and that's "hardball" for now. thanks for being with us. "politics nation" with al sharpton starts right now. time for mitt romney to eat his words. tonight the quarter million dollar man has the gall to claim president obama is out of touch. willard, i think you left your sense of irony back in one of those many mansions you own. and newt breaks down on the campaign trail. will it change how voters view him just four days before the iowa caucus? plus our special predictions for 2012. the winners, the losers, and all of the big surprises. buckle your seat belt. it's going to be a wild year. >> i can't give up that possibility of running. i just feel i owe it to myself. >> this president is going to be

a one-term president. >> who would offer the best answer? and i think we have the best answer, and i think the american people will choose that. >> the american people will have a good choice and a good debate. >> with just four days to go before iowa caucus, mitt romney is trying to win republican votes by launching a whole new attack on president obama. and this attack takes the cake. >> the other day president obama said, you know, it could be worse. that was his line, it could be worse. can you imagine hearing that from a pessimistic president? it could be worse. that goes down with ma reantoine et, let them eat cake. >> in case you she was the wealthy queen who supposedly told starving peasants they should simply eat cake. think about that. mitt romney, of all people, is actually comparing ma rrie antoe

et, yet somehow he thinks he's part of the middle class. >> we've got to provide help to the people who have been hurt most by the obama economy. and that's the middle class. it's not those at the very low end, certainly not at the high end. it's for the great middle class, the 880% to 90% of us. >> 80% to 90% of us? mitt now that's rich. we're talking about a man talking about expanding the size of his home in california, it's too small, and who has this message for people who could lose their homes. >> don't try to stop the foreclosure process. let it run its course and hit the bottom. >> this is the man who says corporations are people and seems to think that real people

don't count, unless they're rich. >> they can race taxes -- of course they are. everything corporations earn ultimately goes to people. >> this is the man who got rich at bain capital laying off workers and selling some of the companies into bankruptcy after he bought the bankruptcy. barack obama, as marie antoineette? i don't think so. i think you're trying to play the whole game that's often played of smear, smear, smear, don't get into content, don't get into real policy, just throw out names and hope that people will believe them, because ear going to repeat them. you've been using this line four, five times. i think that people understand the difference between those that are trying to support working people and those that are trying to fool them.

s joining me now is ed rendell, former dnc chairman and pennsylvania governor. and msnbc analyst richard wolffe. first t. i want to make a note that nbc universal and bain capital, the company romney cofounded, are each part owner of the weather channel, but that obviously isn't affecting how we report on romney's report. governor rendell, what's your reaction to this line from romney? >> well, two things, number one, what president obama said about it could be worse. it was worse. when he took over as president, we were losing 750,000 jobs a month. now we've experienced over -- almost a straight year of job gains. so not only could it be worse, it was worse. and we're coming back. not as much as you would like, al, or i would like or as the president would like, but we are turning the corner. could it be worse? the president is absolutely

right, but no mitt romney to use that analogy, it makes no sense, as you say, it's easily deflatable when you consider his wealth. at a time when people are losing their homes, he's expending his, but more importantly it's dumb politics. i thought when mitt romney earlier in the campaign said president obama's a good man, he's trying hard, he's doing the best hi can, i like him, but he's just not competent to do the job, i think that's an argument that people hear and say, well, yeah, i like the president, and it doesn't seem like things are working. that's a good argument, but to call him names and compare his to marie antoineette is crepeproductive. by the way, things were worse, governor romney, a whole lot worse. >> i think it's kind of an overreach, richard, when first of all, if you look at the

record when president bill clinton passed the baton, so to speak, look at where we were, where that deficit was, and rather than argue the policies of bush and what happened, or defend it since he is one to be the standardbearer of bush's party, to name call is just outright irresponsible and the facts won't bear that out, richard. >> i expect we'll hear more of that name-calling, but it's a curious twist from someone like mitt romney. he's probably looking at the same kind of polls that everyone else, he rates very badly on -- he just didn't do empathy, doesn't get what's going on in the commit for the middle class, so he's resorting to this play, but if you're going to be a man of the people, do you want to quote an obscure wife of a french aristocrat?

i just don't think that's how you connect with middle america. by the way, for someone who speaks french ago fluently as mitt romney, he has the whole story wrong. the whole point of this version, is she didn't have any empathy for working folks. that's not what the president said. marie antoinette didn't say it's because of my that the people have cake out there. it's not a good analogy, and it starts to fit into this character story about him, why dough oppose taxes on the super wealthy? you happen to be worth up to $250 million. >> well, that is an sunk he's obviously operating under, but governor, at the same time let's deal with the policy. at the end of the day, what we put into -- what we make as legislation is what's going to matter. he has come out and supported a paul ryan plan, and that plan

would cut $127 billion in food stamp funding. i mean, if anyone is talking about let them eat cake and is insensitive to people, how do you endorse the ryan plan and then say that the president is acting like marie antoinette. hypocrisy in capital letters might be due here. >> i think that's the problem with all the candidates. the rhetoric is good, but when they have to support it with facts, it falls woefully apart. you know, it yookd to be, al, food stamps was something used only by the very, very poor. today 1 out of 10 pennsylvania families are using food stamps. that's shocking. it's your neighbor that's using food stamps right now. it's a very, very important program, and to eviscerate it at a time like this, by making those type of cuts is not only insensitive, but also bad for the economy.

food stamps is the single most stimulative thing for the economy, into you they have to be spent in the month they're issued. so we know they're spent. >> let me ask you to pause right there, governor. how about while the president and others dealt with saving the auto industry, willard wrote in "new york times" an op-ed -- this is his writing -- entitled "let detroit go bankrupt." so i mean, does he really want to get into this conversation about who's insensitive to working class and poor people? cut food stamps, let detroit go bankrupt, but president obama's marie antoinette. >> and i think that's one of the instances where president obama showed real political courage. it would have easy to let them go bankrupt, but that wouldn't have been good for the-mile-an-hour worker, not just in the auto companies, but al, there's so many pennsylvania companies dependent on the auto

industry, because they make component parts, and they would have been crushed as well if we let the industry go down. look at what appeared. the american automobile industry is back, back in full force. ford just announced they'll be adding 1200 jobs in cleveland, ohio, an area that needs good-paying jobs. >> richard, he even joked about being unemployed. here's a man worth $190 million to $250 million. look at what he said about him and being unemployed. >> well, maybe i should also tell my story. i'm also unemployed. [ laughter ] >> that's very funny, if you have a job. it's very funny if you're worth $190 million to $250 million. but if you're part of 98.6% of people unemployed, and if you're with the party that was saying let's cut off the unemployment insurance benefits, it's not funny, richard. >> no, it's not funny, and yet

we should all be unemployed like him. this is someone who -- you know, john kerry was portrayed as being out of touch, because he liked to wear surfing shorts and go kiteboarding. here is a man who is refusing -- you should see andrea mitchell's bur view, refusing to relies his tax returns, saying he as got nothing to hide, and yet at the same time is saying that a tax rise on the super wealthy is unacceptable. if he's wealthy, that's great. if he's unemployed because he's counting his money all day, that's great for him, but his policy is shaped in a way that wants to put the burden on working people on those people trying to extend -- who need an extension of unemployment insurance. so are his policy positions skewed by his experience at bain capital or by his personal wealth? you have to suspect that the

answer is yes. >> >> but let me say this, richard, and governor, before i let you guys go. with all this talk about marie antoinette, and with all this talk about french history, i think it's important that we let people understand that there is one guy who actually speaks french in this race. take a look back when willard was working on the 2002 olympics. [ speaking foreign language ] >> willard, marie antw -- antoinette is not barack obama. that was my new year -- happy new year. thank you for working with us year. >> enjoyed it. well, willard, with four days to go until iowa, romney's leading the polls. can someone else finish up on top?

and it's cold in iowa, but i don't think that's what caused rick perry's latest brain freeze. plus, will the tea party end up losing big in 2012? and will candidates like elizabeth warren bring home major victories? or 2012 predictions are coming up you're watching "politics nation" live on msnbc. [ male announcer ] a raw nose can feel really sore. achoo! [ male announcer ] and common tissue can make it burn even more. puffs plus lotion is more soothing than common tissue, and it delivers our most soothing lotion for every nose issue. cuban ca jun raw seafood pizza parlor french fondue tex-mex fro-yo tapas puck chinese takeout taco truck free range chicken pancake stack baked alaska 5% cash back. right now, get 5% cash back at restaurants.

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after weeks of blistering attacks, is the strain finally shows on newt? the former front-runner gets emotional on the campaign trail today. we'll talk about it next. what is this shorty? uh, tissues sir, i'm sick. you don't cough, you don't show defeat. give me your war face! raaah!

[ male announcer ] halls. a pep talk in every drop. diarrhea, gas or bloating? get ahead of it! one phillips' colon health probiotic cap a day helps defend against digestive issues with three strains of good bacteria. hit me! [ female announcer ] live the regular life. phillips'. goals for the future... what if they were stolen from you? by alzheimer's. this cruel disease is the sixth leading cause of death, and affects more than 5 million americans. the alzheimer's association is taking action, and has been a part of every major advancement. but we won't rest until we have a cure. you have dreams... help the alzheimer's association protect them. act now, go to alz.org.

welcome back to "politics nation." a lot of folks still can't believe it, but a brand-new poll is a sign that romney could win the iowa caucus. he's leading the pack. ron paul's right behind him at 21%. rick santorum in third with 15%, and newt gingrich, he's fallen behind rick perry to fifth place. it's been a tough few weeks for the newt, who's been hammered by a wave of brutal attack ads. the strain may be showing. >> what moment do you think of

when you think of your mom? >> first of all, you'll get my all teary-eyed. my whole emphasis on brain science comes in directly from dealing with -- see, now, you've got me emotional. you know, dealing with the real problems of real people in my family, and so it's not a theory. it's in fact, you know, my mother. [ applause ] it reminds many of us of another candidate who showed that i emotion on the campaign trail back in 2008. >> you know, i have so many opportunities from this country. i just don't want to see us fall backwards, you know? [ applause ] so -- that was the day before the new hampshire primary, where clinton pulled off an upset victory. joining me now, live from des moines is nia malikahander son, a national reporter for

"the washington post," who also follows the presidential race in the post 2012 election blog, and perry bacon jr., a contributor and politics editor for "the grio.com. nia, i'm not one that's cynical at all. you've been out there, and you can can get emotional. i'm emotional about my mom, who is sick. i felt people were being harsh to hillary in 2008, but does this humanize to the voters newt, who comes off at this detached scholar type. how is it the reaction to voters there in iowa? >> you know, it absolutely does humanize him. i this i it's hard not to look at that clip and not get emotional. he's talking about his late mom, so definitely an emotional and real moment. i think it's hard to look at that sinically, but i think one

of the issue says newt gingrich doesn't necessarily have a problem with coming across as a feeling and humanized figure. his main problem is that mitt romney has been hammering him with ads on the air here, really casting him as a guy who can't be trusted, and really making this case that is essentially mitt romney versus the nutty professor. that's his issue. he at this point doesn't have enough time to combat that idea that is really uppermost in voters' minds. we've seen this slide over the last days. he's in fourth or fifth place in this polls, and you see a candidate that's obviously a very emotional and looking at these polls. let's remember, two or three weeks ago he was brazenly saying he would likely be the gop nominee. if you look at the polls now, that's not looking like a reality for newt gingrich. perry, let me show you one of those ads, the romney pac

people succeeded in bringing newt down harsh attack ads like these. look at this ad. >> has more baggage. gingrich cashed in. as speaker, he even supported taxpayer funding of some abortions. he supports amnesty for illegal immigrants and teamed with nancy pelosi and al gore on global warming. gingrich was fined $300,000 by a republican congress for ethics violation. the gingrich record, 30 years in washington flip flopping on issues. >> now, perry, when you come and look at the graph, december 11th newt was at 31%. he slides all the way down now to december 30th, 14%. these ads have been effective, perry. >> absolutely. they've been effective. you also have the other candidates have piled on gingrich as well. on the difference in '08,

hillary clinton only had to pass one person. gingrich's emotional moment, it's hard to pass he would pass santorum, paul and romney. i mean, he is way down, and it just may be, no matter what he shows, too little too late at this point. >> now, again, and i'm not saying it was a political strategy, but everything that happens, there's voter reaction. nia, let's get to willard, who everybody is now saying may do something that no one thought he would do. that is he may really win the iowa caucus. what is interesting to me about willard. we did a little research here. he is today at 22% in the polls. but in 2008, he actually won 25% of the vote when he lost to mike huckabee. he is polls today lower than he actually received in 2008, so there is no real great

enthusia enthusiasm, even though he may win, it is not a win that seems to be full with a lot of energy, nia. >> if he wins it probably won't be a resounding victory for anybody. then you'll have a bunch of real social conservatives, bachmann, perry, coming in fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh. i think that's how it will look, but i think you've seen a different romney over the last couple days. he's more open with the press. he's been given interview to real clear politics and huffington post, which he wasn't doing a few weeks ago, he seems to be enjoying himself for the first time and sensing that his strategy in some ways of downplaying iowa for the last many weeks and spending time to new hampshire actually has paid off because of this very, very strategic and swift blow against

newt gingrich over these last weeks. and this was a strategy that worked in part because he was able to do this through super pacs, so his hands are clean in many ways. he won't get the taint of the negative campaigner. he can say, it wasn't me. >> but he can't relax even if he pulls this off in iowa, because if you look at how the pollgante candidates take nearly half of the iowa voters, if this vote comes out this way, santorum at 15, perry 14, gingrich 13, bachmann 6, that's 48% of the voters there. that's almost half the voters. if these major problem, willard does, with the far right of his party, which could spell problems for him down the road and certainly in enthusiasm in a general election, if in fact he ends up

being the nominee. >> the big challenge for romney next, hef would probably win new hampshire, too. in south carolina, the next place with lots of conservative voters, and like a perry and santorum dropped out at that point, or some of the candidates dropped out and conservatives rallied around one candidate in south carolina, they really could do well, but i don't think that's going to happen. i think all these guys want to stay in the race, so i think romney ends up doing pretty well. i agree with you, conservatives don't really love romney, but they really don't like president obama, so i think he will fire them up enough. >> all right. by the way, nia, if you run into willard, tell him he can come on "politics nation" anytime he wants. >> i will extend that invitation, and perry, thank you both for your time tonight. happy new year to both of you.

>> happy new year, rev. up next perry has another brain freeze. let's see if i can jog his memory with a little fact check. here at "politics nation" we had a lot of reasons to laugh this year, but more importantly, we drew attention to the issues that matter. a look back, ahead. this new at&t 4g lte is fast. did you hear sam...

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by iowa standards, it's really not that cold this week, but rick perry still managed to have another very public brain freeze. at a campaign events in cedar rapids, a voter asked perry about his criticism of supreme court case lawrence versus texas, the 2003 case brought the landmark decision to strike down homophobic anti-so many my laws in texas and other states. but perry didn't remember that. >> i wish i could tell you i knew every supreme court case. i don't. we can sit here and play i gotcha questions about what about this supreme court case or whatever, but you and i know the problem in this country is spending in washington, d.c., it's not some supreme court case. a gotcha question? i don't think so. lawrence versus texas was a huge deal. it ended anti-gay laws that

criminalized sex between consenting adults, and perry's talked about it in the past. he defended the law when the supreme court took the case in 2002. he also wrote about the case in his book, which came out just last year. he said that the decision was made by nine oligarchs in robes. and of course this wasn't the first time he forgot something on the trail. >> commerce, education and the -- what's the third one there? >> activist judges, whether it was -- um -- no, not the so t. >> i ask for your support and your vote. >> sorry. oops. since the oops moments began, perry sunk in the polls.

he's fallen 31% since august. sorry, rick, but i think we just saw why the voters forgot you. ♪ so tell me ♪ tell me still our predictions for the table. what will it look like and who will both parties look to as a vice presidential nominee? ♪ so many things i need to know ♪ is this your normal? jamie lee curtis?? oh, hi, yes...wow, you really went all out on the decorations, huh?! yeah, but i'm so slow taking them down after all the fatty holiday food. but that's normal. what do you mean that's normal? it doesn't have to be. to me, normal, means feeling good inside. not slow. try some activia. activia helps with occasional irregularity, when eaten 3 times a day. keep a video diary and let me know about your new normal. love your new normal or it's free.

welcome back to our final show of the year. last week we brof you the revie awards. now we're going to peer into the future with some predictions for 2012. plik sure your dvr is rolling,

folks. you'll want to remember all the things we got wrong this time next year. joining me now, joe madison. maria teresa could you mar, executive director of votar latino, and with me steve car neki, political reporter for salon.com. a lot of these republican candidates sound optimistic. >> frankly right here in iowa, i've seen the thew yaismt -- >> i will proceed the spark. >> iowans are getting that, making that decision we're going to do well a caucus night. >> who will it be?

steve, let's start with you. >> i always like to go for the long shot. i would go with a darkhorrid and say rick santorum. so that's where i would put my moan. >> you would go with rick santorum. joe? >> mitt romney. i think it's not necessarily because he's the better candidate. iowa has had losers who can't make it to the gnome nails of the party. people have spent 10 million. they've got to have a winner sooner or later, because the next cycle, quite honestly, people will start ignore iowa. i think what's happening is that the folks participating in the

caucus will start to cut deals and they're going to look for a winner. that will be mitt romney. without that, i think the next presidential cycle iowa won't be that big a deal, so mitt romney? >> that's your prediction, joe, maria? >> i feel a little underdressed this time. where are the tuxes? >> that we do on the revies. your predictions have to be right, so you can come back on the revies. i have a long memory. finches i think santorum. he's just been in the limelight a little too soon to gather all of the votes that he needs to the caucus-goers. he's splintering it, because the evan jell cass can't get their act together and coalesce under one candidate. that said, i think it's telling the fact that mitt is underperforming from the last time he was there in 2009 a lot

of time in new hampshire bypassing -- i think that would be a contest to watch. >> this time last year, who could have predicted the rise of herman cain or the death of osama bin laden? what would be the surprises? >> hillary clinton on the ticket with barack obama. >> as secretary of state? >> no, as vice president. >> of the united states? >> i am going with what former governor doug wilder has said. we've talked about it, and matter, i think that's what's going to happen. >> joe biden has done a great job as president. why would they change is. >> you want to groom the next vice president for the next presidential cycle. she would be perfect too. can you imagine the reaction of

women in this country to have her in that position? that's my prediction. we can put a wager on it. i don't have $10,000, but i can take you to ben ace chili bowl. >> maria, what do you think will be a big surprise in 2012? >> i think that the american voter is waking up and saying washington is broken, but i'm definitely going to start pays attention. i think joe hit the nail on the head, latinos are saying we have to stop racial profiling, and you'll see the average youth voter saying i have an idea and this is nonsense with the voter i.d. laws. >> the year of the voter. steve, what do you think is the big surprise? >> at the risk of going 0 for 2, i'll say ron paul runs as a third-party candidate, and the theory there is basically he's got a very loyal following.

it will not be enough to win the republican nomination. he can gobble up a lot of delegat delegates, but the party has turned on him aggressively. i think he resentence it a lot. he's 76 years old, sell he won't run for reelection to the house of representatives. if he doesn't feel like he belongs if the republican party and has an army of 3, 4 million people, i think there's a scenario where he does what he does in 1988, and says i'll be your general election candidate. >> does that-the president? >> i think it all comes from the republican side, because there's a funky mix, but disproportionately that's got to hurt the republicans more than barack obama. that could be the difference. >> i have to ask, what do you think about joe's prediction about dropping vice president biden. >> i don't have $10,000, but i'll bet on that not happening. >> what about you, maria? >> i think it's a i tractive,

but i think at the same time president obama is still very much needs joe biden. he definitely needs pennsylvania, and still makes a lot of folks that might be uncomfortable accessible by having biden on the ticket. >> i respect mrs. clinton, but if it's not broke, why fix it? i'd like you all to stay with me. we'll be right back, we have a lot more predictions ahead. willard is most likely to get the nomination, but who will be his running mate? and who will win. you'll want to peer with me. next. what if they were stolen from you? by alzheimer's. this cruel disease costs americans more than $180 billion a year, and could cripple medicare in the near future. the alzheimer's association is taking action, and has been a part of every major advancement. but we won't rest until we have a cure. you have plans... help the alzheimer's association protect them.

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keep the dvr rolling. we're not done making predictions. still to come, the key to winning in november. that's next on "politics nation." cuban ca jun raw seafood pizza parlor french fondue tex-mex fro-yo tapas puck chinese takeout taco truck free range chicken pancake stack baked alaska

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tell your doctor if you have had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have symptoms such as fever, fatigue, cough, or sores. you should not start humira if you have any kind of infection. ask your rheumatologist how you can defend against and help stop further joint damage with humira. i'm back for more 2012 predictions with my panelists. so everyone here agrees mitt romney will probably be the gop nominee, but the biger question is, who will be his running mate? >> you can't eliminate anybody as a possible vp contender. >> i don't think there's anybody in mesh who would necessarily think my personal is best suited for being number two.

>> would you want -- >> who's got the golden ticket for 2012. steve? >> i think what we'll predict is we'll hear a lot about chris christie being vp, and it won't by chris christie. i think that's the red herring in this thing. if you're mitt romney or anybody else, you don't want to risk your vp overshadowing us, i think the bigger thing is christie is from the moderate northeast wing of the party. that's the knock on romney. that's the reason he's had such a weird 2011, so much suspicion so much resistance, is romney really one of is? >> the challenge he's going to have is he has to use the vp pick to prove to the conservative base that he's really one of them. >> so who do you pick? >> the name that's been out there no a long time is marco rubio, but there might be in baggage with the way his's

talked about his family's imbrace. a wild quarreled name is suzanna martinez, maybe even a guy like paul ryan, to put that out there, somebody who instantly proves to the conservative base, this is one of ours, we don't have to worry about this guy is ours. >> who do you think would be a likely pick of, let's say if willard is the nominee? >> i think what he doesn't want to do is go for someone who hasn't been tested. we say what healed with mccain, and the same thing goes for marco rubo, who is basically favorly nut. that's not enough and we could go down the line. the person i think he has a good

shot with would be mitch daniels. he's a washington insider, in the sense he was director of op mb, but he's laid on the sentible policies, in september talking about how everybody needs to sacrifice, we do need to change medicare and the educational system, but it's not so extreme when he goes on a platform toe to toe with let 'say someone like biden, he sounds reasonable and will help galvanize -- >> a sure sign he's getting ready to run, a book is out. joe, who will be is the one you think mr. willard romney might put on the ticket if he's the nominee? >> i believe it's going to be a southern senator who is strong in the evangelical bloc voting group. the biggest problem mitt

romney's going to have is the south with that evangelical. that's the 800-pound gorilla in the room in a nobody wants to talk about. they really have problems with him, and i'll say it, being a mormon. and turning out that base. i think it will be a southern senator. who? honestly i don't know. pick one, but it's got to be somebody from the south who is well-liked with evangelicals. >> all right. let me do this last round real fast. our last prediction, the big one -- who will win the election? my producers tell me all our panelists are on the same page with this one. maria? >> i think it will be barack obama, but he has a lot of homework to do. one, eric holder has to continue to go after states with voter i.d. laws.

that's the true voter fraud, but also president obama has to take his message local. he has to dominate locally in the states, talking about the issues that americans really care about -- job creation, the health care reform he did that's gotten so little steam but will impact persons bottom line in their purse. also talking about how is he going to continue innovation taking the understand into the next century. >> steve? >> i would agree that it's obama, that the first one of these i ever dug was my high school, when i said bob dole was going to win the next election, so take it with a grain of salt. i'm going with obama right now. >> joe? >> it's going to be very thin. it's going to be obama, no question about it, but very, very thin, and quite honestly the republicans cannot win on their message of i hate him, dislike him. that's not going to get it, quite honestly. that's basically what they've

got going for them. >> joe, maria teresa, and steve, we all here have our predictions, stored on our dvrs. we'll see how you did next time. thanks for coming on the show, have a happy and safe new years. >> god bless. happy new year to you, reverend. >> thank you. ahead, a look back on the year that was here at "politics nation. what is this shorty?

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welcome back to the last "politics nation" of 2011. this has been a year of change for a lot of people. for me, the biggest personal change was getting the opportunity to host this show. i know i raised some eyebrows when i launched the show back in late august. the critics took a few shots at me. so did our friends upstairs at "saturday night live." >> joining mess is kegly o'donnell an msnbc analyst in

the studio. >> nice to be here. >> and jim vanderheho of poli c politic. >> it's vander high. >> which one is it? there's red lights everywhere. on the top? okay? so this one? wait, you just switched it on me now. that's what i need to be asking you, have you ever been on tv before? we had some fun, but our focus has been the same since day one -- justice. we marched in georgia to protest the execution of troy davis, a man who many agreed was not guilty-yard. we joined the krouse down at occupy wall street, highlighting the struggle for economic justice, and we rallied in washington in honor of dr. martin luther king junior, and the fight for jobs and justice. >> if can't stand up for the

unemployed, we're going to vote to make sure you join the unemployed. let's demand our rights with dr. king's children. with coretta king's children. we will not going to bow down, we're not going to bend. we're not going to buckle. stand up, america! stand up, america! stand up, america! >> i've talked to a lot of powerful politicians on the show, but the interviews i cared outside washington, people like dorothy cooper, the 96-year-old who voted throughout the jim crow era, but voter i.d. law. >> i haven't had any problems at all to this time. this is the only time i've had problems. >> are you surprised that they would change and make these strict requirements at this stage of the game?

>> no, i never thought it would be like this, ever. >> or when i spoke to spike dolomite ward, a cancer patient who spoke out to praise the affordable care act, despite the criticism it's gotten from the right. >> when i found out that this obama care's program was literally going to save my life, i owed it to the president to publicly apologize and humbling admit i had checked out, and that's wrong. >> you see, i never spent a lot of time four months ago answering a lot of critics, because i didn't come to do the show to join the political tv cable season. i came for a reason. we need to have everyone in america later, and we need to have people who may not fit the normal of the past, but have formed what we must deal with today and in the future.

because the nation and the world has changed. the year of the protester, from the arab spring to occupy wall street, to our jobs march. that shows that. so many people are so used to the past, and the past modes, that they're missing what's going on right now. i want to show what's going on right now on the ground for real. i want us to really experience what is going on, not in reality tv, but real tv. that is why this show i was committed to, and i'm committed to going forward. not raring back and being the polished know-it-all, but leaning forward. i thought you all understood that from the beginning. thanks for watching. i'm al sharpton, on behalf of everyone here at "politics nation" i hope you have a safe and happy new years.