>> i learned that richard engel is cooler under fire than most people on the east coast are with a little minor tremor thing. >> good point. i also learned from richard engel that they're celebrating in tripoli by shooting rpgs into the air with no regard to the way the shrapnel might fall around them. celebrate wisely, our friends in libya, please. we'll see you back here tomorrow. thanks so much for watching. stay tuned for "the daily rundown," host's this week by chris cillizza. libyan rebels take gadhafi's compound, but the leader is still on the loose, breaking his silence with a radio address promising, quote, martyrdom or victory. but concern this morning over the fate of western journalists trapped in the battle zone. florida senator and tea party favorite marco rubio goes west, courting mainstream republicans and delivering his first major speech on the road as a senator. he's throwing cold water on gop hopes he might run for vice president, but is anyone listening. and irene continuing to strengthen as it pounds the

bahamas. already a major hurricane, it's got the eastern united states even as far north as new england in its sights. it's wednesday, august 24th, 2011, and this is "the daily rundown." i'm chris cillizza in for chuck todd. all that, plus the virginia earthquake, so powerful it had eyes in california rolling. let's get right to today's political headlines. there are a few of them amidst a lot of other news. mark murray's nbc news deputy political director. mark, let's start, it's been a quiet week. mitt romney, though, out on the campaign trail. we talked about this. a little bit of an up-and-down summer for mitt romney. there was good debate performances. michele bachmann, tim pawlenty fighting, but there's been some bad, too. let's look back on the summer that was for mitt romney. >> so, in a large part of the summer we had of kind the sense that mitt romney was the nominee in waiting. he has the laser light focus on the economy. his debate performances have been very strong so far.

and, look, he's raised more money than any other republican out in the field, but there are lingering weaknesses and potential vulnerabilityvulnerab. and the news that he's doubling the size of his la jolla home. >> and a lot of republicans are saying, who cares, he's got a big family, who cares. but those kind of things matter in the presidential campaign a lot of people hurting in the economy, that matters? >> they had the potential to cement a narrative that he might not be able to relate with the people that have been most hurt by the economy. a romney source ended up e-mailing me saying that people know he's wealthy and what matters is actually who has the plan to actually put the people back to work not who has the biggest home or the smallest home or the midsized home. >> and, you know, it's not -- barack obama says this regularly during the debt ceiling debate, he said people like me should pay more taxes. >> yeah, you know, you've got two wealthy guys running. anyway, let's move on, sarah

palin, kind of the last domino we think to fall. >> probably. >> in this race. yesterday in response to some folks saying she might run, she put this out on her website because, of course, she never communicates with us via anything else. any professional pundit to have inside information regarding governor palin's personal decision is not only wrong but their comments are specifically intended to mislead the american public, never one for quiet rhetoric when loud rhetoric will work. where is she? do we know? september 3rd she'll be in iowa doing a tea party event. is that when we know? >> well, in fact, that's what she's been pushing back upon, that was the statement, look, i won't make a big announcement until september 3rd. it's a love/hate relationship with the media, it's mostly hate, but there's certain times she has loved certain news organizations and that's how she's able to get her message across. but as this race goes forward, every time that sarah palin is doing something, we saw this out in iowa, she got attention, but only lasted for a few hours.

>> i was going to say we're showing a clip right here of her talking to the news media. one fascinating thing from a woman who seemingly disdains media, spent an hour, a full hour, answering questions as she walked around the state fair from reporters gathered there. i can't imagine mitt romney, maybe rick perry, but not michele bachmann, no one else, there's a symbiotic relationship that exists there. >> there is, but even though she spent one hour with the reporters, that's all the attention she got during the iowa swing. most of it was focused on michele bachmann, and even mitt romney with the soapbox performance, and until sarah palin tosses her hat into the ring she won't get the attention that the people are getting. >> we know that she's thinking about it, until she decides she's not running or she is running. >> exactly. >> let's talk about someone who isn't running but a lot of people would like him to, marco rubio, out on the west coast, he

gave a speech at the reagan library in which he was asked about the vice presidency maybe getting a little ahead of ourselves, but here's what he had to say about that -- >> if your mother asks you to accept the vp spot, what will you say? >> you know, that's a great honor to be thought of in that way. i have -- as i joked earlier today, i have no interest in serving as vice president for anyone who could possibly live all eight years of the presidency. the reality is i'm not going to be the vice presidential nominee, but i look forward to working with -- for whoever our nominee is. >> okay. so, if not sherman-esque, relatively close, he went on later to talk about more about how he wasn't going to be a vp. is this a job, though, that you could turn down, whoever the nominee has asked marco rubio to be the vp, well, in late august in 2011, i said no, and i'm sticking to that, right? >> probably he can't turn it

down. but we've seen marco rubio, the interesting thing he's been a u.s. senator for less than a year. >> the trajectory is just -- >> it is amazing. we knew barack obama back in 2005, 2006 said, look, i'm not going to run for president then in october 2006 with tim russert he said, look, i've actually changed my mind. so, anyone can change their mind. people won't hold it against them. it would be hard for them to turn it down. but one thing to consider the past lives of failed vice presidential nominees hasn't been one that's been all that strong. whether, you know, we've seen sarah palin certainly with her ups and downs. >> right. >> and so if you end up winning, it's sometimes great to be the vice presidential nominee and later the vice president, but if you lose on that ticket, that's not a great thing particularly if you're looking to run for president in 2016. >> good stuff, mark murray, i always say this, check out "first read" your product, great stuff. thanks for joining us. first it was rebellion, then a civil war. now, the situation in libya has turned into an all-out manhunt

for deposed dictator moammar gadhafi who is vowing to fight on despite losing his compound to rebel forces yesterday. nbc chief foreign correspondent richard engel is in tripoli. he joins us now on the phone. richard? >> good morning, chris. i'm now in green square. we're having some communications issues, so i'm joining you on a satellite phone, but even through this phone you should be able to hear a lot of the celebratory gunfire. this celebration has been going on in this square since last night. people are circling around the square honking their horns. last night people were bringing their families here, taking photographs. everyone seemed to be want to be seen holding a gun, firing it in the air on what they were calling their victory day after rebel forces stormed into gadhafi's compound yesterday. and then started to loot it. we have already heard a -- the first statement, it was a radio recording, from gadhafi, in which he is calling on his supporters to take up arms and

very ominously he said he wants his supporters, men, women, young people, to cleanse tripoli, and that was the word he used, to cleanse tripoli, of rats. and that is -- he is effectively calling for people to start a civil war in this country. we have not seen any evidence of that anyone is listening to this call. we has lost 99% of this city. his supporters may have some holdout pockets, a few houses here and there. but the biggest, most dangerous situation right now and most uncertain situation is the riksos hotel. this was the hotel used by the government to hold foreign journalists, they were invited here and considered guests of the state. now the journalists are still inside effectively as hostages. we're not hearing any reports that people have guns to their head, but they are not allowed to leave. the hotel has no air-conditioning. it has no electricity.

and these reporters who have been inside have missed the story. the battle has taken place around them, but they've not been able to get out and see anything. and earlier today as some other journalists tried to approach that hotel, they, themselves, came under fire. so, it is a very fluid situation. the journalists are inside. they can't leave. they're not necessarily being mistreated as far as we can tell. plus, they are being held against their will by government loyalists in a city that has fallen, so it is still a very, very fluid and i think dangerous situation. >> richard, thank you. terrific reporting, as always. by hook or by crook, richard engel brings us the latest from tripoli, thank you. it's just a few minutes until the opening bell rings on wall street as investors hope to build on yesterday's gains and so we turn to cnbc's michelle caruso-cabrera for a market preview. a good day yesterday, some people joked because of washington clearing out because of the earthquake, a good day on wall street. what do we expect today? >> right now we're looking for a

pretty flat open. it looked like things be negative and we would sell off a little bit, but we got good economic data, durable goods came in better than expected, durable goods, stuff that you're ordering that lasts longer than two years, so things like washing machines and cars and tough like that. so, that gave a little bit of ease to people who were worried about whether or not we are going into a recession in the united states. so, that's going to help us lift off the bottom. the question still is, though, what is ben bernanke, the head of the federal reserve, going to say on friday. there's a big event out in jackson hole, wyoming, it was a year ago that he announced a program of quantitative easing or hinting at it, and there are people who are wondering if he'll do it this friday, so there's a lot of expectation building up to that event, a lot of what we'll see the next two days will be seen on friday and we'll watch the economic data spill out, but right now we're focused on whether or not the

u.s. is headed into a recession. the greek bailout may be just falling apart, so that's another issue that europe is facing. >> absolutely. and michelle, we'll keep friday circled for the bernanke speech. thank you. the libyan rebels are now in control of gadhafi's compound, but who is in control of the libyan rebels? we'll ask former california congresswoman james harmne harm next in store for libya. and we're all shook up yesterday after the historic earthquake on the east coast. we'll go live to the quake's epicenter where they're feeling the literal and figurative aftershocks today. but first, a look ahead at the president's schedule, accompanied by the soundtrack of "hey ya." you're watching "the daily rundown" only on msnbc. or hires another employee, it's not just good for business -- it's good for the entire community.

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you're looking live at a picture of the washington monument, that's about all you'll be able to get today because it's closed indefinitely after yesterday's earthquake here in d.c. some cracks found near the top, so closed indefinitely to the public. we'll have more on the east coast earthquake later in the hour. but, first, there's plenty of optimism in libya this morning. there's also a whole lot of guns. radical changes under way in the north african country where a new set of leaders is working to establish order out of chaos. joining me now former california congresswoman jane harman who is now president of the woodrow wilson international center for scholars. did i get that all right? >> yes, you did. >> we heard richard engel report about the rixos hotel, a lot of journalists in there right now. how dangerous is this situation right now? a lot of people are saying we took out gadhafi and let's move

on. >> first of all, engle is such a courageous reporter phoning in stuff from the war theater here with bullets ricocheting off all the walls. we don't know. i mean, this could be nothing, or it could be a richard pearl-type situation and these people could be either swapped or some ghoulish end. and i don't want to predict anything because we don't know how this ends. how this ends matters, though, chris. >> yeah. >> i think the goal would be to capture gadhafi and his sons alive and for them to go to the hague for a world-watched trial for war crimes. that's the right ending here. not to find them in a foxhole. not to have some spectacular demise which is what i predict at the moment, but if the libyans could in my view stop looting the palace and stop celebrating prematurely but in some organized, very disciplined way, try to find gadhafi and transfer him peacefully to the

hague, that would be great. >> what steps can the coalition take, nato obviously still in there, what can we do to facilitate that kind of outcome so that we're not descending into some form of chaos? >> well, conversations are ongoing, meetings are now planned in paris and elsewhere. i would wish that meetings were in the region and not in the european capitals, but nonetheless, there's conversation about taking the lock off of bank accounts around the world. i would hope that before money is transferred, there's at least some assurance that that money will be used responsibly in the interests of the libyan people, because that's the goal here, is the peaceful transfer of power to the libyan people, and it's their country, and it will be their government. but to the extent that we can help shape something responsible, that's what we should be doing. >> you mentioned the money, and i think that's an important thing, you know, the u.s. government working urgently to release a billion to $1.5

billion. the state department spokesperson was asked about this and talked about it yesterday. let's listen to her and come back and talk about the money -- >> they, too, want to learn lessons from iraq and elsewhere, where there have been difficulties in the past, and we have every expectation that if this money is released, it will be used well and it will get to the people who need it. >> that addresses exactly what you were talking about. in iraq obviously lots of money. we couldn't trace where it was went. misspent on things we wouldn't have spent it on. is there a way to avoid that? given what you point out, a very chaotic situation in the country. >> well, they should want to avoid it, and in iraq a lot of the money that was misspent was our money. this isn't our money. this is the assets of the libyan people who, let's say, was stolen by this dictator of 40-plus years, so it's their money and they have to learn the lessons. but, again, this is not over. >> right.

>> there may be a very violent end to gadhafi. i think it will end in the near time frame. but i think the goal is, if possible, to capture him and his family alive and transfer them to the hague. >> i don't want to make the overly facile comparison between iraq and saddam hussein and libya and gadhafi, but how important is it that we capture him in the near term and we're able to show him, his sons, in handcuffs? obviously for a lot of people the war in iraq didn't feel like a sense of closure until we found saddam hussein. are we dealing with the same thing because of gadhafi's profile because even if people don't have an idea where it is on a map, they have a sense of moammar gadhafi, they want to see him captured? >> i don't know that "we" are dealing with the same thing. they should be learning the lessons on the ground. we won't be on the ground. nato won't be on the ground. the way this ends may-to-hand urban combat which will be bloody with high casualties. remember saddam still has

stockpiles of mustard gas and chlorine and rpgs and scud missiles and paid mercenaries in the southern part of the country, so we don't know how this ends yet. and, again, we could be seeing this mass, horrible genocide scene or at least mass murder of his own citizens that we tried to prevent by doing the no-fly zone in the first place which was by, by the way, i was lukewarm on the strategy we took. i mean, that is over now, but i think with -- with very, very hard sanctions, we might have gotten to the same place. and we're setting a lesson for the middle east. i think it's not just when a country asks us in, it's whether the country threatens our strategic interests and a number of countries do, libya did not. >> let me broaden out quickly. syria obviously last week the president called for bashar al assad to step down. what does this mean? i've been asking everyone that we've been talking to libya about, what does this mean for

the region? are we able to make even a guesstimate on how much syria and bashar al assad's fate is tied to libya's fate? >> i don't think they're tied together. there's no question that assad is watching tv just like we are all wondering what will happen next. they're very different countries. syria threatens our strategic interests. it's the back door from iran into lebanon, into israel. and it is not a friend of ours. and it has harbored some of the most deadly terrorists in hezbollah and hamas, so there's a country we need all eyes on. we're not going to go in on the ground. i think there's no ground strategy that works there. but crippling sanctions on a worldwide basis are a good strategy, we've worked well with turkey and saudi arabia and other countries in the neighborhood who wcondemned syra before we did, and i applaud secretary of state hillary clinton who put the coalition together. >> former california

congresswoman james harmne harm didn't get to talk about southern california politics and the spending and debt problem facing the country. we'll have to have you back to talk about it. thank you for your expertise on libya. from montreal to martha's vineyard and capitol hill to chicago, the earthquake that shook more than 100 million people. we're live at the epicenter next. plus, can democrats hold on to the senate majority in 2012? hold on to your pocket protectors. i know i'm holding on to mine. we're busting out our cal calculators. and next is the daily trivia, which u.s. president was born with the name leslie lynch king jr.? the answer and more coming up on "the daily rundown." ve i got a surprise for you! [ barks ] yeah, it's new beneful healthy fiesta. gotta love the protein for muscles-- whoo-hoo! and omega-rich nutrition for that shiny coat.

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aftershocks could continue for several days in the wake of yesterday's surprising east coast earthquake. the ground shook from florida to montreal and effectively shut down the nation's capital. nb nbc's come costello is live from the epicenter in mineral, virginia. >> reporter: chris, this is a small town in central virginia, and, boy, did they have a rude awakening yesterday afternoon. this is town hall behind me. the good news is they're already coming up with plans to rebuild town hall. that was in the works before the quake and now they have reason to. look at the damage along the top and the back. they've lost a lot of masonry and bricks in the building. they're very concerned about how structurally sound it is. same story throughout mineral, virginia. we've got quite a few little homes that have lost their chimneys. chimneys have fallen down. gas stations, the pumps are not secure, they've shut the pumps down. glass has blown out. one grocery store everything

inside just fell off the shelves and is ruined. so, that family that owns the grocery store has a big cleanup effort under way. let's talk about washington, d.c.. the washington monument is a big concern right now. the park service confirming that there are cracks, they think, up near the top of the monument, so you got engineers that are going in there today and taking a close look at the washington monument to see how sound it is and what kind of repairs might be needed. national cathedral up in northwest washington, d.c., that also sustained damage yesterday. three of the spires that sit on top of the tower if you will have fallen off or been significantly damaged, and the tower they fear might be leaning, so they're looking at the national cathedraled is to see what, if anything, needs to happen. the cathedral is, of course, where they did the funeral or ronald reagan and gerald ford and the 9/11 service, really part of the national fabric, especially in washington, d.c.. the d.c. area schools closed today as they check the integrity of the buildings in the school systems and a lot of

government buildings in and around d.c. are shut down as well today as they check those buildings to make sure that they're okay. but what's astonishing here, chris, is that the scope of this quake in terms of how big it was -- how -- the vast area in which it was felt, montreal in the north, you got atlanta in the south, all the way west out to chicago, no significant or serious, serious damage. and no injuries, and no deaths. it's really amazing, but they do say because the rock in the east coast or along the east coast is so hard, we may have felt a 5.8 much stronger than it would have been felt out on the west coast. back to you. >> tom, thanks for getting down there so quickly and thanks for the great reporting. if it's wednesday, we've got election results for you. we'll tell you about a history-making vote in mississippi. plus, first an earthquake, now a hurricane? hurricane irene is gaining strength and threatening parts of the east coast that haven't seen a hurricane in years. we'll have the latest on the

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♪ medical history follows you. it's the at&t network -- a network of possibilities... committed to delivering the most advanced mobile broadband experience to help move business... forward. ♪ bottom of the hour now, here's a quick look at what's driving the day. forces loyal to moammar gadhafi are bombarding areas of tripoli, including the compound taken by rebels yesterday. the rebels, though, are still claiming victory over gadhafi and the transitional national council leaders have declared that open elections in libya will be held in eight months' time. the opening bell has just rung on wall street. investors hope to build on yesterday's gains and continue to look forward to fed chair's ben bernanke's speech on friday

in hopeses he' he'll announce n stimulus areas. and hurricane irene has winds of 150 miles an hour. it's expected to continue strengthening as it tears through the caribbean before heading through the east coast of the united states. nbc's lilja luciano joins us from nassau, bahamas, about 300 miles from the center of the storm. thanks for joining us. what is the latest? >> reporter: thank you, chris, right now although i have a couple of tourists sunbathing as we speak behind me, here hotel staff and government officials are taking all precautionary measures necessary. down in the south, in the southeastern bahamas where hurricane irene is pounding as we speak, officials are trying to get people out of their homes and evacuation zones and into the shelters that have been allocated by the government for them. i just got off the phone with the director of the local

emergency management agency. he says we're having a hard time because people don't want to leave their homes. here the rule is, is the old tale of the boy who cried wolf, and for all of us, i grew up in the caribbean, for all of us who are used to caribbean weather, sometimes it's kind of hard to take into effect and really listen to authorities, but in this case this is a category 3 hurricane and people need to listen. those in evacuation zones are almost being pulled out of their homes and taken to shelters. in terms of tourists, there are cancellations policies into effect here in nassau and throughout the bahamas, make something your that not only do the hotel provide services for the people to make the proper accommodations to leave the bahamas in a timely fashion, but also airlines are implementing new routes, even american airlines, france brought in three different 737 planes, something that is unusual for this area, just to get as many tourists out as they can.

and keep people safe. we are expecting to get a pretty harsh beat, and maybe a storm surge of up to 13 feet, so by tomorrow, we won't be talking to you from here. we'll try to stay safe and keep you updated on everything that happens in the bahamas. >> back to you, chris. >> hopefully tomorrow there won't be sunbathers on the beach. if it's wednesday, we have election results. mississippi voters made history yesterday by nominating hattiesburg mayor johnny dupre as the first major party black candidate for the governorship in state history, he'll face off in november against phil bryant. bryant is favored in the race to replace haley barbour who is term limited out of office. and a scary moment last night for nancy reagan. the former first lady fell while walking into an event at the reagan presidential library. luckily she was caught by florida senator marco rubio who was going to be speaking at the event.

she's said to be doing fine. the 2012 election isn't all about the white house. control of congress is up for grabs and with a razor thin margin in the senate, it all could come down to just a few seats. joining us now rob jessmer, the executive of the republican committee and guy cecil, the director of the democratic senatorial campaign committee. let's start in the broadest swath, if barack obama is re-elected, you need to pick up four seats, if he's defeated, three seats. i know you know these numbers more than i do, 23 democratic seats, people that caucus with democrats and a couple of independents that caucus with democrats are up in 2012, just ten republicans. guy, let's start with you because you've got the more seats to defend. what do you do with numbers like that and a president who is not all that popular? where do you go? >> first of all, it will be four seats because the president will win re-election. >> you heard it here first. >> you heard it here first. the fact of the matter is senate democrats are changing the math every day, and we're changing

the math first of all because we're outraising the republicans not only the dsec, but if you look at all the senate democrats they've raised $70 million to $50 million for the republicans. we're doing it by outrecruiting the republicans, if you look at massachusetts and indiana and certainly like nevada where shelley berkley currently leads the appointed senator dean heller, but we're doing because the republicans continue to fight the ideological battles of 2010. they learned all the wrong lessons from that election. so, when you look, for example, at john bruener, in missouri, who is thinking about running for the senate, who is already being attacked by todd akin, the congressman in that state, who is pointing out over and over and over again to reporters about a dui arrest from several years ago. or you look at john bruning, another john from nebraska, who just a couple of weeks ago compared 100,000 nebraskans who are struggling in this economy to raccoons scavenging through

the garbage. we'll win because this election lk about a choice. and i think at the end of the day if you look at nebraskans or missourians or virginians, they'll decide that tea party republicans are out of touch with their state. >> rob, let's first talk very quickly about the numbers, 23-10. guy is opentimistics, and do republican senators say, we'll get it right this year? >> governor cornyn said it was a four-year project to take back the majority, and this is certainly phase two of this. >> we're in year three, right? >> we hope to do that, but, look, we're running -- i don't have a great deal of respect for how these people govern, but i have a lot of respect for how they run campaigns. we are running against very smart people. my counterpart is very smart, the white house very smart politically, it's not easy, but i'd rather be us than them. >> let's go through a couple quick ones. guy, massachusetts, this is a place where there's only ten

republicans. this is scott brown, the guy won a special election. you have to be on offense. the field is still coalescing, fair? >> the field is still evolving, but we feel good for a couple of reasons. first of all, scott brown is out of touch with the people of massachusetts. i lived in southby and jamaica plains for three years, and i can tell you the voters of massachusetts are not happy with the senator. they vote mitch mcconnell 90% of the time. the people of massachusetts don't need a third senator from kentucky, they need a second senator from massachusetts. the other thing if you look at a presidential election, fundamentally the turnout in a presidential election is different than a special election. >> that's right. rob, let me go -- >> there are 850,000 voters who have never voted in a scott brown election. >> i know you feel differently about massachusetts. >> well, look, i appreciate guy's sentiment, they need the win to hold the majority. but the reality is the facts don't match that. he's more popular today than he was when he was elected which is incredible by every major poll. the mayor of boston, the

prominent democrat, said that no one was going to beat scott brown. there have been severaegation members that say they can't beat scott brown. he represents the people of massachusetts, a hardworking group of people who want to get their economy back going just like everywhere else. it's unclear to me they have a very competitive primary, the d.c. democratic establishment is very excited about themselves -- >> we'll be talking about elizabeth warren in the future. >> this is a harvard law professor who i'm not exactly sure is going to dig into the coalition that scott brown put together of republicans, independents, and blue collar, hardworking massachusetts people. >> i find it interesting, chris, the candidate that received $350,000 from the tea party express is going to lecture democrats about who the outside candidate is. >> plenty more. thank you, guy. thank you, rob. we got to one out of the 33 senate races, i'll take that as a success. we'll have you back. thank you for joining us and your time. up next, it's the hump-day

panel, we'll be here to talk about jeb bush's warning to his party and romney's return to the trail and marco rubio's sherman-esque statement. and the white house soup of the day, roasted "rundowed ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] we've got all you need for back to school with low prices every day on everything. backed by our ad match guarantee. save money. live better. walmart.

turning to the presidential race, former florida governor jeb bush who insists he's still not running weighed in on jon huntsman argument that rick perry is too far to the right and had a warning for his own party. >> i like jon huntsman a lot and i think his voice should be heard, and we need to be a broad party with divergent point of views. that's fine. but ronald reagan was a conservative and everybody said the exact same thing about him, that he couldn't win. but if you're a conservative, you have to persuade, you have to defend a position. you can't just be against the

president. >> you think some in your party overdo it? >> i do. i do. i think when you start ascribing bad motives to the guy, i think that's wrong. it turns off a bunch of people that want solutions. >> msnbc political analyst karen finney is a former communications director for the democratic national committee. casey hunt is a newly coined national political reporter for the associated press, and david shallian is political editor for pbs "news hour." let's get right to the breaking news. jeb bush is he still not running? just kidding. was there a riddle over there? and what do you make of jeb bush and kind of his role? he's not running, but he is kind of a respected elder, he's not that old, but a respected elder in the party. what role can he play going forward? >> i also think, chris, he gives clues about where the republican establishment, here's the voice of it and he's not just saying nice things about jon huntsman, the governor from utah polling

at 1% and trying to get some attention, but he actually is taking up jon huntsman's case here by warning the other republicans in the field that you have to offer something positive and not just bashing the president with heated rhetoric. >> karen finney, it seems as though jon huntsman is democrats' favorite. any time the dnc, the democratic national committee, is sending out your quotes, what does this say about the republican party? jon huntsman is at 1%. is it about the fact that he's trying to be a moderate voice? is it the fact that he's not terribly well known, what do you make of it? >> a friend of mine that works for huntsman, the word moderate, they are terrified about it, it's a death knell, and they are trying to stress and you saw it in the comments he made about the one-child policy in china, he's trying to stress, like, his views on, you know, right to life and all of those things. i think what it means is, in the republican primary, the people who are the most bombastic seem to be getting the most attention. even though michele bachmann seems to be slipping a little

bit in the polls, she's still getting, you know, the attention as are ron paul, as is rick perry, and m/ had a comment on mitt romney, i'm going to read it. he said, governor romney seems to be vacant from the playing field and maybe that's going to you got to win the primary first before you go to the big dance. i always appreciate the implicit reference. is this a strategy by the romney campaign to not involve

themselves? what do you make of it? >> on the trail romney has been the hardest to find and the hardest to track down and the hardest to push off message. he makes the quick stops that are usually tagged with fund-raising events. he comes out and says something about the jobs and the economy and he goes back inside. he goes off message or off script like you saw in iowa when he got up on the des moines iowa register and said, corporations are people, too, my friend. >> i think we might hear it again if he's the nominee. >> he's creating all of these moments that folks seize on and that's all they have to go on for months at a time. >> david, let me go quickly to you, romney 2008 instead of romney 2012. it appears to be working for him, but how long can he sustain it with rick perry and michele bachmann attacking him? >> he's more vulnerable than in 2008 and yet it is working for him. to karen's point we are seeing lessonser learned, no doubt abo it, and he laid out his jobs

plan in nevada and bracketing the president's big economic speech, he's now looking i think to be a more present figure out on the trail especially because he knows rick perry is coming at him and he needs to be aware of that. >> he needs to make the pivot to be presidential, to jeb bush's point, you have to put something positive forward, so this is the pivot. >> we'll be back. more to come. but, first, trivia time. we asked -- which u.s. president was born with the name leslie lynch king jr.? the answer, president gerald r. ford. president ford was originally named after his birth father. but his mother remarried when ford was young and began calling her son gerald ford after her new husband. ford didn't legally change his name until he was 22 years old. we'll be right back. you're watching "the daily rundown" only on msnbc. ] so you think your kids are getting enough vegetables? maybe not. v8 v-fusion juice gives them a full serving of vegetables plus a full serving of fruit. but it just tastes like fruit.

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let's bring our people back. kasie, we go backe to talk abou palin or we would be remiss. she said three years ago dc pundits predicted that the demise of sarah palin's political career. citing false information that she has made a decision and set a date regarding a future campaign. does it matter if she set a date? >> she said she would set a date. i was with her in iowa and she said pretty definitively she would want be ready to make a decision by december september . she doesn't think her potential

campaign needs to play by the rules, that's the rules she set up for herself. >> as long as we don't want john huntsman, we absolutely want sarah palin, and it's good for us. the more she sort of dabbles with this, the more unsettled the playing field. love it. >> david, has she waited too long already? michelle bachmann has risen in iowa. >> there's no such thing as waiting too long. she's got even more star power than he does, and i think she can jump in whenever possible. >> what's her niche? >> it's the whole tea party conversation inside the nomination fight is going to get very diffuse, and i think that bodes well for mitt romney. >> we were talking about all the problems mitt romney has, but this is good for mitt romney. sarah palin is not drinking the same water that mitt romney is. he's over there with michelle

bachmann and to some extent rick perry. >> he can just watch while perry and bachmann duke it out. >> i remember that debate a few weeks ago in iowa. you could almost see mitt romney smiling. karen finney, go. >> prayers for pat summit. amazing woman coach, mentor, and i hope she will have another successful season, because think about what kind of hope that brings to people who are suffering from this disease to show that you actually can continue your life. >> i would say an inspiration. my life is a college coach. a huge inspiration for her. thanks for mentioning it. kasie? >> gold man and nathalie pozo has a thing on tv. >> the traditional shameless plug. tune in tomorrow night for our interview with john huntsman where we began. >> i always, always do.

thank you, david, thank you, kasie, thank you, karen. that's it for this edition of "the daily rundown." we'll see you right back here tomorrow on 9:00 a.m. coming up next on nbc, it's jansing and company. and at 1:00, don't miss the andrea mitchell reports. business travels forecast, looking at least a few areas from the eastern great lakes back down to the ohio valley, showers and thunderstorms maybe to interrupt some travel today. earlier on today, detroit, and s cincinnati as well as pittsburgh. boston, d.c., better chance of showers. tomorrow just hot in the southwest. host: could switching to geico really save you 15% or more

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