story about seven days ago now, ken. walk folks through what has happened over the past seven or eight days here for folks who have not been following this story very closely. >> this story has had a lot of twists and turns since we broke it last sunday. initially the cain campaign and herman cain flatly denied that there were any settlements. they have since acknowledged that there's one settlement. we, of course, have reported and have definitively proven that there are two settlements. and additionally other outlets have reported that there are additional women during herman cain's time as the president and ceo of the national restaurant association. also accused him of sexual harassment but did not actually file a formal complaint or get a settlement. it's unclear into which category this apparent fourth woman who gloria allred is representing who is going to apparently speak here shortly into which category she falls. so we'll have to see and certainly this has the potential, if there's, you know, real solid story here and this

woman comes forward to do something that hasn't been done thus far which is to put a face and a name with some of these allegations because thus far, all the women who we've reported on, we've done so in other media outlets have done so without revealing their names. >> the news conference set for 1:30 this afternoon. ken, do we know anything about this particular woman that we're expected to hear from at 1:30? >> we're trying to figure out, as you guys are at nbc news, who this woman is. and to which category she fits. apparently like you said in the intro, it's a woman who was alleging harassment during herman cain's time at the national restaurant association. we've talked to dozens and dozens of former staffers of this association. we've talked to board members, folks who have worked with the association and we have a long roster of names of folks who have been able to speak to various aspects of this and in our report having not come up definitively with this fourth woman so we are waiting on pins and needles just like you guys

are. >> ken vogel, politico there. i imagine we'll want to talk to you guys this afternoon as well after we hear from this fourth woman. again, that news conference set for 1:30 here in manhattan. ken vogel, thank you. cain's message to the media about answering questions related to this entire question could not be more plain. after a very friendly debate with newt gingrich saturday, cain said this to the media. >> don't even go there. can >> can i ask my question? >> no. >> can i ask a good question? >> where is my chief of staff? please send him the journalistic code of ethics. we are getting back on message, end of story. back on message! >> herman cain on saturday there. joining me to talk about it, matt lewis. good afternoon to you. ben smith at politico had a funny comment about gloria allred's entry into all of this saying, quote, allred not

known -- best known for her pro bono work. how does her name and how does her presence now change the tenor of this controversy? >> she's obviously known for sort of these sort of celebrity scandals. so i do think that it sort of probably taints this a little bit. makes people a little more skeptical. but having said that, ultimately, i think it is the actual accuser that's ultimately going to matter. if this woman comes forward and seems compelling and seems sympathetic, that's very, very damaging for herman cain. doesn't matter who her lawyer is at that point. we're going to be judging her. >> want to go to michael steele, former rnc chair, of course. good afternoon discipline this do it after we hear from this woman at 1:30? should we stick a fork in herman cain's campaign, michael? >> that depends on what she says. keep in mind, these are claims that are 12 years old, that they were brought and had been settled 12 years ago. the fact that they are up right now and part of the political

dialogue, i think lends more to the fact that herman handled this a little sloppily coming out of the box. now that he's talked about this, he's opened up the door for these women when this particular woman had come out and state her side of the story. if he cuts a sympathetic cloth it's going to be a tough haul for him. >> i want to bring in karen finney, former dnc communications adviser. i'm going to pose the same question that i just posed to michael steele discipline this do it? i mean, up until now, the conversation has been, we haven't had names. we certainly haven't had faces and now we have a name. we'll get a name and a face at 1:30 and we're going to hear details. >> yeah it really changes the dynamic because remember last week most of the conversation was very one-sided. herman cain, granted he did not do himself any favors with his story which sort of seemed to change almost every hour, but now that we have a -- >> karen, i'm going to have to

cut you off here really quickly. president obama here in the rose garden. you guys stand by for me. president obama in the rose garden expected to make some comments here about the americans jobs act and also some executive actions that he is planning to take to help put veterans back to work in this country. >> today's 9/11 generation of veterans has already earned a special place in our history. over a difficult decade, they've performed heroically in some of the world's most dangerous places. they've done everything that we've asked of them. and i am honored to have some of these extraordinary americans here at the white house with us this morning. i'm also proud to be joined by some of america's leading veterans service organizations. the american legion, veterans of foreign wars, disabled american veterans and iraq and afghanistan veterans of america. as well as members of congress who have historically been extraordinarily supportive of our veterans. and we're here today to try to

take some steps to better serve today's veterans in a rough economy. over the past decade, nearly 3 million service members have transitioned back to civilian life, joining the millions who have served through the decades. and as we end the war in iraq and we wind down the war in afghanistan, over a million more will join them over the next five years. just think about the skills these veterans have acquired, often at a very young age. think about the leadership that they've learned. the cutting edge technologies that they've mastered. their ability to adapt to changing and unpredictable circumstances you just can't get from a classroom. think about how many have led others to life and death missions by the time they are 25 or 26 years old. this is exactly the kind of leadership and responsibility that every american business should be competing to attract.

this is the kind of talent we need to compete for the jobs and industries of the future. these are the kind of americans that every company should want to hire. and yet, while our economy has added more than 350,000 private sector jobs just over the past three months, more than 850,000 veterans remain unemployed. too many can't find a job worthy of their tremendous talents. too many military spouses have a hard time finding work after moving from base to base to base. and even though the overall unemployment rate ticked down last month, unemployment among veterans of iraq and afghanistan continue to rise. that's not right. it doesn't make sense. not for our veterans, not for our families, not for america and we're determined to change that. now i've told the story before of a soldier in the 82nd airborne who served as a combat medic in afghanistan.

and he saved lives over there. he earned a bronze star for his actions. but when he returned home, he couldn't even get a job as a first responder. he had to take classes through the post-9/11 gi bill, classes that he probably could have taught just so he could qualify for the same duties at home that he was doing every single day at war. you know what? if you can save a life on the battlefield, then you can save a life in an ambulance. if you can oversee a convoy or millions of dollars of assets in iraq, you can help a business back home manage their supply chain or balance their books. if you can juggle the demands of raising a family while a loved one is at war, you can jug them demands of almost any job in america. we ask our men and women in uniform to leave their families and their jobs and risk their

lives to fight for our country. the last thing they should have to do is fight for a job when they come home. and that's why we're here today. to do everything in our power to see to it that america's veterans have the opportunities that they deserve and that they have earned. now i've already directed the federal government to lead by example and to hire more veterans. and it has hired more than 120,000 so far. a couple of months ago, i also challenged private companies to hire or train 100,000 post-9/11 veterans or their spouses by the end of 2013. and already companies have hired more than 12,000 and committed to train or hire 25,000 more over the next two years. and i want to thank the extraordinary work of my wife, the first lady, as well as dr. jill biden for leading this effort to support our military

families and our veterans. nearly two months ago, i sent congress the american jobs act. it was the only jobs plan independent economists said would boost our economy and put americans back to work right now, and it was full of the kinds of ideas that have historically been supported by both parties. it was paid for. and it included two proposals that would have made a big difference for our veterans. the returning heroes tax credit, which would give businesses a tax break for each unemployed veteran that they hire. and the wounded warriors tax credit which would give businesses an even larger tax break for hiring an unemployed veteran with a disability related to their service in uniform. and these veteran service organizations are here today because they fully support these ideas. unfortunately, we have not yet seen progress in congress. senate republicans have so far

chosen to block these bills and these proposals. since then, they've also blocked a jobs bill that would keep teachers in the classroom and first responders on the street and plocked a jobs bill last week that would have put hundreds of thousands of construction workers back to work rebuilding america. despite the fact that more than 70% of americans supported the ideas in this bill, not one has yet stepped up on the other side of the aisle to say this is the right thing to to. so they've had three chances to do the right thing. three times they've said no. i believe it's time they said yes to taking action that would boost the economy overall because the overall economy has an impact on veterans. it's a lot easier for veterans to find jobs if the economy is growing rapidly and unemployment is dropping. and i think it's important for all of us to remember that we're all in this together. it's time we started acting like it. bold action from congress ultimately is the only way we're going to put hundreds of thousands of americans back to work right now. and rebuild an economy where

everyone who works hard has a chance to get ahead. so i'm going to keep pushing these senators to vote on common sense paid-for ways to create jobs that members of both parties have supported before. but what i've also says is that i'm going to do everything in my power as the head of the executive branch to act on behalf of the american people. with or without congress. we can't simply wait for congress to do its job as commander in chief. i won't wait. nor will i let politics get in the way of making sure that veterans share in the opportunity that they defend. if congress won't act, i will. and that's why two weeks ago, i announced a new initiative to help trained veterans get jobs in the medical community. and today we're announcing three new initiatives to help america's returning heroes get jobs that meet their talents. first, we're delivering on the

expanded jobs search services that i promised our post-9/11 veterans three months ago. starting today, post-9/11 veterans looking for work can download what we're calling the veterans gold card which gives you up to six months of personalized job search services at career centers across the country. second, we're launching an easy to use online tool called my next move for veterans that allows veterans to enter information about their experience and skills in the field and match it with civilian careers that put that experience to use. third, we're connecting unemployed veterans to job openings. we've partnered with leading job search companies to create a new online service called veterans job bank where employers can tag jobs postings for veterans using a simple approach designed by major search engines. and already more than 500,000 job openings have been tagged

thanks to a company called simply hired. and companies like monster and linked in are helping more employers participate. so all of these three initiatives are up and running right now. visit white house.gov/vets to find each one and i'm asking these veteran service organizations to spread the word. connecting our veterans to the jobs they deserve isn't just the right thing to do for our veterans. it's the right thing to do for america. but there's still more that we can do to encourage businesses to hire veterans. and this week, congress will have another chance to do the right thing. they'll get to vote on those tax breaks that i proposed back in september for businesses to hire veterans. members of congress will get to say whether or not they think it's a good idea to give companies an incentive, an additional incentive to hire the men and whoem have risked their lives for our country. and when i first proposed this idea, some of you remember, this

was a joint session of congress, people stood and applauded on both sides of the aisle when i announced this bill. that was one of the few times both sides stood up. so when these ideas come up for a vote this week, when the tv cameras aren't necessarily on each of them, i expect both sides of the aisle to stand up for our veterans and vote in the affirmative. there's no good reason to oppose this bill. not one. our veterans did their jobs. it's time for congress to do theirs. time for them to put country before party. put our veterans back to work and pass this element of the jobs package that benefits our veterans and gives businesses an incentive to hire veterans. standing up for our veterans is not a democratic responsibility or a republican responsibility. it is an american responsibility. it's an obligation of every citizen who enjoys the freedom that these heroes defend.

and it is time for us to meet those obligations right now. as commander in chief, i want all our veterans to know that we are forever grateful for our service and for your sacrifice. and just as you fought for us, we're going to keep fighting for you for more jobs, for more security, for the opportunity to keep your families strong and to keep america competitive in the 21st century. in other words, we're going to keep fighting just as you did to show the world why the united states of america is still the greatest nation on earth. thank you very much, everybody. god bless you. god bless the united states of america. >> president obama there from the rose garden talking about specific provisions inside his jobs bill. the american jobs act, talking about some specific provisions that pertain to veterans. also unveiling a few new ideas to help the 850,000 unemployed veterans in this country.

among those ideas, a gold card, as he called it, that folks can go to a website right now, white house.gov. download that card n get job placement services and counseling for the next six months. i want to bring michael steele back in. former head of the rnc. michael, let's talk a little bit about the president's speech there and job creation in this country right now. the american jobs act, we've heard the president talking about this bill for several weeks now. it has failed -- provisions of it have failed in both houses of congress. is the president -- does he continue to talk about it now to score political points, or is there a chance that some major provision of this bill could become law? >> well, i think it's largely the political talking point. there's not the will in washington right now to go down this road by either democrats or republicans for a host of reasons. a lot of which you've covered on your program over the last few weeks. the president right now is

setting up the argument against the do nothing congress as he would like to put it by showcasing efforts by the administration to try to move the ball forward on jobs. i would submit to you a little bit late in the game. this veterans question goes back to the end of the bush administration about returning veterans and how they were running into certain roadblocks in housing and jobs, et cetera. it's good the administration is doing this. i applaud the program. but i think it has more political theater to it than it does substance. >> 850,000 vets unemployed right now. of course, veterans day on friday. there some are who have said on the internet who have raised the question, should the white house be giving preferential treatment to unemployed veterans when you have millions of other americans who are looking for work as well. >> oh, yeah. absolutely think that there's no question about making sure that our returning veterans have a pathway to keeping their homes, keeping their jobs. we've got to do all that we can. look.

a lot of these veterans were working men and women, part of our communities who were pulled out of their jobs to go serve. many of them injured. they've returned home. it's the least the country can do is to make sure that when they return home either their job is still there or there's another one waiting for them. but here's the problem. while the president on the one hand wants to tout and create for the wounded warrior tax credit for an employer, those employers are then buffeted by the reality that they have other expenses that are coming as a result of health care requirements that are coming online beginning next year. so they are still stuck in this position where, you know, great for the tax credit but then that's offset in a big way by the increased tax burden that will come from other programs that the administration has supported. therefore, you have a lot of employers sitting there in sort of the frozen position. they've got to break that logjam and that's been the problem in washington. >> michael steele, thank you for your time this afternoon, sir. appreciate you. let's go back to the white house now.

nbc's kristen welker is standing by. we just heard from the president there. what else does the president have on his agenda for the week? >> he'll be talking jobs, of course, throughout the week on tuesday. he heads to philadelphia for an event there. wouldn't be surprised if he rolled out at least one more executive action before the week's end. and then remember towards the end of the week, he heads to san diego for the carrier classic and then to apec which is in honolulu, hawaii. we'll be traveling with him there where, of course, they'll be talking about the global economy, but the economy here in the united states, of course, will be front and center in the president's mind as he heads overseas. so we'll be tracking all of that. but as you mentioned, craig, these initiatives are against the backdrop of one year out now to the 2012 re-election campaign. by the white house's own admission, a lot of these executive actions are going to have a small impact. we'll have an impact, but it will be a small impact. for that reason, republicans have accused the president of

playing politics with this issue. but there is no doubt that he is really framing this in a way that he is running against a do nothing congress. we'll have to see if that's effective. as you know, the unemployment rate still at 9%. and when you look at the electoral map, by all accounts, it's going to be a close race no matter who the republican nominee is. 11 states right now are toss-up states, including states like pennsylvania, ohio, michigan. states that president obama won in 2008. so it is against that backdrop that president obama continues to roll out these executive actions, and you can be sure, craig, that we will see several more rolled out in the next few weeks. >> kristen welker from the white house this monday afternoon. thank you. >> thanks. meanwhile, former president bill clinton is criticizing president obama and democrats for two critical missteps they've made in his new book due out tomorrow. clinton says the president should have raised the federal debt ceiling when democrats controlled congress and he said democrats did not have an

effective national campaign message during the 2010 midterms. ann kornblutt, let's talk about president clinton's perception of this white house based on this book. how would you characterize president clinton's perception of the obama white house. >> you pointed out two of the criticisms he levies in the book. i would say there's a third a little more imaccomplice chit is that obama has been a little too harsh on wall street. he draws a comparison without mentioning obama but says during his own administration he was able to get support from wall street even while raising taxes on them. that said, that's only 5% of the book. 95% of the book is largely positive. he's certainly on the same page as president obama when it comes to the big economic picture and how to approach the economy. so it's really only the minor differences between them, but, of course, that's where the news is. >> what does he say about republicans in the book? >> he is very critical of republicans. he talks a lot about anti-government philosophy as

the root of a lot of the problems. he, like president obam assess re-electing republicans would be a return to policies that haven't worked. and he says that a lot of what president obama is doing is on the right track but that he's inherited a very tough economic picture. >> any major surprises in here besides the few criticisms you mentioned? >> no if anything, it's a very predictable wonky book from the former president who has clearly been sitting at home reading cbo reports, watching a lot of the news and felt that he couldn't help but weigh in. obviously, he's also looking after his own legacy and some of the actions he took as president have been criticized as leading up to the financial, especially financial deregulation as being part of the problem. so a little bit of looking after his own legacy. >> what about the timing? it just seems kind of an odd time for a former from the put out a book. any significance? >> probably better than in the election year itself. he said he was inspired to right it after the midterms. so one year out.

you draw your own conclusions. >> anne kornblut, "washington post." former president bill clinton will be joe and mika's government tomorrow morni guest tomorrow on "morning joe." scandal rocks one of the most storied football programs, penn state. the story and the widening investigation. also, fixing the housing crisis. a key part of overall economic recovery. we'll break down the republican presidential candidates' plans a little later. i'm consolidating my assets. i'm not paying hidden fees or high commissions. i'm making the most of my money. and seven-dollar trades are just the start. i'm with scottrade. i'm with scottrade. i'm with scottrade. and i'm loving every minute of it. [ rodger riney ] at scottrade, we give you commission-free etfs, no-fee iras and more. come see why more investors are saying... i'm with scottrade.

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welcome back to msnbc. here's a look at some of the headlines at the half hour. nearly half of 7 to 12th graders in this country have been sexually harassed in the last school year. the survey found that girls reported harassment more than boys. the fbi has joined the search in washington state for a 2-year-old boy. police say the boy's mother left him in an unlocked car that had

run out of gas. lindsay lohan reported to jail last night. just five hours later, she was out. officials say the release was due to overcrowding. and nba commissioner david stern has given the players union an ultimatum to accept his deal on revenue sharing by wednesday or risk receiving a worse deal after. the union says it will not be accepting the proposal. as we mentioned here at the top of the hour, in about an hour, the nation is going to hear about a fourth woman possibly involved in the herman cain harassment controversy. her lawyer gloria allred holding a press conference on that matter. is import toont note that nbc news has not confirmed the details of the story. back with us now, daily call senior contributor matt lewis and karen finney, former dnc spokesperson. karen icut you off at the top of the hour to go to the president. i want to start with you. this story seems to have some legs now. can herman cain continue to

stonewall? >> probably not. and again, what we were talking about at the top of the hour was now that it seems we will have an actual human being who will be able to come forward. we can look her in the eye. we can listen to her story and make a judgment. that really changes the dynamics of the conversation that we were having. you know, the other thing that i find disappointing and surprising, although i think most people have tried to be very careful as we talked about this, think about the report that you just were talking about in terms of sexual harassment and the rates that we're seeing. we have to be very careful that we don't send a message to young people that this is in any way, shape or form tolerated at the highest levels of our society. so i think it's important that, yes, we're going to have to judge whether or not we believe this person and the other allegations, but we also have to make sure that we hold herman cain accountable for these allegations. so far he's pretty much stonewalled and not really given very substantial answers. >> matt, 1:30 when we hear from this woman, what could she say?

what could she reveal that would do in cain's campaign? >> i think probably more important than any specific thing she says is how she comes across. so i think likablity. i think credibility. persuasiveness. is this somebody that we believe? that, because facts matter, but logic leads to conclusions. emotion leads to action. if people believe in her, identify with her, that is where this becomes a real problem for herman cain. let me say there's another issue that i think has been really ignored which is ethnicity. right now we have these -- >> you think that will matter? >> i think it might. >> absolutely. >> we have these anonymous accusers. we don't know much about them, who they are at all. i think it's worth asking the question at least, is it different if the accusers are black, for example? would the public or the voting public more importantly respond differently than if it is a white woman making this accusation? and i say this because some of

herman cain's defenders have cited the high-tech lynching of clarence thomas. that was a black woman accusing a black man. might this be different? i don't know. i frankly hope that it doesn't matter. >> karen you buy that? >> absolutely, and i have to tell you, i give matt a tremendous amount of credit for raising that issue because interestingly enough, there were conversations happening all over washington at different events that i was at where people were starting to think, oh, i hadn't actually thought about that, but when they thought about it they realized that really could change the dynamic. now that's not something that -- matt's right. it shouldn't matter. any woman who has faced this, we should care about that woman. we should care about that instance. but i do think, and i've taken some heat for saying this, but, you know, there will be a very different dynamic if you -- if the people that we see, unfortunately, are white and fit a certain stereotype -- >> what is this accuser at 1:30 -- what is she going to have to look like for people's perception to change

dramatically, karen? don't dance around it. >> you are trying to get me in trouble, craig. i'll put it out there. two things. one, regardless of her race or ethn ethnicity, she's got to come off as a credible person with a credible story. we should start from believing her regardless, but that's just the reality. second of all, we are likely to see that, remember, these women were, what, ten years younger than they are now. so that probably puts them in about their 20s. think about that. a 20-something woman accusing -- suggesting that an older man, a black man, let's say it's a white woman, you know, the stereotypical blond white woman, that is going to send a very different kind of signal, i think, and i hope our cult surready to handle that conversation. i think that's a real ugly scab to rip off. it's an old wound. >> i want to switch subjects here really quick, matt if you guys don't mind. let's talk about election day 2012 here. this is a look at our

battleground map. you can see there, of course, the red and blue states we all know. it's those yellow states on the map that are up for grabs, toss-up states. 11 states. 147 electoral votes. matt, which of these states intrigues you most for the presidential election? >> i think iowa -- i'm sorry, ohio is always the bellwether state and florida, obviously, matters greatly. things like marco rubio being a compelling running mate. i still think hillary clinton has a chance to be the running mate and she can -- >> really? >> and she would play there. this is what gives republicans hope. because if you look at national polls and you see that barack obama is still very well liked nationally, maybe his job performance isn't great, but people like him. but when you start looking at the map, he has to win states like virginia that he won last time. i don't know that he can do it. he has to win states like north carolina that he won last time. so the electoral map, that's what gives the republicans hope.

>> karen, how much hope should republicans have based on that map? >> two things to remember about the obama strategy that was so effective in 2008. number one it was designed around creating a different road map to 270. so we're looking at the traditional map and the road to 270, the number of -- the magic number that you need. i think this campaign has multiple pathways. number two, consider the changing demographics in a lot of these states with the african-american and latino voters who, i think, are more likely to support president obama than they tor support the republican nominee. >> going to be very interesting, of course, to see how this shakes out. a year away. can you believe that it's already been three years? karen finney, matt lewis, always a pleasure. of course, we'll continue to follow the herman cain story. again, that newser set for 1:30. we'll watch it and pass it along to you as well. information that comes out of that. tomorrow being called super tuesday for the number of major referendums on state ballots. and while there is no president or nominee being selected,

precedent could be set in mississippi in the form of possibly the nation's most restrictive state abortion rules. joining me now, elizabeth crisp of the clarion ledger in jackson, mississippi. good day to you. >> hi, craig. thanks. >> for folks who haven't been following this story as closely, the vote is on something called initiative 26. what is it, and why is it so important there in mississippi? >> initiative 26 basically says do you believe that life begins at fertilization or cloning or the equivalent? so voters will see that language on the ballot and it will be a simple yes or no. it's been going on for a while. there were over 100,000 signatures that were collected to get this on the ballot. >> it narrowly defines personhood. can you explain that? >> it would change the state

constitution adding a definition of what is a person and that being any being at the beginning since conception essentially. >> there is also some concern over the wording of the amendment that's going to be on the ballot there in mississippi. the governor of your state, hayley barbour who was on "meet the press" yesterday. >> some concerns that i had were about out of what i call ectopic pregnancies. but have been assured that there's no question of medical practice that that's two lives and the mother's life would be protected. but there's no question that the wording down here is what concerned people. not the idea that life begins at conception but that the wording of it. >> what are some of the issues that even pro-life supporters are saying that they have with the wording of this amendment? >> well, one of, obviously, one of the things the governor

himself mentioned was, you know, pregnancies where the mother's life could be in danger. there are people in the medical community who say they have real concerns about that, doctors who say that they worry they could face lawsuits if they tried to essentially abort a fetus that was threatening the life of the mother. there's also a lot of questions over what impact it would have on in vitro fertilization. it could change the practice because right now they fertilize more eggs than they know would be needed. >> elizabeth crisp with the clarion down there for us in mississippi. thanks so much. appreciate your time. >> thank you. tomorrow we will have a special day of coverage planned for super tuesday. our big ramp up to 2012. i'm going to be live at the occupy wall street protest highlighting some of the key issues of the upcoming presidential campaign. less than 30 minutes from now, two high level staffers at penn state university are scheduled to be arraigned.

they are charged with lying to a grand jury about a growing sex scandal. penn state athletic director tim curley and vice president gary schultz both deny the charges against them which include failing to report suspected child abuse. the man at the center of the scandal is former penn state football defensive coordinator jerry sandusky. once the heir apparent to joe paterno himself. sandusky facing 40 counts -- 40 counts of sexual abuse of eight teen and preteen boys. a lot of folks have been following this story very closely. the more we hear. the more your stomach churns when you hear about these allegations. give us a handle on how this has played out so far. >> well, for penn state, not too well. obviously, you have the fact that some of these allegations were brought, in fact, a

graduate insisteassist apt in 2 seen an act by sandusky in the penn state locker rooms. told joe paterno. according to joe paternoo statement yesterday, paterno only knew vague details, not specifics. paterno turned it over to his higher ups, but after that, it didn't make its way to police and, obviously, there's allegedly many other events that took place. and people, frankly, are not happy with, obviously, everything that's gone on. but even penn state's reaction from graham spanier the president who said he supported the two men and penn state's statement. people want more. we're not going to hear from paterno until tomorrow it seems. >> let's talk about paterno, of course. joe paterno one of college football's most revered institutions has been the head football coach there for decades. people don't even follow it know jopa. he testified for the grand jury, not considered a suspect at this

point but he said he heard of an incident back in 2002. there was a piece today in "the times" that talked about paterno's reaction to all of this. has there been any fallout from this yet? what do we know about paterno's involvement in all of this? >> right now all we know at this point, and as you said, there's going to be some sort of press conference at 1:00 p.m. eastern time with the state attorney general and the police chief. but it's not expected that we'll know more at this point besides what joe paterno told us. but i can tell you this. we never thought that the 84-year-old joe paterno would potentially be pushed out by this. we always thought it would be age. but i can tell you, there's a lot of people calling for his head over the fact, craig, that although he does technically have bosses, everyone knows that the real boss at penn state is joe paterno. >> so you really think this could do him in? >> yes. i think there's many people that think at this point there's no chance it won't.

but who knows. i mean, we have to let the justice system play out. but as i can tell you right now, the public sentiment over how penn state has reacted to these allegedly atrocious acts is -- they are getting just raked over the coals for their reaction. and i think people just expected more at this point. we know, like everything, craig, it's a legal situation, but i think that people think that they've handled it poorly. >> from the outside looking in, certainly doesn't look or smell very good. darren rovell, cnbc. thank you so much. appreciate that. >> you got it. right now, i want to give you a live picture of a developing story that we are following here at msnbc. this is a protester hanging from the tappan zee bridge. he's hanging with a sign. i don't know if you can make out what that sign says, but it says -- it's talking about a government cover-up.

he's on the bottom rung of a ladder here in new york city. tappan zee. traffic on that bridge being held up as a result. a spokesman for the rockland county executive says at this point we don't know who he is. we hope he comes down. and that's at this point really all we know about this protester hanging that sign there. but again you can see the live picture on the right side of your screen is the traffic that is backed up on that bridge. the left side of your screen is the protester. the protester there holding a sign hanging from the bottom rung of a ladder holding a sign talking about some sort of government cover-up. it's a 24-foot long blue banner with some yellow lettering that reads rockland executive cover-up retaliation. can't really make out what that means. but we can certainly tell you what it says. we'll keep our eye on that and our eye on the situation on the

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save money. live better. walmart. unemployment and the struggling economy are hot-button issues going into the 2012 election. and rolled up into that, the housing crisis. last week the senate approved a $182 billion spending bill, part of which will help fund housing subsidies. but nonetheless, housing prices continue to plummet. new construction slow, at best. sales of new homes at record lows. foreclosures near record highs. so what if anything, are the candidates saying about it? let's bring in cnbc's real estate correspondent diana olick. diana, the last month, the president announced an executive action to help so-called under water homeowners refinance their mortgages. have republicans come up with the recipe to help the housing situation? >> so far, no. in fact, earlier this year, house republicans voted on four separate bills in an attempt to kill all of the obama administration's housing bailouts. so so far, the republican answer

to the housing crisis is no answer. >> well, because there's no good answer. i think that's why. there's no obvious solution to the housing problem. and only the -- the only other ideas that are out there are not really popular with the republican base. >> so far only front-runner mitt romney has spoken out specifically on foreclosures and democrats were quick to attack. >> foreclosures everywhere. and what's mitt romney's plan? >> don't try and stop the foreclosure process. let it run its course and hit the bottom. >> let arizonans hit the bottom? >> newt gingrich told the "las vegas sun" the answer is to, quote, renegotiate mortgages and write rules to make it profitable for banks to do it. of course, he didn't detail how. whatever the option it is likely not palatable to republicans. juicing demand through something like another tax credit would be seen as more government bailout spending. controlling supply by modifying

mortgages, again, that's bailing out those who acted wreglessly. and forcing banks to forgive principal would just end up in more bailouts to the banks. >> part of the reason the whole tea party movement was born was in opposition to homeowner bailpoupts you'll not see them talking about principal forgiveness or other programs to help delinquent borrowers. that's a nonstarter with not only republican primary voters. it's not popular overall. >> and that's why republican candidates have to skirt the issue. >> we will create jobs. that's how you hold on to your house. hold on, moms out there. it's not too late. >> the trouble is foreclosures are rising yet again. home prices are falling yet again. just this morning, fitch predicted that home prices could fall another 10% from where they are now before hitting bottom. so the question is, how long can the republicans ignore this? not long, i would guess, craig. >> and how far is bottom? diana olick, thank you. appreciate that. side bar now. if you missed saturday night's

quote/unquote debate between herman cain and newt gingrich you may have missed an unintended example of gotcha journalism. about 30 minutes in, the moderator asks cain a simple question about how to fund medicare. >> we leave the medicare discussion defined benefit plan or premium support? >> a defined -- you go first, newt. >> that's only fair. >> later in the debate, cain addressing the question again saying that the reason is he didn't quite understand the question. it wasn't asked the way he wanted it the first time so he came back to it. in and who is james carville's least favorite person in washington? politico asked carville that question as part of a quick profile. the ragin' cajun said the rule prohibits me to disclose names

but his initials are dick morris. and governor rich daniels of indiana has pink toe nails. that's true. we're not making this up. the governor had knee surgery. he attached a note his right leg for the doctor. it said, quote, this one, dummy spoep as retribution, the doctor gave the governor some pink toe nails. and rick perry now infamous new hampshire speech where people wondered afterwards if he was drunk or on something, well, it got the "snl" treatment this weekend. >> it looks like you are just flat out losing it. >> what, the election? i know. i'm losing it really bad. i'm losing it. you got to run. you got to run. you'll definitely win. and my polls go like -- [ male announcer ] when these come together,

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the prime minister of greece

has resigned, and the country is reorganizing its entire government in an attempt to calm fears over its financial problems now. nbc's michelle kosinski is in athens. michelle, who is in charge now? >> technically it's still the prime minister, george papandreou. they are still working out all the details of who exactly will lead this new coalition government that they decided on after days of uncertainty and world markets reacting accordingly. but at least that agreement has been reached. what they are going to do is form a unity government. the prime minister will step down, he says. elections will be held within the next couple of months, but most importantly, this new government, although temporary, will approve the massive european bailout of greece before it was about to default on its massive debt and possibly leave the eurozone. that's what had world markets in such volatility over the last couple of days and weeks.

so this is great news. it's good news for greece, for the eurozone and for world markets, especially since the european community was saying we're not going to pump more bailout money into greece until greece can come up with some consensus and some commitment to move the country forward. now it looks like that's happening here. however, here comes italy in much the same predicament. now there's talk of the prime minister there, silvio berlusconi either stepping down or being forced out. that's a much bigger economy, much harder to fix, much harder to bail out. now the world's eyes are kind of leaning off of greece and looking at italy with quite a bit of worry, craig. >> michelle kosinski from athens for us. thank you. and thanks to you as well. thanks for watching. i'll see you live from occupy wall street tomorrow, noon eastern, 9:00 a.m. out west. up next, "andrea mitchell reports."

here's your business travel forecast. i'm bill karins. middle of the country is where all the stormy weather will be for your monday and tuesday. east coast looks great. detroit to chicago, indianapolis, st. louis, down through oklahoma city, all areas of missouri, even into the dallas area, chance of some rain and thunderstorms. and airport delays. have a great day. me the best way to design a vacation on a budget with expedia. make it work. booking a flight by itself is an uh-oh. see if we can "stitch" together a better deal. that's a hint, antoine. ooh! see what anandra did? booking your flight and hotel at the same time gets you prices hotels and airlines won't let expedia show separately. book it. major wow factor! where you book matters. expedia.

delivering mail, medicine and packages. yet they're closing thousands of offices, slashing service, and want to lay off over 100,000 workers. the postal service is recording financial losses, but not for reasons you might think. the problem ? a burden no other agency or company bears. a 2006 law that drains 5 billion a year from post-office revenue while the postal service is forced to overpay billions more into federal accounts. congress created this problem, and congress can fix it.

right now on "andrea mitchell reports," herman cain says he is done talking about sexual harassment, but today there are possible further accusations. jobs for veterans. but will congress act? >> our veterans did their jobs. it's time for congress to do theirs. >> but with the election a year off, bill clinton has some not very subtle jabs at the obama record in his new book. and greek shake-up. the prime minister will step down. now the pressure is on italy. plus, a sex abuse scandal in a storied college football program. what did officials there know? when did they know it? and good day. happy monday. i'm andrea mitchell live in washington. herman cain is trying to turn the page. and brand new polling from nbc news and "the wall street journal" out this hour now shows that more than half of republican voters say the accusations do not concern them at all. mccain's overall favorability rating has taken a hit.