thank you for sharing your morning with us. go make great memories today. "inside politics" with john king starts right now. character questions for ben carson as republicans prepare for debate round four. >> they are getting celebra int. it's okay. i totally expected it. new scrutiny for marco rubio, too. >> and trump takes after rubio's finances and takes to the air waives. >> let's face it, politicians are all talk no action. plus, the obama factor in 2016. >> time to act is now. not later. not someday. right here. right now. the president rejects the

keystone pipeline and unemployment falls to 5%. "inside politics." the biggest stories sourced by the best reporters now. welcome to "inside politics." i'm john king. we tee up a big week in presidential politics. the fourth republican debate is tuesday night and the second democratic debate on saturday. with us to share the reporting jackie kucinich of the "daily beast," matt viser from the "boston globe," and jonathan martin from "new york times." >> it's the american people, sir. they're sick of winning. they're winning so much. it's just too great, sir. >> that was donald trump, of

course, his visit to saturday night live was not without controversy. the show tried to make light of the situation. >> who is that? >> trump's a racist! i heard if i yelled that they would give me $5,000. [ applause ] >> i can fully respect that as a businessman. >> larry david having more fun on saturday night live. the next big national stage for trump is tuesday in milwaukee. gop debate number four where the field's other surprising outsider faces a major test. ben carson pushing back hard against a series of media reports suggesting he exaggerated if not fabricated some of the more compelling episodes in his inspiring biography. >> my prediction is all of you guys trying to pile on is actually going to help me. because when i go out to these book signings and i see these

thousands of people, they say "don't let the media get you down. don't let them disturb you" please continue to fight for us. they understand this is a witch hunt. >> watching that it was interesting in the sense that being soft spoken, being laid back, being very calm has been a trademark carson flashes of anger there. does he have a point or is this testing time? >> i think it's testing time. if it was any one of the things it would be an issue, but this has been repeated over and over again questions of his credibility. it was interesting he was feistier. >> he's not the first politician to face questions and have people show he's exaggerated, at least, added high personally. how important is it this for carson. is it more important in the sense we don't have a voting

record. we can't say senator carson did this or governor carson did that. his biography is everything. >> it takes the place of the votes. it's a great point. he's a great reminder that the statements that you can away with as a celebrity are wholly different than the statements you can make when you're running for office and the scrutiny is more intense. and that west point story is an example about that. he wants to make it about the media. the candidate gets caught with the statement that is exaggerated, they gain short-term sympathy. where does it look in ten days or two weeks? we've seen past examples where candidates make it about the media. the instinct, especially on the right is to defend the candidate. does the air come out of the balloon in the poll you see two weeks later based upon the coverage. that's been the trend in the past. >> people like him because of his credibility. if that erodes. that's why we're seeing him push back so hard.

if that whittles away that's going to be a problem. >> how much is in the debate. you have to assume it's going to be an issue at the debate. it's been in the "wall street journal" whether his relationship with the drug company and the stories about he said he got a offered a full scholarship offer to west point. he's trying to remember something 45 years ago. it's in the books. cnn tried to investigate the episodes where he said he was involved in violence as a youth. the campaign says they'll bring people forward. honestly, we hope they do. if the people exist bring them forward. when our reports gave them weeks to confront them they didn't. how much does it become an issue in the debates? mr. trump with bill o'reilly used the word "pathological." >> we saw how fast his rivals donald trump, in particular, was commenting. in real time this week as the ben carson incidents were coming up donald trump was loving it.

i think he'll use it an opportunity. i think ted cruz would as well. >> that would be fascinating. he also may not. senator cruz has run a smart campaign. >> he may sit back and watch. i think it is overall an issue for ben carson. you can't write your own biography when you're a presidential candidate and expect no one will look into it. the spotlight is more searing than anything else. in the short time, it's probably fine. we don't see him stand up to the scrutiny. we'll see if he's tested or not. i think the debate is an interesting moment. i think people will go after him. >> an interesting moment has marco rubio put to rest the finances. he had an american express card from the party. he put on it over a course of several years 73 of 1300 charges were specially personally about

$22,000 out of $182,000. for a long time the records were not public. the campaign said sure, he probably shouldn't have done this. he essentially got a temporary month-long loan for the state party. used the wrong card a couple of times. their point is he paid the bill. there were late fees involved but he paid the bill. there's no hanky pankey here. is this done? >> there were -- i think it plays into the narrative of him struggling financially in his own personal finances. but the issue with the credit card there was nothing scandalous, it doesn't appear, in the charges. it sort of raised the question why the campaign waited so long to come out. >> that's the biggest one for me. >> in new hampshire last week he was asked when he was filing the papers to be on the state ballot. he said, well, it was a private matter. it's not a big deal. he didn't have an answer for why would you know you're running for president wait until you have a nice bump in the polls in november to put this information

out? it appears to be sort of not what's there but it raises the question of why not put it out last year or two years ago. it's puzpuzzling. >> the campaign's argument is it didn't come up -- in 2010 he was leading in the polls. he was not in a position where he felt like he needed to release it. lately the media scrutiny reached a level. >> the bigger issue is his retirement accounts. his financial wisdom of cashing out the retirement accounts and things. is he living beyond his means? >> if jeb bush's campaign or the broader field -- if this is all they have to use against rubio, they'll have to keep looking. >> and it makes him more relatable for the average everyday american. >> bill clinton asked the other day he was talking about the issue and he said i'm worried about the country's financial future than my financial past.

>> thinking about you. >> right. if he can turn most of the candidates are wealthy saying i don't have your money. we'll see how it plays out. you two at the end here, i don't know about you two there. in new hampshire this week you spent time with jeb bush. and the big question is where did you go? you were the early favorite and now you're in dismal shape nationally. i love this line in your story. i can outwork a mule. he better get to it. and i can outsmart most people if i'm focussed on it. i've got a proven record i just have to learn to toot my horn a little better. >> it is an interesting moment for jeb bush totally recalibrating a john mccain-l e mccain-campaign now in new hampshire. i asked bush about his debate preparation. he has the next debate coming up. what are you doing any differently? he said the thing i'm doing differently is i'm not preparing that much. he almost feels like a slugger who is in a big slump and needs

to get away from the game a little bit hoping when he returns he's able to hit the ball game. >> that is the problem he was out of the game for so long. >> big papi. >> he needs singles. up next hillary clinton has the momentum heading into the round two of the democratic debate but bernie sanders seems to be take iing aim. politicians say the darndest things. >> dream job you would like to have now if you couldn't be a politician? >> umm, president of cnn. [ laughter ] tcount on someone's kid mistaking me for santa. i'm so sorry. come on sweetie. it's okay. and knowing right when my packages arrive.

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welcome back. one important lesson of 2015 is use snap chat when making political predictions so they disappear or easy to erase. the voters in a mood to surprise us. we should be careful about what we predict. looking through the state and national polls, it's no too crazy to say that the democratic race could be over pretty quickly. the republican race drags on for months, which is why the second democratic debate saturday night is so important for vermont senator bernie sanders. it's in des moines and the clear clinton iowa advantage. 55% for secretary clinton to 3% for martin o'malley. the three democrats will be on

the stage. there will be eight and the undercard debate koempb christie and huckabee falling to the undercard. you have three democrats. if you're hillary clinton, you love the poll numbers. people are starting to use that inevitable word again, which you probably don't like it. you use it from 2007 to 2008. if you're bernie sanders, you have to change the dynamic of the race. >> you do. the early stage was going to be a strong part for bernie sanders. the clinton campaign was talking about the fire wall for the super tuesday states. they're looking strong in iowa and even better in new hampshire. bernie sanders needs to mix it up a little bit. the question is, if he's willing to do that or not. and are there enough democrats who are seeing him as a presidential -- i was in iowa with hillary clinton this past week. i was struck in iowa city, a liberal part of the state, there were people a couple of months ago are bernie sanders supporters. they're consolidating around

here. he's campaigning harder and in a different sense than '08. she stayed for nearly 90 minutes a the town hall meeting. took every question possible. she seems like she's intent on not repeating the mistakes of 2008 and her campaign is better. as you said, sometimes voters surprise us. sometimes the new hampshire voters surprise us. it's far too early to say it's over. it's certainly heading in that direction. >> she has an interesting reason. a good reason, politically, to want to wrap it up as early as possible. if you look at the polling, she rebounded in new hampshire. she has the lead in iowa. where you move to places where you get the nonwhite democratic electorate which bernie sanders has no experience with. bernie sanders gets a couple of wins. if you look at the national polls now quinnipiac had -- we'll show you the graphic. clinton versus the top four republicans. she loses to ben carson nationally by ten points. it's early. but look at the numbers. she loses the women's vote to

ben carson. she beats donald trump. you see the big gender gap for hillary clinton who would be the first female president there. but look at the marco rubio ted cruz. statistically that's a dead heat. you see women voters there white working class women she has a problem with and independent voters. she hopes to lock it up and address weaknesses. >> yeah. i think that she's got some issues, you know, adds we're seeing for the general election. i'm also interested sort of the next debate with bernie. if you talk to his people, he's nervous, i think, in the first debate. he's never been 0 a stage that big. he had done vermont public access debates for a state of 600,000. >> now it's 15 million people. >> i think for the next debate looking to that is whether he can land any punches on hillary clinton. and change the numbers a little bit. >> we've said it from the beginning hillary clinton can only beat herself. i think that still remains true.

and the interesting thing i watched the bernie sanders being interviewed by rachel maddow on friday. he can't stick the landing on the gun question. when you're talking about the democratic base, they care about the gun question. and gun control. bernie sanders hasn't gotten a good answer about, you know, that he's, yes, from a rural state. yes, he voted against the brady bill. that's not good enough for progressive voters. it's not. >> the fact is, that we can try to infuse the race with drama, but if hillary clinton wins iowa it's hard to see how she's not going to be the democratic nominee. even if she has a problem in new hampshire, she can chalk up that to a regional issue because bernie is from next door and independents can vote. you're on to nevada and south carolina. it's hard to see where she would slip. iowa, which broke her heart last time. this time could deliver her the campaign. >> might the biggest number in presidential politics be 5?

the unemployment number dropping to 5%? >> the people say the country is on the wrong track but the republican argument is you don't want a third obama term. if the unemployment rate is below 5% doesn't it make it harder for republicans to say you don't want a democratic president? >> she'll be happy -- she said she's not running for barack obama's third term. it might be below 5% by then. that's how it's heading here. it's good news for her if the economy is improving. adding so many things to it. but i still think the problem for her long-term her likability and trust has been frozen. her issue is the general election. but, you know, first things first, win the primary first. if she locks it up early, it's huge for her. >> the question is do we have the people here two-thirds of people think the country is on the wrong track. will the numbers somehow will the better economic news translate or do people see longer term problems on the horizon and the short term

them?loyment rate isn't moving >> that's the big question for the campaign. the other part with bernie, he has a new tag line in his ads which is a leader you can trust. he's starting to implicitly suggest that hillary clinton is not trust worthy. the question is can he deliver it on a debate stage? >> up next the reporters share from their notedbooks including new hampshire's impact on the bush family history. moderate to severe crohn's disease is tough, but i've managed. except that managing my symptoms was all i was doing. and when i finally told my doctor, he said humira is for adults like me who have tried other medications but still experience the symptoms of moderate to severe crohn's disease. and that in clinical studies, the majority of patients on humira saw significant symptom relief. and many achieved remission. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened; as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems,

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let's head around the "inside politics" table. jeff zeleny. >> a key week for bernie sanders. we see the debate going on between bernie sanders and his advisors. they are more aggressive but against the chief democratic rival of hillary clinton than bernie sanders has been. it's a key moment for him to see if he'll step up. the debate on saturday is a really -- not a last opportunity but a key opportunity for sanders to show that he is going to call her out on some of the issues. he's been kind of hot and cold on distinguishing himself. he doesn't seem comfortable sort of playing a role of the hard guy here. but she certainly is. we'll see who wins this internal fight. his avisors or bernie sanders. >> we're seeing twitter become

increasingly helpful in the election. a couple of months ago, they launched the ability to donate through twitter to the different candidates. now three-fourths are the candidates are using that. next week at the democratic debate, they're going to be taking questions from twitter users. much like you've seen with facebook. so that'll be interesting to see what the twitter users want to know from the candidates. >> in 140 characters or less. >> is new hampshire still -- john kasich, chris christie, and jeb bush are running the traditional new hampshire playbook. it's not yet paying off in the polls. i'm curious to see if the surveys coming out of the next week to ten days. john kasich told me that the debates are about american idol. that they're offering sugar

highs. their wager is the debates matter but the old ways of new hampshire matter more. it's going to be the most revealing. do the old ways of new hampshire still count? >> great point. >> watch for the republican super packs. they're starting to mobilize more against hillary clinton, which is reflective of the nature of the republican primary now. the super pacs are coming up out of the woodwork and well moneyed ones and starting to take out national ads against hillary clinton targeting her in the early states. we'll see two things from this. one, what types of attacks will work and against her. >> a bit of a follow up. family history has to give jeb bush more than a little pause as

he stakes his comeback hopes on the new hampshire primary. his father won in 1992, but i remember i was there a strong 3. 7% sh -- 37% -- then in 2000 john mccain win stunned george bush. the texas governor went on to secure the gop nomination and the presidency. jeb bush looking to new hampshire at a time his national poll numbers are miserable. most of the national media accounts are about his fall from early favorite to a campaign on life support. don't write the jeb op-ed just yet. bush had a decent few days in new hampshire. one of them notes that the state has a history including john mccain in 2000 and 2008 of throwing a lifeline to candidates who appear to be teetering. skeptical but we'll see. that's it for "inside politics." we'll see you soon. "state of the union" with jake

tapper starts right now. live from new york, it's donald trump! >> it's great to be here. i will tell you it's going to be something special. many of the greats hosted, as you know, like me in 2012. >> the republican frontrunner joins us live just hours after his snl hosting gig. and trump's biggest threat, dr. ben carson facing new questions about his life story. >> there is a desperation. will the glare of scrutiny hurt or help him? plus senator bernie sanders promising to, quote, kick butt when it comes to hillary clinton. will he go on the attack to beat that clinton surge? an