voters are ready to go to the mat to get president obama re-elected. and then alec baldwin has a few words with american airlines after he's booted from a plane. why the actor says it was worth it. good to have you with me today. i'm thomas roberts. as we started this hour, we have this breaking news about the sexual abuse case against former syracuse basketball coach bernie fine. a new york prosecutor says he finds the alleged victims credible but cannot bring the charges against fiennes becaune the statute of limitations. fine denies these allegations. he was fired on november 27th and then head coach jim boeheim came under a lot of scrutiny for this. he is still leading the team at syracuse. b.j. bernstein is an attorney out of atlanta who has covered a lot of these cases and has

represented many victims during her time. b.j., is this a big shock to you to hear they cannot go after fine because the statute of limitations in at least two of the cases have run out? >> no, not really. i mean, this was something that, as we know, really had been sat upon for a long time. the espn interview happened over eight years ago, and most states have -- each state has a different statute of limitations period, but they usually run from the time someone reaches adulthood and add anywhere from five to seven years to that statute. >> when we talk about the specific accusers here, we have bobby davis, who is the one who came forward first in 2002, also the davis young man is the person who also recorded the wife, laurie fine in that recorded phone call that espn came to air with. as ends it, davis, who is now 39 years old, his stepbrother mike lange, is another ball boy who

said fine molested him. he's now 45 years of age. interestingly, the third person that came forward is a younger man who said that he was also molested by bernie fine. he's 23-year-old zach tomaselli of lewiston, maine. they're saying his case falls within federal statute of limitations and being investigated by the u.s. secret service because i believe that he claims that fine molested him on the road. >> right. and sometimes, again, each jurisdiction, even the federal government, has a different statute of limitation period. so that will be something i'm assuming that they will -- the federal authorities will look at. when you travel and cross state lines, you open up pandora's box to a number of possible agencies that can look at you. so that one probably is still being looked at and considered for prosecution. >> the thing that really is a kick in the gut about this, as i read about how old bobby davis

is 39 years old, i'm 39 years old. i know in maryland when i came forward, there wasn't a statue of limitation that i could bring my accuser down. this has got to be such a kick in the gut to these victims to hear this to know they are, one, credible, that they have done the research, vetted this investigation, but only to find out that they're not going to be able to move forward with the prosecution with criminal charges. >> it is, and i think that this case is bringing up some issues of do we need to relook at the statute of limitations as it applies to in particular child sexual abuse. i know particularly with young men, they hang onto this information for a very long time and don't disclose a lot of it for fear of how others and their family may perceive them. our society's views of homosexuality are such that coming forward could lay open you to a lot of ridicule, whether you are gay or not gay.

it may be something that a victim doesn't want to discuss. and because of that, there are valid claims out there that need to be looked at. why? because these people -- it's a continuing process of potentially molesting another generation. >> and this sends such a strong message though to victims out there that are suffering in silence that if they do some forward, nothing is going to happen. >> well, the thing is if they come forward, nothing may happen for what happened to them, but it puts authorities on notice as they're investigating it. they may look at it and say, my goodness, this person, just like these other cases, are still working with young people. they're still around children. maybe we should look at them further. so i wouldn't say it's in vain. the other thing is i have had since all this has come -- blown up between syracuse and penn state, people come to me telling me what's happened to them, and i'm finding they may or may not be within the statute of

limitations, but the therapeutic value i cannot stress enough of coming forward -- >> right. >> -- and really telling someone and getting this burden off is huge. so even if the criminal laws can't take place, even if you have to do it at a private therapist, truly, i urge victims to tell someone and take this burden off of them so they can move forward with their life. >> b.j. bernstein, you make a great point. thank you for joining us. in the penn state case, a 19-year-old man has filed a complaint with state police alleging he was sexually abused by jev jersey sandusky after th former coach gave him liquor on the penn state campus. this is a new accuser as lawyers prep for a big hearing in that case coming up next week. in political news today, the newt gingrich surge is looking more and more like the real deal. acovereding to politico, strategists of both parties say he could upset mitt romney to

become the republican nominee and it's polls like this that gave the argument real peek. gingrich is up 37% in the 2012 field, 15 points clear above mitt romney. and with romney remaining stagnant in the low 20s, his campaign is looking to seriously reboot and get more aggressive with newt gingrich. karen finney is an msnbc analyst and a former communications director for the d thinc and j. ferrare. a separate poll from "the new york times" saying gingrich is ahead of romney on defeating president obama. the question there, conservatives like rush limbaugh, they're attacking him on his long record in congress. how worried is the gop establishment that this could be an achilles' heel? >> the idea that romney has been sort of the front-runner for a long time could only be overtaken by a guy who has been

considering running for president since 1994. i mean, it's kind of interesting to see gingrich with his long legislative history, with his long washington record h begin to overtake romney. they have been campaigning for a long time, the two of them. but the baggage isn't that bad. even if you accept all of the problems that gingrich has in terms of historical baggage. he's a guy that's more likely to take on entitlements than i think romney. i think romney would just blow with the wind on that. >> karen, speaker boehner repeatedly has been asked about hisopinion about the former speaker and he's kind of ducked the questions. listen to this. >> newt has been a long-time friend, but i have spent a lot of time this year avoiding getting involved in picking winners and losers in a presidential contest. >> so obviously uncomfortable talking about gingrich. is this the democrats' dream come true, karen, if newt gingrich truly is the nominee? >> i mean, to some degree yes, but nobody is sure if the gods

would be that favorable, but i want to go back to something j.p. said. maybe he doesn't remember his history. remember that newt gingrich was pushed out by his own party, and when you talk to people on the hill, particularly republicans who worked with him and know him best, they're terrified of the idea of him becoming the nominee for a couple reasons. number one, he's an ideas guy but he's not a disciplined manager, and so their concern is he's going to -- the same pattern we have seen over and over and over again with gingrich, he goes up, his ego gets out of control, he goes off, and then he comes right back down. they're very worried he would have that kind of implosion in the middle of a general election. so there's a lot of talk in the building behind me, again, from people who know him very well who are saying we can't let that happen. now, for democrats there is a plethora of material, not only -- i mean, his baggage is really quite that bad. he's the only speaker of the house in the united states to have been disciplined the way he was, and because of his role as an insider, he was able to structure certain things in the

nonprofit world that he then created for himself after his tenure in congress to then figure out ways to technically skirt the laws but still do pay for influence. >> i want to get your take though because you wrote earlier this week about the reality show that's coming before us right now, reality tv really versus the presidency saying it's like the "jersey shore" meeting "the apprentice." i have to point out the situation also roasted trump already on comedy central. so that already happened, that meeting. mitt romney already turned down the donald and turned down that invitation. donald trump giving a slight dig back to mitt romney. look at this, guys. >> i'm surprised that mitt romney said no. he was very nice. he called me yesterday and he said he's very busy. frankly, i'm surprised because he really wants my endorsement. he wants it very badly. if you're down in the polls, which respectfully he is down in the polls fairly substantially in a lot of ways, i would think that you would want to be on a debate like this because it

would be very well-covered. >> j.p., karen has not hidden her feelings about this type of debate but from romney's standpoint is this an act of political cuourage to turn him down. >> it goes both ways. i think romney is trying to focus on the voters and trying to take care of iowa. i think he's more focused on that than going and debating with donald trump. there's no real issue there. gingrich is the sort of person that can hold fort in any kind of session, even with the done 2345 donald's presence. >> this is happening two days after christmas. we have santorum on board, newt, michele bachmann kind of walked back whether or not she was going to be come to this or not. when you think about this, why not watch something like this? especially for young conservatives across the country that might be looking for a different type of debate? >> or more entertainment again. let's see if at the end done that would says, your hired, or,

you're fired. i think mitt is trying to have it both ways like he always does which he knows that's a circus he does not want to be a part of. at the same time he was trying to do it in a polite way. i don't think that at the end of the day the donald's endorsement is going to make or break any candidate. it's really about the publicity. of course santorum and gingrich is going to do it because he's never seen a camera he didn't want to go talk to. >> doesn't romney need the publicity that newt is going to get out of this, the mileage or the traction? >> i think romney needs to spend more time getting his message out about his tax plan about how he's going to fix entitlements and connecting with voters. i think getting shouted down or having to debate his issues and not having a monopoly on whatever the platform is something that is not a good opportunity for him. he needs to focus on talking to voters. >> one other quick point is new hampshire voters, i have talked to a number of people who have been talking with voters in new hampshire, they really hate all of this stuff. so remember that romney's

strategy is not based on iowa. it's new hampshire. so there's also the need to be careful to preserve the new hampshire folks appreciate the serious conversation. they don't like all of the media circus and the donald trumpisms. >> we shall see how it all cracks out. karen, j.p., great to see you both. thank you. some developing news to report on a different front. american airlines firing back at alec baldwin for what it calls rude and offensive behavior on a recent flight out of los angeles. yesterday baldwin mocked the airline on twitter saying he was unjustly kicked off the flight for playing words with friends on his ipad. it's a computer game. but the airlines says it was anything but a misunderstanding. nbc's jeff rossen is in the studio with the latest on this one. jeff, we've got new details, huh? >> you're addicted to this game, too. >> we play it at home. >> and you've nearly been kicked off flights for this game. >> no, i'm a good boy. >> alec baldwin was on this flight, flight 4 yesterday, on american airlines from l.a.x. to

new york. he's sitting there with his ipad and alec baldwin admits to this, and the flight attendant came over and said shut it off, shut it off, shut it off, we're about to leave. the door is closed. even though they were still parked at the gate, alec baldwin wouldn't do it. and so some witnesses on the plane say he went into the bathroom, kicked the door so loud the pilots came out and security escorted him off. alec baldwin was then rebooked owe be a -- on a later flight. american airlines has not commented until now. within the past 15 minutes they have put out a statement telling us their version of events for the first time. they're saying that alec baldwin once again supporting his story was using his electronic device, wouldn't shut it off. but then they say things got a little different. that he got offensive and was using inappropriate offensive language with the flight attendant. they say he then went into the bathroom and closed the door so hard behind him so he could use his ipad in the bathroom and

closed the door so hard the flight crew, that's the pilot, heard this even with the door closed, came out to see what the ruckus was all about, and because the offensive language, because of his aggressive behavior, american airlines says he was asked to be removed from the flight and he was denied boarding. what's weird about this is american airlines then rebooked him on the very next flight to new york. so on one hand you're thinking to yourself, okay, well, if he's not good enough to fly and he's out of control, why are you booking him on your meryl airli the next flight? >> none of us would have known anything about this if twitter hadn't exploded. >> he has half a million followers. we have a couple tweets he wrote. float attendant on american reamed me out for playing words with friends wile we sat at the gate not moving. then he put a hash tag on, no wonder america air is bankrupt. now on the 3:00 american.

flight attendants already look smarter. my name is now there's always united. >> if he was working on a good "x" letter word, on a triple word score area and he needed more time, jeff rossen, you know, you go into the bathroom. of course you slam the door to get some privacy. >> how many hours do you spend with this game? >> i'm behind a little right now. but i like to play tammy fine, "today" show producer tammy fine. >> we need to talk about you getting a light. >> i need to get out more. the hermanator isn't ready to get relinquish the spotlight. and we love to talk about how occupying the oval office makes president's grayer but all of that stress doesn't necessarily equal shorter life spans. we have the new research straight ahead. a sony big scree. ♪ ♪

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rod blagojevich is saving his best one-liners for a last ditch attempt at shaving years off of the years that he's supposed to spend behind bars. on the second and the final day of his sentencing hearing, blagojevich hopes his words can stave off a 20-year prison sentence. blagojevich has arrived at the courthouse. ing, we're goi we're going to k on this story. herman cain told the crowd at a gop fund-raiser monday night that he may be out of this race but we'll be seeing a lot of him. he's going to appear in a documentary with black entertainment television defending some controversial comment he's made. he also tells b.e.t. that he's keeping in touch with his roots which may surprise a lot of people. >> always stayed in touch with my roots, and my roots, baptist

church north, which isn't far from where my parents were first living when they moved there in the 1940s. it was in the projects. so, yes, i started out in the projects. >> joining me now is host of the b.e.t. documentary "the curious case of citizen cain," emmitt miller. he's saying he came from the projects. did he discuss the backlash he received from the plaqblack community for making these controversial statements, for example, saying that blacks had been brainwashed into voting for libera liberals. >> you have to understand that in his world, liberal democratic policies are masking a bifurcation right now in the black community. you've got a new wave of black conservatives that are coming up in the ilk of allen west or of a tim scott. this isn't the condi rice or even the colin powell of old. and these are movement

conservatives that may hue to the tea party but they do have a different idea of what it means to be black in america and what it means to pull yuryourself -- yourself out of a cycle of poverty. >> take a listen to this. >> they're looking for candidates that are fiscally responsible who want to get serious about cutting the spending and growing this economy. number two, the free market system. and, number three, enforcing the constitution. that's it. >> so those who say the tea party is racist or that they have an agenda that's against the minorities -- >> it's absolutely dead wrong. that many white people can't pretend to like me. >> emmitt, does herman cain believe that his approach to this race and also his ideology on conservatism has brought

african-americans maybe to a party they once never considered? >> i think that it's certainly within the people that were supporting his campaign that's true. he thinks black america hasn't really been given the black america a chance to hear the message he has to say. he calls it the democratic plantation and he attacks the like, even in this special, a real eye-opener, the way he attacks people like jesse jackson, julian bond, for the way they're actually using black people to support the democratic vote instead of actually putting forth the sort of policy that is can bring them out of the cycle of poverty. >> emmitt miller, thanks for your time. you can watch emmitt hosting "the curious case of citizen cain" tomorrow night at 9:00 p.m. eastern. thanks again. developing now, some good news for the president's re-election campaign. a new report on how much support the president enjoys amongst african-americans and latinos, and guess what? they're pretty fired up.

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welcome back, everybody. republican presidential candidates, including mitt romney, are making the case to jewish voders. many of them speaking at the republican jewish coalition forum today and they're taking plenty of shots at president obama's policies. take a listen. >> i would argue if we do not get new leadership, we will see a lost decade of economic growth. >> you have already heard from one and perhaps you're going to hear from all of the republican contenders for president, like me my guess is that each will acknowledge president obama's failings. it's a long list so we have a lot of material. >> if you are trying to figure out what your world view is with respect to foreign policy, find out what joe biden thinks and then take the opposite

opinion -- [ applause ] you will be right 100% of the time, not 99%, 100% of the time. >> the crowd will also hear from chris christi ae and newt gingrh later today. civil rights activists are petitioning the up over the voter i.d. laws they claim will disenfranchise black and latino voters. a new report from the naacp breaks down the numbers. 6.2 million african-americans voters and almost 3 million hispanic voters have no valid photo i.d. as laws go up in key balanced ground states requiring them. dell loris freelin can't vote in south carolina under the new government issued i.d. law and joins me to talk more about this. explain the story you gave to congress about how you came to be one of thedisenfranchised. >> okay. actually, i spoke here in

columbia at the governor's office, and it was because i have a birth certificate that does not have my first name on it. so i cannot get any type of i.d. or driver's license or a photo i.d. that's going to identify me. so when the election come up for 2012, i won't be able to vote because in order for me to get my birth certificate amended, which i was born in california, it's going to take over a year or it could be more because of budget cuts in california, and the next thing is that i can obtain an attorney to get a court ordered name, but that's going to cost me over $700 to $1,000, and i'm not in a position right now because i'm on disability to be able to afford to try to get a court ordered name. >> delores, are you going to

fight back or continue to fight back trying to overcome this and do what's necessary, the year investment it's going to take to try to get this rectified? >> yes. in fact, i have been speaking out with a group, the progressive network, and we're talking to as many people that we can about this problem because i really think it's unfair that we have to even go through the rhetoric of trying to obtain photo i.d.s to vote. i have been a voter all my life, and now i know i won't be able to vote in the 2012 election. >> deldelores, thanks for joini us. >> thank you. >> be sure to tune in for "block the vote" an investigation of new voting laws around the country all this week on politics nation with reverend al sharpton at 6:00 p.m. eastern right here on msnbc. being eligible to vote is one thing.

being motivated to get out and support your candidate, that's quite another. a new report shows president obama winning big with african-americans and latinos. we're talking landslide. plus, president obama as middle class warrior? can the very issue that threatens to derail the president's re-election bid end up saving him? we're talking with former labor secretary robert reich who calls obama's speech the most important of his presidency. and then what kid rock has to do with the republican race for president. you're going to want to hear this one right after this. just one phillips' colon health probiotic cap a day

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. welcome back, everybody. president obama made it crystal clear during his pivotal speech in kansas that every american deserves the opportunity to succeed. >> i believe this this country succeeds when everyone gets a fair shot, when everyone does their fair share, when everyone plays by the same rules.

these aren't democratic values or republican values. these aren't 1% values or 99% values. they're american values, and we have to reclaim them. >> joining me now, robert reich, economics professor and former labor secretary during the clinton administration. professor reich, nice to see you this morning. the president mentioning both the 1% and the 99%. this seems to be resonating with the base and providing an idea of where the white house wants to take the conversation come 2012. will it be successful for the president? >> i think it will be very successful, thomas, if the president actually sticks to this speech and makes this speech the centerpiece of his 2012 election because what he did in the speech for the first time in his presidency is he link eed the nation's grotesque inequality in which the top 0.1%

doing better and better and everyone else doing worse and he linked it to the economy, that is because most people in the economy, they don't have the money to keep the economy going, and also to the undermining of our democracy. when that much money, that much income, that much political power goes to the top, obviously our democratic principles, our foundations of our democracy are undermined, and he also gave an indication of where he wants to go in the second term. so if he sticks to these themes and if he gets a mandate to do this in the second term, we could see a president obama term two that actually tackles some of the central issues that are hurting america right now. why most americans think that the game is rigged. >> professor, take a listen to this. this is what we're hearing from the other side of the aisle this morning. >> while our democrat friends continue to insist on massive tax increases on small business people around america, republicans continue to focus on the priority of the american people, and that is jobs. >> all right.

so there's the right's response. as each day passes though, profess professor, who utithout a deal e payroll tax extension, how much worse are things going to get for the american people? >> if there's no extension and no extension of unemployment benefits, then you're going to have a fiscal drag on the economy. that means unemployment could go up again. not only growth will suffer, and if you have in addition the headwinds coming from europe in terms of the debt crisis there, we could find ourselves over the next six months in an economy that is worse than it is now. and, again, i don't want to be overly cynical by what the republicans are trying to do, but by saying no on the unemployment extension and also no on the payroll tax cut extension, they are essentially condemning the economy next year by election day to being a very bad economy, and maybe, maybe that's what they want to do in order to convince voters that they should vote against president obama. >> i want to play this recurrent

line of attack that newt gingrich is using against the president. here he is on cnbc. take a listen. >> he represents a hard left radicalism. he's opposed to free enterprise. e os po he's opposed to capitalism. we're going to have the candidate of food stamps, the finest food stamp president in american history in barack obama. and we have a candidate of paychecks. i want to be the i go who says i want to help every american have a better future. he wants to make sure he levels americans down so we all have an equally mediocre future. >> the candidate of food stamps. is president obama assured to win re-election with that kind of language being used? >> once newt gingrich's records and his statements and -- i mean, put aside his private life, everything that newt gingrich has done over the last 25 years actually surfaces and is examined clearly, people will remember that in 1996 his face was put on most advertisements

with regard to a lot of republicans who lost re-election in 1996. newt gingrich obviously is going to use ad hominem attacks on the president like, that but it's going to be very hard for any republican come election day to say with a straight face that they are in favor of jobs when they voted against over and over and over again against any job creating plan that the president has offered. >> former labor secretary, professor robert reich, great to see you this morning, as always. thank you. >> thanks, thomas. >> here is a look at some of the other stories topping the news now. after meetings in germany on tuesday, treasury secretary tim geithner is in paris today for more talks concerning europe's debt crisis. geithner said today he's encouraged by progress being made. meantime, european leaders will hold critical second days -- a second day of summits beginning tomorrow aimed at agreeing to steps to resolve the debt crisis. citigroup is eliminating 4,500 jobs over the next several quarters in a cost-cutting move.

that's 1.5% of citigroup's global workforce. other financial firms have also been eliminating jobs in the weak economy. so far this year they have cut more than 200,000 jobs. and today marks the 70th anniversary of a day that will live in infamy. on december the 7th, 1941, japanese warplanes attacked pearl harbor killing more than 2,400 americans and destroying two battleships and nearly 200 american planes. hear now the nbc radio bulletin reporting that attack. >> president roosevelt said in a statement today that the japanese have attacked the pearl harbor, hawaii, from the air. i repeat, that president roosevelt says that the japanese have attacked pearl harbor in hawaii from the air. this bulletin came to you from the nbc newsroom in new york. >> about 120 survivors of the attack are gathered at pearl harbor today for a special commemoration ceremony that begins in just over an hour. at 7:55 a.m. hawaiian time,

12:55 p.m. eastern time. that's the exact time of the japanese attack. a moment of silence will be observed in the memory of those killed and lost. and the cuban boy who became the focus of a headline-making international custody battle a dozen years ago, well, he's now all grown up. elian gonzalez celebrated his 18th birthday in cuba yesterday. on thanksgiving day in 1999 you will remember a fisherman found him off the coast of florida clinging to an inner tube after his mom and others fleeing cuba drowned trying to reach america. he was taken to live with relatives in miami, but his father, who was separated from his mother and remained in cuba, demanded that elian be sent back. on april 22nd of the year 2000, federal agents raided elian's uncles home in miami seizing the boy from a closet at gunpoint. gonzalez how 18 studies at a military acadek dem in cuba. president obama is promising to promote gay rights around the world. his global fight against the

criminalization or abuse they face springboard off the recent don't ask don't tell. charlie morgan and her spouse, karen, are two of 16 plaintiffs demanding military spousal benefits that the government is denying them under doma. karen and charlie, it's great to have you both here. we have talked before, this is your third time on our air, but, charlie, explain to all of us why it's so important for you to get the federal recognition that you need, the circumstances that your family faces now. >> yes, thomas. i have been recently diagnosed with reoccurrence of breast cancer. i returned from deployment late august. i had a doctor's appointment on september 1st. i did find a lump. it was biopsied and determined reoccurrence. so basically i'm in stage 4 of breast cancer. it's metastatic and potentially i'll be on chemotherapy for the

long term. i'm presently on chemotherapy now. that being said, time is of the essence for me. if something happens to me, i want to make sure my family is provided for. i came back from deployment proving i'm willing to put my life on the line for my country. it's important now that my country protect my family. >> certainly the repeal of don't ask, don't tell is a big hurdle. karen, we're looking at the pictures of charlie returning and hugging your toddler daughter. what does it mean though to your family to have to go through this right now? i mean, i know this is a terrible personal struggle that you both are facing with what you're battling medically. what does it also mean to have to go through this personal struggle for the recognitions that you so fairly deserve? >> sure. it's a double hit right now. here we were, you know, reintegrating and kind of getting to know each other after a year apart once again, and now we have this big chunk of news to deal with, and it's been

really devastating. >> i know it was a big day for you on the day that don't ask, don't tell was repealed. we had you come out on our air during our hour. what type of reaction have you gotten to people knowing that you are open and serve in our nation's military but also having to go through the personal struggle that you're going through right now? >> when i came out initially, i didn't know the prognosis. i hadn't had my surgery at that time. but the folks back in my unit and the new hampshire national guard have been wonderful, been very supportive. karen was able to attend the yellow ribbon event. it was outstanding the support we got from the leadership. general bennett, our army new hampshire national guard general, came and actually sat down and talked with us and told us he was happy to have us there. the support has been wonderful. >> karen, how are military spouses responding to knowing what you're going through right now? >> everybody has been really supportive. you know, i felt pretty isolated prior to this so i didn't have a lot of contact with other military spouses, but since the repeal of don't ask, don't tell,

i have really felt the support. >> well, it's great to have you both here. charlie, we want to keep up with everything that's going on so we can keep everybody apprised as we follow your story. it's great to have you both here. >> thank you, thomas. >> in person, charlie and karen morgan. thank you so much. please take care of yourself and stay in touch with us. we're going to be back with much more. could the black and latino vote push president obama over the top come 2012? the new poll numbers that may surprise you coming your way next. [ male announcer ] xbox 360 with kinect, this season's hottest games and...sweatbands.

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perry does hold the lead in one race, the ad war. he has spent over 5 million bucks so far, 7.5 if you count the pro-perry pac. ron paul just over $2.5 million. romney $674,000. gingrich at $2,330,060. bachmann, $166,000. santorum at just $23,000. a pro-huntsman pac has spent half a million bucks to date. president obama needs a big turnout from minority voters and a new study shows black and hispanic voters are fired up to carry the president over the finish line. 3 out of 4 minority voters consider themselves democrats, and they still view president obama positively. 84% approving of the job he's doing. maria teresa kumar is the executive vector of vote latino. and jonathan capehart is an opinion writer for "the washington post" as well as an msnbc contributor. it's great to see both of you

this morning. thanks for joining me. maria, it's a big positive for president obama. nearly 9 in 10 minority voters in 11 states have this favorable opinion of the president. how important is that overall and is the tone he's striking right now after the speech in kansas, is that going to convince these people to bring even more voters to the polls? >> i think not only are they going to convince people to go to the polls, but he's talking about the right things, jobs, the idea that if you work hard in america you should have an equal shot as everybody else, and those two issues specifically really resonate within the latino community. he also needs to start talking more though about education. education is, believe it or not, education and jobs are tied when it comes to the lee tee knlatin. are the black voters and latino voters going to be able to actually make sure that they have their paperwork to exercise their vote? >> we just had that story with delores freelon on in south

carolina who will not be able to vote. the white house may be worried about enthusiasm, turnout for this election, but this voting group is already pretty group passionate. nine on a scale of one to ten when it comes to enthusiasm. for election what can the administration do to get the voters to the polls? especially reaching out to the younger voters, who are now going to be of age? >> here's the thing that's always been a concern for me, anyway, speaking for myself. about the obama coalition. these are, if you will, first-generation voters. they were fired up and became interested in politics because of barack obama, what he represented, what he stood for. and you know, they don't have a tradition of voting. so as usual during the mid-term elections we see voter participation go way down. you add do that dissatisfaction, and sort of grumbling within the democratic base about the president and ha he's doing. but i think as we've seen the president get more fired up since the september 8th joint

session speech, the president is doing what a lot of people in the democratic base, and particularly african-american voters have wanted him to do for a long time. and that is to fight. they want him to fight against the republicans, fight against those who they believe, thwarting the president's message. and if he can convince them, you know, we're still a less than a year out from the election, if he can convince them that he's still fighting for them, that they will do everything possible, including getting over these voter i.d. laws, meant to you know, suppress the vote. to actually get out there and exercise the franchise. >> maria, in this economy right now, is it just a stereotype to say that the latin vote, hispanics, that immigration is just the only priority that they're worried about? >> what's curious about the immigration debate is that it, what we've seen, and we can look at nevada. sharon engel went harsh against the latino community, basically criminalizing them and making them all of a sudden aware that not only was immigration, regardless of your status, being

stuck to them. but they also allowed them to trigger their political, their political savvy. latinos in nevada voted nine to ten against sharon engel. the same thing happened against meg whitdman when she started going after the latino community. so what we're seeing is that immigration is really the catalyst for a political awakening number one. but number two, then they start digging into the issues and try to identify candidates that care about them, that care about job creation, that care about health care and education and taking care of their families. because you have roughly 22 states that have passed similar copy-cat like laws like arizona with the intention of criminalizing latinos, all of a sudden i think the republicans are going to have a hard time you know, shoving that away. because all of a sudden alabama, florida, texas, you name it. the areas that really matter, where they hold over two-thirds of the electoral votes are passing these stringent legislation, where the latino voters are becoming again interested in the political process.

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