>> i'm john heilemann. >> i'm mark halperin. >> and with fondest memories. >> happy national peppermint patty day, sports fans. we we are here live in washington, d.c. for the celebration of the new hampshire primary centennial. the party tonight we are cosponsoring it because we hear there will be a lot of cheese. not just the spreads. we expect similar jokes this evening. anyway, before we get to that, the big news is president obama is asking congress to authorize the use of military force against the islamic state or isis.

>> in the days and weeks ahead, we will continue to work closely with leaders on both sides of the aisle. i believe this resolution can grow even stronger with a thoughtful and dignified debate that this moment demands. i am optimistic it can win strong bipartisan support. >> that was a president. but john boehner struck a decidedly unsupportive note. >> the president point is that he wants to dismantle and destroy isis. i haven't seen a strategy yet that i think will accomplish that. >> mark, one question. will president obama be able to get this authorization passed? >> i'm a big fan of consultation. this seems to be a huge mistake with the president having lots on his agenda. this issue divides the democratic party and republican party.

the white house acknowledges that he already has the authorization he needs, and the chances of this passing without a huge effort are slim. >> i think it will pass and relatively easily. if you think back to almost every other military authorization we've ever had in the modern era, they get passed. there are schisms in both parties and horse trading but when you have a national security threat, congress comes together. >> i think we should of had more of them. the parties are divided. this takes a president working hand in glove with the leaders of both parties. the democrats are somewhat supportive. boehner and mcconnell are not supportive. boehner has a huge problem. even if you are right and it passes, it will not be easily. i think the president doesn't have the capital to do it. >> i don't think it will be easy but i think it will pass by a wide margin in the end.

republicans want this to get done. they might want it tougher. there is a middle road here, the president is probably on it. >> good luck to him. there is going to be lots of new hampshire talk at the primary centennial here it the museum this evening. we hope that some of it touches on the poll that we did in 2016. we messed up hillary clinton with three republican presidents -- candidates and she beat them all. jeb bush, scott walker, and rand paul 48-41. in new hampshire, as we get closer to the voting, collect ability -- electability will be a big issue. looking at the candidates nationally, which ones have the best chance to convince republican voters that they can take on hillary clinton. >> i will sound like a great chronicler and that these matchups don't mean that much this early.

hillary clinton a much better known to gear. i think you need someone who can break the democratic advantage. that is why jeb bush, marco rubio you need someone to appeal , to nonwhite republicans. otherwise, the republicans and and others cannot be her. >> jeb bush and marco rubio. >> i know you think that he is a serious candidate. >> i think bush and rubio, and i think the one who has gotten attention that really needs to prove he can perform is rand paul. he can appeal to younger people. the other thing is the electoral college. you have got to take four states away from the democrats and you can't just have the inside

straight. chris christie has a looming possibility to convince people he can compete in blue states. he's going to have to make that argument harder. >> happy birthday to john ellis bush. he turned 62 today. like all americans nearing retirement age, there is some good news and bad news. the good news is he's about to get a huge birthday present at a wall street fundraiser. tickets went for $100,000 per person. the bad news is, a troublemaker just left him because of a bunch of stupid tweets that he stupidly tweeted. on balance, is this a happy birthday or a sad birthday? >> it is a happy birthday. the biggest story is jeb bush's fundraising dominance. i've never heard of a $100,000

a head fund raiser. these other people are just getting started. jeb bush is dominating. >> i think it is a happy birthday. he is coming out pretty strong. we have seen him polling that he has some weaknesses in his candidacy. i think beyond the reason that money is so important is that is the only way for him right now. he must dominate in fund rising -- raising. if you look at his full numbers you would not think he is very strong at all. >> the other reason is he is not facing pressure to answer questions from voters and reporters right now. with these controversies like the guy that left after being there for a couple of coffee. if they were held to a double standard they would be forced to respond. for whatever reason, and a lot of people was a not good reason, he is not being forced to deal with these things. he's not having to engage.

>> henry kravis, ken melvin -- does this mean that he's winning the primary? >> hot republican candidate of the fortnight scott walker, he did his best to look like a president. how would president walker answer questions about presidential things like isis, if he believes in evolution? take it away mr. would be president. >> i think right here. we're on a trade mission. you have seen it, those that have commented that goes against common practice. and i'm not going to get into his statement, but just saying that became the focus. it certainly was here. it was probably not the most substantive thing he was talking about here. i'm going to punt on that one as well.

>> really? >> that is a question a politician should not be involved in one way or the other. >> not nearly as much buildup on this trip. what about his failure to engage on foreign policy, vaccines, or evolution? >> you can answer brilliantly and people will forget that. you can answer stupidly. people will remember that forever. it is probably the smart way for a guy that is just trying to get out of there alive. >> if he's going to go to the candidate of the work night to candidate of the year, he will have to look moments to prove his presidential leadership. he is the governor of wisconsin. he will have to raise money. to go on a trip where you can show and convince people, put an image that this guy is a leader. how many other foreign trips are you going to have this year? a missed opportunity as far as i am concerned. >> you can easily imagine him answering stupidly and all of

this going very wrong. >> prepare on the plane. how is he going to prove that he can be commander-in-chief. >> you have to protect green bay. >> a limited chance to prove to voters. silly to go over there. he missed a chance. >> forgive us if this next topic if you don't care about brian williams or john stuart. many people suspected that williams would be taken to the woodshed, and john stewart's announcement was a little more surprising. he is the guy that has become america's leading political satirist. if he's gone by the end of the year, how will that affect the 2016 election? >> it's bad for democrats. he was tougher on republicans. >> yes, he's a liberal.

>> that's where they could go to sell their book and where a lot of younger liberals got revved up to participate in politics. that is bad for democrats. he has become, with the exception of 60 minutes, the best ways to sell a political book in the country. assuming the person that replaces him does not have his our power. >> he said that stewart was a really important outlet for getting information out. one of the most important media voices. it's good news for republicans to not have to be taken to the woodshed by him every night. i think it's bad for all of us. it will be a less interesting campaign for his absence. >> shows like ours and whoever replaces him, we need to step up. part of what they do is take a videotape and an honest and straight toward way and try to hold people accountable. we've all got to work to try to replace that. >> i'm not sure were going to be

able to do that. he's pretty good. coming up, we will make some news. we will be right back. ♪

>> our guest is jeanne shaheen from the granite state. senator, we are going to do in honor of our new hampshire night here, a candidate guide to how to win votes in your state. something you have done pretty well. we start off with the most standard political questions politicians get. what is the best place to eat lebanese food in new hampshire? >> it used to be my mother-in-law's. sadly she is no longer with us , and so the best places to go to somebody in the lebanese community. there is a great place in salem where they have lebanese mood. >> what is that place called?

>> i knew you were quick to ask me that. i can't remember. >> if you google salem, new hampshire, lebanese food, it comes right up. >> and another great place in hampton falls. >> one of the great traditions in new hampshire primary is the town hall meeting. other than extolling the virtues of the iowa caucuses what is the , biggest mistake a candidate can make? >> one of the really great things about new hampshire and the new hampshire primary, whether it's a town hall meeting or whether it is in somebody's living room is it's an opportunity to really engage with candidates about their vision for the country, to hear and assess who they are. and being genuine, being forthright, being honest is really important in all of those venues. that is what people are assessing. >> don't show up wearing a richard nixon mask.

you are a presidential candidate and you are driving 90 miles an hour because you are late for the event. you get pulled over by one of those nice state troopers. what is the best thing to say? >> give me the ticket and i will be on my way. pay your fine and keep moving. don't drive 90 miles per hour in the first place. >> new hampshire has one commercial television station wmur? >> we have another television station, wbin in concord. >> there is competition for the first time. >> we like competition in new hampshire. >> new hampshire foods. what is the food that you have in new hampshire that presidential candidates need to know about? >> maple syrup is very important and to know that there are different grades of maple syrup. the lighter the grade is generally considered to be

better maples are. that's one of the very important products and foods that we have. >> if hillary clinton decides to seek the democratic nomination what is the most important thing she can learn from her husband's example in new hampshire if she goes in campaigns of their? >> it is doing exactly what he did and what she did in 2008 when she was running. to engage with voters to know audiences too small or too large to talk to people, to debate and let people get to know her and what she believes we should do in this country in the future. >> you were a pretty darn good political operative. you are in the car. right before halloween. you are driving for the pumpkin festival. what do you tell the candidate? >> we don't want any student to get into trouble.

we need to get them working in a positive way supporting the campaign. that it is a great place to visit. it is a place that often both democratic and it's a really good place to build a lot of good support and a base for the campaign. >> give them an idea of how many pumpkins there are. >> thousands. >> you're not kidding. it is not an exaggeration. the craziest ring i have ever seen. >> it is. i think it is the biggest can pumpkin festival the country if not the world. >> you worked for gary hart in new hampshire many years ago. what is your fondest memory? >> winning, of course. gary hart beat walter mondale. mondale had been a vice president and everybody thought

he was going to be the nominee of the party, which he ultimately was, but not after a very tough fight. we won in new hampshire. he came in and did what we have been talking about. he had a vision for where he wanted to take the country. he persuaded people that that was the vision that they should support. >> senator, we planned to bring the interview. and talk about your best recipe for lebanese pumpkins, but we are out of time so we will thank you. thanks very much. we will be right back with the republican strategist and democratic strategist because

>> we are back at the newseum. two of our favorite political strategists both part of the purple strategies team.

we like them a lot and they will give us real talk and help us with the poll we did in new hampshire. you are familiar because you conducted it. jeb bush at the top. we will run through some of these candidates and ask you what are they doing right right now to help their chances of getting elected? what are they doing wrong? >> jeb bush is running as the ideas candidate. he represents a new republican party. what's he doing wrong? running as the ideas candidate. the guy that always gets shot is the point man on the squad, the guy that is always far ahead. >> he's going to have a pretty big impact because he has all the money and the institutional support that goes with it. i don't think he's doing a good job picking his that that will probably improve as he goes. >> scott walker, the governor of wisconsin.

was he doing right and wrong? >> what he's doing right is he's the new face, the fresh face in -- that people on the right that people really like. i don't think he's doing anything wrong yet. probably he missed a moment in london today. he could have been stronger. >> without doing anything, he just is. is he doing anything to reinforce that? >> everything he's doing reinforces it. he is not washington or the establishment and he does not have the famous last name. he does a really good job. people are talking about him. >> he passes the big chair test. he has stopped restraining his enthusiasm. >> what's he doing right, what's he doing wrong? >> he is getting a little more exciting. scott walker unleashed. >> what is he doing wrong? >> very little. he is drafting off of jeb bush's shoulder.

>> if you think about it in the context of the general election he is pandering is much as he is to the base. >> rand paul? >> rand paul has told a coalition of young people, neo-isolationist, and libertarians. he is getting young people excited. what he is doing wrong is that he is a cause and not us area's candidate for president. >> i agree on what he is doing right but what he is doing wrong is practicing medicine when he says vaccines are a choice. >> he is more about advancing the cause of freedom a noble cause in a country -- letting you see how he would conduct himself. time, maturity, taking a stand in a debate. >> what is he doing wrong. >> he is not his father's

oldsmobile. >> chris christie? >> he has stopped screaming at people and calling them stupid. he appears to have stopped violating laws by seeking political retribution. >> was he doing wrong? >> was he doing wrong? i think he's doing fine right now. he's climbing out of the little bit of a hole because of bridge gate and those is that follow him around. i think he's doing ok. >> what's he doing right? >> he is trying to stop being the bulldog on your front lawn. you are afraid to let him in the house because he might bite you. what's he doing right? he's not doing anything right. the only thing he's got is the tough guy. >> ben carson? >> ben carson is a much more serious candidate. he will not pass the big chair test. he is sticking with his message.

>> what's he doing wrong? >> not growing beyond that. >> he is appealing to those extreme elements of the party. i think he's doing that effectively. that is what will undo him as well as what made him. >> marco rubio. >> marco rubio is a thoughtful candidate and i thought he was in a pretty good thought and he is backing off which is something he's doing wrong. it is better to be principled and take a stand and hold it than it is to flip flop around. mitt romney found that out. >> we're almost out of time. hillary clinton right? >> i think she's in big trouble. >> what you doing wrong? what's she doing right? >> she is waiting.

she is eliminating any other candidate. >> what she doing wrong? >> in a minute, jon stewart and the nightly news anchor desk. >> you guys are awesome. a match made in heaven. really a match made in her editing system. we will be right back. ♪

>> what if john stewart replaced brian williams? we wondered, so we made a promo. >> values aren't like fashion. they are permanent. bed rock things like integrity. , experience. compassion. things change. but what really matters doesn't.

>> that's funny. check us out. >> up next, "taking stock." we say, sayonara. ♪

>> president obama is on the attack against the islamic state. he called on congress to approve his request to use force without committing to use u.s. ground forces. >> our coalition is on the offensive. isil is on the defensive and will lose. >> year old finance minister's met in brussels as greece fights to stave off a cash crunch. the ministers have been said to be moving toward a bailout. this comes as thousands of people rallied in athens and from the greek parliament import