highlights, coming back to me. right now. the touchdown, he will cross the goal line. actually he crossed the goal line, t.j. that went well. you even screwed it up when we . >> "morning joe" starts right now. last night, the people of iowa spoke with a very clear voice, and so i have decided to stand aside. and i believe that if we are going to repeal obama care, turn our country around, and take back our country, we must do so united. and i believe that we must rally around the person that our country and our party, and our people select to be that standard. >> we're going to go into, you know, places where they have actual primaries and they're going to be real republicans voting. not that there aren't real republicans voting here in iowa. but the fact is, it was a pretty

loosy goosy process and you had a lot of people who were there that admitted they were democrats voting in the caucuses last night. >> and welcome to "morning joe." it is thursday, january 5th. you just saw michele bachmann deciding to get out of the campaign. rick perry talking about loosy goosy iowa. as he said, the voters were just strange there. john mccain and mitt romney yesterday, an awkward first kiss in new hampshire. a lot of things going out, including a lot of new polls. . willie, quite a day, what's it looking like in new york? >> well, joe, good morning, sorry, we're having technical troubles in new york, here in the early going. msnbc contributor, mike barnicle. that seems insufficient. >> go ahead. let it breathe. >> nope. steve rattner, msnbc political analyst, visiting professor,

former democratic congressman harold ford jr. >> good morning. >> and the chairman of deutsch, donny deutsch. and in manchester, new hampshire, political reporter for the "huffington post," our good friend sam stein. i've got to say -- >> hello. >> -- this crew right here looks tan, mike barnicle. >> i'm seething with resentment already. >> i'm going to look at some of these numbers, joe. and we'll get you in on this. the republican presidential field now on the ground in new hampshire for a big push before tuesday's primary. mitt romney looking to lock up back to back wins. and if you look at the polls, he's going to do it going away. the latest poll after the iowa caucuses shows romney leading the back in new hampshire by 30 p points, 47 support.

but look at this poll, joe. i don't know if you've seen this yet this morning. >> yeah. >> which candidate has the best shot at beating president obama? mitt romney, 65%. this is among likely primary voters in the state of new hampshire, 65% say he has the best shot. number two on that list, joe, newt gingrich at 9%. the number two guy is at 9%. so a 56-point split between on the electability question in new hampshire. >> yeah, you know right now, willie, everything looks like it's going mitt romney's way. but as mike barnicle has been talking about over the, you know, over the last week, the media doesn't like to have the same story repeated. it's not like the media's looking forward to seeing -- i don't think we can expect to see the headlines romney wins again in new hampshire. i think instead what you're going to find is you've got mitt romney in the opposite position he was going into iowa. iowa was good news for him because nobody expected him to

win there. we're starting this week with him up at 45%, 46%, 47% in the polls, that's not necessarily good news. because gingrich is going after him, santorum's going after him, ron paul's going after him. the entire republican field's going to go after him. jon huntsman obviously going after him. and mike barnicle, you can almost sense mitt romney's now in a position and a very positive position despite that extraordinarily awkward first date yesterday with jon hn mcca. that was laughable. mitt romney's in a position where if he doesn't break 40%, new hampshire's going to be considered a loss. >> yeah, joe. he had a tough opening day in new hampshire. we'll get to that in a couple of minutes. sam stein up there. i assume he'll have something to say about that. but those numbers, what they do, i think, is open up a whole new avenue that could happen in the debates this weekend. they will embolden, i think, a

candidate like newt gingrich to just become so negative as well as the others. so negative toward romney in the hopes of closing those numbers, that the entertainment value of those debates has only increased tenfold since iowa i would think. >> what have you seen coming out of iowa? we haven't talked to you yet since that result came out. romney won by eight votes over rick santorum. but he's moving into new hampshire where he's expected to win big. >> i don't like disagreeing with joe or mike, but i disagree slightly. i think this is romney's race, i think if he wins with 35% or 45%, as long as it's a resounding win. if he drops in the 30%, sure, it's an issue. but steve rattner and i were discussing, i think we've reached a point where there's really not an alternative. if you look at the electability question. if newt gingrich is second in the minds of new hampshire voters and ron paul is third, they're not in double digits yet, two-thirds of republicans are saying he's the most electable. the question emerging in leading

republican and likely republicans to vote is a very simple one, who gives us the best chance if you're republican? i'm a democrat, who gives us the best chance, they would ask, to beat barack obama. they're coalescing around for whatever reason. whether they like romney, whether he's the best candidate, whether he's the least worst of all of them, they're coalescing around mitt romney. i think it's his to lose. >> but that said, we're going into new hampshire. this is basically mitt romney's -- literally mitt romney's backyard. i'm not saying that romney's not the strongest candidate, but we go from mitt romney's home field advantage to next week to the venue where he never wins. we're going to south carolina. we're going to florida, we're going to a region where if you go back, willie, to 2008, you take the 13 lowest performing primary states for mitt romney, all 13 of them are in the south. that's probably why rick perry

decided to stick around because he knows just how weak mitt romney is. we're going to get a chance to see whether he can break into the south in south carolina because a bad performance there raises all those questions again about his candidacy. >> and you see people going from iowa to south carolina. >> i think mitt romney's in a no-win position in new hampshire. because no matter what he does, i don't care if it's higher than his polls, it's his backyard. the other interesting thing to watch in new hampshire. because if you look at any theme throughout this and, mike, you've been talking about this is this is a tv show that people want to continue. and if it's romney, it's over, and we and everybody else and the viewers have nothing to do and no sand box to play in. so let's also watch huntsman in the next week, it is his turn now. he's bet all the marbles in new hampshire and there's weird coconspiracy with the media and the viewers saying we want the show to go on. and huntsman makes the show go

on and santorum. >> he's polling about 13% right now, is huntsman, we'll see if he can get up. romney hoping to build on that momentum with the endorsement from senator john mccain, despite the rivalry during the 2008 republican nomination fight, mccain joined romney at an event in new hampshire yesterday. >> it's with some nostalgia i return to this place i love so well. i'm really here for one reason and one reason only, and that is to make sure that we make mitt romney the next president of the united states of america, and new hampshire and new hampshire is a state that will catapult him on to victory in a very short period of time. that's why i'm here. >> sam stein, you're up in new hampshire, what's the vibe on the ground? not just about the mccain endorsement, but generally about the race this morning. >> well, everything that was previously said i think applies. the expectations for romney couldn't be higher right now. it is his backyard, he's polling

amazingly. the endorsement of senator mccain, it was a very awkward event. they had to cram the gym closer together to make it look like an overflow crowd. but the endorsement matters. and there's a reason that romney's not here today, he's in south carolina because he -- even he doesn't take this process seriously. the expectations are this will be a staging ground for a lot of brutal attacks now directed at romney, particularly in the debate. i talked to one huntsman adviser who is desperately hoping he gets one of those spots right next to romney during the debate so he can launch attack after attack after attack. but there's little expectation that's going to move numbers in new hampshire. and it's almost like this process is secondary to the theatrics right now. >> steve, one of the elements that came up in romney's interaction with the crowd yesterday after the endorsement was obviously the economy. and corporate profits and everything like that. you've taken a look at romney's

position on the economy. how does he -- how is it different than the other candidates in the field? or is it? >> first of all, as we know, romney changes his position with some frequency. it's a little hard to pin him down. but at the end of the day, his position is what i would call slightly more moderate, he's trying to be conservative on his economic positions, but the contrast with somebody like santorum and this gets to the electability of some of these. what santorum is for in terms of cutting the budget, in terms of taxes, in terms of everything is just not where the american people are. so what romney i think is trying to do is to find a middle ground of a kind of sensible set of economic policies that the middle of america can sign on to. but also making sure he stays in good favor with his more conservative -- or tries to with a more conservative end. as harold said, he and i were talking about who was more

electable. but i think romney's the only electable candidate in the field and i think that's what the voters are figuring out. >> you guys trying to end this show to prevent us from going to new hampshire to have a little fun. this is theater, not politics. >> well, donny said that and donny is right, the show will go on for a while more, and it could take some interesting turns. but when you cut through it all and get to the essence, rick santorum can't be elected president, newt gingrich can't be elected president, rick perry can't be elected president. >> sam stein's up there, he thinks he's on an alumni weekend close to dartmouth, how does a candidate like rick santorum who has a terrific day in iowa with a low benchmark of recognition in new hampshire. what does he have to do to achieve "a moral victory in new hampshire?" >> well, he's doing it. you look at the early polls, he's picked up 5 percentage

points, he needs double digits in new hampshire. this puts him as a top-tier candidate going into south carolina where i suspect he's going to be very strong. he did stumble yesterday. he didn't go on the "today" show, didn't do the early morning shows to jump up on his victories. the "new york times" said it took him a long time to get to new hampshire. didn't get there until late last night. he couldn't cash in on it. that said, rick santorum has something all the other candidates in the past have not had if he can make it to the general election, and that is electability. you know, mike, a lot of times people think when i'm criticizing republican candidates like herman cain or in the past michele bachmann because of their ideology. it had nothing to do with their ideology, it had everything to do with whether they'd been on the big stage before. rick santorum was a senator and a congressman for -- if i'm not

mistaken 16 years. he's got the gravitas, he represented a swing state, one of the biggest swing states in pennsylvania. that's why right now the romney people are dismissing him, seeing him as a joke because he doesn't have the money. i will tell you the last thing they want is a senator that's been around washington for 16 years to do pretty well in new hampshire and then to do better in south carolina, and then shock in florida, and then start winning in alabama and mississippi, louisiana, texas, all of these other southern states, oklahoma. it could -- they could be in for a pretty long fight. and i just want to say one final thing, mike. and you know this better than anybody else. sam stein, it's a big happy reunion for sam stein right now in manchester. the fact is, mike, how many times can you look at new hampshire and see it's not who won or loss, but the expectations game. let's go to 1968, mccarthy

drives lbj out of the race. 1992, pat buchanan, he really wasn't that close to bush 41, but the expectations game were such that even the fact he got in the low 40s and lost by what? 15, 16 points, that was considered a loss for bush. we've got the makings for that again. and mike, let's remember tom brokaw reminded us of this, the polls showed barack obama winning by 13%, 14%, 15 percentage points the night before new hampshire voters took the election back and said, no, you know what? we're going to divide who wins our state, not you guys in the media, not pollsters. >> to pick on -- as opposed to howard, i don't like agreeing with joe, but i'm going to do it on the second time today. there are two themes that came out of iowa. the obvious one is that mitt is stuck at 25%. the big thing that is going to define this election going forward and forever, unfortunately, is the super pac.

that basically, let's fast forward and say santorum comes out with 18%. and david koch or one of these other right-wing guys with billions and billions of dollars and have their summit meeting in texas, and say, okay, we're going to at some point get gingrich out of there and put it all in on santorum, who's to say to joe's point he can't keep going forward? people do not want to go with mitt romney. the pundits keep saying what you're saying. well, he's the only electable, he's the only electable. but the voters, the voters have just not budging. and i don't see what's going to change that. >> sam, let me ask you on that. the voters, the people. the one thing santorum would have going for him is he has a narrative, he has a story that people in new hampshire would listen to. if you run along the merrimack river from berlin down to manchester, all the old mill towns that spill out into massachusetts. he has a working class story that romney doesn't have.

they know romney. so does he have enough time to tell that story to enough people to achieve as joe indicated the moral victory here? >> no. but he tried. i mean, he did a two-hour event yesterday evening and it was -- it went on forever, and it was an amazing feat of stamina for rick santorum to talk like that. new hampshire voters are very different from iowa voters in that they're working class a lot of them, but they're also incredibly libertarian. i was at a gingrich event yesterday where three straight questions about drug legalization, one of which was, you know, wouldn't george washington and thomas jefferson loved to have grown their own marijuana? you couldn't imagine that question coming up in iowa. he said no, and they probably would have been violent if you had tried to grow your own marijuana, as well. he handled it in typical gingrich way. it's a very interesting state. the problem is, there's just not

enough time. now the expectation games are one thing, but santorum doesn't have enough time, doesn't have enough money to turn this thing around in a week. >> sam, just real quick, what's your position on the legalization of marijuana? just want to get you on the record. >> last night or -- no, i don't remember anything that happened last night, it's been a great alumni weekend already. >> stop talking, i'm going to let you off the hook. >> i always say, people vote for people, not for issues. i could not disagree with rick santorum more on just about everything and i found myself very engaged by the guy. i found myself liking the guy despite the fact that you put 17 things out on paper i disagree, and people vote for people. >> they're not going to vote for rick santorum with that set of positions. you're not going to vote for rick santorum -- >> i'm not because i'm so wise, but not everybody is. >> you guys are talking -- you mentioned flip-flopping by mitt romney, the white house pointed it out saying he changes with the wind.

in fact, the guy who endorsed him yesterday, senator john mccain in the 2008 presidential election put up this ad. >> i believe that abortion should be safe and legal in this country. >> i will preserve and protect a woman's right to choose and a devoted and dedicated to honoring my word in that regard. >> i'm pro-life. >> you will not see me waivering on that. >> you can go back to youtube and look at what i said in 1994. my position was effectively pro-choice. >> it's time for republicans to start acting like republicans. >> i'm not trying to return to reagan/bush. >> i'm john mccain, and i approve this message -- >> again, that was a john mccain ad for 2008 and you had them appearing on the stage yesterday. >> well, you know, the "new york times" put it best. john mccain had to pick the person he hated the least to endorse yesterday.

he didn't like mitt romney four years ago any more than he likes rick santorum. so it was a bitter choice for john mccain and it showed on stage. >> yeah, it wasn't a warm and fuzzy event. up next, reports of a last-ditch effort to keep mitt romney from taking the nomination. also ahead, peggy noonan, chuck todd live from new hampshire, wes moore and ed burns all with us this morning. first, though, bill karins with a check on the forecast. good morning, willie. not quite as bad today. yesterday was bad enough in the east. it's still chilly out there, but it's a slow improvement here. should be a nice weekend. temperatures instead of being down around zero windchill, we're in the teens and 20s. d.c. has recovered to a windchill of only 31. today's forecast, not bad, partly cloudy, maybe snow flurries around buffalo and the adirondacks, that's about it.

pretty decent winter day. all the attention on concorde, new hampshire. tuesday of next week's the primary. there's no snowstorms, no nothing heading to new hampshire. the weather looks fantastic. if you want to talk about crazy january, the middle of the country today is going to be in the 50s and 60s. as far north as montana and north dakota. feels like the middle of spring instead of winter. enjoy that 65 in denver and 62 in kansas city. what's going on this winter? very strange. you're watching "morning joe" brewed by starbucks. this is an rc robotic claw. my high school science teacher made me what i am today. our science teacher helped us build it. ♪ now i'm a geologist at chevron, and i get to help science teachers. it has four servo motors and a wireless microcontroller.

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those of you who might not know who rick santorum is, you know the boring stuck up white guy you see in every tyler perry movie? that's him. he usually wears a sweater vest,

which is puzzling. he'd been buying more of them because people are paying attention. and he's not the only candidate working that sweater vest magic in his campaign. >> newt gingrich is ready for a fight. he says now that he's not going to hold back anymore against the winner mitt romney. >> the massachusetts moderate that has given no evidence in his years of massachusetts of any ability to change the culture or change the political structure or change the government. >> i don't mean to be judgy, but that's not a good look. >> save it for south carolina. let's take a look at some of the morning papers. the "new york times" says europe is taking the bold step toward banning oil from iran. european countries have agreed in principle to impose an embargo hoping it puts pressure on tehran's nuclear program. right now the u.n. accounts for 17% of iran's oil exports. "wall street journal" says strong sales in december capped off a great year for u.s. car makers, especially chrysler.

which posted a 37% sales jump in december and 26% gain for the year. one from our parade of papers, the "houston chronicle" says rick perry's campaign reassessment might be the shortest on record. after telling supporters he was returning to texas, the governor changed his mind tweeting here we come south carolina, that came along with a photo of him giving a thumbs up. >> the photo shows alabama runningback trent richardson and the rest of the crimson tide rolling into new orleans yesterday where they'll face lsu and the bcs championship game monday night to be played in manchester, new hampshire. >> jim vandehei has a look at the playbook. we missed you in iowa. where were you? >> back here making sure "politico" could function smoothly. i'm still trying to get over that image you had up there of newt. >> we should've given a warning

to viewers. i've got mike allen on "way too early" out there, 4:30 a.m. he's a good man, mike allen. >> you can roll that back to 2:30 a.m. >> that's coming your way in new hampshire, by the way. we've seen some of the numbers in new hampshire. talking about them on this morning's shows that mitt romney's got a huge lead over his fellow nominee. you guys at "politico" reporting that last-ditch effort to try to stop him from winning the nomination. what's going on here? >> there's a group of evangelical christians meeting in texas next week. other people who are leaders of evangelical movement, and they want to see if they can coalesce around one alternative to mitt romney. and you see this discussion taking place everywhere. i think the reason this one's important is that the community is still a huge part of the republican party. and it might not be as united as it was during the christian coalition days, but these are still folks with real clout with big blocks of voters.

and if they could toss all their support behind say a rick santorum or a newt gingrich or even rick perry, it could make an appreciable difference in places like south carolina and florida. that's the only way that mitt romney is going to get stopped because he looks extremely strong, extremely well organized, has tons of money. is so much better positioned than anybody else on the map right now. >> how does this work exactly, though? they make a decision about who they want to support? but who's the one that goes to newt gingrich, we're getting behind rick santorum. how does it work? >> i think that's the problem. there isn't one person who can step up and lead the movement like ralph reid could've 15 years ago. i think you try to get all of these voices to speak about one voice about the candidate they want to support. if you suddenly had a rush limbaugh, gary bauer, some of these candidates who might drop out of the race all endorsing one candidate, pushing for one candidate, it could get the movement to coalesce. that's the difficulty right now and also the great opportunity

for romney. as long as there's division on the right that 75% that doesn't like romney, as long as they remain divided, it's a great benefit to him. because nobody can stop him. even if they get united, by the way, i think it's really, really hard to stop romney. i cannot put enough value on the fact he's so well organized in every single state beyond south carolina and florida, that he's on the ballot in every single important state. he has money, he has organization. he built this thing six months ago for the long haul and you're seeing the benefits of that. and that's an important indicator for success in these things. george w. bush had a terrific organization. other things that worked for him, but terrific organization. same for barack obama, same for mitt romney. it is a common threat of successful campaigns. >> it's a little late for rick santorum to get that kind of operation up and running this quickly. got to ask you about what's going on on in washington at the white house. the president announced the recess appointment of richard

cordray. politico asking the question, thats the president given up trying to work with republicans? what's the story here? >> i think he has given up. if you talk to the president's aides, they're saying the president doesn't think the system's on the level that republicans will never work with him. he's clearly made the decision now that hope and change are out the door for the next year and it's going to be a sort of thumb in your eye type of politics with the republicans and with the business community. he made this recess appointment, knew it would be a defiant act against congress. and i think it signals you'll have very little of substance get done over the next year and it's going to be even more partisan in 2012 than it was in 2011, which is hard to imagine given the level of dysfunction that we saw over the last 12 months, but that's the bet the president is making. he thinks it positions him well with independents and he thinks it's the only option he really has. and there is risk to this. because independents don't like it when all they see is nastiness out of washington. and if he gets blamed for that

nastiness, i think those independents who are very skeptical of him for the last two years height remain so and might cost him reelection. >> harold, this goes to the we can't wait message they've been using. we can't wait for republicans so he's used his executive authority to appoint the head of the consumer financial protection bureau without consulting congress. >> no, it speaks to this divisiveness. i'm more interested in this first thing about these republicans coming together. jim, you get the sense -- if romney wins a nomination, can this group of conservative republican leaders, can they rally around mitt romney? are they saying he is so objectionable and they find his policies and positions so repulsive they can't vote for him at all? sh that the sense you get, as well? >> i think undoubtedly they will rally behind him. they rallied behind john mccain for the most part, and i think john mccain was a tougher swallow than mitt romney will be. at the end of the day, conservatives dislike barack

obama so much they're going to unite behind anybody who will defeat him. until you get to that point where you have a binary choice, you always have this interparty warfa warfare. they will rally around him at the end of the day, and barack obama's a very, very tough reelection race ahead of him. >> thanks so much, man. appreciate it. >> see you in new hampshire. >> that first story confuses me, as well. a group of evangelicals gathered in texas because they don't like romney. why don't they ask for god's help to help them? he made one dangerous mistake, leaving newt gingrich alive and angry. plus, the moment reality tv has been apparently waiting for, gary busey and the reverend ted haggard on "wife swap." >> prepare for the best, prepare for the worst and expect the unexpected. >> moving like this, those are angels.

for michele bachmann, her sixth place finish was reflected in her concession. but there was some silver

lining. >> i must thank my wonderful husband of 33 years, marcus bachmann. and yesterday when we were out on main street in des moines, he was buying doggy sunglasses for our dog boomer while we were out visiting all of the many businesses. >> seriously, look at the face he's making. the only sound you can make when your mouth is shaped that way s is -- which i guess roughly translates to i'm sorry i ruined your campaign with my completely heterosexual devotion to doggy accessories. >> looking out for boomer the dog. come on. let's go have some sports now. more bcs college football. the orange bowl wasn't close like so many other games. it was tight after one quarter, clemson up, but then the

mountaineers went on a tear. cuts outside for 27 yards, somehow dances along the sideline, turns it back in for a touchdown. replay does show austin keeps that left foot inbounds. west virginia up 21-14, clemson first and goal, looks like they're going to tie the game or take the lead here, actually, but it's fumbled. west virginia safety darwin scoops it up and goes 99 yards the other way for a touchdown. and that opened the flood gates. west virginia scored three more times in the second quarter alone for a 49-20 halftime lead, the most points by any team -- oh -- in bowl history in a half. you see that move? austin puts a sick move on somebody. he's gone 37 yards for the touchdown. austin ties a bowl record with four touchdown catches. breaks tom brady's orange bowl record, west virginia goes on to win 70 -- >> what was the over/under on

that? >> 70-33. >> you're safe with the over. harold, you were at the sugar bowl the other night. great win for michigan. 11-2, turned it around, michigan's back. >> who would've thought we'd turn this around in one year. you think of the last four years, nothing bad against the guy, he came and turned the program around. great for recruiting. he simply outcoached the virginia tech team and the virginia tech's coach -- >> how did he do it in one year, harold? that was in the wilderness. >> same players. the key was defense. we were great on offense the last two years but defense ranked among the 10 worst in bcs. we're now in the top quarter. he put that -- you change those numbers around, we put ourselves in the sugar bowl. and i've got to tell you, i'm glad he's coming back next year, a front-runner for the heisman. >> 11-2 and guys coming back next year. >> what about the quakers? >> the penn quakers? >> it'll be in a bcs series. >> this is from the other kind

of football. english premiere soccer. you've got to see what happened here. this is everton against bolton. this is tim howard, i think he one-timed that maybe? i don't know how many yards that is. but it seems impossible. he scores. scores. nice bounce right over the head of the bolton keeper. power plays for everton. we're going to see this again. only the third goal keeper every to score in the english premiere league. fourth ever. unbelievable. top spin over the head. >> soccer considered a sport now? >> come on. >> how long is the soccer field? >> i think it's more, it's longer, isn't it? >> anyone know anything about soccer? >> it's more than 100 yards. anybody? mike, do you watch soccer? what is it? what is it? >> 100 yards, same as a football field. you're wrong. >> no one on the set or in the control room knew the answer to that question. e-mail us, won't you.

coming up next, steve rattner takes us through his new charts looking at how the economy ended in 2011 and for the new year. forty years ago, he wasn't looking for financial advice. back then he had something more important to do. he wasn't focused on his future. but fortunately, somebody else was.

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welcome back to "morning joe," it's 6:43 in the morning, a beautiful live picture of our nation's capital. steve rattner is back with some of his charts. help us to walk through what happened in 2011. i'm hoping paris hilton's name will come up in these charts. steve, what do you got? >> i have four charts that are kind of the greatest hits i always say of 2011. some charts that people have fun with and do say a lot about where we are now. let's start with congress. if you take a look at congress'

popularity, and this is a chart that senator michael betit put together. 20% banks at 23%, airlines, and lawyers. paris hilton has a 15% approval rating. she has a higher approval rating than congress. the irs has a 40% approval rating. it has a higher approval rating than congress does. and hugo chavez of venezuela has a 9% approval rating. >> in the united states? >> in the united states. the same as congress. >> wow. >> he thinks he's like a rapper or something. >> how historically are we with that 9% number? >> it's gone down a lot. and i think when i was in the government in 2009, congress was in the low 20s and they've sunk down to 9% in two years. >> unbelievable. you're looking at debt, as well. what was it in 2011? >> so let's take a look at -- this was a chart i think we

talked about indirectly. but when you talked about what to do about the budget and the budget deficit, it comes down to one thing, which is health care. everything else is basically going to be held flat as a percent of gdp, even social security remains constant as a percent of gdp as does other programs and so-called discretionary spending, which includes a lot of good things like education and so forth held flat. what's really driving our budget problem is health care spending. and you can see it's essentially going to double its share, unless we do something, it's going to double its share of gdp over the next 40 years, and that is a big problem. and it's a really tough problem because every year 3% more people go on medicare. so you've right away got a growth of 3% a year before you even start to think about what you do about costs and getting it back into control. this next chart is an interesting one -- >> can i stop right there, steve really quickly if that's all right?

>> sure. >> and again, we can't underline that -- and i'd love to have that chart put back up again. you can't underline this enough. regardless of your view of how we curb health care costs in america. the fact is over the next decade or two, the united states government will be little more -- if we don't change this -- the united states government will be little more than a health care insurance company that will spend the majority of the taxes taken in distributing health care insurance out to senior citiz s citizens, out to the poor, out to veterans. health care, this is -- it doesn't sound as dramatic as world war ii, it doesn't sound as dramatic as a lot of other things, but this is the challenge of our time is to curb health care costs. >> you know, joe and i don't agree on everything, but we agree completely on this. this is going to take over our budget and squeeze out a lot of stuff that's just as important as providing health care.

>> you could also twin the health care costs chart with the 9% rating for congress because that's where the problem is. they can't come up with a solution, a bipartisan solution aimed at reducing health care costs in this country. >> they can't -- in fairness, it's a tough problem. 3% more people every year go on m medicare. you've got an increasing cost before you can figure out what to do about increases. >> a couple years ago going after this question and still we couldn't come up with a big solution for it. what are you looking at next? >> let's talk about jobs. everybody's worried about jobs. this is an interesting chart that the hamilton project put together basically to answer the question, how long does it take us to get out of this mess? and so you see the decline from the peak back in 2008 and then see snacenarios going back out again. if you take the best year in the 2000s of job creation, 2005, it would take us until 2024 to get

back to where we were in 2008 using the best year from the 2000s. if you take the best year in the 1990s, which was 1994, it would take us until 2017 roughly to get back to where we were before. and if you take the best month in the 2000s, the best single month in the 2000s, you get -- 470,000 jobs a month to get back there in 2015. and at the moment, we'll have jobs numbers tomorrow, they'll probably show 150,000 jobs a month being created, so it's worse than every single one of these lines. >> joe. >> yeah, no, there's no doubt about it. and these two charts that you've shown back to back, steve, show why the united states of america is in the mess that it's in right now. we have two things happening at the same time historically. and we've talked about this. we have massive debt, a generational debt. we have, you know, thousands of

baby boomers retiring every day and cycling into medicare and into social security. well, that is happening, and while that continues to happen over the next generation, bankrupting us, we also have the fact that we've been losing jobs in this country since the mid 1970s, and you have these two things coming together at the same time, it's not enough to just say, oh, we're going to pass massive stimulus plans that are going to grow this economy because then you've got the debt crisis. and it's not enough to say we're going to cut, cut, cut the budget because obviously then you have the jobs crisis. we are in a mess. and not only congress, but the american people need to wake up to that fact right now. because if you go out and even tell tea partiers, we're going to curb the rate of growth for medicare and social security, they will say that's not the real problem, let's just cut -- let's just cut earmarks and that'll take care of it.

that's just not the truth of the matter, and it's time that america wakes up. >> you don't even need any political polls, actually, just show those charts and you can see why -- no matter where you go, there's a fear of the future -- >> you think the president should approve that before the year's up so there's -- >> i'm not an expert, but my instinct he should approve it. we need the energy, the jobs that can be done in a safe way. >> up next, stephen colbert gives mitt romney a lesson in horror film survival. news you can't use next. my job is to find the next big sound. they sound awesome tonight. and when i do find it, i share it with the world. you landed the u.s. tour ? done. this is fantastic ! music is my life

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newt has the knives out for mitt romney. listen to these not so veiled threats he issued last night. >> we are not going to run nasty ads, but i do reserve the right to tell the truth. and if the truth seems negative, that may be more a comment on his record than it is on politics. >> oh, mitt, you have made a fatal mistake. you may have wounded newt. but you left him alive. and alone with his first love, hate.

newt's wound will now fester oozing a rage which will render down into liquid vengeance and then pour into the tip of a single hollow-nosed bullet and fire into the heart of mitt romney's dreams and dance and cackle on the grave. but not in a negative way. personally i cannot wait for this weekend's debates in new hampshire because when mitt romney least expects it, newt gingrich is going to turn to him and say -- >> hello. my name is newt gingrich. you killed my campaign. prepare to die. >> oh, yes. is it time? >> it is time, pre-recorded mika brzezinski. time for news you can't use. we don't talk a lot about the show celebrity wife swap here at

"morning joe." i'm told it's a show about swapping lives. >> great. >> it premiered this week with a mix of gary busey and infamous disgraced pastor ted haggard swapping wives. >> prepare for the best, prepare for the worst, and expect the unexpected. >> you know what's good about farting in the sink? >> cut -- >> and the white balls moving like this, those are angels. time for me to get bored. i'll find something i can do to keep me interested in something. >> i'm excited about your book. >> yeah. >> i want to read it. >> what do you do? do you go to church? >> i am a church. >> did i ask you what athletic sports you would play? >> you did. >> i remember that answer too. >> one of my recent lifetimes i was burned at the stake as a female witch. >> i do really like you just the way you are. >> this touched me very deeply. >> now, that's interesting.

i fear for -- >> i fear -- >> i watched network last week, we have surpassed what the parody was of what the future of television was. >> i don't think they should put him on tv, that's my take for his own sake -- >> for us. >> something wrong's there. >> we're talking about jobs and the country, that's -- let's move on from that. up next, the "wall street journal's" peggy noonan, looking forward to the new hampshire primary and the return of rick perry. back in a moment. i remember the day my doctor told me i have an irregular heartbeat, and that it put me at 5-times greater risk of a stroke. i was worried. i worried about my wife, and my family. bill has the most common type of atrial fibrillation, or afib. it's not caused by a heart valve problem. he was taking warfarin, but i've put him on pradaxa instead.

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would you refine your earlier statement from corporations are people to corporations are abusive people? >> where do you think corporations' profits go? where does it go? >> it's a profit, it depends -- >> where does it go? now let's get the facts. there are two places it can go. hold on, it's my turn. you've had your turn, now it's my turn, all right? >> welcome back to "morning joe." well, you know, there's a look at the white house obviously mitt romney wants to be there. and he had a nice staging event in new hampshire. it was supposed to be a victory lap, it didn't go quite that way. fascinating day up in new hampshire for him during a john mccain endorsement. welcome back to "morning joe." a lot to talk about.

the president made some controversial, mike barnicle, some stroecontroversial appoint yesterday. and up in new hampshire, the battle for the republican nomination continues. >> it continues, joe. and we're going to find out how much of a battle is left in new hampshire. donny deutsch and harold ford jr. are here onset with us. thankfully, joining us, "wall street journal" columnist peggy noonan. always a pleasure to see you. >> good morning, mike, hi, joe. >> hey. >> yeah, go ahead. >> no, no, i was just going to ask peggy about what happened in iowa. and i think peggy may be a kindred spirit here. regardless of what you think about rick santorum and his policies and whether he's too far right on social issues, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera, you and i have been lamenting the fact that over the past year, year and a half, there have been not been grown-ups in this presidential race.

that some have even made a joke of the entire nomination process. and when we say that, people assume that it has something to do with ideology. rick santorum is a perfect example of somebody who is a hard right republican. and yet, he's a grown-up. he's been in the senate, he represented pennsylvania. this is actually a guy who if he had the money and infrastructure could be a kocontender. >> absolutely. he was in the house, in the senate, helped shepherd various serious pieces of legislation, such as welfare reform then a few years ago had a bad loss in pennsylvania which made a number of people think he was over on the national stage. the thing that you and i have decried a lot, joe, is candidates who have come forward to announce that they are running for president when they

are really pushing a book or looking for a cable tv contract. they're not serious. but rick santorum is serious. i thought what happened in iowa the other night was so interesting in part because the people of the republicans of iowa were perfectly reflecting the real splits in the republican party. a third went for the libertarian, a third went for the social conservative, a third went for the moderate republican called establishment, but i don't think establishment is the right word. i think it's regular suburban republicans who are moderate in various ways. show that split was fascinating. we're not going to see it duplicated in new hampshire. new hampshire will be another drama. >> so, harold, we'll start with you here. is there anybody out there, rick santorum the most obvious, with the ability to stop romney? can he be stopped? >> sure, he can be stopped. i don't think he will be

stopped. look, i don't disagree with any of the analysis provided this morning about santorum, about rick perry who has indicated he's going to play hard in south carolina. i think that voters, republican voters are upset and disappointed with the leadership of barack obama. some of them go further. their feelings are more negative than that and they're looking at who can possibly win. now, i think ms. noonan's assessment of the third, third, third is about right. the question is, are the other two-thirds ready to compromise some of their concerns or beliefs or whatever the case may be to vote for and support mitt romney? and i happen to think they will. they'll get to south carolina and florida and i think voters in both of those states will step back and say we have an opportunity to run a formidable race in the fall and mitt romney may be our best shot to do it. and remember, whether you're enthusiastic or not, it all counts the same. you can be hyper about the person or so-so, it's still one

vote. >> but donny deutsch, i want to underline something you said last hour and talk around the table about it. when people go to vote in the voting booths, yet, ideology matters, but a lot of times they're voting for the person. and let's talk -- herman cain, 9-9-9, he was in the middle of a book tour, great on late night shows, he made us all laugh, but really, was he ever going to be president of the united states? i can say that about other candidates who were just ill-prepared to be president of the united states. but you look at a guy like santorum again, donny deutsch, a guy you disagree with probably on every single issue, at least he's been there, been in the big game, he is a serious player, he understands washington, d.c. too many of these republican candidates over the past year just haven't fit that bill. >> joe, i couldn't agree with you more, and answering mike's question, picking up on that. three reasons why i believe -- and i'm frightened about this,

that rick santorum is beyond viable. i'm going to push it to the next level. number one to your point, he's a very interesting person. he had blood, that speech up there about his background, about his father, that connects. you said that's a human being. so he's a likable human being, issues aside. number two, the super pac, i'm going to come back to it. you have these billionaires waiting in the wings, the david kochs of the world, as much as they hate barack obama, they hate mitt romney. overnight, you can flood money overnight, you can start to own the internet. i see a scenario -- because once again, people do not want mitt romney. i see a scenario where the super pac gets behind him and we get this -- whether he can be -- he can't beat barack obama. but we're talking about who's going to get the nominee. >> i don't disagree with any of that, but hasn't he faced down

and stared down -- >> it's been against nothing -- >> it has. >> wait, wait, wait -- i've got to ask a question, though. now, i just want to ask really quickly, donny, and i want everybody to answer this question. you said, oh, of course rick santorum can't beat barack obama. tell me, why can't rick santorum beat barack obama? >> because i don't -- >> maybe not in manhattan. >> not in manhattan, i think in a few of the key swing states. i can't see him taking florida. look, let's -- >> why not? >> because at the end of the day and when you go back and some of the things he's talked about, against contraception and things when they do come to the surface you go, i can't live with this. so i think pennsylvania, you know, he got whooped the last time he was there. he's not the favorite son. i do believe he can -- >> he got whooped the last time, but he won twice. this is all i'm saying, donny. i think people in the media are going to have to take a -- if

santorum moves forward and peggy, i think you can speak to this, they're going to be very careful not to let their own blind spots on social policy get in the way of their analysis of what republican can win. because the thing -- and peggy, you can answer this, as well. a lot of our good friends and most of my friends are in the media and most of them live in manhattan. they have a complete blind spot when it comes to social policy and the way people in middle america think. i have found libertarians that have worked with me at networks and that i've talked to in newsrooms before, i just haven't found any social conservatives that have worked in the mainstream media outside of fox news. and peggy, i think this is why there may be a blind spot in whether santorum can win or not. >> you know what, joe, let me throw something out and see if you agree. in the media, in the tops or the

establishments "of both parties." the democrats and the republicans, there's a whole lot of libertarian going on. i think you may be suggesting that. when it comes to social issues, everybody, top dems, top reps, the media, it's just not an issue for them. they are very libertarian. america is not very libertarian. america has libertarian impulses. and thoughts. look, we'll see what rick santorum is bringing to the table now, joe. i'm very interested, by the way, in what your experience was with him. i think you were in the house with him. he was one of the young ones of '94. i'm very interested in your read on him. we'll see what he's got to show in new hampshire.

but don't write anybody off. by the way, don't write gingrich off either. i spent the past few days talking to people in south carolina. he's not over there. >> look, joe -- >> no, he's not -- i want to say really quickly and i'll throw it back to you. i don't want anybody to be confused. my instincts are a lot more libertarian than rick santorum's, especially on economic issues. i'm just explaining, there is a great divide between those on the east side of the hudson and those in middle america. >> you mean a big blind spot. >> i don't disagree with you -- >> a huge blind spot. >> two weeks ago, three weeks ago, it was unlikely that anyone thought rick santorum could win iowa or find himself in a virtual tie in iowa. six weeks ago, there were many who thought romney could not win iowa. there's a divide between what

some in the media and those of us in cocoons around the country and what voters are experiencing. rick santorum has not undergone the kind of scrutiny that these candidates have had to undergo. and when he undergrows that scrutiny, if he comes out of it a candidate that is stronger, i would tend to agree more with joe that perhaps he is a more electable candidate. but until that happens, it's very -- and i know some of his positions and issues have been worked -- not with him, but worked in the same body that he worked in. and there's questions that he'll have to answer. and i'm not convinced that many of his positions are mainstream positions yet. but we'll have time to see. but if you are campaigning for any of these candidates, you'd much rather be in the romney camp right now because he's the strongest and best candidate for republicans and it appears from all the polling, even republicans believe he's the most electable. >> one of the most interesting aspects of the candidacy, and it

hasn't been noticed until iowa. and it might -- this aspect might have something to do with the fact that he's been out of washington, out of office for a period of years. if you look at the great candidates in terms of campaigns over the past 50 years, jack kennedy, jimmy carter, bill clinton, the man from -- they have a narrative. >> that's right. >> the american story. santorum has a story that he tells that blends with the american experience. none of the other candidates have a story to tell you, including gingrich. has no american story to tell you. or at least that they've told. >> and even the way he handled iowa's campaign of 350 events, hard work not giving up is part of the american story. so the story itself and the way he conducted himself. he scares me as a democrat. >> would you vote for him? >> i would absolutely not vote

for him, but he has a real shot at the republican nomination. watch what happens over the -- >> what did the people in st. barts think -- >> you know, he held a fundraiser. he held a fundraiser down there, and harvey weinstein was there. >> and what you were talking about in terms of republicans coalescing against romney or meeting this weekend or the evangelicals in texas. yesterday, newt gingrich was on with laura ingraham talking about a potential movement to stop mitt romney. so let's listen up to this. >> can you see a scenario under which the two of you would align together to try to defeat the establishment candidate mitt romney? >> absolutely, of course. rick and i -- we have a 20-year friendship, we are both rebels, we both came into this business as reformers.

we both dislike deeply the degree to which the establishment sells out the american people. and the thing that's interesting, if you add to that perry and bachmann, you begin to see the signs of the conservative vote compared to romney. >> what do you think of that, joe? >> well, i think the bottom line in iowa, you have a guy that got 24%, 25% of the vote, i'd be surprised if he got more than that in south carolina and florida. so it is going to be fascinating to see how all of this shakes out. i do think that, though, you're probably going to see something very interesting. you're going to see newt gingrich in the coming weeks, and rick santorum move up a bit. and i think that's -- i think that's a very real possibility. i do think, though also, peggy noonan to follow up on what mike barnicle said. santorum has a narrative. he's got a story and it's a

story that feeds into what we love to think about ourselves as an american. and it's a story -- i can go back to my family and i can go back to them living in rural georgia, in the great depression, and my mom was taught by her parents who lived in the depths of -- as my mom said she was born in the darkest moment of the great depression. and yet she had two dresses, never went to school dirty. it was always ironed, they had no indoor plumbing, but they were rich, they always felt like they had something, and they all went to college. and then their goal was for their kids to be a little bit better. when rick santorum talks about his grandfather and looking him lying in the casket and seeing -- in western pennsylvania day in and day out

to buy rick santorum's freedom as he said. that is a story that makes every american stop and say that's why i love america. even if we aren't as mobile as we used to be, that's what we like to think of ourselves. and rick santorum as mike says, he's got that narrative that the other candidates don't have. >> you also might say that some of his positions sort of connect to and reflect what you are describing. he is, i think the only one of the republican candidates right now who talks in a very big way about the old industrial america, factory workers, trying to turn around the industrial base of america. he's got a blue collar appeal, he comes from the blue collar. there's also something santorum the night he won saw a friend of

mine. and she congratulated him and they hugged and he whispered in her ear miracles can happen. that is really how he felt about that evening about what had happened to him in iowa. show there's something sort of spiritual, kind of spiritual vibe there that i think and a catholic vibe that people pick up, but again, we'll see how that plays out in new hampshire. i don't know how much of focus rick santorum is going to be. and i'm not sure at what point opposition research begins. we'll see how this goes. but does he have appeal? yes. >> i think rick santorum needs al michaels to come back from the 1980s olympics and say, do you believe in miracles? up next, chuck todd live from new hampshire. staking out ground ahead of tuesday's primary. you're watching "morning joe" brewed by starbucks. oh it's clearance time!

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i thought that was a pretty good performance for a landslide romney who comes to you tonight with an hour and a half sleep. by the way, mitt was of enormous help to me in my campaign and i'll always be grateful for it. after i lost, i slept like a baby. sleep two hours, wake up and cry, sleep two hours, wake up and cry. i flew in the airport, the other day, a guy runs up to me and says, hey, anybody ever tep yllu look a lot like senator john mccain. on behalf of mitt romney, i'd like to invite all of you to his inauguration at his expense. >> john mccain doing a little stand-up. zany in new hampshire.

>> funniest candidate ever to run was mo udal. used to tell stories, i went to a barbershop, i'm running for president, i forget the punch line, go ahead. >> good story, mike. >> yeah, we were just laughing about that. >> okay. >> can i get those 15 seconds of my life back? joining us now from manchester, new hampshire, nbc's chief white house correspondent and political director and the host of the daily rundown, our good friend chuck todd. chuck, do you know the punch line to that joke? >> no, i think he did finally get it. we were just laughing about it. there was one moe udaul joke. it was all rewind, it was the same jokes that mccain told in 2000, told in 2008, and he brought them back. it was great to hear. >> got a great eugene mccarthy story. >> let's save that till the end.

the cnn poll, romney up 30 points on ron paul and on the question of electability, it's pretty remarkable, 65% say mitt romney is the most electable candidate. the next guy on that list, newt gingrich has 9%. >> right. >> is there any way mitt romney -- he's going to win, is there any way this is close in new hampshire? >> you know, i think there's a chance this is close. first of all, new hampshire has that -- it has that vibe. voters are very much kind of like iowans, they don't like just gimmes in that sense. i would advise people, ignore -- wait until thursday -- wait until friday or saturday even before you start looking to see if there's any movement in the polls to see where the polls are. i feel like most of the polls we've seen even though they're technically taken right after iowa. it's not sort of after folks have digested iowa, have sort of seen the candidates coming here.

i would say let's wait another day or two before we see if there is a movement or not. >> as they start to digest what happened in iowa, they'll see rick santorum coming within eight votes of winning in iowa. what's the appetite in new hampshire for rick santorum? have they started to look at this guy? >> well, look, he got a really good turnout at his first stop over 100 folks which is, you know, about what mitt romney got at his mccain route. i expected that one to be a blowout, the first one. so santorum's got to feel good about that. he has got a jam packed schedule. he is basically trying to squeeze in as many events as he can. doing five today, five again tomorrow, he's trying to be the energizer bunny candidate, the way he was in iowa, it worked for him there. one thing he may need to refine a little bit. he does sort of go on and on at some of his events. it was natural for him to do it when he only had a small number of people going and he was sort of trying to keep his own energy

up, but now he's got a lot of people there, you've got to be careful not to let folks get a little antsy in your seats because you're willing to answer a million questions, but maybe you go on too far. that's sort of him adjusting to becoming a top-tier candidate. >> chuck, what is his basic campaign speech? what points does he hit in -- well, i guess in like an hour or two or two hours? >> no, he hits some of the social conservatives, but the conventional wisdom, and a lot of folks in washington think rick santorum, the social conservative guy, right? because that's been a lot of his more high profile fights inside the beltway have been about marriage or abortion. but what i find interesting is he really is focusing more on the -- an economic message and foreign policy message. very much a hawk if you will, neo conservatism when it comes to iran, spends a lot of time on that, but then spends a lot of

time on talking about mixing the economic and values message. you know, not dissimilar to what are bill clinton did in 1992 or what pat buchanan did in 1996. you know, when you take values and merge it with the economy -- and if you do it effectively, that's how you can win in places that have a heavier blue collar population. whether it's western pennsylvania or parts of new hampshire. and he emphasizes that a lot. and lately he has thrown in the electability argument. he pushes back on this idea that romney is the only electable one and he says, you know what? i've been running in democratic territory, talks about winning in places like southwest ohio, western pennsylvania, and he says where's mitt romney done that? he's never done that anywhere. why is he viewed as the more electable one? i'm the one who has won in these places that have electoral votes that matter. >> and chuck, it's donny. obviously we know there's tremendous rage in this country, and obviously a candidate like santorum would plug into that.

i believe he can win the nomination, but cannot beat barack obama. let me throw something on the table. is there a chance, let's say he does go against barack obama and we know there's a few, four, or five shrink states. whether it's pro choice say, you know what? i'm actually protected in my state. let them say all those things, it's not going to affect my life. but i like the american dream. i like the narrative to mike's point. i like what he's saying some of the things economically. and is there that chance he could beat barack obama? if people go, well, the stuff i'm worried about is not going to happen anyway? >> well, that's what it would have to be. checking that at the door. and santorum has tried to, you know, for instance, he's personally against contraception, and he's been asked about it, i asked him about it, other people have asked him about it, and he says, well, but i wouldn't change the law. >> exactly. >> and you're wondering, is he going to start trying to sort of temper some of the social

conservative. that could turn off independents or moderate republicans or suburban voters. and folks on the economic message. but for santorum to win, because in a general, you would need, i think, the economy to go south again to suddenly stop, you know, whatever this miassent wee on. i remember talking to obama strategists right after rick perry got in, and looked like he could be the nominee and perry versus romney. and they were divided on this idea well, i don't know who we want to face. do we want -- romney looks more electable. but sometimes in a change election environment, bright colors, and going to somebody that is almost got the stiffer of spines can actually be of comfort to voters. and they were concerned that rick perry could actually do -- be tougher to beat, the obama

folks did because of that. so maybe -- you can make that argument that in times when the country's really unhappy, they'd rather cling to a stronger oar in the water than one that's more malleable. >> chuck, good morning, harold ford. in iowa, you saw the super pac come after gingrich and there's the accusation is that mitt romney was behind it. similarly in new hampshire, do the romney people view santorum as formidable threat? and if so, do you expect over the next few days if this polling changes for some of that super pac attention to switch to santorum? >> well, they're not going to do it here. if they hit santorum, i think it's going to happen in florida, frankly. that would be the first place it would happen. but they're not concerned about him. you know, they've always -- they've always believed there was going to be the conservative alternative. that they were going to have to face off with, probably have the showdown in south carolina and florida with. but if they had to pick who they wanted to have it with, they --

they'll take sank tomorrow, because they don't believe he has the infrastructure. their big spin out of iowa is, not only is a win a win, but hey, rick perry and gingrich are not coming out of there with a head of steam. it's santorum. and you know, santorum doesn't have the infrastructure, not on the virginia ballot, not on the dakota ballot. he doesn't have what it takes to go all the way in their view, so they'll take it. >> chuck, quickly, your view, though, does he have what it takes to go all if way? >> i wouldn't underestimate him. this is a guy a lot of democrats thought a one-term wonder when he got elected in '90, then he ends up winning in '94, al gore wins pennsylvania in 2000, rick santorum wins reelection. the guy works hard. so does mitt romney, but the guy will work hard. so, you know, careful what you wish for. >> i think the more we keep

saying he doesn't have an organization, people like to hear that. they want that. they're tired of the word organization. they want somebody that doesn't have the organization. >> and he's got money starting to come in. chuck todd in manchester -- >> i wonder how the war stuff will play, though. >> look at chuck there. >> wow. >> is that a ring behind it? look at this. >> what is that stage up there? >> theater. you're going to do your comedy show? >> please, mike, can you go on before me because i'll be funnier if you're on before me. >> exactly. >> tank the audience, will you? >> i've learned that. why do you think i'm sitting next to him, chuck. chuck, thanks, man, we'll see you on "the daily rundown." still ahead, president obama's campaign was calling romney a weak front-runner. the president himself outraging republicans by making a recess appointment to head the consumer financial protection bureau. that story next.

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kids are awesome. all right. thank you, brother. oh, thank you, man. you and ruth were awesome. >> woo! what's up, everybody? i spent a [ bleep ] load of money in iowa, didn't get a whole lot of votes, what's up? i had a hell of a time. i think my campaign might be dead in the water, but our hotel in des moines was cooler than [ bleep ]. the maids folded the end of the toilet paper like a fan shape. i felt guilty wiping my hind quarters to be honest. this puts the rad in radisson. by the way, i got crushed. >> i think the number was $480 per vote, the amount of money he spent in the state of iowa. >> which reminds me, i've got another joke. >> work through it before we deliver it on national television. >> who is the great republican god of last half century?

ronald reagan, all right. who did ronald reagan vote for? >> probably the two different giants of the 20th century -- >> who would reagan choose as his candidate? >> i never do what would reagan say, what would reagan say, what was his viewpoint be? reagan expected politics to be pretty tough. he expected the fight would be pretty serious. and then he expected everybody would join in at the end when the party finally had somebody. and they'd all go forward. >> don't you suspect they will in the end circle around if it is mitt romney? because the alternative is president obama. someone they dislike even more than mitt romney. >> look, i think this year is the republicans versus the democrat, the republicans will win unless there is a third party. that's all. bottom line. >> president obama, by the way, is kicking off the election year

with a move that's defying republicans and pushing forward parts of his economic plan. the president tapped into executive authority yesterday, appointing the new director of the consumer protection agency. it came during a speech in the battleground state of ohio. >> today i'm appointing richard as america's consumer watchdog. now, i nominated richard for this job last summer. so you may be wondering why am i appointing him today? it would be a good question. for almost half a year, republicans in the senate have blocked richard's confirmation. now, i'm not going to standby while a minority in the senate puts party ideology ahead of the people that we were elected to serve. >> republicans outraged by this. house speaker john boehner called it an unprecedented power

grab. mitt romney put out a statement that reads in part, instead of working with congress to fix the flaws in this new bureaucracy, the president is declaring he refuses to take no for an answer and circumventing congress into administrator. this represents chicago-style politics at its worst and precisely what then senator obama claimed would be the wrong thing to do. president george w. bush over his eight years, 171 recess appointments, president clinton, 140 recess appointments, george h.w. bush, 77, for president obama, this is the 32nd congressional recess appointment. up next, wes moore joins the conversation, also michael hastings out with a new book that expands on that explosive "rolling stones" piece that led to the firing of stanley mcchrystal. m al glawe took this last minute trip!

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welcome back to "morning joe." joining us now, the united states army veteran, best-selling author, our good friend wes moore, and michael hastings. michael's article on afghanistan in june of 2010 you'll remember made huge headlines and ultimately led to the firing of general stanley mcchrystal. michael's expanded on that piece with his new book with new detail called "the operators: the wild and terrifying inside story of america's war in afghanistan." wes and michael, good morning. let's look back at the piece first. >> sure. >> remind us exactly in the piece led to the firing. >> well, what led to the firing was one of mcchrystal's top advisers said during a briefing he referred to vice president as vice president joe bite-me

biden. i think that was the line that really upset vice president biden and caused him to put pressure on president obama to relieve the general. >> and the reaction to it was incredible. from the united states government because of the way you got the information. they said you took advantage of them, that you were in a bar and they assumed everything was off the record. to that you would say. >> i would say that's not true at all. and if you look in the book, where most are from, it's from briefing rooms and interview situations. i mean, i think the sort of -- what it caused. if you're actually writing about how people talk and what they say, it can be shocking, especially if readers haven't been exposed to that. for instance, we're used to hearing joes down on the front lines discussing all sorts of outrageous things. what i was trying to do as a journalist was take that sensibility and bring it to the top brass of the people running the war. i don't know at the time people weren't really ready for it. this time they're prepared for me, they can see me coming.

it won't have that same sort of -- it will have a different effect. and i think i was able to expand upon this. we're in a bar in berlin this time too -- >> you like the bars, michael. >> we love the bars. and i even at the end of the book, there's a bar in the ritz too. part of it for me is to just sort of write about these people as human beings and not just heroes or villains, but to really get at some of their flaws. and i write about my own in the book, as well. >> who are the operators? the title of the book. who are these people? >> the term comes from a special forces operators, like wes here would categorize -- would fall into that category. so general mcchrystal was special forces, i would include general petraeus in that, a lot of the journalists. the general, the kind of flimflam man and pr men who be attracted to these war zones. they're all operators and playing this game and the stakes

are very high. and i, again, in the book what i get into is the mentality that brings people to this point. this is after a decade of war, $120 billion a year, last year, $20 billion on air-conditioning in iraq and afghanistan. and these are the people who have been attracted to this kind of insane -- in my view kind of lunatic phenomena, and have made careers out of it. and that's -- it's interesting. i have to get some of this 2012 buzz going here. and as i've been on the ron paul bandwagon for a while now, now the lib eral media's giving hima tough time. i think the reason he's gotten such a kick and his presence is because he speaks to the issues i write about in this book, which is that we're spending $120 billion, it's an endless war, and it's time to bring everyone home. so if you're a ron paul supporter, it might be worthwhile reading this book. kelly clarkson could pick up a copy, as well. >> we've got a member of the

liberal media right here. mike barnicle. >> they call korea the forgotten war, michael. but in the sense of in terms of our presidential campaign and politics at large, national politics, both iraq and afghanistan are the forgotten wars because politicians don't talk about them because the cost of the wars are evident in small towns and big cities everywhere when soldiers are buried. this book is about more than stan mcchrystal and special ops. tell us about mike ingraham. >> ingraham. to me that made the book worth writing. that's why i wrote the book. he is a young man from michigan who was killed in the line of duty 18 months ago in afghanistan. and it completely devastated his family, and it just so happened that general mcchrystal had visited this young soldier. and, you know, as i was reporting the book and i

realized that was the emotional core of this. we can talk about policy, we can forget these wars are going on. i know, mike, every time i've gone on this show, you've mentioned a soldier who has died from massachusetts, and at the end of the day, that's -- i dedicated two chapters to michael ingraham because we can talk about these ideas, how it's an issue, but for michael ingraham and his family, it is not an issue. this is not only reality, this is a reality that's going to be with them for the rest of their lives. and to get inside that, he's not an operator. you know? he's a hero. he's not a victim. i don't like to look at it like that, but he's someone who paid a -- paid -- and i'm trying to avoid any of the cliche language and this is what i try to do in the book to get away from that and talk about the guys as human beings. michael ingraham, one of the most horrifying stories in that book was when michael ingraham's parents found out that he'd been

killed. and he'd been at a picnic all day and they came home to their house in michigan, and they gar went on, and they saw two people in green uniforms standing in their -- standing in their garage, in their driveway, and his mother started screaming and his dad couldn't say anything. >> wes, mike and i on the plane yesterday picked up a copy of "usa today." there's a front page story about a war widow from tulsa, oklahoma works wears her gold star pin, and she's talking about the disconnect, when you have 1% of the country fighting the war. she says no one, not once, in the four months since her husband had been killed, stopped and said that's the a gold star pin. i'm sorry about your -- about your husband. she wasn't complaining. she was just saying nobody even knows what a gold star pin is because 99% of this country has nothing to do with the wars. >> nothing to do with the wars and is in really no way affected by what's happening overseas.

>> right. even looking at the whole political race for 2012, one thing whether it's president obama or somebody else takes his job has to consider is going to be the redeployment. the 2014 day, ironically an arbitrary date that president karzai has thrown out as a day he thinks things will be prepared to be turned over. talk a little bit about chapter two, when president obama first went to baghdad and what that experience was like, but for the people who are running for president, to understand that being commander in chief means writing letters to all of those families. >> right. i think -- actually the first time i ever met president obama was in baghdad back in 2006. it was his first trip overseas. there's an anecdote that i have in the second chapter of the book which describes president obama when he was a candidate arriving in baghdad in 2008, and he gave a speech at the baghdad embassy, and afterwards i was -- it was described to me, as it was described, he was complaining about having to take pictures with american soldiers and diplomats, and he was only

in town for 24 hours and had been complaining about that as it was described to me, and one of the people who -- one of my sources said, look, he clearly didn't really get the culture of the military and the culture of these wars because -- when you're in town for that -- for that short of time, how do you -- how do you complain about having to take an extra picture with someone? now, why is that important, right? because when the president becomes -- when the president takes over there is this cultural disconnect he has with the military and that's played out on a policy level as the battle goes on, and then -- and he finally, i think, you know, the first time the president actually has to write a letter to any of the fallen soldiers must be a devastating experience, but i guarantee you it's -- it's not like the experience that you -- that you possibly had writing about soldiers who you fought with and the letters you had to write to your parents because you saw that. >> yeah. you write the relationship

between some of the generals, senior military officials with president obama was sort of strange. you say we wanted to be led. we would have been putty in his hands, but the president was not comfortable taking that role in the meetings anyway. mikeal, you've done it again. you've expanded on your "rolling stone" piece. the book is called "the operators." congratulations on the book. thanks so much. >> thanks so much. >> still ahead, rick stengal joins us to uncover the new time of "time" magazine. you're watching "morning joe" brewed by starbucks. [ male announcer ] for sore muscles use new bengay cold therapy, it's pro-cool technology releases armies of snowmen masseuse who cuddle up with your soreness and give out polar bear hugs. technology. [ male announcer ] new bengay cold therapy. the same technology used by physical therapists. go to bengay.com for a $3 coupon.

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i have one of these out in the hamptons. >> that's right. >> pretty good. >> yeah, very good. >> very good. >> coming up next, actor/director ed burns stops by the set to talk about his new project. what it's like to shoot a film with a three-man crew. that's the way he started and the way he's doing his new movie. ed burns on "morning joe." oh it's clearance time! yeah, our low prices are even lower. we need to teach her how to walk. she is taking up valuable cart space. aren't you, honey? [ male announcer ] it's our biggest clearance event of the year where our prices are even lower. save money. live better. walmart. hello, i am chef boyardee.rices perhaps you've seen my picture... on chef boyardee products. i make real italian ravioli. small tender macaroni pies, filled with hearty italian seasoned meat, smothered in vine-ripened tomato sauce.

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last night the people of iowa spoke with a very clear voice, and so i have decided to stand aside, and i believe that if we are going to repeal obamacare, turn our country around and take back our country, we must do so united, and i believe that we must rally around the person that our country and our party and our people select to be that standard bearer. >> we're going to go into, you know, places where they have actual primaries, and there are going to be real republicans vo voting, not that there aren't real republicans here in iowa, but the fact is it was a pretty loosey-goosey process, and you had a lot of people who were there that admitted they were democrats, voting in the -- in the caucuses last night. >> welcome back to "morning joe." it's 8:00 a.m. on the east coast. we have a lot to talk about today. obviously the fallout from iowa. the war going on in new

hampshire, and the president makes some controversial recess appointments. let's start first by going to new york and willie geist. who do you have on guest? >> steve rattner, hard ford jr., don donny deutsch, mike barnicle the exception when i say it's a good crew, and in new hampshire up in manchester mr. sam stein. i want to look at some of these numbers, joe, and we'll get you in on this, a photo finish in the iowa caucuses. the republican presidential field on the ground in new hampshire for a big push before tuesday's primary. mitt romney looking to lock up back-to-back wins, and if you believe the polls he's going to do it going away. the latest cnn opinion research poll conducted after the iowa caucuses shows romney leading the pack in new hampshire by 30 points. he's got 47% support. these were taken after the caucuses. ron paul 17% and jon huntsman down at 13%, santorum and gingrich at 10% and 9% respectively. have you seen this poll this morning? which candidate has the best

shot at beating president obama? mitt romney, 65%. this is among likely primary vote nerts state of new hampshire. 65% say he has the best shot. number two on that list, joe, newt gingrich at 9%. the number two guy is at 9% so a 56-point split on the electability question in new hampshire. >> you know right now, willie, everything looks like it's going mitt romney's way, but as mike barnicle has been talking about, you know, over the last week, the media doesn't like to have the same story repeated, so it's not like the media -- i don't think we can expect to see the headlines romney wins again in new hampshire. i think instead what you're going to find is you've got mitt romney now in the opposite position that he was going into iowa. iowa was good news for him because nobody expected him to win there. we're starting this week with him up at 45%, 46%, 47% in the

polls. that's not necessarily good news because gingrich is going after him, santorum is going after him. ron paul is going after him. the entire republican field is going to go after him. jon huntsman obviously going after him, and mike barnicle, you can can almost sense mitt romney is now in a position, and a very positive position, despite that extraordinarily awkward first date yesterday with john mccain. that was laughable, but mitt romney is in a position now where if he doesn't break 40%, new hampshire is going to be considered a loss. >> yeah, joe. i mean, he had a tough opening day in new hampshire. we'll goat that in a couple of minutes. sam stein up there. i assume he'll have something to say about that, but those numbers, what they do, i think, is open up a whole new avenue that could happen in the debates this weekend. they will embolden, i think, a candidate like newt gingrich to just become so negative, as well as the others, so negative towards romney in the hopes of closing those numbers, that the

entertainment value of those debates has only increased tenfold since -- since iowa, i would think. >> i don't like disagreeing with joe or mike but i disagree slightly. i think this is romney's race. i think if he wins with 35%, 45%, as long as it's a resounding win, drops into 30% and it's a close race, sure, it's an issue but steve andbury discussing before the show. the republicans have reached a point there's not an alternative, looking at the electability question, if newt gingrich is second in the minds of new hampshire voters, ron paul third, two-thirds of republicans saying he's the most republicans and the question emerging and leaning republicans and republicans to vote, who gives us the best chance, if you're a republican, i'm a democrat, but who gives us the best chance to beat barack obama, and they are coalescing around, for whatever reason, whether they like romney, whether he's the best candidate or the least worst of all of them, they are coalescing around

mitt romney so i think it's his to lose. >> but -- but that said, we're going into new hampshire. this is where mitt romney -- basically -- literally mitt romney's backyard. i'm not saying that romney is not the strongest candidate, but we go from mitt romney's home field advantage to next week, to the venue where he never wins. we're going to south carolina. we're going to florida. we're going to a region where if you go back, willie, to 2008, you take the 13 lowest performing primary states for mitt romney, all 13 of them are in the south. that's probably why rick perry decided to stick around because he knows just how weak mitt romney is. we're going to get a chance to see whether he can break into the south in south carolina because a bad performance there raises all those questions again about his candidacy. >> that's why you see people going straight to south carolina from iowa. >> i actually think mitt romney is to joe's point a no-win

position in new hampshire. no matter what he does, even if it's higher than the polls, his backyard, of course he's going to win and it set up for florida. the other interesting thing to watch in new hampshire because if you look at any theme throughout there,and you've been talking about this. this is a tv show that people want to continue, and if it's romney it's over and we and everybody else and the viewers have nothing to do. no sandbox to play in so let's also watch huntsman next week. it is his turn and obviously he's bet all the marbles in new hampshire and there's some weird co-conspiracy with the media and viewers and the voters saying we want the show to go on, and huntsman makes the show go on and santorum in south carolina makes the show go on. >> polling about 13%, huntsman. romney hoping to build on that momentum with the endorsement, as joe said, from senator mccain despite rivalry during the 2008 republican nomination fight. mccain joined romney at an event in new hampshire yesterday.

>> it's with some nostalgia that i return to this place that i love so well, but i am really here for one reason and one reason only, and that is to make sure that we make mitt romney the next president of the united states of america, and new hampshire -- and new hampshire is a state that will catapult him on to victory in a very short period of time. that's why i'm here! >> sam stein, you're up in new hampshire. what's the vibe on the ground, not just about the mccain endorsement but generally about the race this morning? >> i mean, everything that was previously said i think applies. the expectations for romney couldn't be higher right now. it is his backyard. he's polling amazingly. the endorsement of senator mccain, a very awkward event. had to jam the gym closer together to make look like it was an overflow crowd. john mccain is beloved up here, the coronation for romney in new hampshire and a reason romney is not even here today. he's in south carolina, because

even he doesn't take this process seriously. the expectations are that this will be a staging ground for a lot of brutal attacks directed at romney, particularly in the debate. i talked to one huntsman adviser who is desperately hoping he gets one of those spots right next to romney during the debate so that he can just launch attack after attack after attack, but there's little expectation that's going to actually move numbers in new hampshire, and it's almost like this process is, you know, it's secondary to the theatrics right now. >> steve, one of the -- one of the elements that came up in romney's interaction with the crowd yesterday after the endorsement was obviously the economy, and corporate profits and everything like that. you've taken a look at romney's position on the economy. how does he different -- how is it different than the other candidates in the field, or is it? >> well, first of all, as we know, romney changes his position with some frequency so it's a little bit hard to pin him down, but at the end of the day his position is what i would

call slightly more moderate. trying to be comfort him in his economic positions but the contrast with somebody like santorum, and this gets to what was alluded to before, the electability of some of these candidates, santorum in terms of cutting the budget and in terms of taxes, in terms of everything. it's just not where the american people are. so what romney i think is trying to do is find a middle ground of kind of a sensible set of economic policies that -- that the middle of america can sign on to but also making sure he stays in good favor with his more conservative or tries to with the more conservative end. look, as harold said, he and i were talking about we saw the incredible slide about who is more electable. i think romney is the only electable candidate in the republican field and i think republicans have figured that out. >> that's why we're disturbed for you pointing that out. this is little disturbing. this is theater, not politics. >> and donny said that. the show will go on for a while

more and could take interesting turns but when you cut through all and get to the essence of it it. rick santorum can't be elected president, newt gingrich can't be elected president. rick perry can't be elected president. >> rick santorum in new hampshire, sam stein is up there, thinks he's on an alumni weekend close to dartmouth. >> right. >> let me ask you, how does a candidate like rick santorum, who had such a terrific day in des moines, in iowa, with such a low benchmark of recognition in new hampshire, what does he have to do to achieve, quote, unquote, a moral victory in new hampshire? >> well, he's already doing it. you look at the early polls. he's picked up five percentage points. he needs to get into double digits in new hampshire. puts him at a top tier candidate going to south carolina where i suspect he's going to be very strong. he did stumble yesterday. he didn't go on the "today" show. he didn't do the early morning shows to really jump off of his victory. the "new york times" said it

took him a long time to get to new hampshire. he didn't get there until late last night so he couldn't really cash in on it. that said, i've got to say rick santorum has something that all of these other candidates in the past have not had. if he can make it to the general election, and that is electability. you know, mike, a lot of times people think when i'm criticizing republican candidates like herman cain or in the past michele bachmann it was because of their ideology. had nothing to do with their ideology. it had everything to do with whether they had been on the big stage before. rick santorum was a senator and a congressman for, if i'm not mistaken, 16 years. >> yeah. >> he's got the gravitas. he represented a swing state, one of the biggest swing states in pennsylvania. that's why right now the romney people are dismissing him, seeing him as a joke because he doesn't have the money. i will tell you the last thing they want is a senator that's been around washington for 16

years to do pretty well in new hampshire and then to do better in south carolina, and then shock in florida, and then start winning in alabama and mississippi and louisiana, texas, all of these other southern states, oklahoma. it could -- they could be in for a pretty long fight, and i just want to say one final thing, my, and you know this better than anybody else. >> yes. >> sam stein, it's a big happy reunion for sam stein right now in manchester. the fact is, mike, how many times can can you look at new hampshire and see it's not who won or lost but the expectations game. let's go to 1968, eugene mccarthy drives lbj out of the race. let's go to 1992. pat buchanan, our good friend pat, really not that close to bush 41, but the expectations game was such that even -- even the fact that he got the low 40s and lost by what, 15, 16 points, that was considered a loss for bush. we've got the makings of that

again, and, mike, let's remember tom brokaw reminded us of this, the polls showed barack obama winning by 13, 14, 15 percentage points the night before new hampshire voters took the election back and said, no, you know what? we're going to decide who wins our state, not you guys in the the media, not pollsters. >> i think there's a -- as opposed to howard, i don't like agreeing with joe and i'm going to do it for the second time today. two themes that came out of new hampshire -- i mean, out of iowa. the obvious one is that mitt is stuck at 25%. the big thing that is going to define this election going forward and forever, unfortunately, is the super pac. let's fast forward and say santorum comes out with 15%, 17%, 18% and david kocho one of these other right wing guys with billions and billions of dollars and have their summit meeting in texas like this weekend and say, objection we're going to get gingrich out of there, and we're going to put it all in on

santorum, who is to say to joe's point he can't keep going forward? people do not want to go with mitt romney. the pundits keep saying what you're saying, he's the only electable, the electable and the voters are not budging and i don't know what's going to change that. >> flip-flopping by mitt romney, the white house pointed it out, a chartan that changes in the wind and the person who endorsed him yesterday put up this ad. >> i believe that abortion should be safe and legal in this country. >> i will preserve and protect a woman's right to choose and am dedicated to honoring my word in that record. i am pro-life and favor that legislation. you'll not see me wavering on that or be a multiple choice. go back to youtube and look at what i said in 1994. i never said i was pro-choice but my position was effectively pro-choice. i was and i pent during the time of reagan bush. it's time for republicans to start acting like republicans.

i'm not going to return to reagan/bush. >> i'm john mccain, and i approve this -- >> that was a john mccain ad from 2008, and then you had them appear, joe, on the stage together yesterday. >> well, you know, the "new york times" put it best. john mccain had to pick the person he hated the least to endorse yesterday. he didn't like mitt romney four years ago any more than he liked rick santorum, so it was a bitter choice for john mccain and it showed on stage. >> when we come back, an exclusive look at the new issue of "time" manager. and also a one-man band. we'll bring in ed burns, writer, director, producer, star of his new film shot right here in new york city. wait until you hear how he did it. he'll be with us here on set, but first bill karins with a check on the forecast. >> an amazing morning in the weather world.

a two or three-day stretch where the cold air moved across the country, and now we're already talking about record heat returning. let's break it down. the cold air is leaving. windchills not that bad this morning from d.c. to philly. still a little chilly in northern new england what. a recovery. yesterday a brutally cold day. now it's back to typical weather for new england. everyone is watching new hampshire as we head through the weekend into next week. there's no storms coming. temperatures are going to be in the 40s. great for all the candidates stumping around new hampshire. i mentioned the record warmth. everyone from the northern plains, the texas and through the west coast, incredibly warm, as warm as it gets in january. some jaers have a chance to be the all-time warmest temperatures. how does 60 degrees sound for kansas city, 60 degrees in montana at the beginning of january, and it's going to stick around a while. no signs of any cold air or snow. what a way. we're in the middle of winter. you're watching "morning joe," brewed by starbucks. this is an rc robotic claw.

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you're seeing a president adopt policies which affect our economy based not upon what's right for the american worker but instead what's right for their politics. the national labor relations board, now stacked with union stooges selected by the president, says to a free enterprise like boeing you can't build a factory in south carolina because south carolina is a right-to-work state. that is simply un-american. it's political payback of the worst kind. it is wrong for america and something that will stop under my administration. i'm mitt romney and i approve this message. >> that's a new ad for mitt

romney airing in south carolina. joining us the managing editor of "time" magazine. mr. rick stengal. happy new year. >> happy new year. >> good to see you. >> nice to see you all. >> showed the ad as a big segue to the the announcement to your cover. >> okay. thank you, willie. the cover is the man of the moment, mitt romney. "so you like me now?" is the question and a play off a cover we did about a month ago with the same shot and the line on the other side is "why don't they like me?" and that was, by the way, let me remind people, that that was when mitt romney was in the second tier of candidates in iowa, and people thought he's not even going to get one of the tickets out of iowa, and he's not really campaigning or investing in iowa. i know so many people now are, like, well, he won only by eight votes. that's kind of an amazing achievement what he did and amazing gamble really because his whole campaign had been set up to underplay iowa. he had been disappointed four

years ago, and to come out where he did, even with three-fourths of the people voting for somebody else, was an extraordinary achievement and sets him up, arguably, for really the nomination. it's hard to see how he gets derailed now. i don't want to ruin the drama of the whole thing, and i know you guys have been talking about it ad nauseum, but -- >> but he underplayed iowa in terms of expectations. i think he was playing it more than we knew. sort of had that underground operation that hoped to win iowa. >> yeah, but i think they were reading the tea leaves a little bit. i think probably four, six weeks ago they were thinking, hmm, we haven't really invested here. i'm not going to all 99 counties, have only one office in des moines unlike having 16 offices last time, but it looks like we could actually win this thing, in part because how fragmented it was among other candidates. that was a strategic gamble. >> it appears the romney people were not surprised at how well they did in iowa, but they were surprised by rick strump's surge

and ascendance and a pretty good piece by joe kleine about santorum about just that. >> a lovely piece and i'm glad you mentioned it. joe, you know, has been following santorum for 15 or 20 years and wrote a piece about him, i believe, in the "new yorker" about 15 years ago, and the piece is called "the passionate rick santorum," basically about how like it or not rick walks the walk. he's genuine. he's authentic. he has some ideas that are not on the mainstream spectrum, but he has plenty of ideas that do, including even things about industrial policy, and i have to say when i was in philadelphia at constitution center, i got to know rick pretty well, and he was, i hope i'm not hurting his candidacy by saying this, but, you know, he was the prime mover behind getting money from the education department to fund the startup of the national constitution center, and -- and, i mean, he was -- he's a serious washington player. he cannot go around saying as mitt romney does, which may be not legitimate either, i've been in the private sector my whole

life. he's a washington wonk head, and, you know, has always been involved in politics, but, again, he's a guy in my experience because i dealt with him in a professional relationship has always walked the walk. >> yeah. >> and he has story to tell. >> and he has a story to tell. his grandfather's story or his story? >> it's an american story. >> it is an american story, and it is very appealing, and it's very different than mitt romney's story which is an american story in its own idiosyncratic way. the other thing is you have mark halperin on here all the time. i mean, running for president is about also building up an organization, and one of the things that romney has done she's built up this juggernaut, organized in every state, you know. they have new hampshire wired. probably the same with south carolina and florida. rick santorum bear li has an organization, and, you know, it's funny. republicans criticize the democrats for nominating somebody that nobody knew last

time. i mean, the republicans want to nominate someone they don't know. republicans like nominating that they have gotten to know once before and didn't vote for the last time. that's pretty much happened all along except bush 41. do you agree with that? >> oh, yeah. there's something to that. i think romney in iowa was helped by the fact that in 2008 he met and became friends with a lot of people and kept can the relationship going for the next three or four years so that works. i think, you know, rich galen said on this show something that i think is very smart that sums up where romney is or the great thing that he has. everybody else running for the presidency right now on the republican side is doing a serial race. you hit everything you have with new hampshire. >> yes. >> pull up stakes, get out, hit south carolina really hard. romney is the only one who has had the resources and the time and the diligence in a way to

have a parallel campaign that is running at the same time all of these states. >> right. >> and, of course, that's what you have to do in the general election, and -- and -- and that's why it's pretty hard to see how romney gets derailed. and -- and santorum wasn't even sequential, it was iowa and maybe if we get out of here we'll plan for the next place. >> what's interesting, and the romney people have to be concerned when you break down the numbers from iowa. look at the numbers from iowa in 2008, mitt romney on a collective had 30,021 votes n.2012 in iowa he had 30,015 votes so it looks like mitt romney didn't do a whole lot in iowa to gain a base or grow his base. the people who came out for mitt romney the last time around came out for mitt romney again. >> that's just more evidence of how absolutely unrepresentative iowa is of the rest of the country. i mean, it's 91% white. evangelicals are

disproportionately represented. part what have romney is fighting against is that i'm campaigning in a place that is so unlike the rest of america and campaigning in a way that is unlike the rest of a campaign. retail campaigning, going to people's houses. that ended in 1842 or whatever it is except in the iowa caucuses. >> all right, rick, had you a decision to make. you were telling us off set about who to put on the cover. you almost put a football player on the cover. >> we have a great piece by jon meacham about tim tebow who we, like everybody else, has been obsessed with with and have a stained glass window of tim tebowing, and we thought if the broncos won on sunday, last-minute hystrionics and achievement by tim tebow, he would be a pretty great cover. >> instead he went 6 for 22 for 60 yards and scored only three points so that made that choice pretty easy. >> it was a truly dismal

performance. couldn't be the "time" curse. put him on the cover and lose afterwards. he lost before. >> meacham said if the measure of evangyell callistic activity is the number of eyes and ear one reaches, then tebow is possibly a much more bigger messenger than any other protestant cleric. >> he's billy graham in a football helmet. john is an expert on the religious world in america. really sees tebow as next generation as sort of evangelists and the fact that he is, you know, a football hero and people like him for all kinds of other reasons i think makes him a very, very compelling figure in all kinds of ways >> you know what's confusedy. >> why has tim tebow and what he does been at all controversial? he's a guy who praise on the sidelines, so what. why is that a controversy?

>> he prays in the huddle, too. >> fine, so what? i don't get why this is a story and why it's a controversy and why we all comment on it. >> he plays a game in an industry covered by 100% cynical people. >> then maybe that's the story. >> well you know what i like? there's an important piece and another important piece is there's a race dynamic that's happened with tim tebow as well where, you know, we've had similar type of quarterbacks that have been both in the college ranks but haven't made it to the pro ranks, the running quarterback but didn't have the mechanics and never quite got that shot. the fact that there is a national obsession with tim tebow goes well past the whole religious component, but i think there's a race component coming into as well where you have a quarterback who takes on the shape what have a lot of college quarterbacks have, african-american college quarterbacks have and have not gotten that same type of push. >> explain that. >> tim is doing something that african-american quarterbacks are doing. >> nfl quarterbacks.

>> a lot of quarterbacks where they say they are not quite a quarterback. >> oh, right. >> they are tall and larger but they are a running quarterback, don't have quite the mechanics. that's tim tebow. he doesn't quite have the mechanics of an nfl quarterback. however, he's gotten a shot. now taken this national limelight and a lot of people, particularly older african-americans, looking at this dynamic saying we had guys just like tim tebow that never got a single shot inside the nfl, never got a single shot so that's adding to this level of discourse and quite honestly a lot of frustration, a lot of frustration from players. >> interesting. >> also the way he's won. his statistics have been horrific. just looked at his numbers you wouldn't let me him start in another game in the nfl. come back and eked out, not always because of him. see if he can keep that up. >> winning as the whole performance. >> the piece is great because it tells us a lot about how we feel about religion in the country. it does infuriates people that he drops to a knee after he scores a touchdown. very interesting. rick, thanks so much.

>> the new cover, "so you like me now?" mitt romney. our next guest used a three-man crew and less than $10,000 to shoot his new movie. ed burns next on "morning joe."

i'm done with this, and it's because of you. >> me. what did i of i have to do with this? >> 18 years is a success. that's right. i mean, john's in college now. he doesn't need us to be together anymore. >> do me a favor, okay? don't pin this [ no audio ] on me. i was just trying to smooth over what was becoming a very awkward conversation, all right? >> what you said was right. >> then forget that i said it. >> i can't forget it. i'm -- i'm done. i'm going to ask marsha for a divorce. >> no, you're not. i don't need your nutty wife thinking i'm somehow responsible for planting the seed in your sick mind that you're going to get a divorce. >> that was a clip from the new film "null weewlyweds." . great to meet you. >> thanks for having me. >> your story is so good and got to remind people. goes back to brother's mcmullen, '95. when did you shoot it? >> i made the film over the

course of eight months during '93 and '94. >> okay. >> took a year or so to -- to cut the film and then we sent it out to every distribution company can, agent, manager, film festival, got rejected across the board and still had the stack of rejection letters, and then luckily enough i was a production assistant on a television show, interviewing robert redford and slipped him the vhs copy of the movie, got accepted into sundance and the rest is history. >> i mean, you talk about what your life would be like if he hadn't talked it or hadn't popped it into the vhs player. it's a roll of the dice. >> yeah, yeah, totally. my dad is in it as a retired new york city cop, and it was always, you know, joke around that the backup plan was go take the cop test. >> you were pretty close to doing that. >> get a real job. >> exact. >> i any time i complain about my career when you have one of these moments. he says beats working midnight in new york. >> there's a little perspective for you. >> yeah.

>> a tie to this one because of the way you did this almost goes back to your roots because you made "brothers mcmullen" for 23 grand, something like that, paying people in pizza. what was this experience like compared to some of the bigger budget stuff you've done in recent years? >> well, it's interesting. i made "mcmullen" for 23,000 out of necessity. >> right. >> and we ended up getting this film in the can for $9,000, but that was by choice, and the reason was any time someone cuts you a check for a couple million dollars, they become your collaborator, and they have a right to some participation in the filmmaking process. a lot of times that participation is interference, you know. you're not going to be able to cast who you want. they will change the script, change the title of your film, tell you can't use this peeves music, change the ending. all these things have happened to me over the course of the years so a couple of years ago i couldn't get this film financed, and my producing partner and i said why don't we just go back

and see if we can do the "mcmullen" thing again. do it more as an experiment and we made a film last year "nice guy johnny," made it for $23,000. shot it in their own days, actors wore their own clothes and wore their own hair and makeup, all the things we did in "mcmullen," the movie worked and did a digital release and made a lot of money so we said let's do it again. so with "newlyweds" which is a pseudodocumentary we took it one step further and said, why don't we treat this like a real doc. went out with a two-man crew, camera and sound. actors, again, did all their own hair and makeup, wore their own clothes. the big difference is we shot in live environments. put the actors into restaurants and bars and cove shops and -- and recording studios that were open for business so we were more like a real doc crew and that's why the film has very natural realistic -- >> do you have any sense given all the platt forms that are available for -- for viewing

anything, that what you're doing in an age when, you know, they are making $100 million cartoons and putting them out, the big studio, the few that are left, that this might be a way, you know, for film-makers out there. you tell real legitimate stories, stories that people can can identify with when they see them. >> yeah. >> could this be the future of film? >> oh, absolutely. the -- the advances with the technology as far as like the cameras go, digital photography, has leveled the playing field. it's the first time that film-makers now can create their work for the same costs that, you know, the novelist or the painter. it's the cost of the convass and the oil. we shot this film on a can no 5d which is a $2,500 consumer model that we bought at b & h. the other thing that's exciting is now traditionally when this film would have come out and be here talking to you and the move woe open in l.a. and new york on

friday so i can only reach those folks that live in those two cities, and would you platt form over the next, you know, three, four, five, six weeks through the rest of the country. if you live in a suburban community outside of detroit or cincinnati, my film was never going to get to you because you don't have an arthouse anywhere near you. now, because we put the movies out digitally on demand, you know, i'm in 45 million homes. someone can finish watching this show, click over to on demand, buy the movie for $7, and that now has enabled the smaller film-makers. >> that's great. >> to stay in business quite honestly, because attendance is down for theatrical films. it's at the lowest level since 1992. that's the pig films. so can you imagine, if you like the small little more intimate movies, we don't -- we don't stand a shot in the theater anymore. >> can i hear the kid in film school watching this easy for you to do, you're ed burns. got your name. can you go to a studio and do what you need to do to get this

out there. what do you say to that kid watching? >> i say this. i go to film schools all the time, and i say, guys, what's the alternative? you are want to keep flipping burgers? now the obstacles to entry are so much lower than what they were in '95 when i came into the business, so go make your movie, and -- and, you know, now you can -- maybe you can't get on demand, but you can get it on to youtube and build your audience that way. sorry. >> quick question. >> the economics of it. >> yeah. >> a million people watch "the newlyweds" tonight. you're start ing ing to make mo. how then do you pay yourself, your actors? does everybody have a piece of this? >> what we do, i work with the same three-man crew. none of us get paid. nobody takes any money up front, and we all own a piece of the pie. any of the actors that have worked with, a day player and someone that we're sort of giving a break, to they just get paid. >> they get scale. >> they get the sag scale.

anyone that worked with me second time through they get a piece of the movie or sfru a more substantial part. and the other thing we shoot in 12 days and don't shoot a consecutive schedule. we shot "newlyweds" in four months because we're work around everybody's paying gigs. you're in an indy rock band. you're going to get together and rehearse after work and play that gig that you hope can you get once a month and if somehow you luck into getting paid. >> sounds like it's fun on the sthet. >> that's what it is. been doing it for years together. >> where do i go today to watch "newlyweds?" >> go to two places, all the big cable operators have an on demand section and digital distribution, i tell this story about how it's changed. last summer we were at a friend's house for a dinner party. have a fancy screening room. i get the assignment to get the

teenagers out of the screening room. i go down there and four kids sitting in the back row of the theater watching two different movies on a laptop and ipad and the big screen is blank and that's how people are consuming films. get it on itunes or on demand. it's great. >> ed, congratulations. you're changing the game, and i love that you're going back to the "mcmullen" roots. >> working on the sequel. >> are you? >> yeah. i made this film over the sum we are tyler perry, and he said, you know, we watched that film. why didn't you ever make a sequel. never got around to t.listen to me. you've got to learn serve your niche. that audience wants that film. i said what? you know what? you're absolutely right and i started outlining the story so probably get to it in maybe a year or two. >> wow, tyler perry presents "the brothers mcmullen." >> thanks very much.

the film is "newlyweds" check it out on itunes or your on demand. when we come back, we'll have some weekly job numbers. pags

got our weekly jobless claims for the final week of 2011 coming in. let's check with brian schactman live at cnbc headquarters. brian, how is it looking? >> pretty good, willie. happy new year to you. a bunch of labor data because we have the holiday-shortened week and the first week of a new month so we have a bunch of stuff. challenger, gray and christmas says planned layoffs slowed last month and adp private sector job number of a growth of 325,000, the best in a year, december is usually a strong number and weekly jobless claims at 372,000 for perspective. under 400, pretty good.

under 375 really good so stock futures are still negative. well off the lows. that's important stuff leading into tomorrow's government jobs report. co-basically the report is they need to sell their digital patents or they might have to file for bankruptcy. didn't say anything about it and did say in november if they didn't sell these things which could be worth 1.5 billion they would have to do that in 2012. full album sales up for the first time since 2004 mainly because of one album. sold 5.8 million copies. can you name it. >> i'm going to cheat. it's a great album. >> "adele, 21," big time. >> you know adele, she's really good? >> i know who she is. i haven't ever sat and listened to the album. >> do yourself a favor, download it. >> back with late night next.

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for embalk bachmann, her sixth place finish was reflected in her somber concession but there was always a silver lamme link. >> i must thank my wonderful husband of 33 years, marcus bauchman, and yesterday when we were out on main street in des

moines, he was buying doggie sunglasses for our dog boomer. while we were out visiting many of all the businesses. >> seriously. look at face he is making. the only sound you can can make when your mouth is shaped that way is -- which i guess roughly translates to i'm sorry i worried my campaign with my completely heterosexual devotion to dog accessories.

all right. time to tell what you we learned. mike barnicle what, did you learn? >> i learned that it is quite refreshing to see a terrific filmmaker like ed burns making stories, putting them on film that are easily accessible to people and are about normal things that happen in life. >> easy to make, too. >> wes? >> earlier you asked a question about football field is. no official answer, between 100 yards and 110 yards. >> peggy noonan, what did you learn today in. >> it's fun