good morning everyone. i'm alex witt. here's what's happening right now. oklahoma all shook up. an earthquake rattles nerves in the great plains. that wasn't all. we'll look at some of the damage done there. the mood of america, a new article looks at the political landscape exactly one year from the 2012 presidential election. how do you feel? a new book from president clinton. some including advice for president obama. that fire your bank protest the day after. how many people actually moved all their money. welcome everyone to "weekends with alex witt." it's 10:00 a.m. eastern standard time. in case you didn't turn your clocks back this morning, that's the time. emergency crews are addressing

the damage after what could be the strongest earthquake in that state's history. it was a magnitude of 5.. buckling roads and significantly damaging homes. we have more on the epicenter of the quake outside of oklahoma city. good morning, alex. >> good morning, alex. interesting time for the folks here in oklahoma. if you recall, yesterday morning there was a 4.8 magnitude quake and then this one striking late in the evening. a little bit before 11 o'clock central time east of oklahoma city in lincoln county there. so about 45 miles to the east of oklahoma city. it is now the largest, strongest, i should say, strongest earthquake now on record for the state of oklahoma. besting out the one that was 5.5 in 1952. this is not something that they see very often here. there haven't been many earthquakes there. but we haven't seen any reports of injuries reported. there have been damage issues in some spots, including some

residents reporting broken glass as well as things off the walls. we'll keep a track on this. there's been about ten or so aftershocks since this previous earthquake of 5.6. they've been ranging from 3 to 4 in magnitude. no injuries or damage reported from those. some of the officials were the usgs are saying we could be looking at more in the way of aftershocks in the next couple of days. something to watch out for in the state of oklahoma. i was going to check on the weather forecast through the rest of today. eastern third of the country. we're talking good bit of sunshine for us. from new york city all the way down into florida. perfect weather conditions in these areas. middle of the country staying fairly quiet. the exception the southern plains and into texas. there will be a few isolated storms, including in dallas. the most active weather will be in the west. we've got it all here for us. rain all the way into southern california, including l.a. and san diego. then even some snow? the higher terrain. alex? apparently, you didn't get the memo. there's a song it never rains in

southern california. there you have it. breaking news to share from iraq this morning. a triple explosion. police say three roadside bombs placed in separate areas of a baghdad market went off, killing at least six people and injuring 21 others. that attack comes just as iraqi shiites mark the beginning of a muslim festival. violence has dropped dramat dramatically but deadly attacks happen every day. from there to politics now. herman cain is vowing not to answer any more questions about allegations of sexual harassment against him. while meeting are reporters in texas last night, cain was asked about the accusations and here was his response. >> don't even go there. >> can i ask my question? >> no. because -- >> may i ask another question? >> where is my chief of staff? >> right here. >> please send the journalistic

code of ethics. who else -- you want to ask another good question? >> crane made the comments after a civil and polite debate with newt gingrich. it was hosted by the texas patriots pact. they talked about healthcare, entitlement programs. >> i'm about fixing the problem. one of the biggest problems we have is that the payroll tax is the biggest tax that a lot of workers pay. >> i'm going to for this evening's purpose sidestep the great temptation to discuss 9 9-9 9-9-9. >> republican presidential candidate jon huntsman weighed in on the herman cain controversy on "meet the press." here's his take on the allegations. >> the person i've come to know is a decent, decent man and a good candidate. now it's been said over and over again, it's up to herman cain to

get the information out in total. that's important. we have real issues to discuss in this campaign. this is taking all the bandwidth out of the discussion. we're not able to talk about jobs, not able to talk about our position in the porld. that hurts the american people. ron paul is the winner of a republican straw poll in illinois yesterday. the texas congressman won 52% of the overall vote, including on-line and in person voting. mitt romney and herman cain followed with 35% each of the in-person votes. ron paul spent saturday campaigning in minnesota. a crowd of about 3,000 supporters greeted him in st. cloud. he turned his attention to a war on personal liberty and said, it's time to stop trying to legislate morality. >> the war on drugs for the past 40 years has consumed over a trillion dollars, it has accomplished nothing as far as containing the unwise use of drugs and what it has done is undermined our liberties.

i believe it's time not only to stop the wars overseas, but stop the wars on drugs here at home. >> rick santorum is the only gop presidential candidate today with scheduled events. he'll attend an event hosted by the florida tea party in daytona beach. let's go back to the one-on-one debate between herman cain and newt gingrich. nbc's mike vi ker as at the white house. >> the organizers and the candidates agree there will be no talk of scandal. they'll talk about the issues. lincoln douglas style debate as newt gingrich likes to call it. you heard herman cain. he took out after the media. gingrich asked him what have you learned in the last week? herman cain said the reporters are nitpicky and can be dishone dishonest. you heard him mention the journalistic code of ethics. he's referring to that the

candidates can only ask questions that the candidates want to be asked. alex, here's a question for you? what happens a year from today. i'll give you a hint. it's a tuesday. it's the election. >>let see. duh. >> exactly one year away from the presidential election. two months until the votes are cast in the iowa caucuses. herman cain is lashing out against the media as he tries to fight back this controversy swirling around him. it was a one-on-one faceoff of competing conservatives. >> we have to come up with solutions. >> newt gingrich rising in the polls. >> you cannot micro manage healthcare costs out of washington, d.c. >> and herman cain, already a front-runner, struggling amid charges of sexual harassment. instead of punches and the debate sponsor agreed on the rules. >> that the two of us, we can change the rules as we go. >> sober talk on entitlements. >> nobody should get something

for nothing. >> social security, medicare and mode kad. no talk of scandal allowed. it was after the debate when cain met the press where it got messy. >> we are getting back on message. end of story. >> where is my chief of staff? >> right here. >> please send him the journalistic code of ethics. >> despite a week of controversy, donations have increased four-fold. conservative rival michele bachmann now trailing badly in the polls launched an attack against cain. >> everyone loved hip. who doesn't? he has a great personality. this is the leader of the free world that we're talking about. >> earlier this weekend in des moines, five gop hopefuls minus cain and mitt romney presented a unified front at adiner honoring ronald reagan. >> you might say that newt we're involved in a project called occupation occupy the white house. >> is that better?

with the republican field unsettled, an iowa's first in the nation caucus less than two months away, experts say the race could go down to the wire. >> until iowa republican focus on a true decision. not who they like now. not who excites them now. he may have a distorted view of what iowa republicans wants. >> reporter: oh, alex. sorry about that. during this controversy, polls have shown that herman cain support has held steady. he's raised $2 million. four-fold his normal take. normal monthly take as a matter of fact. one poll out early today, reuters, has support slipping a little bit now. we'll see if this -- he's down 9% in support among republicans. >> you can also follow the money trail for clues. we will see. thank you very much, mike viqueira. we invite you to stick around later this morning. we'll hear from ted strickland

about where he thinks the 2012 election stands one year away. a shooting on a college campus this weekend at elizabeth state university in north carolina opened fire early saturday morning. the campus was locked down. when the gunman refused to drop the weapons, police fired at him. he was wounded and later captured. turns out, he was a former student. he's charged with assault, weapons possession and other charges. an explosive sex abuse scandal rocks penn state. former coach, jerry sandusky is out on bail this morning in state college, pennsylvania. he was arrested yesterday charged with 40 counts of sexual abuse involving eight victims, most of them teenage boys. he was escorted away in handcuffs to a preliminary arraignment. this is his first time facing criminal counts. >> he's shaky as you can expecting 67 years old and never

having faced criminal charges in his life. >> sandusky met most of the victims through an organization he helped to found. help at risk kids. two other administrators face perjury and other charges. more arrests at the occupy wall street across the country. 20 people were taken into custody in atlanta late last night where dozens of police, some on horseback, swarmed the park where protesters have been gathering since october. the mayor issued an executive order allowing them to camp there. he later revoked the order citing security concerns. there were more arrests in new york city. in zuccotti park to foley skbar in downtown. some of the demonstrators clashed with police leading to the several arrests. the occupy wall street movement inspired another kind of grassroots action across the country this weekend. hundreds of angry customers said so long to big banks choosing instead to stash their cash in smaller credit unions.

stephanie goss being is here with that story. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, alex. on the bank transfer day facebook page, they say they weren't inspired by occupy wall street but clearly they're tapping into the same anger we've seen in new york and across the country, all the way to california. what we saw yesterday is that it's beginning to have an impact. street protests around the country, florida, new york, texas, big banks got a beating. >> bank of america. >> bank customers tired of fees like bank of america's recent proposed and then withdrawn debit card fee are jumping ship. bank transfer day was started by the owner of an art gallery in l.a. herself fed up with corporate banking. >> loans, credit cards, any business you have with a major bank, to shift that to a not for profit credit union. >> unlike banks, credit unions

do not make a profit. interest rates on savings are higher. there is more face time. since bank of america tried to impose a monthly debit card fee, 650,000 americans have switched their checking accounts to credit unions. that's more than all of last year. in a credit union in new york city today, this was a steady stream of new customers like kim gallagher. >> i watched one bank rep hug two different people today. >> thank you, may i an. >> gallagher owns a pet grooming business up the street. she's pooling all of her business out of chase and putting it here. >> the guys that work here, the people that work here are my neighbors. they know my business from walking by it. >> so credit unions may sound great, but there is a catch. big banks have branches and atms all over. if credit unions users use them, they face additional charges. they have fewer product and business transactions can take

more time. for the moment, the increase in customers is not large enough to drastically affect profits at huge banks like chase or bank of america. experts say that this is a real example of the rising anger at big business turning into measurable action. >> i think thousand in this weak economy consumers are saying enough already. the final straw was the monthly debit card charge. >> even with the proposed charge gone for those take part in bank transfer day, the damage has been done. bank of america misjudged the reaction from customers and the country as a whole when they propose that $5 a month charge. it was $60 a year. it was the principle of it. they're still angry. more people will be switching over to credit unions in the months ahead. i tell you, i have one account at b of a. it was for my son. we thought about changing. >> there's a word of caution. the word of caution is that the

price you pay for the extra attention and better interest rates is convenience. it is very difficult to use these credit unions if you're traveling all over the country or the world. it ends up getting pricey. >> you make a good point stephanie, as always. later this morning, we'll hear from the part-time nanny who led the fight against the bank fees. our interview with molly catch pole is coming up at the bottom of the hour. public sentiment soured and what it means for both parties. where the wild things aren't. exotic pets getting a second chance. the rebirth of properties. how the new malls of america are looking different these days. you're watching "weekends with alex witt." ♪

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it's time for a look at the standouts and successes in today's stupendous list of number ones. want to make the most money at work? it's simple. be the boss. in fact, folks in management led a main street.com list of the highest paid workers in the u.s. bosses are earn a mean wanl of more than $105,000. legal professionals are second earning about $97,000. computer and math professionals rank third with a $77,000 salary. despite last night's 21-17 victory over wake forest, notre dame's university's football fortunes are not what they once were, but they're number one in student athletes who graduate. of the players who enrolled from 2001-2004, 91% of them received diplomas. the owners of the new york giants get top honors of the

best owners. forbes cites a 33% increase in the team's value over the past five years as the main reason. >> go to jail. possibly both. >> yes. >> join me. >> weekend box office, tower heist was expected to stand above the rest. but it looks like it's coming up a wee bit short. it's expected to earn about 25 million bucks this weekend. that's not quite good enough to beat puss in boots. the animated film clawed back to the top and will be this weekend's top draw with earnings of about $33 million. only 10% less by the way than last opening weekend. finally, topping the list of the top workout song in the country. it's party rock anthem with 129 beats a minute to keep you moving and grooving. those are your number ones on "weekends with alex witt." let's all workout here but don't dare turn the camera on me. ♪ round, round, get around, i get around ♪

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welcome back. bill clinton is calling out president obama and democrats for mishandling the political message on the economy. his new book, back to work, goes on sale in two days. he says democrats suffered big losses in 2010 because "they did not counter the national republican message with one of their own." there was no national advertising campaign to explain and defend what they had done and to compare their agenda with the -- for the next two years with the gop proposals. i'm joined by n ann corn blut white house reporter for the washington post. you are writing in the post that this book has met with eye rolling among the president's senior advisers. why is that? >> well, look, obviously, the clintons and president obama have had a complicated relationship over time. president clinton popped up periodically to offer helpful advice on how he handled the

economy back in the '90s. but it's something of an unwelcome comparison. obviously, things were much better in the '90s and president obama inherited a very different situation than president clinton did. although people in the white house will never say it out loud, their feeling is sometimes this criticism, although it's only a small percentage of the book, draws unnecessary attention to some of president obama's flaws and they're not always exactly on the same page. it's not entirely welcome advice. >> i'm going to get to their relation in a second. but the timing of all this. you write that clinton praises wall street execs in the book. he says, "many of them supported me when i raised their taxes in 1993 because i didn't attack them for their success." you're right, it's an indirect criticism of president obama who has taken wall streeters to task. is that a fair criticism, though, when the environment is so completely different now than in 1993? is anyone at the white house responding to that?

>> nobody is responding in official terms. i think it's worth noting that president clinton has to look after his own legacy and part of that legacy is that some deregulation took place on his watch and he's been criticized for that. he's dee fepding his legacy when it comes to wall street in a way that works well for him. obviously, president obama has taken a different approach to wall street. he's had to. the financial crisis happened right before he took office. didn't occur under president clinton's administration. so, i think they're in very different places on that. both sides will try to down play the differences. it's not something the white house is cheering about hearing. what the nature of the relationship between bill clinton and president obama? is 2008 well behind them? >> 2008, i think, is fairly well behind the principals involved. secretary clinton is secretary clinton. there's some weary necessary i would say. but between president obama and president clinton, it appears it's been polite. they've gotten to know each

other better offer the years. they've had cordial meetings even on the economy. they've played golf together. there is a feeling, i think, from some people in the obama camp that president clinton is doing a little armchair quarterbacking sitting at home reading reports on the economy and he can't have a third time offering up advice in ways that they're helpful, he is a master on the economy. they don't necessarily want to hear it. from the clinton perspective, he was a genius with the economy when he was president. he's one of the only voices in the democratic party who has the same kind of credibility that president obama does. from their perspective, it's important for him to do this. to the extent that he disagrees with president obama, it only lends the -- his praise that much more credibility. >> so, we are exactly one year out from election day. what role do you expect president clinton to play in this, in the election? >> i think we'll see him. we saw him in the mid terms. he campaigned with vice president biden on his own a little bit.

obviously, his wife's career is well this hand. she's not going to have her own political campaign this season. i think, to the extent that he wants to be out there, to the extent he'll be helpful to individual democrats in raising money, we'll certainly see him and although it might be a reminder to some people that things were better under the clinton years, that probably helps the president, after all they're both democrats. >> anne kornblut sit tight. we'll see you about 11:40. bracing for an ugly 2012. a new look at the public's mood and how polarized voters are now. filling the void at malls across the country. how commercial landlords are finding success in the struggling economy. helps defends against occasional constipation, diarrhea, gas and bloating. with three strains of good bacteria to help balance your colon. you had me at "probiotic." [ female announcer ] phillips' colon health.

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we have breaking news that could make or break the world economy. new information about the fate of greek's government and its leader days after surviving a no confidence vote. the prime minister is under mounting pressure to get a temporary government in place to

keep his country out of bankruptcy. when the dust settles, he may not be running it. nbc's michelle coe sin ski has the latest. good morning. >> reporter: hi, alec. the protagonists of this greek drama with a new twist every day is about to fall on his sword. a top level of prime minister papandreou owe is saying that he will resign when a temporary coalition government is formed, possibly as early as this evening. when he infuriated the market by saying he would put the bailout to a popular vote which could have had disastrous votes. he backed down from that plan finally and said let's form a unity government even if that means i'm no longer prime minister. he offered do this. the problem was his opposition was saying no, let's instead hold snap elections and that,

too, was causing worry that that delay the european bailout of this very troubled country. apparently today, after two days of high-level talks, there is some consensus. a temporary coalition government will be formed from what people are now quoted as saying. that they will hold elections sometime in the near future and that this temporary government will have the power to approve the bailout before greece can default on its enormous debt, run out of money and possibly leave the euro zone. that's what has had world markets riled. especially since european leaders were saying we don't want to give more money until there is consensus and commitment within the government to move this country forward on a more stable path. the hope now of course is that this move by the government possibly by the end of tonight will do just that. alex? >> all right. michelle, thank you for the report. we appreciate that. taking a look at the week on wall street, besides the crisis

in greece, analysts will be looking for corporate earnings reports from big names like general motors. the company has seen auto sales steadily rise. on monday, get ready for another look at the nook. barnes and noble is expected to unveil a tablet-style of the notebook reader. it's taking on the kindle and the ipad. if you have a thing for lucky numbers, this friday could be your kind of day. it's going to be 11/11/11. wedding chapels in las vegas are anticipating a record number of nuptials. innovation at the mall. many department stores and strip malls hit hard by the struggling economy are the retail equivalent of ghost towns. the downturn is inspiring some property owners to fill the space in other ways. nbc's charles had lock has the story. >> reporter: in an abandoned grocery store in a dallas suburb where the produce section and the bakery stand empty, timmy crawford saw an opportunity. >> there's a mall across the

street next to a huge church. >> the perfect location, he thought, to turn a space that was empty for three years, into something else entirely. wall to wall trampolines that draw kids and their parents to rent time by the hour. >> the kids come and bounce off the walls. >> this place represents a retail conversion happening across the country. as landlords try to bounce back in a bad economy. >> a struggling mall in roanoke, virginia, houses a science museum and on the second floor, a technical college is leasing space. a medical clinic moved into an old circuit city. what was once a shopping mall in nashville is now a medical center. retail conversions are nothing new. the spam museum in minnesota opened in 1991. inside an old k-mart. but the conversion trend is accelerating. nonretail tenants currently occupy 2 to 5% of the nation's retail space. that's projected to rise 10 to

15% next year and to nearly 20% by 2013. >> the sea life aquarium opened the second mall location. 5,000 creatures, a quarter million gallons of water and thousands of customers. >> the department store next door must love you. >> so far, everybody does in the mall. as long as we're all busy, we're all happy. >> landlords of shopping centers are embracing alternative tenants. they may not sell merchandise, but at least they get people in the door. >> the shopping centers bringing in nontraditional businesses are survivors and competitors who are 100% retail will be the ones going out of business. in a shark eat shark retail world, a few landlords may have found an island of success. charles hadlock, nbc news, grapevine, texas. a new article in the washington post gauges the mood of america with one year until the 2012 presidential election.

the new poll shows 8 in 10 americans are dissatisfied with the way that federal government is working. that includes nearly one-third who say they are down right angry about it and that is a record. so what does this mean for next year's election? joining me now are two folks who helped run presidential campaigns. from detroit, democratic strategist jill al per, former consultant for the kerry and gore campaigns and the pawlenty campaign. he advised mitt romney in the '08 cycle but is unfill yated right now. welcome to both of you. we had a couple of issues. can you hear me okay? i'll try asking this. jill, can you hear me there in detroit? all right. you know what, i'm going to begin with phil asking this question. you're right here. >> make no mistake. the mood of america is not good. for democrats or republicans. 74% of people in that poll mentioned they say the country is also on the wrong track.

it is the highest it's been since 1980. no party is blameless in taking the fault in the blame for all of this. what is your advice, if you were to give democratic advice since they're in power right now with the president, what do you do? >> put bill clinton and michelle obama out on the campaign trail. i mean, this is really bad news for president obama for a variety of reasons. the record levels of pessimism, nearly seth eight in ten voters not satisfied with the direction of the country. 44% approval as opposed to 53% disapproval for the president. those are troubling historic numbers in the context of reelection campaigns over the last four cycles in this country. the president has got to go out and reassert strength of leadership, he's got to go out and prove that he can actually work republicans. most importantly, he's got do something that he gets credit for that frankly, shows that the

economy is tra jek toring in the right direction. signs of hope. people will frame this decision on that. >> on that message of hope, how do the republicans take advantage of this without just being perceived as the party of no. >> two ways. you have to have a positive forward looking agenda that lays out how you'll grow jobs in this country, how you'll reduce spending, substantially incite the corporate and the private and the small businesses sector to invest in the american economy and there are a lot of good ideas coming through the republican process. the nominating process for the presidency. but it's going to be a very critical period of time. the president has got to move quickly because the danger is that by early next spring, if voter attitudes, especially with independents in swing states are baked in and locked in terms of what they believe about the president and the president's leadership, that's going to be a really big challenge for the democratic machine, all the money that goes into making the case on television and the

context of a national campaign to turn the corner. the president has a finite period of time as republicans sort out the primary on their side. >> jill, i understand that you're hooked up and that's great. i'd like for you as we talk about swing states to assess the national mood here. the 2012 election ultimately will come down to a state by state race. what are the states you see as being key for the democrats and that president obama must hold on to? >> well, i can tell you, alex, thank you for having me on the show, there are a number of states, not all of them the same. i sit here in michigan. where i'm from, people are darn angry. we have a debate coming up. well, mitt rom mi is going to have explaining to do. he seems to be the presumptive front-runner on the republican size. when our auto workers needed a hand up, not a handout, we asked for help here. he had four words for us. he said, let them go bankrupt. so what i can tell you in all of these state, we may be nearing a contest where mitt romney is the nominee and he's going to have to explain why he's advocating

for policies that will benefit the 1% over the 99% who are hard working people, like people here in michigan who need strong leadership in washington. >> jill, before i get back to phil, he was kind enough to wear a democratic hat momentarily while we had issues with you among the nuggets he gave for advice was to put both bill clinton and michelle obama on the campaign trail. do you agree with that? do you think that's the kind of thing that the positive vibe around those two high-profile democrats could really go a long way? >> look, i think we need all the good messaging that we can have. it's going to come down to a choice between barack obama and someone else. president obama has demonstrated time and time again that twh it comes time to helping american families, whether it be with education, whether it be with job creation and the republicans said no, mitch o'connell, all sort of people out there

throwing up obstructions to keep our country from moving forward, these political tactics we can discuss. people are hurting. we have strong leadership. republicans in washington need to get to it. that's going to unfold in this election season. >> phil, as we look at the swing state issue. michigan and pennsylvania. they've voted democratic for five straight presidential elections. which states do the republicans have a chance of taking back from president obama this day next year? >> they have a chance to win both those states. you look at 201 in the state jill is checking in from. we elected snyder, first republican in years. republican governor of pennsylvania. the long and the short of it is, the 2010 campaign proved that they can win in swing states. brian sandoval, the governor of nevada. the long and the short of it is, there are a lot of states in play and frankly, there's no chance that nine or ten states that president obama defeated john mccain in which were swing, like indiana, virginia,

colorado, there's no chance that they're going to run the table on all those states. as it relates to the electoral map, republicans feel good about states like indiana, like virginia where you have the republican governor at 70 some odd percent approval. we feel we have a good map heading into the year. as we select our nominee, the head to head matchups show a jump ball between the republican and the democrat, between president obama and mitt romney, rick perry or herman cain. that's really good news, i think, for us. as people consolidate and focus and as we nominate a candidate for president, the enthusiasm will come behind that candidacy and i think the numbers will even play themselves out in more impressive form as it relates to our candidate. so we need to be proactive about the economy, make this -- asking the old question. are you better off four years ago or not? i think we'll be in a good position in the fall. jill, as we talk about the mood of america, i want to tap into your political expertise for the landscape out there.

any anecdotal examples of what america is feeling? >> well, i just described, i think that weave hard working people here in michigan who needed help and mitt romney said let them go bankrupt. so people definitely are feeling it. things are slightly on the up tick. we know we need to do more to revive this economy. the bush economy was hemorrhaging 700,000 jobs a month. we've had 19 consecutive months of job growth under president obama and so time and time again, when it comes to helping folks, i'll take one swing state, nevada, largest foreclosure problem in the nation. mitt romney there recently. what did he say? let it bottom out. so we can talk about where the republicans governors, we can talk about where things are today. but time and time again as the election unfolds, it will be a choice. it will be a choice about who is going to help everyday hard working people who may be a little bit grumpy today, understandably so, or who is

going to represent the 1%, the wealthiest 1%. mitt romney, he wants to roll back the wall street reforms that we just past and consumer protections. i think there's going to be a stark choice for people. >> i'm guessing mitt -- >> i think -- >> guessing that mitt romney is the only gop running in michigan. you haven't mentioned anybody ems. he's one you're so focused on there. >> i think jill is on the national democratic talking points on governor romney on that one. the points she makes are important quickly are that a year is a long time in politic. a lot of things can change. what we don't know is what the contours of this election look like once the republicans select a nominee. we understand where the public is related to the president right now. it's a deeply troubling position and merps are angry. >> jill, thank you so much. glad we got hooked up with you at the end. >> thanks alex. what is your mood. talk to me on twitter.

@alex witt. i'll read tweets this morning. first the bank fee fighter. the recent college graduate who helped get one of the nation's biggest banks to back down from the $5 debit fee. announcer ] ananjanust how many applias are on our wish lists? 'cause this season, the timing couldn't be better. right now, we can get those black friday prices without fighting through all those black friday crowds, which means we can do more this year without waiting around for the season to start. ♪ more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. why wait for black friday? this refrigerator is already just 1,298 bucks. the new spark card from capital one. spark miles gives me the most rewards of any small business credit card. the spark card earns double miles... so we really had to up our game.

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she's a part-time nanny with enough fire in her belly to ignite a banking revolt. when bank of america was going to introduce a a debit fee, she got mad and drafted a petition, posted it on-line and it spread like wildfire with over 300,000 people signing it and guess what? the big bank backed off. molly joins me by skype to talk about her conquest. molly, good morning. >> good morning. >> how does it feel to be a folk hero? >> oh, gosh.

it's really exciting. but also, i can't obviously take credit for all of it. people closing accounts and people protesting and then the petition certainly added to? >> let's face it. you started it up. you weren't apathetic. you weren't just complaining. did you something about it. was it just borne from your own frustration or a case of talking to other people and you were all fed up and just as angry and that got you going? >> i think it's pretty obvious that people are really upset and frustrated right now with banks especially. you know, this was kind of the last straw. so i just wrote it and i figured that thousands of people would immediately begin spreading it around and they did. >> absolutely. how about b of a, has anyone from the big bank contacted you directly in the wake of bringing them down? >> not since i brought them down much they did contact me about a week and a half after the petition went out to let me know that they were aware of it.

but not since the other day. >> you also described yourself as standing in solidarity with the occupy wall street movement. do you have any sort of inspiration now to assume more of a leadership role in that group? >> no. i mean, i don't think they need any type of leadership right now. i think what they're doing is excellent. i don't think they're looking for a leader. i don't want to lead them. i think that's what the great thing about occupy wall street is. >> what about the web page, change.org. how much did you love it when you were able to put up after b of a back down, we won on that page? >> it was pretty exciting. you know, because it was all of us. we all won. that was really exciting. >> i'm curious where your money is right now, molly. did you move it on this bank transfer day or did you get what you wanted and set out to get from b of a?

is your money there. >> oh, no. i moved my money about a week when the petition was out to a community bank near d.c. >> a folk hero. myself included by the way. i have a b of a account for my son. i was none too pleased about it. my thanks to you molly katchpole. new signs of hope for a deal that could reduce the national debt. that story coming up in the next hour. a little too much? who would spend thousands on a personal part of one beatles past? you got to see this. it's really pretty incredible. we will see a slight chance of a thunderstorm around dallas and areas in central texas. the west coast is going to look for a chance of showers in areas

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the threat of a nuclear iran and what israel might do about it. thousands turned out for arnt american protests in tehran on the anniversary of the seizure of the u.s. embassy. this as tensions increase over iran's program in the report due out this week. new reports this morning that israel refused to commit to holding back an attack on iran's

nuclear facilities. joining me from washington, general barry mccaffrey. good morning, general. >> good morning, alex. >> do you think israel would make a surprise attack on iran without informing the u.s.? >> no. i think -- they're justifiably, enormously concerned about their survival. the iranians are clearly going nuclear within three to five years, they'll have a dozen weapons. they've got the missile delivery systems. israelis are concerned. so they're ramping up the pressure. they had a big air force operation flying out to sardine i can't. they had a huge air raid drill in tel aviv and tested the jericho 3 nuclear capable missile. they're trying to signal that they're extremely worried. and they should be. >> that jericho 3 could get itself to iran. is this going to be the new norm? when you talk about saber rattling, if that's what this is and word that iran, when i spoke yesterday with experts saying

that they would maybe be one to three years out from the capability of having some sort of a nuclear weapon, is this going to be the new norm, a heightened awareness and constant military exercises by israel now? >> i think it's going to get worse. the israelis have between 75 and 400 nuclear weapons. tiny country. they can be obliterated by a first strike. when iran has nuclear weapons, and they will, we will see a heightened state of sensitivity by the israelis who are going to watch that like a hawk and if they think they're about to be subject to a surprise strike, they'll preempt, so this is a extremely dangerous situation iran's nuclear weapons are going to cause enormous tensions in middle east. >> is there a diplomatic way out of this? or is there a sense of inevitably that someone is going to strike? >> i don't think we're -- i don't think they're going to

strike. it's too hard to do with conventional weapons. the israelis could not pull it off. they have 300-plus high performance fighters and long-range missiles. they can't do it without nuclear weapons which they will not consider. the united states isn't going do it. i think what we'll see in five years a nuclear armed iran and enormously increased danger for all participants, including u.s. navy and air power presence in the middle east. >> all right. general barry mccaffrey, always good to talk to you. like the sobering topic. >> good to be with you, alex. saturday's fight night. what happened when herman cain faced off with newt gingrich. plus earthquake in the heartland when "weekends with alex witt" continues. spark cash gives me the most rewards of any small business credit card. it's hard for my crew to keep up with 2% cash back on every purchase, every day. 2% cash back. that's setting the bar pretty high.

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don't even go there. >> can i ask my question? >> no. because -- >> can i ask a good question? >> where is my chief of staff? >> he won't go there. herman cain again faces the questions that keep coming up. one year to go before voters go to the polls. what are president obama's chances of reelection. compromise at the capitol, growing optimism over super committee budget cutting. will it lead to a deal to trim a trillion dollar plus. good morning everyone. welcome to "weekends with alex witt." it's 8:00 a.m. out west. we have at least ten aftershocks which have rumbled out in the wake of what may be the biggest earthquake in oklahoma's history. fortunate fortunately, no one was seriously hurt. it woke people up this morning. >> all of a sudden it just shook. it was unbearable. the stuff that was falling. >> it knocked everything off the

walls. >> the original saturday night quake which measured at 5.6 magnitude is centered in sparks. about 44 miles outside of oklahoma city. oklahoma geological survey research seismologist austin holland joins me by phone. first of all, everything okay by you? did you feel it? >> caller: i did feel it. it woke me up avid gotten the 20 minutes of sleep i had gotten in the last 24 hours. >> that's because you had a quake the previous evening. >> caller: that's right. we went out in the area and deployed sies momteres. we were fortunate in the sense that we were able to record more information for this larger earthquake. >> the second one was larger by, what, about seven tenths of a point. >> yeah. >> does that give cause for concern that you've got one earthquake and then another one that is greater in magnitude so close together? >> caller: it happens quite frequently. it's surprising for us in

oklahoma. it was very startling for all the residents that felt it. >> what's the situation with the fault lines there? i mean, this isn't typical for oklahoma. this is the largest quake to happen there in 59 years. >> caller: yes. this is the largest earthquake in quite some time. we have a number of faults that we recognize that can have earthquakes here in oklahoma. you know, we fully expect to have earthquakes here in oklahoma. >> okay. how about aftershocks, what are you bracing yourselves for? >> we expect them to continue for days to weeks. maybe even months. we've had 11 aftershocks above magnitude 3. which means they're being felt by local residents. >> i'm curious, though, austin, if you have this second quake, which was larger than the first, are there concerns that even larger quakes or aftershocks may come? >> caller: that's certainly possible. that's why we're trying to learn

as much about this fault as quickly as we can. >> austin holland, i'd love to say get some rest but i have a feeling you'll keep busy today. thanks for yu time. >> thank you. michele bachmann takes aim at herman cain and herman cain vents his frustration at reporters. another win for ron paul. here are the top political headlines right now. herman cain expressesing disappointment with the news media in texas. he launched into an attack against news organizations and reporters after a week of nonstop questions about the sexual harassment allegations he's facing. so fa take a listen. >> don't even go there. >> can i ask my question? >> no. because -- >> may i ask a good question? >> where is my chief of salve? >> i'm right here. >> please send him the journalistic code of ethics. you got -- you want to ask another good question? >> cain made the comments afa tending a debate with rival candidate newt gingrich. many described it as congenial.

there were even a few comical moments. >> if you were vice president of the united states -- [ laughter ] what would you want the president to assign you to do first? >> having studied my good friend dick cheney, i would not go hunting. [ laughter ] >> that was pretty good. also sounded like a job interview potentially, right? the illinois republican party says ron paul won the statewide straw poll this weekend before the final tally was announced last night. paul met with voters why st. cloud minnesota. meanwhile, mitt romney is heading to the hawk wie state making stops in dubuque and davenport. it's been three weeks since romney's last visit to iowa. michele bachmann is taking aim at herman cain for inconsistencies in a radio

interview scheduled for tomorrow. she tells the host that cain has changed his position on several issues. >> i think the real problem is how inconsist tenth he's been on issues. there's been ten instances in the last couple of months where he's changed his position on the issue of pro life. he said government shouldn't intervene and then switched and said no they should. >> rick santorum has scheduled events today. he'll meet with members in daytona beach of the tea party. they will face off in a debate in michigan hosted by cnbc. the new poll shows romney and cain in a tie for first place. 23%, and 24% among the republicans respectively. another tie between rick perry and newt gingrich. 13% to 12%. dave leventhal with politico. good sunday morning to you, dave.

>> good to be with you, alex. >> we have exactly one year to go until the election. what do you think we should look out for on wednesday in the debate. >> it's all about jobs and rick perry has an opportunity to number one, not only talk about the single issue that he has been talking about more than any other, but also to go after herman cain. you've had all this talk about the 9-9-9 plan. rick perry has come out with a flat tax proposal. the focus is going to be a lot on rick perry in the sense that number one, he can hit the jobs issue. his biggest he can. also, it will be curious to see if he's going to take this as an opportunity to go for the jugular and herman cain and go after this sexual harassment scandal that's been in the news from the time it broke a week ago sunday. >> what about if you're on the president's reelection team, what's number one priority right now a year out? >> he's trying to stay as low as he possibly can, to stay out of the fray. why go into the lions den if you don't have to. it's been curious to see what's been happening in the past

couple of days, in fact, with a certain surrogate group of his. one of his former advisers, bill burton, has an organization, a super p.a.c. known as priorities usa action. they've been on the offensive against mitt romney. it's not directly affiliated with barack obama and the barack obama election campaign. but still, because of new laws that have come been in the aftermath of -- another case called speech now, they can raise and spend unlimited sums of money to go ahead and advocate for or against presidential or other candidate and they're doing so in earnest a year out from the election. >> looks like it will come down to swing states as we try to project things a year from now. the voters in the handful of states out there, we'll put up a graphic. states could go either way. the states in yellow, these are the toss-up ones. president obama won each and every one of these 12 back in 2008. where does he stand in the swing states now?

>> he's going to have potentially some major trouble in some of the states, particularly the ones where jobs are a key issue. wednesday's debate will come at an important time. and one of the important swing states, michigan, sort of the poster child for the recession, a couple of years ago and for joblessness in the current days. so as it applies to how he's going to fare in those other states, you look at a lot of polls, you read them and you see him either running a little ahead or a little below or neck and neck with a potential republican candidate. be that mitt romney or rick perry. so right now, as it stands, a year out from now, he's got a lot of work to do. he knows he has a lot of work to do. it's just at this point in the game, he doesn't want to directly engage republican candidates because he wants them to fight it out. he will take as much time as he can to just do his own thing, to try to shore up his base to try to shore up his nationwide campaign, get people excited about him and let the republicans do their thing until

they have a nominee, which very well could be months and months from now because of this protracted republican presidential process that we expect to happen. >> okay. dave lichb that will with politico. speaking with former ohio governor ted strickland about the vote in his state to repeal a law stripping public employees of most of their collective bargaining rights. we'll be speaking with him shortly. the weather is getting colder. that's not stopping the occupy wall street groups from protesting across the country leading to more arrests. first to atlanta. 20 people were arrested at a park there. police on horseback were called in to keep the order and the city's mayor first issued an executive order allowing protesters to camp this that park. he late he revoked it because of security kefrns. more arrests saturday in new york city. demonstrators scuffling with police during a march against the big banks. protesters marched from zuccotti park to foley square in

manhattan. the march in new york city was part of an effort to pull cash out of big banks and move their money to credit unions instead. supporters of that movement say they're fed up with a slew of new bank fees and called saturday bank transfer day. it all began as an internet protest and gained traction across the country. >> i wanted to be part of the bigger movement to try to take back control of our finances and our economy. >> i couldn't put monday any savings or checking. i want to come in, boom, it's there. check on it. no late fees on it. >> leaders of the anti-bank backlash are not directly associated with the occupy wall street movement and this past week, bank of america indeed announced it was dropping the $5 debit charge that ignited the whole set of angers there. scandal at penn state university. a former coach there is under arrest had morning on charges of sexually abusing eight boys. he was taken into custody in weekend and two others are charged in an alleged cover-up. nbc's kristen dahlgren has the

story. >> reporter: i'm jerry -- former defensive coordinator, jerry sandusky. on the nittany lions sidelines for decades, he's in court accused of sexually abusing boys. while the atlet i can director, tim curly and gary schultz are now charged with an alleged cover-up. >> f i've lost control of this game. >> nbc profiled the coach and a charity he started for at risk kids. >> they're not supposed to succeed. well, they succeed here? >> a grand jury report says he met the alleged victims through that charity and details allegations, including those of a graduate assistant who reported that he saw sandusky having sex with a young boy inside penn state's football building. but according to the grand jury school administrator gary schultz testified the allegations were not that serious. and that he and curley had no

indication that a crime had occurred. when asked whether the graduate assistant had reported sexual conduct of any kind by sandusky, curley answered no twice. curley and schultz are expected to turn themselves in on monday. >> this is a much more serious issue than other schools getting on probation for ncaa violations. we're talking about the law here. >> but outside court saturday sandusky's attorney maintained his innocence. >> he's shaky as you can expecting 67 years old and never having faced criminal charges in his life. >> in a statement curley's lawyer said we will challenge the charges in court and are confident he will be exonerated. an attorney for schultz wrote, gary schultz is an honorable and law abiding man, father and grandfather. he's innocent of these charges. the grand jury did not implicate penn state coach joe paterno saying he reported the alleged abuse to curley who was his boss. but as it plays out in court,

the scandal could cloud the history of one of the country's most storied teams. kristen dahlgren, nbc news, los angeles. time is running short on the budget trimming super committee. there is renewed hope that lawmakers can agree where to cut. also coming up, fake ipads hitting the streets. say it ain't so. there's one simple rule that may keep you from getting ripped off. a bullish look on wall street. a blue chip future that investors can only dream about. his music inspired many. the edge end of john lennon includes a decades old decaying tooth. you'll hear what someone paid for it. you're watching "weekends with alex witt." [ male announcer ] when these come together,

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signs of optimism this morning that the congressional super committee can reach an agreement on cuts to reduce the national debt. the lawmakers on that committee have only about 17 days to find a way to eliminate at least $1.2 trillion from the deficit. 100 lawmakers from both parties signed a letter this week saying they are ready to make compromises and suggested going for bigger cuts. one of them connecticut congressman jim heinz gave us his take yesterday. >> i'm optimistic that they can get at least a 1.2 trillion done. i'm not sure to use optimistic around the $4 trillion deal. joining me from colorado. eleanor clift from the daily beast. good morning, eleanor. >> good morning, alex. you wrote a story about the potential for optimism. do you think lawmakers can reach a deal? >> yes, i do. first of all, it's not that hard. we have at least three road maps

out there presented by various combinations of republicans and democrats suggesting where those cuts can be found. so they don't have to go back to square one and do all of the work -- the work has been done for them. second, i think the 12 members have a stake in succeeding. congressional approval is now under 10%. i think it's 9%. if they can't reach a deal here, what does it say, not only about them but about the entire congress? so i think there is incentive to go forward and if they can find a way around the no tax stranglehold that grover nor kwis, the author of not tax pledge, has put on the republican party, i think that's the one remaining hurdle and when speaker boehner referred to grover norquist as some random person, suggested to me they're trying to put a little daylight between the congressional leadership and this random

person. >> so this letter that was signed by the 100 members of congress, this one suggesting they go for a $4 trillion cut, how influential might that be in getting the super committee to that goal? i mean, you heard the representative yesterday, representative himes saying i'm not optimistic that's going to happen by the date. but still. >> i agree with representative himes. i'm optimistic about them reaching the lesser goal but getting to the $4 trillion really would require a leap of faith on both sides. i think it's possible, but i wouldn't bet the mortgage money on that. >> okay. what about the possibility mentioned by some in congress of doing away with the automatic cuts that happened if the lawmakers fail to reach a deal? let's listen to also what congressman himes said about that yesterday. >> now, there's already in what has to be one of the most crave en things i have seen in the last three years in congress a move to do away with the automatic cut.

>> so is that even a possibility? >> i totally agree with him the congressman. it's a totally craven political move. it's republican senators, john mccain and lindsey graham who want to rewrite the law ordering the sword to fall to avoid it slicing through the pentagon. so that's going to force democrats who want to protect the social programs to try to come up with a law that would protect those. we'd be back to square one. i think that the chances for that, i think that's even a bridge too far for this congress. this congress has done pretty much everything to avoid making the tough decisions. but doing away with a law that they already ratified in order to save them from making a tough decision, if they can go into meg tiff territory and approval, if they can go to minus, i think

that would get them there. >> okay. eleanor clift from den vor rather than d.c. safe travels. >> thank you. see you again soon. >> all righty. there is no doubt a lot riding on this holiday shopping season for retailers. they probably like to hear a new rasmussen report says a quarter adults have started holiday shopping. 73% have yet to hit the stores. that's me. that's an early group out there saying they've finished their shopping. really? have they wrapped all those gifts yet too? who wants some holiday tunage?

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and it's easy to redeem your points online. already a gold member ? just select gold plus rewards in your profile and start rewarding yourself now. just go to hertzgoldplusrewards.com to join. hertz gold plus rewards. journey on. imagine there's no dentists. i wonder if you can. clearly, john lennon did imagine such a thing.

right now an actual dentist owns one of the late great beatles teeth. specifically a rotten molar. the songwriter had extracted in the mid '60s. this is it. makes you want to brush your teeth, don't it? a cosmetic dentist paid 31,000 d at auction for the tooth and plans to display in a case at his office. all you need is floss, folks. just saying. now to three items that say ups and downs. a testament to mark zuckerberg's fame and fortune. he's the biggest gainer on the new forbes list of the most powerful people. ranking ninth this year. zuckerberg zoomed up 31 spots from last year and at 27 he's definitely the youngest person on the list. i guess it was bound to happen. thieves are selling counterfeit ipads. grand pair i, texas, two people have been arrested the ring is operating in perhaps several other southern states. here's a caveat for you. if someone approaches you at a gas station hawking ipads, you might want to take a pass. talk about high hopes or

irrational exuberance, the author of a new book on the stock market is so optimistic approximate a rebound on wall street, he believes the dow could reach 100,000 in 20 years. 100,000? where do i invest? those are your ups and downs on your weekends with alex witt. [ artis brown ] america is facing some tough challenges right now. two of the most important are energy security and economic growth. north america actually has one of the largest oil reserves in the world. a large part of that is oil sands. this resource has the ability to create hundreds of thousands of jobs. at our kearl project in canada, we'll be able to produce these oil sands with the same emissions as many other oils and that's a huge breakthrough.

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democrat. thanks for joining me. >> thanks for having me. it appears, sir, the law will be repealed. rather than getting into a discussion on that. i'm wondering if afterward, will there be room for negotiation on some of the provisions of the law? for example public employees paying more for health insurance cost to help balance the budget? >> alex, there was the possibility of that negotiation occurring before this law was passed. governor case i can and the leadership ran through this draconian law and quite frankly, it had little to do with budget problems. it had everything to could with consolidating political power. the people of ohio understood that. they saw the unfairness of this legislation. that's why i believe on tuesday, in large numbers, they will turn back this draconian law and then perhaps we can come together and work in concert to try to solve the problems that confront ohio and they're much like the

problems that confront the rest of the country. we can't do it without the willingness to work cooperatively. that's what's been lacking in this new administration. >> sir, i'd like to read a portion of a toledo op-ed piece from the weekend. >> okay. >> beyond suggesting that the gop and the republican governor overreached on the law, it says "you could have had us at public employees paying more for their healthcare and pensions. voters see the validity of reducing labor costs and rewarding job performance over union protocol. requesting "can the public achieve that middle ground. politicians cannot seem to. >> well, alex, when i was governor, we had a fiscal difficult time. i went to our public employees and i asked them to work with me and they voluntarily accepted 20 unpaid furlough days. they accepted no pay increases and then ohio today most public employees already pay what this

legislation is asking of them in terms of healthcare costs and pension contributions. so this is -- it's a political effort rather than a serious attempt to address a policy problem. we can come together. our public employees will work with the administration if the administration shows them the proper respect. but they have been hugely disrespected. made the scapegoats for an economic situation that they did not create. that's what the problem has been over these last several months. it's led to great polarization in our state. people are deeply divided, but thankfully, i believe most ohio ans understand that collective bargaining can be a positive, that our nurses and firefighters and teachers and police officers and trash collectors are really good people who provide a needed public service and we ought to respect them. we ought to expect them to cooperate and i think they will.

>> it's important to note that you mentioned the police and firefighters, that in the state of ohio takes it a step further than where this began with wisconsin, its turmoil earlier this year. >> let's talk 2012 politics. we're exactly one year away from election day. here's the latest poll from ohio. it shows president obama has a 45 to 41 lead over his closest competitor, that being mitt romney. that is within the margin of error. how -- >> it's going to be tough. i think the president will carry ohio once again and why do i say that? i do believe that mitt romney is likely to be the republican nominee. we don't know that for sure. but mitt romney is a person who opposed the president's efforts, the successful efforts of the president to save the american auto industry. how can mitt romney come to ohio, go to youngstown or toledo or go into michigan and say i'm on your side when he, if he had had his way, if his ideas had

prevailed, the american auto industry would probably have withered away. president obama has done a lot. he really took a very difficult economic situation and he saved us from sliding into a deep, deep depression. the stimulus that he made available to ohio and to other states kept firefighters and police officers and teachers in the classroom. i mean, this president has difficult economic circumstances to deal with. but the leadership in washington, and i'm talking specifically about ohio and john boehner, the speaker of the house, i'm talking about mitch mcconnell, these folks are obstructing and keeping the president from doing what needs to be done to create jobs in our country. >> i would like to ask you about an article that is in today's washington post in which it looks at president clinton's new book. in it he talks about the 2010 midterm election. the democrats did not counter the national republican message with one of their own. there was no national

advertising campaign to explain and defend what they had done and to compare their agenda to the next two years with the gop proposals. the post writer suggests that the obama administration was outmaneuvered by the gop. you think this lack of a national message from the president cost you your job in 2010? >> well, i think the economy cost me my job. i don't blame anyone except myself for that loss. but let me say to you, we now are entering a period of time when the american people will be able to draw a contrast between the republican candidates and president barack obama. i think the president will stack up rather well. the president is out there now talking about jobs, trying to get initiatives passed and the republicans are simply saying no, obstructing -- you know, alex, i hate to say this, but i agree with those who say that their main purpose is to defeat

the president and to gain political power rather than working with the president to try to create jobs and get this economy back on track. that's a sad thing to have to conclude, but i've concluded that as i've watched this situation in washington unfold before the nationalize of all of us. >> i think unfortunately, there are others who would concur with that. former ohio governor, ted strickland. always a pleasure. come see us again. >> alex, thank you. we invite to you watch the daily rundown tomorrow. chuck todd will be joined by rick santorum. that's tomorrow morning at 9:00 eastern here on msnbc. one of the biggest legends of the boxing world is in the fight of his life in a bout against liver cancer. joe frazier is in hospice care after being diagnosed with the disease just over a month ago. the 67-year-old's manager says the outlook is grim but they're hoping for a miracle. frazier fought muhammad ali in

what many say three of the greatest fights in the history of boxing. this friday is veterans' day. for millions in this country, it is a somber day to honor, remember and mourn america's fallen. those who gave the ultimate sacrifice. it's also a day to honor members of what nbc's tom brokaw dubbed the greatest generation. just like the soldiers you see here in this picture. especially that young man with the cigarette standing there right on the right. that man is staff sergeant rocco j. rocky more et owe. a d-day veteran who fought in europe and one of only two of the frontline fighters from his company of 219 men to make it home alive. rocky is right here with me today. it is so good to see you, rocky. thank you for being here. >> thank you very much, alex. >> you have an extraordinary story to tell. i'll begin it by saying you landed on omaha beach on d-day. you fought with the first infantry, the division that was known as the big red one.

you saw combat in five major campaigns and you managed to make it home without being even wounded. how did you do that? >> well, i think mostly it was a lot of luck and my mother's prayers. that's how i got by. >> i bet your mother was praying interpret i had hard for you. tell me about that day on omaha beach. i understand you were dropped in water that was 100 feet deep with all this equipment on you. >> well, it wasn't 100 feet. but it was over my -- over our heads. the pilot kept maneuvering around trying to get us in with dry feet. he kept running into underwater obstacles, sandbars. you know, whatever can happen happened that morning. but i made it. i'm very glad for that. >> what were you thinking,

rocky? i understand you can't swim. you were in water at least over your head. you had what, 60 pounds worth of equipment on you. you had to just survive to get on the beach. >> yes. well, i was scared of drowning. i wasn't worried about the people shooting at us but i was afraid about drowning. i didn't want to go that way. >> rocky, what do you remember of that day in terms of sound, smell, those sensitivities? i mean, can you remember that? >> well, i kept pinching myself and i found out that i was awake. i wasn't dreaming at all. i saw sights that i don't like to even talk about today. >> so many of your fellow soldiers, your friends, your colleagues, they went down. >> they went down. it was very, very difficult to

take. but i sucked it up and that's he what the rest of them did. they done their duty. >> where did that come from, your ability to suck that up? what was it about your generation dubbed by tom brokaw and now so many through the vernacular as the greatest generation? >> well, i lived through that generation, and i totally agree with tom brokaw. they were really the greatest. the country was together. there was no division. everybody done their job. even my father was an air raid warden at the time. everybody volunteered their time and they were just fantastic. >> i know you were sent back on the 16th anniversary of d-day, rocky. appropriately given an award by the french government for your services. what is that like when you go back there today? you've been a few times. >> i've been there about three times. it's wonderful. the people still recognize your

effort and they come over and talk to you. they hug you and they thank you. it's just so wonderful. receiving their highest and most prestigious decoration, the french legion of honor was really a -- >> well deserved. rocky morette. we have veterans this friday. i thank you so much for your efforts. >> if i could say one more thing. it's so important for the public today to recognize what our volunteer army is doing out there. they're putting themselves into harm's way. very willingly. and they deserve a pat on the back. >> i'll tell you, we love giving pat on the back on "weekends with alex witt". thank you so much, rocky. sit right there. i'm giving you a hug during the break. taking a look at the new york marathon today. 40,000 runners on the streets in

what is the largest new york city marathon ever. top runners are entering the homestretch now as they shed across the finish line before the top of the hour. is this a chevy volt? [ stu ] yeah. it's electric. i don't think so. it's got a gas tank right here. electric tank, right over here. an electric tank? really, stu? is that what you pour the electricity in? it's actually both, guys. i can plug in and go 35 miles gas free, or i can fill up and go a whole lot farther. is that my burger? oh. i just got bun. i didn't even bite any burger. i was 18 years old before i had my first fresh bun. the invention that i came up with is the hot dog ez bun steamer. steam is the key to a great hot dog. i knew it was going to be a success. the invention was so simple that i knew i needed to protect it. my name is chris schutte and i got my patent, trademark and llc on legalzoom. [ shapiro ] we created legalzoom to help people start their business and launch their dreams.

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he only has to fill up about once a month. [ woman ] wow. that's amazing. time now for the big three. three topics, three talkers. today we're looking at the gathering clouds marking the moofd the country. could republican governors help president obama and swing states strategy. i'm joined by anne kornblut, white house reporter. robert train. chief of the comcast network and karen finney. msnbc political analyst. hello you three. >> good morning. >> the take away really from the newest poll, americans are pessimistic. the country is divided. people are angry with politicians in washington. what does this mean for the election which is one year from today. >> it means president obama has a rough road a led head. there are a lot of metrics suggesting that he couldn't be re-elected. no president has been re-elected in this -- in a climate as

gloomy as this one in recent memory. now, that said and what you're going to hear from team obama and the white house, he'll be running against somebody. somehow the republicans aren't faring better than he is. if romney is the republican nominee, it will be a tough race. it doesn't look as if some of the economic factors will change between now and then. it will be an important sales job for the president. >> karen, the post points out that the choice americans face in 2012 goes beyond the candidates, more than ever it is a choice between two sharply different ideologies and visions for american's future. what's your take on that? >> that's absolutely right. approximate we go to the layers below that, this is something that governor strickland was talking about. remember that it's also a twist between visions, but at the state level it's a choice between do i want to support the guy who, let's say, supported the mississippi personhood amendment or do i want to support the person who i think is more pro choice and will support my rights? by that i mean, there are

specific issues kind of under laying some of these things that i think will also drive people's decisions in terms of not just the overall economic vision, but the overall sort of how do i feel about where each of these candidates stands on the issues that i care about beyond the economy. >> robert, the second topic, which plays into all of this. the republican governors, their potential impact on 2012, because we've seen backlash in states like wisconsin and ohio against the gop governors who have taken steps to try to limit public workers' rights. do you think republicans have overreached? >> i'm not sure if they've overreached or not. it depends on whether or not they will help president obama or not if in fact they're on the ticket as well. if they're on the ticket, it may help president obama because perhaps to your point, there are the constituents are saying, you know what, i've had four years of this governor. i'm not sure i appreciate what he's been doing or she's been doing over the last four years. in the process, i'm going to vote for president obama. however, keep in mind here, there are a lot of folks out

here that strongly believe in governor scott's proposals in wisconsin or the governor in ohio's proposals. there's two sides to you have to be careful what you wish for, because there are a lot of folks that support the republican governors, and that's the reason they got swept into office four years ago or two years ago. >> if you look at the job performance numbers i will share, the gof rick scott in florida, 50% disapprove. what does this all mean? >> well, here is the other thing that i think has been a very important message coming out the wisconsin and frankly, ohio, you have had voters saying this is not what i thought i was voting for when i voted for this guy which, goes to trust. if you feel you can't trust your governor, and mitt romney is the republican nominee, and he has a trust issue because of the whole flip-flopper issue, are you

going to go with the team that you feel like you already don't know that you tropical storm them, and you feel like they promised you one thing and delivered another, and you probably are not. that's a factor that could help president obama and democrats in general in the discussion about how the republicans overreached. >> sit tight, because in a moment, the big three must-reads are out there. it seems like for every anti-aging problem,

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back now with today's political panel. we look at the 2012 swing state strategy. these states can hold the key, and the winning candidate will likely need more than 80 votes from the group in order to win. i will go with ann first up. in your assessment of the mood of america which is in your paper and your must-read pick for the day, tell me an doet

klee speaking, how do you read that mood? >> the mood is very pessimistic, obviously, and it will be a tough road for president obama. the mood will matter in those specific states as much as at the national level, and so expect the candidates to head to those states. >> karen, same question? >> a big part of the obama strategy in 2008 was to create multiple pathways to the magic number of 270. those 12 states that we have on the map don't tell the first story of what team obama plan is. and team obama's major accomplishment in the last electorate, they changed the number of black and brown voters. those voters turning out will make a big difference on states not on that mat and that could help the president get to 270 that i don't think a republican can win.

>> robert? >> john mccain under performed in the states of virginia, ohio and florida and michigan and pennsylvania. disagree with karen to a certain degree. i think the map goes to a traditional map of red versus blue, and i hate to use that but that's the only analogy i can see here. with romney at the top of the ticket, you see that many come into play, and that's the road to victory for mitt romney. >> i am not going to get your must-reads. anne, we said yours already, the "washington post" story, and karen what is yours? >> an ed coral in the "new york times" that looks as what is happening in alabama, the hard immigration law where now the state is refusing to give the department of justice information looking at children who are potentially being disinfranchised under civil

rights violations. >> we'll check that out. >> and we saw a debate between two, and we need more of that. >> all right. see you. that's a wrap. you name it. i've tried it. but nothing helped me beat my back pain. then i tried salonpas. it's powerful relief that works at the site of pain and lasts up to 12 hours. salonpas. at bank of america, we're lending

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