you when it happens. newt gingrich, held a brain science seminar at the university of iowa yesterday in the ten days following tonight's debate, he's scheduled to spend three days in the hawk eye state while also hitting new hampshire and south carolina. joining me from des moines, john heilemann, an msnbc political analyst. mr. heilemann. thank you for being in iowa for us. >> good afternoon, how are you? >> i am good. let's talk about what's happening there in the hawkeye state because doconventional wisdom would have it that a candidate would need to spend in time there. what's going on in iowa, john? >> well, conventional wisdom be damned, newt gingrich believes he's the front-runner by having ignored conventional wisdom. told him back in june that his campaign was over.

he declared he had a different way of running the campaign and it would work. most of us doubted that and now he is heading most national polls and ahead here in iowa. he's running on a big head of steam and that has gone to his head i think. he does not think he needs to be here more than he is. it's kind of astonishing. after the debate tonight in sioux city, virtually every candidate will be up the northwest aisle and doing events. even mitt romney will get one in before heading to south carolina. newt gingrich will be on his way back to the east coast where he'll be doing god knows what. >> let newt be newt. there's been some analysis saying maybe you don't need to be in iowa as search because they can get the message across through social media and fox news. at the end of the day, the iowa caucus is this weird thing. you have experience with this, where folks need to rally somewhere supporters.

does newt's strategy of not being around work for him? >> look, it's worked so far. if you looked at the nbc poll out the other day. all of the intensity in the primary is behind newt gingrich. and he's in a commanding position in the race right now in iowa, south carolina, florida and in the national polls. now, some of the private polls suggest that his momentum is beginning to slow and iowa is important to him because if ron paul clips him in iowa, gingrich loses altitude and comes in second place and that's not a good o men going forward. we're starting to see the famous lack of discipline in newt gingrich. the head is swelling up. the rules don't apply. gravity doesn't matter. we'll see it play out here over the next week. >> i've got to say, i remember earlier on in the campaign when it was the trips to greece and heard about the tiffany's revolving account. it was like newt ging prich isn't really running for

president he's running for brand gingrich. this is why we started the show with the notion of isn't this just for book sales? he's not paying attention to the key primaries in primary states. is it for real? >> he is the most important person in newt gingrich's mind, i hope everyone in america understands that. that's good. my faith in god has been reaffirmed because i've been praying for newt gingrich to be the next nominee and he may well do that. you're right about ron paul. ron paul is going to iowa caucuses. >> bets $10 bet. >> why do you think so? >> he's quiet. the turtle always wins. the rabbit never ones. >> then jon huntsman should win the whole thing. >> i said iowa, i didn't say the rest of them. >> the turtle always wins in iowa. >> i think so. it's evangelicals and they like his idea. they think he's a good christian

and they are -- it's a good message. >> isn't it possible and kind of smart, let's give him the benefit of the doubt, if he goes to iowa and goes door to door, there's always the chance of one of those youtube moments, maybe a ron paul supporter may say how dare you be married three times. >> or get sprinkled with glitter. >> yes. >> but you can't run defensively like that, we're not going to go out and see people because we might make a mistake. >> a youtube mistake would kill him at this point. >> john, what is happening with the ron paul, michele bachmann s and rick santorum. because they are putting in the shoe leather time if that's the phrase. >> i don't think newt gingrich is worried about youtube moments, he has proven to be i am perve yous to those moments. it's not hurt him very much thus far. >> you're not using your imagination there. >> i'm trying my best. look, i was with some very

seasoned iowa republicans last night who were echoing jimmy's pau point, that ron paul could win iowa. he is the only candidate who is really running a traditional iowa caucus operation here. they are very well organized and also not that badly financed. ron paul is up on tv. running negative ads against newt gingrich. they seem to be having some effect. the consensus is that ron paul or newt gingrich will win the caucuses but his trajectory seemsz to be downward and paul's seems to be holding steady and rising a little bit. that gets to your point, the rest of these candidates. last night you had an anti-abortion event in des moines at which four were present. newt gingrich, rick perry, michele bachmann and rick santorum. all of the three besides gingrich is working to takes

away gingrich's votes. and all seem to be rising a little bit, they hurt gingrich and elevate paul and create a muddle in iowa that could ultimately work to the benefit of mitt romney. if newt gingrich does not win a commanding victory, that will be seen as a loss for gingrich and that will be a good thing for romney no matter where he finishes in iowa. >> i wonder the establishment republicans have thus far sort of danced a strange tango, john boehner in an interview -- an he vent the other day, i won't para phrase because the man says it so much better than i will. let's go to the sound of boehner talking about newt gingrich i think yesterday. >> like all bthey have good ides and bad ideas. he newt is conservative. not sure he's as conservative as

some people think he is but he is conservative. >> can you split the hair anymore? there is a sense these guys do not like him. >> there's a full on sense of panic among republicans in washington. let's be honest about it. and it's interesting. people who know mitt romney and have known him for the last 20 years are supporting romney for president of the united states. people who have known newt gingrich for the past 20 years, oh, my god he could be president of the united states, we have to stop this. you see it manifesting itself in the national review editorial and conservative columns and it comes in a number of different ways. it comes that he can't beat president obama, you see that in the polling, lagging where romney is. there are fundamental issues of character and judgment that people are very deeply concerned about. >> but none of them are a secret. why did the fannie mae stuff go away so quickly? a week later it's like forgotten

about. >> isn't it because he's -- if talk ratd yradio and onliners could have gotten behind mitt romney and talked the base into him, i think newt wouldn't have the staying power he does. but there's no alternative. >> where do they go? do you really go to mitt romney. the video from ten years ago i'm a mod ral and have progressive values. >> and you want to win in iowa? no. >> i'm looking at this field, not only is it completely unsettled but it's directionless. you have chaos going into new hampshire, jon huntsman may still be in the game and this thing could go on forever. >> the change in the rules where there's going to be a proportional a lotment of delegates will change the dynamic of the republican primary. if gingrich has early victories, mitt romney will stay in the race and stay in the race until the moment that every delegate has been accumulated that's

necessary to nominate, which will be way deep into the spring for the simple reason that everybody thinks that any second and any moment on any given day newt gingrich could reach for the self-deinstruct button. >> sort of hovering over it. >> the boat doesn't necessarily sink the moment it gets a hole in it. it stays to stay on water. and once it takes on enough water it will tip over and go under. i think when you give consideration to gingrich, in an economy where there's almost 9% unemployment and 80% think the country is heading in the right track. he stands up there straight faced and says it is the threat of the electoral magnetic polls. >> i'm so glad you brought that up. >> we have a golden opportunity and you have a guy out there talking about electromagnetic pulse. >> is anybody talking about

electromagnetic pulse or brain science in iowa? >> steve schmidt, you are not really with the whole program here on the science. the electromagnetic pulse is going to get you. steve spent time in iraq and he understands the nature of true threats and i can't believe he's minimizing the threat of the emp. a strange moment yesterday for newt gingrich to do his one iowa event besides this anti-abortion event he went to. this event where he talked about brain science. and it was a curious event. it was a curious thing for him to be talking about. he is -- i don't think a lot of io iowans are featured on the electromagnetic pulse or neuroscience but so much of this is priced into the stock with newt gingrich. people, he is especially committed republican activists know the field. he's not a stranger to these people. and the strangeness of newt gingrich is not new information

for these people. they tend to overlook all of it to the extent that they support him and overlook all of it because he is the guy who was the architect of the greatest republican triumph in the past 20 years, taking over the house of representatives and they think he can stand up to and defeat barack obama in a debate. that matters a huge amount. more than anything else, some kind of visceral level. >> it's important to talk about his main competition which is mitt romney who is definitely taking more an an tag nistiw approach, calling him zany. >> it encapsulates the ideals, a family friendly word. >> it barely connotes the idea of someone who has a tin foil

covered hat. >> it feels sort of mild and kind of fun as opposed to like dangerous. i think at some point you have to have mitt romney has got to attack him for being dangerous. >> that's ironic that that his attack word, zany. >> it's like a leave it to beaver moment. mitt romney is stuck in the '60s, we're past the '60s -- >> i think that's very 2000 -- >> if you're going to call your main opponent something, don't call him zany, call him nuts. >> same thing he didn't do in the debate. had all of these golden opportunities and he backs off of them. it's strange. >> you wonder why he stuck 20% with die-hard republicans. >> isn't it smarter to let ron paul work his magic in iowa and not really go on the attack that much? >> keep in mind mitt romney is launching an air wave attack against gingrich.

he may be using the word zany but there is sharper language being used -- >> romney has an experienced and tested team. this is a long brutal process. and all campaigns that eventually go on to win the presidency or win the nomination go through more than one dark night. they've hit the period of the campaign where they are being tested and going through turbulence. i think it's crazy -- >> we shaare going to go live t president obama at the white house right now. >> it's whether this is going to be a country where working people can earn enough to raise a family and build a modest savings and own a home, secure their own retirement, look after their kids. that's the test of our time. in some cases building this kind of economy is going to require some action from congress. and right now congress needs to

make sure that 160 million working americans don't see their taxes go up on january 1st. none of the workers who join us here today can afford $1,000 tax increase next year. and it wouldn't be good for the economy. every economist indicates it's important for us to extend the payroll tax cut and make sure that unemployment insurance is extended. so this congress cannot and should not leave for vacation until that -- until they have made sure that that tax increase doesn't happen. let me repeat that. congress should not and cannot go on vacation before they have made sure that working families aren't seeing their taxes go up by $1,000 and those out there looking for work don't see their unemployment insurance expire. there's no reason why we shouldn't be able to extend

these items. the payroll tax cut before the holidays, there's no reason the government should shut down over this. and i expect all of us to do what's necessary in order to do the people's business and make sure that it's done before the end of the year. now, only congress can prevent the payroll tax from going up next year but there are some things that we can do without congress to help make sure that hard work pays off. and that's why we're here today. right behind me here is my friend pauline beck. one day back in 2007, pauline was my boss. i was in california to take part in an event called walk a day in my shoes where you spend the day working the job of someone who was in the service industry. and i was lucky enough to be paired up with pauline and i have to tell you it ended up being one of my favorite days of

the campaign. she is a home health care worker. when we met, she was getting up every day at 5:00 a.m. to go to work, taking care of an 86-year-old amputee named mr. john. she would dress mr. john and help him in his wheelchair and make him breakfast and scrub his floors and clean his bathroom. she was his connection to the outside world. and when the work day was done, she would go home to take care of a grand nephew and two foster children who didn't have families of their own. heroic work and hard work, that's what pauline was all about. one of things i remember about her was her patience. she was patience with me even when i didn't wring out the mop properly or didn't shake out the sheets before putting them in the laundry bin. but i remember her talking about the hardships in her life, without any self-pity. she was glad to be working hard and glad to be helping someone.

all she wanted in return for a hard day's work was enough to take care of those kids she was going home to, enough to save a little bit for retirement, maybe take a day off once in a while to rest her aching back. each of the folks who are here today has a story like pauli pauline's. they represent 1.8 million home care workers across the country. hard working professionals, mostly women who work around the clock so that folks who need help, including many of our family members, can live independently in their own home. right now home care is one of fastest growing industries in america, partly because we're getting older as a society. as the baby boom generation heads into retirement, more and more americans will need the services of these outstanding workers. but here's the thing. as the home care business has

changed over the years, the law hasn't changed to keep up. so even though workers like p l pauline do everything from bathing to cooking, they are lumped in the same category as teenage baby sitters when it comes to how much they make. employers are allowed to pay these workers less than minimum wage with no overtime. that's right. you can wake up at 5:00 in the morning, care for somebody every minute of the day, take the late bus home at night and still make less than the minimum wage. this means that many home care workers are forced to rely on things like food stamps. in in country it is inexcusable. these men and women work their tails off and don't complain. they deserve to be treated fairly. they deserve to be paid fairly for a service that many older

americans couldn't live without. and companies who do pay fair wages to these women shouldn't be put at a disadvantage. four years ago a home care worker named evelyn coke took her case to the supreme court. she was working 70 hours a week with no overtime pay. but the court ruled against her saying that to change the law would require action from congress or the department of labor. i'm sure many of you won't be surprised to know that congress hasn't acted on this issue so far. today i will. today we're guaranteeing home care workers minimum wage and overtime pay protection. that's thanks to the hard work of my secretary of labor hilda solis. we make sure that a million men and women don't slip through the cracks. make sure that companies who do right by their workers aren't undercut by companies that don't. we're going to do what's fair

and do what's right. evelyn coke didn't live to see this day, but the truth is americans like evelyn and pauline and the rest of the workers who are here today, they are one of the reasons i ran for president. they work hard. they play by the rules. and in exchange they want to see that their hard work and their responsibility is rewarded. it's that simple. americans all deserve a fair shake and a fair shot. and as long as i have the honor of serving as president, i'm going to do everything in my power to make sure that those very modest expectations are fulfilled. i'm going to make sure they are treated right and make sure that every american is treated fairly. thanks very much. everybody. thank you. >> that was president obama speaking about a proposed rule

to extend minimum wage and overtime protections for home care workers. very interesting moment as we look down the shoot, the tunnel to the payroll tax cut fight that we're having actually and the deadline for the government running out of money on friday. on a certain level it was obama speaking about fairness, equality, jobs something he's been hammering home a lot but showing his executive privileges to say i've doing something while congress is sitting on its hands. >> it's a not so subtle pitch to groups of people he needs to attract turnout from, women, the home health care industry is an industry of women. african-americans are who about 4 in 10 home health care workers and hispanics, 12% of the industry. this is a direct pitch to people he needs and showing, i'm looking out for you. congress may be ignoring doing

their jobs -- >> let's dive down deeper, 2006 the democrats won the congress back in a swing election, independent women. 2008, barack obama wins, independent women. 2010, republicans win, independent women. this is a very, very subtle pitch to independent women that are out there saying, i've got a mom or dad like this. what am i going to do with them when i get to that age? my mother is fine and does her life and drives around -- >> they are concerned about getting help for sure. >> it's an issue of whether the president of united states can relate to them. mitt romney cannot relate to these people. >> exactly. the difference is i've known people who have worked in this industry and used people in this industry in their own homes. it's much different than a nurse that visits you. home health care workers become almost like a family member. i've known folks who these people back up, don't work for them anymore. >> if you're sensitive to their

needs and lives and things, you pay them better and do things for them, pay their taxes, you don't need the federal government stepping in to tell you how to do it. how does this appeal -- in you're talking about it's appealing to the employers of these people, i'm not sure exactly how that works. >> we will have more on president obama and the battles he will be facing before the christmas holiday next on "now."

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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. and get free shipping to your store or home. save money. live better. walmart. congressman john ging dingell told role call that if a version of himself was transported to this poisonous environment in congress, quote, i'd probably want to go and vomit. latest problem, another threat of a government shutdown, another game of brinkmanship and another effort to kick the

proverbial can down the road. we just saw president obama telling an audience, specifically the old executive office building, congress cannot go on vacation until they deal with this. we're hearing reports that, you know, the senate had a package to keep the government funded but the white house and harry reid said you are not going to get that done without getting the payroll tax cut and unemployment insurance handled. i guess i wonder, in this grand series of deadline showdowns we've had this year, in the summer it sort of seemed like maybe the republicans had the upper hand. now the democrats are playing hard ball. does anybody -- does either party win the messaging war on this? >> no, i think everybody loses. there's a certain element of the boy who cried wolf here. we're on the fifth, sixth, seventh, 18th potential shutdown of the year. to a degree when congress has a 9% approval level they are inoculated from becoming more unpopular because there's

nowhere ielse to go. >> zany. >> we're divided on a lot of things, the entire pop you house agrees on one thing. >> the idea of not extending payroll tax cuts that are for the middle class when republicans sort -- position they are willing to die on, we are not going to raise taxes on millionaires. and the messages from republicans have been offkey when the middle class -- >> it looks like now the democrats may have to play ball and get rid of the millionaire's tax. >> i don't think there could be any messaging. it's like loud blaring music and everybody is shutting it off. the subtleties will start to get lost. what's going to happen? they are going to reach some tentative deal last few more months, do this again six months, three months, it is like the nba lockout, they were going to get it settled eventually, we had to go through the roller

coasters, up, down, who's winning, 51%, 48% revenue split and then over by christmas day, thank god. >> the collective wisdom is that president obama was wounded after the debt ceiling debacle this summer. and the white house wanted to keep him out of a lot of this. he's now very much back in the this throng of it. does he emerge wounded? >> you have to see how this one ends, when they get the deal done, how long the vacations are delayed. it's hard to say but it certainly gives an opportunity to rebound from that. he was pretty wounded and those wounds like stuck. >> only once though i've ever seen them not do it, shut the government down. ever since that time they play this game of chicken. mitch mcconnell is playing a fabulous game of chicken. >> he plays it better than anyone else. >> here's what people don't know and people in washington do

know, they have been talking for weeks and with the white house. the white house has been a part of this. they are out there making deals, totally going to make a deal. if they don't -- here's how mitch mcconnell is playing chicken, the only way to stop it all, goes before the senate and says i object and if you don't get 60 the whole thing goes to hell in a hand basket. is he willing to do that? if i were mcconnell's caucus, i would be like, i would like to get home for christmas. we're at 9%. i'd like to get home. >> the white house has released the obama family christmas card, i think we have a visual somewhere. those kids want to go to hawa hawaii -- >> you think they will make the kids stay in washington? >> they are going. they are getting on the plane. >> how long is it? what's the over/under on how long it is before president obama departs for hawaii? is he supposed to leave

tomorrow? >> he'll be in hawaii for christmas. >> it's going to happen. >> i have a solution, sends the president of the united states and two girls to hawaii, let michelle obama stay and deal with congress and i'll bet you ten bucks she'll deal with it. >> real talk. we'll be talking more about candidates and their spouses after the break. when you have tough pain, do you want fast relief?

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♪ imagine me and you, i do ♪ i think about you day and night ♪ ♪ it's only right ♪ to think about the girl you love ♪ ♪ and hold her tight ♪ so happy together [ male announcer ] when life changes, so can your insurances needs. use travelers free guide to better coverage to stay prepared. is your auto and home insurance keeping up with you? contact your local travelers agent, or call 800-my-coverage. mitt romney is taking to the air waves to make the case for candidacy and religion. he is coming out with now some kind of defense for his religion. he said i think it was yesterday, i think that most people don't decide who they are going to vote for based on religion that they happen to be

a member of. but there will be some for who that's an issue and i won't get those votes in some cases. i think that's the minority. romney has done a fairly -- in 2008, mormon ism was not -- it seems to humanize who some have called a rob ot, talking about his religion, his experience as a missionary. does this help mitt romney and i think beyond that, is mormonism an issue. >> it is an issue in the south and i like to be honest and brutally clear about things. that doesn't play well in the south. romney has spent how much time in south carolina? not much. how much time has he spent in

alabama? how about mississippi? no. okay, but -- >> because of his religion. >> because of his religion, i hate to say that, that's a pathetic way of looking at the territory i'm from. that's why you have people like rick santorum and others that feel sympathy towards but aren't credible candidates, newt gingrich, look at newt gingrich, that guy is doing well in florida and south carolina as you said earlier. because georgia is between those two states and people know him and think he is a religious man despite the fact you can't keep his you know what in his brichs when he's married. >> you've got iowa, very religious, right, skeptical, you've got south carolina in the first block and florida, very big tea party state but also evangelicals. will he bank it all on nevada? >> steve, i have to ask, some

folks have said what mitt romney needses to do is pick something controversial and maybe that could be az rehis religion, something he's passionate about or believes in. do you think that can work? >> i think mitt romney is a very competent person who's a turnaround specialist. he has taken things that are broken and made them work. and the country is not in a good place. he should be running under the banner of his competence, his leadership and that's what he needs to shine a spotlight on enultimately it becomes an issue about electability in the republican primary. the guy was working for newt gingrich. just got fired for his job because he said out loud who people are whispering in iowa. it's an unfortunate -- >> called mormonism a cult, yes. >> i think the country is better off for the lds citizens, they

do an awful lot the good for a lot of people. and we ought not to have a religion test -- >> it takes the issue away from the opponents and say i'm not ashamed of this. addressed the broadway show book of mormons. i think it's a good strategy and takes attention away from his vast fortune and makes him seem more like a normal american. >> in a culture that's filled with octomoms and kardashians and dumbs down by the hour as you watch this. the fact that donald trump is a figure at any level in the republican primary, mitt romney is someone who has lived an exem playerry life. >> to whom? >> to his family, to his faith, to his country. he's the type of person, regardless of your political disposition, from a character

perspective, someone with young kids, you want your kids to grow up to be like. >> it's not like is mitt a good guy or not, it's like how does he project an image that people warm up to. >> an ideal life, because most people in the country can identify with him but look at him as an ideal. mitt romney needs to do what barack obama did in philadelphia. go and have a conversation -- give a big speech and come out of the closet on mormon ism and hit it head on and talk about it and say this is a religion that is not a cult. >> what do you people think then, they think it's a cult. >> people thought that barack obama's religious experience was run by that jeremiah wright guy but it wasn't. >> the problem for mitt romney, not relatable for so many reasons. he lived a 1% life. >> i think .1%. >> everything he does to highlight himself, highlights the fact he's so different from

other americans in terms of his privilege. he should be running on the economy, the economy, the economy. that's his strength. >> you can run against the president on the economy but you can't run against newt gingrich on the economy. >> he can say he's running as a manager. >> also, i feel like the republican ee lek tore at is more forgiving than we're giving him credit for. newt gingrich has been married three times and recent catholic conve convert, no one is questioning his faith. there's some bipartisan support for the notion of freedom of religion here and joe biden himself came out a few days ago and said in an upcoming interview, i acknowledge i'm a practicing catholic but i don't think it's anyone's business, that's why i'm so hangry about the way they are trying romney. there's an opening to talk about something dear to him and show us who he is, which is something i think he needs to do. concurrent to that we're seeing

more of ann romney in the political marketplace. and it sort of dovetails with a study that shows in america, marriage is not what it used to be, a new poll says marriages are at an all-time low. in the 1960s, 72% were married. today barely half at 51%. and ml of marriage. i wonder, are we moving towards a society and newt gingrich might be evidence, where having this ideal marriage is no longer that important? >> we did have clinton as president for eight years. that marriage could not be called ideal. >> i think that's an understatement. >> we're not necessarily moving towards anything, we're already there. and but of course it still works as a saels point. would everybody love to have a perfect marriage and like to

elect a president with a perfect marriage? of course, it's better than having an imperfect one, it's a question of whether that's a lit mus test of getting elected. we're definitely at the point where it is not. >> to go back to romney, the mormon stuff is one thing, when he talked about ann, i think it is the most effective effort yet to talk about him and his reaction to her diagnosis multiple -- ms, we'll say that. and her -- what he's done for her to give her therapy, the efforts he'd made. his embracing of her treatment. i think it is a real testament to the strength of their marriage. >> remember how stiff al gore was when he was running against bush and tipper would talk about mental health is an issue i've experienced. that humanizes you. no one thought al gore was human. >> i think it probably did help to a large degree.

it helped him with female voters. spouses usually a good thing. at the same time, when clinton was running, hillary clinton didn't go out as much as people thought shes was going to go because in arkansas she wasn't that popular. today the most popular politician in the country. >> the other glaring elephant in the room. could newt gingrich use callista? >> does he need to -- >> the story of them getting together is a not a positive and warm and fuzzy story. she represents herself in the way rudy giuliani's wife had a problem with him. >> you just present it. it's like you have to say this is us, you can't say, and then my wife or whatever. >> he certainly does it. every sentence belongs with callista and i -- i want to play a little sound from earlier debates when the subject of

infidelity came up and rick perry and ron paul's response. >> i've always been of the opinion that if you cheat on your wife, you'll cheat on your business partner. >> what about our oath of office? that gets to me, where you're really on the line as a public figure. that's where people come up real shoert. >> do you think the american public is making the leap, that someone's fidelity to their spouse, you can draw a direct line to the oath of office or that are we even paying attention to that? >> i think it's a bigger problem for gingrich. at the beginning of the civil war, general sherm an was skeptical about the leadership and met him a couple weeks before his assassination and asked to reflect on lincoln after he had be murdered. he said of all of men i've ever met, he possessed more of the qualities of greatness and goodness than any other. and i think that's an ideal for

the american president. the president, most don't hang up in that space but they reach it. they are able to touch it. and i think gingrich has a hard time being able to reach for that. >> the greatness and goodness. >> yeah. >> from the greatness and goodness part because of what he says dwen what he says and how he lived his life. i do think character matters and i do think when you give consideration to marriages and spouses talking about the most powerful person in the world, you want a stable environment around that person. you want to see stability and want to see moral rectitude. >> who wants to see it? the base of his support now is hard core conservative republicans evangelicals and they would seem to have the biggest problem -- >> i'm sorry in the general electorate, it's the callousness. >> gingrich himself said it --

>> but the callousness of the way he divorced the wives. i think for me. >> clinton, similar issues, it doesn't seem to be a roadblock to success in elections. >> i think the american people are most cognizant of, you point one finger, you have three more pointing back at you. i don't think the american people like for that to be thrown in their face. we impeached bill clinton over lying about adultery, it was the biggest farce in the history of the american system. look at him, he's wildly popular. most american marriages are not president or ideal. the new facts and figures show it. does that make newt gingrich after three wives and the way he got the last one remarkably real, it makes him remarkably gross and disgusting, however it's now leading in the republican nomination. >> we'll find out in the coming

weeks. next, we'll be tackling what now, could herman cain be our next secretary of defense? that's what he would like to do. >> that's going to be a quick conversation. >> if he's selected to be a cabinet member, that would be next on "now." [ male announcer ] cranberry juice? wake up! ♪ that's good morning, veggie style. hmmm [ male announcer ] for half the calories -- plus veggie nutrition. could've had a v8.

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the war in iraq is officially over, leon panetta was in baghdad to commemorate the affair. we know statistically that 4,000 according to the pentagon, 4,487 americans lives were lost. the numbers of course on iraqi civilians are not as well documented but some estimates say as many as -- it's a big moment and one we have to pars. hugo, you were talking about -- >> two things i was going to say. in the story in the "times", a

lot of the ceremonies where the u.s. military was handing over the bases to the iraqis had to be canceled because when they were scheduled they would start coming under attack. it was a kind of bad omen. there's a really incredible front story in the new york times about documents discovered in a yunk yard that detailed an attack on iraqi civilians and it was truly horrifying and came at a bad way to commemorate the end of the war and the president spr praising the military. the report in the "times" is even handed and interesting in the sense that it suggests how much pressure the soldiers are under. not like a bunch of evil guys doing these terrible things. some of the things detailed in those documents were really pretty disturbing. >> it's a mixed bag when we talk about the end of the war and the idea that the combat troops will be out is sort of -- there's a

big as ter isk, there will be standing troops in kuwait and thousands of military contractors still left in the country. >> it was kind of hard to know how to feel about it. i grew up in the shadow of the air force base and i have tremendous respect for the military. at the same time, you feel was this a complete waste. we went in there for reasons that turned out to be false. we've driven iraq closer to iran. what did we get out of this ten years of putting all of these families through ten years of really hell? >> millions of americans served in iraq in the last years. think of how much countries other countries have a million americans visited -- >> the figures are staggering, especially what's happening to veterans as they return home. revised census numbers show one in two americans is falling into poverty. initially they thought it was one in three, but you have americans who live at or near

poverty. we talked about this a little bit on show. the remarkable thing those living near poverty, that literally -- home repairs could take them under. how much does that form the debate as we talk about shrinking the federal government? >> we're having a conversation in washington, d.c. about whether or not to extend a payroll tax and that's 1,000 bucks. and this is a debate. there should be no debate about this. one in two is on the cusp of falling into poverty. think about that, we've been building nations overseas for ten years and we've neglected our own. i'm not a zen owe foeb on any circumstance but that is pathetic and this country has to focus in on that point. >> defense secretary herman cain, i have to run this because the man himself does a better

job than i would. herman cain with barbara walt ters. >> what kind of cabinet position would you like? >> we are speaking totally, totally hypothetical? department of defense. >> what? >> the best part is barbara walters' reaction, steve schmidt this is a man who called a place in the world use becky stan didn't know about libya and wants to be the secretary of defense. >> there's a much greater sense he'll be on next season's "dancing with the stars." >> i thinks it's the best answer, smart on his part. >> it's zany. >> zany is the word of the day. thanks again to jimmy, steve, hugo and joy ann for joining me on this wild zany panel. that's all for now. i will see you back here tomorrow at noon eastern. but until then, find us at

facebook.com/nowwithalex. andrea mitchell reports. hello, andrea. >> the word is zany and can newt handle the heat? republican establishment piles on hours ahead of the final debate in iowa. we'll cover it all. plus senate intelligence chair dianne feinstein on the end of the war in iraq. can congress avoid a government shutdown? we'll get the latest on negotiations with senator roy blunt. "andrea mitchell reports" up next on msnbc.

right now, the empire strikes back, hours before the iowa debate, mitt finds his voice. >> zany is not what we need in a president. >> while gingrich fires off a new ad and big one, rudy

giuliani slams mitt. >> i've never seen a guy change his position on so many things so fast on a dime. >> shutdown showdown, is there a deal? >> we're going to try to do it during the next few hours is try to work toward resolving some of the outstanding issues. >> we have been in useful discussions about how to wrap the session up. he has covered the two major issues that remain. >> plus, the lowering of the colors in iraq, the official end of the war. >> no words, no ceremony, can provide full tribute to the sacrifices that have brought this day to pass. >> and will silence be golden? the hollywood award season kicks off with the 2012 golden gl