i'm craig melvin in for tamron hall today. preparing a message for the middle class. "news nation" is following president obama before he delivers his third state of the union address tonight. the white house released this photo today. the president and his chief speech writer working on the speech. the white house says the president will outline a vision for the future of american manufacturing, energy and renewirenew ing american values. plus. >> we want an economy based on everyone doing their fair share and everybody playing by the same set of rules. >> congressional republicans are being critical. >> based on whap i read about the state of the union speech tonight, it sounds like we're going to see a re-run of what we heard over the last three years. more spending, higher taxes and more regulation. >> joining me now nationally

syndicated radio talk show host, michael smerconish. how much of tonight's speech can we expect to be about the union and about the campaign kickoff speech? >> i talked to a democratic congressman this morning who said this will be a campaign speech on a grand scale. it will have the trappings of what president's do every january, but the objective is going to be this president re-elected, draw lines with republicans that are favorable to him. he tried negotiating with them privately last year. the president shifted to a much more feisty approach. i think we will hear that tonight. >> picking up on what john said, we have seen several faces of the president. he triped compromise and went on the take for a while chris crossing the country calling congress a do nothing bunch.

which president do you think we need to see today? >> that's the message that sells to the key constituency. i would say the real core of who he is trying to reach are the 40 to 41% that gallup identified as the largest block of independents in the 60 or 70 years they have been polling. those are the folks the white house needs. the way they reach them is talk about income disparity in the way he put forth in that prior speech. >> you don't think this will be a speech aimed at suring up the base? >> i think there will be something in there for everybody. i think a great indicator is to look at the attendance list, those invited guests in the first lady's box. if you go through it, i think you can identify all the talking points we're about to hear. >> john, these specials are

usually opportunities for presidents to brag about what they have done over the past year. what will president obama highlight tonight? >> i think he will do less brag, althou although he'll talk about progress. i think he will talk about what he wants to do. how he wants to make the tax system fairer and that sort of thing. on michael's part a about the large group of independents, think about what independents have gone through over the last several years. 2008 they saw a very unpopular bush administration leave office. 2010, the economy was still in the dumps. they were feeling very pessimistic. they are not liking the results better. they are trying to look at this election as the tie breaker to

see which way are we going to go? neither of which have felt all that great. obama's got to try to make that a forward looking choice and play off the failures of the last two years rather than the difficulty of the first two. >> gop presidential candidate, mitt romney has already put out a rebuttal to the state of the union. let's listen and talk about what he said on the other side. >> what he's proposing is more of the same. more taxes, more spending, more regulation. all of this proposals involve big government and big price tags. >> what say you michael? >> there's nothing new in that. i think from john boehner and mitt romney and the other republicans, you're going to hear it's the same old, same old. i think the chord the president needs to strike is this is going to get better. he needs to instill some confidence. i believe the fundamentals of the economy are in bad shape.

john harwood knows that issue better than i. there's also an economic funk in the country. there's people that could put people back to work, but their looking for a sign. that's what he's got to deliver tonight. >> john, last question. can we expect to see the president look at members of congress in the eyes as he has often and can we expect him to continue this do nothing mantra? >> absolutely. i don't know if he will use those words, but i think you can expect him to look in the eye of members of congress and challenge them to be on the side of average people, which is where he says he is and not with the quote, millionaires and billionaires warren buffet secretary will be seen with him. he'll talk about the buffet rule and who announced he made $40 million of income, mitt romney. >> always a pleasure, gentlemen.

thank you for your time. >> thank you. as the president gears up for his critical speech, republican candidates are in a slug fest for the sunshine state. mitt romney and the super pac supporting him have poured $14 million into advertising in florida. his first negative ad striking gingrich went up last night. >> while florida families lost everything in the housing cris s crisis, newt gingrich cashed in. he was paid over 1$1.6 million. >> meanwhile, newt gingrich is threatening to pull out of anymore debates if the audience can't play ao long. last night the audience was asked to hold applause until the commercial breaks. that may have left him flustered. during the last two debates he seemed to feed off the cheers and standing ovations when he attacked moderators.

he said they were silenced because the media is quote, terrified. >> not going to allow that to happen. the media doesn't control free speech. people ought to be allowed to applause if they want to. it was almost silly. >> ron mott live on the phone from florida where a gingrich event is set to begin. good afternoon. >> reporter: hey there. newt gingrich is going to step out here. this is the kind of energy he wish he had last night at the debate. in south carolina there was a lot of response and it feeled his performances in those debates which a lot of folks on the ground say he was the clear winner in south carolina. last night, of course, the audience was limited to applauding into the television breaks and that was something he complained about. this morning he said, you have to learn to debate in all the

formats. the presidential debates don't allow audience participation either. t the governor firing back at him. the real housing mess is down here. about one out of every four foreclosures happen to be right here in the sunshine state and governor romney is going to hit the gingrich camp hard about the former speaker's relations with freddie mac. we'll see what he will say here on the stump today. >> all right. ron mott on the road with newt gingrich. thank you. the era of big government is over. >> will president obama take a page from president clinton's state of the union address?

also, why senator john carey showed up supporting two black eyes. we'll tell you about that. raging solar storm going on right now. we'll get details about the eruption. don't forget, you can join the "news nation" on facebook. we're at facebook.com/newsnation. shazi: seven years ago, i had this idea. to make baby food the way moms would. happybaby strives to make the best organic baby food. in a business like ours, personal connections are so important. we use our american express open gold card to further those connections. last year we took dozens of trips using membership rewards points to meet with farmers that grow our sweet potatoes and merchants that sell our product. vo: get the card built for business spending. call 1-800-now-open to find out how the gold card can serve your business. yoo-hoo. hello. it's water from the drinking fountain at the mall.

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we have live pictures in sarasota, florida. we're expecting newt gingrich to take the stage there. we are told some 2,000 people

are at that vent. lots of folks waving american flags. a slug fest going on in the sunshine state. newt gingrich, mitt romney within a few percentage points of each other. florida, the next epic battle in this ongoing republican presidential contest. want to bring in our "news nation" panel now. good afternoon to you. >> how are you? >> steve, let's start with you. what are the major reasons that many think newt gingrich did so well in south carolina. his performance where he went after the mainstream media, went after political correctness as well. spent a lot of time throwing red meat at the base.

last night he was far more reserved and polite. why the change in strategy be. >> let me answer the first part. in south carolina, what you saw is something that conservatives have lacked for a couple of decades, and that is a champion that will go on a national stage, reverse the politically correct premise of the media's questions, turn them around on them and use this as an opportunity to advance. this is something we haven't seen. after eight years of george w. bush assuming the position for the mainstream media and taking it from them. conservatives got tired. >> let's talk about the change in demeaner, last night versus south carolina. why such a change? >> i think the speaker wanted to let mitt romney punch himself out. you saw in the first ten minutes like buck shot, he just started

scattering attacks. some of them might have been more effective had he spent more time explaining them. there's almost no headlines about these attacks because this debate was so boring, that it didn't resonate with anybody. >> joel, newt gingrich is like the yankees and the red sox. you would be hard pressed to find somebody that doesn't have an opinion on him. what does newt gingrich have to do at this point to convince the masses that he can beat the president in a head to head race while maintaining those attributes that make newt newt? >> whatever the answer is, he didn't do it last night. he was much more docile and reserved. i saw him beating newt gingrich around like a pinata. if the target is the republican base, you want to keep doing those things that made you popular. that's taking the fight to

obama, taking the fight to the media. if he continues doing that, i think he will do well in the primary. whether or not it will work in the general election is much to be seen. >> how much advantage does he have when you start talking about the money? when you start talking about the machine on the ground there? is the advantage that mitt romney has, is that advantage insurmountable? >> i don't know that it's insur mou insurmountable. newt gingrich didn't just squeak out a win, he won in land slide. we have to get through florida first. he has a big cash advantage in florida as well. newt gingrich will have to do better in the future debates than he did last night in order to keep his momentum going. >> last night newt gingrich drew a line in the sand. he said he learned from south carolina. he said he will be more of a bulldog than he's been in the

past. one of his chief strategies will be to equity newt gingrich to freddie mac. in a place like florida when a quarter of the homes are in foreclosure, how concerned of you with that having an impact? >> as we have seen from mitt romney, is now 4 and 19 in elections. as we have seen consistently from mitt romney, he attacks people on the issues he's just as weak, if not weaker on. back in september his own newspaper ran a piece about him being involved in hundreds of, a small fortune in investments pertaining to fanny and freddie. i'm confident he will expose these things. i think romney is in the position in florida that newt was in in south carolina. if romney loses this, he will not be the republican nominee.

>> we'll see the clip and play it back in a few weeks. i want to play a piece of sound. this is the santorum exchange from two days ago. i want to talk to you guys on the other side about something. take a listen. >> i never refer to obama as president obama because legally he is not. why isn't something being done to get him out our government? he has no legal right to be calling himself president. >> well, i'm doing my best to try to get him out of the government. >> okay. i'm sure have both seen and heard that clip. rick santorum does not point out that the president is in fact a citizen and is not a muslim. instead he keeps on going because she was an elderly lady. my question to both of you and

answer it quickly because we're running out of time. what do exchanges like that do to the republican brand? joel? >> yeah, it's unfortunate. i recognize that santorum is in a tough spot. i think he can briefly touch on correcting that misinformation and talk on it being about ideas whether than someone's faith or citizen championship both of which the woman was wrong on. >> steve, last word. >> i think these entire conversations are silly. if i'm barack obama i love having this conversations because it means i don't have to talk about my pitiful record as president. >> appreciate your time. the state of the union is strong. our economy is the healthiest it's been in three decades. >> that was president bill clinton beginning his state of the union in 1996 where he

dlairdlair declared the era of big government is over. president bill clinton's chief speech writer, good to be here with you. also the author of a book, "potus speaks". if you were writing for president obama, considering the climate in this country, what would your major themes be? >> a speech like this is not only the constitution we require to address to the congress, but it's taiki intaking place at th beginning of the election year and the launch of his big argument to the country. it's in the context of this that's going on on the republican side. i think he ought to be doing, i imagine he is doing, which is talking about the economy,

talking about his vision, not what congress will pass this year, but what does he think the country needs and do it in the terms of not just of this policy, that policy, but what's his vision for the economy and his vision for the middle class and the role of government. >> it's been a while since we have heard such a memorable pronouncements that the era of big government is over. that one phrase did a lot in defining bill clinton's second term. where have those bold quotable phrases gone? >> it's a good question. the state of the union address is always are these long laundry list of policies. >> especially bill clinton's. >> he loved that, but the public loved it too. they want to hear from their president directly. what does he want to have happen? the headline language comes from the bold ideas. you had that with george w. bush saying it was an access of evil

at one of these state of the union addresses. we haven't heard that from president obama in these speeches. he's been focused on the economic crisis and what he might have a chance to get done with congress. sometimes it's when you're up against an opponent, whether it's the invisibility opponent of your presidential foes or the congress, that clarifies things. i hope we'll hear a strong argument. >> it's fascinating story you have writing some of the most famous words that we have all heard and read. thank you so much. >> my pleasure. >> msnbc will have live coverage at 8:00 eastern. penn state coming together to stay good-bye to joe paterno. we'll get the very latest from

state college. here is a quick look at the markets. the dow, s&p, nasdaq, all down. [ female announcer ] investing for yourself isn't some optional pursuit. a privilege for the ultra-wealthy. it's a necessity. i find investments with e-trade's top 5 lists. quickly. easily. i use pre-defined screeners and insightful trading ideas to dig deeper. work smarter. not harder. i depend on myself the one person i do trust to take charge of my financial future. [ bell dinging ]

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[ 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. here on "news nation." >> members should wear appropriate business attire during all sittings of the house. >> what prompted speaker boehner so remind congress members of their dress code? do you think the state of the union is still even useful? it's today's "news nation gut check." [ thinking ] i wonder what other questionable choices i've made? [ '80s dance music plays ] [ sighs ] [ male announcer ] choose taste. choose prego.

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nowitski notes. president obama is delivering his third state of the union. back if her seat, congresswoman giffords will attend sitting in her seat that was left empty last year. the oscar goes to this year's academy award nods are out. who got snubbed? we'll get to that in a moment. the economy will be the central theme in the state of the union address. president obama will emphasize an economy that works for everyone, not just a wealthy few. the republican leadership is already slamming the president for preparing to present policies they say have made the economy worse. >> i think as the speaker said, we're looking for specifics that

actually demonstrate a recognition that the policies that this policy and his administration have been about haven't worked. it's time to try something new. what we would like to see and i think most of the american people are bold ideas that focus on growing this economy, on helping small businesses start up and grow again. nancy, good afternoon to you. can we expect to hear some bold ideas from the president? >> reporter: yes, i think the speaker will hear some bold ideas. the president will be laying out his blueprint for an american economy that's built to last. it's based on building american manufacturing, skills for american workers and a renewal of our american values. the theme of fairness. what's fair? giving everyone a fair shot and having rules that everybody plays by.

that will be part of what the president talk to the american people about. >> we're hearing we can expect the president to lay out a bold plan to help folks pay for nose college loans. what can you tell us about that? >> reporter: i'll yell the president give the details. i'll tell you and you know of following the president over the last few months, he's focused on the middle class and strengthening their ability to move forward and help move our country forward and college portability is a big part of that. >> the president's health care clan has been large target for criticism, how much will the president reference his health care plan tonight as an answer to those attacks? >> reporter: i think as everyone knows the president has talked about the fact that t2.5 millio young people have coverage because of the act. i'll let him give the details

but strengthening the american middle class, health care is part of that. >> one of cleef concerns that's been expressed, is that tonight's speech won't be so much as a state of the union as much as it will be a campaign kickoff. the president tomorrow, three days, five day, all of them battleground states. what do you make of that? >> reporter: this is the president's vision of how to move this country forward in a durable way to help all americans. it's his policies that he think will best move the country forward. >> nancy-ann, thank you so much. appreciate your time. >> thank you. republican presidential candidate mitt romney released criticism against president obama in what he called a state of the union prebuttal.

he said the time in office can be summed up as debt, decline and disappointment. >> tonight we'll get treated to more divisive rhetoric. it's shameful for a president o use the state of the union to divide our nation and someone ought to tell him in order to put the economy back to work, everyone needs to be working. >> joining me now to talk about this and other hot happenings on the hill, kristin. good afternoon to you. senator is mitt romney the guy that they would enjoy running against in november? >> it doesn't matter at the end of the day. i think the president's vision for american, future of the this country, fighting for job creations, helping small businesses grow, it's what the american people want to talk about. i think he will overwhelmly

berber re-elected on his record. >> if you had to choose one as a democrat, who would it be? >> i don't think it matters because the american people want is someone who will focus on them and what they need and they're future of their families and opportunity for everyone. >> let's talk tonight's state of the union. what do you expect that we will hear from the president of the united states that's been different from what we have heard in past speeches and past state of the union addresses as well? >> i think what whether he hear is a recognition that we still have a lopg wng way to go. he'll talk about america's strengths. we're one of the most entrepreneurial countries in the world and our small businesses are the engine of our economy because people have the ability to make good product, make good idea, make good services that people want to buy. i think we're going to hear about manufacturing. i think everyone wants to see

made in america again. i think the president's going to talk about how we're going to do that. how we're going to unleash the engine of manufacturing. i also think that we'll talk about how we are going to make sure that every kid in america has the opportunity to reach his or her potential. i think he'll talk about science and engineering and math and technology as that vehicle for the jobs of the future. >> senator, let's talk about your new website. it's the website that's got the attention of a few folks in this building. tell folks about it. >> it's a call to action to america's women to be heard in every aspect of american life whether it's the economy or politics. i believe when america's women are at the table, the outcomes are just better whether it's at women serving on a corporate board or women serving in congress. they tend to be good problem solvers. they tend to get things done.

>> better than men, senator? >> often times better than men. we have a different skill set. the difference is when you have womens voices and men voice, you see different perspectives on a problem and you'll see a more holistic approach to finding a solution. we also have great ideas. that's what off the sidelines is about. it's the call to action to be heard in politics and economic life and businesses. >> i have to ask you about your good friend gabby giffords who will be there. i understand you're going to have a get together of sorts with her before the state of the union as well. what can you tell us right now about her mind set as she prepares to leave congress this week? >> i think it was a very difficult decision. i think it's the right decision for her and her family. this past year we have seen what

i've always known about gabby. she's a fighter, she's determined. she's inspired us all because of her determination. i think she's just reached the judgment that if she's going to look at her recovery and take it as far and as full as it can go, she wants to focus on that. she's again selfless as always looking constituents. >> there are rumors that he husband might be running. would that surprise you? >> he will not run for the seat. he would be an extraordinary public servant. i think they will have a special time in their life. mark just finished his last space mission. they they will have some family time that will be healing and a wonderful time for them. >> senator, always a pleasure. thank you. more tragedy from the wreckage of a capsized cruise

ship tops our stories on this tuesday. divers pull the body of a 16th victim from the kcosta concordi. crews will start removing fuel from the ship this weekend. mike mcquery was among the mourners in line for the viewing of joe paterno. he died sunday of lung cancer. his illness was disclosed in november. mcquery is a key figure high pressure he said he saw sandusky abusing a young boy in a penn state locker room. alabama governor touring towns. two people were killed when a

torn touched down in the town of clay. hundreds of other buildings were damaged. radiation from the largest solar storm in more than six years is pelting mother earth. satellite witnessed an ultra violent flash hitting earth. the storm does not pose a threat. as a precaution some polar flights have been rerouted to avoid exposing passengers to radiation. joined now by derek pitts. first of all, how rare are these types of storms? >> the sun has a cycle of activity that runs from peak to peak over 11 years. we're on the way up towards the peak of that activity. during this peak, these kinds of activities are not so rare. we'll see more of them as we get closer to the 2013 peak. >> how worried should we be if

these storms become more intense? >> there particular storm is a medium class storm. it's very high in its class right up next to the highest class of storms. this particular one is probably not going to cause too much trouble. when we get to the x class storms, those are the ones that we have to be concerned about. disruption in wireless communication, disturbance to our power transmission systems including satellite transmissions. >> derrick thank you. >> my pleasure. up next, going for oscar gold. we'll take a look at the surprises and the snubs. the academy award nominations are announced. there's a lot going on today. here are some of the things we thought you should know. you might remember barney frank made headlines when he sported a t-shirt and jacket on the house floor.

john boehner gave house members a three-minute lecture on dressing appropriately for the job. >> members should wear appropriate business attire during all sittings of the house. however brief their presence on the floor might be. you know who you are. boston bruins. he did miss his team's visit to the white house. he skipped the president's kmoin for the san lee cup champs. he writes that it wasn't about politics or party, but because he feels government has quote, grown out of control. massachusetts senator john kerry was on hand for the ceremony. he was sporting two black eyes. an aid said he got them while playing a recent game of pick up hockey himself. those are a few of the things we thought you should know. specialists, lots of doctors, lots of advice...

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right now newt gingrich firing up the crowd at a rally in sarasota, florida where it's estimated up to 3,000 people are attending. newt gingrich taking a shot at president obama and tonight's state of the union speech. >> the president is going to speak about the state of the union. i thought i might suggest a few things that would improve the state of the union. you always have to wonder when

obama speaks which country he thinks he's talking about. >> newt gingrich throwing some red meat to the base there in sarasota, florida. the oscar nominations are out. there's lots of buzz who made the list and who got snubbed as well. let's get the scoop from global entertainment editor. >> i like that, global. >> let's start with best picture. >> we have nine nominees. the "artist," "money ball," tree of life". >> is there a move that has an obvious advantage? >> definitely "the artist". this has taken things by storm. this is the one to look out for. >> that's the silent film.

>> it's the little film that could. it's up against george clooney. it should be an interesting category. >> nine movies still seems like a lot for best picture. ? >> nine movie s a whole lot. it could have been up to ten. it's a lot people might tune in. >> best actor. >> we have george clooney, jean dujardin, gary oldman. >> do either one of them have an obvious advantage? >> george clooney has the advantage. the academy loves him. he's going to face competition from jean dujardin. he's very famous in france. >> best actress.

meryl streep. >> it's viola davis, rooney mara and michelle williams. >> i wife loved "my week with marilyn". >> it will be interesting to see who takes this home. >> let's talk about some of the folks that did not make it. >> no leonardo dicaprio. >> not the ides of march. the movie was simple and shallow. >> he was funny. he tweeted that oh, my god, they really don't like me. he was cute about me. >> which snub surprised you most? >> most might be leo. they usually love him. i thought he would get a nomination. >> thank you so much.

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tonight, president obama delivers his third state of the union address which wasn't called a state of the union until president franklin roosevelt used it. before that, it was known as the president's annual message to congress. it also wasn't delivered before joint session of congress. more now on the interesting history. >> mr. speaker, the president of the united states. with it rhetorical flourishes, the state of the union is a uniquely american tradition having been delivered either in person or in writing 220 times in our nation's history. it's more than another speech. it's a constitutional requirement.

article 2 section 3 states the president from time to time give the congress information on the state of the union and recommend to their consideration such measures as she shoultd judge necessary and expedient. the first one by george washington in 1790 on the contained 1,000 words. thomas jefferson abandoned the speech, submitting his in writing. a practice that was followed for more than a hundred years until 1913 when woodrow wilson spoke before congress. calvin coolidge was the first to have his over radio. harry truman was the first to have his delivered on television. ronald reagan invited special guests to join the first lady in the gallery. in recent times, the state of the union has had memorable lines. in 1996, bill clinton made this

famous proclamation. >> the era of big government is over. >> in 2002 after the n9/11 attacks, george w. bush said this. >> state like these and their terrorist allies constitutes acts of evil. >> in 2010 after democrats lost their filibuster proof, barack obama vowed to pass health care reform. >> don't walk away from reform. not now, not when we are so close. let us find way to come together and finish the job for the american people. >> all statements woven into the fabric of this nation's history. i'm mark murray, nbc news. time now for the "gut check". the state of the union required by the constitution, but is the annual speech by the president delivered to a joint session of congress still useful especially

in our age of instant communication. go to facebook.com/newsnation. yet we asked will newt pick up where he left off in last debate and attack the media. 94% thought he would. that does it for this edition of "news nation." martin bashir straight ahead. [ 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

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