work it in a disciplined in principle -- and principled way. the candidates will know what they have out there on their families. think of a pushback strategy ended -- and intimidation strategy that works. siblings are the hardest area they're adults but not so close to you that you have the same leverage. >> chelsea clinton is part of the campaign. three guys who might run for president are in the news because they said some interesting things. mike huckabee said women should

not use the f-word in the workplace and lindsey graham suggested a connection between same-sex marriage and polygamy. bobby jindal said muslims coming to america are part of a conspiracy. in a crowded field when you are trying to stand out, is saying something controversial. more smart? >> it can be supersmart. he can rally the base and in people do not like what you said it can be -- if the media attacks you you can use it to rally. it might be bad for the system it is not a good state of affairs but most of these things might seem dumb but a are smart. >> i thought of every member of my southern family who would have said the same thing but there is a tension here and this is why not everyone has it -- been able to do it successfully. do you take it so far that it makes you unelectable in a general election?

that is threading a needle. >> when we get to the end of the year when it comes time for picking a president when you start seeing these dumb things you do not look like you are electable and some voters get turned off. >> well this still be there in voters minds? >> we have not seen much from the clintons. which tends to create a vacuum as big as an arkansas watermelon. to heat thing up, bill clinton went on rachael ray to do what he does best which is talk about anything he likes. >> you like jalapeno. >> i love that. >> what do you like to watch, do you watch "house of cards." >> i love "bluebloods." i never miss it. >> if you fell off the begin -- the vegan wagon what would

it be? >> a frozen yogurt. peach ice cream in the peach ice cream in the summertime. and i like hard cheese. i miss hard cheese. i resolved to start playing my horn. >> get back into the music. >> if the president is a man we call his spouse the first lady. if a woman became president we could -- i could be called adam, i don't know. the first >> the man gets a huge ovation. the full interview will be on rachael ray's show thursday. >> of course it was awesome. he is her greatest asset and her biggest liability.

the question is, does he have the discipline this time as he did last time to go the distance? >> both of them will do a ton of those shows. rachael ray, entertainment tonight. they get the fact that they are great in the settings and they can take not particularly hard questions. i like rachael ray but -- >> that was not the hard-hitting interview you are looking for. >> we analyze the republican field. with a strategist, joining us right after this. ♪

>> our guest is a republican strategist who worked for lots of people who are thinking about running for president.

bobby jindal and mitt romney included. we want to run through some of the candidates. we thought governor romney looks like he is headed to run. what do you know about his state of mind and what he is factoring right now? >> i had a chance to meet him six months ago and i thought there was no way this man would put himself through that again. i left thinking he would ask for contribution. he is hungry to run again. he is almost in the sense of writing a wrong. -- righting a wrong. that he has been proven right about many of the things he said and he should be president today. the problem is it is the movie you should have seen six years ago.

now there are a lot of new movies and it is a different world. i think he is misjudging his opportunity. >> do you think jeb bush is the front runner? you hear from people who are more close to the base. that they are also give toxic -- sort of toxic. >> that is out there right now. jeb bush is being judged as his father son and his brothers brother. when actually he is neither of those. nobody knows him. in the movies they call it the reverse and revealed. when you find out that magic moment when you find out everything you think is true is not. the fat short guy is really the thin, tall one. that is what will happen with jeb bush. this is very different guy. forward-looking, vision early -- forward-looking, visionary, more like ronald reagan than george bush.

>> a quick question. your friend mike murphy is orchestrating a strategy. he does an occasional youtube video but not a lot of public events. and not a lot of defining himself. is a -- is it a mistake not to do that now or when should he start? >> this will go on forever. if you are going out there and give your blood every day i do not think you will have much blood by the time this thing is over. jeb will raise a lot of money. a lot of this is the girl at the red dress at the end of the bar. you want to keep people hungry to know more about you. a little distance can be a good thing. >> marco rubio, he was the flavor of the week and he won the straw poll. are we reading too much because to your point, it is so early in the game? >> rubio is going to get a good ride.

then carson is going to get a great ride. carly fiorini arena is going to get a great ride. marco rubio will, too. maybe he is the most talented candidate. the question will be is he mature enough he could end up hurting himself. >> almost every republican activist i talked to let -- to last week and said, not only did they think hillary clinton would not be the next president they did not think she would be the nominee. if you are making the case as a opponent for your party, what strength does she still have

that should not be underestimated? >> her biggest strength is her husband. >> her cuban-american arkansas husband? >> i have a hard time making the case for hillary clinton because i do not think it is that good. this is not bill clinton, this is the era of the government is back on steroids. the party has moved left of hillary. plus, it is animated by internet activism. driving things farther away. >> you do not think me the nominee either. >> i would not bet my house that she will not be the nominee. i might bet your house and she is not. >> who is going to lead the populist revolt since elizabeth warren is not running, will it be martin no -- martin o'malley question mark >> it is funny how they sing start. they never start to overthrow

the king. hillary would be doing better if she was really farther left, if she was really the soul of our party like elizabeth warren. so let's get ready for warren because it will help and then those fire sparred's -- spark and the next thing you she is in the race. >> who is the most likely president? >> jeb bush. >> i cannot disagree. >> one more question. people say he is weak. there are a lot of them. what is his biggest vulnerability besides his last name? >> i would say that he has not run a campaign and when you run against politics, a lot of the time to get dragged down into it and it does not look so good. it looks like you are arrogant. it does not look like you are listening. we see we want a leader but it comes who want someone who will listen to us. that is his vulnerability. >> thanks for coming in. we will talk to you, i am certain in the coming days

weeks, months, and decades. >> go baby. >> we are getting harder better, faster and stronger. after this. ♪

>> glad we broke up. >> that was danny strong. joining us is the screenwriter who wrote this obscure called flick called "game change." he is hard at work on "empire" which is on tonight. >> this is very exciting. >> i love the show. i am completely addicted. it is amazing. congratulations. >> i have been getting a lot of similar responses with people saying they are addicted and i knew that we were onto something when that was the nonstop text i was getting.

>> where did you get the idea? >> i was driving in my car and there was a story about puffy. i thought hip-hop is so cool. i have to do something with hip-hop. there is too much political stuff. i thought about "king lear" and "the lion in winter," and that was the beginning of the show. my next thought was i should call lee daniels because we were working on "the butler" at the time. >> why do people like it? i think people like it just because fox spent about -- a boatload of money promoting it but there are other good things about it. >> there is something universal about it. it is the story about a family. it is a story about a wealthy family that is tearing itself apart over money. and power. which is sort of a beloved theme

in theater and tv since the beginning of time. we got hip-hop music. there's something, we were taking a familiar concept. the nighttime soap or a -- the nighttime soap opera. and infusing this theme with an african-american family with a music business. >> in the current republican field, 16 to 35 candidates are running or might run, who would you like to write about? who would make a good character? >> it there are not as good a set s and 2012. -- there is not as good a set of characters as there was in 2012. these candidates are much more i am much more encouraged it has a think they are much more qualified to be doing the job. i do not think -- there is not the crazy eccentrics we had last time. rand paul is a lot of fun. he is a dynamic guy, an independent streak to him. chris christie is a great

character always because he says it like he calls it. i am looking forward to the debates because i think you have a lot of people with substance and we will get to -- it will be much more elevated than he was in 2012. clark's that's an optimistic america. -- >> that's an optimistic american. >> i know you are doing "the hunger games." you are doing so much stuff. tell us what it is like to work with jennifer lawrence and oprah. >> who do you get along with letter? >> i do not know jennifer lawrence at all. the thing about oprah is her public persona is her private persona. that is what she is like. >> she gives you a car? >> it is crazy. there is always something under my chair when i see her. she is just super cool and fun to be around and everything that you would imagine she is. on the publicity tour for "the

butler," i appreciate that poster over there. it just says "the butler." oprah had my back. she talked about the writer in a way that most actors do not and it was very cool and very appreciated. >> did she know you are also an actor? >> i do not know. when she found out i was in the movie she got very excited and said i saw you in the movie. >> you are in a bus on the movie. >> congratulations on "empire." >> thank you so much. >> we will be right back. ♪

>> loretta lynch was in the news. but that was boring.

so we changed over to marshawn lynch who was more interesting. >> i am here so i won't get fined. >> he still might get fined.

>> i am phil mattingly. this is what i am taking stock of on tuesday, january 28. also in tech, qualcomm stock is falling in after-hours trade. the company reduced its forecast. investors seem to dislike the new greek government. bonds and stocks sold off with the benchmark falling. tsipras is still holding to the process -- promise of ending austerity.