time to tell you what we learned today. what did you learn, alex? >> i learned, willie, that i'm living in a cone of uncertainty. meteorologically and ly meteorologically. >> we'll get poured rain on. alex, thanks for being with us today. >> thanks for having me. we'll be back tomorrow, but stick around for "the daily rundown" hosted by chris cillizza. all eyes anxiously watching hurricane irene, threatening north carolina and points north, including washington, d.c., and new york city. it may become the worst storm to hit the northeast in decades.

a full forecast and report this morning. saying heads will explode, former vice president dick cheney is making waves with his new memoir. in an exclusive interview with nbc's jamie gangel, he's not backing down on the most controversial issues. >> do you think president bush will feel betrayed that you've revealed these private conversations? >> i don't know why he should. and steve jobs steps down as the head of apple. a visionary for decades who turned his company into the most valuable in the world. what's the impact of his resignation? it's thursday, august 25th, 2011, and this is "the daily rundown." i'm chris cillizza in for chuck todd. also this morning, we have new poll numbers that show rick perry way out in front. and that jon huntsman factor, what's behind the unexpected moves by the former utah governor. but we begin with the monster storm that is bearing down on the east coast. hurricane irene is packing winds

of 115 miles per hour and it could spell big trouble for the mid-atlantic and new england. nbc meteorologist bill karins joins us now. bill, where is this storm heading? >> it's heading right for eastern north carolina. that's the first stop. good morning to you, chris, and everyone else. if you're just joining us what has changed from last night is that it no longer appears that the storm has any chance of harmlessly going out to sea. we'll get hit on the east coast, the only question is what will the intensity of irene be and the size be as it rakes up the eastern seaboard. you can see it on the bottom of the screen, now going to parallel florida during the day today, you'll get a glancing blow along with your friends in georgia. south carolina, a glancing blow, but eastern north carolina is the first area hit in 48 hours. here's the bottom line, what you need to know. the time to prepare now, you got 48 hours in eastern north carolina to get everything finished before the storm winds arrive. up the coast, you probably have during the day on saturday in the mid-atlantic to get things done and the same for new england.

sunday is a no-go, that's when the storm will be moving up virginia beach and long island. major rainstorm to the west of the track where the center goes. the wind and the storm surge will be east of the track. that's questionable where it goes inland exactly. and extreme tree damage, long-term power outages. the best advice i can give you if you live in the affected areas is make sure you can be prepared to be at your family for at your house for maybe three days without power if you have to, including the propane tanks are filled up, make sure you have water if necessary and a lot of batteries, too. as far as the forecast track goes, here it is, saturday afternoon, evening, north carolina and raking the coast up into new england, chris, as it goes throughout the day on sunday. this could be the first hurricane to hit areas like long island, new york city, and possibly the jersey shoreline in decades. back to you. >> thanks, bill. nbc's kerry sanders is live in atlantic beach, north carolina. kerry, what's the latest from down there? >> reporter: well, good morning, and good news is you see very few people here at the beach. that is good news, because it

means tourists are beginning to take the warnings. some counties along the north carolina coast have already issued evacuation orders for tourists. now, here's how they hope it works -- that tourists recognize they need to leave today. and so they push inland and go where they need to go, which then opens the roads for the residents to be able to begin their evacuations tomorrow. because the idea is with hurricane irene coming in and as we just heard bill say, it looks like the eye wall will come right through here over eastern carolina shore. they're going to need to get a lot of people inland. and to get folks inland requires a lot of preparation on individuals, you know, there's just so much the government can do for you here, and that's usually after the fact. right now, they're urging people to recognize that you have to have a plan. you know, it sounds complicated. it's not. you have gas in the car. you need some gas in the car, because you're going to be

driving. did you stop at the store and pick up some things, and do you know where you're going? the red cross is starting to open some shelters today. if you don't have the money to go find a hotel inland or you don't have the interest, contact the red cross. they'll direct you to where you can go to a shelter as well as the counties. the counties have opened shelters. there's schools and other facilities inland that are designed a little bit thicker walls so there's a place to go, and then there's the other thing there, chris, when you're riding out a hurricane and you're riding it out with other people there's a little sense of security because you don't feel like you're alone. the last thing they want people to do is i'll ride this out, i've been through hurricanes before, i'll have no problem, because that's inevitably the person who tries to dial 911 when the hurricane comes in and there's nobody there to help them. >> kerry, thanks, good reporting and good advice. much appreciated. let's turn now to politics, and big news in the republican presidential field. mark murray is nbc news deputy political director. okay, mark, been a little quiet,

but kind of a shake-up. gallup and show them on the screen, gallup released some republican primary data. rick perry, 29% ahead of mitt room romney, by 12 points. it's a flip-flop. sustainable? what is this? is rick perry the new front-runner? >> there's a case for that. this is a new poll, this is a poll less than two weeks since rick perry made it official. it shows rick perry is the national front-runner. a couple of caveats, the nomination isn't decided on a national poll, it's decided on who wins the contests in iowa and new hampshire, so that's important to take into consideration. of course, rudy giuliani, remember, was the national front-runner -- >> you read my mind. >> -- around this point. >> and hillary clinton, by the way, was the national front-runner far later into the fall in 2007 and we know how that turned out. >> maybe if i'm mitt romney i'm feeling pretty good that you

aren't the national front-runner just right now, but what it does do it forces mitt romney to almost abandon the nominee-in-waiting strategy he's had where he's campaigning more against barack obama than he has been about all the other republican presidentials who are in the field right now. >> he really has to your point, mitt romney, people have tried to engage him, republicans, he's avoided it. we've talked about how long he can keep avoiding it. someone asked him yesterday, at a bunch of town halls in new hampshire, are you changing your strategy because rick perry's in the race? let's listen to what he said, and we'll come back and talk about it. >> yeah, you'll try to find something that's changed. i got a dark shirt on yesterday. it was a light shirt yesterday. look, i'm following the strategy i've had and we've laid out from the very beginning. and the field is still fluid. >> odark shirt today, light shit yesterday. but he gets the issue here. how long can mitt romney wait? his people are not dumb. they look at this stuff and while they know, yes, it's not a national race, this helps the

rick perry fund-raising buzz, we're talking about him as a national front-runner now, how long can mitt romney wait to engage him? >> george pataki might be joining the presidential field, there are still some changes and we still have a long ways to go, but what i find very interesting is his calendar strategy of what does he end up doing. does he decide to actually make a play in iowa now to deny rick perry some momentum because there's a possibility that rick perry wins iowa and he shoots off. >> we remember 2004, john kerry, he wins iowa. >> right. >> then he wins new hampshire, the race is over. but let's talk about, you mentioned, let's talk about the calendar because we don't focus enough on it. right now, the sanction calendar, what the republican national committee put out, has four races in february, iowa traditionally first, new hampshire, february 15th, nevada, which people are overlooking, february 18th, south carolina on february 28th and a bunch of states, super

tuesday on march 6th. chances that what we laid out in terms of dates, chances that is when we're voting or should i be making my chrday after christma tickets to iowa? >> we should be making plans. des moines, right. what would end up triggering that if states like arizona and florida decide to move into the february window even before, then that forces the iowas and the new hampshires and the souths early. >> they're not giving up the first-vote status under any circumstances, iowa and new hampshire. they'll go as early as they need to. >> everything is fluid. the primary calendar isn't set. my reporting, i know your reporting suggests that, look, chances are that florida and arizona will move up. we're seeing iowa and new hampshire much earlier. >> i know this is in "first read" which i always encourage people to read, september 2nd, jan brewer, the governor of arizona, has to announce it within 150 days of when she wants the primary to be,

september 2nd is the place to look, mark murray, thanks for joining us. for the first time in more than 24 hours an intense gun battle is going on in libya's capital right now. we've just learned that more than 30 men presumed to be gadhafi loyalist fighters have been killed in central tripoli. nbc's stephanie gosk joins us live from tripoli. good morning, stephanie. >> reporter: good morning, chris. we knew the pockets of gadhafi loyalists were still in the city and we're seeing evidence of that today. not too far from here about a mile or so away at one of the government-run hotels, there are a number of foreigners staying, actually, there's been an intense gun battle under way, exchanges of gunfire. we were at the babb al aziziya compound, and there was exchanges of gunfire, and gadhafi loyalists control, and there were a number of rebels that we spoke to that were actually organizing themselves to go into the neighborhoods, so there's still some fighting going on.

but undeniably they have control of this city. it's quite remarkable. we arrived jyesterday, a short period of time how the rebels secured the city with checkpoints every 20, 30, 40 yards down the road you're running into another checkpoint and it happened extremely quick-. chris? >> stephanie, thank you. we have just in a group of rebels have surrounded a compound, a group of apartment the that the they believe moammar gadhafi and some of his sons are in in tripoli. obviously we'll stay on top of that story throughout the hour and throughout the day. up next, what's jon huntsman up to? he's near the bottom of the polls and struggling to gain traction with republican voters. could his surprising tactics surprise us all? plus, former vice president dick cheney's exclusive interview with nbc news. cheney promises there will be, quote, heads exploding all over washington. that's a wivisual, when people read his new book.

and steves j jobs, the man d the influential and innovative gadgets of our time steps down as apple's ceo. can the empire survive without it? and the president's schedule. i'm slowly but surely memorizing what martha's vineyard looks like. you could save a bundle with geico's multi-policy discount. geico, saving people money on more than just car insurance. ♪ geico, saving people money on more than just car insurance. whose non-stop day starts with back pain... and a choice. take advil now and maybe up to four in a day.

or choose aleve and two pills for a day free of pain. way to go, coach. ♪ way to go, coach. or creates another laptop bag or hires another employee, it's not just good for business -- it's good for the entire community. at bank of america, we know the impact that local businesses have on communities, so we're helping them with advice from local business experts and extending $18 billion in credit last year. that's how we're helping set opportunity in motion. oh, just booked a summer vaycay. ooo. sounds pricey? nah, with the hotels.com summer sale, you can find awesome deals for places nearby. interesting... wow, i'm blown away. you look great.

hotels.com summer sale, save up to 30%. and get a free kindle. hotels.com. be smart. book smart. but think about your heart. 2% has over half the saturated fat of whole milk. want to cut back on fat and not compromise on taste? try smart balance fat free milk. it's what you'd expect from the folks at smart balance.

you know, republican primary field fighting to win over the right, jon huntsman is testing a relatively moderate approach. the beltway soaks it is up, but polling shows he's winning just 1% -- that's right, 1% -- of the vote, so what's the strategy here and are we seeing some kind

of political science experiment unfold before our eyes? brian jones is a republican strategist and former communications director for the republican national committee and lois romano writes for "newsweek" and the daily beast. i want to start with it all began with a tweet. let's start with a tweet, august 18th, jon huntsman, to be clear i believe in evolution and trust scientists on global warming, call me crazy. is he trying to seize the truth-telling broker that tim pawlenty was going earlier in this rails before he got out? is there space in our republican primary right now for what jon huntsman is selling? >> that's what he's trying to do. there's obviously no room on the right. that space is already taken. going offer romney's voters, because he thinks romney's support is a little soft, and he's saying, hey, look at me, you've got fringes on either side, i'm not a nut. i can win a general election. >> and, brian, you have friends all over the republican party. you have friends in the huntsman campaign, last weekend happening, good, bad, or

indifferent from their perspective? he's gotten a lot of attention. >> very good. from the donor class, a lot of reaction, a lot of traffic to the website. and jon huntsman is effectively inserting himself in the news cycle by going after perry and bachmann, he's going to a place where he himself might not be able to go. >> do you know what interesting, too, it's not just jon huntsman alone, jeb bush had very nice thing those say about jon huntsman. i want to play one more piece of sound here. this is jon huntsman talking about electability, and, lois, we'll come back and get your thoughts. >> i think when you find yourself at the extreme end of the republican party, you make yourself unelectable. >> you know, i've been saying on the show the democrats favor this republican because he says stuff like that. is there concern within the republican party if they nominate michele bachmann or rick perry or sarah palin throw her name in there that they're foreclosing an opportunity, a really golden opportunity, to win? >> i think so. i think among the mainstream establishment politicians, i

think there's definitely -- and you said it in your opening -- the beltway. there's definitely a concern that the extreme wing of the party cannot -- cannot go up against obama, and that's what huntsman's trying to appeal to. >> brian, i think lois is exactly right, that there is a concern, whether it's voiced publicly or privately, there's some worry within the establishment of the party. but in 2010, there was concerns about sharron angle in nevada, there were concerns about christine o'donnell in delaware. there were concerns about the nominee in colorado, the nominee in alaska for senate races. and yet those concerns didn't keep those people from being the nominee. how much power does the republican establishment have over picking and choosing who winds up being the party standard-bearer? >> i think they definitely have an input for sure. i think going back to huntsman, i think what you are seeing, again, he's trying to be the truth teller, but if he wants to do it effectively, he has to go all in. he can't be at the margins and

say if i don't say this, i will still win south carolina, he has to do what john mccain did, full steam ahead, every single day. >> we've got three debates coming up in december, including the nbc/politico, i'll plug it later, but i just plugged it now. what is huntsman role, he was in the first debate in iowa largely as an afterthought, brian, qukly, i want to get your take on it? does he try to seize the truth teller approach? >> i think they will. three big debates in september and he'll try to make an impact. >> this is his moment, right, he has to move fast? >> and the moderates will go to him. >> right. he's in the mix. >> he's in the mix and they'll try to gin it up and attack it during the debates, he'll be heard during the debates and that's the good thing for him. >> during the last debate, it looked like he idled and stepped off. >> when you're at 1% or 2%, you got to -- >> you got to mex it up aix it . >> yes.

this sunday, the "meet the press" candidate series continues, presidential candidate jon huntsman will be david gregory's guest, that's this sunday on "meet the press." check your local listings. we're following this developing story as hurricane irene takes aim at the east coast. if you live anywhere from north carolina to maine, it's time to pay attention to this monster storm. we'll get the latest on the storm's track. plus, after three days of gains on wall street, will the steve jobs' apple news take a bite -- aha -- out of the mini rally? today's trivia question, who is the first little leaguer to be arrested president of these united states? you can tweet us at dailyrundown. the first correct answer will get a follow thursday for us. the answer and plenty more coming up on "the daily rundown." ♪ put me in coach i'm ready to play ♪

time for the "your business" entrepreneur of the week. they wanted to personalize the surfing experience. so, they started grain surfboards out of a farm in maine. customers can buy a kit and design their own boards or they can take a course at the farm where mike and brad share their expertise and passion. for more watch "your business" sunday mornings at 7:30 on msnbc. [ female announcer ] this is not a prescription. this is kate.

[ kate ] can't believe i have high blood pressure. what's that thing? another medication. ♪ i really should have taken my shoes off before i got weighed. [ female announcer ] you've got a lot on your mind. that's why every walgreens prescription goes through a 10 point safeguard check that reviews your current walgreens health record for allergies and potentially harmful drug interactions. [ kate ] i can do this. [ female announcer ] the 10 point safeguard check from walgreens. there's a way to stay well.

apple ceo and technology visionary steve jobs resigned from the company he founded yesterday. by all accounts to continue fighting for his health, cnbc's john fort. >> reporter: steve jobs annou e announced he's stepping down from the ceo role here. the board has turned over the ceo title to jobs' deputy tim cook who has been chief operating officer. he's now the ceo. jobs is the chairman. everyone expects and understands that this must be because of the steve jobs' well-known health issues. for several years he's been fighting a variety of ailments, originally it was pancreatic cancer. he fought that. had surgery for that. then he had a liver transplant and has been dealing wish issues after that, saying at one point if the time comes, when he's no longer able to fulfill his

duties as ceo, he will let us know, well, that day came yesterday. and he has said that. silicon valley and the rest of the world reacting to the fact that this iconic ceo who turned apple around from a company on the brink of its demise, to the biggest, most valued company at least in terms of the public markets, on the planet. and so now questions about what does this mean for apple going forward. tim cook, apple's new ceo, well known for helping to steer this company through rough waters. get products coming out on time. negotiate the best supply prices for apple. but, you know, apple's products will continue to arrive on shelves. apple has already been designing products that won't arrive until 2013. jobs is still advising on the direction of this company from his seat now as chairman of the board. so, for now, things go forward. but a very big moment in tech history, in silicon valley history, and certainly for american business. back to you.

>> thanks, john. for more on how the shake-up at apple is impacting the markets, plus some big news at bank of america today. let's bring in cnbc's melissa francis with the first word on wall street. good morning, melissa. >> we have huge news just breaking here in the past few minutes. warren buffett has said he's going to invest $5 billion in bank of america buying 50,000 preferred shares. we immediately saw that stock jump 26% on the news. this effectively puts a stamp of approval on bank of america which has been under siege from the shorts here recently. we've seen the stock sink about 40% since the beginning of the year, and this essentially will stop the bleeding in bank of america as warren buffett steps in and says he believes in the company, he called moynihan and asked if he could invest and this. ly flipped markets. we saw futures turn positive. we saw the financials trade higher, so this is really going to set the tone on wall street. you were talking about the steve jobs' story. that stock was trading down about 2.5% on the jobs' news,

but it obliterates that news and puts the focus on financials in the market. we'll watch apple stock as well which was trading lower on that news but could turn positive with the rest of it. this b of a story really in focus today. back to you. >> the power of the oracle of omaha. >> there you go, you're right. hurricane irene is now battering the bahamas as a major category 3 storm when will it hit the east coast? the we'll have the latest on irene's path and what you should do to prepare, next. plus, in an exclusive interview with nbc news, former vice president dick cheney jumps back into the waterboarding controversy and explains why he kept a secret resignation letter in his office throughout the bush years. and don't forget, the nbc/politico republican debate at the reagan library is coming up, wednesday, september 7th, at 8:00 eastern, it's right here on msnbc, the place for politics. ♪ the story of the hurricane [ woman ] welcome back, jogging stroller.

you've been stuck in the garage, while my sneezing and my itchy eyes took refuge from the dust in here and the pollen outside. but with 24-hour zyrtec®, i get prescription strength relief from my worst allergy symptoms. it's the brand allergists recommend most. ♪ lily and i are back on the road again. where we belong. with zyrtec®, i can love the air®. really? 25 grams of protein. what do we have? all four of us, together? 24. he's low fat, too, and has 5 grams of sugars. i'll believe it when i--- [ both ] oooooh... what's shakin'? [ female announcer ] as you get older, protein is an important part of staying active and strong. new ensure high protein... fifty percent of your daily value of protein. low fat and five grams of sugars. see? he's a good egg. [ major nutrition ] new ensure high protein. ensure! nutrition in charge!

[ major nutrition ] new ensure high protein. and those people are what i like to call wrong. take metamucil. sure it helps you keep regular, but it doesn't stop there. metamucil is the only leading fiber supplement with psyllium, which gels to help remove waste and reduce cholesterol. it can multi-multitask. it's so 2012. look at it! it's doing over a million different things right now. metamucil. ask more of your fiber.

bottom of the hour now. here's a quick look at what's driving the day. hurricane irene is powering through the bahamas with its sights set on the eastern united states. irene is packing maximum winds of 115 miles an hour and may get stronger today. we'll have a live report from north carolina in just minutes. the opening bell has rung on wall street. more gains yesterday led world markets to stay positive as investors hoped for more of the same today. and in tripoli, the hunt for moammar gadhafi may be nearing its end. a group of rebels say they have gadhafi in and his sons surrounded in a cluster of apartment buildings near gadhafi's compound. we'll keep a close eye on this developing story. other stories making headlines -- "forbes" released its annual list of the world's most 100 powerful women today.

german chancellor angela merkel tops the hlist, hillary clinton is number two, michelle obama is number eight, and lady gaga is number 11, and michele bachmann is 22nd, and sarah palin at 34. and also making the list, nbc's very own ann curry coming in at lucky number 66. those following the vice president's asia trip may have noticed something we rarely see from world leaders. a little bit of time travel. the vice president's plane, air force 2, depart eed yakota air force base at 5:00 p.m., and it landed in hawaii 12 hours earlier on wednesday morning at 5:45 a.m. time travel? maybe not. of course, the journey back in time was because the trip crossed the international date line. vice president dick cheney is about to release his tell-all memoirs, and in an exclusive interview with nbc's jamie

gangel, he suggests he may not be the most popular man in washington, once the book hits store shelves. >> this book is going to make a lot of people angry. >> there are going to be heads exploding all over washington, jamie. >> you know that. >> yes. >> jamie gangel went to one of cheney's notorious undisclosed locations and she joins us now. heads exploding. there's some score settling in here, jamie, is there not? you would expect no less from the vice president. >> the former vice president insists he's not score settling. that said, other people may disagree. he is very tough on former cia director george tenet. he said that he quit when the going got tough. he says of senator john mccain that during the financial crisis, that the senator offered nothing of substance. and there are devastating criticisms about former

secretary of state colin powell who he says undermined the administration, never actually expressed the fact that he didn't approve of the war of iraq. but i will tell you i think the most devastating criticism in the book is about the second secretary of state, former secretary of state, condoleezza rice. he uses words like train wreck, naive, utterly misleading. >> that's not score settling. >> and he tells the story about when she may have had a disagreement and she made a mistake and she came into his office and tearfully is the word he uses apologized. that's going to be very provocative. >> yes, we'll be hearing more about that. so, dick cheney goes through a lot of people who either wronged him or he thinks were in the wrong. does he ever think about when he might have been in the wrong in his eight years in the bush administration? >> there are very few apologies or mistakes in this book. and, in fact, those controversial programs after 9/11 that made him so vilified,

that gave him the nickname darth vad vader, he absolutely defends. here's what he says about whether he has any apologies. in your view, we should still be using enhandlings ced interroga? >> yes. >> no regrets? >> no regrets. >> should we still be waterboarding terror suspects? >> i would strongly support using it again if circumstances arose where we had a high value detainee and that's the only way we could get him to talk. >> even though so many people have condemned it and called it torture, you think it should still be a tool? >> yes. >> going to drive his critics crazy. >> let's talk about someone who he largely defends, george w. bush. obviously man who chose him after dick cheney led the search for the vice president, he chose dick cheney, what do we find in this book about george w. bush? >> well, he does say throughout the book that the president was

bold and courageous and decisive. but i think what will surprise a lot of people is dick cheney is known as a man of few words. the one guy in washington who would never write a book. >> right. >> but he does reveal private conversations. he does reveal times he thought the president made a mistake. and he does dispute key accounts about the shoot-down order on 9/11 and what happened on the eve of the iraq war. so, that's going to reignite more questions about who was in charge, who was running things -- >> who was the boss. >> -- you know, if george bush was the decider in chief, you certainly feel in this book that dick cheney was the adviser in chief. >> i wonder if he would embrace that role. now, we've talked a lot, some heavy stuff, criticism, condoleezza rice, his thoughts about george w. bush. this book is not totally without some humor and some lighter moments, fair? >> there are absolutely lighter

moments. you will find out that the vice president's dog got banned when he was up at camp david for chasing the first dog, barney. and he also tells a story about during the transition, giving a piece of advice to rahm emanuel, who was the incoming chief of staff, and he said to him, whatever you do, get control of your vice president. >> a moment of self-awareness from dick cheney. jamie, thank you. and you can see more of jamie's exclusive interview with vice president dick cheney on a special edition of "dateline," monday, august 29th, at 10:00 p.m. eastern on your local nbc station. checking back on the tense situation along the east coast, where hurricane irene is rapidly approaching. officials are warning people not to take this storm lightly. here's new york city mayor michael bloomberg, just a few minutes ago. >> unfortunately there is an element of unpredictability when it comes to the weather, and so we hope for the best, but we

prepare for the worst. and that's why this city is i think ready for this weekend. >> nbc's al roker is live in north carolina. al, what sort of preparations are under way already there? >> reporter: well, they have mandatory evacuations for both tourists and for residents in ocracoke island. they have mandatory evacuations here along duck, kill devil hills for tourists. they will most likely be putting in mandatory evacuations if not today, certainly tomorrow, for residents as well as the system approaches. it's a powerful storm. already causing big problems down in the bahamas. right now. it's about 650 miles south-southeast of cape hatteras as we continue to track this thing. we expect it to make landfall here somewhere along the outer banks sometime late on saturday, early on sunday. then continue up the east coast. and that's the problem. as it does, its forward motion

will probably slow. it may lose some intensity. right now it's a category 3 storm as it makes its way past the bahamas and before it gets to the carolinas, it may intensify to a 4, then become a 3, and then as it makes its way up past new jersey, a 2. but make no mistake, that's still a pretty powerful storm. the confluence of situations here, first of all, we've had a lot of rain in the northeast over the last, say, four or five days. copious amounts of rain so that the ground water -- the ground are already as saturated as they can. it can't take any more rain. root systems are weakened, so you'll have a lot of downed power lines. we've got storm surge to talk about anywhere from the delmarva peninsula, maryland, on into delaware, parts of new jersey, philadelphia -- pennsylvania, going on up into new england, so we're really watching this. you have 55 million americans may be affected by this storm, chris. >> thanks so much, al. was it really just two weeks ago that rick perry jumped into

the presidential race? now, he's leading the republican field by double digits. that was quick. should mitt romney be worried? our powerhouse political panel joins us next to break down what's really going on out there on the trail. but, first, the white house soup of the day, chipotle beef and black bean soup. just what i want on a hot summer in august. you're watching "the daily rundown" only on msnbc. ♪ might as well jump ♪ made with half the fat and calories of hellmann's real mayo... ...kraft mayo with olive oil is the new standard in mayo. [ cat meows ] ♪ [ acoustic guitar: pop ] [ woman ] ♪ i just want to be okay ks ] ♪ be okay, be okay ♪ i just want to be okay today - ♪ i just want to know today - [ whistles ] ♪ know today, know today - [ cat meows ] - ♪ know that maybe i will be okay ♪

[ chimes ] travelers can help you protect the things you care about... and save money with multi-policy discounts. are you getting the coverage you need... and the discounts you deserve? for an agent or quote, call 800-my-coverage... or visit travelers.com. constipated? phillips' caplets use magnesium, an ingredient that works more naturally with your colon than stimulant laxatives, for effective relief of constipation without cramps. thanks. good morning, students. today we're gonna continue...

for months mitt romney has been the republican front-runner leading in every national poll and dominating in fund-raising. yesterday with rick perry surging in the polls, romney called himself just one of the guys running. and last night at a fiery town hall, new hampshire voters tested him on global warming. his massachusetts health care plan, and government spending. >> i wish you would speak to the truth rather than say something

that you think is a platitude. >> someone in the room said and it was me -- >> you should balanced budget amendment -- >> we should spend less than we take in. >> the balanced budget amendment -- >> do you have a question? and let me answer your question. you had your turn, madam, let me have mine. listen, i'll give you the microphone in a moment, but let me complete. i'm sorry, it's my turn. let me speak, then you get to speak, okay? >> that's a preview of what you can expect in this political panel. mika henderson and nathan gonzalez is the deputy editor of the rothlynnburg political report. and mitt romney rather than saying let me finish, says let me complete. who does that? let's tuck about the gallup poll, rick perry 29%, mitt romney, 17%, ron paul also

moving up, i would note, michele bachmann basically flat at 10%. is rick perry the front-runner? >> i think he certainly is. you see the announcement bump you see it from fred thompson to wesley clark, but the question is sustainability. is he's going to be in the town halls the way we saw mitt romney there and getting tough questions from new hampshire voters who are really, really tough. i've seen people go from town hall to town hall and ask follow-ups. >> it's a dedicated voter in new hampshire. >> yes. >> nathan, digging a little bit deeper into the gallup poll, voters in the south, rick perry, 39%. mitt romney, 12%. ron paul, 9%, michele bachmann, 8%. rick perry, southern accent, it won't play, but theoretically it suggests his base and after the first four, a lot of states in the south, super tuesday, is the south going to be the kind of

strength of rick perry? >> i think that, you know, it does start with the first, iowa, and new hampshire, but it's all about momentum and if he can stay in the game, you know, stay in the game against bachmann in iowa and mitt romney in new hampshire, and get to the south where he's stronger, i think that would be key. >> mike huckabee even though after he lost florida and the nomination was over in 2008, he won a bunch of southern states. i want to play sound, someone last night asked mitt romney would you consider yourself the front-runner for the nomination. here's what he had to say, and we'll come back and talk about it. >> i'm following the strategy i've had and that we've laid out from the very beginning. and the field is still fluid. they're going to be potentially other candidates. i heard today george pataki's thinking of getting in. i heard that potentially i saw karl rove thought sarah palin might be getting in. maybe when the field narrows down to two or three, we'll spend more time looking at each other. but my campaign approach remains exactly the same. >> would you consider yourself

the front runner for the nomination? >> just one of the guys running. >> just one of the guys running. my favorite part about that is the pataki boomlet, watch out for pataki. how long can mitt romney get away with this? he's been the front-runner since a year, he's been the leader in money, the leader in polling up until now. how long can he stay just one of the guys? doesn't he have to either embrace the front-runner thing or deal with the fact that he is -- >> i think he's already struggling with it. look what happened in iowa when he said, corporations are people, too, my friends and now the exchange in new hampshire which he was really knocked off his guard there. he is already struggling with the fact that he's no longer in the mittness protection program. >> it's fascinating to go back before i started the let me complete, mitt romney has been running for president for a long time now, but there's still an awkwardness on the campaign trail. is that fair? >> yes. i will say when i see him, he's better than his press. >> he absolutely is. and certainly better than he was

in 2008, definitely. >> but there is an awkwardness, when he has the unscripted moments with voters as we saw in new hampshire, he does this, you know, kind of revert to wooden mitt in a way. >> what a management consultant would make a candidate look like, right? >> exactly. even though there's a big story about the democrats trying to portray him as weird, i think they will at least try to portray him as the corporate guy. >> and making your house in california 11,000 square feet will play into that. but we'll come back and talk more about that. but, first, it's trivia time. in honor of the ongoing little league world series, which i never got to play in, we asked who is the first little leaguer to be elected president of these united states? the answer, george w. bush. president bush played for four years in the central little league of midland, texas, of course, he later went on to be an owner of the texas rangers. we'll be right back. you're watching "the daily rundown" only on msnbc. [ female announcer ] 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. [ male announcer ] get five dollars in money-saving coupons at v8juice.com. pnc virtual wallet now comes with spending zone. it organizes all your spending, including your pnc debit card, credit card, and your bills. so you can view them by category... or by month. you can set a budget... and it'll even alert you when you're getting close to the amount you've set -- and when you've gone over. spending zone is built to help you keep better track of your spending. experience everything virtual wallet has to offer at pncvirtualwallet.com. pnc bank. for the achiever in you.

do you think president bush will feel betrayed that you revealed these private conversations. >> i don't know why he should. >> you've always said that you believe the president deserves to trust the people around him. >> right. >> by revealing these differences, you don't think you're betraying that trust? >> no. >> let's bring back our panel. nathan, in the wake of the 2008 election, it seemed that dick chen yes was everywhere. he's been relatively quiet. bad thing for the republican party or not? >> i think you're right, anything he does or decide will

demand attention. he's not going to be a factor in the 2012 elections. >> i just want to read a few things. george tenet resigned when the going got tough. colin powell -- resignation was the best. connedie rice -- tearfully admitted i was right. is the story that could keep this in the news if some of these folks push back, if colin powell says something back to dick cheney? >> i think absolutely. if some of these people react, if they say, no, that's not exactly what happened. why is dick cheney doing this? what's the point? sure, you sell a book, you make money buying copies. >> you assume he doesn't need money. >> you're torching bridges at the end of your career. why do this? >> it is an interesting question. we've seen donald rumsfeld with

his memoir, dick cheney with his memoir. do you have to write a memoir? what do they get out of it? do you have any sense? is it to get your side of the story out? is it the first cut of history? >> i think it's some of that. we've seen bush, you know, has not been received well in terms of the reviews of his presidency. i think -- i do think it's interesting, the connedie rice bit, it's only the girl that cries? >> tearfully admitted. that's not the last we've heard of it. i want to play one thing. dick cheney. he writes -- after undergoing heart surgery in 2010, he was unconscious for weeks. during that period he had ra prolonged vivid dream he was living in an italian villa. can't escape the mainstream media in his vivid, conscious dreams. what do you make of that?

>> that sounds like a marlin brando movie. drops an apple out of his hand? >> that's fascinating. what an image. >> probably under hurricane irene's path. >> i have vivid dreams of hosting this show. let's go to shameless plugs. shara, go ahead. >> the true test is if you like redistricting, if you do. go to rollcall.com. our coverage is really good. >> and fascinating story. i'm going to put a plug in on my deputy. handy capping races for 20 years, basically the same way. stay tuned this fall. we're going to be enhancing our coverage, taking it to the next level. so tuned. >> stu rothen berg changing things up. >> my guys, the duke men's basketball team -- >> can we cut the sound? >> taking on the united arab

emirates today. they did not get into a fight like some schools. >> thank you for that basketball reference. the catholic university field hockey team had the first scrimmage, it went successfully. congratulations to my wife. i'm super excited about the season. yes, i just mentioned field hockey live on television. that's it for this edition of "the daily rundown." see you right back here at 9:00 a.m. up next, chris jansen & company. and make sure not to miss andrea mitchell reports. oh, nice hands! chest bump. ugh! good job, man. nice! okay, halftime. now, this is my favorite play. oh! i'm wide open. oh, fumble. fumble. don't want to fumble any of these. [ male announcer ] share what you love, with who you love. kellogg's frosted flakes. it's up... and it's good! good?! they're grrreat!

r livingsocial,ood! i started getting hooked up with deals all over the place. ♪ now i get the star treatment everywhere i go. ♪ surprise yourself at livingsocial.com. sign up for free to save at least 50% on the best of your town.

living with the pain of moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis... could mean living with joint damage. help stop the damage before it stops you with humira. for many adults with moderate to severe ra, humira's proven to help relieve pain and stop joint damage. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal events can occur, such as infections, lymphoma, or other types of cancer, blood, liver, and nervous system problems,

serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. before starting humira, your doctor should test you for tb. ask your doctor if you live or have been to a region where certain fungal infections are common. tell your doctor if you have had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have symptoms such as fever, fatigue, cough, or sores. you should not start humira if you have any kind of infection. ask your rheumatologist how you can defend against and help stop further joint damage with humira. potentially catastrophic and life-threatening. good morning, i'm chris jansing, that's what veteran forecasters are saying about hurricane irene. this is what the weather channel's brian nor cross posted this morning -- i've never seen the models consistently show this level of threat, a big