>> politics is like fashion. if you wait long enough, everything comes back in style. with the exception of leg warmers. witness newt gingrich down for the count in june polls now have him in first. the grand puba, the union leader has pubically endorsed the speaker. williams is a write wer

politico, and msnbc contributor megan mccain. thank you guys all for joining me. is it, in fact, a big win? >> considering the fact that mitt romney is from massachusetts, a neighboring state, and they have had an opportunity to look at him up close for many, many years, sit a slap in the face for him to see a neighboring paper totally dishim in this way. >> he has a home. >> sit not the first time. it happened in 2008. it helped megan's dad win the primary when the paper decided to throw its weight behind him in a crucial point. and not just endorsing another candidate but then devoting a huge amount of editorial space to trashing mitt romney every day. that is almost as important if

not more important. gingrich, the kind of fire that they will aim at romney between now and january 10. >> once the union leader makes you their guy, you are their guy for sometime to come. i want to point out the fact that if you look at the union lead ehren dorsmentes, they don't tend to be that good in terms of picking a winner. so at the end of the day strategically this may not -- newt gingrich may not end up being a winner. newt gingrich is running to sell books and raise his national

profile. given the fact that he has given recent council tory if not broad minded comments. do you think he is serious about running for president? >> absolutely. >> do you hi he seriously wants to win the office of president? >> i don't think he started outd doing it. union leaders are endorsing me. i am making waves. more importantly we need to focus on all the attack ads is still against mitt romney. because of ethics complaints in 1998. have they forgotten this?

i don't understand. >> they have given some conservatives look i am going to give them another chance. the very practical issue is a serious one. he has said in recent days that he raised $4 million in september. >> it's hard to see. if he is running so short of cash and if mitt romney has got a well funded war chest, it's hard to see how he can compete with that. he does have a lot of akill lees heels. >> that is very euphemistic. >> and very generous. certainly in the early spring where his -- they were not sure that he was serious. a lack of gravity to pull these

people. >> he is a guy who has thought of himself as a world historical figure. he believes he is -- >> deserving of his own almanac entry. >> i think he is very serious. he will need to win in iowa. he will have plenty of money. >> and you think he can compete? >> there is a big question about whether conservatives -- >> vacation in the middle of a campaign season? he is not serious. i don't believe that he is running for president until he started getting traction. the most important thing now to realize is that all of the sudden -- the hypocrisy in this. >> there seems to be part of the whole republican speed dating

season we are in. >> when is rick santorum going to get his luck? >> who knows. the mere fact that it is not settled. it is early on. certainly not the parties at large that can cross both sides. >> does this mean effectively that anybody not named newt gingrich and. putting a lot of irons in the fire at winning new hampshire? does this open up the door or shut it firmly? >> it ain't over till its over. i think my father in 2000 is a really good example. this is a different kind of election and i say that we will end up marrying it even though

we are having flings all over the board. >> i like that phrase. i'm going to go with this this is the first time. now we're in like a four hour news cycle. so the importance of how far these things are and how much can happen shouldn't be understated. >> mitt romney is now playing in iowa. he does not win there. it will be a fwloe him if he doesn't win iowa. whoever comes out of iowa has ten days with a huge amount of national attention including with independents voetding in that. who knows. >> a lot done in a very short period of time. >> all that he wants to hear before his name is possibly. we will be back after the break with bad attitudes.

that's a pun. the campaigns are already on the attack. ♪ [ male announcer ] an lg smart tv, lg optimus cell phone and...an apology card. this is ridiculous. yeah, and it's got apps. nice. it's got vudu, twitter, facebook. no honey, not facebook. ♪ honey, you think my sweater's horrendous? cats don't skate. i think it kicks butt. [ male announcer ] get low prices on the gifts they love, like lg tvs with the latest technology. backed by our christmas price guarantee. save money. live better. walmart. it's easy to see what subaru owners care about. that's why we created the share the love event. get a great deal on a new subaru and $250 goes to your choice of 5 charities.

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that's a trailer for the four minute web video anti-mitt romney that was released today. we have seen a raft of inflam tory ads. we saw romney coming out with an

ad that took a quotation about the mccain campaign out of context. i got ask you guys, are these ads successful and is there a difference between provoking the other side and invoking a real message? >> it seems like there is not much of a difference any more. what is interesting is we are seeing these much earlier than we have in previous cycles. and also i'm wondering if we are getting these kind of ads real early. you have got unlimited money and all the outside groups can spend whatever they want.

>> am i the only person on the panel that humor makes it okay in a way? >> maybe. i was watching this ad and wondering if we did a negative ad against tower heist if that would have helped the box office numbers. i am bummed out when i see ads like this. most focus on young people and young people are not going to come out to the polls if they see negative mud slinging. i wish that things would focus on the actual issues. i hope that it's elevated. >> you would want to see more of a positive.

>> it's going to be a blood bath. it's only november. it's going to go from here to absolutely everything. >> talk about making it rain. there is an estimate of $3 billion that will get pumped into the 2012 race. already spent $20 million. priorities usa has spent $1 million. let's talk about the influence of money. >> they are all going to hate 2012. it will be the most negative presidential campaign because of the money and negative ads actually work in some sense. one of the most interesting things about this question is if you lecture not when one person get won or lost. they get one in the fall, winter and spring leading up to the

general election. the clinton campaign ran a huge number of ads by the standards of that time against bob dole. twinning him with newt gingrich saying these are the ones ruin ing once they got the nomination, they got there early? no core, no convictions. it's going to be parody. the president is going to raise a lot more money than whoever the republican nominee is. the republican nominee is going make up for that with outside spending and it will be a blood bath. >> what does that do to our national discourse? >> the national discourse is like really not in a great place now. >> yes. >> think about the things we have been talking about. wealth disparity only now. two and a half to three years

after the wall street melt down. the only reason that has gotten it is because of okay ewe by wall street. the national discourse has been absent for many, many years. >> i feel like we have talken about those things but we have not gotten the media coverage. going back to what is relevant here and now. going back to what you said, it scares me that you have got -- both parties are on policy different enough that they don't have to run a lesser of two evils sort of campaign. >> they do, except they choose not to. president obama, one could argue that he didn't run one.

things are still kind of myersed and now we don't have a sunny bright alternative or at least no one that i have heard about is offering a sunny bright alternative. >> and obama campaign ran on an optimistic campaign. >> a little tower heist. >> nice way to wrap it up with a bow. what is the obama campaign planning for 2012? is there a secret weapon? everyone have their new blackberry from at&t? it's 4g, so you can do more faster. so, kathryn, post more youtube videos of your baby acting adorable. baby. on it. matt, ignore me and keep updating your fantasy team. huh? jeff, play a game. turbo-boosting now, sir. dennis, check in everywhere you go on foursquare. that's mayor dennis... of the water cooler. you're the best. liz, rock out to pandora.

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>> we'll talk about biden and the white working class vote in a second. i do want to talk about the kids. the obama campaign has -- thus far what seems to be remarkable and robust on the ground presence. they did serious work in ohio as to whether obama can turn out the youth vote. you have a new act which i am eager to hear more about. i would love to get your thoughts on that. on the electoral side, the i was working on was youth outreach. very little of what we did made

it for very long. they did seem to impact in a positive way. i think hopefully what will retain momentum is there is a lot of good. >> how do you remind them of that? the practicalities of it. pir haps hard to remember all the good things that the president has done? >> that is where the strategy of organizing your friends. taking five people out to the polls. having conversations over coffee or the dinner table. we remember in 2008 we had people in dorms and fraternity houses and sororities would have conversations about the political spectrum and what they

wanted out of it. i feel like folks under 40 if you look at something like don't ask don't tell, it is a human rights issue. if you go over 42 it is a gltb issue. they can remain rational and relevant. and tell us what yo are are doing now. >> i finished my two yirs at the white house. working on this game, which i am not a big shoot em up kind of video game guy. it's all hand drawn art. >> like a bat computer? >> in my head is is this awesome bat computer. if you have three buddies come over they can all opt in. >> none of them carry automatic weapons? >> they don't.

sorry. >> it is an interesting question and i guess it would be maybe a good time to pivot to talk about the joe biden and obama's problem connecting with non-college educated white voters. >> it means that he will have a lot of work to do and biden? why not? he has got those roots. he is very good at the coffee table conversation. he is very relatable. he has got the common touch. in addition, you have got watch out if you are the white house because he is, as many people warn, gaffe prone. it may be that -- >> that is what maybes watching him so fun. >> i want to know who thinks he is the secret weapon. he is the gift that keeps on giving. sends hum out off his leash. probably mildly controversial. >> like the entire republican

presidential field. >> hilarious. so funny. >> there is no secret here. if you went back and looked at joe biden's schedule in the fall of 2008, 80% of those trips would have been to pennsylvania, ohio, and florida. they will send him again now he is seen as a huge friend of israel. obama's weak with that vote. joe biden is as close to beating him. >> are you on record saying that? >> he will be down there and working that very hard and effectively. >> i think love him or hate him, everyone has an ankle like joe biden. >> yes, i think he is a universal uncle. there is constant speculation about this, the wall street journal has a little piece on it talking about maybe it's time to kick biden off the ticket and bring in hillary. is that what we do? >> i have never heard --

>> that is the story that keeps on giving. why r why tuz it keep coming up? >> it doesn't make sense. >> the injection would be fantastic. >> the problems that he is having with women would automatically be solved. simply for the nakt he is a woman who kicks ass in politics.

>> this conversation will continue again throughout the 2012 race. so don't feel like it has to end here. thank you for joining us. google it. >> twitter as well. >> when we come back, the reverendal sharpton joins the panel and we will look at how the rich are avoiding taxes and companies are getting secret loans from the government. i'm an expert on softball. and tea parties. i'll have more awkward conversations than i'm equipped for because i'm raising two girls on my own. i'll worry about the economy more than a few times before they're grown.

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the ultra wealthy have gone to extreme lengths to shield billions of -- have seen their effective tax rate fall from 30% in 1995. >> thank you. >> conversation we are having now about fairness and income distribution in this country. an article in the "new york times" shows that the super rich are not only getting an advantage but it seems illegal.

actually be any serious effort to do so. >> others are doing. it is incred tobl me. i would have to battle for just seven this year. and the way they come down on non-profits and others. inquires that there be real reform in terms of the law. they don't allow that or even people that are slightly higher than middle class. and i think it is a blatant disregard for what this country should have as the tax code and the people that are -- all the other issues. what happens to these at the top? when you see people donating and

fraudulent things that have nothing to do with charity just to get a tax break and we don't do anything about it. >> it should. >> there is a whole host of brazen tranz actions that really do seem illegal. wait a second. that's illegal. ultra wealthy of what is illegal and what is not. do we have any confidence that our legislature that l be able to do something? >> the problem is you have a lot of people who donate generously to campaigns.

so a lot of people trying to focus on the fact that there is fundamental unfairness. there has got to be a rally cry for occupy wall street. this has got to be one of the signature causes. >> paul actually had an op ed today. you can raise taxes on millionaires all you want but it won't make a dent in the federal deficit. .1% would generate a trillion dollars in revenue over the years. while that doesn't form the problem it helps it to some degree. >> every little bit helps. it is also a sense of shared sacrifice. public works come from the fact that people don't want to pay taxes to get the benefits that

they would get. and the rich have been able to opt out. >> earlier, it does really give fuel to both sides. conservative arguments for a flat tax. try to get rid of the ways that people play the system. if you twoont get optimistic, flatter, simpler less easy to gain the left and right both agree on. >> in the sort of broader context of the nation having a dialogue about what is fair and what is not fair. i want to tie back to occupy wall street. we talk about that being a match

that is lighting a bigger fire. the other report that came out today which is scathing. bloomberg has an article out today. basically the fed committed up to $7.7 trillion in no strings attached loans to america's banks. they took them up on a lot of the offers. this is before t.a.r.p. without lawmakers having any awareness that this is going on. sort of in the same breath crying foul. i think like 1.2 trillion lend? at the same time, they are frightening which any of the regulations on this, while no

one knows they are getting this. they have got more money than t.a.r.p. and all of the people that were anti-t.a.r.p., there were some things you had to do with your t.a.r.p. money. you're going to fight to keep regulations. i think going back to john's point is there is something that could be a real moment here is if you look at the tea party movement of last year, occupy wall street around economic unset. how we respond is different but everybody saying something is wrong with the set up. and i think that the tax code stuff that we just talked about and bloomberg report. we can fight about how, but this stuff has to stop.

>> they are in this report. i'm building on trying to get the left and the right together. >> i think both sides have to really deal with this. had to defend t.a.r.p. they were getting trillions to the bank. >> unbeknownst -- from people that are not that plugged in. the cover of the "new york times," this is what people are angry about in america. th this, that is what people are angry about and what we need to focus on. we're all talking about occupy wall street in financial regulation. how much of this sort of dialogue can be credited back? >> i think a huge amount there

is no question if you actually look at the data. on shows like this. and there is a lot to say about occupy wall street. the most fundamental thing, so different from -- the movement past movements. it starts with a huge base of basic sympathy in the country. 75% of the people in the country agree that the system favors the rich over everyone else. that is not a republican or democratic issue. you talk about 75 to 80% of the country. this happened in three minutes. and the question on whether the

movement capitalizes on that. >> such huge support. if they said, and that is what we want to dorks the difference in the civil rights movement and the vietnam movement is there were goals. when you have a mover with no goals you have the ability to get broader support. you are right. don't tell me how to do it. the devil is in the details. >> when the rubber meets the road the goals are going to be different. so to john's point also the fact that we are talking about it now is the fact that everybody has been touched by either banking collapse, housing collapse or by financial inequality going years having to pay more for benefits. and the good ones are not there any more. government can help solve this problem. the republicans are more of a free market oriented solution. >> and there it is.

>> in the civil rights movement, the beginning, it was as unformed as what do we want? freedom. when do we want it? now. the question for occupy wall street, does the movement keep doing what it's doing and then organizations sprout? >> coming up? what now? barney frank announces his retireme retirement. and was france's president involved in setting up bfk? coming up. the employee of the month isss... 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. with spark, the boss earns double miles on every purchase, every day. 5 igh. owning my own business has never been more rewarding.

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revolutionaries dominate. the three central bankers tie for tenth place. president obama comes in at number 11, just ahead of dick cheney and condi rice. what do we make of that? >> there is influence that is bad or good. influence can be taken however you want. i mean they changed things for the better or the good. >> i did think the inclusion of cheney and condi rice was interesting now. >> rice was the most interesting. >> and condi rice. and also worth mentioning the revolutionaries take the first ten slots on the left. >> revolutions came as a result. that's the logic. >> if a wreck didn't happen, would the revolutions had happened? >> bunched up in that ranking.

an awful lot like the bush administration in foreign policy. softer version of condi rice. obama has continued a lot of the policies much to the dismay of a lot of people on the left. >> speaking of world leaders, what to we -- the expose gives us missing blackberries, hidel hotel records. this is my favorite part. a hotel employee all in a plot to keep him from running for president. welcome to the conspiracy theory, the french addition. do you think there is any -- does this hold any water? >> it has growth and i don't know. i just -- i don't want to hear about it any more. i don't care. >> conspiracy theorys are often just that.

theories. it's hard to imagine that you have got two governments who have difficulty getting their act together would be able to engineer and sweep in two bureaucra bureaucracies, the new york police department and the prosecutor's office. >> and get permission from the hotel in the meantime. >> he is trying to say that he believes that we actually did land on the moon. >> implication of guilt is severe. that was neither here nor there. barney frank is not seeking reelection. first elected to congress in 1980. what does this mean? no more frank in congress? >> unbelievable. >> i think that frank has distinguished hymn as probably one of the most important

progref iss voices we have seen in our lifetime. i think he showed courage and was able to navigate and get things done at the same time. >> the last 30 years in congress and he is actually one of the smartest people. the ideology. he is sharp as a tack. understands the work with the financial system as well as any person in the house. >> absolutely. to his credit, many of piece of legislation in massachusetts where i used to work, he is an institution. it will be hard to imagine the political landscape without frank there agitating, provoking or getting things to move. >> does it tell us anything? is it so hard for left leaning democrats that they are ready to throw in the towel?

>> i think the redistrict lines, i think he would have i don't think that he is a guy that will just cut and run. he would get older and get tire. >> he is 71. >> 21 years in congress and before that a major figure in public. let's let him -- >> i'm not -- >> let him go home. i'm not disappointed to see him go for obvious reasons.

>> the house and senate. bumping up against a lot of -- certainly getting more and more difficult. who is the next generation? >> is there concern about who the next leaders will be? perhaps they are not yet as high profile on the national stage. thank you all for joining me for this robust and interesting discussion. i would be remiss if i did not get that plug in for you. coming up, i will do my postscript. the president -- did the president leave god out of

thanksgiving? that's next on "now." and coming up next, why did barney frank leave after more than 30 years in congress? we will be talking about that coming up. plus the new hard-hitting ad against mitt romney from the democratic national committee. all that and more. and...an apology card. this is ridiculous. yeah, and it's got apps. nice. it's got vudu, twitter, facebook. no honey, not facebook. ♪ honey, you think my sweater's horrendous? cats don't skate. i think it kicks butt. [ male announcer ] get low prices on the gifts they love, like lg tvs with the latest technology. backed by our christmas price guarantee. save money. live better. walmart.

>> and now on to my postscript. in his weekly address, president obama said i know that for many of you this thanksgiving is more difficult than most. but he continued if we look out for each other and remember that we're all in this together, then i know that we, too, will overcome the challenges of our time. in response, some critics have been outraged. wrote one, his remarks were void of any religious references although thanks give something a

holiday traditionally steeped in giving thanks and praise to god. said another, he is a militant atheist. that ranks high among the attacks that president obama has weathered, though not the worst. we can argue whether thanksgiving is a religious holiday, perhaps that is missing the point. our society remains open to debate and our leaders don't necessarily have to placate a minority for political purposes. that they are instead free to deliver a message invoking partnership, community and belief in one another. for that we should all be thankful. that's all for now. see you tomorrow. >> and i'm andrea mitchell. let's go right now to newton, massachusetts. barney frank is announcing that he will not seek reelection.

>> pretty and stressful four years. first dealing with the crisis and then dealing with the legislation to make it less likely that we would have another. i then had as is appropriate, a very spirited campaign for reelection. my view was that i could do my job best fighting for the public policies i care about by making this my last term. ten a funny thing happened on the way to retirement. a very conservative republican majority took over the house. it seemed to me that some of the things i had fought hardest for could be in jeopardy. financial reform, which i anticipated the republicans in the house we try to undermine. additionally, i was afraid that given the need to do deficit

reduction, the majority would seek to block any increase in taxation on the wealthiest people and would seek to protect the military from any spending cuts so that the necessary spending reduction would fall on social security, medicare and other programs that enhanced the quality of our lives here at home. i thought if i were to announce in december that i was a lame duck that would weaken my chances of having influence. ordinarily i would not have announced as early as i did but we did. and so i gave my initial view. and i was planning to run again and then the congressional redistricting came. this decision was precipitated by redistricting, not entirely caused by it.

not because i don't think that the job is important but there are other things i would like to do in my life before my career is over. i was a fledgling academic. i think i have the longest uncompleted phd thesis in harvard history haunting me. some people are able to write and pursue an active life. i am easily distracted by -- i started writing the statement the blank stage. the blank screen. i will take almost any excuse not to write and i do want to write and i want to write about some serious issues. so i was torn. they both stem from the fact

some of whom -- which is -- in terms of the issues. first, i decided to run again. protecting financial reform and making sure that military spending was part of the mix of deficit reduction. the need to campaign in a it that is almost half new conflicts with that. would be engaged in a game which is entirely appropriate. nobody would expect to get elected without a contest. but the fact that it is so knew makes it harder.