you can have the last word online at our blog. and you can follow my tweets @lawrence. good evening, americans, welcome to "the ed show" tonight from new york. first after u happy new year. happy new year. i will tell you who is going to win the hawkeye state tomorrow. this is "the ed show." >> i don't think i'm going to win. >> newt gingrich is conceding a day early. michele bachmann is damming the tore pea dose and ron paul and mitt romney are feeling the

santorum surge. >> tonight, we are going to the hawkeye state with rick green of the "des moines register" and former howard green. dnc communications, brad wood house, is here to tell us how democrats will fight back. eric cant eric cantor can't handle the truth with ronald reagan. >> he also cut taxes. >> but he did compromise. >> ezra klein of "the washington post" is here to set the record straight. >> good to have you with us tonight, folks. thanks for watching and the first votes fort republican nomination are hours away from being cast. i think we might see a surprise in iowa tomorrow. the latest numbers from the public policy polling of have ron paul on top with 20% of the vote in iowa.

>> santorum in at 15%. the devil is in the details. in the first day of the poll, ron paul was on top with 29% support. four days later, he was down to 16%. on the other hand, santorum polled at 10% the first couple of days of the polling. on days three and four, his numbers doubled to 20%. what does that mean? santorum has real momentum. he continues his brand of retail politics on the road in iowa. he was so popular at a pisa restaurant in boon, iowa, the owner renamed the chicken salad santorum salad in honor of the candidate. he is a viable auditorium for conservative voters. he is 60% in iowa and gaining ground as the anti-establishment candidate. santorum played up his me versus

the world mentality on right wing radio today. >> i've seen the media completely try to shape this race and it's not just liberal media. it's fox news. bill o'reilly has refused to put me on his program. i wasn't worthy enough to earn a spot to sit across with him and be on his program. >> santorum knows a large piece of iowa, that pie, has not been claimed as of yesterday. the "des moines register" poll says 40% of iowa republicresent electorate is still undecided. michele bachmann is still banking on a win in iowa and says she will put our missiles systems on alert and possibly start world war iii. >> i would engage in the current dissidents we have in iran. immediately, i would sent our patriot missile systems, our egypt missile systems, our

ballistic systems need to be deployed. >> are you talking about putting our missile systems on alert here? >> sure, put them on alert but what we need to do is look at a function of a potentially a blockade as well and have our missile systems capable and ready to deliver. >> just what iowa voters are concerned about. last month, newt gingrich was confident he was going to win the whole thing. >> i don't have to go around and point out the inconsistencies of people who are going to be the nominee. >> you are going to be the nominee? >> i am going to be the nominee. it is very hard not to look at the recent polls and say the odds are very high i am going to be the nominee. >> gingrich is telling reporters he probably has no shot in iowa. >> i don't think i am going to win. if you look at the numbers, i think that volume of negativity has done enough damage.

if the "des moines register" was right and 41% potentially, who knows what's going to happen. >> that's probably the most honest thing newt gingrich has ever said. he said he is going to spend the next week attack mitt romney hoping to put a dent in his new hampshire support. gingrich is the guy that said he wouldn't go negative. he is also the guy who showed a softer side of himself last week when he cried during a town hall event. >> my whole emphasis on brain science comes in directly from dealing with, you know, from dealing with, you know, the real problems of real people in my family. so it is not. >> the real newt is crying all the way to the bank. he wrote a memo to his colleagues telling them how to smear democrats.

the only can dates better pay attention to his. if he lost in iowa and walked into a bud zau. the polling shows romney and ron paul being overtaken by rick santorum. he is out there convincing people that he is the guy. he is running as the better conservative and the right wing voters in iowa, they are listening to things like this. >> what president obama wants to do, his economic plan is to make more people dependant upon the government, to grow the government to make sure we have more food stamps and more s sichlt and more medicaid. i don't want to make black people's lives better by giving them somebody else's money. i want to give them the opportunity to go out and earn the money and provide for themselves and their families. >> that is the raw meat that he throws out on the campaign trail. for most of his career, he has

appealed to the deepest anxieties of social conservatives. he says he will anull all gay marriages as presidents. he says, president obama should oppose abortion because he is black. i does not apologize for being a member of the far right wing and is proud of it. if he would win in iowa, you could equate it to pat buchanon winning new hampshire in 1996. there is more to it than that. i have seen santorum on the stump. you may not like this but he is very much like president obama. the crowd likes him. he pays attention to what the crowd says. he does a great job of retail politics. when someone in a crowd asks rick santorum a question, he looks right at that person and answers the question and doesn't give the bullet point answers. he goes face to face with people and it is very effective. when people leave the room, they say, gosh, i've got to really think about this guy. the number of undecideds is very important here.

the social conservatives being split three different ways. bachmann is going to fall, we don't know how far. we know rick perry doesn't have the smarts, at least i don't think he does. time and time again, he gavs. he has enough money to convince people that he has the chops to get the job done. the bottom line, santorum has worked it county by county, the old-fashioned way. he hasn't done it it with o'reilly on his side. he hasn't done it being in clubhouse with fox. he has been the guy at the end of the debate. he has been very consistent and he also throws out the red meat in a personal way to the folks in iowa. i think that he has been trending to are more than a week and i think he is ahead of his poll numbers and i think that rick santorum is going to win iowa. if that's an upset, so be it. i have seen the guy in action. i listen to what he says and i know what iowa is about. the preachers were working the pulpit pretty hard on sunday for rick santorum. if they come out in full force for him, it is going to be that

portion of the electorate versus the young people that might come out for ron paul. romney is playing it smart so far. he is acting like a winner, talking a lot about president obama but he ma i not win iowa. i think it is going to be rick santorum. get your cell phones out. we want to know what you think. tonight's question, will rick santorum win the iowa caucus tomorrow? text "a" for yes and "b" for no to 622639. we will bring you the results later on in the program. i am joined tonight by rick green, president and editor of the "des moines register" and howard dean, former dnc chairman and founder of democracy for america. i couldn't have two better people on with me tonight. i appreciate your time so much. mr. dean, let me ask you first, from your experience, what is the strategy for these candidates in the final hours where we're not very far away? what's it going to take down the stretch, you think? >> well, on the democratic side,

it is the turnout and about deal making which doesn't go on so much on the republican side because we have a feature on our side that they don't have, which, if you don't get to 15%, you are allowed to recaucus and vote a second time. i agree with you, i think santorum is going to win. i think paul is coming in second and romney in third. i think that's a problem for romney. everybody knows that ron paul is not going to get the nominee. santorum could be the nominee. when they go to south carolina, he is a viable candidate, which he will be if he wins tomorrow. the 75% of the people in the republican party who just are much too far right for mitt romney are going to have somebody he can vote for. he doesn't have a dime e has done this on shoe leather. fascinating. >> what's your take on the details of your paper's poll? >> there are two things you have to remember. santorum's numbers weren't moving at all the first two days

of our polling last week. only after some of the initial polls came out that we started seeing a big rise from him on thursday night and a bigger spike going into friday night. we got together on saturday morning and saw the final numbers. his numbers have rocketed. here is something that's really important to remember, ed. his electability numbers where republicans are saying who offers the best shot at toppling the president are nowhere near mitt romney at 47%. gingrich, despite his incredible collapse is polling in at 13% and rick santorum's numbers are only at 7% as it relates to electability. i think there are still some republicans that are looking closely at that. >> i think that's a good point. let me make a point with the republicans. i don't think -- that undid me in iowa eight years ago when they felt john kerry was more electable. i don't think the republican voters in iowa care that much about lekt ability.

they are more conservative. they are deeply evangelical and principled. they want to send a message. that's the role of iowa. i am trying to remember a time when the republican winner of the caucas in iowa went on to win the no, ma'am nays. i can't think of one off the top of my head. isn't rick santorum going after the same voter that mike huckabee went after in 2008 except the pie is split three different ways? we know that bachmann is falling. we don't know is she going to fall far enough where santorum is going to pick that up. there is a tremendous feeling out there, i picked this up in iowa last week, a lot of discontentment about mitt romney. where as, your poll shows in a national election, with the people that don't like him, they really don't like him. that's what i got. >> there is a little bit of that. mitt romney has played this master fully. he has not done the complete

ground game the way rick santorum has done, in terms of the voting, 380 campaign appearances in all 99 counties. he has been very strategic about when he entered it. there is a sense from the size of his crowds and what my reporters are seeing on the field, there is still some genuine enthusiasm with mitt romney. it seems to be growing. the same could be said with rick santorum. he has done an amazing job in terms of pressing the flesh, kissed the babies, shaken the hands, answered questions in very direct manners. the question here is, are there enough hands to be shaken before tomorrow night at 7:00. he is pushing hard. he is going to split the vote as it relates to perry and bachmann. if there is enough of a split, enough supporters from perry or bachmann that jump over to santorum, i think it gets very very uncomfortable for romney and paul tomorrow night. >> i have to say that i think there is a certain amount of genuineality about rick

santorum. he is affable, effective. he comes across as a genuine guy. does that matter in iowa, in your pen? >> it does matter. he would be a horror for the general voters. his views are very, very far right and very, very anti-a lot of minorities in this country, especially gay people. that's made to order for the conservative republican electorate. he is going to find some real resonance there. he already has. >> rick dean, howard green, great to have you with us. i appreciate your time so much. remember to answer tonight's question at the bottom of the screen and share your thoughts. we want to know what you think. ron paul's strategy to dog the republican party right through to the convention. that's coming up next. it is quite interesting. later, "the washington post" reports an rnc strategy to take on president obama by using his words against him. brad woodhouse on how the president can counter act that gop strategy. stay with us. [ male announcer ] take the fixodent

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coming up, ron paul's planning to grab hundreds of delegates in caucus states. joan walsh, richard wolffe, the gop race in the long run. that's next. "psycho talk" coming up next. donald trump says his ducks are in line for a presidential run. faced with facts. eric cantor and his press secretary choose to believe the fancy about ronald reagan on taxes. follow us on twitter using #edshow. we're right back. [ female announcer ] this is not a prescription.

this is mary... who has a million things to pick up each month on top of her prescriptions. so she was thrilled that her walgreens pharmacist recommended a 3-month supply and would always be there to answer questions about her health. now mary gets 3 refills in one and for 3 months, she's done. more or less. ask your pharmacist about a 90 day supply today. walgreens. there's a way to stay well. welcome back to "the ed show." ron paul is in the republican race for the long haul. how do we know? well, he's not going to fade away after iowa.

win, lose or draw. he has a strategy to be a thorn in the side of the republican party establishment right through to the convention. here it is. a map put together by buzzfeed.com showing 12 states holding caucuses instead of primaries. as republicans try to choose their nominee. it gives paul a path to racking up delegates with strong organization and careful planning. this is what he's doing. in ten of these caucus states, paul could rack up more than 400 delegates out of the 2,300 needed for the gop nomination. so if he can't actually win the gop nomination, at least he could throw around as much weight as possible to the party's national convention. there will be a voice. his supporters are definitely there. today, paul made a half dozen stops through iowa with his son, senator rand paul. paul's poll numbers may be sagging a bit, but his passionate supporters, they are still with him. >> tomorrow is a very important day. small in numbers, but a very big message.

so you carry a lot of weight in this state. to send a message on which way we're going, for the status quo. believe me, you don't have to worry about the choice if you choose another candidate, because the others represent the status quo. >> last week in newton, iowa, i didn't see him ask the way he did right there. by the way, another candidate once used caucus to his advantage. his name is president barack obama. let's turn to joan walsh, editor at large, salon.com. msnbc political analyst, richard wolffe. great to have both of you with us tonight. let me ask you first. joan, is this an effective strategy? is this his best way to shake things up? the conventional wisdom is he's not going to get the nomination. >> well, yeah. i mean, i think it's an intriguing strategy, but it's also possible to kind of overstate the comparison with barack obama, ed, because obviously barack obama, one of the best things, smartest things his campaign did was organize in those caucus states. one of the dumbest things

hillary clinton's campaign did was not take the caucuses seriously. i see why there's that comparison. on the other hand, obama had a great national organization. he had the love of the media. he had ted kennedy and mainstream figures. we don't want to go too far with that. it is a way for him to stay and be both a problem for romney, but also for the conservative wing. because if there's still hope that, say, rick santorum could really unify that conservative wing of the party, ron paul pulls from that. so it's not necessarily a terrible thing for romney. it still splits that right wing vote. >> well, the comparison i'm making with ron paul and the president is that paul is doing things in caucus states that the other candidates are not doing. >> right. >> all the way out to idaho. and basically that was a roadmap that none of the other democratic candidates had followed. that was the point i was making. >> absolutely. >> what is the end game here,

richard? i mean, could he get enough to have enough people, and i've seen the paul people around him, i mean, they're passionate. they love the guy. they want him not only to get the nomination, they want him to be president. would he be forced into maybe an independent run? >> well, that is an open question, but i think before you get to that point, he wants to have an influence on the struggle for the soul of the republican party. and he has had an influence. things that would have seemed really way outside of the mainstream of republicans may still be way outside of the mai stream of american politics but now are center stage in the republican debate. that's really thanks to people like ron paul and rick santorum on the social conservative side. i do think you have to look at the professionalism of the ron paul campaign. you know, appearances can be deceptive. he does this whole shambling routine. maybe he's a candidate and his ideas are -- just that, shambling. but his ads have been professional. he, as well as mitt romney's super pac, have done the damage to newt gingrich. and this organizing thing is

powerful. it's not going to take him to the nomination, but he can have an influence. >> richard, let me ask you. if he gets 400 delegates are more going the caucus states and gets a big speech position at the national convention, what effect would that have on the republican party? >> you're going to see things like closing down whole departments in the federal government will become mainstream. we're already seeing steve forbes' crazy idea of flat tax go mainstream. for republicans. again, not for americans, but for republicans, ron paul is having that effect right now. he can take that through to the convention. >> you know, joan, the paul supporters i met, they're all or nothing. they want him or don't want anybody else. what about that? >> they are. i think that makes it hard to imagine what he would do with his, you know, hundreds of delegates when he got to the convention, ed. you know, there's not really -- there's not a lot for him to bargain on. eliminating whole departments of government is a possibility. the others are open to that already if rick perry could remember them, he would want to abolish a lot of them.

so, you know, we see that. you know, are they going to bargain on cutting off all aid to israel? are they going to bargain on actually some of the things in his platform that are anti-war and anti-militarist, anti-militarism that really light up his supporters? none of that is negotiable. it's hard to see what the end game would be. what he would do with that influence. >> let's listen to part of paul's stump speech in iowa today. >> listen to other candidates. they're willing to start bombing iran right now. you know, the one thing for certain, this country does not need another war. i'll tell you that. >> this is a consistent theme, richard, and of course, he's referring to the remarks that were made this morning by michele bachmann. he's consistent. that's what people like about him. but the isolationism is

something that the republican party would never go along with. what do you think? >> i think the other candidates, frankly, have been trigger happy. the way they are talking about military action against iran. the bar is so low that they think, you know, just saying boo to america when it came to the drone getting captured, that was enough to trigger military action. that's what most of the candidates said in that last debate. so for all of his wackiness, for all the isolationism and the anti-war sentiment, which won't fly with the republican elites, i think actually mainstream american opinion would say, we don't really have that much appetite for another war right now. >> joan, i can't let you go without asking you about rick santorum. what do you make of his polling in the last week? is he the real deal in iowa? >> you know, i think he is the real deal in iowa. with hindsight, ed, it's like what took them so long? he does have a lot to appeal to that conservative base. he really is one of them. on the other hand, to see him go beyond iowa, that's hard for me. he doesn't have any money. he doesn't have any organization anywhere else. he's banked his whole campaign

on iowa. if he really wins it spectacularly maybe you'll see donors open their wallets. i think it's hard to see him go much farther than this. >> if he wins iowa, if he wins iowa and goes right to south carolina, i mean, i'd take him to beat mitt romney in south carolina. as many people that feel so much discontentment about romney down south. we'll see. going to be interesting. great to have you on, joan and richard. appreciate your time tonight. thanks so much. donald trump is our first 2012 "psycho talker." just when you thought he was gone, he here comes dangling the possibility of a third party presidential run in front of our noses. actually the noses of fox and friends on the couch. later, the president's re-election strategy takes shape. attacking a do-nothing congress. we've seen that before from harry truman. will it work for this president? we're right back. ♪ he was a 21st century global nomad ♪

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and in "psycho talk" tonight, we're kicking off the new year of 2012 with good old donald trump. never fails us, does he? the donald is still trying to convince us he's going to run for president. apparently there's a crack pipe group of folks down there in texas trying to get trump to get in the race as an independent. this morning trump responded with his trademark arrogance. >> certainly there are millions of people that would like to see me do something, not because of me, but because i want to protect this nation. i've been saying from the beginning that if the republicans pick the wrong

candidate, somebody that's going to lose, which is certainly possible, i would certainly consider it. i switched from an independent. because if i didn't do it by the first of january, i wouldn't be able to do it. i do have my ducks in line. if i wanted to do it. i'd love to see the republicans pick somebody that was going to win and take over this country. >> did you hear what he said? millions. so donald trump has his ducks in a line. but he doesn't seem to have any campaign operations in the works. so his ducks must be something else. >> i'm worth many, many billions of dollars because of my genius, okay? it's this. it's not my salesmanship. >> it's what? >> this. you know what that is? it's the brainpower. >> well, last april the only thing donald trump's brainpower had to offer was a bunch of half-baked birther conspiracy theories. remember that? we're still waiting for a report from his investigators in hawaii. for trump to say that he has his ducks in a line to run for president is nothing but

self-serving here we go again "psycho talk." the republicans have their playbook for defeating president obama. mitt romney is already using is on the campaign trail. the communications director for the democratic national committee brent woodhouse strikes back next. house majority leader, eric cantor, i tell you what, he can't stand the facts. his hero, ronald reagan, raised taxes 12 times during his eight years in office and that's just tough to listen to, isn't it eric? pure adrenaline. whee whee wheeeeeeeeeeee! everything you love about geico, now mobile. download the new geico app today. whee wheeeeeeeeeeee-he-he-heeeeee! intense shadowblast from covergirl. the news? it's eye shadow with primer built-in

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no matter which republican candidate comes out on top, the gop establishment already has their election strategy in place. relentlessly attack president obama. the "washington post" reports republican operatives have compiled a video library of everything the president has said. they plan to use his own words against him, with particular emphasis on the quote from in february 2009 where president obama talks about fixing the economy. >> if i don't have this done in three years, then there's going

to be a one-term proposition. >> today in des moines, iowa, well, it appeared mitt romney has already gotten onboard with the republican playbook. >> i've looked at some of the tapes on youtube of president obama, then-candidate obama going across iowa campaigning. and i've listened to some of the promises and i've looked at the performance. and there's a pretty big gap between what he promised and what he performed. this president's failed. he went on the "today" show shortly after being inaugurated and he said, if i can't get this economy turned around in three years, i'll be looking at a one-term proposition. i'm here to collect. >> if romney wants to get into what people said several years ago, the democrats already beat him to the punch. >> i was an independent during the time of reagan/bush. the principles that ronald reagan espoused are as true today as they were when he spoke them.

>> we put them together in exchange. the president is coping that idea. i'm glad to hear that. obama-care is bad news. >> joining me now, brad woodhouse, communications director for the democratic national committee. brad, good to have you with us tonight. >> thanks, ed. >> that comment from president obama, could it come back to haunt him? 8.6% unemployment. it is true the number is trending upwards. the arrow is going in the right direction. is that going to be enough? could that comment come back to hurt him? >> well, look, ed, it was no surprise the rnc has a video archive and they're going to run a campaign against the president. i was a little surprised anyone wrote such a story. look, the president has put policies in place and begun to turn the economy around. you know the statistics. we've had 21 consecutive months of private sector job growth to the tune of 3 million private sector jobs. we were losing jobs at 750,000 a month when he took office. >> so what's the strategy to counterpunch this? i mean, if romney's going to go out there, take this 500-page playbook and all the comments

that president obama made and the promises. is he just going to blame it on the congress? is that it? >> well, look, the congress has been an impediment, ed, as you know, over the course of the past year. i mean, republicans in congress, especially in the house, set out on a strategy of tanking the economy, if that meant they could win an election. so we can't let them get away with that. i would say in terms of strategy, i would say three things. i'd say, one, the president is going to build a campaign person by person. that's what we've done in iowa. 4,000 one-on-one meetings. 350,000 calls. 1,200 house meetings or trainings. we're going to talk about the president's records. we're going to talk about the opponent. and mitt romney's case, he's here talking about the president's record. as you indicated, we're perfectly ready to talk about his as he emerges. >> does it matter to the obama campaign what happens tomorrow in iowa? what do you want to see happen? >> on our side, a good organizing opportunity. we're having caucuses around the state.

we're not trying to turn out a lot of people. what we're trying to do is get our voters motivated. the most important thing coming out of the iowa caucuses for us is that we are staying in iowa when these candidates leave. >> but, brad, isn't a surprise winner good for the obama campaign? because they're going to keep going back and forth at one another. it's going to give you an opportunity to trip up mitt romney again, who many people think is going to get this thing. but it would seem to me a surprise winner would be good for your campaign. >> oh, sure. look, i mean, we've made no secret the fact we think the longer this republican contest goes, the better. the polling shows that. the approval ratings, for example, favorability ratings for mitt romney has declined across the board in all the battleground states the longer he's been a candidate. he's just been kind of stuck at 20%, 25%. other candidates in the field have seen their favorability drop the longer they're in the race. we'd like for this thing to go on for a while. >> are you going to answer the outlandish things the candidates have said?

i was in the room when rick santorum said the obama administration is against abstinence when it comes to birth control. >> look, we're certainly not going to respond to the most outlandish charges. what we're going to try to focus on, i mean, we'll respond when necessary. we want to focus on issues about the economy and the middle class. we fundamentally think this race is about security for the middle class. republicans don't have a clue what that means. they want to go back to the same failed policies that nearly tanked the economy. you have mitt romney, corporate buyout specialist. we had randy johnston, on your show, talking about the impact of those types of policies and what mitt romney did in the private sector. you know, that's largely what we're going to talk about. who's better for the middle class. president obama will win every time. >> brad woodhouse. pleasure to you with us. thank you. president obama versus a do-nothing congress. is it a good strategy to win re-election? jonathan alter and joy ann reed will weigh in on that.

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up next, president obama takes on a do-nothing congress. jonathan alter and joy-ann reid on whether that's a winning strategy. later, eric cantor and his press secretary refuse to believe president reagan rose taxes. ezra klein has the facts. don't forget to tweet us using #edshow. stay tuned. be right back. e of the fat you . let's fight fat with alli. ♪ flavored with real honey. powerful cold medicine that leaves out artificial flavors and dyes and instead uses something more natural, honey. new vicks nature fusion cold & flu. ♪ car insurance companies say they'll save you by switching, you'd have, like, a ton of dollars. but how are they saving you those dollars? a lot of companies might answer "um" or "no comment."

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president obama's re-election strategy is taking shape. as the "the new york times" reports, after three years in office, mr. obama is gambling on a go-it-alone approach. the president will pit himself against an unpopular do-nothing congress, a strategy that worked for harry truman in 1948. but can it work in 2012? the president's poll numbers, well, they're on the rise. while the congress has hit a new low. the latest polling from the right wing firm rasmussen shows only 5% of likely voters approve of the job congress is doing. "the times" reports the

president will spend less time fighting congressional republicans and focus on economic justice for ordinary americans instead. white house deputy press secretary josh earnest confirms, "in terms of the president's relationship with congress in 2012, the president is no longer tied to washington, d.c." what does that mean? the only legislation on the white house's must-do list is a full-year extension of the payroll tax cut. according to "the times" the president will showcase measures he is taking on his own to revive the economy. "associated press" reports he will unveil at least two or three directives per week. the president will continue to take the populist tone he adopted late last year. gosh, that was just a few days ago. in his weekly address, president obama tapped into middle class frustrations over the payroll tax fight and income inequality. >> it was good to see members of

congress do the right thing for millions of working americans but it was only possible because you added your voices to the debate. as i said before, we're at a make or break moment for the middle class. as president, i promise to do everything i can to make america a place where hard work and responsibility are rewarded. one where everyone has a fair shot and everyone does their fair share. >> for more, let's turn to jonathan alter, msnbc political analyst, and "bloomberg view" columnist and msnbc contributor joy-ann reid and managing editor of the grio. great to have both of you with us tonight. >> hi, ed. >> joy-ann, is this a winning strategy? >> it's hard to come across as an outsider when you are the sitting president of the united states. president obama has done it, particularly with the house of representatives. his calm demeanor. he's managed to make himself look like he's in washington but he's still not a part of the club. think it's a smart strategy. they couldn't get more unpopular, right. you may as well run against them. >> jonathan, is this a no brainer for a strategy? his poll numbers are going up. the economy is better.

unemployment is going down, 8.6%. more job numbers coming out later this week. congress, not only in this polls, but numerous polls they've stunk the joint out. is this a no brainer? >> well, it's necessary but not sufficient. so they have to do it, but it's not enough. he's also going to need a big, bold second-term agenda. to lay out a vision later this month in his state of the union address about where he would take the country if he was re-elected. it's just not enough to bash the congress. he has to be very careful that he always put that word "republican" before congress. because a lot of the democrats on the senate side, remember, they control the senate still. they don't want him just attacking the do-nothing congress. they always want that word, "do nothing republican congress" in there. they get really annoyed at the white house when the president doesn't attach that word to congress. >> will that attract independent voters?

>> that's the big question. and obama still wants independents and even some republicans who voted for him the last time. and he's very leery of being too partisan in his tone. so he's going to have to both be partisan in order to execute this strategy, but not take it so far that he alienates the independents he needs to win the election. >> does the middle class card work? i mean, saying he's a fighter for the middle class, income inequality. does that work? >> well, i think it does. i think in a way the best thing that could have happened to barack obama in terms of his re-election chances is 2010. i mean, 2010, that tea party wave really showed americans, middle class americans, some of whom were voting republicans, and independents who lean republican just what it means to let these people govern the country. when they think of the do-nothing congress, they don't

think about the senate. nobody thinks about the senate. people think about the house where the fisticuffs are happening. when the president sets himself against them and says, look, i'm fighting for the middle class, these guys are saying we're not going to allow rich people to get a dime for tax increases. it's a stark contrast amplified by things like the movement and polls that show people want to raise taxes on the rich. he's on the right side of the issues. >> instead of battling congress, the president will take executive action. why didn't he do that earlier? >> well, i think before the president really did believe -- i think, coming in, i'm one of those who thinks he did think he could forge consensus in washington. having been a senator, that's sort of the mind-set of a senator. he found out that's not going to happen. no legislation is going to pass. he doesn't want to look like the presidency is weak. it's important to show there's a possibility of executive action. >> is it going to have to be a different song -- let's say the democrats get the house back. and it's going to be a tough lift for them to -- >> very heavy lift. >> very heavy lift to keep the senate. do you think president obama has to say, look, i've dealt with these guys for four years. record number of filibusters. obstruction galore. i'm not going through this again.

you put me in the white house, we get our team back, this is where we're going. is that too much of a heavy hand? lay out in the state of the union and throughout this year what he would do differently in his second term. would he have a different attitude toward the filibuster, for instance? would he seek changes in the rules of the senate? will he use what they call recess appointments to get some of his people in there? they're not confirming anybody. they had a guy they put up to be head of the printing office. totally uncontroversial. republicans are blocking it. why? because it's a barack obama appointment. and they're blocking the head of the consumer protection bureau who's a very well-credentialed guy. >> does he sell that on the road? >> he's got to go into more of a confrontational mode and say, you know what, if you don't like it, lump it. and just take it right to them. >> confrontational. that's a big word for this president. >> it's a big challenge for him

because it's not in his nature to act that way. part of 2012, ed, is going to be whether barack obama wants to get re-elected enough that he can do some political things that don't come naturally to him. >> joy-ann reid, jonathan alter, great to have you with us. thanks so much. you have to see what happens when eric cantor is confronted with the truth about ronald reagan. that's next. stay with us. [ male announcer ] to the 5:00 a.m. scholar. the two trains and a bus rider.

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"the ed show" survey tonight i asked, will rick santorum win the iowa caucus tomorrow? 44% of you agree with me. 56% of you say no. coming up, not only are republicans trying to raise taxes, they also won't believe that president reagan did. ezra klein joins me. tires scree]

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if you have any sudden decrease or loss in hearing or vision, stop taking cialis and call your doctor right away. [ male announcer ] ask your doctor if cialis for daily use is right for you. for a 30-tablet free trial offer, go to cialis.com. ♪ welcome back to "the ed show." let's get right to it. this is what happens when house majority leader eric cantor is confronted with the truth. >> but, you know, your idol, as i've read anyway, was ronald reagan and he compromised. >> he never compromised his principles. >> well, he raised taxes and it was one of his principles not to raise taxes. >> well, he also cut taxes. >> but he did compromise. >> that's not true. and i don't want to let that stand. >> and at that point, cantor's press secretary interrupted yelling from off camera that what i was saying wasn't true.

>> eric cantor's press secretary steps in when cantor is confronted with facts about ronald reagan. the guy actually interrupted the interview? of course, reagan is praised by republicans for his tax cut, but reagan also raised taxes 12 times during his eight years in office include a three-year $100 billion tax hike, the largest since world war ii. reagan even agreed to tax hikes during the 1982 recession. in 1986, he signed the largest corporate tax increase in u.s. history. we're joined tonight by ezra klein, msnbc policy analyst, and columnist for the "washington post." how come we don't hear this enough? what do you -- let's set the record straight. reagan didn't just cut taxes, he often raised them. >> he raised them a number of times, in fact. as you said, about a dozen. i'm actually surprised cantor's press secretary went in to interrupt that. it's a fairly well-known fact reagan did this. look, it's exactly the situation we're in now. reagan passed a very large tax cut in 1981. that led to large deficits in

1982. progressively over the next decade, he agreed to packages that raised taxes. we had the bush tax cuts passed in 2001. we have large deficits now. the argument is republicans should agree to among other things tax increases that don't quite roll back the entire bush tax cut but begin to take care of the deficit some. they have a much more dogmatic stance on taxation than ronald reagan did. >> why aren't the democrats saying ronald reagan, your hero, not yours, but the republicans' hero, raised taxes on the job creators? >> i think they actually largely are. there was a "new york times" article earlier this year, that barack obama had a sudden obsession on quoting ronald reagan. you're hearing that and hearing it particularly from the president. but the myth on ronald reagan is often stronger than the reality. >> i mean, the myth, you know, myth making about ronald reagan by today's republican party has gotten so out of whack that cantor's press secretary

actually interrupts an interview with a major network, arguably one of the most watched shows of news on all of television. and he sits there and didn't say, hey, just hold off, back off here. i find that amazing. >> it was surprising i think, too, that cantor didn't have a stronger answer to that. let's talk about the myth making, right? the head of the reagan legacy project, the folks basically trying to name a schoolyard or post office or a tree or whatever in every county in america after ronald reagan is grover norquist. it is the republican party's chief anti-tax enforcer. there is sort of an interesting coalition of interest here around making ronald reagan into a paradigm of anti-tax doctrine. the very same people pushing the doctrine, they conscripted ronald reagan in that as the chief icon for them if their pursuit. >> was he trying, eric cantor, trying to file off a few edges in this interview? >> you know, i can't say because

i haven't seen the rest of the interview. >> well, it sure seemed to me like he was. this was a new image that he was trying to portray. is he going after john boehner's job? >> i don't know if he is yet. john boehner looks a bit weaker. over the last four months or so, republicans from mitch mcconnell to john boehner to eric cantor have been trying to put forward a more conciliatory tone because the ratings for congress are incredibly low now. gallup said congress ended the year with the lowest ratings ever, 11%. lower than the democrats in 2010 before they lost 60-some seats. eric cantor and john boehner more so worried about jockeying for one another's jobs. the betting markets gives them a 35% chance of losing the house to nancy pelosi and the democrats in 2012. >> ezra klein, always a pleasure. thank you for joining us tonight. >> thank you. >> that's "the ed show." tme on satellite radio 127. that's the channel. monday through friday noon to 3:00. follow me on twitter @edshow and