years ago and most often that it was just hours ago. >> we'll leave it there. thanks everyone, for being with us today. >> it's "morning joe." stick around right now for "the daily rundown" with chuck todd. the showdown, 2012 republican candidates face off in their fourth debate tonight, but this will be the first time in the ring fr the newly minted front-runner, texas governor, rick perry. how will he withstand the on-air questioning and dig from his rivals. >> mitt romney's rope-a-dope has worked well in the past. he's stayed above the fray as others have tired themselves out. well, no more. he's going to come out swinging, right? plus michele bachmann has to regroup, sinking in the polls. top campaign advisers are throwing in the towel. she's got to make a big impression to turn it around. it's wednesday, september 7,

2011. i'm chuck todd. this is a special edition of "the daily rundown" coming to you live from the reagan library in beautiful simi valley, california, site of this evening's debate. i have top aides to the top three campaigns with us this morning plus massachusetts governor duval patrick will weigh in for the democrats and let me get to my first reads of the morning and of course, it begins with the debate. eight republican candidates face off tonight here in simi valley, california, at the nbc news politico debate and while the physical backdrop is the reagan presidential library, and of course, air force one, the 9.1 unemployment rate, a country's confidence shaken. three in four americans say the nation is headed in the wrong track. only 21% believe the economy has hit bottom. 72% believe it still has a ways to go and a majority believe president obama is facing a long-term setback from which his presidency is unlikely to recover. so tonight, the candidates on stage will each have the

opportunity to tell primary voters why we have the best shot at taking on president obama and trying to make him a one-term president. >> well, how often will reagan's 11th commandment, thou shalt not speak ill of another republican. it's not just rick perry's coming out party, and perry is the front runner and mitt romney can't afford to stay on the sidelines. romney rolled out the plan in las vegas and already it's gotten mixed reviews particularly from "the wall street journal" editorial page, the fifteen 160 pages and 59 proposals strike us as surprisingly tim and they're a techno krat's guide more than a reform manifest on. perry has no intention on going ease owe romney either, previewing attacks on romney's jobs record. >> there's going to be some that

get up and say i've created jobs and that's true. there's one in particular that's created jobs all over the world, but while he was the governor of massachusetts, he didn't create very many jobs. >> perry's campaign doubled down late yesterday, firing off a statement as governor of massachusetts, mitt romney failed to dree eight a pro-job environment and failed to institute many of the reforms he claims to support. romney responded last night on cnbc. >> i'm not responding to governor perry right here. he's not here. i would get to do that at some points. i've been in politics long enough to not worry about what others are saying, but instead talk about what i believe. >> do you understand how the economy works better than governor perry? >> i haven't spoken about governor perry, but what i've said is career politicians don't know what it takes to get this economy going again. evidence number one is what's going on in washington, d.c.

>> you saw last night governor romney very careful not necessarily to engage rick perry by name last night. we'll see what happens tonight and finally for the remaining candidates on stage, it's now or never time. michele bachmann is under pressure to right her ship tonight after a shake-up in her campaign. in the last six weeks bachmann's support has not only cut in half, but dropped to double digits among tea party supporters and supposedly her base. tonight could be the last few moments for john huntsman to make a new impression who thought he would be a serious player, but whose campaign has struggled to get off the ground. and don't forget, newt gingrich, you never know upon what role he will play tonight. tonight's debate can come down to a battle with rick perry stepping up his attack on mitt romney's jobs record. after long-distance sparring, the governor is ready to facedown with the supposedly new front-runner. joining me now is the senior adviser to the romney campaign.

eric, good to see you. >> good to be here. >> let's start with governor romney's jobs plan and "the wall street journal" critique, and i know that "the wall street journal" editorial page and romney have not been on the same page. >> i don't think there is a candidate of either party at any time that has put out a sweeping and as bold a plan as mitt romney. it contains 59 different propoefrpr proposals and it's outlined in 160-page book and there are actions that governor romney would take on day one of his precedence toe jump-start the economy. he has set the bar pretty high. he didn't write it for the editorial boards and for a think tank competition. he wrote it for the first days and weeks of his administration. it would lead to a turnaround and it would create 11 1/2 million be jos by the end of his first term in office, and i

think he set the bar pretty high. >> how confident are you that there are new ideas and how will you sell this to the american public and the two people that essentially helped him author this plan are the two heads of president obama's council of economic advisers, glen hubbard and mr. mankai. i guess what i would ask is it didn't work. there wasn't a lot of economic growth during the eight years of the bush years. were they not giving president obama these ideas? >> it's not just the plan, chuck, that's important. it's the person who will be implementing it. you couldn't take this plan, for instance, and give it to president obama and expect him to implement this plan and to make it actionable on this economy. mitt romney has a long record of experience in the private sector. he's acquired very important skills and capabilities that will allow him toledo jobs and the economy. >> give me a concrete example of why that will be different. >> i'll tell you why it's

different. mitt romney was not a caretaker governor. he did not come into a situation and was handed a finely tuned state government machine. >> you feel as if george w. bush -- when you say caretaker governor, it sounds like you're talking about rick per. >> no. i'm talking about mitt romney. he came into a situation in the commonwealth of massachusetts when the state was in severe recession, losing thousands of jobs every month and the budget was broken and we were spending more money than we were taking in and he turned that around and that's not the only troubled setting and he's also led in troubled settings at winter olympic games. when he took over the games, the games were mired in controversy and again, a broken budget and they were operating in the red. he turned that situation around in one of the most successful winter games. he did that in the private sector. he would fix them and turn them

around and make them successful. >> i wanted to go back to the massachusetts and he wasn't handed a governorship that was in good shape. 47th in job creation is not something to -- >> we cry eighted 50,000 jobs when mitt was governor and that's more jobs in one tiny state that mitt led than president obama. he lowered the unemployment rate to 4.7%. three of the four years of the romney governorship and the unemployment rate in massachusetts was below the national average, and i think what people lose sight of in the last recession, it was a tech recession. massachusetts is a tech-dependent economy. we created more jobs than our successor and we created more jobs than our predecessor. >> want to ask you one of the other areas where "the wall street journal" was critical and actually some other republicans have been critical of governor romney's plan has to do with the tough rhetoric on china.

let me ask you this, i've seen a lot of presidential campaigns say they'll get tough with china and then they go into office and they say, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. we can't do that. whatever is advised. is this a pledge that governor romney is just fully -- fully invested in, that he is going to be, you know the first president that will promise they'll get tough on china? >> governor romney is an aggressive free trader and let's start with the fact that this administration has made no progre progress? >> is china going to be free trade? >> i don't want to lose sight of the fact that mitt romney will be aggressive in opening up new trade markets and he will sign for agreements and push for action on the agreement. >> president obama is doing the same. >> he should submit it for approval. he hasn't done that yet. when it comes to china, china has been a rogue nation in some respects when it comes to trade. they manipulate their currency. they tilt the playing field in

their favor. they steal our intellectual property, our technology. that has to end. >> a romney administration is ready to have a trade war with china. we hope it's not a trade far, but we're not going capitulate to china either. we'll lay out the events in china and the actions we'll take unless they modify their behavior. >> it's a long day ahead of you. you stay on east coast time. i will see you later in the spin room. all eyes will be on rick perry's tonight. will the new gop front-runner stumble or soar in his debate debut? up next, we'll get the inside scoop from the perry campaign and its spokesman who admits debates are not the governor's strong suit. i'll ask him about that. plus, remaining relevant, what will candidates like gingrich, huntsman and santorum do to get note sxisd stay in the fray tonight, but first, a look ahead at the president's schedule and

a lot of behind the scenes work on the jobs plan, but you will see nascar champion jimmie johnson. i believe this is his third straight trip to the white house. you're watching "the daily rundown" live from the ronald reagan presidential library in simi valley. we'll be right back. [ male announcer ] the most headroom per dollar of any car in america. from $10,990. the all-new nissan versa sedan. innovation upsized. innovation for all. oh, you want to touch it? go ahead and touch it. nicely. nice froggy. [ female announcer ] there was a time when poker night... was what you looked forward to all week. - oh, wow! cool! cool! - whoa! so who'd have ever thought boys night out... wouldn't hold a candle to boys night in? having a baby changes everything.

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rick perry makes the pivot tonight from a govern ordealing with wildfires to a presidential candidate stepping on the national debate stage for the first time. what's the game plan for the new republican front-runner? ray sullivan is communications director for the perry campaign. he joins me now. you just flew in from austin last night, ray, how about just giving us an update on what you can tell us about the wildfire situation.

>> the weather is cooperating. that's perhaps the most important thing. the backdrop fire, they found two bodies overnight. our focus is on getting that under control and getting the folks on the ground and the people in shelters taken care of. the temperatures have cooled and we're optimistic that the firefighters are doing a great job in getting a handle on those fireis. >> want to shift gears a little bit here and governor perry will definitely be able to make it tonight? >> that's the plan. i want to shift gears to the debate and there seems to be some sparring between the romney camp and the perry camp a little bit with governor perry seeming to be very comfortable taking little digs at the governor's record, governor romney's record from massachusetts. should we expect that that's going to be the governor perry we see tonight? >> governor perry has only been a candidate now for a little bit over three weeks and this is a

way to continue to introduce him to the american people. his jobs record and his conservative philosophy and his vision for the country. he'll stay focused on that. as far as we're concerned, our opponent is barack obama, president obama and we're willing to defend aggressively the governor's record and to pull out contrast where it's appropriate, but our focus is the white house. >> you just heard them talk about and they're making the private sector argument and make the argument why private sector experience is of no help to creating jobs. >> romney certainly has private sector experience and governor perry was an air force pilot and a farmer and rancher for 13 years before he entered public service and statewide office, but the fact of the matter is when governor romney had a chance to translate that experience into a chief executive position in government, it did not result in that. it was one of the worst states in america for creating jobs. governor perry has created the

best economy in the nation, and the best job-producing economy in the nation. >> these haven't been the best jobs. there are a lot of hourly jobs and low-wage jobs and temporary jobs and not the type of jobs that is the beginning of the robust growth. >> we would disagree with that. they're well above minimum wage. we've seen companies like ebay, caterpillar, medtronic expand in the state. toyota moved their line from california to texas and expanded their operations. these are good, solid jobs in a very dynamic, aggressive, optimistic economy. >> i want to ask you about that carolina thing. darryl issa, chairman of the house government reform committee. he was very critical of the story of saying governor perry has not been creating jobs. he's simply been stealing jobs from other states. so he's not creating any new jobs. it's the same jobs that would have been created in other

places. he just lured them in with a break here or state there. the job climate, a million jobs during perry's tenure. these are jobs all over the place. the governor has been aggressive in going over economies and overtaxed and overregulated and they try to lure employers and lure jobs in our state. california's been one of the losers in that competition. >> let me ask you this, a couple of things that you've said, one, you were quoted as saying, governor perry hasn't done a lot of debates and that felt that you as a spokesperson trying to do your job to lower the bar and you feel like he hasn't done that. >> it's true. in the ten years he's been governor of texas there have been four high-profile debates and it's not been his strongest venue compared to speeches and retail politics, but look, he'll

have a solid performance and continue the introduction to the american people and continue to talk about jobs in the economy and that's what we hope for. >> let me talk about the book, and early on, and i know the campaigns have growing pains and maybe they weren't on the same page, on governor perry's book, you had said you had never heard the governor say that it was unconstitutional and governor perry later that day asked about your response seemed to say, no, no, no, no. read my book. my book is a blueprint. >> the book is not and this is my intention -- it was not meant to be a campaign book. your typical politician campaign book. this was a critical review of 100 years of government overreach. there are -- it is primarily a look back and not a pass forward. look, the governor stands by the

book and stands by his critique of the federal government. >> his views are consistent and you're saying what he believes in social security, he doesn't seem to think that in hindsight wasn't a good program to begin. he's been critical of those big government programs and the burden that they placed on today's america and wants to look at ways to protect social security for those at or near retirement, but then look at changes to those entitlements to try to make it then more financially stable and have not that huge burden on the american public and on the taxpayers going forward. >> want you to get you to respond on one other thing. it seems a lot of things from governor perry's past are popping up on tv ads. this one from ron paul. >> al gore found a cheerleader in texas named rick perry. rick perry helped lead al gore's campaign to undo the reagan revolution, funding to elect al

gore president of the united states. now america must decide who to trust. al gore's texas cheerleader, or the one who stood with reagan? >> there you go. ron paul saying he was with reagan. rick perry not with reagan. >> ron paul was not with reagan. in 1987 he repudiated reagan's vision and left the republican party citing ronald reagan. rick perry voted for president reagan. >> he did? he did. he was a democrat running for office and voted for ronald reagan. >> that's correct. >> when did he do this? >> in '80 and '84. west texas was in the '08s and there was not a republican primary until he ran for office in 1990. he was a conservative democrat

and the party left him and he switched parties in 1989 and has been a proud conservative before and is a proud conservative today. ray sullivan, we'll leave it there. i'll see you later today. >> what to watch for when they reach tonight. and now or never for michele bachmann, she'll be struggling for the limelight. first, today's trivia question, which president began his day by feeding the squirrels with acorns taken from his desk in the oval office. >> give me the answer@chuck todd or the daily rundown. i get my days. the answer and more coming from the ronald reagan library. we'll be right back. shazi: seven years ago, i had this idea.

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so we are counting down to what could be a defining moment in the republican race. the first debate for rick perry and possibly a last chance for some of the other candidates to break through. with me now politico editor, and the partner on this debate. we know the storylines and rick perry's first debate and mitt romney possibly not being left on the sidelines as he has been in previous debates. what else should we be watching for? us in the media we want to focus number one and number two, but it was chris dodd, number six in the polls who made the biggest splash in the debate in 2007. >> all eyes are on essentially two candidates. you will have michele bachmann's spokeswoman out in a bit to talk about their campaign, but i really feel it's a two-person race right now in the eyes of a lot of folks, but everyone on that stage wants to figure out

how i can get some attention, some attention from my views and some lift in some ways. i think the people who look at are someone like john huntsman who is continually trying to figure out a way to distingui campaign manager has been extremely critical on the record of the republican party saying things that would be deeply offensive to most of the people on that stage, and it would be interesting to see if huntsman makes those similar charges. you know how you have this buffet of crazies for the republican party. does he believe that? that will be a way for him to distinguish himself is to say that the republican party has to change and rick santorum who i think has had pretty solid debates and they've never translated into funding and polls for him is someone to watch because he does try to shake it up a little bit and occasionally take on his own party and he's usually very well prepared and more than willing to go at it with these candidates. >> how much does -- and this is something that i want you to sit here and wonder and you strategize as you're trying to

prep for some of these, but if michele bachmann is going after rick perry, does that increase the need for romney to go after perry or does he back off? >> the person i will watch closely tonight is romney, not perry, because it is perry's first performance, i want to see how he deals with not being the front-runner. does he continue to cling to the strategy of playing it safe and having a one word vocabulary which is jobs and he has the plan that he laid out the day before with the debate and does he try to draw contrast with rick perry. does he try to on show that he can be a brawler when needed and that he can be a fighter? >> a lot of donors will be watching tonight and that doesn't matter a little bit. does he have to prove to the donor elite that he's willing to go toe to toe. >> chuck, you know better than i do that there's a big block of wealthy republicans sitting out

there waiting for some signal from karl rove and that crowd saying where do we go in this campaign? there say lot of money staying on the sidelines. mitt romney would desperately like to get his hands on that. he would like to be the establishment candidate and for some reason a lot of those donors and a lot of those strategists, mitt romney gives them pause and they might not like rick perry's views, he can't just simply say i was trying to start a conversation. it was ten months ago. dude, you started a conversation and we're having it today and you can't just disavow things you wrote and put into text ten months ago. those things clearly reflect his thinking and i think that will be a rich, rich area for reporters and this debate. >> do i have to leave it here, but i want to know what is the most important debate for jim vaned hay. >> i fly out tomorrow morning to go to lambeau and to go to the holy land. >> there it is, the holy land. >> packers, a little bit above

everything. jim, go packers and rogers. see if he can do it again. turning to wall street where it looks like stocks will bounce back from tuesday's losses, cnbc' andrew ross sorkin joins with us a rundown. mr. sorkin, take it away. >> the that company three years ago for $33 a share and the company now trading at around $13 a share and bank of america reshuffling their deck and sally crawcheck, who is one of the highest-ranking women on

wall street. she is going to be departing the firm and people watching that. "the daily rundown" is back after 30 seconds. >> bottom of the hour now. let's do a quick look at what's driving date. eight republican candidates will share the stage for tonight's republican debate at the reagan library, hosted by nbc news and politico will be the first national debate and the debut for governor rick per whoa leapfrogged mitt romney in just

about every recent poll to become, arguably the gop front-runner. we're learning more about the president's big jobs proposal which he'll unveil tomorrow night. the plan is expected to include tax cut including the tax cut extension and infrastructure spending and direct aid to state and local government. the price tag is expected to be around $300 billion. the administration argues that's not a cost and they have a way to pay for it. the opening bell is ringing on wall street and futures have been trending up all morning and it looks like that will continue as trading begins, but europe seems to drive everything these days. back to the debate and back here to the reagan library. president obama is less focused on tonight's republican debate. instead, concentrating on tomorrow's job speech and we're getting more details about it today and the question is will the plan and its price tag get enough support to make a difference? we are joined by massachusetts governor duval patrick. governor patrick, thanks for joining me.

>> thank you. >> let me start with the fact that it's $300 billion and i've talked to a lot of democrats who say, kind of timid. what do you say? >> i'm not sure it will end up being $300 billion and the president has a jobs plan already. it just needs greater focus and greater funding and it's the focus on innovation and infrastructure and it's a strategy that has made a difference in massachusetts where we are growing jobs faster than most other states and have a very friendly business climate. as distinct from my predecessor who has the republican nomination right now. >> i want to go back to what president obama has to do in his jobs speech. how much does he have a responsibility to push proposals that maybe can't pass congress, but he believes are the right thing to do versus introducing proposals that at least he can get through congress and maybe he thinks will help at the margins.

what's the balance he should strike tomorrow night? >> well, chuck, i feel very strongly in what i sometimes describe as conviction politics. you have to lead by what you believe will make a difference and make a difference in regular people's lives and small businesses and a lot of those small businesses and the experience of people who are worried today about whether the american dream is still a part of our character and so i think that the emphasis on helping people get retrained, assuring that our schools are performing at the top of their capacity, that emphasizing and investing in research and invention and innovation, which is our edge in the world and rebuilding our broken infrastructure, everything from roads, rails to bridges to broadband expansion to a smart grid and to new energy resources is both a way to get people back to work right now and also to assure that we leave a better country than we found. i think the point is that the president has been through a variety of different measures

including the much maligned, but very effective stimulus bill has been investing in these areas all along. i think that what we have to be about and what the president and administration have to be about is investing in more robust ways in those very strategies. they are working strategies. >> you know, governor, i talked to some democrats who say part of the president's problems these days are perceived problems with the public. the majority believe he's facing a long-term setback and the perception that he's not sure what he's willing to fight for. do you think the president needs to -- is it up his rhetoric? up his energy and get out of washington? what kind of advice are you giving him behind the scenes. i know you're fairly close with the president or what advice would you give him if he asked you for it tonight. >> so, chuck, i hear the same kinds of concerns. you've got to believe that all around the commonwealth and all around the country, and i know this president. i know his heart, and i

understand his policies. i do believe that he needs to be out of washington and so folks can see how empathetic he is and how much he believes that government must play a role in helping people help themselves and not solving all of the problems and not fixing everything and not being the source of all job creation and helping people help themselves and that is a difference that vastly contrasts with his republican challengers who are of the view that everybody is on their own and good luck. >> all right, democratic governor deval patrick of massachusetts. >> thank you, chuck. thanks for having me. all right. ever since wing the iowa straw poll michele bachmann has had trouble gaining traction. that wasn't the way it was supposed to work and now ed rollins has stepped down from rung the day to day operations in the campaign. is tonight's debate a now or never chance for congresswoman

bachma bachmann. i haven't heard your response to what ed rollins said in a radio interview on cnn the other night. let me play it for you and ask you about it on the other side. >> legitimately, it's a romney-kerry race in the polls. i think she's the third candidate at this point in time which is way better than we thought when we started this thing and she's very much in this thing. >> i guess the glass is half full and glass is half empty way of looking at what ed rollins was saying. is that how you would put it? >> the last part of that he said she's very much in this thing. ed has been in the business for many years. this beautiful building has his fingerprints all over it and he started this campaign with one mission to build a team that would help michele compete well in the straw poll. he built a tremendous team and

we have a tremendous candidate and we far exceeded our expectations in the straw poll and certainly with that he is still very much onboard. you say he has stepped down and he is still a very involved senior -- >> in day to day conference calls? >> we talk to him daily, every day, simply his help wouldn't allow the day to day. he's very involved in the campaign. what he was referring to in that interview is clearly, when you look at the polls, rick perry getting into this race and he is doing well in the polls, but it's not about who is doing well in the polls right now. it's who will do well in the caucuses and primaries. there is one race that matters and michele has won that. no one else can say that. in terms of this campaign, we are undefeated. >> particularly if you look at the nbc and "wall street journal" poll, the electorate identify themselves as supporters and that's been strength with congresswoman

bachmann. she has more support among non-tea partiers because her numbers dropped and almost exclusively went to perry. is that your campaign's rod it? >> ed looks at the polls and knows the numbers better than anyone. part of michele's strength is she brings all kind of people under her tent and she mentioned in the first debate. she has a three-legged approach. she wants fiscal conservatives and social conservatives, she wants independents. she wants tea parties and strong conservatives. even disenfranchised democrats are coming onboard because she represents the views and values that will help us get out of this financial situation. she doesn't just pull from the tea party base. she doesn't just pull from the conservative base. she's bringing in all kinds of people that have stood behind her which led her to victory in iowa with the straw poll. >> these are popping up all over the place and in support of the

congresswoman's campaign, already put out an ad attacking governor perry attacking his conservative credentials. >> and there will be more to come as you just showed the ron paul ad. his conservative credentials, everyone's credentials are fair game, and what we inend to do from here on out is point out the truth of everyone's record. >> is that her -- do you think it's not just about her record, but you and the campaign need to be pointing out other people's records? >> first of all, that was not the campaign. we had absolutely nothing to do with that. that is not a part of our campaign, first and foremost, so that is not anything that we had any, you know, prior knowledge of. so in terms of -- >> that i understand, but in general pointing out the conservative credentials that that should be part of the campaign. >> what michele plans to do in this debate. she's content to go on air and tell her conservative credentials and where she stands on the issue and first and

foremost that she will bring that voice to washington and that's our goal in this campaign and those to come and we've had in the past, if someone wants to point out lies and distortions about her record. she'll point out the truth about theirs. >> spokesperson for michele bachmann's campaign. >> thank you. we woke up the powerhouse political panel bright and early on west coast time and they're joining me here at the reagan library. up next, more on the 2012 campaign and tonight's debate, but first n place of the white house soup of the day, we have the treat of the day and what better way than ronald reagan's jelly beans. these are actually jelly bellies. i think they became more famous after he left office. the jelly belly part and not the regular jelly beans. don't eat a handful at the same ti time. i hate that mix. eat them one flavor at a time. you're watching "the daily rundown" only on msnbc.

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the daily flashback to this day in 1977 when the famously tight-lipped g. gordon liddy was released from federal prison for spending four years behind bars for the watergate burglary. he refused to answer nearly all of the reporters' questions. >> here's an easy one for you, mr. liddy. how do you feel? >> liddy then shut the car trunk with a karate chop. his statement in german means that they did not kill me makes me stronger. >> that's right. liddy who drove off with his wife in their pinto also told reporters he was heading, quote,

eefrt of the sun and west of the moon. you can now find him selling gold. rick perry may have rocketed to the lead in the national poll, but the race is far from over. take it from someone who knows. >> and i would tell both rick perry and governor romney not to worry so much about what those national polls are. national polls don't mean anything. winning iowa means something. winning new hampshire means something. winning south carolina means something. >> and winning florida would be something, too. bureau chief of "the new york times." adam, it's good to see you, my friend. maggie hayward is the senior political reporter for politico and my colleague here michael steel, former chairman of the republican party. you're a new yorker sometimes. >> always. >> let's talk about rudy giuliani's advice there. i find it fascinating winning iowa means something. that doesn't sound like a guy

who is running for president. >> i don't think giuliani is running for president. >> right. >> and if he is, let's stop him right now. >> let's talk about watching this romney period. if you're watching it from out here it feels as if this presidential primary is in another gear and we'll see that tonight. it seems like things are finally beginning to focus. it feels like we know what the field is going to be. there's speculation with other people that jump in. my guess is that sarah palin is not going to jump in, but the race is coming into focus and you have the two-person race with one other person trying to get in and you definitely have the second tier of candidates here and i just feel for now, it's the psychological boost that comes after labor day, so i feel we're definitely into a new phase of this race. >> maggie, we heard from governor romney who was asked about the whole perry thing and he said last night to larry

kudlow, that i will be and other candidates will be as well. it seems like he's relying on the fact that maybe per se one of the monthly flashes in the pan. >> i think his team feels he will flame out and say something silly and another ben bernanke moment and it's not a safe strategy. rick perry has shown in several polls that he is ahead and he has shown in early states that he is ahead. if perry does well tonight at this debate that will go a very long way to easing donors' concerns and republican members' concerns about him. if you see people drift from mitt romney to rick perry, that's a problem. >> that transition is good for you, chairman steel. watching tonight, they may have one eyebrow raised about rick perry and the joe scarborough school of thought. can this guy carry swing states, but it was not as if they were enamored. >> first, i say run, rudy, run.

let's get that out of the way and let's have some fun. >> motivation, all right. >> certainly, i think you're right. when you look at "the wall street journal" and the establishment types coming out of washington and what they've been saying. they've been all over the map with haley barbour and the like, being for mitt and against mitt and now with perry possibly, i think leave all that aside because i think rudy's got it right. you'll have to do the state by state, voter by voter to really pull yourself up to your point and really get the momentum that you need going into those primaries beginning february. so tonight will be a big night for perry, obviously, and it's a bigger night because he has to show, that the reality is going to come back to me. >> where is michele bachmann?

is she in the first tier or is she in the second tier? she's the one that won something so far. won something that other people said was meaningful. >> she's the classic example of a candidate that everyone welcomes into the race and gets excited about and when she comes she kind of flames. i'm not sure she's ready to run for president. it's very hard to run for president as rudy giuliani knows. i think the same thing about perry, but my sense of her is that she's sort of fading. >> speaking of fading, before the other side of the break we'll talk about an ex-candidate who suddenly wait until you see what tim pawlenty had to say. we ask which president began his day by feeding the squirrels with acorns taken from his desk in the oval office. this was an easy one, the answer, ronald reagan. we'll be right back. you're watching "the daily rundown" live from the reagan presidential library in simi valley, california. i couldn't conceive this as a heart attack.

the doctor leaned over and said to me, "you just beat the widow-maker." i was put on an aspirin, and it's part of my regimen now. [ male announcer ] be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. go see your doctor now.

i was out of money, and came in third place behind michele

bachmann and ron paul. i think that's enough for any one person to endure. >> right. did you think about learning to juggle? >> i thought about -- i thought about shooting sparks up my butt. >> i would vote for that! >> i think he even left stephen colbert speechless. maggie, this is a reminder, okay, back to tim pawlenty. a lot of us reporters, for four, five, over the last six years, who was just a delightful person behind the scenes. his personality, it never came out during the campaign. >> no. he seemed so constrained. so constricted. he was packaged. he was molded into something that he never quite fit for. that's exactly who we thought we were getting. this is who i remembered from -- >> somebody said he was sort of like the cool, dorky dad. >> that's right. >> a little dorky but a little cool. >> caught on camera with the

insult dog or whatever his name is. this is not who showed up. and i think it's proof that when you run for president if you're not totally comfortable in your own skin it does show to voters. people see that you're not doing what you should be doing. >> that brings us to tonight. rick perry, mitt romney. mitt romney's been a guy that's been described as somebody that you're not sure if he's comfortable in his own skin. rick perry seems like, hey, i am who i am. >> one thing about mitt romney, i think mitt romney in private settings, sort of interesting, charming, engaging, in public not so much. i think perry feels like more comfortable in his skin. i think these guys spend too much time. i blame the candidates, because ultimately it's about the candidates, they spend too much time thinking about how they're coming in cost. and it's partly our fault. if he had said that thing, i wouldn't even see it. >> exactly. >> makes me blush. >> but can you imagine what they would have done -- >> but very quickly, it's a point that we all say we want authenticity and the minute a candidate is authentic, we all

kill him. >> i know a little bit about that. >> oh, no. >> that's part of it. >> so washington folks can't handle these guys who really aren't comfortable with themselves like a rick perry and you're right. you're going to see when he starts really being himself up there, they're going to come after him. and he just needs to stay strong. >> all right. i got to go to shameless plugs. adam, your first shameless plug. >> i'm going to plug california. i'm a new yorker. i love new york. i'm going to plug california. look outside, i don't know what kind of shot you have. it's a beautiful shot. it's a beautiful state, beautiful hills. 20 minutes away is one of the best beaches in the world, malibu. >> arnold schwarzenegger can't do those tourist bits anymore. >> my shameless plug is the blog all night tonight, throughout the debate. >> the whole thing. >> just read us. >> and michael you're live blogging in person. what else you got? >> all things msnbc all day. >> there you go. >> tune in folks, it's going to

be a good one. >> this is a big day at msnbc. that's it for this edition of "the daily rundown." don't miss, of course, the nbc politico debate tonight at 8:00 eastern. right here from the reagan library. moderated, of course, by brian williams and john harris. next on kaine and dan rather about how america has changed since 9/11. and then jon huntsman just hours before he takes the debate stage. i'm meteorologist bill karins with your business travel forecast. the eastern sea board is where you're going to see the most problems at the airport. not going to have too many thunderstorms but just a low ceiling. low clouds. and also the drizzle and rain will cause problems from boston to new york to d.c. also detroit will have some

showers during the day today. anyone traveling out west, no problems at all. [ male announcer ] this is coach parker... 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. ♪