your thoughts on the kennedy assassination. it means remembering watching my matter and grandfather crying at the kitchen table. only time i saw either cry. 11 by the time i left high school we lost rfk. fond memory of my grandmother proudly hung this portrait in her apartment. "morning joe" starts right now. ♪ from dallas, texas the flash apparently official, president kennedy died at 1:00 p.m. central standard time. 2:00 eastern standard time. some 38 minutes ago.

vice president lyndon johnson has left the hospital in dallas, but we do not know to where he has proceeded. presumably he'll be taking the oath of office shortly and become the 36th president of the united states. walter cronkite delivering the devastating news to the country, 50 years ago to the day. it is friday, november 22nd. all morning long we'll be reflecting on the life, the assassination and the legacy of president kennedy. we'll also tackle some of the persistent conspiracy theorys behind his murder. among our guests are two men who lived through it as young reporters, tom brokaw and dan rather who broke the news that cronkite delivered on the air. with us now on set we have msnbc political analyst and former

chairman of the republican national committee michael steele. "new york times" reporter jeremy peters. npr senior analyst cokie roberts. we'll get your thoughts as well. white house correspondent for bloomberg, julianna goldman. we're in washington this morning. and joe is back with us as well. we want to start on capitol hill. couple of things developed in the past 24 hours. >> a quiet night. >> not a quiet night. the power struggle on capitol hill is reaching extreme levels. both in the number of republican filibusters and now in the way democrats are dealing with it. yesterday the senate approved a measure to block the minority's power to filibuster certain presidential nominees. the so-called nuclear option is the most significant change to the rules of the upper chamber since 1975.

it barely passed with 52 votes. through five years of the obama presidency the senate held votes to end filibuster 79 times. that's already more than double the amount during president bush's eight years in office. the senate can now end the debate on executive and judicial nominees. there have been many blocks with a simple majority. however the new route does not apply to supreme court nominations or legislative bills. so it's fairly focused. while the move helps the democrats right now, that may come back to haunt them because they won't always be the case. yesterday majority leader harry reid and minority leader mitch mcconnell debated the merits of the vote. >> for the good of the united states of america. it's time to change. it's time to change the senate before this institution becomes obsolete. you don't have to like the laws of the land. but you do have to respect those laws. and acknowledge them and abide

by them. is the senate working now? can anyone say the senate is working now? i don't think so. >> i realize this sort of wishful thinking may appeal to the newcomers in the democratic congress who served zero days in the minority, but the rest of you guys in the conference should know better. you want to play games, set yet another precedent that you'll no doubt come to regret, say my friends on the other side of the aisle and you may regret it and you may regret it a lot sooner than you think. >> president obama defended senate democrats hope to measure would bypass some of the gridlock in washington. >> i realize that neither party has been blameless for these tactics. they've developed over years. and it seems as if they continually escalated. today's pattern of obstruction

it just isn't normal. it's not what our founders envisioned. the vote today i think is an indication a majority of senators believe as i believe enough is a enough. the american people deserve better than politicians who run for election telling them how terrible government is and then devoting their time in elected office to make government not work as often as possible. >> having said that, president obama, vice president biden, and senator reid all opposed these types of tactics when their party was in the minority back in 2005. >> what they don't expect is for one party, be it republican or democrat to change the rules in the middle of the game so that they can make all the decisions while the other party is told to sit down and keep quiet. if the right of free and open debate is taken away from the minority party then the millions of americans who ask us to be their voice, i fear that the

already partisan atmosphere in washington is poison to the point where nobody can agree on anything. >> we should make no mistake, this nuclear option is ultimately an example of the arrogance of power. it is a fundamental power grab by majority party propelled by its extreme right and designed to change the reading of the constitution. >> the fact is to move forward as contemplated by the majority is moving towards breaking rules to change rules, that's improper. it will change the senate forever and that's not good. this is a slippery slope. once you have a rule changed illegally, then you can do it again. >> well, that's one way to get attention off obama care. but, i guess the argument, joe,

is that the number of nomination blocks for this administration by the republicans has reached record proportions. >> well, they can make that argument, but if you listen to what they said when they were the minority this is a grave challenge to america's democracy as we know it and as barack obama wisely said when he was senator in 2005 on that floor speech, if you are already have a partisan environment, and you bring out the nuclear option, then you're going to make a partisan environmental the more partisan. i will say this. for progressives that have said that this president doesn't play "hardball," that he's not a bare knuckle brawler, that he's not afraid to get down in the mud and be dirty and fight dirty and fight hard which progressives have been saying for years, i think you can take that complaint about your president off the table because here, think about it.

health care reform itself was passed by blowing up the filibuster. they couldn't go regular order in the senate. so they blew it up to get this unpopular health care reform bill. the president over the past year has been unilaterally making one change after another without any approval from the united states congress. howard dean even coming on this show suggesting he may not have the constitutional right to do that. and now the very judges who will be determining whether what he's doing and these changes, whether it's constitutional or not, they are only going to get through by a nuclear option. you look at the history of this presidency and look specifically how he has handled the messy rules of the senate, i think historians will find him to be a breathtaking grab of power. now, of course, they can blame republicans too, but cokie what i was always fascinated by when

i was in congress and i would always turn to my republican brothers and sisters, i say you guys are acting like republicans are going to be in charge for the rest of our lives. you do know that the way we treat them will be held against us when they get back in power. i just wonder, democrats employing this option, do they not know 2014 is a pretty grim landscape right now for them? >> that was the point mitch mcconnell was making and he says we need an election to fix this. obviously now it's done. whoever becomes the majority is going leave it this way because it will work for the majority. and so the rules have been forever changed. but look in listening to those sound bites of them and now, it's clear where you stand depends on where you sit. and they are -- >> john mccain said that yesterday. >> it's true. there's no consistency. i'll tell you one thing

historically that's amusing. in the war of 1812, the debate around that, there was a filibuster in that era in the house of representatives. and the house was filibustering the war. it passed, by the way, war resolution with no federalist votes, very similar to where we are today. but the only way to stop the filibuster was somebody threw a spitoon. think how disgusting that is. >> that spitoon is still on the senate floor. >> the noise was so loud, the filibuster was over and they went on to vote the war. >> schatz simple but kind of gross. jeremy, first of all what does this apply to and doesn't apply to. that's important. i heard the lines being muddled a little bit on the news coverage. >> significantly it does not apply to supreme court justice. >> does not apply to supreme

court justices. >> that remains untouchable for all the talk this has blown up whatever comedy and bipartisanship remains in the senate i do think if obama nominates a supreme court justice and republicans mount a filibuster you'll see a deep reluctance among the democrats to push the nuclear button again. >> this is about the d.c. circuit judges who are the first judges that are going to be determining whether president obama's actions are constitutional or not. of course you wouldn't want to say this to other circuit judges, but the most important circuit judges in determining the 0 out lines of what's constitutional and not constitutional in obama care, that's the d.c. circuit? >> absolutely. those judges on that circuit have often gone on to the supreme court. it's an incredibly important court, second most important court in the land. now this is going to have huge ram if i occasions for president obama's agenda while the court

is split now, four republican pointes, four democrat appoin e appointees now it's seven. republicans have been good on this notion that the president select the federal bench. in this case it was difficult argument for them to make saying all right we're going to keep the president from appointing his judges. >> michael steele, what do you make of this in the grand scheme of things? >> it's pretty exciting personally. i got some popcorn last night and sitting there and watching this whole thing unfold. >> i was kind of like you. >> it's fascinating, because, you know, what goes around comes around. i take a little bit of exception to jeremy's point. i think this is a pandora's box that's been opened that both majorities wanted for at that long time. harry reid conspired to get it done. i think next year in 2015 when

republicans are in the majority in the senate it becomes a different landscape and you're going to they are whining and gnashing of teeth from the left. >> michael steele, how hilarious was it to watch harry reid on the senate floor say the senate is not working, as if harry reid has nothing to do with being the greatest glorified pocket veto in the history of the u.s. senate. he has killed every single republican piece of legislation, every amendment that barack obama didn't want democrats to vote on, not a single appropriation bill has passed through the senate, he hasn't even got them out of committee to be voted on the floor, but not a single appropriation bill has passed out of the senate and it wasn't until about six months ago that the guy passed his first budget in four years and

harry reid is saying the senate is not working. well thank you, harry, whose fault is that? >> exactly. i think, joe, to your point and again taking exception to jeremy i think this open ups the opportunity not just forecourt nominations, but the supreme court will be included this as well as legislation. so the senate effectively yesterday became the house. >> that line of debate was a very smart way for reid to approach it even though we can laugh about it. that saying we're doing this to make the government work was something that the voters are going to go with. >> ultimately if it does pour into other areas it could be ugly. a couple of things. first of all, watching harry reid last night was almost as good as the runoff on "the x factor." i was having a hard time deciding. julianna, why would the president speak out on this?

because clearly one of the things that politicians hate the most, it's one of those things you can't control when it happens but to have those sound bites lined up back-to-back when you said one thing and you said another and it dent take a second grader to know that would have happened the moment he spoke out in support of this. >> everything reached head this week with the d.c. circuit nominees being rejected. democrats made this decision, i think, seeing the writing on the wall and knowing full well if the election were held today they would throes senate. that means they have a year to get these nominees through and the straw that broke the camel's back, if you talk to democrats and the white house was the fact that mel watt couldn't get through the process. this is the way they are going to able to get their nominees through over the next year. we have new polls out on

president obama. and news on chris christie which we'll be getting to later. but now for a look back. there you go. a look back a little bit in time. 50 years ago today, joe? >> cokie, let me ask you where you were and how are you parents responded to the news that jfk had been killed in dallas? >> i was 19 years old. i was a senior in college. i was in my dorm. and of course the word spread very quickly and everybody ended up in my room thinking i would know more than other people because my father was in the house leadership. of course i didn't. my mother finally reached me because one of the things that we were so concerned about was that there was a plot, and that, you know, might be going after other people as happened with the lincoln assassination. so my mother was in the capitol and they closed down the capitol immediately and brought in the police and secret service which

was something that didn't happen in that day. you could walk around the capitol freely. and so that was, you know, a shocking moment and then -- and then we all in college like everybody else in the country went to the tv set, the little black and white tv set in the main room, parlor of the dorm. but my father then came back to the capitol, congress wasn't in session and then went out with the speaker to andrews to meet the plane when it arrived from dallas and then johnson had a meeting that night in the vice president's office of the joint congressional leadership asking them to support him and get behind him. >> what were those three days like from your vantage point from official washington's vanning the point between the assassination, the killing of

ruby and the funeral. >> the entire country was glued to tv sets. watching this. and watching that incredibly shocking juxtaposition of oswald being murdered in front of us, before everybody's eyes, live on tv. and then the funeral and lying in state all at the same time. it was riveting and horrifying. millions and millions -- really the whole country watched it happening so it was tv coming of age in a way as well. but it was a period where really there was a tremendous amount of concern about what would happen next. and that's why president johnson's taking the oath on the plane and insisting that mrs. kennedy be there for that picture, that iconic picture,

was so important so that people could all understand that there was no disruption in the government. >> he was already the president at that point too. >> right. >> he had taken the same oath that kennedy had taken the day that they were both sworn in in 1961 and johnson decided for continuity sake i'm going stand here and be photographed. >> cokie, 50 years later, i still -- i have people come up and ask me if i believe, and we aldo -- whether oswald acted alone. did your mom or dad, being as close to the leadership as they were, did your mom or dad ever suggest that they thought it was anybody other than oswald? >> no. my father was on the warren commission. i remember very well, i came home from college for thanksgiving right after the assassination, and i remember being in the den of the house i still live in, and the phone

ringing. it was president johnson. and calling to talk about the establishment of the commission and i can remember my father so well saying we need a blue ribbon commission to put everything to rest so that the american people know that we have examined every possibility and we know exactly what's happened. of course, that didn't happen. now, he was somewhat skeptical of the single bullet theory, and basically he signed the commission report and, of course, it was unanimous saying knowing what we know now, this is what i believe to be the case. but since then we really haven't learned anything more that would have indicated anything else. even the house committee on assassinations. >> why was your father skeptical of the single bullet theory? >> because it's a somewhat difficult to see this bullet taking that trajectory. >> improbable.

>> right. >> the house committee on assassinations in 1978 with much more technology to examine these things, basically came to the same conclusion right up to the last minute when they heard an acoustical report that to them sounded like two guns. that report has been discredited. i think the problem is that it's very hard for people to accept that one deranged soul could have such an enormous impact. it's so much easier to believe in a conspiracy because it's rational. my personal view is that's not the case. >> cokie roberts, thank you very, very much. coming up on "morning joe," tom brokaw and dan rather reflect on today's anniversary of jfk's assassination. also we'll talk to dr. brzezinski about iran and later chuck todd joins the discussion. up next the top stories in the political playbook. first here's bill karins with a

check on the forecast. >> one little unknown fact about that day in dallas there was rain earlier that morning. if the rain continued this would never have happened. never would have been in that open air car. let's talk about this forecast for this upcoming day. phoenix, arizona could have significant delay. heavy rain in phoenix. it's happening today. light rain in new york city. dallas, texas we could have winter l heading your way. here's the light rain to the northeast this morning. bring your umbrella just about every where from philadelphia northward. scattered showers by pittsburgh. cold air moving down from canada. that's the big story. a winter storm brewing northern new mexico, southern colorado and this is going to move across the country this weekend. so today we have desert flooding and freezing drizzle and arctic air on the map. frigid air goes to chicago. then on the east coast get ready because sunday is the day when the arctic air and cold will be right over the top of you. you're watching "morning joe".

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♪ a new day ♪ a new way ♪ and those are some of the headlines capturing that moment in history 50 years ago today. time now to take a look at the morning papers. from our parade of papers the "boston globe," kennedy cousin micha michael skakel out on bond. his lawyers successful lie argued for an appeal last month. skakel will wear a gps monitoring device. >> this from the charlotte observer, billy graham is out of the hospital this morning. after a two day stay for

respiratory issues. he was treated for similar issues back in october. his son said his father was in good spirits and asked for prayers. fwram recently celebrated his 95th birthdayerlier this month. >> the boeing 747 dream lifter cargo plane landed at the wrong airport was able to safely take off yesterday. a mix up left the large plane stranded at a small airport in kansas eight miles away from it's intended destination. officials were concerned whether the 235-foot jet could take off on a runway drafticstically sho. >> the "san francisco chronicle" reports following the end to a ban on electronic device the fcc is now considering allowing passengers to use their cell

phones while in flight. officials say phone use would only be allowed once the plane has reached 10,000 feet which is even worse. airlines would have to install equipment to allow phones to communicate with cell phone towers on the ground. mika, that's exactly what i want to hear while i'm closing my eyes trying to go sleep going across the street having a guy go yeah, then i told him, i told him this is the way the deal is going to go down. can i have some peanuts. i says to him, i says -- can you imagine that, having the hear people on a plane for three or four hours talking on cell phones? >> shoot me now. >> just hope they make a rule, ensuring people keep their shoes on. that's what the faa should really do. >> oh, god, yes. >> there's some hope on that.

last paragraph of the usa day today they say the hope is the airlines will make this so expensive the guy that joe is listening to won't be on the phone. >> i don't know if i trust this from a man wearing bright green argyle socks. put them up on the table. can't get the shot. put them back. what do you think, joe? you can wear those. i would wear them today. is that credible. the "new york times," samsung will have to fork over an extra $290 million to apple in an ongoing patent battle. in a retrial a jury ruled samsung violated apple's iphone patent last year. samsung had to pay about $600 million to april approximately. latest verdict brings the total to more than $900 million. ouch. >> the "usa today," justin

timberlake and jimmy fallon are reuniting on "saturday night live." i hope they keep their box on the show. the two will be hosting it for the second time and timberlake will act as musical guest. that doesn't mean timberlake won't appear in a few skits. the duo spent a week together on the set of late night with jimmy fallon. their #takedownvideo was a huge hit. >> there's going to be a box involved. in this weekend's parade, singer kelly clarkson discusses why this year she will celebrate her best christmas ever. that's cute. i like her. "american idol." you guys watch "american idol." wasn't she the first win center. >> think she was the second. >> very first -- >> second? >> guys. >> "american idol" though.

"american idol." harry connick jr., old school. he's doing great there, man. doing a great job. >> so wait, i'm telling you kelly was first. >> kelly was first. >> cokie, is gone. >> i was there when it happened. with us now chief white house correspondent for politico, mike allen here with the morning playbook. looking at some speculation mike about some of the potential 2016 presidential candidates we have senator rand paul. he has an idea of how he and new jersey governor chris christie can settle their differences. take a look. >> do you think i can convince you to come in to the studio together so we can have a chat? >> absolutely. i've been trying to get him to go out for a beer with me anyways so maybe you can organize. maybe if there's a state fair we can go for a fried twinkie.

>> how does this end? >> it's fascinating. these two keep going after each other thinking they are one and 2019 this pack. for a long time -- >> does anyone else think they are one and two in this pack? >> sure. i think we agreed at the moment chris christie has the mega phone in the republican party. there's no way to take that away if him. rand paul has this clear level of support. he has a lower higher floor, lower ceiling than most people because he has the support of his dad and he'll have money. both have money. >> but, mike, i want to challenge the assertion that they are both going after each other. it seems to me that rand paul is like a little kid tugging at chris christie's pants. it's rand paul seems obsessed with chris christie and chris christie doesn't pay any attention, does he? mike allen?

>> i'm not here, joe. >> rand paul looks like someone tugging -- a little kid tugging at chris christie's pants. got that far. >> yeah. >> doesn't really -- the two of them going at each other. >> and chris christie has brushed him off like in the past when he proposed they make up, chris christie brushes it off and christie, obviously trying to make a food joke, governor christie in the past has also pushed that off when he was asked one time about twinkie manufacturer leaving new jersey he's like you guys aren't going to catch me on camera talking about twinkies. >> speaking of twinkie, donald trump and twinkie summit. talk to me. >> so this is another one of our 2016ers, senator ted cruz was in new york to raise money today and he is just happening to make a stop by trump tower and trump obviously was very involved with the romney campaign. you can see how helpful he was

there. >> as long as we don't have to endure more stories how donald trump is really running for president this time. >> those are coming. >> they are. he could. okay. politico's mike allen. coming up it was expected to be a slam dunk for the saints last night in atlanta but now it's a lot closer than many expected. "morning joe" sports is next. ♪ as your life changes, fidelity is there for your personal economy, helping you readjust along the way, refocus as careers change and kids head off to college, and revisit your investments as retirement gets closer. wherever you are today, fidelity's guidance can help you fine-tune your personal economy.

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some "morning joe" sports. saints falcons thursday night football going to second quarter. new orleans down 10-7, drew brees to jimmy graham. 44 yards. what does he do to celebrate? he dunks the goal post. this game a lot closer than a lot of people expected. matt ryan, watch this. he has a chance to give the falcons a lead later in the second quarter and he's going to scramble. this really sums up their season. instead of going for the touchdown he does a slide. ended up with a field goal. samuel jackson not happen. they settle for a field goal and instead of seven, four-point

difference they lose 17-13. alex rodriguez fate now in the hands of an arbitrator after lawyers wrapped up their cases yesterday. the attorneys vow to release all of the evidence today despite the confidentiality clause in baseball's collective bargaining agreement. the legal team preparing to take the case to federal court regardless of the decision. that decision not expected until late december or early january. how about oklahoma city second time this week a thunder fan drains the half-court shot for 20,000 bucks. really nice off the backboard. he gets a little hello from jay-z. shaq one of the best athletic men of all time. not showing it here. that's about 300 pounds on his kiester. he laughs. didn't get hurt. that's our tnt and chris weber and the crew there enjoying it.

>> poor guy. brian thank you. up next columnist al hunt. it's a bloomberg takeover joins the conversation. we'll be right back.

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♪ anybody here seen my old friend joe ♪ >> where were you when john f. kennedy was assassinated, do you remember that day? >> on november 22, 1963 steven spielberg was a 16-year-old high school student and aspiring filmmak filmmaker. >> i was in school when the public address system came on in the classroom and we listened to

the principal saying that the president had been shot. >> what did you think? >> i was -- the first reaction i had is i wanted to go home was my first reaction. i wanted to go home and be with my mom and dad and sisters. my mom was at home and sobbing at the kitchen table. i remember putting my arms around my mother and she turned around and embraced me. she was at the kitchen table and i was standing. she was holding on to me and shaking and sobbing. >> i can shut my eyes and see everything as a movie replaying over. i can remember going to the window of the apartment and there was a liquor store right beneath the apartment and i could remember the woman, the proprietor, the owner of the liquor store coming out in the street with her hands up in the hair shrieking, shrieking

somebody killed kennedy. >> i was on the shuttle. as soon as i got off the subway people were talking. >> what did you think? >> i was stunned. i forget where i was going but, you know, it makes me think of 9/11, you know. what do you do? i did whatever i had to do but changes everything. ♪ all right. that was part of tom brokaw's upcoming nbc special "where were you the day jfk died?" we'll talk to tom. a live look at the eternal flame as we mark the day. here with us now on the set here in washington, d.c., columnist for bloomberg view, al hunt. al, your thoughts 50 years later. >> well it's a day that none of us will ever forget who lived through it. i was a junior at wake forest

and i had just spent two days interviewing the great columnist for the "new york times." the night before james reston said young maniago into journalism and marry above yourself. i did both. but i was going for the final interview and walking across the campus and the news came on the radio and i just remember the total complete of disbelief, the shock and people crying. it's the most -- it's the one day in my life that, other than my marriage that i'll never forget. i also think that the inspiration -- i was -- in my family, michael i grew up with a very republican family. i fell in love with john f. kennedy during the 1960 campaign. he was young. he was different. he was inspirational. he was everything you wanted politics to be. for whatever the latter day critics are that remains today.

and i still think he was one of the most inspirational presidents we ever had. >> we'll take a look at some uninspirational things happening in washington and that's the nuclear option that was polled yesterday and i'll start with two different views on it and let you guys take to it the table. "wall street journal," the editorial board writes this senate rules for radicals. mr. reid's new rules for senate radicals are also a warning of what democrats will do if they retake the house in 2014. they will surely break any gop filibuster that could block key liberal legislation so president obama can go out with a reprize of his first two years. forget about a filibuster stopping union card-check, for example. obama care would never have passed if mr. franken hadn't stolen the minnesota recount and prosecutors hadn't hidden evidence to convict alaska republican ted stevens on false

thick ethics charges. but liberals are showing that they will only need 51 votes not 60 to pass the next obama care. "new york times." democracy returns to the senate. what a different point of view we got here. two papers, two different points of view. the rule change does not end the 60 vote threshold for blocking legislation which we have argued is worth preserving. but the vote may lead to broader filibuster changes. a proposal by several younger democratic senators to require talking filibusters, forcing lawmakers to stand up at length and make their cases may well gain steam now and could it finally spell an to end log jams that prevented important legislation from reaching votes. democrats made the filibuster change with a simple majority vote which republicans insisted was a violation of the rules. there is ample precedent for this kind of change, though it should be used judiciously.

today's vote was an appropriate use of that power and it was necessary to turn the senate back into a functioning legislative body. it was not functioning, al, i think we can all agree on that. >> we can. ten years ago when bill frist was the senate majority lead terrify republicans almost did the same thing. and you could -- those two same editorials would have been written identically. the journal would have said this is a great thing. it's where you sit. i think what happened in the senate yesterday was both unfortunate and perhaps unavoidable. i like the senate to be a more deliberative body. that's what it's supposed to be. it doesn't function terribly well. that's kay. the filibuster has been so misused and especially in the last five years that it just -- it really is unconscionable. when i first covered the senate, before jeremy was born, it

was -- they used the filibuster. it was used in civil rights and on big stuff. no, it's a 51 votes. >> julianna, what you have now is senator mccain, i watched him doing interviews, calling harry reid and all those that support this hypocrites. if you look at the sound bites that the president made, vice president biden made, reid himself saying this would be a terrible thing just years ago. >> what the white house says is the republicans has spent the last five years using the filibuster to nullify the election results. okay picture the scenario in 2016. republicans have the white house, the senate, the house what do you say then? well from an intellectual argument elections have consequences. so can't really argue with that there. but they certainly realize and understand as michael was saying

could open pandora's box and this could lead to a slippery slope. >> it has opened pandora's box. >> it has. again, let's call it what it is. both sides have been wanting to do this when they were in the majority. so this door has been opened. they are going play on this new field, this new landscape. to what we were talking about before, jeremy, this becomes more of a slippery slope to a pathway for broader legislative action. and supreme court nominations. i think the landscape has changed. the hypocrisy is typical washington. nothing to be surprised about that. the reality now is changed for the future and the house and senate are going to be acting pretty much the same when it comes to the president's remaining legislative agenda. >> al hunt stay with us. we'll talk about this more for sure. on monday we have peter max joining us also actor orlando

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i got 50. no, no. i'm not taking it. >> you sure? >> i've been going here for the last 40 years. i had to pay every time i've gone. no time to change it. in delaware you pay. simple. how much did you say? >> 56.25. >> there's 57. all right. >> oh, god. i love him. he didn't have enough money. who did he take it from? >> joe biden permanent vice president, he's our permanent vice president. no matter who is president. >> julianna needs some money. thank you. great to see you. up next, nbc news political director chuck todd joins the table. also the "huffington post" sam stein who apparently i owe an apology to. keep it right here on "morning joe." sfx: oil gushing out of pipe.

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♪ and the vision that was planted in my brain ♪ ♪ still remains >> i was playing in the harvard yale soccer game and the word was that the president has been shot. we did not know what had happened, and i remember just completely disconnecting from the game. it was just a shock.

>> in a few minutes the news came across, walter cronkite said the president was no longer living. i went outside on the private porch and cried for a while. i think it was the first time i had really wept for more than ten years. welcome back to "morning joe." we, of course, are marking the 50 year mark after the assassination of john f. kennedy. we'll be talking to tom brokaw and dan rather, among others straight ahead. al hunt and michael steele are still with us and joining the table is senior political editor for the "huffington post" sam stein. last time you were on i was told i was too hard on you. anyway how it's you're youthful looking. chief white house correspondent and host of "the daily rundown,"

chuck todd. >> you could have worn a tie. >> it's friday. look at the person next to you. >> al knows. >> he's a joe wannabe. >> joe, we'll start with the power struggle on capitol hill reaching extreme levels both in the number of filibusters and now in the way democrats are dealing with it. yesterday the senate approved a measure to block the minority's power to filibuster certain presidential nominees. the so-called nuclear option is the most significant change to the rules of the upper chamber since 1975. it passed with barely 52 votes. through the five years of the obama presidency, the senate has held votes to end a filibuster 79 times. that's already more than double the amount during president bush's eight years in office. the senate can now end the debate on executive and judicial

nominees with a simple majority. however the new rule does not apply to supreme court nominations or legislative bills, some are worried that could change too. while the move helps the democrats right now, that will not always be the case and yesterday majority leader harry reid and minority leader mitch mcconnell debated on the merits of the vote. >> for the good of the united states of america. it's time to change. it's time to change the senate before this institution becomes obsolete. you don't have to like the laws of the land. but you do have to respect those laws. and acknowledge them and abide by them. is the senate working now? can anyone say the senate is working now? i don't think so. >> i realize this sort of wishful thinking might appeal to the uninitiated newcomers to served in the democratic caucus that served zero days in the minority but the rest of you guys in the conference should

know better. you want to play games, set yet another precedent that you'll no doubt dome regret say my friend on the other side of the aisle and you will regret this and may regret it a lot sooner than you think. >> president obama defended senate democrats hoping the measure would bypass some of the gridlock in washington. >> i realize that neither party has been blameless for these tactics. they developed over years and it seems as if they've continually escalated. but today's pattern of obstruction, it just isn't normal. it's not what our founders envisioned. the vote today i think is an indication that a majority of senators believe as i believe that enough is a enough. the american people deserve better than politicians who run for election telling them how terrible government is and then devoting their time in elected office to make government not

work as often as possible. of course, president obama, vice president biden and senator reid all opposed these types of tactics when their party was in the minority back in 2005. >> what they don't expect is for one party be it republican or democrat to change the rules in the middle of the game so that they can make all the decisions while the other party is told to sit down and keep quiet. if the right of free and open debate is taken away from the minority party then the millions of americans who ask us to be their voice, i fear that the already partisan atmosphere in washington is poisoned to the point where nobody can agree on anything. >> we should make no mistake, this nuclear option is ultimately an example of the arrogance of power. it is a fundamental power grab

by a majority party propelled by its extreme right and design to change the reading of the constitution. >> the fact is to move forward as contemplated by the majority is moving towards breaking the rules to change the rules. that's improper. it will change the senate forever. that's not good. that this is a slippery slope. once you have a rule changed illegally, then you can do it again. al hunt, we hear back in 2005, we hear charges of right-wing extremism and republicans rewriting the constitution. making d.c. more partisan and more poisoned. threatens our democracy. harry reid called such tactics unamerican and illegal. our joe biden, president obama, and harry reid hypocritical today >> yes. the other side was hypocritical.

this will have unintend consequences. remember the republicans, you weren't around then but after world war ii they pass ad 22nd amendment to the constitution to deny, two term limit on the president to deny fdr in death what they couldn't do in life. it affected two future presidents. this will come back to bite presidents in the future too. whether it's unconstitutional or whatever. the change of the filibuster rule in '75 supposed to limit filibusters, filibusters increased but didn't profound the nature of the senate and i don't think this will either after they get over the short term anger. >> chuck todd, what was behind the move? >> think what was behind it had to do what happened with the d.c. circuit. you know, we can go down a certain way. democrats wanted to fill these holes in the d.c. circuit. second highest court. more importantly the court that hears a lot of cases that are challenges to government

regulations. so, you know, new rules that, whether it's hhs, epa, you know, things that the conservative in the senate are very upset with, there may be concern that the courts may not rule their way right now the d.c. circuit has a conservative bent to it. democrats think after they won two presidential terms in a row so it is their vacancies and if it means the d.c. circuit sudden lie liens left rather than right now two elections in a row have given them that authority. so i think that's what was the driver of this. but i have to say the fact is you can't look at these statistics over the last eight presidencies, all right. president obama's nominees have been subject to a filibuster level of vote for a nominee of some form more times than -- >> at that record number. >> seven presidents combined going back to lbj.

last seven presidents. all those hypocritical things democrats said in '05 should be anthony in their face. but this special interest group domination, if you don't filibuster a nominee then you haven't been against them is ridiculous. it has gotten out of hand. >> the d.c. district court was the impetus, was the spark. there's a legitimate judicial via cancy crisis that the president's advisors have been warning about. there's 93 vacancies on the district court, court of appeals. a 51 pending nominations. there's a backlog that the president's advisors have warned. with republicans more confident about retaking the senate in 2014 he assumed he would put the brakes on any nominees. in 2014 they can get back the majority and wait until 2016. now they said let's get a year out of this to put some people on the court. >> to get things working and sam stein the numbers that you just

put on the table. you know what? you were showing us there are at that record number of blocks. it's gotten so -- >> it over escalated. all special interest groups. >> michael steele, when you look at it from that point of view can you see the strategy here? it's just to stop the obstruction. >> i can see the strategy and it makes sense. you know, the democrats felt that they were pushed into a corner, to both sam and chuck's point but there was no movement on the ground. so, reid is going back to probably january of this year, started looking at this seriously. looking at the backlog of nominees. but, you know, i get the idea and the drive to get a nominee through the process and to fill some of those blanks on the judicial bench but the unintended consequences which is what washington is famous for is something that neither side is really contemplating real-time. and i think when you get down the road a piece, when the

president starts, you know, effecting his legislative agenda and comes to the senate, i think there's going to be excuses and arguments made to get on that part of the slope and ride that so they get those bills through. >> joe, jump in. >> we'll talk about paul in one minute but before we move on, before we move on to that discussion, does anybody on this panel, this morning, really believe that americans in middle america this weekend are is going to be discussing the change in filibuster rules over bargain care -- >> either way. >> right. it's important to remember this is an inside game. it is going to matter how the next republican senate is run. anybody inside washington that thinks americans are going to be wringing their hands this weekend before thanksgiving does not know america. >> that's a good point.

>> a good thanksgiving day conversation. >> we're talk about iran. we should be. we will be. all right. let's take a look at these polls. chuck, president obama is facing another record low in the poll numbers. this time according to cnn opinion research, just 41% of americans approve of the job that the president is doing in the white house. meanwhile 56% there's never bean higher percentage of those that disapprove. the poll find 50% of americans want republicans to play a larger role in government. during the same time last year 61% wanted president obama to have more influence. bloomberg global poll of financial experts shows similar results. 38% have a favorable opinion of the president. 58% do not. and seven out of ten think the gridlock in washington will have a negative impact on economic

growth. chuck todd? >> it already has had a negative impact on economic growth. i mean it has slowed things down. then again the dow is at 16,000. but it only highlights -- >> the perspective? >> it high the lights divide economic anxiety. this all goes back, to i think the bloomberg poll is interesting because i think that's a reflection of frustration with the president's leadership style, if you want to talk about that. because correct me if i'm wrong, al, these are more opinion leaders in the financial world. these are investors. they are looking at him and they are thinking why doesn't he take more command of these things and that investor mindset. on the cnn poll that's showing what every single major national media poll has shown. >> i was going to say, al hunt, cnn, cbs news, abc news "the washington post," quinnipiac, national journal heartland northern and nbc news "wall street journal" poll the most

important poll all have said that the president is at all time lows and this is impacting the polls of democrats all across america. even governors, you know like andrew cuomo. he has nothing do with barack obama. his numbers are dropping. they are dropping across america. >> yeah. there's a real trend here. you look at those senate poll numbers in the last week, montana, colorado, north carolina, democrats who were either running close or ahead just a month ago are now are either even or behind. he clearly -- this is all largely a product of the health care fiasco, the obama care fiasco in october. remember seven weeks ago we were talking about republicans at all time lows in polls. they still are. but i think this is clearly a reflection of that. whether it endures or not remains to be seen. democrats are down. >> chuck? >> well i think it is -- the

only thing we haven't seen it's not a seesaw. republicans have not seen a boost up. i'll throw louisiana in there. mary landrieu there's a new poll that comes out that shows her favorable rating up ten points. >> congressional ballot box you had democrats that were ahead nine points. >> basically even again which is the status quo. it's clear health care is the driver right now but it's fair we ought to remind people we have moved this fast in seven weeks. and oh, by the way we have another budget showdown coming in seven weeks. >> and immigration reform. >> exactly. >> al hunt, thank you so much. thanks for staying longer. chuck we'll see you coming up on the daily run down. sam stay with us if you can. still ahead tom brokaw's new nbc documentary asks where you were the day jfk died. celebrity, politicians and

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>> lee harvey oswald immediately became the prime suspect in the kennedy murders. the police were zeroing in on a person they suspected of being his accomplice. >> did they ask you about driving into work that morning? >> yes. >> frazier was interrogated for 12 hours. head of homicide got into the act. >> he wanted me to sign a paper that i was confessing to be a part of that. and then i knew i had knowledge

of it, that it was going to happen and i didn't. i said i wasn't signing that. i told him that wasn't the truth. >> by now ruth paine and oswald knew the president was dead but had no marina husband's shot him. >> they had oswald in custody for shooting an officer. one asked did lee have a gun and translated to marina and she said yes he did and led them into the garage where there was a blanket roll. the police officer picked up the blanket roll and folded over his arm and i realized that there had been a gun and it was gone. he came out that night as they never had on a week night before and got the gun and it was at that point i thought that could it have been lee. >> that was part of tom brokaw's

upcoming nbc special, where were you the day jfk died. airing tonight at 9:00 p.m. on nbc. with us now tom brokaw along with dan rather report on access tv. here in washington, special assistant to "the counselor," frank gannon. tom brokaw i want to hand this segment over to you. take it away. >> thank you very much, mika. this is a unique situation because dan and i are on the same side of the table. we competed against each other always on friendly terms. dan was in dallas that day. as we were watching frazier and other friends of lee harvey oswald i was struck at the time we did the interview by how many people were directly affected by this assassination and it changed their lives. frazier a poor country boy drives lee harvey oswald to work.

for the rest of his life he's identified as a friend of lee harvey oswald and his life was ruined. >> there's people who say he should remain as suspect. it affected ruth paine who i interviewed shortly after this assassination, the weekend or days following. her life has been extremely complicated. when you have a cataclysmic event like this, an emotional earthquake there's some people right in the center of it whose lives are going to be affected for the rest of their time. >> you were there. you were with cbs running the dallas bureau at the time. charged with picking up the film which in those days had to get to a transmission point. but for you that really was the beginning of the cbs career in a way. you had been on the air, but that was a seminal moment. >> that was fair to say. i was covering the civil rights moment. dr. martin king was my first

assignment. i only had been at cbs a year and three quarters when this happened. when you cover something such as this, something sticks in the national memory and in career that i don't like to speak of it in those terms but what you just described that's true. >> i was a young reporter in omaha and we were dark. we didn't have the network up during the noon hour. in read it on the air in omaha two or three times and then ran out to the strategic air command headquarters. couldn't get near the place. went back downtown. the spokesman was george romney, mitt romney's father. no one could project ahead of that time, any of us had an idea how this would linger an affect the country. i want to bring in frank gannon who is my friend and speech writer for richard nixon as well. on that weekend he was looking forward to playing the piano for president kennedy. he had done that earlier. president of the georgetown

student body. how did you find out that the president had been shot and your engagement would go away? >> whenever i was going to play for a party on the square on the weekends i worked at a leg in 1789 and i was a par tender during the week and played the piano on weekends and there were other bartenders but only one piano player. so if there was a party on the weekend i got a call from red faye who was one of kennedy's oldest friends. he taught him at pt boat school in rhode island in the summer of '42. when kennedy was elected he appointed red as undersecretary of the navy. so i got a call at the beginning of that week from red's office saying that the president was coming back from texas on saturday, and if he wasn't too tired when he got back there would be a party that night because the sequoia would be

going into dry dock. that afternoon i was clarngs an undergraduate at georgetown. and i was at the foreign service school. i was walking back to the foreign service school campus and as i walked into 36th street i saw 50, 70 people in the middle of the street in front of the foreign service school building and as i got closer there was a white buick skylark convertible, top down, a mild day and tony hughes was driving it. she stopped and the radio was up and people gathered around. as i got to the edge of the crowd somebody said the president had been shot. so i went into the bar there and there was or to the diner and the last television, they were all-black and white in those days, a black and white television above the counter and that's when i heard that he was dead. >> dan and i had a different experience with richard nixon than you did. you ended up working for him. no one has been in the unique

position, you played the piano for president kennedy and at the same time go to sam clemente when the president resigned the presidency. tell us the difference 2019 men. there's so much speculation. they were in the same war. in congress at the same time. they ran against each other. give us your take on the difference between richard nixon, how he found out about the assassination, and john. f. kennedy. >> well politics and piano playing makes strange bed fellows so i'm a case in point in that. they came to congress together in 1947. nixon said they were book ends on the labor and education committee because they were the junior members and at opposite ends of the committee dais. they debate the taft-hartley bill a couple of times as bright young members. in 1950 john kennedy, congressman kennedy brought $1,000 contribution from his

father joe kennedy to the nixon senate campaign against douglas. in '52 nixon sponsored the new senator kennedy for membership in the burning tree club, the nixons were invited to a kennedy wedding in '53. in '59 president kennedy or senator kennedy told his close friend charlie batterly that if the democrats didn't nominate him, kennedy in 1960 he would vote for nixon. all of that ended and went south with tea 60 campaign which was a searing experience for nixon. it was arguably the prototype the paradigm of modern campaigning. nixon was side swiped by the kennedy machine. eight years later hubert humphrey described it in his memoirs. he described the '68 campaign and said beneath the beautiful

surface there was an element of ruthlessness and toughness that he would never forget. >> dan, do you think that this story that 50 years from now there will be former anchors sitting at this desk talking about the impact of the assassination of john f. kennedy not just on the american political scene button cultural scene as well. >> i believe that will happen. not at the level with this first 50th anniversary. the kennedy mystique because he died so young and he had so much promise. the mystique will still be there and ageing anchormen will be talking about it. >> that was great. you ought to do a show together. "where were you the day jfk died" airs tonight 9:00 p.m. 8:00 p.m. central. tom brokaw, thank you.

dan rather always good to see you. thank you very much. frank gannon thank you as well. up next newly released video from illinois leaves no doubt about the strength of sunday's tornado there. a two story house literally blown away. that and much more. "morning joe" will be right back. i started part-time, now i'm a manager.n. my employer matches my charitable giving. really. i get bonuses even working part-time. where i work, over 400 people are promoted every day. healthcare starting under $40 a month. i got education benefits. i work at walmart. i'm a pharmacist. sales associate. i manage produce. i work in logistics. there's more to walmart than you think. vo: opportunity. that's the real walmart. mom swaps my snack for a piña colada yoplait. and when mom said i was going out too much, i swapped it for staying in. [ shouts ] guess who's going out tomorrow. [ female announcer ] swap one snack a week for a yoplait.

it is so good. as your life changes, fidelity is there for your personal economy, helping you readjust along the way, refocus as careers change and kids head off to college, and revisit your investments as retirement gets closer. wherever you are today, fidelity's guidance can help you fine-tune your personal economy. start today with a free one-on-one review of your retirement plan. and i had like this four wheninch band of bumpsles it started on my back. that came around to the front of my body. and the pain from it was- it was excruciating. i did not want anyone to brush into me to cause me more pain than i was already enduring. i wanted to just crawl up in a ball and just, just wait till it passed.

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incredible video out of illinois from the weekend

tornadoes. this is surveillance footage from a gas station in the town of diamond. you can see cars being spun around in the street as the twister approaches. keep an eye on the home in the background. it's almost instantaneously disappears as the powerful tornado moves through. luckily no one was inside at the time. other news to cover. former secretary of state hillary clinton couldn't escape speculation about 2016 yesterday. when she encountered what could be called a happy heckler. mrs. clinton delivered a speech in philadelphia about the role of women and sustainability. during a question and answer session an audience member made clear who they want to see in the white house. >> how do we get rid of the current mindset, get back to this really beautiful art of governing. that is compromise. [ inaudible ] [ applause ]

>> well, there are some hecklers that i would never -- [ laughter ] >> say anything bad about. >> wow. anybody think that you could see a glimmer in her eye. she liked it, right? that means she's running. up next, dr. brzezinski is with us, dad. why he's urging congress to step back from slapping new sanctions on iran and i finally, finally have seen my dad in a situation where he's intimidated. that's next. helicopthierhis hibuzzing, andk engine humming.

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>> i think the problem with a partial teal is that you reduce the sanctions and in this case you reduce the sanctions let out a lot of pressure and iran is practically giving away nothing. it's making a minor concession which they can reverse in weeks, and you endanger the whole sanctions regime that took years to make. so i don't think it's a good deal, i think it's a bad deal, an exceedingly bad deal. we need a good deal. all right. we're going talking to about iran for sure here with us now former national security adviser for president carter dr. zbigniew brzezinski. he's the author of "strategic vision." my father and former national security adviser are urging leaders to negotiate with iran and they write in part this. should the united states fail to take this historic opportunity, we risk failing to achieve our

nonproliferation goal and losing the support of allies and friends while increasing the probability of war. addition enamel sanctions now against iron with the view to extracting the concessions in the negotiations will risk nund mining or even shutting down the negotiation. more sanctions would confirm iranians that the u.s. is not prepared to make any agreement with the current government iran. we call all americans and the u.s. congress to stand firmly with the president in the difficult but historic negotiations with iran. what's at stake, dad? >> what's at stake peace or war. at stake is security and iran is then a credible member of the international community and respects the obligations of the nonproliferation treaty fully. but to negotiate that we really

need to have at least a pause in the process that today is, in fact, creating greater international insecurity. iran has to stop what it's doing and we have to give them some incentive so accommodate. so the purpose of the negotiations right now is essentially an interim agreement which would then provide time and the basis for comprehensive arrangement. we have the support of the international community in this. russia, europe, china, are all with us and very important to maintain that solidarity while giving the iranians a sense we're serious in trying to respect their interests but also serious in insisting what they have to respect. >> jeremy? >> if you look at this from the perspective of the senators on the foreign relations committee i think they believe they played a constructive role in this process they were a bad cop exerting pressure on the iranians. i wonder what you think about

that. were they doing something that helped this in the end? >> you know, i can't get into their heads so i can only speculate. but i partially agree with you. i think there are some on the senate foreign relations committee who really want to help but also know there are limits to what can be imposed without the use of force. use of force is to be avoided if we can because it's going to be a regional disaster and another long war for us. there are some who without too much thinking are listening to foreign advice of the kind that you have displayed like from the foreign minister, netanyahu. they are not being particularly helpful and i'm not sure what their motives are. remember we are negotiating here not just alone. we have the international community with us. and very important to keep that front in solidarity and in stability and in reasonability. we're not trying to force iran

to its knees, and probably precipitate there by a turn to the extreme fanaticism that has characterized iran in recent years. >> michael steele. >> appreciate what your saying in terms of what the u.s. should be doing right now to take advantage of this historic opportunity to actually move towards some form of resolution, particularly with respect to the nuclear issue. but the flip side of that is iran. what indications do we have from iran that there will be serious negotiators and take seriously not just the view of the united states but globally that they do not need, nor should they be allowed to have nuclear weapons. taking all the other pieces off the table, just looking at it plain, where do we see iran coming in a genuine effort to avoid further sanctions but yes more down the road to adhere to whatever is negotiated? >> you can't be 100% sure. that's why we're negotiating.

we're trying to establish these realities. two things have to be considered. one a remarkable electoral outcome in which hard liners were running against a relative moderate. he won. the iranian public is tired. the iranian public realizes the sanctions are impoverishing everybody in iron. two negotiations that have been going on in the last days, the iranians have been accommodating. we were very close to it. there were some questions of wording, of precircumstanarticu. all of that can fall apart at any moment. we don't have control over the internal situation in iran. at the moment it appears the iranians have real viced what they have been doing have precipitated an international reaction that is undermining almost completely their national

economy. and they want to get out of that. >> do you see them abandoning their nuclear desires? >> very reluctantly, yes. what we want to make sure is that this not just an act of accomodation, this is real, this is inspectable, this is enforceable. and that's what the negotiations are about. >> i was wondering what a good, productive arrangement would be. what it would look like. you can get more specific? are there elements we can have big of a assuage our concerns? >> it's a comprehensive agreement regarding the scale and intensity of inspections, frequency, surprise inspections, things of that sort. it has a lot to do with a halt to enrichment above certain levels to give everyone a sense of security. it's technically a complicated procedure. it's one difficult for the iranians to swallow. they would like to be treated like everybody else but not everybody else was quietly

seeking to have the bomb while having signed a nonproliferation treaty. we also have to take into account this is a very proud country which has existed for 3,000 years. 80 million people with a sense of culture in a their own identity. we have to be sensitive to that. we cannot make them grovel and rub their nose in the dirt. some of the advice we're getting from the outside is be essentially designed to either humiliate them or drive them into negativism so we have to act militarily. >> how do you think john kerry is acting overall? >> i think he's a superb kansas city. he's got the president's confidence and support. i think he has the chance of becoming really an outstanding historically significant secretary of state. you know what? one of your earlier shows early in the summer i said, in my

dreams, i see perhaps the day when kerry, abbas and netanyahu together walk down and get the nobel peace prize as part of this larger settlement in the middle east. >> can i ask you this question about kerry. he's working on an agreement with the afghanistan government to chart what our footprint will be in that country for the next decade or so. what do you take from the report we could be there for 10, 20 years. are you worried about a lingering u.s. footprint in that country? >> yes, i am actually. i have some sense perhaps we shouldn't stay there in too visible presence for too long a time because at some time the afghans have to stand on their own. but we have to be careful to avoid what we did the last time when the soviets were driven out. we all of a sudden discontinued basically doing anything on behalf of afghanistan which had been devastated by a very brutal war that the soviets were waging

against them. we abandoned them. i think we want to commit ourselves to being helpful, but i would personally prefer a more rapid elimination of our military presence. >> dad, i said something before the break and i want to back it up with information now. i've seen this man talking to world leaders face to face, machine guns pointed at him, the worst of the worst and he doesn't bat an eye lash, doesn't flinch. take a look at this. this is daisy. and this is my dad's weakness. look. he can't control her. look. watch. watch what this dog does. he'll get her to sit down. here we go. she's going to listen. watch. >> daisy. sit. >> oh, my god this is humiliating. >> watch what she does. >> good dog. she's so bad. she has brought him to his knees.

he loves this dog so much he talks about it all the time. dad, thank you for coming on the show. actually stay with us because we have some interesting stuff coming. you we'll talk about jfk's unspoken speech the words president kennedy never had a chance to deliver that day in dallas. we're back in just a moment. [ male announcer ] at his current pace, bob will retire when he's 153, which would be fine if bob were a vampire. but he's not. ♪ he's an architect with two kids and a mortgage. luckily, he found someone who gave him a fresh perspective on his portfolio. and with some planning and effort, hopefully bob can retire at a more appropriate age. it's not rocket science. it's just common sense. from td ameritrade.

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>> it has become known as the unspoken speech. the address jfk was supposed to give in dallas 50 years ago today. dallas a complicated city where jfk found himself faced with a political firestorm, he never got out of. >> i have in front of me a copy of the speech which president kennedy was to deliver at noon today. if i may, i should like to read this speech which was not delivered. >> he arrived 50 years ago in dallas, a city divided. >> he essentially came to try to sell a political fight breaking out among democrats between the conservative branch led by governor conley and the liberal

wing. >> crowds lined the streets, among them a small but vocal wing of the right wing extremists. >> they perceived him of yankee power telling people what to do. >> the dallas morning news had been harsh, endorsing nixon by warning kennedy ushered in a welfare state and marxist socialism. they called him the puppet of pope john and a pick pocket. a full page ad greeted the president to the city that morning. upon seeing it, the president told his wife, we are heading into nut country today, but jackie, if somebody wanted to shoot me from a window with a rifle, nobody can stop it, so why worry about it? there was reason for concern. less than a month earlier, un ambassador was confronted by an

angry mob. >> surely i don't have to come here from illinois to teach texas manners, do i? >> president kennedy never would give that speech in dallas. >> it is true that our president and governor conally and the motorcade have been shot. >> instead nbc's chet huntley read the speech to the country. >> that we may achieve in our time and for all time the ancient vision of peace on earth, good will toward men. that must always be our goal. the righteousness of our cause must always underlie our strength. for as was written long ago, accept the lord to keep the city. the watchman wake ethbut in vain. that is the speech which

president kennedy was to deliver at approximately noon today, but he was cut down en route. >> before you go, i wonder your thoughts on that moment in history and also just where were you at the time? >> i was at columbia university when the waiter came up to me as i was having lunch and said i hear the president was shot. i remember i lept up, stood straight up and rushed down and looked at the television and waited until the moment when cronkite said to the country, it's a rumor, but the president is dead. i shared the grief of so many. i think what the president was saying is absolutely historically innovative. the principal instrument of foreign policy ultimately. we moved into an age subsequent

to it and not long afterwards in which we came to recognize that atomic weapons were standoff weapons. the country created paralysis. they are not weapons you want to use. that means collective suicide. we are now in that phase. when we talked about it, it's relevant to that. we have want to have a system in which there is deterrents. in a way that creates balance and we want a system in which everyone else refrains from having them. >> doctor, thank you. we'll be right back.

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>> good morning. it's 8:00 on the east coast and 5:00 on the west coast as you take a live look at washington, d.c. back with us on set, we have michael steel, jeremy peter, cokie roberts and julianna goldman. a couple of things developed in the past 24 hours. >> it was a quiet night. >> it was not a quiet night. the power struggle is reaching extreme levels both in republican filibusters and the way democrats are dealing with it. they approved a measure to block

the power to filibuster certain presidential nominees. the nuclear option is the most significant change to the rules of the upper chamber since 1975. it barely passed with 52 votes. through the five years of the obama presidency, the senate held votes to end a filibuster 79 times. that's more than double the amount during president bush's eight years in office. the senate can now end the debate on executive and judicial nominees. there have been blocks, but the new rule does not apply to supreme court nominations or legislative bills. it helps the democrats right now. that may come back to haunt them because they won't always be the case. harry reid and mitch mcconnell debated the merits of the vote. >> for the good of the united

states of america. it's time to change. it's time to change the senate before this institution becomes obsolete. you don't have to like the laws of the land, but you have to respect the laws and acknowledge them and abide by them. is the senate working now? can anyone say the senate is working now? i don't think so. >> the uninitiated newcomer who is served zero days in the minority, but the rest of you guys in the conference should know better. you want to play games and set another precedent that you will no doubt come to regret, say to my friends on the other side, you may regret this and a lot sooner than you think. >> president obama defended senate democrats hoping the measure would bypass the gridlock in washington.

>> i realize neither party has been blameless for these tactics. they have developed over years. it seems as if they continually escalated. today's pattern of obstruction just isn't normal. it's not what our founders envisioned. the book today is an indication that senators believe as i believe that enough is enough. the american people deserve better than politicians who run telling them how terrible government is and then devoting their time in elected office to make government not work as often as possible. >> having said that, president obama and vice president biden and senator reid oppose these tactics when their party was in the minority in 2005. >> they don't expect for one party be it republican or democrat to change the rules in the middle of the game to make

all the decisions while the other party is told to sit down and keep quiet. the right of free and open debate is taken from the minority party and the millions of americans who ask us to be their voice, i fear that the already partisan atmosphere will be poisoned to the point where no one agrees on anything. >> we should make no mistake this nuclear option that is ultimately the example of the arrogance of power. it is a fundamental power grab by the majority party propelled by the extreme right and designed to change the reading of the constitution. >> the fact is that move forward as contemplated by the majority is moving towards breaking rules to change rules and that's improper. it will change the senate forever and that's not good. this is a slippery slope.

once you have a rule changed illegally, you can do it again. >> that's one way to get the attention off obama care. i guess the argument is that the number of nomination blocks for this administration by the republicans has reached record proportions. >> they can make that argument, but if you listen to what they said in the minority, this is a grave challenge to america's democracy as we about it. as barack obama wisely said as senator in 2005 on that floor speech, if you already have a partisan environment and you bring out the nuclear option, you are going to make a partisan environment all the more partisan. i will say this. for progressives who said that this president doesn't play hardball and he is not a bare

knuckled brawler and he is not afraid to get dirty and fight hard which progressives have been saying for years, i think you can take that complaint about your president off the table. think about it. health care reform itself was passed by blowing up the filibuster. they couldn't go regular order. they blew it up to get this unpopular bill. the president over the past year has been unilaterally making one change after another without approval from the united states congress. howard dinghy coming on this show suggesting he may not have the constitutional right to do that and now the very judges who will be determining whether what he is doing and the changes are constitutional or not. they are only going to get through by a nuclear option. you look at the history of this presidency and look specifically

how he handled the messy rules of the senate, historians are going to be a breathtaking grab of power. they can blame republicans too, but cokie, what i was fascinated by when i was in congress and turn to my republican brothers and sisters, i say you guys are acting like republicans are going to be in charge for the rest of our life. you do know that the way we treat them will be held against us when they get back in power. i wonder democrats employing this option, do they not know that 2014 is a grim landscape for them? >> mitch mcconnell was making that point and said we need -- it this way because it will work for the majority. the rules have been forever changed. in listening to those sound

bytes of then and now, it's clear where you stand depends on where you sit. >> john mccain said that yesterday. >> it's true. there is no consistency. one thing that is amusing, in the war of 1812, the debate around that, there was a filibuster in that era in the house of representatives. and the house was filibustered in the war and passed by the resolution with no federalist votes. but the only way to stop the filibuster was through a spi toon. >> that's disgusting. >> the noise was so loud that it stopped the speaker and the filibuster was declared over. >> that are would be one way of doing it. simpler and kind of gross. let's go around the table.

jeremy, what does this apply to and what does it not? i heart the lines being muddled a bit. >> it does not apply to supreme court justices. >> that can't be said enough. >> i think that remains untouchable. for all the talk that this has blown up the comedy and whatever remains, if obama nominates a supreme court justice, you can see a deep reluctance to push the nuclear button. >> this is about the d.c. circuit judges who will be the first that are going to be determining whether president obama's actions are constitutional. of course you wouldn't want to say this to other circuit judges, but the most important circuit judges and determining the outlines of what's constitutional and not constitutional in obama care is the d.c. circuit, right?

>> and the judges have gone on to the supreme court. it's an important question. the second most important court in the land. this is going have huge ramifications for president obama's agenda. while the court is split now for republican appointees and democrat appointees, it's going to be 7-4. republicans have argued and have been good at fighting elections on this notion. a president selects the federal bench. in this case it was a difficult argument for them to make saying all right, we will appoint the president from keeping his judges. >> michael steel? >> it's all pretty exciting personally. had popcorn last night and i was watching this unfold. i was a happy camper. >> i was like you. >> it's fascinating because what goes around comes around.

i take exception to this man that both majorities have wanted for sometime. harry reid and the president conspired to get it done. they were excellent in effecting it. i think next year in 2015 when republicans are in the majority and the senate, it becomes a different landscape and you are going to hear the whining from the left. >> michael, really quickly to you and i want to send it back to mika. how hilarious it was to watch harry reid on the senate floor say the senate is not working. it's as if harry reid has nothing to do with being the greatest glorified pocket veto in the history of senate. he killed every single republican piece of legislation, every amendment that barack obama didn't want democrats to vote on. not a single appropriation bill

has passed through the senate and he hasn't even gotten out of committee to vote on the floor, but not a single appropriation bill has passed and it wasn't until six months ago that he passed his first budget in four years and harry reid is saying the senate is not working. thank you. whose fault is that? >> exactly. to your point again, i think this opens up the opportunity not just for court nominations, but the supreme court will be included as well as legislation. it became the house. >> that's a smart wie to approach it even though we can laugh about it. that saying that we are doing this to make the government work was something that we can go with. >> if it does pull into other areas, it could be ugly.

a couple of things. watching harry reid last night was almost as good as the run off on the x factor. i was having a hard time deciding. julianna, why would the president speak out on this? clearly one of the things that politicians hate the most is just like one of the things you can't control when it happens. to have them lined up back to back when you said one thing and another and it doesn't take a second grader to know that would happen the minute he reached out in support of this. >> with the nominees being rejected. look, democrats made this decision seeing the writing on the wall and knowing if the election were to be held, they have roughly a year to get these nominees through. the straw that broke the camel's back if you talk to democrats and the white house was the fact

that the sitting member of congress for the first time in 150 years couldn't get through the process. this is the way that they will be able to get their nominees through over the next year. >> wow. now for a look back 50 years ago today, joe. >> cokie, let me ask you where you were. how your parents responded to the news that jfk had been killed in dallas. >> i was 19 years old. i was a junior in college and in my dorm. the word spread very quickly and everybody ended up in my room thinking i would know more than other people because my father was in the louse leadership. of course i didn't. my mother reached me because one of the things we were concerned about is that there was a plot. they might be going after other people as happened with the lincoln assassination. my mother was in the capitol and

they closed down the capitol immediately and brought in the police and secret service which was something that didn't happen in that day. could walk around freely. that was a shocking moment. then we all in college went like everybody else to the tv set. the little black and white tv set in the main room or parlor of the dorm. my father then came back to the capitol and went out with the speaker to andrews to meet the plane when it arrived from dallas. johnson had a meeting that night in the vice president's office of the joint congressional leadership asking them to support him and get behind him. >> what a moment. >> what were those three days like from your vantage point

between the assassination, the killing of ruby, of course the funeral. >> the entire country, the entire country was glued to tv sets. watching this. and watching that incredibly shock juxtaposition of oswald being murdered in front of us before everybody's eyes. live on tv. then the solemnity of the funeral, it was riveting and horrifying. millions and really the whole country watched it happening. it was tv coming of age in a way as well. it was a period where really there was a tremendous amount of concern about what would happen next. that's why president johnson's taking the oath on the skpleplad

insisting that mrs. kennedy be there for that iconic picture was penitentiary and people could understand there was no disruption in the government. >> cokie roberts, thank you. coming up, we will check in with mike allen. plus, if you thought crying babies were annoying on flights, wait until the guy next to you is yapping on his cell phone. the change that could be coming to the air soon. can i say that? that's not fair. i pick on you, bill. here's bill with a check on the forecast. >> for that, i will give you the weekend forecast. everyone else, i will give it to you. as far as the airports go, philadelphia with a minor delay. as we go through the day, i think we could have significant rains. heavy rain in the southwest. light rain showers moving

through the northeast. jfk to boston. it's cold in the central planes and oklahoma city at 29. freezing rain in areas of west texas towards oklahoma city and snow. significant snow in northern new mexico and southern colorado. enjoy the warmth while it lasts. the arctic air goes through chicago and makes its way to the east coast on sunday. by the way, next week on wednesday, a nor'easter with heavy rain. the busiest travel day of the year. a good possibility of rain next wednesday. we leave you with a shot of a wet and drizzly time square. sunday it will be frigid. enjoy the warmth. you are watching "morning joe."

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. >> with a good conscious, our only sure reward with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love. asking his blessing and his help. but knowing that here on earth, god's work must truly be our own.

>> those of some of headlines capturing that moment in history 50 years ago today. time now to take a look at the morning papers from our parade of papers. kennedy cousin michael skakel out of prison on a $1.2 million bond. skakel 7ed 11 years of 20 years for the 2002 conviction of the murder of martha moxley back in 1975. his lawyer successfully argued for an appeal. skakel will wear a gps monitoring device. joe? >> from the charlotte observer, billy graham is out of the hospital this morning after a two-day stay for respiratory issues. the iconic evangelist was

screened for similar symptoms. his father was in good spirits and asked for prayers. he recently celebrated his 95th birthday earlier this month. >> the boeing 747 dream lifter cargo plane that landed at the wrong airport was able to safely take off yesterday and a mix up left it@wrong airport in kansas, eight miles from the intended destination. officials were concerned whether the 235 jet could take off on a runway drastically shorter than the plane typically uses. they have not said what caused the error at this point. >> a horrifying story coming out of san francisco. the "san francisco chronicle" reports following the end to a ban on electronic devices. the fcc is considering allowing passengers to use cell phones while in flight. officials say phone use would

only be allowed once the plane reached 10,000 feet which is even worse. airlines would have to install equipment to allow phones to communicate with cell phone towers on the ground. mika, that's what i want to hear while i'm closing my eyes trying to go to sleep going across the country having a guy go yeah, yeah, and then i told him. i told him this is the way the deal will go down. i says to him, i says -- >> can you imagine that? having to hear people on a plane for three or four hours talking on cell phones? >> shoot me now. >> please. >> i hope they make a rule ensuring people keep their shoes on. >> oh, god yes. >> and some hope on that. the last paragraph of "usa toda today", the hope is that they

will make this so expensive that the guy that joe was listening to won't be on the phone. >> i don't know if i trust this from a man wearing bright green argyle socks. right up on the table. excuse me. you can't get the shot? you have to put them back. you can wear those. >> i wear socks. i would wear them today. >> the "new york times," samsung will have to fork over an extra $290 million to apple in an ongoing patent battle in a retrial. a jury ruled they violated the iphone patents last year. they had to pay $600 million to apple. the latest verdict brings the total to more than $900 million. ouch. joe? >> the "usa today," justin timberlake and jimmy fallon are reuniting on "saturday night live" december 21st.

this scares me. i hope they keep their box on the shelf. the two will be hosting for the second time and timberlake will act as musical guest. that doesn't mean timberlake won't appear in a few skits. the duo spent a week on late night in jimmy fallon. the hash tag take down video was a huge hit. >> there is going to be a box involved. kelly clarkson discusses why she will discuss her best christmas ever. that's cute. i like her. with us now, chief white house correspondent mike allen with the morning playbook. looking at speculation about surrendering the potential 2016 presidential candidates. we have senator rand paul. he has an idea of how he and chris christie can settle differences. take a look.

>> do you think i can convince you to come into the studio to have a chat? >> absolutely. i would try to get him to go out for a beer with me and we can get that organized. if there is a state fair, woo ke go for a fried twinkie. >> how does this end? >> it's fascinating. they keep going after each other. they think they are one and two in this pack. for a long time we thought -- >> does anyone else think they are one and two? >> sure. i think we agreed on the show at the moment chris christie has the megaphone in the republican party. no way to take that away from him. rand paul has this clear level of support. a higher floor and lower ceiling because he has the support from his dad and broader support and he will have money. they both have money. >> i want to challenge the assertion that they are both going after each other and it seems to me that rand paul is

like a little kid tugging at chris christie's pants. rand paul seems obsessed with chris christie and he is not paying attention. >> chris christie brushed him off in the past when he proposed that they make up. christie trying to make a food joke. that's also pushed off. when he was asked about the twinkie manufacturer leaving new jersey. he said you won't catch me on camera talking about that. james swanson joins us with the gripping account of kennedy's assassination and why he calls it the great dividing line in american history. we'll be right back.

♪

>> that was just a moment ago at arlington national cemetery which is hoving a wreath layinger is moan tow commemorate the 50th anniversary of jfk's assassinati assassination. a clear majority of americans say we don't know the truth about who killed president kennedy. in a recent poll, 61% say they believe lee harvey as wald was part of a conspiracy. 30% believe he acted alone. willie geist has more on why so many questions still remain. >> if you were around 50 years ago, you remember the exact moment you heard the news.

>> all the students stood in the hall. a lot of us were crying. >> i remember my mother picking me up in school weeping over the steering wheel. >> for many americans, the jury is still out on who killed our 35th president. >> i don't know if i will ever know the real story. >> the official story said lee harvey oswald, a former marine turned com sympathizer acted alone. that was the finding of the warren commission. seven men including a future president, a former cia director and a chief justice of the supreme court tasked by lyndon johnson with uncovering the truth. the discussion didn't end with that report. not by a long shot. >> they had crucial facts with held and any reasonable person would say you can't trust the verdict. >> theorists say the

investigation was shy. how could oswald have fired three shots with a bold action rifle in five seconds. what about the so-called magic bullet. the second shot that wounded kennedy and ended up in the thigh of john conolly. >> it waits 1.60 seconds presumably in mid-air where it turns right and left, right then left. >> the classic scene recreated on seinfeld reprising his courtroom demonstration. >> it splashed off the wrist and pauses in mid-air, mind you. makes a left turn and lands on newman's left thigh. that is magic lugy. >> then jack ruby. why would a dallas nightclub

owner with alleged mafia ties shoot and kill oswald in the basement of the police station? ruby's explanation? to spare jackie kennedy the pain of a trial. they persist that the mob wanted kennedy dead for a crack down on organized crime along with his brother, robert kennedy. the questions are seemingly endless. was kennedy targeted by the cia for the fallout from the pay of pigs? was he the victim of the military because of opposition to war in vietnam. was fidel castro to blame? the kgb or the secret service? some point tos en dee's successor who was sworn in 99 minutes after kennedy was pronounced dead. will we ever know the truth? >> it's unlikely that the majority of americans will subscribe to the idea that lee oswald acted alone.

we are suspicious of what our government tells us despite the smoke and mirrors. it's hard to find one piece of reliable evidence that suggests oswald killed john kennedy on behalf of a larger group. >> with us now, "new york times's" author james swanson is out with a new book, end of days, the assassination of john f. kennedy. how many experience theories are there? >> probably 20 or 30 in addition to the ones you just mentioned. lyndon johnson and the texas oil men. anti-castro cubans and some say the officer who was murdered by oswald. the doctors were part of it according to the theories. it's never ending. these conflict with each other. they can't make sense. >> want to know which make the most sense and do you think it was conspiracy some.

>> 50 years later, none make sense. he was a good shot and he bought the gun. three coworkers were sitting in the window and heard three shots. they heart the bullet open and close. they heart the three brass cartridge cases. people in the street saw the rifle barrel pointing out the window and saw it track the president's car. they saw him shoot. one man saw as wald in the window and got a good description of him. all the evidence, dozens of pieces of evidence point to harry oswald. >> i wonder if you talk about jackie kennedy for a minute. you found out fascinating things about her character. this woman who despite her frail state of mind after enduring this tragedy had the foresight to stand there and say no, i'm not going to change my clothes. america is going to see me. they should see what they have done.

what was the most surprising thing you learned about her? >> how she endured the unendurable. she helped the nation get through the tragedy. she is sitting in the car, her face inches from her husband and part of her head flies out and she tries to retrieve it. she is not trying to escape, she is trying to help him. the horrible ride, my god, there is blood and brains all over me. they shot his head off. she tries to get into the emergency room and the nurse tries to stop him. she said no, i must be with him when he dies. then she goes to air force to pose for the famous photograph and the women say change your clothes. jackie goes and looks at herself in the mirror and said his brains and blood were on my face and i wiped it off with a tissue. i should have let people say. she said i want the american people to see what my husband

suffered on their behalf. when that plane lands five hours later, that's the first look the american people are going to get at jackie since the assassination. millions of watching. air force one pulls to a stop and the door opens and america lets out a collective gasp. there she stands in the doorway. the blood is on her stockings and shoes and her outfit. she wanted to seer into the minds of the american people that image. it worked. her in that pink suit is the most iconic image in political history. a week later, the one-week anniversary of his death, she creates the myth of camelot by so many. a famous journalist to hyannis port. she said we used to listen to this musical, camelot. jack loved this line. there was a brief shining moment and that was his presidency. it was a magical time in american history. she said it will never be that way again. there will never be another camelot and magazine told that

to the american people and jackie created the most powerful and enduring myth in american politician tiitic politics. >> thank you very much. just a note, msnbc will have continuing coverage on this 50-year anniversary of that event in history. today's business headlines with kelly evans. we'll be right back. hey, we got our cards, honey!

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yesterday closed about 16,000 for the fertile time. it continues the historic rally. of course every time we hit a new high water mark, there were questions about whether the rally can have staying power. that will dominate the discussion. in the meantime, we will see if the nasdaq can cross 4,000 and the s&p at the 1800 level. that's in terms of the major markets. a couple of stories happening. one into next week. keep an eye on the retailers. a lot of weak third quarter earnings that were heading into a critical period with the week less between thanksgiving and christmas this year than last year. that's including on ann taylor. this is one to watch. we know while apple and samsung have been battling it out and getting a win last night, in the meantime, microsoft trying to remake itself into the xbox company in your living room and

using that device in more or less kind of a new computer. the way we might have used desk tops or years ago. the xbox won launch last night. we will see if it can launch the playstation 4. >> thank you so much. we are back in just a moment. parties in washington get it: washington is lagging behind the country on this... ...this issue has been around far too long... and yet, we wait. reforming our immigration system would dramatically reduce our nation's debt... grow the economy by 5.4% ... and take bold steps to secure our borders. on this, both parties say they agree: democrats... we are very very strongly in favor of moving immigration reform... and republicans... we do want to make some progress

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>> the news that jfk had been assassinated came as an indescribable shock to many americans on that day in 1963. just last hour, we spoke to tom brocaw and dan rather, two veteran news men who reflected on what it meant and still means for the country. >> this is a unique situation because dan and i are on the same side of the table. we competed against each other all these years. >> you were there. with cbs running the dallas bureau at the time charmed with picking up the film that you had to get to a transmission point. for you that really was the beginning of the cbs career this a way. >> that's fair to say. i was covering the civil rights movement, but i had only been at cbs about a year and 3/4. when you cover something such as this, it sticks in the national memory. >> i was a young reporter in omaha. we were dark. we didn't have it up at the noon

hour. i read it on the air in home ha. couldn't get near the place. the mid-western governors were meeting and the spokesman was mitt romney's father. no one could project ahead and i don't think they had an idea how this would linger. >> kennedy died violently so young. always because he had so much promise. i think the mystique will be there 50 years from now and probably will be aging men talking about it. >> you can see tom and dan's full conversation on our website. mojo.msnbc.com.

>> white house press contributor robert gibbs and in washington -- seriously? did you really do that? did you brush your hair? it's like spank fre the little rascals. >> willie brought this in a classic segment. >> he kicked the habit of 40 cigarettes a day. the problem now is he is addicted to junk food.

>> i don't need credit for that. >> i'm glad the troops are out there. >> rob ford, i don't know what it is today. >> america's mayor. this is the world's mayor. >> did you meet the toronto mayor? >> god no. did you want to do something with my hair. >> i would like to comb it. >> what do you got going there? >> two more long, long weeks. >> that does not even resemble a young orson wells. >> as long as it's not an old orson wells. we need to address chuck todd's glasses. are these new? they are on the bridge of your nose. go to an optometrist and not cvs. >> do you have running shoes on? >> i do. i know i look nice. i'm getting ready for school. >> what would be the best of the

best, mick a joe, barnacle or willie? long-term? >> you can leave now. what about that shot? >> great book tour. time for what we learned. >> we are nearing dante's inferno. we will have cell phone usage. >> jeremy? >> it was almost possible on the day of heavy news to get through a show without mentioning the mayor. almost. >> filibuster has a new friend. partisanship that looked together. >> both sides are guilty of that. if it's way too early, it's time for "morning joe" and time for

"the daily rundown." have the best day. >> a half century of history shaped by a single bullet in dallas. a look back at the and death of president kennedy and the events that were happening at this very hour 50 years ago. also this morning, a major move changes the u.s. senate as we know it. or does it? reaction on how a relatively old rule got rejected by a decidedly new senate. plus happy hacklers for hillary clinton and a shiny new number out of the sunshine state for her against jeb bush and chris christie. a quick check in in a busy, busy week. it's friday, november 22nd, 2013. this is "the daily rundown." you say that date any time it's november 22nd, you think of one day. you begin with 50 read in this