dumpster kept chshaking it to remove a lindsey. not that i use the teleprompter because it all comes from up here in the noggin. we'll miss you, thank you very much. before we go, today is friday the 13th, we'd be remiss if we didn't say

>> look, i was an independent during the time of reagan/bush. >> romney, romney chose the democrats. but now he tells us trust me, i'm a conservative. . massachusetts moderate mitt romney, he'll say anything to win, anything. and just like john kerry. he speaks french too. >> bon jour -- >> he's still a massachusetts moderate, and a moderate cannot beat barack obama. >> bon jour. good morning, everyone, it's friday the 13th. with us onset, we have the former governor of pennsylvania and nbc news political analyst ed rendell. good to see you, ed. and we have msnbc and "time"

magazine political analyst mark haleprin. hi, mark. >> hi. >> how are you? >> it's your turn now. >> i know one phrase -- cheese burger. >> you and me right here. >> and they call us ugly americans. >> welcome to "morning joe." >> there's two. >> i thought you were a hot dog man. >> you and me, we'll go to the left bank with an interpreter. and with hamburgers. >> we'll go with mitt. >> maybe we can help him out. >> it's friday. >> yes, it is. >> we have another full day. >> what do you think about newt gingrich attacking mitt romney for being able to speak french? >> i think it's silly. i think they're desperate. it's really good sometimes to be bilingual or trilingual? isn't it good that your candidate's smart? knows the world? is that somehow bad? somehow not american enough? >> i don't know.

i don't know. i mean -- >> is this like the mandarin thing? you're going to criticize that? >> oh, gosh, no. i wish i could speak french. >> i love the french. >> mark haleprin, this is just a small part of newt's problems. he has put himself inside of a cave. and he's got the entire bolivian army, republicans left or right ready to fire. and he's going to -- his political career's going to end up like butch cassidy and the sun dance kid. there's no way out. he's -- the only people supporting newt's attack on private enterprise on free markets are newt, rick perry, and sarah palin. >> richard trumpka also. >> the only three are rick perry, newt gingrich, and again sarah palin, which just shows

you how ideologically unmoored she's always been. >> he's got other attacks he can engage in, a lot in that ad. and i suspect he may try to play down the bain stuff. but the bain stuff will continue by his super pac and others for sure. >> i mean, for anybody who really understands what private equity does, this is just, governor, a real surprise. you were a progressive, a former democratic mayor and governor. but you know people in private equity. and they don't get paid by destroying companies and firing people. they get paid by turning companies around. and making profits. this is free market 101. and how shocking that newt gingrich doesn't seem to understand this. >> well, i agree, joe. although i'd like to see polling. i wonder if newt actually polled whether this whole attack on corporate raiders, corporate

vultures resinates at all with republican voters. >> no. >> your guess is no? then why is he doing it? >> well, but the thing is you just said corporate vultures. you know private equity firms are not corporate vultures. >> agreed. but we have an expression in politics, you say it often enough, someone's going to believe you. >> isn't it fascinating, though? these guys, rick perry, newt gingrich, and i'll add sarah palin to it. the people that have been blasting barack obama as a socialist that doesn't understand the free market system are so willfully ignorant of the free market system of free enterprise, of capitalism. private equity, again, it's not guys on wall street who create fake financial instruments that they can move around the world in the speed of light. private equity people are on the front line of capitalism. they are the people that take a company that is dying and turn

it around. there are gao government reports that talk about how private equity firms create jobs. and yet newt gingrich, rick perry, and sarah palin don't seem to understand that. >> and the interesting thing is, if you don't have private equity, capital's going to have to come from somewhere. the government. so there's a little bit of a choice. most private equity firms are as you said interested in turning companies around. they're interested in taking a company that's a "c," "c" plus. they have to make it grow. >> if you don't make money -- >> right. >> -- mika, from this company, then you don't first pay off the workers and then pay off the creditors and then make -- there's a line. before the private equity group can make money, you've got to pay off the investors. and then you've got to make

enough of a profit that you can take your cut off of it. again, it's a fundamental -- i don't think that newt gingrich and rick perry and sarah palin don't understand it, i think they're just demagoguing. >> the amazing thing too, the super pac ad, it's not directly from gingrich's campaign, but his super pac ad yesterday goes further and makes what he would've called a week or a month ago the class warfare argument. people laid off by bain capital talking about mitt romney having 15 houses and shiny cars and wearing a top hat -- >> and a monicle. >> well, gingrich and rick perry have spent their careers getting contributions from people who have made money in private equity, who have made money in wall street. who have made money in the rough and tumble of a capitalist

system. and guess what? that's why the system works because there are ups and downs. there are rough -- like we've been talking around this table about the 1%, the rich getting richer, the poor getting poorer, the disconnect between wall street and main street where you can make money on wall street and still hurt main street. that's not what private equity is. private equity goes to main street. they make money for turning a business around that is headed towards bankruptcy. they're not creating some esoteric financial instruments. if they go to pizza hut and pizza hut is failing, which bain capital did and they turn it around and make a profit, then everybody gets rich and more people get hired. if they go to staples and create that out of thin air, turn it around, everybody gets rich. mark, again, i'm shocked. this has become the center of the campaign. we have democrats and sarah

palin -- well, republicans i guess they're republicans, but they're talking like -- not even democrats. steve rattner, ed rendell and other democrats who understand how the world works says nothing wrong with bain capital. that's private equity. that's how you get main street working. >> did you see anything in that romney attack ad that wasn't about bain that you thought might be effective instead of this? >> oh, my god. well, we went over it yet. all i would do is show mitt romney saying that he wasn't a ronald reagan -- he wasn't a reagan conservative, he wasn't a republican, show him saying that he would fight like hell to defend abortion in massachusetts, saying he would fight like hell to defend gay marriage talking about gun control. that's the stupidity of this attack. if you just run those arguments. you take 15 points off of mitt romney in south carolina.

>> joe, one last thing on bain capital. the best defense is roll out on the people they invested in. they were the sports authority, they were like you said, pizza hut. these are companies that americans can relate to. it's nothing that's not voodoo, not black magic. >> mitt romney spent part of his time yesterday trying to fend off these attacks that his work at bain led to thousands of americans losing their jobs. >> i think any time a job is lost, it's a tragedy. for the family, for the individual that loses a job, it's just devastating. and every time that we invested in the business it was to try and encourage that business to have ongoing life. the idea of making a short-term profit actually doesn't really exist in business because no one wants to buy something or buy stock in a company that's just going to be a short-term success. you want it to be long-term. >> with the renewed focus on jobs, romney's trying to pivot the attention away from his own record. >> he's been president for three

years. what's his jobs plan? what's his program to get america back to work? i have my plan. oh, they're very critical of my plan, of course, but he doesn't have one. so come up with your own, mr. president, isn't it about time? with all of these people out of work that you come up with a plan. >> smart strategy for the front-runner? >> i think it is a smart strategy. >> just ignore him and move on. >> and focus on barack obama. >> yeah, the front runner may be holding his fire against fellow republicans. but his deep-pocketed supporters are not. the super pac restore our future has a new ad up in south carolina and florida taking aim at newt gingrich who is leading the charge against romney's record as a businessman. >> reporter: newt gingrich's attacks are called foolish, out of bounds, and disgusting. newt attacks because he has more baggage than the airlines. newt was fined $300,000 for ethics violations, took $1.6 million from freddie mac, and co-sponsored a bill with nancy

pelosi that would've given $60 million a year to a u.n. program supporting china's brutal one child policy. don't be fooled by newt's attacks. restore our future is responsible for the content of this message. >> the bain capital attacks led by gingrich and perry have helped romney gain support from key business leaders. the president of the chamber of commerce says he's disappointed with the intramural carrying on of the republican party. and compared to fingernails on the chalk board. >> he was a perry supporter, he's now a romney supporter. >> wynn is completely throwing his weight behind mitt romney. it's a big hit for perry who is trying to reframe the issue as a critique against washington. >> i love capitalism. i mean free market capitalism in the state of texas has created over 1 million jobs. we understand how capitalism

needs to work, but this corrupt and fraudulent activity that's been going on in washington, d.c. between them and wall street has to stop. and we have to have a president that will stand up and say we're going to put deregulators in place that do the job. >> what do you think? >> i think willie geist and i are right that if you want to understand life, you've got to understand the godfather. and what does michael say at a pivotal point, willie? you never let your enemies make you angry. and mitt romney got inside of newt gingrich's head and he completely lost it. he could be using this $5 million to make himself the conservative alternative in south carolina. instead he's trying to dry mitt romney with a bizarre attack that's just not going to work.

>> and it happened -- >> and it's going to destroy his political career. >> it happened in iowa when the super pac started going in the week or two before. it wasn't that long ago that newt gingrich was riding high. the super pacs came out, started attacking him. he completely melted down in iowa. and by the way, rick perry in that clip, that's a completely different argument than the bain capital one. he's talking about separating wall street from washington, d.c. totally valid, sort of looks like he's drifting a way from bain capital. >> he's over. unlike these other people, he's got to go back to texas and govern. can you imagine how uncomfortable he'll be going back in wearing the michael moore cap the next time he's got a bunch of texas oil men standing around staring at him. you did what in south carolina, rick? you did what? private equity? what? we didn't vote for you to talk like this and embarrass us.

and turn on capitalism, to attack free enterprise. >> wow. >> and for what? for 5% in south carolina? 8%? whatever he gets. >> he's not going to even get that. >> who do you think actually goes on to florida? >> santorum at this point. >> so you think in florida it's almo almost one-on-one? >> not yet. rick perry's got to quit, newt's going to keep going. he's selling books now. where's he going? >> i know it's going to make me sound crazy again, but i think newt has a chance to do this. >> not be the nominee. but be the story out of south carolina. >> i would have agreed with you before these attacks went up. guess what? he just walked across the bridge and burned it. i will tell you as a republican, newt gingrich has done more to unite the republican party right now by these bain capital attacks than anybody since ronald reagan went to the wall and said mr. gorbachev, tear down this wall. i'm serious, when you have rush

limbaugh and rudy giuliani and jim demint and moderate republicans and liberal republicans and conservative republicans, basically everybody but sarah palin, rick perry, and newt gingrich -- >> sarah palin on the other side of it. >> right. saying this -- newt, it's over. it is over. >> it's too bad, i was kind of enjoying it. >> no, it really is. if i can say, it is too bad. because newt gingrich -- >> for different reasons. >> for me it's too bad because newt gingrich, i think as much as anybody could put together a great argument as to why republicans need to be in power. he's done it before, he can do it again. this is undisciplined. it proves again that he is unmoored ideologically and i do think it's a shame. because boy, when he's focused and on message, there are few people better than newt gingrich. >> it was very helpful to the

obama reelection campaign is the way i look at it. but you're right too about that. up next, mike allen joins us on the set with the politico playbook. we'll also ask about him his appearance last night on steve colbert but first, let's go to bill karins with the weekend forecast. bill, we're ready for the weekend. >> yes, we are, and we're ready for the cold air to return to many areas of the northeast. yesterday, we got 5 inches of snow in chicago, biggest snow of the year for you. we're watching that cold air and that snow heading into western new york. pittsburgh with snow showers, careful driving anywhere the ohio valley. get ready in areas like new york city, that cold air is on the way. right now the windchill in pittsburgh is 3, right now 43 in new york. your temperatures are going to pl plummet. as far as today goes, temperatures drop, and there will be snow squalls out there.

middle of the country is very cold. but you are dry. as we go to the weekend, snow showers in the midwest and the great lakes. and if anywhere's going to see some snow, maybe the pacific northwest, maybe seattle could see some snow by sunday. looks like the worst of the weather will be this morning heading to the great lakes and new england. you're watching "morning joe" brewed by starbucks. is it fast? it's got 10 speeds, my friend. ♪ is it fast? it's got a lightning bolt on it, doesn't it? ♪ is it fast? i don't even know if it's street-legal. ♪ is it safe?

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let me take the hammer to you for a second. okay. you're one of those washington insiders, aren't you? >> i'm from california. >> you were from california. now you're somebody who is so invested in the machinations of washington, d.c., i believe that this year people don't want to hear that. >> here's the thing. >> people want to hear the real story. >> hammer, hammer -- >> the people want to hear the stories from little towns -- >> that's right, and you do need to know what's going on in the

real america which contrasts with this studio or -- >> this is the real america, isn't it, ladies and gentlemen? >> how about that? mike allen last night on colbert. >> very cool, mike. >> he joins us in new york city, mr. mike allen. a look at the "playbook." how was it? >> it was super fun. they say just don't be funny. they say we have comedy writers, we want you to talk about the campaign. it was good advice. >> there was a big show not just because mike allen was on the show, but stephen colbert made a huge announcement. he's jumping in in south carolina. >> oh, my goodness. >> it's big. >> he's exploring whether to explore, and it's a new way for him to pull back the curtain on this process. he's ridiculing the election laws by these different -- we did politico's jonathan martin who like stephen colbert is a

graduate of hampton city college did a snap analysis of stephen colbert's chances. and they're dim. john says he's already at a ceiling of about 5%, could go to 6% with all of these free media. it will do well in college towns along the coast. clemson -- >> charleston. how about the citadel? not so much. >> not so much. >> we're going to play some more of that clip. let's get to your lead story on politico saying the fractured right will help mitt romney in south carolina. >> yeah, joe, i hate to tell you, like florida, we're not going to get to have fun in florida. it's looking now like mitt romney will go 3-0. political reporters in south carolina now believe strongly mitt romney's going to win and it's because it's the same john mccain playbook because the right is fractured. he'll win that moderate coastline we're talking about. the right will carve up the upstate, and mitt romney's headed to a big win there. something we would've not predicted a couple of weeks ago.

>> you know, it's so interesting you -- you look on "politico," look at the front of the "new york times" and the "times" is talking about how the super pacs who really have helped mitt all along continue to help him because a lot of these conservative candidates wouldn't have left iowa as john weaver said if they didn't have the super pacs. but the super pacs keep perry, keep gingrich, keep santorum in the race. and they keep dividing up, the 75% of the conservative vote. >> something that i didn't realize at the time was a super pac was -- helped make santorum viable in the first place. you're absolutely right. he would've not have had that iowa surge. so the super pacs really are redrawing the race as we predicted they would, but at a slightly different way. they're giving these candidates a longer life. one of the reasons that speaker gingrich got so much attention for his threats about bain was

that we knew there was a super pac going along with it. now they seem to be -- they all seem to be pulling back. the gingrich super pac went up with a positive ad. romney now is -- the romney super pac now wants to finish off rick santorum, "politico's" reporting this morning they're going up -- >> now hitting santorum. >> hitting santorum for his votes on the debt ceiling and on earmarks. >> there you go. >> within the primary, though, has romney won the bain capital argument? is that over. we know we'll hear about it later in the general, but is that right? >> expressing republicans do not like it. but the obama campaign is already picking up on it. today, stephanie cutter is out with a memo spelling out all of these arguments, picking up on arguments and saying free enterprise won't be on the ballot, mitt romney will. and so they're using this opportunity to start going after his business reputation.

>> i'll tell you what, ed rendell, if i'm running against you and i know you wouldn't do it. but if you had barack obama's record of having to expand the government in your mind because of bad economic times and you've been faulted for 3 1/2 years for not understanding private enterprise, if i'm mitt romney, i want you to attack me. because what i can do in the debate is turn to you and go, barack obama, you're just proving my point. you don't understand free enterprise. you might understand community organizing, but you don't know the first thing about running a business. here you are sounding like a european socialist instead of an american -- all i'm saying is everybody -- the media's saying, oh, this is going to work great in the general. ed, you love contrasts in any election. and if you're a free marketer, if you're a conservative, you want barack obama to attack you -- >> right. >> on bain capital. >> but joe -- >> is that right? >> i agree.

if i were the obama campaign is to essentially ask mitt romney to spell out his plan. you know above and beyond having the experience -- >> right, right, but this aside from bain capital. there are a lot of liberal bloggers out there -- >> who think it's going to be great. >> think this is the greatest thing in the world. it'll be a nightmare. >> like when i was running for governor, people say you can't win because you're pro gun control. i said the people in western pennsylvania were never voting for me in the first place. the people who the bain capital argument resinates with were voting democrat anyway. it's the people in the middle that we've got to get. ask the best way to get them is to force mitt romney to spell out specifically what his economic plan is. >> what your plan is. >> and i haven't heard it yet. >> don't tell me what you've done, tell me what you're going to do. >> well, we have heard the president's. the president put a bill before the congress. >> i'm saying what he's claiming. >> mike allen, the star of the

colbert report. >> good job, mike. >> put him on the ticket. how do you say that in french? >> bon weekend. up next, jimmy fallon shows what happens when you cross tim tebow with david bowie. ♪ i wouldn't do that. get married? no, i wouldn't use that single miles credit card. nice ring. knock it off. ignore him. with the capital one venture card you earn... double miles on every purchase. [ sharon ] 3d is so real larry.

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♪ welcome back to "morning joe," 32 past the hour, time now for a quick look at the morning papers. "the washington post" says angry crowds in beijing threw eggs at apple's flagship store after the china launch of the iphone 4s was canceled due to concerns over the size of the crowd. thousands of shoppers camped out waiting for the release. apple now says it will sell the iphone in china online. and through the local carrier. >> my goodness.

and this sunday's "parade" magazine, they're going to be announcing the same thing happened with willie geist's book when it went paperback. >> yes. >> also, they're going to be announcing the annual all american high school football team. and how many of those players will be going to vandi. >> we're getting more of those players. >> this tebow mania thing, seriously, i expect him to fly to jfk and have thousands of screaming teenage girls there. there was a great column about tebow mania yesterday in the "wall street journal." today there's another article in the journal, i think the "new york times." i mean, this has really become a full-blown social phenomenon. when pollsters ask the first question, and it was a ppp poll, how do you feel about tim tebow? he's a cultural marker. >> i wrote about tebow in my

saturday daily news. >> much more important. >> much more important. and i think liberals who get angry because tim tebow talks about his religion are just so all wet. he believes it. he's not one of these phonies who talks about the lord and goes out on saturday night and does everything wrong in the world. he lives it. 15 minutes before the game, he goes to a kid in deep health trouble. 15 minutes before the game. >> missionary. son of missionaries, spent time overseas growing up. he walks the walk, baby. >> i've got one quick -- >> you walk the walk, you talk the talk. >> i have to put in one plug for the guy who caught the touchdown pass. demarius thomas. anyway, let's go back -- after tebow mania, a week of it, tebow and the broncos play saturday night against the patriots in prime time. a game that could be more watched than the "mash" finale.

more national attention, a front page interview for "usa today" this morning. and then there's this. did you hear about this? a shout out from '80s hit maker john parr who wrote and recorded the song "st. elmo's fire." he renamed the song this week "tim tebow's fire." ♪ tim tebow's fire >> that's good. >> without irony. just a huge fan. john parr getting it done after 25 years. >> maybe we can have rob lowe on the sideline every time he scores a touchdown blowing the fire out. would that not be awesome. >> late night host jimmy fallon offered his own last night inspired by tim tebow and david bowie this time. ♪ tim tebow to jesus christ ♪ tim tebow to jesus christ

♪ can't win by myself but with your help i might ♪ ♪ this is jesus christ to tim tebow ♪ ♪ please leave me alone ♪ don't you know my day of rest is sunday ♪ ♪ and i'm sick of watching all these broncos games ♪ ♪ i hear that you play new england next week ♪ ♪ dude you're on your own ♪ brady is too good and i've got better things to do ♪ ♪ tim tebow to jesus christ ♪ the broncos won, we're still

alive, come on everyone tebow ♪ ♪ come on everyone tebow, come on everyone tebow ♪ >> oh, gosh. that was pretty funny. >> saturday's game against the steelers, tim tebow has the highest quarterback rating of any quarterback in the history of the nfl playoffs and he threw for 316 yards. >> yes, he did. >> john 3:16. >> 316 yards. >> that's almost as amazing as jimmy's take on david bowie. >> that was -- he is such a versatile guy. that's really an incredible imitation. >> he's doing a mini snl up there five nights a week. >> yeah. >> it's incredible. >> and most of those nights it's better than "snl." >> i would tend to agree. >> here's that playoff picture for the weekend, texans/ravens sunday at 1:00. saturday at 4:00, and the last

game of the weekend, giants/packers sunday at 4:30 at lambeau field. are you ready for this? look who's standing over here. >> oh, my lord! it's time! the party. >> good friend dylan ratigan. author of the new book "greedy bastards" flying off the charts on amazon. dylan ratigan next on "morning joe." this is an rc robotic claw.

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learn more at keller.edu. so i used my citi thank you card to pick up some accessories. a new belt. some nylons. and what girl wouldn't need new shoes? we talked about getting a diamond. but with all the thank you points i've been earning... ♪ ...i flew us to the rock i really had in mind. ♪ [ male announcer ] the citi thank you card. earn points you can use for travel on any airline, with no blackout dates. ♪ we're sitting here arguing about whether we should do the $4 trillion plan that kicks the can down the road for the president till 2017 or burn the place to the ground. both of which are reckless,

irresponsible, and stupid. and the fact of the matter is, until we actually -- and i'm sorry to lose my temper, but i tell you what, i've been coming on tv for three years doing this. and the fact of the matter is there's a refusal on both the democratic and the republican side of the aisle to acknowledge the mathematical problem, which is that the united states of america is being extracted. >> dylan ratigan on august the 9th. >> ouch. >> one of many -- the man has been on a mission. don't make excuses, don't apologize for it. >> it was a lack of sleep. >> one of the most viewed items in youtube history. >> the shot at lexington. >> it was. >> it started the war! >> paul revere and i actually share a birthday. so there may be something to that. >> and now our good friend dylan ratigan is the author of "greedy bastards." dylan, you've been on a mission for years now. >> yes.

>> this is the culmination of that mission, dare i say. >> yes, it is. >> bottom line. read the book. safe travels. >> we've missed you. consider buttoning that top button sometime, thank you dylan ratigan. >> bottom line of the book is very simple. we are now at a point obviously where people i think are seeing a lot of the symptoms of the dysfunction, whatever your point of view is. the electoral system is simply not really reflecting a healthy way to solve problems -- >> it's rigged. >> yeah, it's gerrymandered. you know, the primary system's closed. you know better than anybody, joe. you know, governor, the role of money. and with this particular piece all i was trying to do was very simple. try to define the problems in core issues that we depend on. banking, trade, energy, health, education, these sorts of things. and then make it clear through just the reporting that there

are already people fixing these problems. that we're actually in a situation where if we understand what the problem is, you can solve it. >> what's the biggest problem? >> the biggest problem in every industry is -- the biggest problem is the misaligned interests. the interests of legacy industrial businesses are not aligned with the american people. there's a high rate of change right now. and those old businesses are using their ability to influence our government to preserve themselves at the expense of our entrepreneurs, and more importantly the country. >> the attacks on romney. you know, i think if newt gingrich wanted to attack crony capitalism, that's one thing. he's attacking venture capitalism -- >> no, he's attacking leverage buyouts, which i would argue are a part of the issue. venture capitalism is capitalism. i want you to make that point, though. why do you -- >> so, what i'm saying, it's one thing if you go and you take a company that is going downhill. you go in, you invest, you try to --

>> that's capitalism. >> sometimes you succeed, sometimes you fail. when you fail, people lose their jobs. what i found in washington, d.c. and what you're writing about are people that are already up here, i'm up here already, i'm going to protect my interests and i'm going to spend all my time lobbying congressmen, senators, and the white house. like with health care. >> not only lobbying them, but funding them. >> funding them with the health care plan, big pharma, big hospital -- >> the monopoly. protect our -- give us this tax break. >> that seems to me republicans, democrats, and independents should all be angry with that. >> i think they actually are. and governor rendell and i talk about this all the time. you lived in that world. you talked to a lot of people in that world, and they really, i think, are offended by it, but i don't know they feel they can get out of it. is that a cop out? >> no, i don't think it's a cop out. you get trapped into the system. you know, i took a ton of money. i raised $74 million --

>> you were one of the best -- >> in my two races for governor. and you have to fight -- you have to fight when something comes across your desk from a contributor, you have to fight to make sure -- and sometimes you lean over backwards to make sure you're not doing the things that your contributor wants. i think dylan's big fight, and i think this is a great book. but his big fight. if we could do one thing for the country, the 28th constitutional amendment would be the most important thing to do to get this back on track. >> and the book is intended as a call to arms that as the first action as you know. >> i've been listening to you talk about this book on tv and online. the book is optimistic. this is not a doomsday book. you say over and over, there are people out there, there are solutions that exist, we have to get them into washington. >> yeah, think about any intense transition in your own life. think about, you know, your first job, think about after you have children, not that i have had that thought, but people have. think about when your kids leave the house. again, whatever it might be.

the first -- >> we as a nation -- >> the first time you're -- >> this intense transition from an industrial transition that we have compassion and gratitude. we're in a rate of change that's really high right now and we've got that -- all the apparatus is clinging to the way it once with us. and really i think the more we can understand what's going on, the more compassion we have for ourselves and the people involved. >> all right. so tell us about your nonprofit and also you're going on the road with this. >> yes, well, the nonprofit is -- get money out foundation and united republic. it is actually the largest single nonprofit in america -- >> realistic, though, the goal? >> the goal is absolutely realistic. ask the 18-year-olds that were getting shot in vietnam how realistic their goal was to lower the voting age. took them what, 10, 11 months? it did take a long time.

there were other amendments that took a long time. >> explain it. >> the amendment is -- listen, all i'm pushing for is for a winter of consensus for an amendment. i think it's inappropriate for me to sit here and say -- >> what do you want it to do? >> to basically create -- define what a corporation is, which is a tool of human beings, not that human being. when a corporation farts, i'll believe it's a human being -- >> that's your test? >> it's one of many. money -- well, listen, it's a sign. and then money and speech. and the fact of the matter is, any -- it's an obvious -- you know how you know corporations are different than people? because i met with ben the other day from ben and jerry's. and you meet ben and jerry and it's ben and jerry and you have an ice cream container and it's ben and jerry. those are people and that's not a person. >> right. >> this is so clarifying for me. it really is. >> i had my book out, dylan did a dramatic reading for me. we have a short time. he has all of these bogus

debates. big government versus small government. dylan writes, the debate should not be government big or small, the debate should be we're saddled with a bought government. how did we get rid of the greedy bastards and build an effective government? will the republican dream of the smallest, cheapest government possibly be strong enough to break the grip of the vampire industries? i don't think so. will a big corrupt bureaucracy be flexible enough to adapt to our changing times? i doubt it. shut up about big and small, show up tomorrow for a new debate. make your case about what will do the job and to whomever wins, let's say, please get down to solving problems. the word of dylan ratigan. >> slow clap. >> thank you, willie. >> well read. >> it's a joy. >> it's a little disturbing. >> and the best thing about -- i

like the fact as willie said, it is optimistic. >> truly. >> no, i love this picture. >> you have to remember, there's 311 million of us and only 545 of them. >> great picture. >> up next, the weekend review. >> "greedy bastards," pick it up. >> buy it now, it'll change your life. [ p anting ] ha ha ha! we're getting back in shape. oh! try these. i sprinted here... wow! from your house?! from the car. unh! ooh. [ male announcer ] get back on track

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oh, yeah, it's friday, isn't it? >> it is friday.

it's been a long week. a week that started back in manchester, new hampshire, on sunday. here it is, the weekend review. >> shotgun for tim tebow, play fakes in the pocket, sets, throws. >> at number three, tebow mania. >> throws pass, thomas out on the 45, mid field, foot race, 20, 15, 10, touchdown! denver, it's over! >> tim tebow a vessel for all that is good and righteous in the world led the denver broncos to a thrilling overtime playoff win over the heavily favored pittsburgh steelers. >> go, go, go! >> oh, my god! oh my god! >> reporter: the player who in college wrote john 3:16 on his eye black threw for a blessed 316 yards in a game watched by more americans than any television football event in history. >> i feel like i say it every week. >> reporter: a new poll showed

tebow to be america's favorite athlete. lady gaga tweeted her admiration. and the guy who sang st. elmo's fire back in '85 updated the song for tebow. ♪ tim tebow' fire >> at number two, adorable or horrifying? you make the call. >> oh, my gosh. >> sophia, come away. >> reporter: cute kids are viral video gold, so are furry animals. put them together and separate them only by a single pane of plexy glass and you have the video that nearly melted the internet this week. a 3-year-old girl stared down a lion at the wellington zoo in new zealand and hung in there courageously even at the beast tried to claw his way at her. >> sophia, come away. >> and who you ask was calmly holding the camera while the little girl went nose to nose

with the king of the jungle. it was her mother. >> i was surprised at my wife held the camera steady. >> and the number one story of the week -- >> thank you, new hampshire. >> mitt romney made it two for two this week in his march toward the republican nomination. romney won new hampshire easily despite dropping an unfortunate if out of context line on the voters. >> i like being able to fire people who provide services to me. >> ron paul was second. >> anybody watch tv last night at all? >> and jon huntsman despite a last-ditch appeal to new hampshire's mandarin-speaking voters. >> as they would say in china -- >> took bronze. >> third place is a ticket to ride, ladies and gentlemen. >> newt gingrich did the heavy lifting in attacking the front-runner. >> mitt, i realize the red light doesn't mean anything to you because you're the front runner, but can we drop the pious

baloney. how could they in good conscience take $180 million out of a company and leave all the workers behind? >> what do you actually think of him personally as a man? >> i don't. >> could you imagine ever working for him? >> no. >> conservatives in turn went after gingrich for questioning romney's capitalist credentials. newt did find one ally in the argument against romney and bain capital. >> there are vultures sitting out there on the -- on the tree limb. and then they swoop in, eat the carcass and eat the skeleton. >> as the campaign rolled into south carolina, there remained but one critical question in determining the outcome of this race. >> if you could be any animal, which one would you be? >> if i could be any animal? >> yeah, you love animals. that's why we're here. >> probably an elephant. >> why? >> they have 105,000 muscles in their trunk. >> what else do you need to know? >> you know, i've seen rick

perry -- how many times have we seen clips of rick perry around here? i mean, thousands. and yet he surprises me every time. >> he does. >> it's like he pushes the boundary every time. >> little part of you hopes he sticks around until florida. >> florida? i hope he announces his 2016 campaign right now. >> i think he's all done. our next guest says it's time for democrats to consider putting obama and hillary on the same ticket. >> all right. >> for this election. "new york times" bill keller next on "morning joe." brad, where we going? just a second. just, just one second. ♪ what are you looking at? don't look up there. why are you looking up? ♪ get outta the car. get outta the car. ♪ are you ok? the... get in the car. get in the car! [ male announcer ] the epa estimated 42 mpg highway chevy cruze eco.

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i think any time a job is lost, it's a tragedy. for the family, for the individual that loses the job, it's just devastating. and every time that we invested in a business it was to try and encourage that business to have ongoing life. the idea of making a short-term profit actually doesn't exist in business because no one wants to buy something or buy stock in a company that's just going to be a short-term success. you want it to be a long-term. >> listen, i love capitalism. i mean, free market capitalism in the state of texas has created over 1 million jobs. we understand how capitalism needs to work. but this corrupt and fraudulent activity that's been going on in washington, d.c. between them and wall street has to stop. and we have to have a president that will stand up and say we're going to put the regulators in

place that do the job. >> look at that beautiful shot of the capitol. "morning joe," governor ed rendell is still with us. >> we brought you on here because -- we're always tough, mika, obviously on governor perry. but i suspect bill keller is a big rick perry fan. >> we're sorry. >> go ahead and defend rick. >> well, he wears a suit well. >> okay. >> he does. >> now, what do you think about all the dust storm that's rising in the republican party over bain capital? >> i think -- >> from gingrich and perry? >> i think if you're sitting in the white house right now, you are just happy as a clam to see the republicans take a break from criticizing obama for being a socialist to criticize romney for being a capitalist. i think that's got to give them -- obviously romney will become a more formidable competitor when he's got the

field to himself. but for now, it's pretty entertaining. >> you read a fascinating article a couple of days ago talking about something you think president obama might do that would help his reelection chances. talk about it. >> not something he might do, something i think he would be well advised to do and that is to put hillary clinton on the ticket as his vice presidential nominee this year. you know, i'm not going to predict that they're going to do it. there are a number of obstacles in the way. one of them's barack obama, one of them's hillary clinton, and another one is joe biden. >> other than those three -- >> look, it's the one thing, i think, that the democrats could do to nearly guarantee obama reelection. it would generate enough excitement that they might actually have some coat tails and help out a little bit with the senate and the house. and it would position hillary as the heir apparent for 2016

assuming she wants to rub, which would be young and vigorous to do. if she goes off and writes her memoirs or becomes a university president, other people are going to move in and start claiming that territory. governor cuomo for one. >> mika? >> do you think there's real discussion about this? what do you base your assumption on? just what you think you see? >> well, look, i didn't invent this idea. it's been kicking around for well over a year. >> it has, but it's been tamped down many times. >> it has. i know they've been thinking about it because they've categorically dismissed it on the record. that suggests some thought went into it and i think they're inclined to dismiss it again. but yeah, i think they talk about it. >> sure, we have the excerpt from your piece on sunday. the proposal to draft hillary in place of president obama this year is preposterous. it exaggerates his vulnerability and discounts hillary's loyalty. but the idea she should replace

biden as a running mate in 2012 is something else. one, it does more to guarantee obama's reelection more than anything else democrats can do. it improves the chances that next january he will not be a lame duck with a gridlocked congress but a rejuvenated president with a mandate and a congress less forbidding. three, makes hillary the party's heir apparent for 2016. if she sits out for the next four years, other democrats, yes, cuomo, we see your hand up, will fill the void. >> as you know, mark haleprin, we have a no criticize joe zone. you don't criticize the vice president. he's the greatest vice president -- >> ever. >> in the history of the solar system. i think we all agree with that. that said, hillary clinton would help barack obama in pennsylvania and ohio and michigan and wisconsin -- i mean, she would help an awful

lot, would she not? >> those are pretty good joe biden states. >> they are good joe biden states, but hillary would energize aing ticket that right now needs some energizing. and it's not like being secretary of state is a downgrade. >> well, as bill says at the end of his piece, this would work great as a surprise, but it won't be a surprise now if they did it. i think it would be an acknowledgment of weakness than a show of strength. >> really? >> i think the president's chances of winning have nothing to do with who he's running with. >> ed? >> i agree with part of what mark said. i think it would be viewed as an acknowledgment of weakness. but it has a lot to do with winning. hillary clinton would energize our base. there would be people who might sit this election out who -- >> and again, that's not a knock on joe biden. >> not at all. >> just as -- >> and secondly, it would energize the fund-raising base. no question about that, as well. and thirdly, i like the part of

bill's article i hadn't thought about, the coat tail effects. could joe biden and barack obama carry pennsylvania? absolutely. i'd say we're probably over 50% likely. but could hillary clinton on the ticket provide that extra 4% or 5% that might bring a couple of congressmen through and give us a democratic legislature again? possibly. >> and given the energy barack obama had four years ago, he will not have next fall. >> no, this is starting to look like a low-energy campaign on both sides. a lot of the people who were passionate about obama both because of who he is and because of what he stood for have lost some of that passion. and i don't know anybody passionate about mitt romney. it's starting to look like a low testosterone campaign. >> you don't know anybody passionate about mitt romney? >> we were talking, some

discussions came up. a lot of people are talking about joe biden already planning to run for president four years from now. is that right? >> and why shouldn't he? why shouldn't he? he's been a successful vice president. of the fact he'll be 73 in four years, vigorous guy like joe, 73, i don't think's an issue anymore. >> mark, have you heard this? >> i think he wants to keep the option open. he'd be well-positioned whether they win reelection or not. i think it's one of the big obstacles to even think -- >> what about hillary? >> i think so too. but i don't think they'll both be in the race in four years, one of them, but not both of them. >> ed? you think hillary will run four years from now? >> i think right now she says no and means it. but if she rests for a year or two and gets that adrenaline going. and vice president's the perfect place to rest -- >> and just to refresh everybody's memory -- >> who works harder? vice president or secretary of state? >> no doubt. >> just to refresh everybody's memory, hillary won the popular vote among democrats in 2008.

remind me how much joe biden got? >> i think i made that point over and over again in 2008. >> she did. and you bring up a great point. hillary clinton -- if democrats had the republican rules four years ago, hillary would've won. and if hillary's campaign had planned post super tuesday, hillary would've won. most people forget the reason hillary clinton lost is because the 13 races after super tuesday were uncontested. >> right. >> and the second they got their act back together and said, oh, wait, this is a long haul, they won. they won in texas, they won in ohio. they went to pennsylvania and campaigned for seven weeks as you said, and hillary won by double digits almost. she is, again, no knock against joe biden, she is a formidable candidate. >> and she electrifies -- >> i can think of two people who can recite the numbers you just did. one is hillary clinton, and the other is bill clinton.

they learn from their mistakes. >> and therein lies the biggest problem in your theory. >> bill. >> that is the fact that a book just came out that explained that barack obama and the clintons have never sat down and had dinner. which to me is astounding because i guarantee you, ed, if i were elected president of the united states, before i called my mom, before i called anybody, i as a conservative, bill, would call bill clinton and say, okay, what do i do next? politically, where do i -- it's astounding to me that a democratic president hasn't reached out. so there are obviously a big divide there. >> some of it's the bad blood from the campaign. some of it is, i think, that the obamas sort of regard the clintons as standing for the old politics that they ran to replace. you know, the old always working the room, always doing the deal, always rubbing the shoulder and -- >> 23 1/2 million jobs. >> all that stuff that obama should've done a lot more of as

president is what they kind of ran against. and they don't really trust the clintons. >> well, you don't think they trust hillary now? >> they should. she's been an incredibly loyal secretary of state. >> yeah, she has. >> i want to get back to the other side here. the republicans and mitt romney's defense about his leading bain. and david brooks in the paper writes the ceo in politics. i'm going to get a couple of pieces and put it together for you. first, successful presidents tend to be emotionally secure, and he explains that. second, great presidents tend to have superb political judgment, and he explains that. he also adds, it comes from voracious contact. a compulsive desire to be around people and who can harvest from a million social encounters a sense of what people want and can deliver. >> right. >> third, great leaders often have experienced crushing

personal setbacks. and then finally, he makes this point. and then you let me know any of you here on the set if any of the candidates -- today's candidates have to invent bogus story lines to explain their qualifications to be president. that they are innocent outsiders or business wizes. in reality romney's bain success is out of the question, the real question is whether he has picked up trades like emotional security, political judgment, and an instrumental mind set from his upbringing and the deeper experiences of life. >> so ed, i say this as a republican, a conservative, as a guy who reveres business leaders that know how to turn a profit, that know how to create jobs, that know how to create an economy. ceos as politicians have a mixed record at best. for every great ceo politician, i can name, you can name me five who have been utter failures.

>> and we talked about it off camera, they don't get the pushback. a ceo is like king, dictator. in politics you've got to be prepared for the pushback, you've got to know it's coming and know how to deal with it. what i would stress if i were mitt romney is his successful record in massachusetts where he took an 85% democratic legislature and worked well with them and got things done. >> and mark haleprin, he will be doing that in the general election, right? >> he will. he clearly did more to reach out to legislators of the opposite party than the president has done. the president's made some efforts, but putting in the personal time, having them in, looking for areas of common ground. romney's got a great record on that in massachusetts. whatever you think of his policies, the process of doing that. and that'll be essential whoever becomes president. >> what do you do when you have the legislature that's 85% democratic? we asked the same thing of chris christie. you know what he said? you pick up the phone and you ask them if you can come over to

their office and sit down and talk to them and see where there's commonality. i think you need to tip your hat to mitt romney. he didn't act like a ceo when he was governor of massachusetts. he doesn't do it, bush didn't do it -- >> bush did it in texas. >> bush 43 did not do it when he went to washington. there were republican senators that didn't see him for three years at a time in the oval office. >> you know, obama strikes me as somebody who believes that the world is -- you're right, you should just win the argument on the merits without having to go shake hands and suck up to members of congress. >> joe, i used to go a couple of p times a year to karaoke night at the democratic caucus. and i can't sing a lick. >> i somehow believe this. >> i can't sing a lick. >> what was your best song? >> "i've got friends in low

places." >> although he does pretty well on madonna's "vogue," as well. >> i can imagine. >> david brooks is talking about what makes a successful president. bill, it really is becoming really part of the fabric of the discussion, the political discussion going into this election year that barack obama over the past three years has just not reached out to other people in washington, d.c. this is not a knock about him ideologically or as a leader. it's just who he is. how do you train a -- who goes into the president and says, mr. president, you're going to have be more personable and warm and fuzzy. >> it makes me want to leap to obama's defense. >> please do. >> i know the feeling. >> the fact he has not been more successful than he has been has been due to a number of factors including but not excludeing his distaste for the kind of hands on warm politics --

>> obviously -- >> he arrived in a deep, deep hole and i realize part of our culture is you inherit a problem and if you haven't fixed it in two years, it's your problem. but he inherited a divided congress. and i know you said before he had a supposedly veto-proof majority. nowadays there's no such thing, particularly where democrats are concerned. >> right. >> he's had a congress that was divided for the first two years and paralyzed ever since. and his base is disenchanted because they had these lofty impossible expectations. >> in your opinion, are these discussions that i'm not just having, but the "new york times" had an article this past week he had a bit of a prickly personality and didn't reach out as much. did you think that those discussions are really more about style than substance? even if he'd been lbj or fdr or

ronald reagan, he'd still be going up against a republican congress that wanted to shut him down? >> well, i think style is substance in politics to a certain degree. and his style has not helped him. that's true. but all of these other things lined up against him too. it's not clear to me he could have solved all these problems if he was bill clinton or lyndon johnson. >> i want you to stay right there, bill. we're excited to be here when you're here. and we've got something special for you. it's karaoke morning on "morning joe." and now let's sit back and listen to ed rendell sing "i've got friends in low places." >> come on, ed. ♪ i've got friends in low -- >> if i could sing along with the music, that would be helpful. ♪ i've got friends in low places ♪ >> good morning, everyone. that hurts. >> thank you, bill. >> good try, ed rendell, i'm impressed.

richard trumka will be here onset. we'll ask him about the president's push to insource jobs from overseas. up next, mitt romney weathers the attacks in south carolina. has newt gingrich helped conservatives finally find their man? david gregory and eugene robinson join the conversation. you're watching "morning joe" brewed by starbucks. [ male 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?

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what has massachusetts given us? a liberal governor who wanted us to believe that he is strong on defense. a liberal senator who wanted us to believe he was a man of the people. and a massachusetts moderate who runs away from ronald reagan. >> look, i was an independent during the time of reagan/bush. i'm not trying to rush -- >> romney donated to democrats. and given the choice to vote as a democrat or republican in the

primary, he chose the democrats. but now he tells us, trust me, i'm a conservative. massachusetts moderate mitt romney, he'll say anything to win. anything. and just like john kerry. he speaks french too. but he's still a massachusetts moderate, and a massachusetts moderate could not beat barack obama. >> he was a missionary in france. >> it's wonderful he can speak french. joining us now from washington, someone else who probably speaks multiple languages. the moderator of "meet the press." >> he does. speak in french for us. >> but joe, you make the point, he was a missionary for his church in france. >> and they're making it look dirty. >> he was not out there doing a tour of the left bank. he was there for his church. >> yes, and it's the same thing with huntsman. we were joking about him speaking mandarin.

huntsman was trying to spread the gospel of jesus christ to china, romney was trying to spread the word of jesus christ, and they're attacking him for doing that in south carolina. i love it. it's crazy. >> and also joining us pu ining robinson. >> aren't you going to ask eugene to speak french? >> bon jour. >> i guess. >> my friends. >> ed -- >> he's with us. >> we're the only ones around here that can't speak french. >> i'm not sure gene can. >> i think gene can. >> bon jour is a cop out. >> we are -- garage. that's all i got. >> romney is a much better candidate this time around and now as he showed tuesday night, he has a speech.

romney's victory address does not soar, but it was a hard-hitting and potentially effective. it consisted of one attack after another on obama and his record. and the basic theme was that the president wants to make our society more european in the way it provides social welfare. romney boldly and to be sure unfairly frames the campaign as a battle for the nation's soul. administration officials always believe that romney would be obama's toughest opponent. they're right. listening to romney's skillfully chosen words i thought, game on. okay. >> wow. >> game on, eugene. you think so for sure? >> well, i think so. i don't see who beats romney for the nomination at this point. we'll see after south carolina. maybe santorum does something. maybe -- i'm through predicting that rick perry will finally catch fire. >> no, no -- >> just leave that one on the left bank, my man. >> i thought romney's speech

after new hampshire, you know, it was a tough speech. it was probably the best speech i've ever heard from him. it was focused. it will appeal to, i think conservatives in south carolina and to the broader the -- it was pretty good and said this was going to be a tough battle. >> david gregory, i got a similar message in reading the opinion pieces in politico. with one line, mitt romney challenged the cheap politics of resentment and took aim at two republican opponents and one democratic president. i stand ready to lead us down a different path where we are lifted up by our desire to succeed not dragged down by resentment of success. it wasn't the stuff of legend, but half way through mitt romney's acceptance speech on a cold january night, i could almost hear a scoff, who knows?

maybe this stiff can win. the stiff would be better off if he was facing stronger, more convincing challenges from his republican rivals, but that was not to be. like the party itself, he's having to make due. >> it was a good speech. >> read more. >> hold on, i'm going to read -- i'm going to read and ed is going to sing. or just hum, if you will, some country hits. >> read on. look, i think -- one of the points that joe makes i think is particularly important is we talk so much starting in 2010 about the tea party influence on the party. a populist influence on the party which was in one part libertarian. ron paul certainly captured some of that. but certainly had grave concerns about spending and debt in washington. and yet, here we are in 2012 where the populist argument being made belatedly, by the way, by some of his rivals is being rejected by conservatives

and establishment figures in the party alike is saying no, let's not challenge someone who seems to be in a very good position to get the lock on this nomination and provide a formidable opposition to president obama. so i think it's so interesting how we've moved -- how the republican party has moved to consolidate around an arguably less conservative, more moderate establishment figure. >> hey, gene, it's willie, you talk about a strategy backfiring for newt gingrich. as david said, conservatives from rush limbaugh all the way down have rallied around him. and now there's reporting from john ward at the huffington post that the casino billionaire that gave $5 million to the super pac has come out and through a source telling the huffington post that he did not intend his $5 million or want his $5 million to go toward attacking mitt romney's record at bain capital. he was very clear about this, he doesn't approve. this is the one guy throwing his money and is now coming out and

telling the "huffington post," he didn't want the money to go toward this line of attack. >> where did he think it was going to go? it was clear that's where he was headed. billionaires don't get to be billionaires by throwing good money after bad. and he may have decided, you know, this dog won't hunt and he's going to kind of back away. without that flow of money, what does newt gingrich have? really even with that flow of money, what does newt gingrich have? beyond a chance to get revenge against mitt romney for destroying newt's campaign in iowa. >> you know who david has on "meet the press" this sunday? newt. >> no way! >> do you have newt? >> you talk about the guy at the center of the storm, david gregory. newt gingrich, most people believe that he has burned his bridge to mainstream republicanism. i mean, just about every republican other than sarah

palin and rick perry have come out denouncing him. >> well, and that's true. we've been talking about it this morning. but let me, i guess, challenge you, joe, with some of the discussion you were having in the 6:00 hour which is, i know you don't believe this. but paint the alternative scenario. how does this actually work for gingrich in south carolina? can you see that path? >> these attacks? no. i don't think -- >> no, can you see a path for him in south carolina where these attacks can actually help him prevail? >> well, sure. if i had $5 million, i said it yesterday, i would use mitt romney's own words saying that -- >> yep. >> and $5 million, buy south carolina, it locks down south carolina for a week. and i guarantee you if you just played clips of mitt romney saying he was going toing fig fr abortion rights, clips of mitt romney saying he wasn't a republican, wasn't going to take america the way of ronald reagan

which they've got in clips, use his gun control clips, gay marriage clips. you do that and spend your $5 million that way, you will cut 15 points off of mitt romney's lead. no doubt about it. that's why this is such a terrible political calculation on his part. why? >> that's why you've got the super pac that's going to be running this anti-bain campaign on its own even as gingrich is trying to make different arguments, trying to make more of the conservative arguments along with the bain questions. i don't know that he has one singular message that provides much of an alternative. >> all right. david gregory. thank you. >> i've got one. if i'm newt, it's conservatives can't trust mitt romney. how do you know? listen to what mitt romney says, and then who's our friend that says go to tape, go to video -- >> warner wolf. >> warner wolf, go to video. it's all right there.

>> and joe, we always talk about reaching out. i've got harry reid, as well, talking about how congress might be a little different this year if that's possible. >> gene robinson, don't you think in a republican primary taking that tact where it's more than going after free enterprise? >> yeah, i don't know if you could take him down a full 15 points, but you could do some damage to romney with the kind of campaign you talked about. newt didn't do it. and about newt gingrich and his campaign right now i would say he's toast. >> gene robinson. >> gene, i apologize. that was awesome. >> that is impressive. >> david, thanks -- >> this is going to be fantastic. i bet that's going to rate more than tebow against the patriots. >> it probably will. we'll be back with more "morning joe" in just a moment. hey guys, breakfast!

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♪ >> there it is, tim tebow's fire. john parr remaking his hit song "st. elmo's fire," just redid the song this week replacing it

with "tim tebow's fire." >> i did not know that he was so deep iron, he was ripping iron -- >> no irony? >> this is serious -- >> a good comeback move, by the way. >> he's planning his follow-up. last night, late night host jimmy fallon offering his own performance inspired be ed by t quarterback and david bowie. ♪ tim tebow to jesus christ ♪ can't win by myself but with your help i might ♪ ♪ this is jesus christ to tim tebow ♪ ♪ please leave me alone ♪ don't you know my day of rest

is sunday ♪ ♪ and i'm sick of watching all these broncos games ♪ ♪ i hear that you play new england next week ♪ ♪ dude you're on your own ♪ brady is too good and i've got better things to do ♪ ♪ tim tebow to jesus christ the broncos are still alive ♪ ♪ come on everyone tebow ♪ come on everyone tebow ♪ come on everyone tebow >> it's just so good. >> amazing. >> that is so good. >> amazing. >> you know who else can do a great bowie? >> who? >> our next guest.

>> rich. >> aflcio president richard trumka is here. that's next on "morning joe." new starbucks blonde roast is another way to look at the bean. 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.

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windy day here in new york. a live shot of the statue of liberty. welcome back to "morning joe" at 42 past the hour. and joining us now, the president of the aflcio richard trumka. very good to have you onboard this morning. >> great to be here. >> you know our obsession on this show, are getting those factories open back up across america, getting people back to work. the president talked about insourcing. that's exciting. how do we do it in a way that we can go to germany, we can go to japan, we say build here because we can be more competitive? >> well, first of all, you have

to have the same will that germany has. they decided they were going to keep a high-wage society and be able to export manufacturing products. so they do that. that's their policy. the united states doesn't have such a policy, an export policy. so we need that. we need trade laws. trade -- different trade laws. when you have china that cheats on currency and gets a 40% advantage over an american producer, you're disadvantaged. when they don't comply with their health safety laws, children laws, prison laws, they get another advantage. and then we need tax laws. if you reward somebody for taking jobs overseas, you're going to encourage -- >> we'll put those aside. now, you and i both know a business in germany, a business in japan, a business in europe is going to come to america and try to find the most competitive workplace environment. they're going to look at good tax laws, they're going to look at energy costs and they're going to make sure they're not going to be killed by workplace

laws and workplace rules. what can the unions do to meet governors? democratic governors, republican governors halfway? >> well, first of all, you forgot one ingredient when you say where they're going to locate at. they go through this bidding war and try to keep getting more and more goodies. and they generally, not always, but generally overestimate what they're going to do. they'll say we're going to give you 100 jobs, going to make $20 an hour, you end up getting $10 an hour. when we do it, we have to work with governors to make sure they don't give away the store in the process. >> yeah. >> and that's what we did. if you didn't meet your goals, you said to us, some of the money we give you. >> what do we do, though? for instance, i've always talked about it, whether it's alabama, tennessee, or south carolina, you've got car makers, plane makers going down south right to work states. how do you make connecticut

competitive? rhode island competitive? upstate new york competitive? >> well, you know, when the president saved the car indus y industry, the autoworkers jumped in with ford and chrysler and with gm and said, look, let's do a different deal. and they did that. we've always been willing to do that. to work with people to make sure that those jobs are there. it does us no good to kill the golden goose. >> right. >> because if the jobs are gone, we lose, we pay the price for that. we also pay the price for bad management, bad product design, and we don't get a chance to have input in them. we would like to see as a system we really do collaborate with hour employers where we can do product design, where we can think of ways, the most efficient ways of doing things and we can all end up winning. >> and you know, mika, it wasn't just bad uaw contracts that led to the demise of detroit, a lot of really bad ceos helped, as well. >> well, i hate to go here, but i'm looking at some comments

that you made, and apparently you agree with -- is this possible, newt gingrich on the bain capital attacks? >> he's a big newt fan from way back. >> oh, yeah, yeah. i agree with some of the things newt gingrich says, no the a lot, but some. >> you think it's fair game? >> of course i do. >> the way he's going after mitt romney? >> of course i do. >> why? >> here's why. i heard joe say it's going to backfire because of the attack on free enterprise. the question is who does that benefit? if that only benefits the top percent, you're going to see more of what you saw in the street. it resinates with people when you say, look, why should bain capital come in, do a leveraged buyout so they borrow money on the company, so they can make a profit, put that debt burden on the workers and then ask the workers to take less to pay for the buyout that they had. and it's bad enough the first time, but when they do a second leveraged buyout and the third

leveraged buyout, the weight of that debt becomes so heavy, companies collapse. that's what happened with bain capital, 22% of the time he failed. >> this is a big issue because obviously jobs is a big issue right now in washington. the keystone pipeline has been the center of the debate. have you guys taken a position on that yet? >> we have unions on both sides of that. and we're trying to reconcile those issues. there's real jobs to be created. but there's also serious environmental issues to be considered. and until we can sit down and both sides can simply say here's the real issues, here's what we have to do. there's a solution in there. >> right. >> so you all are -- you're an optimist. you're an optimist. >> rich, the pipeline, you said it earlier, one of the things we've got to do in this country to become manufacturers again is lower energy costs. and the oil sands in canada are a great way to do that. if we can produce energy in this hemisphere, question can lower

our energy costs dramatically. and that's going to do more for manufacturing than anything else. i think keystone pipeline is very, very important, joe. we've got to find a way, it's desperately important to us. >> it's about jobs, i think personally. >> is the president on track, though, ultimately? i think he is. we've seen signs of life. >> i think he's going to be reelected. >> richard, thank you so much for being on the show. coming up, actor and director -- >> how are the pirates going to do this year? >> hopefully they'll break .500 for the first time in 18 years. >> look, there he is, you're watching "morning joe" brewed by starbucks. is it fast? it's got 10 speeds, my friend. ♪ is it fast? it's got a lightning bolt on it, doesn't it? ♪ is it fast? i don't even know if it's street-legal. ♪

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so, i don't know what's the deal, man. >> is she okay? >> sophie, you're scaring me? what happened, sophie. [ speaking spanish ] >> i don't understand.

>> oh, oh, well. okay. wait. that was a look at the -- >> good morning, happy friday the 13th. welcome back. >> joining us now is the film's director. very nice to have you. >> you directed this thing? >> i did, yeah. >> you are a sicko. >> it's a slash musical. >> willie and i were just staying, why don't they make slasher movies like in the '40s? >> what made you do this? what crossed your mind? >> my friend sam bisby who's a great singer, songwriter, composer. and joe vincent, i got a house

in the woods upstate. and i was literally driving home with my wife upstate. and i said what can i do now? and she said what do you have available for you? and the next thing that came out of my mouth was, we have these woods, why don't we do a slasher me musical. it was a totally an sue. >> the idea was to write this kind of b horror film structure, just put this really great pop music on it. >> so it's like "glee" where the kids get murdered, basically. >> yes. >> this is a new business model? >> we were talking before the break. we had ed burns on last week. 12 days, no money. >> i think it's similar. i think ed might have said this, i heard him say it before, but i

have been saying that the new format for small films are video on demand. companies like come past and time-warner, they feature these films, i watch them at home, i have a decent size screen, i have apple tv, i watch independent films constantly. >> you don't have a studio behind it, you don't have marketing. >> you make it a bubble. you totally make it in an ansualar way. will somebody buy it? is it worth -- >> that's exciting. that's a real revolution, you don't have to go to the studio with an idea. you were sitting over your oatmeal in upstate new york and you go, i'm bored, i'm going to

make a movie. and this was your directorial debut. >> they're all nonactors. they have done stuff, but they have never done anything professional. we brought them over to the house, two of the girls worked in a coffee shop around the street from my house. i casted off the streets of new york. >> will the music be on i tunes? >> is this kind of poking at slasher films a little bit. >> it is a slasher film. >> how do you feel when you leave the movie? >> really dirty. >> well, if you don't like slasher movies, you shouldn't see it. but if you like good music and slasher movies, you should definitely see it. >> they go great together. >> tens of millions of americans

fit into that category. >> i would think so, yes. >> this is great. i love it. i love it. >> "don't go in the woods" is on demand and in select athlete theaters today. >> on monday's show, oh, my goodness, who's coming on, suze orman. back in a moment. [ male announcer ] let's level the playing field. take the privileged investing tools of wall street and make them simple, intuitive, and available to all. distill all that data. make information instinctual, visual.

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what has massachusetts given us? a liberal governor who wanted us to believe he's strong on defense. a liberal senator who wanted us to be he was a man of the people. >> look, i was an independent during the time of reagan-bush. i'm not trying to return to reagan-bush. romney chose the democrats. but now he tells us, trust me, i'm a conservative. massachusetts moderate mid rtt romney, he'll say anything to win, anything. and just like john kerry. he speaks french too. but he's still a massachusetts moderate and a massachusetts moderate cannot beat barack obama. >> it's friday, 8:00 on the east coast as you take a live look at

manhattan. back with us on set, we have mark halperin and. >> it's really good to be bi or tri-lingual? is that somehow not american enough? is this like the mandarin thing? >> oh, gosh, no, no. mark halperin, this is just a small part of newt's problems. he has he has put himself inside of a cave and he's got the entire bolivian army, republicans left or right, ready to fire and he's going to -- his political career is going to end up like bush cassidy and the

sundance kid. there is no way out. i mean the only people supporting newt's attack on private enterprise, on free markets are newt, rick perry and sarah palin. i'm saying in the republican party, the only three are rick perry, and newt gingrich, and, again, sarah palin, which just shows you how ideological unworn she's always been. >> he's got a lot of other lines of attack he can engage in, a lot of those lines in that ad and i would expect he would play up to those issues. >> for anybody who really understands what private equity does, this is, governor, this is a real surprise, you were progressive, you were a former democratic mayor and governor. but you know people in private

equity and they don't get paid by destroying companies and firing people. they get paid by turning companies around. and making profits. this is free market 101. and how shocking that newt gingrich doesn't seem to understand this? >> well, i agree, joe. although i would like to see polling, i wonder if newt actually polled, whether this whole attack on corporate raiders, corporate vultures resonates at all with republican voters. >> no. >> your guess is no? then why is he doing it? >> you just said corporate vultures, you know private equity firms were corporate vultures. >> but you say it often enough, somebody's going to believe you. >> isn't it fascinating this these guys, rick perry, newt gingrich and i'll add sarah palin to it, the people who have been blasting barack obama for

abusing the free market system are so ignorant of free market system, of capitalism, of private equity again. it's not the guys on wall street that create fake financial instruments that they can move around the world at the speed of light. private equity people are on the front line of capitalism, they are the people that take a company that is dying and turn it around. there are gao government reports that talk about how private equity firms create jobs. and yet, newt gingrich, rick perry, and sarah palin don't seem to understand that. >> and the interesting thing is, if you don't have private equity, the capital is going to have to come from somewhere, government? there's a little bit of a choice, most private equity firms are as you said, interested in turning companies around, they're interested in taking companies that's a c, c

plus, and make it into a b, b plus. but to get the maximum profit, they have to make it grow. >> if you don't make money, mika, from this company, then you don't first pay off the workers and then pay off the creditors. there's a line before the private equity group can make money. you got to pay off the investors. and then you've got to make enough of a profit that you can take your cut off. again, it's a fundamental, i don't think that newt gingrich and rick perry and sarah palin don't really understand it, i think they're just demagoguing. >> the superpac ad that was out in south carolina yesterday, goes even farther and makes what he would have called a week or a month ago, the class warfare argument. he had people who were laid off by bain capital talking about mitt romney having 15 houses and

shiny cars and a top hat. they were sort of using that resentment card and that's coming from newt gingrich. which is remarkable because you usually hear from the left and the far left. >> newt gingrich and rick perry have spent their political careers getting contributions from people who have made money in private equity, who have made money in wall street, who have made money the rough and tumble, the capitalist system. and that's why the system works, because there are ups and downs. we have been talking around this table about the 1%, the rich getting richer, the poor getting poorer, the disconnect between wall street and main street, where you can make money on wall street and still hurt main street. that's not what private equity is. private equity goes to main street. they make money for turning a business around that is headed towards bankruptcy. they're not creating some esoteric financial instruments.

if they go to pizza hut and pizza hut is failing which bain did, if they turn it around and make a profit, then everybody gets rich and gets hire. if they go to staples and create that out of thin air, turn it around, everybody gets rich. mark, i'm shocked, this has been become the center of the campaign, we have democrats and sarah palin, well, republicans, i guess they're republicans, but they're talking like money and democrats, i mean steve ratner, who say there's nothing wrong with bain capital. >> did you see anything in that romney attack ad that was about bain that might be effective instead of this? >> my god, we went over it yesterday, all i would do is show mitt romney saying that he

wasn't a reagan conservative. he wasn't a republican. show him saying that he would fight like hell to defend abortion in massachusetts, saying that he would fight like hell to defend gay marriage. talking about gun control. that's the stupidity of this attack. if you just won those arguments, you take 15 points off of mitt romney in south carolina. >> the best way to -- they weren't esoteric sports authorities. these are companies that americans can relate to. it's nothing that's not voodoo, it's not black magic. >> mitt romney spent part of his time yesterday trying to fend off some of these attacks that thousands of americans at bains lose their jobs. >> i think any time a job is lost is a tragedy, for the family, the individual that loses a job, it's devastates.

any time we invested in a business, it was to encourage that business it was to have ongoing life. the idea of making short-term profits really doesn't exist in business because nobody wants to buy stock in a company that just's going to be a short-term success, you want it to be long-term. >> with the renewed focus on jobs, romney is trying to pivot attention away from his own record and the one he hopes to defeat in november. >> he's been president for there years, what his jobs plan? he doesn't have one. come up with your own, mr. president, three years in, isn't it time that you come one a plan? >> smart strategy of the front-runner? >> i think it is a smart strategy. >> just ignore him and move on. >> and focus on barack obama. >> yeah. the front runner may be holding his fire against fellow republicans, but his deep pocketed sup parporters are not.

the new ad taking aim at newt gingrich who's attacking romney's record as a businessman. >> newt gingrich's attacks are called foolish, out of bounds and disgusting. newt was fined $300,000 for ethics violations. took $1.6 million from freddie mac and co-sponsored a bill with nancy pelosi that would support china's brutal one child policy. don't be fooled by newt's december property attacks. >> bain capital attacks against romney led by gingrich and perry have now helped romney gain support from some key business leaders. he is quote disappointed with the intramural carrying on within the republican party. and top republican donor barry wynn compared the attacks to, quote, fingernails on the chalk

board. >> he's a perry supporter, he's now a romney supporter. >> in fact wynn is throwing his weight behind rick perry. >> listen, i love capitalism, i mean free market capitalism in the state of texas has created over a million jobs. we understand how capitalism needs to work. but this corrupt and fraudulent activity that's been going on in washington, d.c., between them and wall street has to stop. and we have to have a president that will stand up and say, we're going to put the regulators in place that actually do the job. >> wow. >> what do you think? i think he can probably end it. >> i think willie geist and i are right, that if you want to understand life, you've got to understand "godfather" and what does michael say at a pivot

point, willie, you never let your enemies make you angry and mitt romney got inside of newt gingrich's head and he completely lost it. he could be using this $5 million to make himself the conservative alternative in south carolina sb, instead, he' trying to destroy mitt romney with a bizarre attack that's just not going to work. and it's going to destroy his political career. >> it happened in iowa when the superpacs came before -- it wasn't long ago when gingrich was flying high and he completely momented down in iowa. he's talking about separating wall street to main street. >> it's over for perry. he's got to go -- unlike a lot of these other people, he's got to go back to texas and govern.

could you imagine how uncomfortable he's going to go back in wearing the michael moore cap the next time he's got a bunch of texas oil men standing around the room staring at him, saying you did what in south carolina, rick? private ek -- what? we didn't vote for you to talk like this and then embarrass us and turn on capitalism and attack free enterprise. >> for what, for 5% in south carolina, or 8% or whatever he gets? >> who go you think goes on to florida? >> santorum at this point. >> so do you think in florida it's almost one-on-one. >> not yet, but rick perry has to quit because he has to govern. >> i know it's going to make me sound crazy, but i still think newt has a chance to do this, to be the story out of south

carolina. >> i would have agreed with you before these attacks went up. guess what? he just walked across the bridge and burned it. i will tell you as a republican, newt gingrich has done more to unite the republican party right now by these bain capital attacks than anybody since ronald reagan went to the wall and said mr. gorbachev, tear down this wall. i'm serious, when you have rush limbaugh and rudy giuliani and jim demint and moderate republicans and liberal republicans and conservative republicans, basically everybody but sarah palin and rick perry and newt gingrich saying this, newt's -- it is over. it is over. >> it's too bad. i was kind of enjoying it. >> it really is. if i can say, it is too bad, because newt gingrich -- >> for different reasons. >> for me it's too bad, because newt gingrich, i think as much

as anybody could put together a great argument as to why republicans need to be in power. he's done it before, he can do it again. this is undisciplined, it proves again that he is untoward i'd logically, and i i do think it's a shame, because when he's focused and on message, there are very few people better than newt gingrich. >> up next, what happens when two legendary comedy writers combine forces to write a novel? humor come limb nis dave barry and allan zwiebel joins us. and find out which of these stories will make the cut for willie's weekend review. but first the weekend forecast with bill karins. >> good morning, everyone. as far as the forecast goes, get ready, east coast, the cold air is on its way, it's already blowing in, look at the windchills that are now in

buffalo and pittsburgh. they're in single digits, that is heading to d.c. and new york this afternoon. so bundle up as you head out the door. these temperatures are already falling, there's snow, we have school cancellations around the syracuse area, power outages near buffalo. that's where the wind and the snow is the worst. so today that's your travel trouble spot. there's going to be a lot of airport delays in the big cities, laguardia is already at an hour and a half. west coast, you're looking just fine, but over the weekend, some snow showers are possible in areas like seattle. look at the big warmup, middle of the country, denver up to 57, kansas city, 51, the coldest air over the weekend will be -- those winds will gust today in d.c. you're watching "morning joe," we're brewed by starbucks. is it fast?

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i was sort of stunned that i won the pulitzer prize. here's a little tip, a little hint to would be journalists out is there. you don't have to win the pulitzer prize, you can just say you won it and nobody will know. >> it was not initially my idea to become a comedy writer. >> no? >> this was a decision that was made for me about 30 years ago by every law school in the united states. >> welcome back to "morning joe," that was a bit of insight on comedy writing from miami herald's dave barry and allan

zwiebel. >> and it comes with an advisory. >> dave and alan have both written books for children. >> we feel we have to forewarn people. >> children should not be in the same room. >> how did you two get together? what's the back story on this book? >> we did an event for steve martin in washington, d.c. when he won the mark twain award. and i looked at alan, there's something about him, he has the world's biggest head. >> you guys are too close, when you get back further, it sort of becomes normal. >> i think it's volume, i think he's got the whole package, head wise. >> you know something? we have just started this book tour, in all these interviews, he describes me like hoss

cartwright. a guy who has a big head and -- >> alan is a collaborative medium guy. he said we should do something. and i said yeah, because i thought we would never do anything. but then -- >> then i was persistent because i'm used to people not wanting to be with me, so i just kept going, going, going. >> because of your big head? >> i don't know if you know this, but law school helped you. >> we have got a guy who's written a book or two and you're collaborated, but these guys wrote their book a little differently than game change. david would write a chapter and then alan would write a chapter and they had no idea what each other was writing. they got to the end of the book and dave says he still doesn't know. >> it's like a bad game of telephone. >> talk to me about that.

what happened? >> alan had this idea, we both have experience with soccer, both of our kids play soccer. and we thought what if there's two parents who get into an altercation at a soccer game. and it's nothing, it shouldn't matter, but these two guys hate each other, they just don't get along, but for various reasons, fate keeps bringing them back together. and in a couple of days, they have unintentionally hijacked a nude cruise ship. >> and then it starts getting a little odd from there. >> then it gets really strange. >> absolutely. >> but things keep happening to these guys, they end up all over the world. >> we would send each other chapters not knowing what the other guy would do with it. so i would send him three or four pages, send it to him, a couple of days later, in my inbox would be his chapter and it was like having a deranged pen pal. this was, seriously, ted

kaczynski, if he was my pen pal. and we would just try to advance the story from there. >> do you like doing collaborative work? some people don't. you worked on "snl." >> all the tv stuff, it's very collaborative, so something like writing a book is so solitary, so you look for somebody to play with, you know? >> what he does, this is what i was not ready for. i'm used to writing the whole book and it's done and then send it in. alan would write like a sentence and he would send it to billy crystal. then he would send me an e-mail, billy really likes the scene. >> and if billy didn't like it, i would go back and redo it. it's having built in quality control, that's something you don't know anything about. >> three chapters in, he said steve correll's people really like it. >> tell us about steve correll's field because he's actually slatd -- >> i have been doing a -- what i

did was, we had 100 pages, i gave it to david steinberg, he liked it. he showed it to steven correll's people. then there was enough sentences and he said i want to play phillip horton who is the character i wrote. >> and he's going to end up being a horseman in world war i. >> you've done this, written a book and it's turned into a movie. >> good scenes work in either medium and once you start thinking about it as a movie, i find it's really helpful because movies have more dynamic character interaction. >> so a movie about two soccer dads who want to kill each other, who end up hijacking a nude crude ship. . >> it's nothing until they got on the nude cruise ship.

>> did i mention there was a talking pie? >> dave, we got to get you in on this republican field, especially as it moves -- >> they're coming for you. what do you make of the field? >> i think it's kind of now inevitable, it's going to be barack obama, tim tebow. no, then they'll look like it's pretty obvious, it's going to be obama and romney, it's going to be a really long, horrible campaign. >> is it humorous? have you enjoyed this field? we can go back to herrmann kaine and donald trump. >> as far as i know, this whole campaign so far has fodder for my act. ♪ tim tebow to jesus christ

♪ can't win by myself but with your help i might ♪ ♪ this is jesus christ to tim tebow ♪ please leave me alone >> please leave me alone. >> talk about that writing and of course he's an alum for "snl" tell me about the beginning. >> at the givbeginning he was t most exciting -- we were all 23. we never had jobs before, so we didn't know what rules we were breaking so we just did what was our sensibility and our sense of humor. and it was thrilling. it was really thrilling. >> who was a highlight for you? at what point did you just stop and look up on the stage and go, my god, we're creating something completely new here? >> i created a lot of characters

with gilda radner and there were things we would do on the phone, and she was doing roseanna deanna anna. i was like, oh, my god, look what we're doing here. it's really fun. >> and belushi, the samurai, that was yours, right? >> john auditioned for the show to my knowledge with that character and there was a sketch that tom schiler wrote called samurai hotel, i think with richard pryor, warren knew before i got the job on "snl" that i had a job at a delicatl can tes sin. >> what's your favorite struck

stop in florida los angeles i-75? >> you guys coming together, you would think it would be a clash of egos. >> alan is very insecure which helps. >> because of his big head. >> they had to relight the set. >> he really s. >> they are coming in on me now, and they're getting wider as they're coming in. >> here's a normal head. >> dave, what are the keys of taking advantage of insecurity in a partner? how do you prey on that? >> he really is like an endless supply of fodder for me. like he drinks cosmopolitans. >> we return to the cosmopolit n cosmopolitans. it's not a girlie drink. >> yes, it is. >> i have no friends anywhere with this cosmopolitan thing.

>> congratulations on the book. it's been market tests sentence by sentence by billy crystal. coming up, mayor michael bloomberg takes a shot at the teacher's union during his state of the city address. [ female announcer ] goodnight gluttony, a farewell long awaited. goodnight, stuffy. goodnight, outdated. goodnight old luxury and all of your wares. goodnight bygones everywhere. [ engine turns over ] good morning, illumination. good morning, innovation. good morning unequaled inspiration. [ male announcer ] the audi a8, chosen by car & driver as the best luxury sedan

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american officials are now turning to secret communications to directly warn iran's extreme leader against any actions that could provoke a contact. the rare contact between the two county trries the pentagon has called that a red line that would not be follow rated and would likely be met with military force. roughly one-fifth of the world's oil passes through that water way every day. the u.s. is also taking a closer look at iran's navel

capabilities just days after iran carried out a test launch of several missiles. while has the capability to spark a much deeper crisis. in other news this morning, new york city mayor michael bloomberg's vision for the upcoming year puts a sharp focus on school reform and the teacher's union does not like what it's hearing from the mayor. in his 11th state of the city address, bloomberg proposed a merit pay system that would reward the city's best teachers with $20,000 salary boosts. >> we also want to retain the best teachers by offering them a big raise and today we're making an offer to all new york city teachers. if you are rated highly effective for two contest years, we will hike your sally by $20,000 per year.

historically teachers unions have opposed her pay former rid. >> his plan would remove as many as half of the teachers working in some of the city's struggling schools and increase the number of charter schools in new york. new york's teacher's union saying the mayor was living in a fantasy education world and that merit pay systems have failed in school districts around the country. >> this is exactly why teachers unions are so tone deaf and so out of touch. not all teachers unions, but a lot of these teachers' unions leaders, you want to reward great teachers, because what have we found over the past ten years of intensive studies after the gates have put billions in and other people have been put billions in and other people have been working at this, it all comes down to one thing, one thing only, great teachers.

and the fact of the matter is, there are too many teachers union leaders that don't want to recognize great teachers and want to shield lousy teachers. this is a huge issue for this country. and some teachers unions are still standing in the way. >> yeah, i might have been critical of the mayor's push for another term, but i have to say, i agree with him completely on this. >> yeah, some of these teachers unions, the leaders need to get with the game because they are on the wrong side of this. >> even if you just want to reward the good teachers, forget punish the bad ones, they're still against that. i wanted to put in a bonus system, to allow my managers to give bonuses to good workers as well. the union was dead set against it. >> why. >> because it would be politics. >> they want mediocrity, it's about protecting jobs, it's not

about rewarding great teachers, it's plof fetic, they are in the past, they are finished. and willie geist, i think this is one of the reasons why, you read in "waiting for superman" michelle reid gets killed in washington, i want you give you the option, if you want the keep the same salary, keep the same salary. but if you want to go on this other track, we will reward you for working harder, reward you for making your students better. the union was against it. it is offense and they are offensive. >> how can we get the best and the brightest, how can we tell a kid coming out of college it's better to be a teacher than it is to work for goldman sachs. this is a good idea and i hope we keep pushing for it. >> the thing is, it's not just about the kids success in

school, there's a new study, an extensive study that came out that said a great teacher not only impacts that student in school, a greet teacher impacts that student for life. i don't know about you guys, i can name one or two teachers that inspired me. sister margaret at catholic high school in tenth grade, inspired me. i could name a professor in college, russell bring yachblt that inspired me. if i got it i deserved it. but great teachers make great students. and then make great citizens. >> yeah. >> and the unions are the only political force in this world against it, against successful teachers. >> i think you have made yourself clear? >> does anybody disagree with me? because everybody's afriday to tell the truth about this. >> no, no one here is afraid. we agree with you. >> do you disagree with me? >> i agree. >> ed do you agree?

>> completely. >> mark? >> just said did, yes. >> let's get andy back on. and i want to get randy back on because we like randy a lot. you're going to have to move past, it ain't the 1970s anymore, ed. no, we have got to innovate if we're going to stay competitive. >> business head before the [ male announcer ] for sore muscles use new bengay cold therapy,

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markets on trial. but as "the wall street journal" said, mr. romney's gop opponents are embarrassing themselves by taking the obama line. i'm mitt romney and i approve this ad. >> i thought they would have people come out and talk about how their lives were improved by pain capital. >> let's get a check on business before the bell. brian shotman is on the floor of the new york stock exchange. let's start with the big estebaning of america and j.p. morgan and their earnings report is out this morning. what are we expecting? >> well, we already got it, the

profits were pretty good, but revenue was about a billion and a half light. jay diamond is considered the best ceo in his clasz, class he came out and said the fourth quarter returns were modestly disappointing. investment banking is so slow right now, is this a longer term trend so they have to change their business mix, so we're going to have a whole slew next week, this one was considered the strongest, perhaps. i also want to touch on, later this morning, president obama is asking congress for federal authority to merge agencies, right? and it's going to start in the congress department and this is the topic for you buys to discuss. is this a deft political move to show that he's maybe looking towards trying to streamline government and maybe far enough away from the election that it's not streamed as engineering, it's a very interesting thing he wants to do. those in the republican party

are pretty happy about it, but we'll see if he walks the walk along with the talk. >> that is fascinating, brian. >> thank you, brian. >> i think that is a great political move, combining federal agencies, even if it's a symbolic move, it sends a great message. up next,next, willie's week review. ♪ [ multiple sounds making melodic tune ] ♪ [ male announcer ] at northrop grumman, every innovation, every solution, comes together for a single purpose -- to make the world a safer place. that's the value of performance. northrop grumman.

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we spent most of the week in new hampshire, but the week in review can begin in only one place. shotgun for tim tebow. sets, throws. >> at number three, tebow mania. >> dam mar ras thomas, foot race, 20, 15, 10, touchdown, denver! >> tim tebow, a staffesque vessel for all that is good and right in the world. >> god, god, god! >> the player who in college wrote john 3: 16 on his eye black, threw 316 yards in a game that was watched by more

americans than the super bowl. a new espn poll showed tebow to be america's favorite athlete. lady gaga tweeted her profane admiration. and the guy who wrote st. elmo's fire. ♪ tim tebow's fire >> and number two, adorable or horrifying, you make the call. cute kids are viral video gold. so are furry animals. put them together and separate them only by a single pane of plexiglas and you have the video that nearly melted the internet this week. a 3-year-old girl stared down a lion at the wellington zoo in new zealand and hung in there courageously even as the beast tried to claw his way at her.

and who you ask was calmly holding the camera while the sweet little girl went nose to nose with the king of the jungle. it was her mother. >> i was surprised my wife still held the camera steady. >> and the number one story of the week. >> thank you, new hampshire. with iowa in his back pocket, mitt romney made it two for two this week in his march towards the republican nomination. romney won new hampshire easily despite dropping an unfortunate if out of context line on the voters. >> i like being able to fire people who provide services to me. >> ron paul came in second. >> did anyone watch tv last night at all? >> and jon huntsman who delivered a last-minute appeal. >> as they would say in china -- >> took bronze. >> third place is a ticket to ride, ladies and gentlemen. >> newt gingrich did most of the heavy lifting for the group in attacking the front runner.

>> a relatively timid massachusetts candidate. >> how could they in good conscience take 100 milli$100 mt of a company and not pay their employees. >> conservatives went ap after romney, but newt did find one ally, whether he wanted him or not against romney in bain capital. >> they're vultures sitting out on the tree limb, then they eat the carcass. >> there remains one critical question in determining the outcome of this race. >> if you could be any animal, which one would you be? >> any animal? >> i would probably be an elephant. >> why? they have 105,000 muscles in

their trunk. okay, coming up, what if anything did we learn today? is it fast? it's got 10 speeds, my friend. ♪ is it fast? it's got a lightning bolt on it, doesn't it? ♪ is it fast? i don't even know if it's street-legal. ♪ is it safe?

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>>. >> the weekend. 6 you and me. we'll go to the left bank with an interpreter. >> that's pretty good. >> what up, dog? >> i just learned, we were discussing the game of the century that's taking place ni. a line 13 and a half. it's given 13 and a half. >> what have you learned today mark? >> jimmy fallon does david bowie almost as good as my brother's interpretation of david bowie. >> next time i go into a pizza hut, i have mitt romney to thank. >> and jimmy fallon made my week, that was great. >> going back to the informal and games, willie, who do you like? do the patriots cover the spread? >> yeah, i don't think that's a close game, but i said that