good friday morning. i'm chris jansing. it is happening already. mitt romney is tweaking his message on the campaign trail in the place of the blistering attacks at bain capital. he's not just defending himself. he's trying to show a softer side. >> unemployment is not just a statistic. being unemployed for a long period of time means families having a hard time making ends meet, it means in some cases

people having trouble in their marriages, losing faith, becoming depressed. it is a real tragedy. >> some candidates seem like they're getting the message to retreat and they're backing off. rick perry didn't mention the term vulture capitalist yesterday. newt gingrich rarely mentioned romney's name. joining me, david drugger and jackie kucinich. david, conservatives have been coming to romney's defense. we have karl rove, mike huckabee, club for growth. some people have suggested that this attack will help him bring the base together. what do you think? >> well, i think that it is very interesting that this entire campaign romney's constantly been on the defensive among movement conservatives. and this whole situation has actually allowed him to change the narrative in south carolina to one of defense of the strongest part of his record as opposed to the weakest part, which are his evolving positions on social issues and exactly how much trust republicans can put in him in terms of being a

consistent conservative. so while these could be damaging from a general election standpoint and we still don't know how this campaign is going to play out in south carolina over the next week, the truth is if i were mitt romney, i would much rather be defend and talking about my record in business, especially in a state where unemployment is high and people's number one concern is jobs. i would rather talk about that than all of the other issues that we had assumed this particular part of the campaign would be about. >> do you think that's right, jackie? do you think this is maybe a blessing in disguise for mitt romney or is it more what we're seeing, the new york times reporting, they're saying the rnc is asking the candidates to bash the president and not each other. >> i think it is all of the above. i don't think the issue, some of the other social issues are going away in south carolina from mitt romney. this say better thing for him to be talking about as far as the general election. that said in south carolina, these things are going -- the other issues from his -- i mean there is issues with i had mormonism among evangelicals,

some abortion stances, i think those are still going to be brought up. but, yeah, i think this could be a blessing in disguise for romney because he's getting his story straight on this bain stuff. he's being able to formulate a rebuttal to this which is definitely going to be part of the narrative in the general. >> yeah. i want to hear more about that rebuttal. let me go to nbc news campaign embed garrett haik traveling with mitt romney. we talked on this program about how the romney campaign was essentially blind sided that these attacks were coming from republicans instead of democrats. but you're seeing him do adjustments on the campaign trail, right? >> that's right. really there is three separate things happening. first the sound bite at the top of the show is a great example. he softened his rhetoric. he talks fairly dispassionately about job loss and creative destruction and now you hear him say, look, this is an example of a personal tragedy when somebody loses their job. and second of all, they turn it to president obama's language.

there is nothing that rallies conservatives more particularly in a place like south carolina, look, this is expected from obama, the big bad president, not from our fellow republicans. they're trying to use that to turn this thing around. >> let me ask you too about what is it going on in terms of advertising. now i understand one of the romney pacs is going after rick santorum. >> yeah, that's right. this morning you're seeing ads start to appear in south carolina and also even more interestingly in florida, hitting rick santorum for his record in congress, pork barrel spender, seeing a bunch of earmarks that he supposedly supported there. perhaps indicating that that -- once things move past that next week. >> garrett haake traveling in south carolina, thank you, garrett. let's go back to some of the ads. i understand not everybody, not surprisingly, is playing nice. here is one of the most recent ads that is out there. >> what has massachusetts given us? a liberal governor who wanted us

to believe 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. and just like john kerry -- he speaks french too. but he's still a massachusetts moderate. >> boy, that phrase obviously coming from the newt gingrich campaign. not exactly positive there, david. do you think that these kinds of ads have been effective? >> well, i think they might be effective it and we'll have to see how things play out. but i think that they might not simply because mitt romney's record evolving record changed whether people believe it or not is nothing new. this is not going to come as a shock to south carolina voters. oh, my god, he's from massachusetts, i didn't know that he used to be pro choice. i didn't know that he ran as a moderate against teddy kennedy. these are all things we know and

when voters have already factored things in about a candidate, the chance that they can be effective and rebuff support, diminish support, it becomes less effective, less likely to happen. however, now that mitt romy? is being beaten up hard by all the candidates for first time in the campaign as posed to them beating each other up to be the not romney, we have to see if he can take the punches and survive. >> how long do you think the bain thing is going to go on. there is an attack from a guy who worked with mitt romney at bain and he's quoted as saying, i never thought of what i do for a living as job creation. the primary goal of private equity is to create wealth for your investors. it seems like now this has legs, but will it continue to? >> i think it will until the romney campaign really gets a solid answer. much like he did on health care. until he was able to say, yeah, that was great for massachusetts, but i don't think

it would be good for the rest of the country. until they get an answer like that on bain, i think you'll see stories pop about this. i think the most damming thing is that he speaks french. you think south carolina voters will say what, he speaks french? that just seems like kind of a -- it seems like a silly turn for that. >> french, mandarin, spanish, they all don't quite sound right, comfortable in their next language. jackie cue skucinich, david dru thank you. republicans have this other problem on their hands, voter enthusiasm. major garrett, congressional correspondent for the national journal is here. it is good to see you. >> good to be with you. >> we have been talking about this for a while. we know there hasn't been huge enthusiasm from mitt romney. look at what happened, even though he won in new hampshire, even though he won in south carolina, not exactly -- i mean in iowa, not exactly

overwhelming support when you look at how many votes went elsewhere. so how much concern is there in the republican party, do you think? >> enthusiasm is a macro issue, not a candidate issue. i talked to republicans in iowa, new hampshire and south carolina. look, in iowa, they set a record for turnout of a republican caucus. just barely, 122,000, 4,000 more than in 2008. now you would think compared to 2008 republicans would be much more charged up and terry said a margin of 140 to 150,000, fell way below that. it was a record but not an impressive one. in new hampshire, 247,000 voters showed up, 45% of the availables, that's pretty good. that's a record for new hampshire. but it doesn't come close to what democrats did in 2008. so there is a tremendous enthusiasm comparison between 2008 for democrats, so charged up with hillary clinton and barack obama, that republicans are not matching. talk to republicans in south carolina today, they believe they'll come in about 450,000, about 8,000 more than 2008. so it is more and in these early

primary and caw kiucus states b not dramatically more. i think they would feel more comfortable if they're dramatically more enthused. >> if mitt romney turns out to be the nominee, you think ron paul could need some help with the enthusiasm gap. >> ron paul could be help. look at new hampshire, the young voters, 18 to 29d, he got 47% of those. he also got down income voters $37,000 and lower, not a historically reliable republican constituency. when ron paul doubles his turnout from 2008 to 2012 and triples it in new hampshire, he's the real deal. i think eventually -- i talked to several people close to the upper echelons of the romney campaign, conversations have begun and will continue about -- >> they're making overtures. >> about keeping lines of communication open, adapting the platform, and the message should the time come when they need to come together. it won't be easy, but they're working on it. >> on the other side, you have the obama campaign. and obviously what they did in

2008 was extraordinary, the new voters that they brought to the table. it is going to be fascinating to watch the ground game because while everybody else is beating each other up on the republican side, not so quietly the obama campaign is putting a tremendous infrastructure into place. >> and enthusiasm is going to be the undercurrent of this election. everyone anticipates both republicans and democrats it is going to be a close election. one or two percentage points either way. enthusiasm makes an enormous difference. romney has done well in iowa and new hampshire bringing republicans into the tent. it doesn't appear he created a lot of outside republican or lean republican enthusiasm. he's going to need to do that if he intends to be the next president. >> it is always good to see you, major garrett. appreciate it. let's talk about president obama. he wants to shrink government and he's pushing congress to give him the okay to consolidate six agencies into just one. in an hour, president obama is going to announce that he plans to ask congress for more power to merge several departments and agencies that focus on commerce

and trade. you'll see the president live right here on msnbc. now, over the years we have seen some pretty nasty politics coming out of south carolina. remember those personal attacks on nikki haley, accusations of illegitimate children for john mccain? now with all these massive dollars from superpacs in play, what will this mean just a week to go before the voters go to the polls? we have details on that ahead. right now, a hearing is under way in virginia over a lawsuit brought by governor rick perry and three other gop candidates who want to be included on the virginia ballot. just one in a long line of gop candidates botching ballot setups. jon huntsman failed to get on primary ballots in arizona, illinois, as well as virginia. rick santorum isn't on the ballot in virginia either, not in d.c. he filed incomplete delegate slates for ohio and illinois. and newt gingrich also failed to get on the virginia and missouri primary ballots. and this from the party trying to make it tougher for voters to vote. we'll be right back. [ female announcer ] eyes feeling overworked?

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she's only been on twitter for 24 hours and michelle obama has a huge following. check it out. 234,000 people are tracking the first lady via twitter. by the way, next hour, michelle obama will join the cast of icarly to watch the brand-new episode where she appears on the nickelodeon show. the event is at an elementary school in fairfax county, virginia. she was on the show thanking the families of u.s. service members. a democratic website is calling out john boehner and his gop colleagues for overseas travel. the site says they should be working on a payroll tax cut deal. where in the world is john boehner.com shows pictures of boehner playing golf and eric

cantor in a beret. they say it is house democrats who are disconnected from reality on the issue. and chris christie has gone after the president hard on the campaign trail. but the associated press reports that in an interview with oprah, he was very complimentary. quote, i think he's very charismatic and i think he's genuine. i think what he says he believes, he believes. that's a very dangerous politician. and thanks to an analysis from the washington post, through facebook, we have an idea of what people who support the gop candidates like. okay, so when it comes to books, mitt romney supporters like democracy denied. gingrich friends like a book about ronald reagan. but this is really interesting. jon huntsman supporters are reading ron paul's book. in music, rick perry fans like mc spirit. and rick santorum's people are listening to madison rising.

shock, no tim tebow on the list. rick santorum opens up about the fashion trend he started, the sweater vest. in fact, i'm told he's wearing one now at an event in south carolina. he sold a thousand so far and said, quote, it sort of took on a life of its own and the vest gave me this power. and there he is. is that him live? yeah, live right now in rock hills, south carolina. the mud is flying and some dirty politics have apparently cost rick perry an influential supporter in south carolina. top gop donor barry wynn is leaving the perry campaign to endorse mitt romney. the move comes after perry criticized romney as a vulture capitalist. at the same time, super pacs wasted no time unleashing vicious attack ads in south carolina. a pro ron paul super pac is spending more than $300,000 on ads, a pro gingrich pac says it is committing $3.4 million to tv

and radio. and a pro romney pac is doling out $2.3 million. joining me now is south carolina based republican strategist and former communications director of the rnc jim dot. good morning. >> good morning. >> first, let me ask you why is it that south carolina election after election after election and presidential politics seems to be ground zero for nasty attack ads? >> well, i don't know it is really much different than any other state. the sort of typical politics. we seem to celebrate it for some reason as a consultant class in south carolina, which is a little unusual. it is also sort of where we are in the process. we have got the sort of the face to face family meetings in iowa and then in new hampshire and south carolina is sort of the launching pad which, by the way, tends to pick the nominee into a much more comprehensive election fight, which includes television advertising, getting around to

events. i don't know that we're any different than any other state, just a little more celebrated. >> you're right that they do tend to pick the winner. and it is different this year, though, because of the super pacs and spending all this money. you wonder what would newt gingrich be doing if someone hadn't written a $5 million check you know, from the casino. do you think the super pacs are going to have the net effect of allowing some candidates to stay in the race and maybe making it a longer slog for whoever the eventual nominee is? >> yeah, i don't. i think, look, super pacs can be helpful in supporting a candidate's viability, but at some point a super pac cannot change the facts. look, there is a fight going on in south carolina right now. what is really underreported is the fight is really about the choice to take on barack obama. and there are -- >> you think this will be an electability primary?

>> i think that's part of it. but the case being made on the ground is is one, leadership. south carolina has got 9.9% unemployment. people are intensely interested in what candidates' positions are on the economy, whether they can support that position with the leadership credentials. they view the obama administration as hostile based on the national labor relations board attack on boeing coming to south carolina. so that's, you know, there is a lot of talk about these splinter things, but the republican party is unified in south carolina around the need to replace barack obama and the candidate i believe that will be successful in that -- in south carolina won't be successful because the negative attacks that they engaged in, but because of the positive message that they took to meeting after meeting and you see it in television ads too, that convinces voters that they are the one that has the positive vision on economic growth and job creation to take on barack obama. >> well, it will be interesting to see if some of these attack

ads end up backfiring in the sense that you say, that people just shake their heads and say, i wish that person was talking about the issue, you know, move on. jim dike, thanks. good to have you on. as the republicans battle it out, president obama is raking in the dough. the new york times says the president's campaign and the dnc raised $66 million in the last quarter. now, at the same time, the president's campaign manager, jim messina, is backing off from the notion that they'll raise a billion dollars for obama's 2012 re-election campaign, suggesting it could lead supporters to think the campaign doesn't need their money. b.j. foreman took over her family's centuries old cincinnati business. she moved away from diamonds and gold to offer more unique rings, pendants and necklaces. she scaled down, moved to a smaller space and it led to sparkling profits.

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the anger is growing in mississippi with more victims' families coming forward, outraged at governor haley barbour's decision to pardon dozens of convicted criminals before leaving office. let's go live to jackson, mississippi, and nbc's mark potter. where does the situation stand this morning? >> reporter: well, hi there, chris. the local paper is reporting

that the five trustees including four murderers who worked at the governor's mansion who are pardoned and released now cannot be found. we're waiting more details on that from the attorney general's office. we do know that a judge has said that she wants to see them before her at a hearing a week from this coming monday to discuss the legality of those pardons. that criticism indeed is building over just how many pardons there were, more than 200. -- decision to grant the pardons and early releases will not go away. >> i just can't understand what was going through haley barbour's mind. >> reporter: mary mackbee's brother was killed nearly 20 years ago by joseph osmond, sentenced to life in prison. after working as a trustee at the governor's mansion, he's been pardoned and freed. >> as if nothing happened. as if my brother does not matter. as if the victims do not matter. >> reporter: state records show of the more than 200 convicts granted pardons or early

releases, there were 21 murderers, eight sex offenders and 50 others convicted of violent crimes including armed robbery, assault and kidnapping. barber points out that most of those to whom he granted clemency had already been out of prison for years. but district attorney michael guess says a big problem with pardons is they clear convicts' records, hiding their crimes from the public. >> i believe that the public has a right to know whom they're hiring, whom they're associating with, whom they're entrusting their children with. >> reporter: at the state capital, democrats are drafting legislation that would require the governor to consult with police and families before pardons violent criminals. >> these victims need to be heard, their families need to be heard. >> reporter: now, the new mississippi governor, a republican, said he supports such controls and says he does not expect to use his pardon power very much because as a former prosecutor, he really cares about the feelings of the victims and their families.

chris? >> unbelievable story with more to come. mark, thank you. and here's a story we had to tell you about, a new fllaw in brazil, work e-mails being the same as a direct order from the boss. if you make a late hour reply, that makes you eligible for overtime pay. here at home, a policeman sued the city of chicago last year on those same grounds. no decision yet on his lawsuit. but can you imagine? bengay cold therapy, it's pro-cool technology releases armies of snowmen masseuse who cuddle up with your soreness and give out polar bear hugs. technology. [ male announcer ] new bengay cold therapy. the same technology used by physical therapists. go to bengay.com for a $3 coupon. what is this shorty? uh, tissues sir, i'm sick. you don't cough, you don't show defeat. give me your war face! raaah! [ male announcer ] halls. a pep talk in every drop. and during the four course feast,

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we'll keep you posted as we hear more from there. we have some other stories we want to get you up to date on right now. two of the former marines involved in that disturbing video showing them urinating on the bodies of three dead taliban militants have reportedly been interviewed by military officials. the soldiers were not detained following the interviews but as our pentagon correspondent reported, it looks like they want to throw the book at these guys, court-martial and possible criminal charges and then possible jail time. the u.s. sent iran its strongest warning yet not to close the strait of hormuz. the u.s. wants to make it clear if iran tries to close the strait, the u.s. military will respond with force. tehran continues to blame the u.s. and israel for what they say was a covert operation aimed at stopping its nuclear program. at 1:00 p.m., andrea mitchell will talk to u.s. ambassador to the u.n. susan rice about the rising tensions

with iran. right now, joran van der sloot is back in a peruvian courtroom, waiting any minute now for his sentence for the murder of stephany flores. he pled guilty on wednesday and could face 30 years in president. his attorney argued for a lesser sentence saying he was very stressed on the day of the murder from constant questioning in the disappearance of natalee holloway. actress heather lackl leock medically stable but still in a hospital after her sister called 911. her spokesperson hasn't said what is wrong but tmz is reporting it involved alcohol and drugs. this is not her first go-round with 911. in 2008, her doctor made an emergency call fearing a suicide attempt that turned out to be a false alarm. locklear recently called off her engagement to former co-star jack wagner. finally, looking like winter in the midwest and parts of the northeast. it has been a rough morning commute.

there could be 15 inches before the snow stops today. you can see how big the system is stretching from the great lakes to the northeast and see flight delays now in newark and laguardia, an area that saw a lot of rain in the past 24 hours. and what do you get when you cross tim tebow with david bowie, an amazing bit by jimmy fallon on "late night." we'll have it for you in 20. how low will they go? there has never been a better time to get a mortgage or to refinance. the average 30-year fixed rate has slipped to a record low, 3.89%. cnbc mandy drury is here with what is moving your money. despite the incredible rates, a lot of people reluctant to actual the trigger. >> or maybe they want to pull the trigger but can't take advantage of the record low rates because they don't qualify. many don't want to sink money into a home they still fear could lose value over the next few years. the good news is, though, the housing market is showing signs of putting in a bottom. for example, last year we saw

foreclosures plunging about 34%. it was still a rocky year by other metrics. new home sales over the course of last year are likely to have their worst year on record, going back half a century. but hopefully, hopefully we're putting in a bottom and if people can qualify for those loans, it is a great deal at this stage. >> a bit of a setback yesterday with jump in first time jobless claims. but good news because there are a couple of big companies that are hiring. >> you're right. there is home depot, start eed hire 70,000 seasonal workers for the spring, their busiest hiring season. these are temporary positions but hopefully they can lead to permanent jobs as well. and you have bmw and daimler, they're expanding their production. bmw is going to invest nearly $900 million over the next three years in expanding its plant in south carolina. that will create 300 new jobs.

and daimler will create 1,100 jobs and add a second shift to ramp up production at its freight liner truck plant in cleveland, north carolina. so good to see these companies hiring and creating jobs. >> it is indeed. mandy drury, have a good weekend. >> you too. newt gingrich now on a detour from south carolina to kick off his florida campaign. he held a meet and greet in miami a short time ago and he opens his campaign headquarters in orlando, about an hour from now. i'm joined now by jose diaz-balart, anchor of telemundo, who sat down for an exclusive interview with him. good morning. eight days until the south carolina primary. we know south carolina as a firewall for the republican nominee. so i don't know, does newt thing he can pull off a surprise? >> he certainly hopes so. he himself is very clear that this is a firewall for his campaign, south carolina is. and he's hoping that the voters in south carolina are more

focused on other issues than the voters in new hampshire and iowa were. take a look at some of what he said. >> when you get to a south carolina, which is a very conservative state, it is very hard to have a candidate from the state that produces michael dukakis and john kerry and very hard for romney to come in and say, please don't look at my gun control record, please don't look at my pro abortion record, please don't look at my tax increases because i have this great new commercial that says i'm a conservative. >> what happens if you don't win in south carolina? >> i'm in deep trouble. >> in deep trouble, but as you can see, the attacks on mitt romney continue on a number of different subjects. but, chris, one of the other issues that i have been looking forward to speaking to the republican candidates for president are specifically what are their thoughts on the 11 million undocumented that live in the united states. it is par for the course for the republican candidates to say, you know, my only position is

close the border, close the border, close the border. not talking about anything else. but then we ask, well there are 11 million people here who are already inside the border. what are you going to do about that? he answered some of that. >> where i seem to break new ground and shock people is i said, you know if you've been here a long time and i use 25 years as an example, and you're married, you got kids, you have grandkids, you belong to a local church, you have been paying all your bills, you've been working, we're not going to kick that person out. i mean, we're not going to dr-- the american people aren't going to go in and break up a family and send abelia back home. that's not american. if you can get an american family to sponsor you, you can apply for a residency permit, not amnesty, would not give you citizenship, but it would mean the rest of your life you could be a legal resident of the united states.

>> and, chris, other than huntsman, these are the only two candidates running for the republican presidential campaign that have been specific on what to do about the 11 million undocumented in the united states. and you can bet, chris jansing, that the other republicans, specifically romney and santorum, are going to be using these words against the speaker in south carolina. >> let me ask you really, really quickly about marco rubio. a majority of latino voters don't know who he is, but he's consistently mentioned as a possible vice presidential pick. what do you make of that? >> what i make of that is something that many times in the english language media, they just don't get. the fact is that in order to be known in the hispanic community, you have to have more than a spanish sounding surname. you have to be serving that community for a long time. we have to remember that senator rubio, good or bad, emerged from into the national limelight just a couple of years ago and so the

mainstream hispanic population really didn't know what he's done or really what his positions are. >> jose diaz-balart, always good it see you. catch more of jose's interview with newt gingrich tonight on telemundo. that's at 6:30 eastern time. thanks, jose. mitt romney is defending his record at bain capital, selling his job there as a jobs creator. but a new article points out that he made use some of tax breaks and subsidies during his tenure at private equity firm that a lot of conservatives consider to be corporate welfare. joining me is the writer of that article, matea gold. good morning. >> good morning. >> in your story you highlight the company's steel tie namic . >> what my colleagues and i found interesting is romney on the campaign trail has been repeatedly citing steel dynamics

as one of his success stories, it is a robust steel company in indiana, employs around 6,000 people. what he does not mention is the company really got off the ground with the help of $37 million in state and county tax grants, subsidies and incentives, including a new income tax that was leveled on county residents to help pay for infrastructure improvements. this really goes against a lot of what purists in free market advocates argue should be free enterprise. and so it is something that really cuts against in some ways romney's argument. >> and more is being made of the companies that didn't make it. he often sets his example, places like staples that have done very well. but there are places where in fact they failed, but investors still got big rewards. tell us, for example, about gs industries. >> sure. gs industries was a steel company that bain invested in around the same time they invested in steel dynamics. it followed a very different

trajectory through some mergers with other steel companies, bain and the management really tried to get it off the ground and expand it and instead workers lost their jobs, their health benefits and the company ultimately folded. but bain investors still made out very richly in that deal. that's something we found in some of the top companies that went bankrupt under bain investments, really many times bain investors still profited. >> we were talking about this a little earlier in the program. i'm wondering what your sense of it is there from washington when we eventually look back on this campaign. is bain going to be one of the defining issues, do you think? >> well, there is no question it is part of the defining narrative of the primary and the democrats will seek to make it one of the defining narratives of the general election if romney succeeds in getting the nomination. it is a tricky thing for romney because it is really what he's built his argument on. this idea that he has experience

in the private sector in job creation. but i think what he's finding is that that argument is somewhat difficult when you start examining the record, a mixed picture. >> matea gold, good to see you. thanks. >> thank you very much. so is there room for one more in the already crowded gop field? or is it too late? >> i'm doing it! drop them, jimmy! whoo! whoo! >> comedian stephen colbert made the big announcement on his show last night. he is exploring a run for president in south carolina even though it is too late to get on the ballot. there are no write-ins allowed. the big question was, what to do with his super pac. well, of course, transfer it to jon stewart. >> colbert super pac transfer activate. total access - to everything.

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a new study reveals that pneumonia is the most common infection to occur after heart surgery. infections of the intestens, blood stream and surgical incision sights were the next most common complications. researcher were surprised to find most infections occur about two weeks after surgery. good morning. i'm thomas roberts. in the next hour of msnbc, consolidation authority, president barack obama asking congress for more power to streamline our government. will congress bulk at the president's idea to save money and cut government waste? the president's remarks live. and the gop showdown in south carolina. mitt romney firing back with a new ad in the palmetto state praising his work at bain capital. but is the damage already done? does joran van der sloot's

murder confession create a possibility to learn the truth about natalee holloway. >> that would be nice for her folks. thank you, thomas. you're probably on facebook or twitter but a new social networking site is tapping into the world of politics. ruck.us connects like mnded people, not based on party, but according to issues. the idea is to bring people together to take action, not to divide based on party. joining me is the founder and ceo nathan daschle, son of tom daschle. good to see you. good morning. essential life in politics as a democrat, but we're seeing so many examiples out there of republicans and democrats being so partisan, they can't get anything done. do you think there is something out there to tap into that people are looking for? >> absolutely, chris. there is a dramatic inefficiency now with how our political system operates. we live in the era of itunes, netflix, amazon, where consumers have unprecedented power.

but they expect options. and quite frankly those options aren't available with partisan politics. we ask individuals before they engage in politics to choose one of two institutions. so we put party labels aside and organize around the issues that are most important to you with people and groups who are politically like minded. >> explain how it happens. we checked out the website. you go on and choose issues like jobs, environment, taxes. and then what happens next? >> that's exactly right. you get one and you let us know what are the issues most important to you. then you get a chance to answer a series of community-submitted questions. what i think is kind of cool about the questions is that they're all asked of you by other community members. so they sound a very natural organic way, the way people normally talk about politics. based on that, we will then recommend to you people who share your views, your politically like-minded people and recommend actions you might want to take. in the next couple of months, we'll take the next step and

recommend online groups that you can join to pursue your interest. >> do you think you might tap into some folks in the occupy movement? we were watching all of this happen, the question obviously at the time was could they come together, would there be some sort of leadership, would there be some substantive thing, it, that came out of it and i guess that question is not yet answered. it is a tough thing that you're taking on to try and make that happen. >> yeah, you know, it is tough, but in some ways i also think it is inevitable. we have drastically innovated the way consumers have received content in film, in music, in commerce, in news. the one area where we haven't really innovated yet is politics. to answer your question about wall street, i think what we have already seen some success in attracting users who are part of the occupy wall street movement. but i think there is a great opportunity to help them take it to the next level. occupy wall street was -- is one of themovements of

the last decade. i think the next phase for them is how do they take it away from the places that they're occupying into a broader movement and i think ruck.us can play a role in that. we have been up for two and a half months. we have been 5,000 users so far. right now we're in what we consider to be the beta phase, which is we're trying to make sure that the product is right and once we really feel like we're comfortable with that we'll try to scale in and attract more users. >> people can go to ruck.us and i should say it takes a little time, so this is for people who are really interested in getting involved and doing something, but they can find it very easily. nathan daschle, good to see you. >> good to see you. thanks for having me. the "today" show turned 60 this week. even the president and fist lady sent in a video message. >> over decades and across generations, the "today" show has become a part of american culture, a place where millions

tune in to see how their world has changed overnight. that's why we're both so pleased to join all of you in celebrating this remarkable milestone. >> and we know you'll have many more years of success. but first, this is "today" on nbc. >> i wanted to say this. >> check out the emtire state building from early this morning, lit up in "today" show colors. the co-hosts from the past 60 years all on hand to celebrate, including tom brokaw, who, by the way, just joined twitter. tom, welcome. today's tweet of the day is his first tweet from last night. like a great college reunion. he followed it up with, but where's the keg? he gets it already, doesn't he? [ female announcer ] did mr. intern forget how his boss takes her coffee? just cover your bases. bring her the all-natural sugar in the raw and the all natural, zero calorie sweetener stevia in the raw. then learn that she doesn't drink coffee, just tea.

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friday the 13th, let's go down to the wire. for those of you who are afraid

of friday the 13th, well, sorry. today's just the first of three this year. it happens again april 13th and july 13 and get this, the days are 13 weeks apart. and that's first time it happened since 1984. by the way, there was only one friday the 13th last year. the awards season starteds in ernest this weekend with the golden globes on nbc. check out all the swag they could walk away with. $50,000 in merchandise. the companies hope stars will turn their products into a household name. oprah winfrey paid a visit to her south african school for girls for its first ever graduation. she says the $40 million it cost to set up the school was worth it. 72 students will head to college in south africa and the u.s. more than a dozen of them have gotten scholarships. what you to get when you cross tim tebow with david bowie? of course, t-bowie and a

hilarious song from jimmy fal n fallen. ♪ tim tebow to jesus christ ♪ ♪ i can't win without your help ♪ ♪ 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 the broncos games ♪ that will wrap up this hour of "jansing and company." i'm chris jansing. thomas roberts is up next. have a great weekend. i'll see you back here on monday. ♪ 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? oh, yeah. it's a volkswagen.

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i have a cold. and i took nyquil but i'm still stubbed up. [ male announcer ] sorry, buddy. truth is, nyquil doesn't un-stuff your nose. what? [ male announcer ] it doesn't have a decongestant. really? [ male announcer ] you need a more complete cold formula, like alka-seltzer plus liquid gels. it's specially formulated to fight your worst cold symptoms, plus relieve your stuffy nose. [ deep breath ] thank you! [ male announcer ] you're welcome. that's the cold truth! [ male announcer ] and to fight your allergy symptoms fast, try new alka-seltzer plus allergy. mitt romney defending his record on bain, unleashing a new ad as social conservatives try to stop mitt and find any alternative to the front-runner. president obama will ask congress this hour to give him