>> production assistance for "inside washington" was provided by allbritton communications and "politico," reporting on the legislative, executive, and political arena. >> it was sponsored and directed from iran. >> this week on "inside washington," the plot to kill an ambassador on american soil. >> we call other nations to join us in condemning this threat to peace and security. >> the senate defeats the president's jobs bill. >> i will not take no for an answer and i hope you won't either. >> republicans have a jobs plan of their own. >> the president believes government money creates jobs.

we believe business creates jobs. >> is a herman cain just another flavor of the week? >> the difference between flavor of the week and black walnut, does it taste good all the time. >> a new hampshire primary before christmas -- are you kidding? captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- the united states government as we get accused the government of iran of plotting to assassinate the saudi ambassador to the united states on american soil. the alleged plot reportedly involved a payment of $1.5 million to a mexican drug cartel to kill the ambassador and carry out other attacks. attorney general eric holder said the plot also involve

elements of iran's's elite quids ds force. a spokesman for the u.n. says that -- for iran in the un says they categorically reject be "baseless allegations." >> what we will continue to do is apply the toughest sanctions and continue to mobilize the international community to make sure that iran is further and further isolated and that it pays a price for this kind of behavior. >> "pays a price for this kind of behavior" -- what do you make of this, charles? >> that is obviously empty rhetoric. it is a way of avoiding the issue. but this is a serious issue because it is a clear escalation. the iranians have been killing americans by proxy in afghanistan and iraq and, as we know, using hezbollah in attacks

on the marines and the 1980's. to attack us on our soil is really something new, different, and it shows the brazenness and lack of any concern about american response, which is quite alarming. >> colby? >> it is hard to figure out, having made the announcement, the timing is in the hands of the u.s. the response has been kind of tacky. it seems to me that once holder made the announcement, the administration should been able to say specifically, these are the steps we are going to take. increase sanctions, sort of isolate them. that is the part that leaves an uncomfortable feeling. >> nina? >> i'm still left with a slightly uncomfortable feeling about the plot brought there is a limit to what we know about the iranians. clearly, if we accept information, and we have no

reason not to, there was some iranian government role in this. the question is, how high did it go, what was the knowledge, and even , did anybody thinks some jerk over here think something was going to go and and just well them, or did they actively encourage it? >> mark? >> i think it is serious. at the same time, remarkable details to it that just fascinate anybody. hiring an assassin from a mexican drug cartel for $1.5 million? this is kind of a novel concept. just exactly who was being paid and who was doing the paying. at the same time, i am a little concerned about the fire, aim, ready caucus in the united

states that wants to immediately go in and send regions of drones into tavon. that is a good reminder that the reason that iran in its influence -- reason that iran is dominant in iraq in its influence is that the united states opened it up. >> this is not have anything to do with the influence iran as in iraq. the regime in iran wants to demonstrate something. why would they do this? if you want to kill an ambassador, it is easy to shoot him or poison him. why would you do it in a restaurant, in the united states, in the capital? that would be a huge event it would not be an assassination. it would be a massacre. in the complaint, they speak about a weapon of mass destruction. that means they want to show something. i think it wants to -- they want to show that we are acquiring nukes, we can infiltrate in the

united states and worry -- and make you worry about retaliation on that scale. >> is there any doubt about iran and's involvement in this and how high it goes? >> the transfer of money in rammed -- the amount of money being transferred, a tattoo of some sort of -- it had to have some sort of government involvement. there is clearly some government involvement. the extent to which it goes up and down the ladder, we don't know at this point. we have had the initial reaction -- peter king as saying it is an act of war -- congressman from new york. others are hopping and popping, but they stopped short of what needs to be done. nobody is seriously talking about military action. >> the main explanation for such a goofy plot that i have heard that makes any sense is that the

whole iranian government is under enormous pressure. doing things that it has not done before, and sometimes not doing them well. the quds, which is supposed to be a disciplined it intelligence organization, should know that when he transferred $100,000 in $250,000 chunks, that kind of transfer is monitored. it sends up a red flags. that is the whole point of watching currency. if they did not know that, they are not doing very well. that is a good thing for us, because they are not doing well. >> the pressure that the administration and united states is trying to dexert right now is on china, russia, and india, as far as the isolation of iran is concerned. that is why making this evidence available, it is now up to them.

did they choose to reject this, to turn their back on it? >> you have another if you're involved in this as well, saudi arabia. an attack on him is an attack on saudi arabia. the saudis understand this, too. the saudis and iranians are antagonists. >> different views of the faith. >> well, it is more importantly eareigh everly for control of the region. -- is more importantly a rivalry for control of the region. the saudis are scared to death of a dominant iran and possession of nuclear weapons. it is not because of israel or the city of america. it is about domination of the region. once iran has nukes, it is not as if it will drop in newark on saudi arabia, but as a new, able at a congressional election -- but if that has a new, it will

have a congressional election and it will be no retaliation because of the presence of the nuke. >> no other jobs plan has that type of support from actual economists, no plan from congress, no plan from anybody. but apparently, none of this matters to republicans in the senate. >> well, republicans and two democrats, ben nelson from nebraska and jon tester from montana the vote was 50-49. he needed 60 to move forward. no dice. the president will try to get pieces of this through the congress. any chance, colby? >> let's go back. the jobs bill is not defeated. the senate presented -- the senate prevented the jobs bill from being considered by a filibuster, because it could get the votes to pass if they could get it to the floor. there are pieces of the bill

that are probably attractive. you have house republicans talking about coming up with some proposals of their own bread they know they have to do more than just say, no, no, no. >> mccain says the plan will create jobs. >> oh, come on and hit mccain's plan is more of a fantasy that the obama plan -- oh, on. mccain's plans more of a fantasy than the obama plan. what we are seeing now is just kabuki. nothing is going to pass that is significant. >> what is going to pass, mark? >> payroll taxes will be passed. unemployment extension. what is past eight -- what is fascinating is that only a small plurality of people favor the president's jobs plan.

30% to 22%. however, when and they spelled out what the details are, it goes to 63, 64%, and the same two-to-one at the millionaires' tax should pay for it. the political advantage, when the case is made, is very much with the democrats and the president. but he is an invasion, an indictment, that they have not made the case -- but it is an admission, an indictment, that they not made the case. >> they have not even made it to the democrats in the senate. there were two democrats who defected on this. however, there were two others -- webb of virginia, manchin west virginia -- who would support the president to have to proceed but would oppose it when it came to the floor, oppose the substance of it.

you add up the four democratic senators who presumably would act against it, it would have failed. >> according to a survey of economists, the income of the american people has declined by 7% since 2000 and will not be improved before the year 2021. this might give you some idea why people are out in the streets protesting this, although as you wrote this week, "starbucks deficsipping iphone clutching protesters who protest corporate welfare even as they weep for steve jobs." >> i like hearing the words read so wonderfully by so experienced and anchor. thatm actually surprised the current point -- polling

seems to sort of like these folks. they get his approval ratings, even though nobody quite knows -- they get decent approval ratings, even though nobody quite knows what they're for -- >> even at they don't. >> what people do now, when the top 10 of 1% controlled 20% or 30% of income in the country, the income gap has grown to the kinds of things that existed hundreds of years ago that people came to this country to avoid. >> is this going to spread? does this remind you of the early days of the anti-war mood in the early 1960's and 1970's? >> the anti-war movement at specific things to engage. this is a manifestation of unhappiness. i am not saying the people who are doing at -- there are people on the sidelines to a cheering this because they feel they've been victimized. >> it has forced the debate.

we are debating this, discussing it, and have greater awareness of it. the lines between the two parties are drawn. when republicans say it is all because of regulation, the problems, that if wall street were left to do whatever it wants whenever it wants, the country would be in clover and honey, that begs any sense of reality. >> the problem is lack of economic growth. you can redistribute all the money you want. if you get economic growth, of which we have none at today, he will have this kind of income and equality and stagnation. >> race for the republican presidential nomination, same thing. . >> 9% corporate tax, at 9% income tax, 9% sales tax. >> when i hear 9-9-9, i want to call 911. >> that is the wife of rick perry, saying her husband has been brutalized by opponents in

the campaign. herman cain, former ceo of godfather's pizza, leads others for the republican nomination. romney is still in there. >> what you do if you are ready? utech four flawless debate performances. -- you have four listed eight performances did you are a far better candidate than you were paid 80% republicans said they would vote for him if he were against obama, but the non-romn ey constituency in the party is enormous. >> 60% of a very conservative republicans view him favorably and the latest poll. >> yeah, but what does that mean?

given the choice, he will rank high, but he does not excite them. there is a residue of doubt about romney. what does he really believe? the flip-floping charge that he has been fighting the last four years is going to stick. rick perry is hitting him harder and harder on this. he still has problems with the massachusetts health plan. >> i think you are going to have to marry him. >> shotgun? >> they are going to have to marry him, and i don't know if it is going to be a good relationship or not. [laughter] >> shotgun marriage. why keep enthusiasm -- why the enthusiasm lack for mitt romney? >> northeast republican governor of a blue state, he governed in that way, ran that way, and he has his heresies. when a specific issues that robins would like to use obamacare -- one specific issue

is that republicans would like to ease obamacare as a proxy for big spending, extremely effective in defeating democrats, and romney is disarmed on that because of massachusetts. however, in the end, there is no passion among republicans in favor of romney, however, if he is the nominee, the passion will come from the anti-obamas ended in. -- and sta -- anti-obama sentiment. they don't have to love romney. there will be in these as an even if romney is the nominee. >> "the wall street journal"/nbc news poll was surprised by this surge. -- by herman cain's surge. they interviewed people did they like that he has never held office, they understood 9-9-9. it was not just anybody but romney -- >> they said he was real.

>> that he was not a politician and did not sound like a politician. >> the gallup poll echoed that, that people who were most in d.c. asked about the race -- who were most enthusiastic about the race is favored herman cain. >> that was like chris christie, who just endorsed mitt romney. >> rick perry, governor of texas, is on the cost right now falling into that terrible narrative -- "i can see rusher for mike frontline" of sarah palin, "-- i can see a rush out from my front lawn" of sarah palin trade after the debate, he spoke to dartmouth students about the american revolution occurring in the 16th century did little slips like that -- >> obama spoke of the 57 american states. that is heinz, not america.

is that of the time -- slid off the tongue. perry's problem is the debates were he did not have answers that he should have thought through. >> rick perry on friday is speaking in pennsylvania about his plan for american jobs -- make what americans buy, buy what americans make, sell it to the world. mitt romney has an op-ed in "the washington post" saying we have got to get tough on china. we'd it all together for us. >> the romney editorial is interesting, very well written, very good, except that he says we have got to get tough with china at and then does not really say how. doing that is -- all the points he makes about why we should do it are perfectly rational. >> monetary policy is one thing he talks about.

>> sort of. he just says that should enable them currency manipulators. -- should label them currency manipulators. >> in fact, that is what america is doing. what you do with a quantitative easing is essentially lower the value of the dollar. we are in a reciprocal arrangement more that historically happens. is one way to do it without actually raising tariffs, which, incidently, passed the senate by a large majority, a bill to impose punitive tariffs on the chinese. look, it sounds great, everybody loves it, it has emotional appeal, but it would be a catastrophe. it would be smoot-hawley. we tried this in the depression, and becker everybody. >> romney ends by talking about the importance of free trade. >> he is again trying to have it both ways. there is not a candidate running for office at the national level who does not say we ought

to get tough with china. when you sit in the office, you consider the full range of the relationships you have with the country and is not that easy. i don't take romney seriously on this. he is playing to a base. it will take somebody like john boehner to protect the congress from itself and prevent this bill that the senate has passed from becoming law. >> let me dissent. i would like to have somebody running for president who is not concerned with the middle east or the far east, but concerned with the middle west of this country. between 2001 and 2010, the trade deficit with china at one from $84 billion to $278 billion. 2.8 million american jobs were either lost or put aside. we just now at the update on nafta, where only 637,000 jobs had been displaced or lost as a consequence of that. it was promised, you recall,

prosperity for mexico and increase jobs in places like ohio and michigan and even pennsylvania. the reality is that there is a constituency out there that understands what is going on, but leadership that just absolutely tapes. >> what should the leadership do? >> the leadership should confront china and say that the reality is that we are concerned with american jobs -- >> ok, so we say that you are very unhelpful people. they say, too bad. >> we will impose -- we will impose selective tariffs upon them. we are not the biggest -- >> then you get into a trade war. what will china do? >> because we have the biggest market -- >> then we go back to smoot- hawley -- >> we have done this in the

1930's -- >> no, we did something -- >> trillion dollars of our money as well -- >> you see american cars all over the place, american businesses doing business. why? it is the cost of labor, among other things. i was trying to make a phone call from my blackberry, and everytime i call, i'm talking to somebody in manila. >> that is a whole other issue -- or india. the 2012 new hampshire primary may be held in 2011? >> the process is in jeopardy because of states like florida. >> rick santorum. sorry about the audio. they must get interviewed him in a men's room or something. terrible. he's talking about the musical primary dates. it is going to have a snowball effect -- iowa, nev., and

according to the new hampshire secretary of state, they will go the first or second week of december. >> the secretary of state is following in new hampshire law. it is state law that there has to be seven days between new hampshire and the next. the republican party's national leadership has abdicated any responsibility. when the democrats tried to do this in michigan, when john dingell, powerful chairman, carl levin, united auto workers, and the governor, terry mcauliffe, democratic national chairman, said not on your life, and they ended it. that is what the republican leadership should have done, because iowa and new hampshire make sense. they gives the underdog, under- funded, dark horse candidate a chance to connect with real voters. >> these days there are so many

big box. while we are not watching, except for the cognoscenti, there is an entire structure of the funding with these superpacs that is not only hundreds of millions of dollars, up secret money for the most part. >> in the end, is this a threat to democracy? >> no, it is not a threat to democracy, but it is real -- the border -- the voters are not really going to get a chance to hear from the candidates. from the standpoint of the republican party, having this in earlier in the year it is to their advantage. >> what the hell? get it over with early. if romney wins in new hampshire and iowa, is over and we can relax until august. >> you can start attacking obama

early. the minus is that it is something goes wrong and the likes of us find something unpleasant, you are stuck. >> if it is romney and we have not found something in the five years he has been running -- >> be careful about that. >> there is an enormous advantage to sustain primary fights. barack obama was a far better candidate by the time he was nominated after the fight with hillary clinton. >> not exactly abbreviated. started in march. >> last word. see you next week. of the best of europe.

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