...northrop grumman's security solutions are invisibly at work, protecting people's lives... [ soldier ] move out! [ male announcer ] ...without their even knowing it. that's the value of perfoance. northrop grumman. survivors stories, new word today on people being rescued more than 24 hours after that cruise ship disaster. we have a live report next. on the campaign trail, mitt romney reaches into his pocket during that and he is shaking hands and he gives one woman some cash. details on that in a moment. in office politics, nbc political director on the trials of being a west coast baseball fan living on the east coast. comedian stephen colbert super pac is out with his first ad. is this what the supreme court had in mind. welcome to "weekends with alex witt." it's 10:00 a.m. on the east

coast. a frantic search for survivors is under way off the coast of italy where this luxury cruise ship toppled into the sea after it ran aground saturday. thousands of passengers including over a hundred americans. they managed to escape. one described the ship's evacuation as absolute chaos. >> everyone was trying to fight their way on to a boat and the crew members were having to knock people back. the crew members were definitely having a hard time controlling the situation at that point. >> well, the half sunken vessel's torn hull is lying on its side. the divers are trying to find 17 people still missing in the wreck and the captain of the ship is under arrest. nbc's michelle kosinski is this. she has the latest. good morning, michelle.

>> reporter: hi alex. press is calling it the italian titanic. three people have lost their lives. the number unaccounted for dropped significantly today to 17 which you mentioned. but as people were being rescued, they were worried there were still passengers on board, trapped and they were right. this happened friday night. and the latest rescue was this afternoon. >> this man just rescued spent more than 36 hours trapped inside that ship. this video shows just a leading edge of the swell of panic that engulfed the costa concordia friday night. >> not safe here. >> when survivors climbed into lifeboats, the ship already tilted sharply and sinking, fast. it started just after 10:00 p.m. only hours after the nearly

thousand-foot cruise ship left its port. many guests were at dinner. heard a loud rumble. the ship had struck a rock. lights out, dishes crashing, sending more than 4,000 passengers and crew scrambling for an escape. >> the rescue was awful. i mean, it was very, very disorganized. >> they describe what they had only seen in movies, like titanic. falling nearly vertically up hallways. some said it took nearly an hour tore lifeboats to be lowered. by then the ship was on the side. >> it was difficult for the lifeboats to get down because the ship was at an angle. the lifeboat can't go down the side of the boat like this. one of the boat was full of 200 people. the lifeboat tipped sideways and fell and swung and everybody screaming. >> it took us five tries on different boats to get on. my husband and i finally got on and we feel so fortunate.

we're so fortunate that we made on a boat because others didn't. >> forcing many, entire families to choose a jump into the cold dark sea. hundreds of yards from shore. >> i was very worried about when i was swimming, i keep looking at the boat just keep coming. i wanted to make sure we get further away so if this comes, it doesn't trap us. i have them on my back, kick, kick, swim, swim. >> others were rescued by helicopters, small boat. the italian cruise line is owned by the american company carp nil which offered heartfelt condolence. this is a tragedy and we are deeply saddened. they continue searching with good reason. more than 24 hours after this started, a south korean couple on their honeymoon were found alive on board. investigators arrested the captain pending their look into why on a route this ship travels

every week and suddenly struck rock, lost power. a 160-foot gash in its hull. officials believe there were 125 americans on board, but none of them hurt. that captain arrested under investigation for manslaughter and abandoning ship has been quoted as saying that his navigational charts show the water was deep enough to be where he was. but that they did not show the rock. he denies abandoning the ship also. alex? michelle kosinski with the latest from there. we'll hear more from passengers at the bottom of the hour. >> the gop candidates are in the final sprint to the south carolina primary. mitt romney's rivals are trying to stop him from going to a victory. while speaking to voters last night, he focused on president obama, unleashing pointed

attacks. >> i've watched the president over these last three years and i've been disappointed. he's failed the american people. >> also saturday, a woman approached romney at one event telling him she didn't have a job. so romney then reached into his pocket and handed her some cash. a romney campaign spokesman says he gave her between 50 and 60 bucks. we'll hear from that woman later on. a potential boost for rick santorum's campaign from leaders in texas yesterday, a majority voted to support him to stop romney. meanwhile, he's speaking out about iran. >> there was a nuclear scientist in iran this week who was car bombed, who was killed. our country condemned it. my feeling is we should have kept our mouth shut. >> newt gingrich appeared at a largely african-american church last night in columbia. in the 2008 gop primary there south carolina, only 2% of

voters were african-american. during his visit, gingrich faced tough questions about recent comments he made. >> do you still think of president obama has the food stamp president in. >> yes. >> that's what you said in may of 2010. >> yes. >> at a press conference. meet the press. that's what you said. >> yes. >> do you still think that he is a food stamp president when he was the first and the president of this law class in harvard. how can you say that? >> i say that because more americans today are on food stamps than any other time in american history. >> and despite his lag in the polls, jon huntsman picked up another endorsement, this one from south carolina's biggest paper, the state. let's head to myrtle beach, south carolina where nbc's ron mott is standing by and some of the candidates are attending a prayer breakfast this morning. good sunday morning to you, ron. what's going on with this prayer breakfast? >> reporter: good morning to you, alex.

rick an santorum and rick perry are meeting. they're trying to get the voters o come out on saturday and support one of the three voters vying for their support. rick santorum and rick perry and newt gingrich. they're splitting that conservative vote. a lot of folks are trying to say there should be conservative alternative to mitt romney. he's ahead of the polls here. if you look at south carolina's history with the primaries, they have put forward every republican nominee for president. if mitt romney wins here, a lot of folks think that's the end of had race, that elwin this nomination. newt gingrich has pretty much laid all of his cards down here. yesterday, we should point out that newt gingrich was booed when he began to talk again about bain capital and mitt romney. a lot of folks on the right and conservatives say that should be the end of that controversy. they want to coalesce around whoever the republican nominee is eventually going to be. people want to say the conservative should have a voice

in this race going forward. rick santorum got that big endorsement yesterday. we'll see whether it merited any real result among voters. >> we'll see in six days or so. let's get more on south carolina and the newspaper, the state, having endorsed jon huntsman today. a political columnist for the washington post. dana good morning. >> good morning. >> are you surprised by this endorsement? he's 1% there. >> not surprised. i love newspapers for obvious reasons. but i have to say that i don't think that this is exactly going to propel huntsman to the top mere. it's a quirky thing for the newspaper to do. even look at the manchester union leader in new hampshire, which has quite a bit of clout, went for newt gingrich. obviously, didn't do him any good. huntsman still isn't going to make the cut there in south

carolina. but i think in a sense, it's a noble stand to say this is what we think should happen even though we know full well it's not going to happen. >> mitt romney's al gore problem. that is the title of your article in the washington post. explain this. you talk about mitt romney's efforts at acting like a regular guy that it's just not working for you. >> not exactly. you know, i've been following him around now a bit on the trail and you just sort of wins and cringe a great deal when you're watching romney. i had a similar sensation to what i felt a dozen years ago watching al gore. they both have this sort of problem with authenticity and awkwardness. it's like each one of them is able to affect the mannerisms of a normal human but something happens and you realize they're not exactly like everybody he will. it's a real problem. not just a superficial thing. romney has gotten to this point where he keeps saying awkward things. he's in this vicious cycle where he's looking out, he's nervous, going to contradict himself or

say something awkward. he's getting more nervous about what he says. it makes him more likely to say something. >> let's get to this group of 150 pass force and christian conservative leaders meeting in tex tech. they have gotten support behind rick santorum. but the timing of this, read that. does it help? >> i think we're getting a lot of clarity into the race down there in south carolina which as was noted is probably, if romney wins is definitive toward the nomination. it does feel like a little bit, too little too late. it just does not seem -- romney was lucky. it does not seem that people are able to coalesce around any one alternative. i think these guys are saying, okay, this is the best alternative that's left. you know, look we're always looking for surprises in politics. but nothing lining up here is indicating that right now. >> what about ron paul taking a break this weekend. same thing he did the weekend

for the iowa caucuses. do you read anything into this? does it at all talk about his campaign losing some steam? >> well, i don't want to shock you, alex. i don't think ron paul thinks he's going to win the nomination. so he's gone further than he ever expected. he's having a great deal of impact with his message, even beyond -- he's winning a lot of votes but he's having a lot of the other candidates coe opt his theme. he's been successful in restoring the libertarian theory to the republican party. i think he can kick back on his laurels and have a weekend off and he can keep going with this for a while longer. he's not going to be the president, alex. >> no weekends off for you, my friend. >> not when you have me on your show. no way. >> that's right. exactly dana mill bank. thanks so much. >> we'll have the former chairman of both parties, governor howard dean and michael steele. they are on deck with strategy talk heading your way at the bottom of the hour.

meantime, cleanup under way after a blast of snow hit the midwest. the snow clouds were out in kalamazoo, michigan. after more than 10 inches of snow fell over the past few days. temperatures are supposed to be in the 20s today. the weather channel's alex wallace is with us. there's snow. i see some of the white stuff around your map. good morning. >> you know what, alex, it's the snow is there. it's staying for the day. temperatures are very, very cold as you mentioned. around the lakes, into the northeast, teens and 20s out there. extremely cold. some of the coldest air we've seen in quite some time. you have 8 right now in and around boston with bangor maine at 2 degrees. we have a little bit of wind out there. with that wind, of course, that's making it feel a little bit colder as well. these are the feels-like temperatures. in boston feels like 11 degrees below zero. bundle up there. today will be a cold one. temperatures running from 10 to 20 degrees below average. won't last too long, though. this is the good news. by tomorrow, we'll get a chance

to warm things back up closer to where it should be. new york city, a degree above average as you near 40 degrees for your afternoon. but the warm air right now for today it's right in the middle of the country. this is where temperatures will be. 5 to 10 degrees above average. right in the heartland. then it shifts to the east as we head into that martin luther king, jr. day on monday. eastern half of the country getting a chance to warm back up. alex in. >> alex wallace, many thanks for that. shocked and saddened. joe paterno talks about his reaction to the child sex abuse scandal at penn state. we'll hear from the reporter who interviewed him and find out what his life has been like since he was fired. comparing the romney and obama economic report. there's a new report that looks at both. third party presidential candidate gary johnson will join us after this break. you're watching "weekends with alex witt." [ inner voice ] establish connection. give me voice control. applications up.

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with the battle raging among the gop candidates right now, one-third party candidate is looking to gain some ground. how big of an impact could he have? joining me now is gary johnson, presidential candidate for the libertarian party. former governor of new mexico. a popular one i might add. good morning. >> good morning. thanks for having me on. >> you're here to talk about a few things. let's talk about the evangelical and conservative leaders meeting this weekend. they put a lot of support behind rick santorum. they're trying to arrest mitt romney's momentum. what does that say to you about

where the republican party is headed? >> i see this whole meeting at much to do about nothing. i mean, you got 150 evangelists who meet in texas. on the fourth ballot they support santorum. i don't know how significant it is. i believe the fastest growing sector are libertarian leaning, that would be ron paul. i'm excited by his showing. >> you talk about that. you wrote about this in the daily collar. what does this mean for you because you're talking about the young, the independents, those people that he did well with. that same group that got behind barack obama. but talk about the significance of that for you and your strategy. >> well, first of all, i think that ron paul and i, although we have some differences, i think for the most part we're delivering the same message. that message, i think what is resonating among young people, independents, those that decline to state. i think that this is very

significant. i think for me, running as libertarian nominee, this is a way to keep that message alive. what's not being recorded is the ron paul is drawing the biggest crowds. that also is the case in 2008. it was a real surprise to me having endorsed him in 2008 that he was drawing the biggest crowds. it wasn't reported. so much -- what gets reported is rick santorum gaining the support of 150 evangelists on the third ballot as opposed to the fact that ron paul is drawing thousands of people. talking about an agenda that, with -- this is perhaps where -- this is where ron paul and i differ. but the broad stroke is, fiscally conservative and socially liberal. >> but you may have heard my previous interview with dane i millbank of the washington post. we were talking about ron paul taking the weekend off. he said ron paul doesn't think he's going to get elected president.

if it's all about message, do you think you have a shot at becoming president of the united states or are you more about message? >> it's always been about the message. i wouldn't be doing this if i didn't think there was the opportunity to actually win. pie in the sky, there's the opportunity to potentially fall at a level that would put me on the national debate stage with romney, believing that he is going to be the nominee and president obama talking about an agenda that talks about balancing the budget. but also it talks about government getting out of our personal lives. legalizing marijuana, a woman's right to choose, constitutionally guaranteed gay marriage equality. gun rights that go along with that. slashing welfare but slashing warfare. i think that president obama made a lot of promises that, for the most part, have kind of come up short for his core constituency. that's my opinion. i heard him say favorable things regarding drug policy.

i heard him say some very favorable things when it came to our foreign involvement. and i really haven't seen much of a difference since he's been in office. in fact, he's cracked down on medical marijuana facilities in california and now colorado when he promised he wouldn't. >> do you think ultimately your greatest role, though, may be that of spoiler and if so, from whom do you think you would siphon off the most votes sm once we're through the primaries, would this be the president or the gop candidate? >> really, i think it takes from both parties. it takes from those democrats that are really -- aren't all that happy about the fact that we shouldn't be engaged in these foreign entanglements that we continue to be engaged in. when you talk about marijuana, when you talk about gay marriage equality, you know, don't ask don't tell. i thought that was going to be something that would be repealed

immediately. national weather service a no bra -- that was a no brainer when he looked at afghanistan. i had to believe that we were pulling out of afghanistan but we doubled down. i don't know as it doesn't take more from democrats than it does republicans and keeping in mind, the biggest growing segment of the american politics are independents and those that decline to state. so these are very different times and they're different times because i think we're on the verge of a monetary collapse unless we balance the federal budget. >> gary johnson, weighing in on all of this. presidential candidate for the libertarian party. thanks for joining me. >> alex, thank you very much for having me on. >> you're welcome. daniel radcliffe was the guest host on saturday night live last night. daniel was great. we loved weekend update with seth myers as host. here's your one-minute play bak. >> mitt romney on tuesday won new hampshire primary. it's the people saying like we

like you half as much as a combination of all the other guys. despite his win, republicans are having trouble getting excited about romney as evidenced by the way he was listed on the ballot. [ laughter ] after a strong second place finish in the new hampshire primary on tuesday, ron paul greeted supporters by walking out on stage to the darth vader theme from star wars. i guess because his aides couldn't find the cassette that had this. [ circus music ] >> according to a new survey, 56% of mormons believe the u.s. is ready for a mormons president. hey not bad, said the wrong mormon. rest may seem like the stuff of fairy tales. but if you take away the faces on the trees... take away the pixie dust. take away the singing animals, and the storybook narrator... [ man ] you're left with more electric trucks. more recycled shipping materials... and a growing number of lower emissions planes...

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at this hour, they're working on pulling two bodies out of the ship which preliminary reports indicate that those folks definitely died. three people have been rescued today, including a crew member airlifted from the ship this morning. prosecutors are now investigating the captain for abandoning the ship. meantime, those who survived are reacting emotionally to their terrifying ordeal. >> i honestly, did not have a true understanding of how bad it was until we were on the lifeboat, and looked back and saw that the first row of windows underwater and people screaming that couldn't get on a lifeboat. still on boat. that's when we realized how much it was really tilting. >> blake miller's traveling companion echoed the sentiments saying he was thankful for the fellow travelers. >> the only thing that worked for us was the passengers.

you know, it's amazing that none of us spoke the same language but we knew how to take care of each other. but the crew couldn't figure that out. >> those accounts keep pouring in. joining me on the phone is patrick, who was honeymooning on the ship when disaster struck. i'm glad you're able to seek speak with us about this. first of all, how are you and your wife? >> we're doing fine right now. >> you're doing okay? >> excuse my voice. i just -- i had a cold and fever. >> i'll bet you did. would that come as a result of being out in frigid waters? tell me how you got off the ship. >> first things first, it was around 9:00 p.m., i think, when we were watching the magic show and we heard this rattling sound. thinking it was part of the show we stayed there for a few minutes. the magician, i saw him running out the theater and everybody started panicking and running for their life jackets. so we got our life jackets on

our room and the first lifeboat that we were in, they were lowering it down, it hit the railing, the side railing of the floor because it was tilted already. and then we got out of there because this lifeboat is not going anywhere. the second lifeboat that they lowered down, it was the same thing. the crew did not know what they were doing. they were trying but they really didn't know what they were doing. we didn't have any other options. we went to the other side of the ship that was already sinking because they have raft there. so we got into the raft, the raft was full of people. i think it's around 50 to 60 that was inside the raft. when we got inside the raft, the water was all the way up to our next. i said we have to get out of here again. we swam out of there to get to the nearest island. >> so you literally had to swim to shore. how many other people were doing that? >> there was a lot of people.

hundred of people. it was really dark. >> how cold was that water, patrick? >> i really didn't felt the cold until i got out of the water because it was really freezing cold. it was cold. >> yeah, i imagine your adrenaline is pumping. were you able to be with your wife all the time? did you ever lose sight of her? >> the only time i lost sight of her -- we were in the water. we got separated in the water. the whole time i was with her. >> you got separated in the water. by the time you get to shore, patrick, i mean, are a lot of people just kind of climbing on to rocks and trying to get themselves out of the water? there were literally hundred of people in the water with you? >> there was a lot of -- there was hundreds of people. the only thing that i was really mad about is because the crew should have lowered the lifeboats earlier so a lot of

people would have -- didn't have to swim to the shore. >> yeah. >> it would have been been better if they lowered it a little bit earlier. we were waiting for an announcement from the captain. there was no announcement. when i was telling the crew to lower the lifeboat now because i saw lifeboat already on the other side of the ship that was already lowered down. it was already on the water. >> did you -- >> that's when they started trying to lower the lifeboat. >> patrick, did you ever hear over loud speakers or anything, were there updates or literally was it passengers that worked with the able bodied crew members to get you guys off? or was it all passengers in you had to use common sense and fend for yourself? >> that's what we were doing. the thing is, the announcement was in a different language. we can't understand what they're saying. >> how many -- did you see any other americans on board? i mean, can you give me an idea of how many different languages

were being spoken? that's a good point you make. >> i think there's four or five languages there. the only americans that i saw that was with us in the first lifeboat were eight of us i think. there were more than 60 of us in the lifeboat. i told them, when i saw the lifeboat when they lowered it down and it was tilted. i told my wivlet get out of here. we got on top of the lifeboat and it was the same thing on the next thing. i asked the crew members, do you know what you're doing. they answered yes. it seemed like they don't. it was the same thing that happened. >> certainly they weren't inspiring any confidence new. patrick, i'm so glad you're able to speak with us. it's one hell of a way to start a marriage. it's going to go up from here. i'm glad you and your wife are safe and can take some time to try to get over this and move forward. patrick, thank you so much for your time. >> thank you. let's go now to politics and strategy talk.

with less nan a week to go until the south carolina primary, a major state newspaper endorsed jon huntsman for president. it's the state and it praises his conservatism and foreign policy know how. what makes him attractive are the essential values that drive his candidacy. honor and old-fashioned decency and pragmatism. michael steele of msnbc analyst and former chairman of the republican national committee and presidential candidate howard dean joins us. >> good morning. >> good morning. >> let's talk about the poems. first, michael with you. huntsman is the back of the pack. he's got 1% of the vote. >> yes. >> what about this endorsement? what's the point? >> the good point for huntsman for sure. i think -- i took note of what the passage you just read and have said for some time that huntsman, when you look at his record, you look at what he did as governor, it's very much in

line with the conservative tradition of the gop. and i think that a lot more people, if they look closer at his record, would see that. clearly, had paper did and endorsed him. the problem for huntsman has always been his ability to convey what that paper has said and for people to see that and hear if from him. hopefully, this will spark a little bit of juice, make this race a little more interesting leading up to saturday's primary. but i think it's a good hit for him. a good bump. it doesn't change the numbers right now. we'll see how the effect of this rolls out. >> there's an oddity on the trail this week. i want to talk about this. mitt romney gave some cash, went into his pocket, pulled out a wad of cash and gave it to a jobless woman who greeted him on a rope line. the woman described this incident. let's hear from her. >> it was kind to me. he held on to me and made governor hailey and them come

see about me. at -- he started doing everything and made all the -- asked are they really helping me to find a job. >> okay. so she didn't really reflect all the details that happened to her. basically he pulled out a wad of cash, governor dean, 50 to 60 bucks. you ran for president. does this happen to you as you're meeting people? you're on the rope line there. do they ask you for money? >> no. this is usually they give you money. one of the most touching things that happened to me is a woman on disability gave me $50 in quarters. she had been saving for five years for "something that really mattered." it's usually the other way around. i find it ironic. this is typical of what happens with republican candidates, jerry ford was this way. they have a voting record that puts people out of jobs and then -- but they're decent people. they reach into their pocket because they want to help if you're in trouble. the problem was they don't connect with how government works. as far as huntsman goes, he's in

the wrong party. that's his problem. he's a fundamentally decent guy. you don't see -- hear from him any of the hate speech or the anger or the anti-african-american stuff from santorum or the anti-immigrant stuff of romney. i i i think he would be the most formidable candidate we could face on the democrat side because he could bring america back together again. i'm sorry for the country that the republicans won't nominate him. i think it would be a very good thing for the country. >> it's interesting narrative you put out there. i have to say having spoken with all three of his daughters, i asked hem independently, give me a word that describes your father. each one of them said honor. truth, decency, that's the kind of thing talked about in the state newspaper. we'll see if that has anything to play out. i got to get back to this cash thing with you michael and mitt romney giving out cash. it feels a little uncomfortable. >> yeah. >> because he's got so much money. he pulls in, gives out 50, 60 buck. how do you read that?

a lot of people don't hand out that kind of cash to a relative stranger. >> i kind of agree with howard on that one. it's a little bit odd to have that scenario unfold the way it did. i mean, i think you can express your compassion and i would obviously disagree with howard about the compassionate qualities of democrat policies versus republican policies. but i think in that moment, you know, it's enough to express concern and to say how you want to help. i think the handing over of cash as part of that conversation takes to a point that makes people feel a little bit uncomfortable because no one understands the context. it doesn't make sense. >> i know totally. the next person in line is what about me? where is my cash? >> right. my story is just as tough as hers, right? let's get to martin luther king, jr. day with newt gingrich having gone to an african-american church and ep faced pretty sharp questions.

here's one about the president. >> do you still think that he is a food stamp president when he was the first and the president of his class, law class in harvard? how can you say that? >> because -- i say that because more americans today are on food stamps than any other time in american history. >> you know, guys, the crowd was pretty tough on gingrich. michael, did he gain anything politically by engaging the crowd at this church? >> i don't know if he gained anything politically. but i think it's something republican candidates an the republican party needs to do. you've got to go into the community. yeah, you're going to take the shots up side the head because they're genuine legitimate concerns that african-american, hispanics have about the gop. there are also fairytales about the party that you can begin to dispel to put in the proper context, why you're running. i applaud the speaker for doing that, going in, taking the tough questions, take true to his position and having that

discussion. you can disagree with him. but it's important to be there to show that you're willing to engage. >> you know, howard, he also talked about this not being necessarily good conversation for his own candidacy, but he said for the party in general, to have discussion in general and get this out there. do you at least applaud him for that? >> i agree. i agree with michael. i applaud him for doing this. we used to call this the 50-state strategy. you go everywhere and you talk to people who don't agree with you. how are you going to reach out to them ultimately, the longest journey begins with a single step. if you don't take that step, you're never going to get african-american voters to vote for a republican. so have this dialog. it's good for the country and good for the republicans. i think gingrich deserves a lot of credit for doing that, even though he knew he would get well-deserved heat. >> i was going to say quickly, under my chairmanship i followed howard's leadership there and did a 50-state strategy.

we both got it up side our heads from our parties for doing it. but we were right in doing it. you got to show up in all 50 states and engage every american if you want to win. >> all right. on that note, since you're singing the same tune, we'll wrap this up. all right, you guys. michael steele and howard dean, many thanks. >> chuck todd on why we won't see mitt romney wearing wing tip shoes to the beach any time soon. that's still coming up on office politics on "weekends with alex witt." 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. from spending time together, to spending your lives together, chevy runs deep.

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i think. would you guys look into it? because i didn't know. you know, i had never had to deal with something like that. i didn't feel adequate. >> joining me now is the washington post sally jenkins. good morning, sally. >> good morning. >> why do you think joe paterno is at a loss about what he should do about reporting the allegations. there are rules about that. i find it somewhat period that he said he didn't feel adequate. >> well, i mean, that's the question for joe paterno. it's a tough question. it's a question that he tried to answer, struggled to answer. you know, his portrait of himself is of an old-world gentleman who was out of his depth on this subject and who did what was legally required of him which was to pass it on to his superiors who he said he hoped were better equipped to deal with it. people have to make up their own minds about whether they find that believable. >> he says he did not know anything about the previous allegations around sandusky that

it was a complete surprise to him. >> yes. >> did you find that credible? >> it's not really my place in this story to decide whether he's credible or not. it was my job to present what he says. other people have to make up their minds about that. you know, i think that it's conceivable. the tough question for joe pater paterno, which i tried to ask him point-blank was, did you know about a police report in 1998 that jerry sandusky had molested a boy. his answer pointe blank was no, i had no inkling. those were his words. people have to hear that and decide whether they find it credible. i find it conceivable personally. his explanation was that he did not have a close relationship with jerry sandusky that they were not social friends. they were colleagues. he described their personal relationship as professional, not social. >> okay. what about the statement that was issued last night by the attorney who says jerry sandusky

was dismayed at coach paterno's dismissal. but the statement says there were serious questions about what mike mcqueary told the individuals in 2002 or was it 2001? look at the sandusky legal strategy, why are they talking about this in so much detail before the trial? >> jerry sandusky's legal strategy has been baffling to pretty much everybody. he maintains his innocence. mike mcqueary has not been, i think, unclear about what he said in 2002 in testimony both in the grand jury and in the preliminary hearing. he's been very, i think, clear about what he told tim curley and gary schultz. there's dispute about exactly how graphic he was with them. mcqueary has been consistent about what he told joe paterno. he said he was not specific with paterno out of deference to his age and couldn't bring him

graphic details. what mike mcqueary said in the preliminary hearing when he was questioned ond the stand, ma'am x you don't talk about those things to joe paterno. >> paterno said in hindsight, he wishes he had done more. was he specific at all what he thinks he might have done? >> what he said was, i should have said ba what about the boy, what about the coach? what he did not do was follow-up with gary schultz, the vice president of the university who was in charge of campus police. paterno fulfilled his legal obligation when he reported this, mike mcqueary accusation to his superiors. gary schultz and tim curley. what he did not do then was ask questions later. and when you say, why didn't you follow-up, i mean, again, i asked him point-blank, why did you not follow-up once you had done that. he said because he didn't want to interfere in a university procedure. he didn't want to be seen as, you know, advocating for jerry sandusky or not advocating for

sandusky. he wanted the university procedure to take its course. again, you have to make up your mind about whether you accept that answer from joe paterno. >> it's got a lot of column space in the washington post. it's warranted. thank you for joining us sally jenkins. >> thank you for having me. reading the fine print when it comes to the economy. we'll talk about president obama versus mitt romney on jobs, taxes and debt, that is next on "weekends with alex witt". and it hasn't been going exactly as planned. cut. cut! [ monica ] i thought we'd be on location for 3 days -- it's been 3 weeks. so i had to pick up some more things. good thing i've got the citi simplicity card. i don't get hit with a fee if i'm late with a payment... which is good because on this job, no! bigger! [ monica ] i may not be home for a while. [ male announcer ] the new citi simplicity card. no late fees. no penalty rate. no worries.

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take a look at the week on wall street. going to be a short trading week. the markets will be closed monday to observe the martin luther king, jr. holiday. two reports due out on inflation. both expected to show the prices may still be rising but more slowly. the european debt crisis weighed heavily on jpmorgan's earnings. we'll see how the biggest banks did last quarter as b of a and goldman sachs report this week. after movie fans get a fix

on the golden globes on nbc, the sundance film festival kicks off thursday in utah. the search for the missing in the cruise ship disaster in italy. a live report in just minutes. . ♪ one coat does double duty. ♪ and fits our budget perfectly. so there's a brand-new room right where the old one used to be. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. new glidden duo paint plus primer only at the home depot and starting at only $24.97 a gallon.

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thanks, mom. i just want to get my car back. [ female announcer ] discover what's next in your life. get this free travel bag when you join at aarp.org/jointoday. tragedy in tuscany. the cruise liner katz fi. more survivors emerge from the ship while shocking allegations against the captain come to light. we have a live report. a big nod for one of the also rounds from the religious right of romney rejection, a santorum blessing. plus a handshake and a handout. why did a candidate give this woman cash at a campaign rally? >> trying little things. not wearing a tie. he wears jeans. he is trying those little things to try to sort of not look like the guy who might wear continuing tips on the beach. >> in office politics, chuck todd on what makes mitt romney a better candidate in his second go around. good morning everyone. welcome to "weekends with alex

witt." it's just past 11 a.m. in the east, 8:00 a.m. in the west. more news from the horrific shipwreck. they have found two more bodies in the hull of the costa concordia. this less than a day after it struck a rocky sandbar. michelle kosinski is there with the latest from there. good morning to you, michelle. >> reporter: hi alex. we saw some of the pictures now coming through of divers doing their work today for a second full day. trying to get to people inside. they were breaking windows and apparently while they were doing that, they found the bodies of two more passengers. that would bring the confirmed total of deaths now to five. earlier today, in fact about four hours ago, we saw a men rescued from the ship after being trapped inside for more than 36 hours. that's almost as tough to imagine as some of the scenes described by passengers while this was going on.

the only good newsreel i was that today the number of people thought to be missing, i mean, those who are still unaccounted for did drop significantly, originally it was between 50 and 70. today officials are saying it's around 17 unconfirmed. don't know where they are. it's possible that they just left. people were being taken to shore in small boats. some of them kind of went on their way from there. you can understand why it was incredibly difficult in those first hours to figure out where everyone is. and that's continuing now. i mean, this happened friday night, alex. the most recent rescue was a couple of hours ago. >> well, michelle, leave some hope for those who may still be trapped. can you imagine being trapped in the hull of the ship, the hypothermia and waiting for others to get to you. it's an extraordinary thing that you're witnessing. thank you for the latest there from italy, michelle kosinski. there is a lot happening on the campaign trail this morning with gop presidential candidates kicking off a frantic week.

there's six days to go until the south carolina primary. newt gingrich appeared on "meet the press" this morning saying he stands a better chance against president obama than mitt romney. >> romney care versus obama care, tax increases in massachusetts. 47th worst record of creating jobs in massachusetts. i think it's much harder for romney to drop a sharp contrast than it would be for me. >> last night, gingrich answered some tough questions during an appearance at a predominantly african-american church in columbia, south carolina. he was asked to clarify a past statement he made about students work as janitors at their school. >> what i said was in the poorest neighborhoods, if we could find a way to help young people earn some money, we might actually be able to keep the dropout rate down and get people an incentive to come to school. my goal is to say young people who start early, who get a job, who earn a little bit of money, they can help their family, they can help themselves, they learn

the work habit. >> well, the pro gingrich super pac hine the controversial film about his tenure at bain capital. says it will remove inaccuracies from the film. romney is focusing on president obama. he unleashed new attacks in sumter. >> he likes to say he has had extensive experience working alongside hard working americans. now you listen to the words carefully. he's had experience working alongside hard working americans. it helps to have actually been a hard working american in a hard working american job. >> nascar legend bobby allison joined the romneys on stage along with nikki haley. a potential boost for rick santorum's campaign during a meeting in texas this weekend. a majority vote today back santorum if a bid to stop romney's momentum. jon huntsman picked up an

endorsement from the south carolina paper, "the state." let's head to myrtle beach, south carolina. john mott joining us. we have two of the candidates taking part in a prayer breakfast where you are this morning. what's that all about? >> hey there, alec. they wrapped up that prayer breakfast. the faith and freedom coalition breakfast about 20 minutes ago. rick santorum and rick perry speaking to the crowd. they're trying to court the conservative vote here. a lot of questions about whether it's too late for rick santorum who got the endorsement from the majority of the evangelical leaders meeting in houston yesterday. he won in iowa with the strong evangelical christian support there. new hampshire was not so kind to him. he's not polling as well as he did in iowa. some people are beginning to say it may be too late because a lot of folks are thinking about viability. mitt romney is showing himself to be a viable candidate. he's the most organized in this field and so some south carolinians are saying, maybe they'll put their social issues to the side and support the guy who looks like he's going to be

the best candidate to go on to face president obama in the fall. rick perry for his part, he's made quite the blooper reel. he said on the trail that he was going to balance the budget in 2010 which of course is in the rearview mirror. this morning at this breakfast, he took note of some of his gaffs on the trail. take a listen. >> moses tried to talk god out of making him go lead the people. he wasn't a good public speaker. from time to time, i can relate to that. [ laughter ] god used him anyway. >> all right. what's going to happen here in south carolina. a lot of folks believe that this is the state where you turn the corner in the presidential campaigns. south carolina has put up the republican nominee in every election since 1980. it seems to reason that the person who wins here will eventually win the nomination. alex? >> ron mott, thank you very much for that live report. no matter how many attacks

mitt romney sustains over his tenure at bain capital, there's one group that sees his time as a plus. former employees and employees there. a new report finds people connected to bain have given more than $2.7 million to romney's campaign and to the super pac's that support him. dave leventhal reporter, good morning to you. >> good morning to you, alex. >> in the interest of full disclosure, bain capital and nbc universal, we're each part owners of the weather channel. with that said, you wrote about this financial report on politico. all this donation from former bain employees and current ones >> what the report said is exactly that. people associated with bain capital in one form or another had given more money to mitt romney or committees that were associated with mitt romney more so than any other different company or organization ever and this goes back to his time as a governor in massachusetts and certainly goes up now to his time running for president.

but what it does show is that candidates oftentimes have a very, very close political association and a financial association with the people who they worked with in the private sector or in a past life. >> what do we know about, though, employees of bain, both current and former who might have given to the super pac committees. that's supposed to be anonymous, right? give me a super pac 101. is that right? >> the super pac 101 is that these are new types of committees that can raise and spend unlimited sums of money. they have not ex i..ed prior to this presidential election, at least within presidential elections. we're really seeing a flourishing of these types of organizations supporting mitt romney but supporting all of the other presidential candidates in their own right too. and it really gives these candidates a brand new weapon. even though the super pacs cannot directly coordinate with the candidates themselves, we've had people running some of the super pacs say we take our cues from the candidates, we listen to them in the media. it's like a wink, wink, nod, nod

situation. then we go up and can spend in some cases millions upon millions of dollars on the air, tv, radio. one super pac for ron paul spent millions of dollars on facebook and google ads. so this is really a brand new campaign finance landscape that we're experiencing right now. this is not a second run. this is the first run for super pacs. >> i'm curious as to how much you find this surprising in even those who suggest it's un-american. you look at sheldon adelson giving $5 million to newt gingrich. so he could build that 28-minute film about going after mitt romney and bain capital there. there are a lot of people having trouble getting their head around the fact that one man can have such profound influence. >> if you are a billionaire and you simply want to donate 5, 10 or more million dollars to your candidate of choice, you have the ability to do so to a

committee and then that committee, in turn, can affect tifl say whatever it wants. >> doesn't that give adelson a stronger voice than yours or mine or anybody in the studio here? that one vote will carry more weight with it. >> that's certainly one argument. a lot of reformers are making that point time and time again. saying this gives outside influence to people who have money. that's kind of un-american. but the counter point to this, this is not unique to mitt romney or newt gingrich. democrats and republicans are doing this. there's a super pac that's supporting barack obama and other democrats run by former aides of barack obama. they're effectively doing the same thing. everyone is doing it. >> you have not gotten to the one by stephen colbert. fls a super pac there that -- there's an ad there. an anti-romney ad being aired. play this one. >> as head of bain capitol, he bought companies, carved them up and got rid of what he couldn't

use. if mitt romney really believes. >> corporations are people, my friend. >> then mitt romney is a serial killer. he's mitt the ripper. >> really, do you think this is what the supreme court envisioned with the citizens united decision? >> far be it for me to get into the minds of supreme court justice. stephen colbert has brought the term political action committee and super pac and all the rest to the forefront of the american people. be you probably know the definition of all these different political groups and i'll tell you, the satire, the political parody is second to none. >> it is awesome. that's the truth right there. dave leventhal, thank you so much for joining us. >> thank you, alec. new this morning on meet the press, senate majority leader harry reid is previewing the agenda for congress in 2012. >> the number one goal and i hope the republicans have learned a lesson, has extending

the payroll tax. that was a disaster for them. can you imagine republicans as reported in the wall street journal were opposed to lowering ta taxes? i would hope they understand that everything doesn't have to be fight. >> no fighting in congress in 2012. time will tell on that one. you can watch david dpregry's interrue with senator reid and when meet the press reairs on msnbc at 2:00 eastern time. still ahead, the obama campaign blueprint for success in november. what's in the works with that? also coming up, more anger in iran over the killing of a nuclear scientist there. new claims that the u.s. had a hand in it. remembering the dream, this on the eve of the martin luther king, jr. holiday. new concerns about the future for minorities in in country. this is an rc robotic claw. country. n country.

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happy birthday to you ♪ happy birthday to you ♪ >> this was a big birthday bash for the champ. family and friends gathering in louisville, kentucky, last night to celebrate muhammad ali's 70th birthday. tuesday is actually the milestone. but yesterday's private party was the first of five to be held over the next few months. way to go. as the obama campaign ramps up to a possible faceoff with mitt romney in the general election, there's a new question about what economic policies each man brings to the table. here now to parse through the differences is rick newman, chief correspondent for worlt rorpd. >> hi alex. lots of rhetoric flying around about mitt romney.

you said that romney isn't the bomb thrower that republicans are making him out to be. why? >> because his policies are fairly centrist. he's an -- we haven't had a lot of talk about that. we've heard about the political rhetoric. romney is a traditional republican. he wants to cut taxes somewhat. he doesn't want to throw out the entire tax code for example. he wants to streamline regulations. he doesn't want to completely kill the epa or the fda and some of the other things we've heard like that. so i probably -- if romney does become the nominee, we'll hear more substance about what would each of these guys, romney and obama, do to create jobs and make the economy grow. >> we'll get into some of the details. you put in a lot of different things. we've chosen four. the first one is job kree aig. how do they differ there and who has the right approach? >> i don't think there's any surprises about how they differ on job creation. romney basically says we need to cut taxes on corporations and people both.

that will stimulate spending, reduce regulation and that will make the economy grow and prosperity returns for everybody. we know obama's views on this. he wants more direct government involvement. federal spending to hire teachers and things like that. temporary tax breaks but he's not said so much about permanent tax cuts, tax breaks. obama interestingly, has signaled that he would consider a lower corporate income -- excuse me corporate tax rate. he hasn't said what the tax rate would be. romney says let's lower it from 35 to 25%. obama says maybe we could lower it a bit as long as we get rid of loopholes. >> do you see them running parallel when it comes to taxes? >> romney has a challenge to differentiate himself from president obama once it's into the general election. what he's doing now is differentiating himself from the other republican candidates. but if he is the nominee, he has to work hard to say i'm quite different from president obama. i think some of the more

conservative people running actually have a point when they say he's a lot more similar than obama than newt gingrich, for instance. >> give me the look at cutting federal spending. where do they each stand on that and whom do you think has the better approach, more effective? >> well, romney favors the cut cap and balance approach, which is a -- has now become kind of a republican san by. he wants a balanced judge et naemd amendment. the question is how much of president obama's heart is it in it. he did propose a program for cutting government spending more than we saw in that deal that was reached over the summer. neither one has been real specific about this because, when you really get into cutting government spending, you really are talking about medicare and social security. that's where the money is and defense. little discretionary programs will never add up to very much. you have to talk about the sacred cows when you get into that. >> real quick, things like the president saying he's trying to coalesce six different government agencies into one

with the commerce department being one of them. does that save a bunch of money? >> no, it doesn't. it gives him maybe a little bit of credibility. he can say look, i started to streamline government to make it more effective. that's clearly a republican priority that he's trying to seize. i think we'll see more of that from obama too. he's also talking about he's the tax cutter. he's backing republicans into this position where he's stealing their issues. >> gee, you think a general election is looming or what? >> i wonder. >> rick newman, thank you so much. >> thanks for having me. >> mitt romney gives an unemployed woman a handout on the campaign trail. the big three will weigh in on whether that was appropriate. the martin luther king memorial in washington, we'll talk about that when we come back on "weekends with alex witt." [ male announcer ] wouldn't it be cool if you took the top down on a crossover? if there were buttons for this?

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king, jr. this year the new memorial in washington will be open to visit and remember his legacy. jeff johnson joins us with a good sunday morning to you, jeff. as we all prepare to honor dr. martin luther king, jr., a quote on his memorial in d.c. is going to be changed following complaints the statement was inscribed out of its original context. i was a drum major for justice, peace and righteousness. but advocates complain the quote makes him appear self-righteous or arrogant. what he really said was this quote. if you want to say that i was a drum major, say that i was a drum major for justice, say that i was a drum major for peace. i was a drum major for righteousness and all of the other shallow things will not matter. what are your thoughts on this change? >> it's accurate. this was from his drum major instinct speech which was really an opportunity for king to talk about the kind of leadership that not just black america needed but america needed. he was very keen on talking

about he fed -- he worked for those that did not have. he even talked about the fact that his degrees didn't matter. all the awards didn't matter. the fact that the nobel peace prize that he received didn't matter. but how he served is how he wanted to be remembered. it's historically accurate. >> okay. how about this new study out there. this is the new ninth annual state of the dream report in which it shows this year, minorities make up almost of half of u.s. residents. by 2030, a majority of residents will be minorities. looking into 2042, 30 years from now, minorities will be a majority of the american population. jeff, this study raises serious concerns predicting that economic problems for minorities will get worse if the size of government is cut. what are your thoughts on that? >> well, i mean, we have to understand there are a large number of people of color that work for the government. if you're looking at that alone, so many of the government jobs that people are losing have been lost by people of color.

you're also talking about how, through this debate between conservatives and progress sifs, how is government going to effectively move forward in providing to those that are part of the 99%, the services that they need to be able to kind of bridge the wealth gap to be able to have opportunity, to be able to have the dream of home ownership, to be able to go on to college. even if you look at the unemployment rates, the unemployment rates have been double digit for african-americans. not in the last four years, but since 1972. and so i think these are the questions we continue to talk about over and over again. but solutions will be essential if the numbers about population are going to be true. >> what about the racial wealth gap, do you think that could grow wider as the minority population grows? >> it's going to grow wider if we don't see increased opportunity. i don't think it's a question. i think it's a certainty unless we see certain things clearly

change. >> how do you think dr. king would interpret these differences in america now as to when he was alive? >> well, i think the better question is how would we interpret them? i think dr. king wag clear about being aggressive in addressing inee qualities of all people. at the time of his death, he was dealing with the poor people's campaign, which is a campaign we could use right now. if you talk to those that are occupiers, regardless of where they are, they in many cases are the legacy of what king was fighting for, pushing for those that don't vi. i think he would be frustrated with the continued inequality, not just for african-americans but for a vast population of people in america. >> okay. grit owe.com, jeff johnson good to see you. >> thanks, a.m. ex. the battle for south carolina is being waged on television. so far the pac committees or the candidates have spent almost $11.5 million in the state. the romney super pac, restore our future tops all the spenders

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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? tensions with iran have escalated amid iranian fears of secrets and spy. students rallied in tehran protesting the killing of a nuclear scientist. iran claims that the u.s. and israel were involved. the u.s. denies that. joining me from washington is reporter famed for covering hugh, elizabeth hugh miller. nice to see you. >> good morning. good to see you. >> you reported this week that the u.s. warned iran through secret channels about any sort of threat to close the strait of hormuz. what did you learn about that? >> well, pretty much what we learned we put in the new york times. we would have liked to have learned more. we did learn from multiple

sources in the government there is a back channel to the iranian supreme leader. we don't know exactly who is conveying the message, but we were certain that there are such messages being conveyed and people say, well, obviously these messages are being conveyed publicly. why bother privately. this is to underscore the concern the u.s. has about this. sometimes countries make public statements and people don't take them seriously. in this case, they're saying this is ear yus. >> elisabeth, did you get a sense of the efficacy of the secret channel communications. i did speak on the air with p.j. crowley, former state department spokesman. he said he doesn't put a lot of stock in them. >> there has been a long time communication through the swiss government, between the u.s. and the iranian government. those are diplomatic. the reporters and i are, tom shank and eric schmidt, we all worked on the story, indications were given to us this was not the usual back channel through

swiss. it was something else. and it comes at a time, of course, when there's enormous tension over the strait. we have the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, general dempsey that iran has the capability of closing the strait if it goes that far. >> of course, then we have to intervene in a military fashion to get it reopened. nobody wants to go there. of course, we were talking yesterday as well about the tensions between the u.s. and potentially israel over all this because when i asked who would be capable of pulling this off of literally having this kind of assassination inside of iran, well, nobody is attributing for certain, maybe mossad. >> i can't help you on that either. the u.s. government as you've said has completely denied any kind of involvement in this. but they're very interested targeted killings, obviously. the u.s. government is staying as far away as possible. i should point out, however, that martin dempsey, the

chairman of the joint chiefs is going to israel. that was news this morning. he's going at an interesting time. there were joint military exercises planned for vaguely this spring. those have been delayed. they announced that this more than. all of this is very interesting in context of what's happening right now. >> yeah. it certainly is. elisabeth bum miller thank you for joining us. there's new reaction following a vote of conservative and evangelical leaders in texas who support rick santorum. here's what rick perry is saying about it. >> i understand how this process works. it's not organizations that elect. it's the people. we're going directly to the people and sharing with them our story. again, if you're worried about getting your feelings hurt, you might not want to get in the business of politics. >> joining me now is dawson with the south carolina armor of

campaign. kay ten good to see you again. >> auto good morning, alex. thanks for joining us. i'm curious about your reaction having heard from rick perry there. your reaction to the evangelical leaders deciding to support rick santorum. >> i would say this, alec. it's no longer a monolithic vote like when pat robertson and the pro life community gathered together and supported one candidate. it wouldn't be fair to say that's an organized group of voters that are going to do voter guides like in the '80s. it's an important part, important again christians, evangelicals and south carolina along with the huge military veteran vote that john mccain gathered to win the nomination last time were sort of factors. it's getting real sport i down here. the ads are up, the welcome mat is out from south carolina from the chamber of commerce an the republican party. over 400 journalists are here x, alex, most of your friends and colleagues. it's going to be a real fight

this week. >> i can bet. flr a couple of debates this week. rick perry will be attending them. how is he preparing for this? do you see this, katon getting to the end here if he does not succeed in the vote? >> alex, i don't know. that's up to governor perry. he's a fine man with a distinguished record. right now the polls are ebing and flowing. i think what we'll see is the polls will be thrown out the window. they were four years ago when john mccain captured the nomination here and won in a very tight race with governor huckabee. i don't see the heat in this election that i saw in the john mccain george bush runup which had 567,000 voters in it. we'll see what this week brings us. they're all fine men. i think that you're looking to comparison, when you -- when the ad all the ads facing south carolina as you said earlier is already gone and bought and the super pacs certainly have made a big impact, alex. >> they absolutely have. i'm curious if you are surprised

by the mitt romney standing there and do you think it's because south carolinians are like yep, we're totally behind this guy, we get him he thinks like us. or because of his air of inevitability that has him ahead in the polls? >> i'll certainly give credit to his squad but right now he was -- he's inside an area of vulnerability right now. people are looking at his record and who he is. they're looking at the others and certainly there's a conservative bid here. south carolina republicans are probably some of the most conservative republicans in the country. it's the largest vote of the first three that's going to take place. one thing here, we're not a close primary state. even though only republicans come in our primaries, there's an opportunity for a lot of people to vote here. we'll see. i mean, newt gingrich is out there talking about issues. certainly rick perry is talking about things and one of the things that i've seen, alex, fascinating on the campaign trail, i've been on it about 16 days straight, is the amount of

people in the meetings that are out of work, alex. they're raising their hands. almost in a crowd of 400 people, just about every person raised their hands. i think we're on to something here. if republicans do not pay attention to people, these are republican crowds, veterans out of work, we will do it at our own peril. >> that's what it's all about, jobs, jobs and the economy. katon dawson, busy week ahead. thanks for yr tum. time for office politics. i went to washington to visit our own chuck todd, nbc news political director, host of msnbc, the daily rundown. he's been quite busy covering the race for president. i asked him about president obamas reelection prospects. >> do you feel that mitt romney is the greatest threat to barack obama in november? >> i do. i think they're the smartest campaign team. they'll run the better race. ultimately, i buy the idea that

if you had somebody who could connect more on a gut level ultimately, but could they put together the entire organization. there's something to be said about having gone through this once and mitt romney has learned a lot of lessons. >> how is he different this time around? >> well, i think he seems to be more capable of not being taken off message. that's what i've noticed for one thing. he seems to have grown a little bit of a thicker skin. i think last time he had a little more of a thin skin. and it's a less -- i always felt like last time his campaign blueprint was a power point -- he was following the instructions of a power point. >> like a businessman out there. >> he did, it's like okay, the way to beat -- it was like he tailored his campaign about being the alternative to mccain rather than tailoring his campaign on why he should be the next president of the you state. in this case, his entire campaign is about contrasting with president obama which ultimately means he gets -- he will have message discipline

throughout this. which is a smarter approach. you see that. he's trying little things, not wearing a tie. he wears jeans. he is trying those little things to try to sort of not look like the guy who might wear wing tips on the beach. >> wing tips on the beach. which is the best of the gop candidates in terms of getting you inside information and which is the worst? which campaign do you feel open -- >> there's only one actual traditional republican president, one and a half in the traditional sense that have full-fledged infrastructures. rick perry was one. it's a candidacy that feels like it's on its last legs. and mitt romney. those are the two campaigns that were building national campaigns. i'd say ron paul is the much insular of the -- frankly, that goes with the way they think. nobody in the media pays attention to them, nobody in the media cares. when the media cares, it's only -- there's a little bit -- i would say their experiences with all of the press corps in

iowa, new hampshire have loosened them up a little bit. the smaller in operation, the easier to penetrate. that's for sure. it's funny how gingrich, santorum, i mean, they're like -- they are fledgling campaigns. they would be considered small campaign staffs for campaigns. >> we know you love baseball and we know you love our l.a. dodgers. >> that's right. >> i was admiring your mental prowess of politics. we're going to talk about that, that's it. sorry. i get worried about you. how much time will you have to watch dodger games or go to baseball games during this season. >> it's hard. not only that, i have the baseball package directv simply because so i can hear vin skull i. >> he's the man. >> as a kid, i live in miami but brought up a dodger fan by my dad. we used to have to buy the afternoon paper to get the box score. you never got the west coast box score in the morning. we had an afternoon paper called

the miami news, which is like all afternoon papers eventually went out of business. that was the only way i could read dodger box scores to see if -- >> probably the biggest fans of you as evidenced by these pictures and these smiling adorable faces, your two kids. >> yeah. i know. >> it's going to be tough during the season. >> it was tough four years ago. my son was born in '07. so he didn't really realize it. now he's four, about to turn five in a couple months. my daughter is -- she didn't like me gone all the time before. but this time it's harder. i got both of them on me. now you're talking the both of them on the phone each night. when are you coming home? >> they watch you, right? >> yeah. but they're -- >> they don't understand what you're saying but they can look and see daddy. >> my daughter knows who the candidates are and all that stuff. they're not impressed. by the way, they're not impressed me being on tv. the only thing they're impressed on is nbc nightly news which

goes live at 6:30 is it's 7:00 here. sometimes i get home in time for when it's on and so my daughter will say wait a minute, you're here and you're there. the idea of tape, that impresses her. >> chuck todd, the magic of tape. by the way, i hope he got out there to take his daughter ice skating this weekend. that was the first in a long time. hope he got that done. you can all catch chuck's show, the daily run down every weekday morning at 9:00 a.m. eastern. you're watching "weekends with alex witt." me what i am t. our science teacher helped us build it. ♪ now i'm a geologist at chevron, and i get to help science teachers. it has four servo motors and a wireless microcontroller. over the last three years we've put nearly 100 million dollars into american education. that's thousands of kids learning to love science. ♪ isn't that cool? and that's pretty cool. ♪

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and consultant to romney in '08. hello gang. i'll begin with you crystal. ladies firstment. >> sure. >> we start with romney in south carolina. he gave cash to a woman who told him she had fallen on hard times. is this bizarre? what do you make of it? >> it is a bizarre thing to happen. it's typical romney. this guy might be winning the republican primary but he's spectacularly failing the beer test. this is reminiscent of his $10,000 bet gaffe. which under scores the fact that this is a rich guy out of touch. he has trouble relating to people. i think even if he is the republican nominee which looks like likely, this image of him which is john kerriesqukerriesque. is going to be difficult. >> the beiro owe sitting down to have a beer with. >> i know you talk a lot -- how unusual is for a candidate to

reach into his pocket and hand out 50, 60 bucks? >> this is nigh -- i've never seen ha before. it was a very unique moment. i would disagree with krystal a little bit. mitt romney is almost robotic. like a -- presidential cyborg. like he does everything perfectly. to me, this humanized him a little bit. it seemed like a normal thing to do. it was a lot of money it sounds like. it was mover a human thing to do for mitt romney. it may help him a little bit in that sense. >> wesley, how do you think south carolina voters will read this? >> listen, i agree with perry. he has always come across as slick, robotic, a little untrustworthy. he is so good look and well-spoken. anything that he does that shows a gaffe here and there, it makes him look more human. that's great for south carolina voters. that's the problem he had last time. there was something about him you couldn't trust. >> is that something you had

trouble with -- hang on a second, wesley. you worked for him four years ago. you used the word slick there. is that something you -- >> last time i'm telling you, it was like selling ribeyes to a vegetarian. it was very, very difficult. northeastern governors, flipflops, obama care. it all came together to have this kind of uh, i don't know about this guy kind of feeling. i think he is overcoming that this time. >> you are from the south, aren't you? the way you say that. anyway, let's turn to the president's plan to take on romney. perry, you wrote it is a three-pronged plan now. turn bane into pain and cast him as a flip-flopper and argue romney will pursue the politics of george w. bush. where is this coming from? why are these the pillars of the plan? >> these are the things they talked about for a while. what you are seeing in the last week or so, obama campaign is trying romney wants to make this an election about the president and unemployment. to say at the time president has been a failure. what the obama campaign wants to do is turn this into a choice and they are framing romney as a rich guy, capitalist, someone

who worked, laid off people at bain capital, versus obama, champion of the middle class. they want to turn it into a contrast debate. romney wants this a referendum about a president, high unemployment. that's a big contest we are seeing already even before the nomination process is even over. >> david axelrod said governor romney praised the policies that got us into the mess and wants to bo back to the policies. is this the more lasting argument that will be out there over bain? >> you know, it might have a better impact in the general election doesn't -- does here in south carolina in the primary. i will tell you one of my clients, state house, called and said i don't like the bane attacks. i will endorse him because of the bain attacks. two other state legitimate toors do the same thing. this will help romney more in south carolina than hurt him. >> we will take a quick break

and start up with you, crystal. ladies first, on the other side with your big three predictions right here on "weekends with alex witt." scott williams with a look at the sunday weekend weather forecast. colder hair arrived back to the northeast. we are looking at 29 degrees for a high in new york city. 24 in boston for your sunday. even some snow showers in the forecast for places like seattle and portland. keeping tabs on rain in south texas. slip-on's the way to go. more people do that, security would be like -- there's no charge for the bag. thanks. i know a quiet little place where we can get some work done. there's a three-prong plug. i have club passes. [ male announcer ] now there's a mileage card that offers special perks on united, like a free checked bag, united club passes, and priority boarding. thanks. ♪ okay. what's your secret? ♪ [ male announcer ] the new

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back now with the big three with perry and wesly and crystal. crystal, let's get a look at what you think will happen in south carolina and how fractured of a week it will be with the candidates running behind and nasty it may get. >> i'm going to put a couple of caveats in here because we have two debates this week. a lot of negative ads airing on tv. lots of time for candidates to make gaffes and say awkward things. barring anything crazy, i do think romney will take south carolina and pretty pretty much be a lock important nomination at that point. it will be ugly, though. >> do you think with democrats, real quick, that's a good thing, it allows them to hone in on the opponent? or would you rather it have been somebody else? >> i think that we would have liked to have seen a little bit long irv a fight. we always like to see them get a little bit bruised and bloodied. these bain attacks that have come out against romney, even as the republicans sort of disavow them and step away from them,

they are setting a narrative about mitt romney that will be very damaging and n a general election, even if it doesn't impact them that much in a republican primary? >> wesley, you are right there in south carolina. you tweeted that you feel no energy on the ground for newt gingrich. so give me a look ahead to post south carolina, who is in and out? >> i agree with crystal. you think after south carolina, this is a lock. i mean, i don't see why anybody would even stay in after south carolina if mitt romney takes the first three. i guess ron paul will stay in because he does have that different kind of base of supporters and donors. he can take to it the convention but if your name is not mitt romney you should drop out after south carolina. >> what do you think, give me your prediction what happens post south carolina with the candidates? >> i think that romney wins south carolina and as soon as -- my guess is santorum will actual flynn i shall in the top thee. he will keep going to florida along with paul. and gingrich and perry will probably be done after south carolina because of they will finish lower in the polls. >> okay. that's a wrap with you. this perry bacon talking with

us. wesley and crystal ball. we appreciate your time. you can stay with us. we have headline updates and breaking news as it happens here on msnbc. i'm alex witt. have your self-as great day and i will look for you again next weekend on "weekends with alex witt." make it a good one. [ male announcer ] don't have the hops for hoops with your buddies? lost your appetite for romance? and your mood is on its way down. you might not just be getting older. you might have a treatable condition called low testosterone or low t. millions of men, forty-five or older, may have low t. so talk to your doctor about low t. hey, michael! [ male announcer ] and step out of the shadows. hi! how are you? [ male announcer ] learn more at isitlowt.com. [ laughs ] hey! but you go in pieces. [ female announcer ] you can't pass mom's inspection with lots of pieces left behind. that's why there's charmin ultra strong. its diamondweave texture is soft and more durable so it holds up better. fewer pieces left behind.

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