finisher in new hampshire. i got to ask, what do you think, nation? should i run for president? >> right now on "andrea mitchell reports," and why not colbert? all jokes aside, the battle for the south is heating up. under attack for his investment banking career, mitt romney is on defense. >> i think anytime a job is lost, it's a tragedy. >> and his super pac is playing offense against newt gingrich. >> newt gingrich's attacks are called foolish, out of bounds, and disgusting. newt attacks because he has more baggage than the airlines. don't be fooled by newt's desperate attacks. >> while gingrich rolls out his )attack ad. >> a group of corporate raiders, led by mitt romney, more ruthless than wall street. for tens of thousands of americans, the suffering began when mitt romney came to town.

>> game on. president obama hits the campaign trail, raising $68 million in the fourth quarter. and taking direct aim at the competition in a chicago fund-raiser. >> when you've got the top republican saying his number one priority isn't creating more jobs, isn't solving the health care problems, isn't making sure that we're competitive in the 21st century, but is to beat me, then you know things aren't on the level. >> beg your pardon? the backlash builds over haley barbour's last-minute rush to pardon. plus, iran's nuclear brain trust takes another hit. who's behind the assassinations? and haiti remembers, two years to the day after that devastating earthquake. some science of progress, but more of the struggle that continues. and good day, i'm andrea mitchell live in washington. developing now, defense secretary leon panetta vows today to prosecute four u.s. marines videotaped urinating on the dead bodies of taliban

fighters. because of the graphic nature of this video, we can only show you this still image. today, panetta called the the incident, quote, utterly deplorable, a sentiment just echoed by secretary of state, hillary clinton. >> it is absolutely inconsistent with american values, with the standards of behavior, that we expect from our military this is appalling on so many levels. first of all, what is going to happen to the troops involved and how can this happen? what about the command structure in the field? >> andrea, u.s. military officials tell us that they have positively identified the four marines seen in that video. they were part of a four-man sniper team there in southern

afghanistan, from the third battalion and the second marines out of camp lejeune. the navy criminal investigative service has taken charge of the investigation. as we've heard from now leon panetta and others, they expect that if, in fact, these four are positively identified, found to have committed criminal acts, and there were a couple that could have been committed here, that they would be prosecuted to the full extent of the law, and perhaps go to jail, andrea. >> and of course, we're hearing fury from hamid karzai, and this was happening just as we were trying to get a negotiating tract with the taliban to bring an end to this war. >> that is one of the big concerns, there will be some kind of incendiary backlash there in afghanistan. just at another delicate time there in the prosecution of the war. one marine there in southern afghanistan, that probably was

closely associated with these marines, you know, said,ç thiss a senseless stunt that will probably set back all the gains we've made in the past couple of years. the only thing so far that's somewhat encouraging to u.s. military officials is that hamid karzai was somewhat muted in his criticism, and like everybody else, calling for the most severe punishment possible, if, in fact, these marines are found guilty. they could be found guilty of desecration of a body and/or taking so-called trophy photos of the dead. all against, not only international law, but u.s. military regulations. much, mik. and in our "daily fix," on the political front, the president made a hometown visit sunday, stopping for the first time at his chicago re-election headquarters. no cameras were allowed in. this morning, the obama campaign announced it took in $68 million in the fourth quarter. chris cillizza is an msnbc contributor, managing editor of

postpolitics.com and our daily fix. this is a big, healthy number. how does it compare to what the romney people have done? >> it's significant more, andrea. the $68 million, you've got to separate it out a little bit. about $42 million of that is raised for obama's re-election campaign. another $24 million raised for the democratic national committee. and another $1 million raised for an account that's going to be spent in swing states. now, president obama is raising all of this money, but to compare apples to apples, he raised $42 million in the last three months of 2011, as compared to $24 million for mitt romney, so almost double. >> almost double. both sides are going to have more than they need for this campaign, if romney does become the nominee. talk to you later, chris. thanks so much. >> thank you. republicanç party pressuren mitt romney's opponents for ripping apart his investment banking career could be having an effect today. both newt gingrich and rick perry seem to dial it down, softening their rhetoric. former republican senator jim town of missouri is with the romney campaign, joins me now.

there's been a lot of telephoning back and forth to tell both of these other challengers to do, i guess, what ron paul's been doing. not going directly after the bain capital, and we should point out that bain and nbc news are co-investors in the weather channel, but that this whole investment banking image, this is a playbook for the obama campaign. >> well, and it's been a playbook for opponents of governor romney through his whole career, and he's pretty much defeated the playbook. i mean, this came up in the massachusetts campaign in 2002. he won one of the bluest states in the country, because he has an outstanding record of job creation at bain capital. a and of course, the alternative, which the campaign's going to talk a lot about, is president obama's job creation policies, which have been to rely on government. that's given us things like solyndra, and the stimulus package, which on its own terms failed. it's a debate we'll welcome if governor romney is the nominee. >> the romney campaign seems eager to try to amass as many conservative endorsements as

possible going into south carolina and the more conservative states. john bolton. now, john bolton was at war with his own administration, with condi rice. there's no question that he was a very controversial u.n. ambassador. republicans voted against him on the hill. dick lugar and others were no fan of him. why this endorsement of, of course, newt gingrich and santorum had earlier said they state. this is a man who said he would blow up the top ten floors of the u.n. secretary building. >> i can understand his frustration with the u.n. ambassador bolton is a forthright advocate for american strength and american security, which is identical with governor romney's position. i mean, there's one thing at the core of mitt romney's foreign policy, it's america should be strong, should stand with its allies, stand up for its interests, work internationally to protect american security. and that's what embarrass adore bolton believes. so we're very glad to have his endorsement. of course, we have a range of others across all segments of the party and the country.

>> laura bush, own of the narratives of this whole campaign is that the republican party has yet to fall in love with mitt romney. that he's had a good deal of trouble persuading people to fall in love with him. laura bush, apparently, told a florida audience that her and former president george w. bush would like to see jeb run. when asked if you would have liked to see him run some time, she said, we wanted him to run this time. the bush family want jeb to run? >> it wouldn't surprise me. governor jeb bush was an outstanding governor, is an outstanding person. but mitt romney's doing pretty well in the republican party. it's an historic first, to win both iowa and new hampshire. he's gaining in strength. so he can unite the republican party. of course, we have a ways to go. we've got to go to south carolina and then to florida and then thereafter. but we feel pretty good about the support he's getting. >> thanks so much. >> thank you, andrea. president obama is promising

supportering that change will come. the president's re-election bid next with "the washington post's" eugene robinson. and the uphill battle in haiti, twoç years after the deadly earthquake. this is "andrea mitchell reports" only on msnbc. [ ma le announcer ] lately, there's been a seismic shift in what passes for common sense. used to be we socked money away and expected it to grow. then the world changed... and the common sense of retirement planning became anything but common. fortunately, td ameritrade's investment consultants can help you build a plan that fits your life. take control by opening a new account or rolling over an old 401(k) today, and we'll throw in up to $600. how's that for common sense?

okay... is this where we're at now, we just eat whatever tastes good? like these sweet honey clusters... actually there's a half a day's worth of fiber in every ... why stop at cereal? bring on the pork chops and the hot fudge. fantastic. are you done sweetie? yea [ male announcer ] fiber beyond recognition. fiber one. hey, i love your cereal there--

it's got that sweet honey taste. but no way it's 80 calories, right? no way. lady, i just drive the truck. right, there's no way right, right? have a nice day. [ male announcer ] 80 delicious calories. fiber one.

is mitt romney on a gilded path straight to the nomination? that's the predictionç from "t washington post's" pulitzer prize winner, eugene robinson. should all conditions now hold. and he joins us now. eugene? just back from new hampshire, we're back at home base for a couple days. >> we're back here for a while. >> you are a south carolina native son. you know that state better than anybody else. let's talk about mitt romney. he's in the bible belt. it's the first time, perhaps, that the mormon faith will be an issue. >> mm-hmm. >> will it, won't it? >> it could an issue. my sense is that people kind of

know mitt romney. there is no one alternative to mitt romney, who i think is going to beat him in south carolina. and i don't think the mormon thing, you know, it's going to cost him some votes there, but i don't think it's going to cost him the primary. >> what about the anti-abortion issue? and that whole question. because that was the first ad that newt gingrich put up. >> questions about, you know, he changed his mind and then stuck with it. but changing your mind is a big deal. and that's going to cost him probably more support than the mormon thing, i think, in south carolina. still, if you look at the polls, he's way ahead and south carolina voters, when it gets down to it in the primary, they're very pragmatic. they pick the nominee in every primary since 1980. so they don't go off on wild tangents. and i think they're going to figure that mitt romney is the electable guy, the more electable guy, and they're going to go with it. >> you know, south carolina has a history, which you know very

well, of some of the toughest politics. i mean, it redefines hardball. when we go back to what the late, great lee atwater did, you know, in terms of republican politics, tom çturnnipsey suggesting that -- >> politics is a contact sport with kicking, gouging, and blood. >> and this is where he was accused of having an illegitimate child. all of this craziness that emerges. is this already beginning to bubble up? >> what's happening today in south carolina, as i look at it is they're trying to tamp down some of the attacks. newt gingrich's attacks against mitt romney and say, in the rodney king sense, can't we all get along? we're all republicans. i think it's going to be rough and tumble. i don't, at the moment, see that sort of really underhanded backstabbing, if there is such a ching. but, then again, you don't see it coming, you know? it comes and you never see it coming. >> it's under the surface and

then it sort of oozes up. >> erupts, right. >> thank you, eugene. we'll see you down there. >> see you down in south carolina. and newt gingrich and his super pac are running a scorched earth campaign. at least the super pac is, against mitt romney, airing millions of dollars of ads like this one to try to stop him from making south carolina the last stop on his path to the nomination. rick tyler is a senior adviser to winning our future, the super pac supporting newt gingrich. hey, rick, thanks so much. you're down there in columbia, south carolina. tell us the rationale between newt gingrich being above the afraid and running this campaign in iowa, which complained, appropriately, many people said, about what the romney super pac was doing to him, and then going so negative with his own super pac, right afterwards. d >> well, andrea, today is the first day we ran any ads against mitt romney. we did run some on radio yesterday. but before yesterday, we didn't run a single negative ad against mitt romney, never mentioned his

name. the restore america pac ran millions ofç dollars worth of s in iowa, and that clearly hurt the speaker. what's interesting, though, is mitt romney is not running on his government record as governor. he can't do that, because there's too many inconsistencies with his current position. so now he's running as a job creator. we've challenged that claim. and we just want to know if it's true. and the movie and the research we have done have indicated that it's not true, he's not a job creator. we're not in an argument about capitalism. we were capitalists. we love the businessmen and women. they are the heroes of america today. it's not about that. it's about what mitt says. if mitt says he's a job creator, prove it. but he has not done that, and it's inconsistent, just like the rest of his record. >> but the rhetoric also, not just the attack ads, let me share be you what rudy giuliani had to say. >> i'm outraged about what he and rick, who's a very close friend of mine. i'm shocked at what they're doing it's -- i'm going to say,

it's ignorant. dumb. it is, it is building something we should be fighting in america. ignorance of the american economic system. >> and a lot of mainstream republicans, you know, rudy giuliani's no big fan of mitt romney, we know how much tension there was between them in the past campaign, but mainstream republicans pressing newt gingrich and rick perry to dial it back. >> mitt romney's not the nominee. this is the process. look, we are pro-capitalists, but you know, the romney campaign, in their arrogance, would have us believe that because we criticize his claim on jobs that we're undermining the whole foundationç and pills of civilization and capitalism. so then they bring out all these scholars and economists with lots of letters behind their names and they talk about

chumpter's creative destruction. that's fine. i don't have an issue with that. but here's the difference, you have high-flying businessmen and women who create jobs that add value and they're the heroes, okay? they're the innovators. they're like steve jobs, builds a computer company, right out of his garage, all the way up. and because of those innovations, you have other companies. and i've heard all these arguments. the horse and buggy, smith corona, on and on and on who don't survive. that's fine. you need vultures to clean those things up. mitt romney claims to be a high - high-flying eeg l when he's a flow-flying vulture. his contention is he's up here creating jobs when he's actually down here destroying jobs. he says he creates jobs, but he doesn't. it's not true. >> he creates some jobs, the argument has been over how many plus, net/minus. you've got rush limbaugh, the club for growth calling it

disgusting. do you not worry you're helping to re-elect barack obama, which from your perspective, would not be a good thing? >> oh, andrea, do you think for a moment that david -- that axelrod doesn't know 20 times what i know about mitt at bain capital? and, remember, we didn't run any ads until yesterday. they're going to have $1 billion. and you know, romney is saying things, he's misquoting things, he's now said on the "today" show, gee, this is something barack obama did too. you know, he said he liked to fire people. i realize that's out of context, but i'm trying to understand, what is theç context you would ever say, "i like to fire people" wpeopl people"? who likes to fire people? >> we have to the leave it there. thanks very much. and why would haley barbour release convicted murerers? i had enough of feeling embarrassed about my skin. [ designer ] enough of just covering up my moderate to severe

plaque psoriasis. i decided enough is enough. ♪ [ spa lady ] i started enbrel. it's clinically proven to provide clearer skin. [ rv guy ] enbrel may not work for everyone -- and may not clear you completely, but for many, it gets skin clearer fast, within 2 months, and keeps it clearer up to 9 months. [ male announcer ] because enbrel suppresses your immune system, it may lower your ability to fight infections. serious, sometimes fatal, events including infections, tuberculosis, lymphoma, other cancers, and nervous system and blood disorders have occurred. before starting enbrel, your doctor should test you for tuberculosis and discuss whether you've been to a region where certain fungal infections are common. don't start enbrel if you have an infection like the flu. tell your doctor if you're prone to infections, have cuts or sores, have had hepatitis b, have been treated for heart failure, or if, while on enbrel, you experience persistent fever, bruising, bleeding, or paleness. if you've had enough, ask your dermatologist about enbrel.

an accident doesn't have to slow you down...

with better car replacement, available only from liberty mutual insurance, if your car is totaled, we give you the money to buy a car that's one model-year newer... with 15,000 fewer miles on it. there's no other auto insurance product like it. better car replacement, available only from liberty mutual. it's a better policy that gets you a better car. call... or visit one of our local offices today, and we'll provide the coverage you need at the right price. liberty mutual auto insurance, responsibility -- what's your policy?

there is no question who the rising democratic star in this senate campaign cycle is on the democratic side. former consumer watchdog, elizabeth warren.ç democrats think they've got a good chance of recapturing that massachusetts seat. the best evidence, warren has now raised more than $6 million in the fourth quarter, just declared a republican rival incumbent senator scott brown pulled in lately ova little ove million in the same time period. and outrage is growing in mississippi over governor haley barbour's parting give, those pardons, or early releases, for nearly 200 convicts. the list includes 21 murderers. one of the convicted murderers, david gatlin, has been sentenced to life plus 30 years for killing his estranged wife, family. tammy's sister says their entire family is terrified. >> he's a cold, calculated murderer. and why wouldn't he come back and finish what he started?

you know? being a trustee at the governor's mansion does not change a murderer. >> late yesterday, the governor issued a statement saying, "some people have misunderstood the clemency process and think that all or most of the individuals who received clemency were in jail at the time of their release. approximately 90% of these individuals were no longer in custody and a majority of them had been out for years," said haley barbour. politico's josh gerstein has been looking into all of this and joins us now for the politico briefing. this is a larger number than normally released. there's a lot of anger in mississippi. >> well, it's a really staggering thing, coming from, especially from haley barbour, whose who is really seen as a law and order conservative. to have him make a move like this, and those explanations that you mentioned, that he's been giving, i have toç say, a somewhat beside the point. i mean, it's fine in 90% of

these folks were already out of jail and maybe had corrected their ways, but that means 10% of them weren't, including some ucing a lot of committed reallr outrage. not just in mississippi, but among conservative bloggers, more generally. i mean, haley barbour was being discussed as a republican presidential candidate, as you know, just a few months ago. and it's just a stunning development. >> and he was the head of the republican national committee, then he was the head of the republican governor's association, raised a ton of money in the last cycle, when they were having, you know, difficulties with the chairman. our colleague actually here, our msnbc contributor, michael steele. so he is a powerhouse in the republican party, and was being pressured to run for president. it really is inexplicable. it just seems to be some sort of open question as to why he would do it. >> well, it really makes me think back to president clinton and the mark rich pardon. again, clinton was seen as a law

and order type, maybe not to barbour's degree, but close to that. but somehow, personal relationships, people making special pleadings on behalf of others, as jack quinn did on behalf of mark rich. as denise rich did on behalf of mark rich. here a very similar situation, as you mentioned, some of these prisoners who got the pardons were actually working for years in the governor's mansion, under a fairly odd kind of work release program, where some of the prisoners, i guess, were providing household services there. and it appears the governor became friends with them and decided that they were meriting of release. but the notion that it wasn't posted, as is required under the mississippi constitution, for 30 days, in the newspaper, and that the victim families were not even contacted or their opiniof sought, again, just baffling. >> this is not the last chapter on this story, either. josh gerstein, thank you very much, from politico. >> okay, andrea. up next, the battle for the south with republican party leaders from south carolina and florida. plus, who's killing off iran's top scientists?

send me your thoughts on facebook and twittetwitter @mechanis twitter @mitchellreports. this is "andrea mitchell reports," only on msnbc. [ female announcer ] new crest complete multi-benefit plus deep clean. you feel it working, so you know you're ready for whatever the day brings. compared to ordinary toothpaste, you feel a deeper clean. up to a two times cleaner feeling. new crest complete. feel it working. you walk into a conventional mattress store, it's really not about you. they say, "well, if you want a firm bed you can lie on one of those. we provide the exact individualization that your body needs. it's really shaping to my body. once they get our bed, they're like, "why didn't i do this sooner?" during the final days of our year-end closeout event, save up to $800 on selected 2011 bed sets. plus, free shipping on all beds. only at the sleep number store, where queen bed sets now start at just $899. the calcium they take

because they don't take it with food. switch to citracal maximum plus d. it's the only calcium supplement that can be taken with or without food. that's why my doctor recommends citracal maximum. it's all about absorption.

of how a shipping giant can befriend a forest may seem like the stuff of fairy tales. but if you take away the faces on the trees... take away the pixie dust. take away the singing animals, and the storybook narrator... [ man ] you're left with more electric trucks.

more recycled shipping materials... and a growing number of lower emissions planes... which still makes for a pretty enchanted tale. ♪ la la la [ man ] whoops, forgot one... [ male announcer ] sustainable solutions. fedex. solutions that matter. topping the headlines right now on "andrea mitchell reports," president obama and israeli prime minister netanyahu have spoken by phone today, and one of the topics of conversation, iran. which is blaming both the u.s. and israel for the assassination of one of its nuclear scientists. this is the fifth iranian scientist to be killed in recent years, and part of what iran describes as a covert campaign to sabotage its nuclear program. tehran immediately blamed the u.s. and israel and the secretary of state clinton has categorically denied any u.s. involvement. ali aroozy is tehran's bureau chief and joins us now. war you hearing on iranian tv and talking to officials there?

>> reporter: well, andrea, this long-running crisis between iran and the west seems to be deepening every day. and each incidence of animosity seems to be breeding a much more dangerous atmosphere. yesterday the assassination was strongly condemned by the iranian government. they were very, very angry about it, a very hard-line newspaper today ran the headline that iran should retaliate against israel and that assassinating israel military personnel and officials would be very easy for iran to do. they wrote a very strongly worded letter to the u.n. security council, and the government also lashed out against israel, the united states, and the iaea, saying that the iaea inspectors had questioned the scientist that was killed yesterday, and therefore identifying him to israeli and u.s. intelligence, and making him a target. now, one of the consequences of this could be that iran would reduce its cooperation with theç

iaea, citing security reasons. saying that every time one of their scientists talks to an inspector, they get bumped off. so this kind of rhetoric between these two countries could end in blows some time soon. andrea? >> it really is an escalation of tensions there. thank you so much, ali arouzi. and in other headlines in the news today, consumers may get squeezed by rising orange juice prices. the u.s. has temporarily halted shipments of orange juice from all countries while testing goes on for a banned fungicide. trace amounts of the banned chemical were reported in products from brazil last month. the first significant snowstorm of the season is hitting parts of new england and the midwest right now. and this is how it looks in parts of new hampshire today. we were there only yesterday, i guess we got out just in time. the storm is expected to leave inches of snow across many states. chicago's airports have already canceled hundreds of flights. and a tornado hit the

western part of north carolina yesterday. nearly 60 buildings were damaged in this rear january storm. there has never been a tornado reported in january in the winter months. it was two years ago today that a devastating earthquake struck haiti, killing 316,000 people, leaving the capital in ruins, plunging the already poor nation into an even deeper humanitarian crisis. today, many are attending church services to remember the victims. memorials are also being held at the u.n. base and at a site near the capital, where thousands were buried in a mass grave. you might think that progress has been made in the last two years, but remember, this is haiti. tragically ignored for two centuries. half a million people are still living in tent cities. only half the rubble has been ç removed from the streets. port-au-prince, the national palace, remains in ruins. nbc's ron allen recently went back to haiti for "rock center" and joins me now to talk about the story. and to talk about that nashville family that you spent so much

time with, with the orphans that they saved at the time and what they're planning to do next. ron, this is such a compelling story. i'm so glad you could be with us today. first of all, what have you seen in haiti? you spent so many years there, back and forth. the lack of progress to me, from the outside, seems appalling. >> i think you're right, andrea. it's stunning. no one expected paradise two years later, but you expected things would be moving along more quickly than they are. people still talk about haiti as a humanitarian emergency disaster. there's very little talk of rebuilding. some of the numbers that you gave are very telling. only half of the rubble removed. 500,000 people still in tent camps, that look permanent. they don't look like these people are going anywhere, anytime soon. i always tell people, just remember, this was one of the poorest countries anywhere. now trying to recover from one of the worst natural disasters in recent memory. so it's going to take the issue it's going to take a long time. >> and the family that you spent time with in nashville and back in haiti, they had two children whom they were trying to adopt. and i remember, just from the

bureaucratic end at the state department, people trying to figure out how to get these children, who are on these lists. one of the children was able to be found. the father, the adoptive father, went immediately, found one child -- they found both children alive, but one was able to be brought. the other had to wait. this is just a little bit of your interactions with those kids. >> i'm tia. >> you're tia and you're naika. >> no! >> reporter:ç actually, we kno them both very well. we first met tia now 6 and naikia now 8 during the scary aftermath of haiti's earthquake. misy will never forget the moment she heard there'd been a disaster. >> it's 5:00 in the evening or so in nashville, and you're hearing that there's an earthquake happening in haiti. what's going through your mind? >> this was a little tough for me to talk about. at the center was, was exactly

where the girls were, and i just remember feeling like i couldn't even breathe. >> missy is, of course, the mom, andrea. and just wonderful people. and tia and naikia are delightful. they're adorable little girl. and i have a 3-year-old daughter, as you know, who was born in ethiopia, and i see a lot of them in her. and that's one of the things that drew me to the story. there are hundreds of american families in the process of adopting kids. and at the end of the day, about 1,100 haitian kids came to the united states. it was a very rare humanitarian gesture that allowed them to do that. and the wilsons continue their work in haiti. they work for a christian nonprofit group and they're even thinking about moving there in the coming years. >> in fact, ron, you told me that the wilsons are thinking about -- well, they're involved in moving an orphanage and thinking about moving their whole family there, two adoptive daughters and the rest of their kids. >> it's going to take a few years, pbut, yes, they're so inspired by their experience and so committed to that country.

>> we're inspired by your reporting. ron allen, thank you very much. and mitt romney, back to politics, pouring money into south carolina and florida, hoping he can emerge the de facto nominee at the end of the month. could a dark horse challenge him for the nomination? is any -- areç any of the candidates already there able to do that? chad connelly chairs south carolina for the republican party. lenny curry, the florida republican party chairman. welcome, both of you. first of all, let's talk about south carolina and the angry newt gingrich and rick perry comments. ron paul, notably deferent. rick santorum also different in their remarks about bain capital and about the investment banking career of rick perry. what are you seeing in south carolina? and do you like what you're seeing so far with this combative campaign? >> hey, andrea, glad to be with you again. there's no question about it. primaries are tough. they're bare the knuckles and pull the velvet off the hammer times. we're kind of used to it here. what we love seeing, though, is

all across the nation, people are talking about the importance of south carolina. we knew all along, this would be the crucial place where the crucial votes would be taken, and we think we'll continue our tradition of 30 years of picking the eventual nominee. >> jim demint, the senator, of course, who is the conservative icon in south carolina, here's a little bit about what he had to say. he has said he will not endorse, but he's predicting it is a romney sweep. >> if you wanted to bring that contrast to the american people, it should have been done in iowa. but now that newt and others do not appear to be in the game, to damage a front-runner makes no sense to me. >> lenny, from your perspective, as they head down to florida, do you agree with jim demint, that damaging the front-runner is bad politics for republicans right now wm. >> andrea, thanks for having me -- >> i kind of see this as -- >> i will say this, that i would like to see less nastiness, obviously, in this primary, and particularly this strain of class warfare within the

republican party, attack on business. i'd ratherç not see it. i don't think it's healthy. >> chad, you were going to chime in? >> i just think that this is part of the primary process, and vetting out our candidates, getting them a thick skin before they go against obama in the fall, i think that's important. and i would rather it come out now than come out later, to be honest with you. >> and chad, as the candidates are now in the bible belt, is mitt romney's mormon faith going to be an issue, you know, under the surface or outright? is that a problem? >> you know, honestly, andrea, i don't think it's near the issue it was four years ago. and with jobs and the economy and what president obama's done to our economy overall, i think that's much more in the forefront of people's minds than what his religious faith is all about. >> lenny, laura bush was quoted as saying that the bush family wished that jeb had run this year. is that the feeling, widespread in the republican party, especially in florida, of course, where he was governor? >> we've got a host of great candidates running for the republican nomination and jeb

has a bright future, whatever he decides to do. but right now, again, we have a great slate of candidates, and whoever emerges victorious, i believe, in the florida primary, will ultimately go on to be our nominee and we'll take back the white house with that individual. >> what about ron paul? he heads into south carolina, chad, with a strong second place finish in new hampshire and, of course, having a lot of momentum behind him, and passionate supporters. what kind of factor is he in south carolina? >> well, like you said, he's got some of those passionate supporters that i can see anywhere. somebody was telling me about watching one of his supporters literally hanging off a bridge overpass on interstate 26, hanging a bed sheet with ron paul for president written on it, painted on it the other day. so he's got passionate supporters. his folks are loyal andç engag. i don't know what part he'll play, and we've still got nine days to go. >> and lenny, as they head down to florida as well, i think mitt romney will be at a fund-raiser tonight in palm beach, but what about mitt romney, and he put up

a spanish ad, trying to reach out to latino voters. who is going to appeal most to that very important segment of florida's vote? >> well, i think they're all going to try to appeal. but when you come to florida, what's different than many of the other states, we have ten major media markets, so you have to have the resources and the funds to get on television and communicate your message and we're going to see more of that in the weeks ahead. >> lenny curry and chad connelly, from the two big states, the next two primary states, thank you very much, we'll see you soon down there as well. >> always a pleasure. up next, the vip stakes. the national general's reid wilson taking a look at the secret campaign already under way, would you believe? but first, president obama goes gaga. clever editing by a youtube user mashes up the president's speeches with lady gaga's hit song, "born this way." just listen. >> born this way. just love yourself. on the right track, baby. i was born this way.

e nutrition? ♪ [ gong ] strawberry banana! [ male announcer ] for a smoothie with real fruit plus veggie nutrition new v8 v-fusion smoothie. could've had a v8.

hi, everyone. i'm tamron hall. coming up on news nation, a woman whose sister was murdered while holding her child is just one of the people now furious with former mississippi governor haley barbour for pardoning nearly 200 convicts on his way out of office. she will join me live to react to the governor's latest statement on this. and the military says it has identified the marines seen in a shocking video, desecrating the corpses of taliban insurgents. we have new comments from defense secretary leon panetta and secretary of state hillary clinton. plus, i'll talk with south carolina congressman mike mulvaney, who's backing rick perry, even though perry's got less than 1% of the vote in new hampshire. i'll talk with him about calls from conservatives that perry and the others fall in line and stop slamming romney over his bain capital past. plus, winter's revenge. the latest onç a major storm impacting a big part of the country.

and right now at the white house, this breaking news. jay carney taking questions about that marine incident and how it might jeopardize talks with the taliban. let's listen. >> the administration's position has been that for a long time, that we would support and participate in afghan-led reconciliation initiatives, as one key part of our overall strategy. as you say, you have to have these -- you have to have a political solution, at some point. and a political settlement is essential here and, but it is -- it coexists with our military campaign. it is, in fact, our military campaign that has set the conditions for initial reconciliation discussions that we hope will begin taking place. but to be clear, we will

continue to energetically pursue the military campaign as we pursue this political effort. and our role in this is to buibuild confidence-building measures, to bring about a set of confidence-building measures that would allow both afghan parties, the government and the taliban to pursue the process and eventually begin negotiating. >> and jay carney said that the marine incident is, of course, being investigated and is deplorable. and a what political story will make headlines in the next 24 hours? that's next. another way that reveals the lighter, mellower side of our roast. being blonde is nothing new, but blonde roast is something new. something subtle. something soft. something with 40 years of roasting experience on its side. introducing delicious new starbucks blonde roast. the lighter roast perfected. come to our tasting event this thursday to saturday and try it for yourself.

mitt romney says it's too early to speculate about a running mate. the closer he gets to it, the more attention is being paid to romney's short listpr reid wilson writes about romney's possibly running mate in the new issue. thanks for joining us.

is it not too early to talk about which republican he might choose. who do you have on your list? what are the most importantç things he's looking at? is it qualification to be president, which would be a novel thing after what happened four years ago. >> >> it's never too early to start speculating. what romney's advisors think this election is not going to be decided by the vise presidential candidate. it's not going to be that close. i think that argues for safer pick. not somebody that will change the entire trajectory of the contest like sarah palin did four years ago. the candidates themselves the, the people who think they might make a long list or short list are preparing right now so they are not taking aback by the barrage of media that hits them.

people are very enough informed by palin and by rick perry who seemed so unprepared in debates. >> the people throughout as surrogates and wing men for them, they're all men. i've asked all of them about this, marco rubio, florida. we're talking about states so important. questions about whether he's too young, not formed yet, not ready for prime time. clearly a rising star and has hispanic roots, cuban american. rob portman, ohio. another state that's critical for the republicans to win. rob portman has cabile( experience, senate experience. paul ryan, young, wisconsin. author of the medicare plan. >> the interesting thing about

this is all of these folks are handling their own national personas carefully. rubio is the textbook example of rolling out that national profile. he was very careful not to be overexposed. his team has guarded his image and the amount of time that he spends in national media and he he's benefitted frd that. i think the front runner at the moment. he's the person that all other candidates for vice president really want to be right now. they want to be in his spot. >> okay. it's never too early for us to speculate about vice presidential choices. thank you very much. >> thank you. >> which political stories will be making headlines. chris joins us. looking forward to the next 24 hours. where are we looking? the gingrich ads that are now

up. the attack ads on the bain capital. >> i'm upset that reid beat me to the speculation. >> you want to be the first guy to name. >> you're right. i'm looking at these newt gingrich, these are winning our future super pac aligned with romney -- excuse me, aligned with newt gingrich attackingç mitt romney on bain. gingrich has gone back and forth on how strong he's going to take. he's taken some fierp from congressm comme commentators. gingrich, at least at the moment, appears to be pressing that attack.

let's see if he keeps it up. let's see if it works. the more of this we get, the worse it is for mitt romney. the obama people are gleefully rubbing their hands. >> they are. that does it for us for this edition of "andrea mitchell reports." a second generation. sally atwater, daughter of lee atwater plays join the gingrich team in south carolina. follow the show online and twitter at mitchell reports. my colleague, tamron hall as a look at what's next. i'll talk to a woman whose sister was murdered while holding her child. he's one of the people outraged at former mississippi governor for his action to pardon nearly 200 convicts on his way out of

office. some have now been put on hold. ulterly deplorable. that's what be is said about marines desecratçing bodies. call it winter's revenge. just when you thought where's winter? it's back. we'll tell you where these images are coming from. ♪ what started as a whisper every day, millions of people choose to do the right thing. there's an insurance company that does that, too. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy?

i'm al ways like splenda® essentials™ no calorie sweeteners. this bowl of strawberries is loaded with vitamin c. and now, b vitamins to boot. coffee doesn't have fiber. unless you want it to. splenda® essentials™ are the first and only line of sweeteners with a small boost of fiber, or antioxidants, or b vitamins in every packet. mmm. same great taste with an added "way to go, me" feeling. splenda® essentials™. get more out of what you put in. but for some of us with overactive bladder, our pipes just don't work as well as they should. sometimes, i worry my pipes might leak. but i learned there's something more i can do. now, i take care with vesicare. once-daily vesicare can help control your bladder muscle and is proven to treat overactive bladder with symptoms of frequent urges and leaks day and night. if you have certain stomach or glaucoma problems, or trouble emptying your bladder,

do not take vesicare. vesicare may cause allergic reactions that may be serious. if you experience swelling of the face, lips, throat or tongue, stop taking vesicare and get emergency help. tell your doctor right away if you have severe abdominal pain, or become constipated for three or more days. vesicare may cause blurred vision, so use caution while driving or doing unsafe tasks. common side effects are dry mouth, constipation, and indigestion. so why wait ? ask your doctor today... ... about taking care with vesicare. ♪[music plays] when you're responsible for this much of the team... you need a car you can count on. ♪[music plays]

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. over the last three years we've put nearly 100 million dollars into american education. that's thousands of kids learning to love science. ♪ isn't that cool? and that's pretty cool. ♪ i'mç tamron hall, shoe s " nation" is following news. this video is very graphic. we can only show you this still frame. the faces of the marines blurred out. here is what jay carney said only minutes a