this is from paula jean. i should have sat with george in aurora. do we have another one? >> yeah, one more. >> this one,@carolyn >> well, you might wonder which political party bears more responsibility for nothing getting done. obviously, each side is blaming the other. here's a tip, the one responsible might define its fission mission thusly. >> we should not be judged on how many laws we created. we ought to be judged on how many laws we can repeal. >> ask not what you can do, ask

what you can stop your country from doing. >> well, i know, there is actually a good ring to it. welcome to "morning joe" as you take a live look, it's absolutely gorgeous. it puts me in the holiday spirit every year, it's the comcast commerce tree. welcome to "morning joe." a great day here. willie geist, there is something about the sound of money going into cash registers at the nbc experience store all around 30 rock, of course all around the greater new york city area. it makes me think, you know, that's what that little baby child in bethlehem over 2,000 years ago was trying to teach. >> it's about getting a mug, that's what the season is about. >> you think that's what it's -- i'm not sure, maybe it is, i don't know. but that is a beautiful tree. >> it is. >> i think it's comcast ec, isn't it? >> sure is a beautiful tree.

>> so who do we have on the show today, willie? >> am i supposed to do that. >> here's the deal, t.j. said why don't you introduce everybody? of course, since i'm at the orphanage here and with the kids and i said, hold on, i got to go talk for a few minutes before i go back to eat my poridge. >> you are dressed so nice. you usually don't dress thatifies from yonice fr /* /- that nice from your orphanage days. >> the orphanage is in south france. willie says to me, why don't you introduce everybody? i said i'm not at the orphanage, i'm not exactly sure who is there. put down the ladle. he doesn't read the proctor to

read the introduction. >> i see. >> i can sit there thinking if i keep talking about the com karks will you pick it up. i can see now, it's like the brady bunch. how are you guys doing? >> we got seven of us. this here is mike barnacle. he's with the boston area. >> old time boston resident. >> msnbc "time" magazine, mark halperin, he wrote a good book lately. nicole wallace, msnbc political analyst visiting professor at nyu former democratic congressman and the defact o mayor. >> thank god. >> and in washington, the washington anchor for bbc world news america. she is, in fact, the world's anchor. good morning, everybody. >> i'm in another room, an

orphanage outpost this morning. >> d.c. branch of the orphanage. let's talk about this budget deal, the senate has reached a deal on the budget t. so-called cease-fire on capitol hill buys time to address the larger federal government issues, the tax code, social security, congressman ryan and senator murray brokered the deal through 2015. the plan also replaces $63 billion in sequester cuts over the next few years and cuts $23 billion from long-term deficits. last night, congressman ryan spoke about the negotiations with senator murray. >> whatever we did, i wanted to make sure it was a step in the right direction toward fiscal conservatism. she wanted a relief. that's why we were able find common ground t. way i look at this, you don't have to way for the other person to violate core principal. you have great ground. this isn't the greatest

agreement of all time. we have a long way to get this under control. this is a step in the right direction. >> president obama praised the deal saying quote this agreement doesn't cover everything. it's a good seen that democrats and republicans in congress were able to come together and break the cycle of short crisis decision making to get this done. freedom works, americans for prosperity and heritage action speak out against the plan. it will stop the gridlock in 2010. the bill could be put to a vote as soon as tomorrow. obviously, joe, neither side is completely thrilled with this. paul ryan to say yes not a grand bargain, it buys us breathing space for a couple of years. >> i don't leak the deal at all. when you have a $17 trillion debt the last thing i want as a fiscal conservative is adding $60 billion more to spending over the next couple years, but

mark halperin, the "wall street journal" this morning said it sure as heck beats the alternative, which would be more gridlock, which would not only be bad for the republican party who they say they're not sure they trust that they wouldn't commit suicide again, but it would be bad for the economy if we had yet another crisis. so i guess as they say, it is the best bad deal that conservatives can get right now. >> that seems to be the attitude on both side, right? >> i think it does three things, leave the specifics aside. it provides some stability because we're not financial to be worried about shutdown. it shows that the bipartisan muscles can work to get some deals in the future. i think murray and ryan are real heros may be too strong of a word. it shows you can go out there, explain in a principal way why

you are doing with a divided government and you cannot only lift to survive, you can get praised by people for doing the right thing. they did it in a serious way. so i think this is a beggar deal in terms of the symbolism and potential precedent it is being given credit for so far. >> i agree, of course, nicole, you will have all the cheesy head leans about the political odd couple. look at them. they are the political odd couple. it does say something about how much the last government shutdown, for not only the republican, but also how much democrats were wondering about it when they went back home that you guys just aren't getting things done. apparently there is pressure coming from the middle to broker a deal leak this. >> right and to introduce the crafts plex of this. republicans are interested in keeping the focus on they still feel are the decision of obama's health care law. you look at all the new polling

that's out. it is having a devastating impact on this white house and this president. so i think that the policy was sound enough for paul ryan who has made his entire brand about sensible conservative budget. but to put the policy aside, this happens in washington as we all know pretty quickly and the politics of this i think most republicans feel work and allow them to keep the focus on the deefficiencies and the health care laws. >> but, in washington, d.c., isn't, fine, we have a proposal down the "wall street journal" op-ed page. this is a real categories of how far the bar has been lowered in terms of public acceptance. this is tremendous. they spoke to each other. what a revolutionary thing. >> how can you say? this is a triumph. we will keep the american government opened. imagine that. that is the epitome of success at the moment that we can actually keep the government

functioning, but you are all right that not everybody is very happy. even steve ratner one of our "morning joe" team, he's writing in the new york time today congress avoids reality again. how wonderful would it have been to have a major fess cal success to show for more than two years of shutdowns and all around silliness the show down? november 2011 produced absolutely nothing. even though they occurred at the point of a gun, the impending spending cuts. this time around they didn't face similar consequences for an action, while we need to reverse the fiscal policy and address long-term deficit the agreement accomplished neither, perhaps offering a reminder for the need for these steps is naive in this politically fractious environment. unless we can come to grips with the fiscal issue, we will be

enfriendgeing a huge burden on our children. is this deal worse in the sense they had an opportunity to do something and they skwaupderred that opportunity? >> i can only echo what mark said this morning. i think as nicole said, something can get done, clearly, i think it serves as the real model, the goal we should be looking to achieve. be you the fact that ryan and murray, two people, particularly conservative, didn't believe that patty murray, who leans a little left than i, some in the political world was able to achieve something with the former vice presidential candidate of the republican party. i think it bodes well. i hope the president as he returns home from the great funeral of nelson mandela will look to this and follow the word of his statement and took to achieve what i hope will be a real long-term grand bargain in

the coming months. i think it will be the best thing that could happen thus far in the second term of his presidency. >> you know they keep focusing on dischretienary spending, that's where the overwhelming majority of the focus has been, obviously, steve ratner and many other are concerned about the long-term debt and entitle him spending. for the most part, they only had modest reforms. so still a lot to do and i guess a lot of polls came out last night on the president and congress, not good news for either side. >> no, definitely not good news for either side, more than a year after winning re-election, obama finds himself less popular than ever before. according to a "wall street journal" poll, 54% now disapprove of president obama. that's a record high and quinnipiac university find the president's favorability dropping to a new low, 38%

approve, 57% disapprove. overall, those numbers are due in large part to obama care. the nbc poll finds 58% say the health care law is the mane issue shaping their views with the president. just 34% say the health care law is a good idea. 50% say it's a bad idea. we all could also have political ramifications at the ballot box in 2014. now more americans say republicans, not democrats, should take control of congress, but, of course, jerry, the poll says that congress's ae profl rating in the tank as well. i think 1% of poll respondents, joe, said that congress is doing an excellent job. i think we should all go out and find that 1%. >> it is the friends of the family plan on the polling. maybe they're the ones that say they're doing excellent. you go through the list of the polls that came out. you get a variety of responses, i think quinnipiac has the

president 38%. a queen pack poll has them around 45%. the "wall street journal"s a them at 33%. i will tell you the most discerning number is the same football that just you know george w. bush and you guys couldn't stand and that's the question of trustworthiness when only, you know, 37, 38% of americans believe that you are actually trustworthy and that your word is good. that's just devastating. not just for a president but for any politician from top to bottom. it's got to really stink. >> that's the one that hobbles the rest of your legislative agenda. it makes it very difficult to rally democrats and republicans around your foreign policy. that's the number that makes it very difficult for you to go out and campaign for members of your political party in the mid-terms. that's the number that changes daily life in the west when

because every planning meeting be every that number reaches those lows is how the president can help pass a law, how the president can help pass his agenda, how the democrat can support the democrats. once that number flips upsidedown, it's about keeping the president away from the priorities that matter the most. >> you take all of these polls in some, it's how front and center the health care law is for everybody. 35% said it was the economy forming their opinions about the president of the united states. there are some areas where the economy is getting better. yet the president's numbers continues to tick down. it shows people are focused in, whether the white house wants them to be or not on obama care. >> it will be necessary that the overall poll numbers get better. i'm not sure it will be eefficient. he still has a floor of support. as bad as the truthworthy numbers are, i think msnbc

journal poll is probably the closest. he's still in the low 40s. that's a strong thing to build off of. >> if this is the floor. >> that would suggest it was the floor. >> he rarely is below 40 in ferms terms of overall approval rating. >> that means he doesn't have far to go to have some successes to get back to the mid-40s. >> their pollster is right, this is the inflexion point. it will go with one or the another. >> it might be. i think he has to do big and dramatic things. the personnel changes they will make i think are good. >> is it a good move? >> i think it is. he has to do something big and dramatic having a 440 with a ceiling of free of at a time when all these other footballs are deteriorating and the health care thing is a good problem, i don't know what he can accomplish. >> on the table, we are looking again, if you are just getting ready for work or getting your kid ready for school. you are not looking at the

screen, queen pack has it 38%. cbs 42%. bloomberg 42%. nbc news wheat journal poll 43%. pugh poll 45%. let me throw this up into the table. what can the president do that is big that doesn't require him striking a deal with must be u republicans, a significant deal with republicans. it just doesn't seem to be in his temper him. what can he do? what's the big idea? >> other than a martian envacatie invasion, i think if he wants to get his big items passed. >> he wants to beat the republicans. they're looking at 2014. they're not looking at history. are they?

>> he could lose the senate. i don't think that's a good strategy. >> i would structure a men mum wage increase bill that looked at how you keep it for a rate for first time employees, meaning young people and heads of households from an income generating stand point. no. 2, i'd approve the keystone pipe lean right awhat e. >> i knew it. welly geist. i knew, where was drilling going to come in here? >> it's a job creation. >> he's a boilman. we need to get him a jru, because every time he comes on, hey, i'm with you, buddy. >> i'm all about oil. we will have more oil than anybody else in the world, natural gas. i'm saying, willie geist. >> paul ryan writes in the white house right when i land and say, loose, let's find a way to gen now, get all that we want. let take the next step here and get two things done. >> i was so bullish on the taxes

entitlement deal but republicans will not raise taxes and harry reid will not cut entightlements. it's not going to happen. >> the big driver of his negative is the failure of the health care to work. the introduction to the health care. that's a beg dreefr of these negatives. what has to happen for his stuff to go up is it has to work and it's going to work. it works better each and every week. anecdotally you can peck up from people trying to go online. they are having success, they are enrolled in state of state. those numbers will go up because of health care or they're going to crash. >> there still will be a lot of lossers in health care. and until he can rehabilitate the image of the overall program. people whose premiums will go up. they will have limited choice. >> that's a losing chose. that's on us.

we will peck the thing apart and have the loser of the week the winners of the week. >> people who were told and believe if they leak their healthcare they can keep it. if they trusted their doctor, they could keep it. every single person and everyone in their world that knows about that story. that's not a website glitch. that's not a rollout problem. knows are people who feel fundamentally lied to. >> that's a credibility problem. i think that's a source. >> there are lots of winners. there are lots of lossers, too. >> they western honest about that. >> joe, i wonder if this is all about jobs. if you look at these polls closely. one of the things that streaks me, afternoon though we have seen certain uptechs in the economy, president obama isn't getting credit for them. people are saying we think this would happen anyway, wall street recovery, the de13 in the unemployment numbers,er that not gefg the white house any credit for having turned those things around. is that because people aren't

feeling those met treks yet, they're not seeing what is happening around the country? they're not feeling it in their own pockets. i think until you can get people to start thinking, we see the numbers showing the economy is proving, we are feeling that the economy is improving in our households around our friend and our families. i think this is a hard one for the president to turn around. >> that is what is critically driving his poll numbers. >> you know, isn't it the case that there seems to be right now such a massive disconnect between wall street and their success, the best numbers ever and at mane street whereas i've said all the past six months when i have been going around, i buy something in a local store. i ask, how are you guys doing? business up, business down. there is such concern right now because they're not feeling the recovery yet. you feel it in spots around the country, but don't you think there is such a disconnect and when everybody starts feeling

the recovery, if in fact, there is a recovery, they feel the economy is growing leak some of the numbers suggest they are. then a rising tide lifts all boats as we conservatives and jfk like to say and the president's numbers will go up when people start feeling their economic fortunes going up across america. >> i think that's exactly right. you speak to economists. a couple things they say would add gdp growth, immigration reform and tax reform. the chances of getting those passed are slim. they seem to be concrete things to boost job growth at the same time. i do think that's what the president needs to do. he's got to close that gap between numbers which mean nothing to people that suggest check growth and what people are feeling at home. >> a lot more to talk about this morning, coming up on "morning joe" david axelrod joins us and senator colburn talks political

strategist. meek murphy, vanity fair's gradegrade greydon carter. >> what a start to winter. we've had one outbreak membersed in with a mini snowstorm. the ohio valley and the northeast. first things first, yesterday, we dealt with our mini snow. a lot of areas got two, three inches. this morning, look at these wind chills. we're in the teens in many areas. whatever was out there yesterday, a slush is now frozen solid. if the northern planes is the ice box, this is brutal stuff. wind chill warnings, minus 38 the lowest i can find in cookston, mens mince. not much better in mens mince or fargo, it is sfloe snowing. be careful on the roads in and around chicago about one to three inches of snow is expected

as we go throughout your morning rush hour. it is starting to dreft, fort wane to toledo. about the weekend storm the timing not so good, especially with people trying to get their stuff done, this is the total snowfall for the event. this is our european model. this area in general expecting accumulating snow. the possibility of three to six inches could be widespread. good for the ski resort. baaed if you are going to your holiday party. a cold day throughout the country. i'll have more on that next snow event coming this weekend. d.c., reagan national airport, i can't believe it, you didn't get your two inches of snow. we'll make that 1,049 days without two inches of snow. you are watching "morning joe." [ music playing ] . every day we're working to be an even better company -

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. >> welcome back to "morning joe." let's look at morning papers. overnight government stormed an anti-protest camp in the ukraine capital. the demonstrators not back clashing screaming shame and we will stand, reporters say several police officers were hurt. the protest started last month after ukraine backed away from a european trade deal to keep close ties with russia. >> amazing pictures. nearly one year after the new town school shooting, vice president joe biden announced a 100 million plan to improve mental health services. biden made the announcement with the victim's families. it will increase access to services. an investigation of the new town shooting concluded the shooter

adam lance za has quote significant issues. gm appointed the first fe pail ceo in the history of the auto industry. mary barra who has been with them 15 years. she started a an intern and attended the gm institute. while the move is significant, it should be noted only 23 ceos of fortune 500 companies are women. good move by gm. >> usa today after spending two nights in the bitter cold mountains of nevada, a family of six were found alive and well. two adults and four children were stranded after their jeep overturnedch temperatures reached subserpico ro levels. the two days they survived by staying inside their car and heating rocks for warmth. amazing, cell phone signals helped lead searches to their location t. family sustained

only american injury, can you believe it? >> puppy love landed a 6-year-old boy in hot water with his school. did you hear this story? the boy has been suspended from school for one day for kissing his crush on her hand and cheek. the school claiming sexual harass. against the 6 yield, hunter yelton's mother says she admits hunter has been in trouble for the same thing before t. culprit has this to say. >> she took me to the office. i kneel sorry. i have been good at school. i just have a lot of energy. a 6-year-old, they have a lot of energy. >> that explains that. >> i feel leak he's been coached to say. oh, that's amazing. i have a 6-year-old. i have a lot of energy. what do you want from me? >> i got energy in my body.

>> all right. speechless. all right, republican congressman turned to politics steve stockman not wasting time attacking senator john cornyn in the primary race in texas. stockman sent out a fundraising e-mail where he repeatedly calls him a liberal. he accuses the numbered senator of betraying republicans. his supporters would point to the voting record which national journal ranks as the second most conservative voting record in 2012. in a newly published interview, senator corn then takes a shuttle shot at the tea party. he says, i don't know how we got off on our track. hence, my reference to ronald reagan's lean, what do you call someone who agrees with you eight times out of ten, an alike we're at a point where you request agree with somebody european% of the time.

nicole wallace. we talked about this a little bet yesterday. it's so obvious, the idea that john corn then is a leb ral is preposterous. >> i think what has to happen is when these obviously conservative senators are challenged from the right, they have to welcome the fight. they have to be willing to stand on their record. the whole body language i think to this point has been oh no i'm being challenged from the right. they crumble and become afraid of their own shadows. they feel really defensive. i think john mccain went through this process. he had some advice to his colleagues. he said the best defense is a strong offense. i think they need to take that to heart and welcome these challenges. these are all senators who have extremely conservative records to be proud of and from time to time we've done a little governing as well. that's where some of these votes or moves that may look a little bipartisan come in.

>> that is exactly what the people want them to do. they did internalize that and be more proud. >> politico has a piece that suggests steve stockman may be going alone. he didn't alert third parties that they may be going into the race. >> have stockman perform. we'll tell the tale whether this is a blip or one of the dominant stories of this election seek him. he has a mixed record as a performer. senator corn then is the right profile of a republican to stand up and say, here's what governing is about. not just in texas but nationally. if stockman sort of figures out how to do this in a way, conthen is going to be on his own the establish. can't help, he will have to fight to save his seat. i think it's too soon. he is not building that coalition, not notifying people. >> can i ask nicole a question do you think that some of the beg national business groups were successful in the last

month or two. joe mentioned this down in alabama that special main stream republican ran with the tea party. is that a model we can see republicans follow? >> republicans are about national models. i hate to say yes. but probably. i mean i think that the more important force is probably ted cruz, his other home state and i think he's done some interesting things. i'm really curious to see some of his body language or his statements in the coming days and weeks. i think he'll have a significant influence on the outcome there. >> a lot of texas holders are staying neutral so far. is that right? >> interesting. >> coming up, speaking of texas, the texas longhorns looking for a new coach. could it be alabama's nick

saban? "morning joe" morning sports is next. .

[ music playing ] >> all right. in sports, depending on who you believe, mack brown could be out. this comes hours after the coach strongly denied similar reports.

brown has a 158. texasle and 4 this year. they'll by oregon in the alamo bowl. 8 and 4 doesn't get it done in austin, texas. so who will be the next coach? the ft. worth telegram says it will be none other than alabama head coach nick saban. they report alabama has offered saban a new contract extension. keep in mind the coach signed a deal in march valued at more than $5.6 million a year. saban has won three national titles, of course, in the last five seasons. let's go to the nba. the pacers looking to show the world they are the champs. heat, pacers, down 7 at the half. they led the pacers to a 90-84 win. as i said they have the best record in the nba.

>> those bye boys look good. >> those spaces fill quickly and effectively. >> king looked confused. >> he was a great young player. finally good news, cameron rodriguez, he won $20 million at a half court shot last month, the celebration was short lived after he was informed he was wow lose his amateur status at southwestern college where he's a player if he kept the money. after an appeal, the naia the governing body for the schools said rodriguez can keep the cash 20 grand and use the prize as scholarship money. >> it took a while to get there. >> naia, folded up and came up with a new enterprise. >> unbelievable. up next the must read opinion pages. we will be right back with "morning joe." . mine was earned orbiting the moon in 1971.

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it matters. ♪ . >> do i need to, once again, from the hilltops ♪ le castro is not an adolph

hitler [ music playing ] raul castro isn't even fidel castro. it's like jim belusho. est good. he ain't john. >> he's done jim belushi watch out. nelson mandela will lay in wait three days. the motorcade carrying the former president passed on its way to pretoria. tens of thousands paid tribute at a marathon memorial service. people standing, dancing, singing in the rain. but there's a lot of wednesday morning quarterbacking over this moment. president obama shook hands with foreign dignitaries and reached out to cuban president raul castro, jon stewart said, it's the first subject changed since bill clinton and fidel castro shook hand. senator ted cruz a part of the u.s. delegation to south africa

walked out when castro began speaking. senator marco rubio said if the president was going to shake his hand, he should have asked him about those basic freedoms mandela are associated with that were denied in cuba. later in the day, secretary of state john kerry was asked for ashurnts that the handshake did not signify a policy shift. >> mr. secretary, sometimes a handshake is just a handshake. but when the leader of the flee world shakes the bloody hand of a ruthless dictator like raul castro, it becomes a propaganda coup for the tyrant. raul castro uses that hand to soon the orders to repress and jail democracy advocates. >> the white house says the handshake was brief and unplanned and reflected the memorial service. were you bothered by the handshake? >> look, i think presidents are never just attending the

memorial service, allowed to get caught up in the spirit of unity that of course was prevented yesterday. i think presidents are always the leader of this country and in this country, there are many cuban dissidents like marco rubio who have a lot to say. they should be listened to. this was a moment if they were going to be face-to-face to say something about the repression in that country. to say something about americans as john mccain said, i think to take it further than that as senator mccain did is going to be a bridge too far. >> catty, kay, we can go down a list of hand shakes that were controversial. bill clinton shook fidel castro's hand. what makes this different? nixon shook his hand. >> ronald reagan shook the hand with society leaders in the colder what, they had nuclear weapons aimed at america.

you have a very powerful cuban americans who are still in favor of tough restricted sanctions with cube be and no contact with the cuban regime, what is interesting is that you have younger cuban americans who are saying different things who are more in favor of cuba and more in dialogue with cuba. i would be interested to hear marco rubio is a young senator. if you poll this handshake with different age groups of cuban, you would get a different response. >> i don't think we should ever whitewash the repressiveness of the regime to restrict liberty. if the president thinks doing that would further the cause of bringing liberty to cuba. then i'm all for it. there is an argument to be made for. that i understand the reservations people have, being silent, which is repressive and in investigation of the human rights and people's liberty i

think is something none of us should accept. >> i think the white house would say be silent. >> the president wants freedom for cuba. he is doing what he thinks is best. >> there is another strange story coming out of the memorial service. you may have noticed a sign language interpreter right there standing next to the podium to help hearing impaired viewers. according to multiple international operations the interpreter was a fake. one official said tweet he was moving his hand around but there was no meaning in what he used his hand for. if man signed the speeches of all the dignitaries on stage including that of president obama. >> shouldn't we know? was he signing or not in. >> no, he was not. it was totally fake, according to people that know such things. >> i mean, it's a complicated language, sign language is. it seems so random you would

have somebody up there the whole time signing actually is not actually signing. it just seems a very strange call to have made by the organizers. >> the national director of the deaf fed iraqis of south africa came out and said he was doing absolutely nothing with his hands the leading group in south africa. >> was he a security threat? he was very close to all of the speakers. >> what is he doing, charades? >> just one move, sign language is a language. it has more than six gestures that he's making. >> south african government right now is preparing a statement about who he is and what he was doing. we will bring it to you in a few minutes. coming up on tomorrow's show, martha stewart joins us on set as a business owner, i'm constantly putting out fires.

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. ♪ ♪ [ music playing ] . >> ♪ on the 12th day of christmas

toronto gave to me, 12 ralph ford's cracking. >> i did in the use crack cocaine ♪ 11 rob ford's fighting. ten rob fords cackleing ♪ 9 rob ford's yelling ♪ get off my property. >> i'm leaving ♪ eight rob ford's falling. ♪ 7 rob ford's crashing ♪ six drunken stupors. >> have i tried it? probably in one of my drunken stupors ♪ five chicken wednesday ♪ four drunk drifrs ♪ three confessions. >> yes, i have smoked crack cocaine. >> two hell's any gels and rob ford knocking over a lady [ music playing ] [ applause ] >> there is never a good reason not to run.

rob ford, it is the season moving on, colin powell is chimeing in on health care saying he supports a single payer system. powell made the remark at a breakfast of prostate health providers. he says, in part, quote, i don't see why we can't do what europe is doing, what canada is doing, what korea is doing, what all these other places are doing. i think universal health care is one of the things we should rally be focusing on and i hope that will happen. critics of a single payer system argue it will lead to rationing of medical care. a lot of those countries have private and public health care systems. it is introduce they are popular. i don't see it ever happening in this country, do you? >> it's something about americans, there is not widespread support for single payer many years ago.

it didn't have a huge impact. will you see a bigger movement. the current system is so complicated. one of the advantages of a sing him payer is it's simple. >> general powell also is a believer of that. he bases his experience on the military. they have health care and how we should teach the broader society. so i understand where he's coming from. >> he is talking about rationing health care. clearly, sarah pa len raised the suggestion of panels in those contentious debates if 2010. i think there is an argument to be made for perhaps less medical care in some cases in america that is sometimes too much medical care. up next, senator tom colburn weighs in on the bipartisan budget deal. plus, political strategist mike murphy is here. former white house senior david axelrod will be doing it as well. keep it on "morning joe."

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. >> it's very cold on the east coast right now. highway schools, government buildings are shut down in philadelphia, kentucky, tennessee, walk, d.c., here inially. it was 66 degrees and sunny today but do not tell our local weather reporters about this. there was a little wend last night and here's how crystal

cruz of our local channel 9 covered that. >> a piece of plastic caught in this tree was whipping around like flags tethered to a poll, blowing all around. then there was this, one, two, three, four, five, six, and check out where the wend rolled number seven. >> wow, i tell you it's almost like those carts are on wheels. >> hey, welcome back to "morning joe," the great summer of 2013, they will talk about that for a long time. capitol hill, peace has broken out. harold ford, jr., catty kay is still with us. all still with us joining the conversation, republican political consultant and also the columnist for "time" magazine, mike murphy in chicago. former senior adviser to president obama and director of

the university of chicago's institute of politics and msnbc contributor david axelrod. so much to talk about this morning. mike murphy, peace breaks out. a lot of conservatives including mile. we don't leak this deal. we think it spend too much money. it doesn't take into account the crisis that we have if front of us, which is the entitlement crisis. as the wheat journal says this morning it is the best bad deal we can get because well there is something that season team to make sense about republicans trying to commit political suicide twice in about four months. >> i'm with you on that. i'm not seeing how the separate coup of the party will lead us to victory. i think this is a processed deal. you put the debate back in the normal ring where you can settle this stuff by taking it to the people president mid-term elections. i think we will get votes and pick up senate seats. we get to litigate it for real

with more power. it's a good deal. i think congress ought to support it. >> we are talking about a return to order, you have paul ryan in the house, you say regular order for good reason. a lot of people's eyes glaze over at home. what it means is in this congress and i will put 'president in this mix. all the branches in washington, d.c. have been more dysfunctional on budget issues over the past years than ever before. it's not the people's house doing the business. it's two or three or four leaders behind closed doors striking deals because nobody is talking to each other. it's the exact opposite of what you are trying to teach students in chicago right now. >> but on the other hand as you guys point out, just the act of coming together and agreeing on

something is progress given what we saw in the fall. i think people are so so-called by what happens in the fall, frankly, nobody propheted from that exercise. the fact that these two were able come together is important and the fact that it's paul ryan who has credibility within the house republican caucus is very, very important. so if perhaps this is the beginning of a longer dialogue. as has been said on this show already today the politics are difficult. mike may be right. it may be this sustains us through this election and the next. >> of course, catty kay, i know there are business owners democrats and republicans who are glad we won't have another government shutdown, we won't have another threat of default. we won't have government by crisis because there is no way they can plan sex months a year out. at least there is assurance there won't be chaos coming out of washington the next few

months. >> it seems like a triumph when we can keep the government opened. let's get the details the so-called cease-fire on capitol hill. five law make, addressing the larger fiscal issuessh such as the tax code, health care costs and social security senator paul ryan brokered the deal, which raises domestic spending through 2015. the plan also replaces $53 billion in sequester cuts over the next three years and cuts it from long term deficits. last night congressman ryan spoke about the negotiations with senator murray. >> whatever we did i wanted to make sure it was a right step towards deficit reduction. she wanted relief in the sequester. that's where we were able find common ground. you don't have to require the other person to violate a core principle to get things done. have you common ground. this isn't the greatest agreement of all time. we have a long ways to get this deficit in control.

but this is a step in the right direction. >> president obama also praised the deal saying quote disagreement doesn't include everything i'd leevenlth i know many republicans feel the same way. >> that is the nature of compromise but it's a good seen democrats and congress were able to come together and break the cycle of short sided crisis decision making to get this done. conservative groups like freedom works and heritage action have all already spoken out against the plan and as joe mentioned, the "wall street journal" is calling it the least bad deal. the best that can be said about the house senate budget deal announced late tuesday is that it includes no tax increase as the general writes and modest entitlement reforms. it will avoid another shutdown fiasco, assuming enough republicans ae tempt suicide. as you said for a second time, joe, it seems in a way politically the democrats have republicans over a barrel

because they didn't want to go through that shutdown process again. >> i think you are right on that score. i think also, though, president obama understands what david axelrod just said, which is chaos in washington, chaos driven governance in washington hurts both sides. so it will be fascinating to see how republicans leaned up on this deem. let's go to tom col burngs he's at the u.s. capitol. whenever i hear somebody saying we are taking the sequester limits off anything, it makes me very nervous. it's the first time in a long time the federal government has held itself to some limits. >> that said, we want to avoid government by chaos and second government shutdown in a couple months. so what's your take on this deal? >> oh, joe, i'm real disappointed in the deal. what is it we don't understand when the gao says we have $200

billion in wasteful spending every year? and what we do is we raise fees, steal money, raise the costs of pensions for federal workers. do these things in the outyears that will never germany tee to be there and say we have a deal. i'm sure it's the best paul can get. if you really think we ought to be doing our job up here. what we ought to be doing is the hard work. we will put out the waste book. it's got $25 billion in stupid spending this year. none of that's addressed in this. none of the waste the duplication, the fraud, none of it. yet here we will raise spending back up because the political powers that be want to spend more money rather than be responsible with what we know needs to be done up here. which is hard work eliminating the fraud duplication going on.

>> sfwhor you raised that phrase the new england patriots do all the time, do your job. so in terms of just doing your job, you mentioned duplication of effort of federal programs. give us a couple of examples of duply categories of effort that costs taxpayers enormous sums of money. >> we spend $31 billion a year on job training programs which all but three of those programs duplicate one another, in other words, do the same thing. that's 48 different job training programs. if you just consolidated those and put a metric on it so you have to perform. by the way the studies say they don't aecom plesh what they're supposed to be accomplishing anyway. how about three or four or 47 is the actual number. how about eliminating all the overhead the stupidity. you can save $9 or $10 billion a

year. we won't do. the house, by the way, did reform that, but the senate i don't know take it up. >> senator, good morning, harold ford. >> hey, harold. >> good morning to you, brother. i hear your resistance to this. but what is our other option? i imagine, i don't know if you will support it or not. i hope some of your ideas find their way into a larger deal. at the moment i think the country want itself what the journal expressed in its editorial we do not have another shutdown. can you see yourself supporting this? >> no. look. what i can see as supporting is doing the hard work that we were sent up here to do. what this is, you've taken two very well meaning individuals and hammered out an agreement to get past a political event and the rationalization in washington will continue. it's too difficult. remember, nancy pelosi said the cupboard is bare.

there is no more we can cut. there couldn't be a more false statement set in the world in the last ten years. >> there is so much waste, so much duplication, so much incompetency in the federal government and nobody wants to do the hard work of fixing it harry reed certainly doesn't want to put it on the floor. >> david axelrod, you know, we have been talking about it since the month president obama got sworn in the first time talking about the entitlement crisis. you and i agree, we got to address the entitlement crisis. republicans don't want to do it harry reed certainly doesn't want to do it. democrats don't want to do it. so there is a frus station for people leak tom colburn and myself. i don't know few put yourself in that position of congress not doing its job. the white house not doing its job. walk not doing its job and taking care of the big crisis that stares us down. >> look, i think we all

acknowledge there are some long-term issues that have to be dealt with. there are also short-term issues in terms of the economy. as you pointed out, joe, many times, we cut dischretienary spending quite a bit. i don't disagree, anybody who spends time in washington understands there are savings to be made. it's hard to get them because of bureaucracy safe guards. we have cut deeply into dischretienary spending in ways that haven't been good for the economy. my question for senator coburn, if not this, what? if you oppose this deal, do you believe there is a better dell to be had at this time or should -- i know you were against the shutdown in the first place, what is the alternative to this deal that ryan and patty murray have struck? >> well, here's what i would say is keep the sequester levels exactly where they are and charge congress with eliminating just duplications.

let's don't worry about fraud, incompetency, enefficiency. let eliminate those over the next year. you can pay two-and-a-half times what the sequester is and congress, every dollar you did there. we will have an agreement and go on and function with government. every dollar that you save is a dollar we'll add back on sequester. in other words, we won't raise taxes in the future. we won't raise airline fees for people who are traveling. they said there is no tax increases. all of it is tax increases because eventually an american pays for it. so they did raise taxes. so the fact is with all this duply indication have harry reid and john boehner say here's the different programs, go in, clean them up. for every dollar you say, we'll add a dollar back. i germany tee if that's the only way, we wouldn't have a government shutdown, you see members of congress and committees doing what they were supposed to do the last ten years which they have not been doing. >> two things not in this deal.

unemployment benefits that are about to expeer for a lot of americans and the debt ceiling. what is the right strategy on those two issues? >> i think the debt ceiling is interesting. the politics of obama care changed so dramatically. look, i'm a practical politician, so my view is the problem with the u.s. senate is we don't have enough tom coburns. i would like to get more. i think we have a huge opportunity to do it. i don't want to give democrats fights on their terrain over the next four months to blow the huge opportunity over the next 12. i think we should pass the debt ceiling and fight and when the longer battle where we can. >> to raids unemployment? >> we have to haggle that out a bit. that's a negotiation. i think it's bad policy. something has to be done on the political side so we don't open it up to a demagogues. >> can i say one thing? we went through this several

weeks ago. these guys, men and women in washington western able to achieve anything. i don't agree with anything tom coburn said. the reality is you will likely end up with the same result. it's not a great deal. it's a start. as much as we both want a beggar deal. you have not for this in the congress. what's the alternative? i think axelrod's alternative, if we don't have a viable alternative, if we have rhetoric. what is the alternative, patty, what paul ryan and patty put together. >> it's amazing. >> right over your head. >> here's what happens all the time. i thought you were talking to me. >> i was asking you that. >> so here's my problem, tom, i'll give you a crack at it. my problem is this, and we saw this back in the 1990s and the house republican leaders wanted to pass something by conservatives. they just wouldn't do regular order. they would go behind closed

doors, get deals done, then they would give under the circumstances about five minutes to read over the most massive omnibus appropriations deal. they did it in 1998 and basically said vote for this or else you are the perfectist caucus and you are going to destroy the united states government. think of how much time this congress had off over the past two, three, four months, think of what would have happened if we had regular order? he would have been debating these issues in committees and on the senate and house floor. we would have actually had this debate over the past three or four months. the great ideas like tom has would be aired out and would be debating them every day on tv instead of having leaders go behind closed doors, come up with this massive deal and then come out and stick a gun to conservative's head and say you either support this or you are for a government shut down.

that how they continue shoving these bad deals down our throats. that's why conservatives are repelled by it. tom coburn, i'd leak to say it's only been happening in the past four or five years. think about the 1998 appropriations bill. they couldn't do tear job all year, so at the end of the years ago they passed the biggest spending bill ever by basically throwing it on the floor and giving us a little time to read it. this hats been on too long now. >> again, what i would say is there is no leadership. the leadership would be say, where's the money in the money is in duplication fraud. that's where the money is. it's a quarter of a trillion dars aier. most is in the dischretienary accounts. 100 billion is fe pentagon. so why would you not say, let's go clean up this mess? no other business gets the do this no other organization anywhere in the world gets to

run this way. instead what this deal does, this takes the pressure that needs to be on the dischretienary programs both defense and non-defense for efficiency, new ideas, innovation, better ways to do it and takes it off. >> senator, nicole wallace. i want to ask you something. i think most republicans in their hearts are with you 100%. i think our heads are telling us if the two most rnted voicpted rpted otherwises respective voices, how can we lead our party to where meek murphy wants to take it. i would guess if the camera were on david axelrod, he would be smiling a sigh of relief right now. you and paul ryan are so sharply divided on this budget. >> no, palm was given a task. he was told to go do it. he did. >> he led. you called for more leaders.

paul ryan has led. >> he has led to sell a compromise. >> you called paul ryan a sellout. i feel if you and paul can agree. >> i didn't say. that he was told to lead a compromise. a compromise is going to give up your, first of all, he said last night on the tv he doesn't think people sister for the give up core value. we gave up core values. we called non-tax increases tax increases. >> i'm a 100% coburn groupie, i'm so sad to hear you so disheartened by this deal. because i was so inspired by paul ryan's leadership on this. again, anything that makes david axelrod smile makes me crime. i think it will make him smile to hear you so negative about this deal. >> you are smiling, david. >> i am smiling because i'm happy a guy tom coburn's age and my age can still have groupies.

>> i'm both your groupie. >> let me make one point as everybody is always itself worried about the politics. that's exactly what's wrong with washington. everyone says, how does this affect the next election? i don't care. what i care is quit rationalizeing, what will do it when we finally get in charge? it never happens. we can rationalize it. we won't have a government shutdown. i don't care, the fact is the country is going down the tubes and all this does is add to it. >> can i just add a note of agreement with senator coburn on a point here, which is i do think the 47 job training programs is a great example. there is no reason for 47 job training programs. we ought to look for better ways to get the job done. we ought to agree there are jobs to be done. job training is important. there are other programs that are important.

if there are better ways to do it. more eefficient ways, we better do it. my problem in congress is you got to know government caucus that doesn't believe these programs are worthwhile. that's a bad direction for this country. >> senator coburn the two people that voted. i give them great credit for that. i don't think it supports a great dell at the end. >> tom coburn, we want to thank you very much for being with us. you also made nicole wallace sad. >> i am actually getting a copy for my five-year-old boy. >> merry christmas. >> merry christmas to you, too. really quebec, we got to go to brake. meek murphy, certainly people leak tom coburn and myself and a lot of other conservatives very upset by this deal. at the end of the day, like the "wall street journal" says, it

passes, because republicans just can't. i understand what tom says, you don't worry about the politics except when the politics takes you to 18% approval rating and you know -- >> i'm a coburn groupie, too. it's from a safe state. we got to when non-states to have enough power to make coburn the chairman of the committee and do something. it's easy to scoff at how plex work. it's gravity. this deal is theters step to a beggar victory to have more power to do this stuffch it's naive to think otherwise. >> amen. >> and you are exactly right. tom comes from a good republican state, oklahoma. i'm glad there are guys leike hm and guys like mike lee from you that you out there fighting the good fight. but at the same time, we got to worry also about the kelly ayotts in new hampshire and pat

too ma toomey's in pennsylvania. let's go to catty kay, what's coming up next? i understand we have a great primary down in the great state the great repub leg of texas. and that free spending liberal john cornyn currently ranking second most conservative member ranked above jim dement when he was there is being attack as being too liberal. we will have a primary to fight that one out, right in. >> right. the chamber of commerce weighing in on corn then's side. up next, we will have msnbc's chuck todd. we will look at the poll numbers him maybe he can explain who makes up the 1% of americans who say this is the best congress ever. you are watching "morning joe." we'll be right back. [ music playing ] .

>> welcome back to "morning joe." look at the white house. it's great to have you, chuck. >> where else are you going to be? mid-town in december? because all of humanity is here. >> you can't turn left anywhere. >> anywhere. >> you can't turn right or left in manhattan. >> mid-town in december is like d.c. in about april or may. right. you just can't move and all that stuff. it's a wonderful thing. >> i get it. look, we're showing you t.j. is showing you shots of the city you love so much, new york, new york. so, chuck, a lot of polls out, they have the president rebounding. a couple numbers streak you, his

disapprovals, 54% you say that's the highest ever and the trust worthy number is still unfortunately for the president pretty darn low. >> one of the things, look at the entire year it's not even close, 58% of voters say they're shaping their opinion about the president through health care and everything else was in 20s or teens whether it was the government shut down health care is driving everything. where you see it, joe, is the right track wrong direction number, the perception of the economy have rebounded a bit. they're being into preshutdown levels where there is green shoots of opt mechl. >> chuck, we're putting your numbers up, health care, what

shapes your view of president obama, health care, vacate%, government shut down, it's absolutely stunning how this law shaped the 2010 election, the first offyear election. it is so surprising for i'm sure the white house. >> and here is another place. republicans by the way, the republican party still third straight poll where their negatives were above 50% perception really in the total. congress not doing well, republicans lead the democrats for the first time in three years again all drempb behealth care. everywhere, the economy stuff has not helped the president's number. >> in terms of domestic policy, they got to fix health care, they are bringing in new people to deal with it. what's the best scenario in terms of what the president accomplishes? >> i think it's more about the

economy does for the president what the economy did for ronald reagan after the economy did for bill clinton after monica lewinsky and what it didn't do for president bush. we spent a lot of team i know some people hate the analogies, health care, it politically the impact right now, yeah, politically right now, though, it is the same. >> prbt bush didn't recover. president reagan did recover. what were the deferences? >> one thing this president has potentially in his favor is this improving economy. i think podesa knows how to do like he did with clinton how to use the executive branch to look leak you are doing things. it really is. the economy is truly finally recovering, next year is a takeoff 84. that's how the president recovers. >> mark halperin asked the question on the twitter.

if john podessa is the answer, what is the question? i have the answer for you, to me they haven't failed to be combative enough. they haven't failed to be left leaning enough. they haven't failed to use the executive powers enough. they have failed in every other area. what problem is he solving with john podessa? >> i think this is more of a problem den necessary mcdonagh thinks he has. i don't think he has faith in the people around him. i think the biggest critique internally and externally is what i would call a good kind of critique, boy, he's got his hand in everything. he's the deep of guy when something is not going right. if you don't know, meek, how to shovel the driveway, he says, forget it. fine. i'll do it. he is doing too much. so almost having a trusted hand. podessa, i see him walking up that driveway every week and

he's there. i would say what are you here for? they're very close so this is not a repudiation of dennis, this is a vote of confident, it's dennising willing for a partner a little bit too to run the white house. >> kathy still down in washington where there is no snow. >> i hope my kids go to school today. >> the last couple of days, but anyway. >> two straight days they didn't go to school, they're driving everybody batty. >> in new york, the preschools were opened. 2-year-olds in galoshes in manhattan. >> one lawyer around the ticket that would sue some school system for the bus that slid off the road. >> it's been driving us all mad. before we get to my favorite number the 1% who think congress is doing a football lus job, what can the president do to turn around perceptions and take some credit for the economic im. ments? as you pointed out, he's not

getting any of that in the polls. we are seeing housing markets, wall street, of course, some downturn, the unemployment numbers are coming down a bit. nobody thinks the white house is to thank for any of this. what does he have to do to close that perception gap? >> i think he has to hope it accumulates, the only way that happens is taking health care away from the problem. this is not about geeze, remember that housing program i launched that kept you in your house? remember that auto bailout in that's not what he needs to do. it's clear that it may help health care work. i think that that has to, when you look at the poll, it's driving everything. >> that focus group that we were involved with last week, it's everything. that's all, they're viewing the president entirely through the prism of health care, and a little bit of the leadership of washington and dysfunction of washington. really, it's all about clearing the decks on health care, there

is nothing, no other thing they can do other than that and hope and i think they will. i do think over time that the economy, if it really is recovering and we have been here before, but if it is, it will accumulate as long as health care looks like it's working again. >> david, i'm sure that all of us get the health care number and the disapproval rate because of the website follow-up and everything leak. that anecdotally, if you walk around, stumble around an american city like chicago or boston or any other number of cities in between, i never hear, my ear does not hear health care first. it hears j.o.b.. the most important word in the english language and can i sell my house or buy a house? so what's up with these polls? >> all the coverage for the last several months has been about the health care law and the problems with the website. >> that has to have an impact on people's attitudes. i think it has. i think it's interesting there

are several other polls out the new york times poll the usa today poll had obama's rating rebound 4.5 point. i think that's because the website stories are subsided. there are stories about it working. i think the trap for the republican party is that they've got all their chips down on this one number and if the health care act continues to approve, if the law continues to be enacted in a more effective way and you can remove that issue as chuck suggests, i think they're left without a read to grab on to here, so, yeah, i believe the economy ultimately is the most important issue. i think that's where this deal, by the way, is really important. as joe pointed out the certainty that the deal provides is going to help the xhe. i would just grab on to one point that harold made earlier, if i were going to focus on one initiative and i were the white house, i would do the men mum wage.

one interesting number in that queen pack poll, was that scene% of people in that pom supported an increase in the men mum wage. three-quarters of those said it should be $10 or more, which tells you how powerful that issue is, so i would go, if i were looking for an initiative in the short term, that is the one that i would fight for from to pass? >> to pass it, david, or have a fight of it? >> i would certainly try and pass it. i think there is a tremendous cost. if the republican party wants for the try to block an increase in the men mum wage, i think there is a tremendous deposit there. >> half of the tea party in our polls supports raising et to men mum wage. correct. it is across the board on 10. you start messing around with 12 or 15, it comes back down. $10 is the sweet spot of a broad coalition, half of the supporters in our poll support it. >> all right. chuck, thank you so much for being with us.

we will see you coming up on the daily rundown. will you have what the 1980 u.s. olympic team on. >> i think so. ribio ne i is down on the ice skate. why do you think i'm here? they're warming up. there they are. you can see them next to the tree. >> awesome. >> roberto clemente the whole team. everybody there. still ahead, lots of drama -- what is news in i'm telling you your desk keeps getting bigger and bigger. and you are going to hear that also in the daily rundown about how the mon shot in 'scene was all a scam. it was on a back lot in burbank. stick around. we have a lot more. also coming up here, we will be talking to the show's creators

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>> up next, 100 years of "vanity

fair" the manager looks being at a century of ground breaking images, illustrations and ideas. keep it here on "morning joe." [ music playing ] .

[ music playing ] >> welcome back to "morning joe." for the past century, "vanity fair" magazine has been making and braking news with its thought provoking journalism. joe and mika sat down with the long time editor to celebrate the magazine's 100th birthday. [ music playing ] . >> 100 years and what magazine? what lasts 100 years? you talk about it in the introduction that it's sort of

often. >> it was very much a magazine of it's time then. it is now. we did have a gap between 1936 an 19 yes when it didn't pub learn. we filled in those years. so it covers the span of the last century. >> you have the modern era in less than 500 pages. we call it from the jazz age to our age. >> just looking at these here, how would you characterize what it means to be on the cover of vat vanity fair?" >> tra terribly, it was a mark of the celebrity when the celebrity was not if pejorative it is today. it's a sense of accomplishment. teams we get it right. sometimes we don't get it right. you see people on the cover and they disappear. usually we go with someone with legs into their career. >> icon ec value.

>> the arnold schwarzenegger. i think it would be a smaller version the nextier. in a small way we did it in los angeles, 3 or 400 people there and it sort of evolved naturally over the years to what it is today. >> there has been such a tight relationship between "vanity fair" and hollywood, recently it's been a little frayed, tom cruise, not happy. gwyneth paltrow sending memos. everyone grovels to other writers there, covets invitations to their parties. they're going to be in for a rude awakening, what do you think when you see things like that? >> we have always done top stories in hollywood. have you read a gwyneth paltrow

story? it has not appeared. the tom cruise story is much more a scientology story than a tom cruise story. i think we are very fair the stories on hollywood people are no tougher than any industry, washington or wall street. >>est some of your favorite picture. we talk about schwarzenegger what is another that stand out? >> like greta garbow, cecil b, they became the iconic images of that star. the editor then very mitch pioneered the notion of modern photography. a "vanity fair" photograph became known for their lighting and spare inside. >> why was he is last gentleman? >> he was not the last gentlemen. he was a gentleman. >> i think you call him the last gentleman. >> it's the head leans. >> so what you are saying is you don't even believe your own head leans? >> no.

>> it says the last gechl that's what you call a softball in your business. >> well, joe. >> in these days. >> very much involved in bringing modern art to america. heft one of the organizers of the 1913 armory show that first introduced marchand to american eyes. he was one of the organizers for the museum of modern art and he was the founding editor of "vanity fair." and he was a very ariadite. the magazine respects his taste and loves. >> some would call him the last gentleman. >> if they play. >> greydon doesn't play. he does the book. he added it. by the way. >> you remind me, he is the last gentleman. >> i love what you said about annie lebowitz. se doesn't give-a-damn what look you want. she will wear you down and wait until she gets the look.

explain that. expla enthe process. >> i have been photographing her twice before i came to thisb jo. she has infinite out and hold in. she will weight you down until all your defenses are gone and get an accurate portrait of you. >> here's an amazing shot of the fireman after 9/11. another amazing shot. talk about those two pictures. >> right after 9/11, we can see those coming down from their offices. those that came off a 12-hour shift looking through the rubble for people and almost 355 of them died in 9/11. he was there with sebastian younger.

this was american soldier. it won the photograph of the year. 80,000 submissions. >> he finally talks. >> the it girl. that was when she broke up with brad pitt. it was hard to get a cover subject where they see the body and faces that was artfully done. >> what a great j. edgar hoover image. >> it talked about the parties the the plaza hotel where men would wear simple black dresses and there were no photographs. when i think of j. edgar hoover. >> we look for it every year.

your special hollywood issues and the first, i talked about the first one. >> after we did the party, they were telling me that -- have you thought of doing a whole issue? it was a terrible idea and so the next year we did it. this was the first hollywood cover and we chose a number of actresses. i felt that not one person could hold that whole subject on their own. they spread it out. >> looking ahead to the next 100 years, do you think "vanity fair" 100 years from now can turn hollywood's social order? >> if it stays to that even though it shifts constantly, it's a big part of the magazine

as is wall street over the last five years. you have to turn the corner when the news events turn. the world view stays the same. if you continue to have great photography with internet and also the one thing you cannot get is journalism that takes a long time by big time journalist who is can tell stories based on months on a single piece. >> amy adams. >> my favorite subject. tell us about it. >> gorgeous. >> she has that american look. i saw enchanted three times. >> hollywood's red hot winter wonder girl. >> the last gentle woman.

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>> next on "morning joe," congressional leaders have a budget deal. is it a sign of progress or low

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let's talk about the budget deal. senate and house negotiators reached a deal on the budget. the ceasefire buys lawmakers time to address the country's largest issues like health care and social security. paul ryan and patty murray raises military and domestic spending through 2014. they face $63 billion in sequester cuts from long-term deficits. congressman ryan spoke about the negotiations with senator murray. >> whatever we did, i wanted to make sure it was a step towards deficit reduction. she wanted relief. that's where we were able to find it. i look at this and say you don't have to require the other person to have a core principal to get things done. we have a long way to go to get the deficit under control, but

this is a step in the right direction. >> president obama praised the deal said this doesn't include everything i'd like, but we are able to come together and break the cycle of short sided crisis to get it done. freedom works and americans for prosperity and heritage action have spoken out against the plan saying it would stop the gridlock in washington where they lot of the europe majority. obviously joe, neither side is thrilled and not a grand bargain, but a first step and buys us breathing space for a couple of years. >> i don't like the deal at all. when you have a $17 trillion debt the last thing i like is adding $60 billion more to spending over the next couple of years. the "wall street journal" this

morning said it sure as heck beats the alternative which would be more gridlock and not only be bad for the republican party who they are not exactly sure they trust that they not try to commit suicide again. it's bad for the economy. as they say, it is the best bad deal that conservatives can get. that seems to be the attitude on both sides. >> leave the specifics aside. it's not a great deal. the bigger deal would be good. it provides stability because we are not worried about shutdowns. it shows that the muscles can work to get deals in the future. i think murray and ryan are maybe heros and it shows that you can explain why you are doing what you are doing with a divided government. you can not only live to

survive, but get praised for doing the right thing and they did it in a serious way. this is a bigger deal in terms of symbolism and the precedent it is being givened for so far. >> you will have the cheesy headlines with the political odd couple. it does say something about how much the last government shut down burned not only the republicans, but how much democrats were doing when you guys are just not getting things done. there is pressure from the middle to broker a deal. >> to introduce the politics of this, republicans are interested in keeping the focus on the deficiency and the new polling is out and having a devastating

effect on the white house and the president. the policy is sound enough for paul ryan who made his entire brand about the budget. put the policy aside that it happens in washington. most republicans feel work and allow them to keep the focus on deficiencies. washington, d.c., this is a real indication of how far the bar has been lowered in terms of this. this is tremendous. >> this is a triumph and we will keep the government open. that is the epitome of success and we can keep the government

functioning. not everybody is very happy. even steve ratner. congress avoids reality again. the shutdowns in all rounds silliness. the showdown in november produced nothing. even though those deliberations occurred at the point of a gun. the impending spending cuts, legislators department face consequences for an action that we need to reverse the government's fiscal policy and address long-term deficits. the agreement accomplished neither, perhaps offering a reminder for the need of the steps is naive in this fractured environment. unless we can come to grips with the fiscal issue, we will be inflicting a huge burden on the children.

is this deal almost worse than no deal at all in the sense that they had an opportunity to do something and they squandered the opportunity? >> i echoed what they said and i think the demonstration is that something can get done. clearly a sense of goals. i think it serves as the model and the goal we should be looking to achieve. the fact that ryan and murray, two people, particularly conservatives didn't believe that patty murray who leans left in the political world is able to achieve something with the former vice presidential candidate with the republican party. it bodes well. the president as he returns home from the funeral of the great nelson mandela will look at this and follow the words of the statement for a long-term grand bargain that will be a defining element of his time as president and certainly the best thing

that can happen thus far in the second term. >> while they keep focusing on discretionary spending and that's where the majority of focus has been. steve ratner and others are concerns about long-term debt and entitlement spending. they only had modest reform in those areas. a lot of coals came out on the president and congress. not good news for either side. >> definitely not good news. more than a year after winning reelection, president obama finds himself less popular than ever. according to a new "wall street journal" poll, 54% disapprove of president obama, a record high and the quinn pi action university finds it dropped to a new low.

57% disapprove due in large part to obama care. 58% said the health care law is the main issue shaping their views of the president. just 34% say the health care law is a good idea. 50 approximates are percent say it's a bad idea. the law could have ramifications at the ballot box. more americans say republicans, not democrats should take control of congress, but of course the poll also said that congress's approval ratings in the tank, i think 1% of respondents say that congress is doing an excellent job. we should go out and find that 1%. >> it is the friends and family plan. they say they are doing excellent. obviously a lot of problems here. you go through the list of the polls that came out and you have a variety of responses. i think quinn pi action has the

president at 37% or 45%. "wall street journal" has him at 43%. the most disserving number for the president has to be the number that george w. bush and you guys couldn't stand. that's the question of trustworthiness. only 37 or 38% of americans believe you are trust worthy and your word is good. that's devastating. not just for a president, but for any politician from top to bomb. it has to sting. >> that's the one that hobbles the rest of your legislative agenda and makes it difficult to rally democrats and republicans around the foreign policy and makes it difficult for to you go out and campaign for numbers of your political party. that's the number that changes daily life in the west wing. every planning meeting before

that number reaches those lows is about how the president can help pass a law and help pass his agenda. once that number flips, it's about keeping the president away. >> everything that jumps out at you, you take the polls and it's how front and center. >> there is where the economy is getting better and the numbers tick town and people are focused whether the white house wants them to be or not on obama care. it will be necessary to turn it and i'm not sure it will be sufficient. it will be november. he has a floor of support. he is depending on what number you look at, being the nbc journal poll is the closest.

that's a strong thing to build off of. >> if this is the floor. i would suggest that. >> he really rarely is below 40 in terms of approval rating. to get back to the mid 40s. >> the polls are that this is the inflection point. >> it might be. he has to do big and dramatic things. it's good. >> is it a good move? >> i think it is. it has to be something bigger than that. at a time when the other numbers are deteriorating and it's still a problem. i'm not sure what he can accomplish. >> let me throw it up to the table and we are looking if you are getting ready for work. getting your kids ready for school. quinn pi action has him at 38%

and bloomberg 42%. nbc news and "wall street journal" 45%. let me throw this open to the table. what can a president do that is big that doesn't require him striking a deal with republic s republicans? what can you do? >> i don't know when it is. besides working on the invasion, i don't know what it is. i think incremental and trying to grind it out and having a pep rally about immigration reform, they are not looking at history. he is not going to lose the house back. i'm not sure that's a great strategy.

>> number one, i would structure minimum wage increases that keep it at a lower rate that look at the first time employees and those who were heads of households from the income generating standpoint. number two, i approve that the keystone pipeline, you find a way to reach out. >> i knew it. where was drilling going to come in? we need it get him a j.r. ewing cap. i'm with you, buddy. i'm all about oil. we are going to have more oil than anybody else in the world and natural gas. >> let's get two things done. >> i was so bullish on the deal that republicans will not raise

taxes and harry reid will not cut entitlements. it's not going to happen. the big driver is the failure and the introduction to health care. that's the big driver. what has to happen for his stuff to go up is it has to work and it's going to work. it works better each and every week. they are talking to people who tried to go online. they are now enrolling in state after state. those numbers go up because of health care or they are going to crash. >> there will be a lot of winners and a lot of losers. until we can rehabilitate. people whose premiums will go up and have limited choice. >> that's on us. we are going to pick the thing apart and have the loser of the week and the winners of the

week. >> people who were told and believe if they like their health care they can keep it, every single person and everyone in their world who knows about that story, that's not a website glitch and a roll out problem. those are people who feel fundamentally lied to. >> lots of others and losers who were not honest about the debate. coming up, why republican senator john corn in is called a liberal. an update on a story overseas. ukraine pulled apart as they clash over the direction of the country. right now there is no solution in sight. before we get to that, let's check the forecast with bill. >> the cold air arrived and we have a little bit of snow and now it's frozen like a rock. you have to go down to central

florida to find any warmth whatsoever. it's cold all the way. we are below freezing in vegas. it's chilly everywhere. when i show you the wind chills in the northern plains, this is not fun. this is about two weeks of this nonstop. minus 39 in minnesota. that's brutal. don't get caught outdoors. and out ahead of that, light fluffy snow for the morning drive. chicago and northern indiana and southern portions of michigan. ontario here. the next storm will come friday night and saturday night through the northeast in the ohio valley where we could get another to six inches. more on that in the days to come. it's a cloudy, very cold

morning. light snow coming your way. you are watching "morning joe." [ male announcer ] if you stash tissues like a squirrel stashes nuts, you may be muddling through allergies. try zyrtec® liquid gels. night and saturday night through than zyrtec® at relieving your allergy symptoms for 24 hours. zyrtec®. love the air.

>> welcome back to "morning joe." let's look at the morning papers. the chaos in ukraine is building. an anti-government protest camp happened in the country's capital. they removed barricades ander to back tents. police were screaming shame and we will stand. several police officers were hurt and it started after ukraine backed away from the european union trade deal to keep close eyes with russia. >> amazing pictures from the parade of papers.

the news times say joe biden announced a $100 million government plan to improve mental health services. he made the announcement during the meeting with victims's families. that increases access to services. investigation of the newtown shooting concluded the shooter adam lanza has significant mental issues. >> gma points the first female ceo in the history of the auto industry. she has been with gm for 33 years will take over and she started as an intern in 1980 and attended the gm institute. the move is significant for a industry traditionally run by men, only 23 ceos of fortune 500 companies are women. >> a step in the right direction. after 20ing two nights in the

bitter cold temperatures of nevada, they are found alive and well. they were found after their jeep overturned. jeeps reached subzero levels and they survived by staying inside their car and heating rocks. cell phone signals helped lead them to them. they sustained only minor injuries. >> unbelievable. puppy love landed a 6-year-old boy from colorado in hot water with his school. the boy has been suspended from school for one day for kissing his crush on her hand and cheek. the school claiming sexual harassment against a 6-year-old. hunter's mother said he has been in trouble for the same thing before. >> i feel sorry.

i have been good at school. i have a lot of energy. 6 year ols have a lot of energy. >> that explains that. >> that's amazing. i have a 6-year-old. that sounds familiar. i have a lot of energy. what do you want from me? are turning to politics, attacking a senator in the primary race. stockman sent out an e-mail where he calls corn in a liberal and betraying republicans. supporters point to the voting record that ranks as the second most conservative voting record in 2012.

in an interview, he takes a not so subtle shot at the tea party and said union how we got off on this track. my reference to ronald reagan's line. what do you call with you who agrees with you eight oust ten times? an ally, not a traitor. they think of you as a 2% traitor which is an impossible standard. we talked about this yesterday. so obviously you have to say it out loud. the fact that he is a liberal is preposterous. >> what has to happen t needs obviously conservative senators who are challengeed from the right, they have to be willing to stand on their records. the body language has been like oh, no. i'm being challenge read from the right. they crumble and become afraid of their own shadows and feel defensive. john mccain went through this

process, but he was challenged from the right. he said the best defense is a strong offense. they need to take that to heart and welcome the challenges. these are all senator who is have extremely conservative records to be proud of. they have done a little bit of governing as well. that's what the votes and moves that may look bipartisan have come in. that is what the people want them to do. they need to be more proud of their efforts. >> they suggest he may be going it alone. he was jumping into the race and it may feel like he was a lot of cause. >> as he performs, we will tell the tale if this is a blip or a non-story. he's got a mixed record as a performer. the senator is the right to

stand up and say here's what governing and being conservative is about. if they figure out how to do this in a way, he is going to be on his own. they can't help and they have to fight to save his seat. the early moves are not building and not notifying people. it gets them off to a bad start. >> do you think that the big national business groups were successful in the last month or two? in the last several days in alabama, they have a mainstream republican against the tea party. is that a model they see in the senate races? >> they are trickly about national models and i hate to say yes, but probably. i think the more important forces probably ted cruz. his other senator. i think he has done interesting things and i'm curious to see some of his body language and

statements in the coming days and weeks. i think we will have a significant influence on the out come there. >> up next, one of these five people will be named "time" magazi magazine's person of the year. next on "morning joe." [ male announcer ] the new new york is open.

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>> per welcome back to "morning joe." nancy, without further adieu, who is the person of 2013? >> the person of the year for 2013 is pope francis. >> yes! >> fist pump here. >> let's talk about pope francis. why did time select pope francis? >> because he has in a really short time changed the tone and the focus and the perception of one of the world's largest institutions. committed to confronting the deepest challenges of our time. i don't know if we have seen attention captured far beyond the reach of the catholic

church. it's an extraordinary nine months for him. >> you know, they believe that people made the difference. one person could bend history. that has been my experience with the institutions i have been associated with. one person can make a difference. who saw this kping with pope francis a year ago. >> i don't think anybody saw this upon category. two important things. he has an enormous element of change and as nancy alluded to, his reach and his scope, what he's done with the papacy thus far encompasses more than just catholic who is have reacted to it. >> she the first non-european pope in 1200 years which is

important. the place where the church is growing most and reaching influence is not in europe or any north america. it's latin america and africa and he comes out of that tradition and the people around him are the council of cardinals. is from chile and from india and from congo. he is broadening the voices he is listening to that are going to be shaping church policy going forward and pulling the papacy out and into the streets. >> it's difficult to argue with. what he has done is nothing short of amazing, but edward snowden should be part of the conversation defining how we talk about our freedoms. whether you like him or not. the truth is he defined the conversation for a lot of the world. of also i'm curious about the huge drop off in terms of candidates. >> he had long debates about it.

snowden is an important figure. we interviewed him boy e-mail to understand what motivated him. we are aware of what a divicive figure he is. a lot number of people who think he's a patriot and others see him as a traitor and enormous threat to national security. he put an important conversation center stage as well about how much freedom we sacrifice when our government can gather as much information about everything we do and everywhere we connect with at all times. >> with snowden as runner up, i don't think you can find two more difficult people in terms of bringing people together. he is someone that makes everyone stand up and cheer for bringing modern awareness to the catholic church.

they did some poll which was counter intuitive. the modern way of making the pope seem this way. >> they use 20th century tools for a first century office. when he said we have to care for the least among us, it's straight from the gospels. when he washes the feet of a female prisoner or drives around in his ford focus instead of a mercedes, those viral pictures of him kissing the face of the very disfigured man, those images because of the time we live in travel around the world instantly and capture people's imagination. i think he is aware of it and he has something you can see from the far corners. >> one of the more far reaching aspects of the pope's young

papacy thus far is as nancy alluded to his refocus on the mission of christians, but especially the catholic church to administer to the poor. we are all poor. that's what they teach you. we are in the forgiveness business. also there is a large element that the catholic church in america has to think we have to have our separate church because what's happening in rome is beyond us. it's a huge, huge gift to all of us. his papacy. >> it's a huge gift not only to the catholic church, but to humanity. for those of us who believe in the gospel of jesus christ. it's not about building new buildings and bigger churches, but in fact jesus meant what jesus said. we will be judged by how we treat the poor and how we treat

the disadvantaged and how we treat the hopeless. if we give hope to the hopeless. i love how nancy talks about this pope. in using 21st century technology, he is using 21st century technology and reconnecting back to the gospel of jesus christ which i have to say is somehow getting lot of in a lot of churches across america. did you see the numbers? nbc news poll, not that the pope cares what we think about him in america, but 57% of americans have a positive impression of the pope and only 5% have an unfavorable impression. this comes after a decade of scandal that tore this church apart. >> 5% negative, this pope put a smile on the face of the catholic church.

>> he has. thank you so much. greatly appreciate it. it will be a popular choice. i love it. i know a lot of catholics across americas do this morning. coming up next, what's driving today's markets. we have business before the bell on "morning joe" and we will talk to the star when is we return. [ male announcer ] for every late night, every weekend worked, every idea sold... ♪ you deserve a cadillac, the fastest growing full-line luxury brand in the united states. including the all new 2014 cadillac cts,

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>> for heaven's sake, why does everybody keep nagging and nagging. my husband is dead. can't you understand what that means? after all he suffered in the war, he is killed in a stupid car crash. matthew is dead 50 years before his time. isn't that enough for me to deal with. leave me alone. >> kpangtly what i was afraid of. she is living a nightmare and we must all step back and allow her to come through it in her own time. aren't i right? >> no. we can't discuss it now. this is delicious! >> that was a scene from the

upcoming season of down ton abby. the creator and writer, junior fellows who shows the costar. it is stunning to this american that the scope, the width and the breath of the popularity of this season in this country, of the series. >> it's stunning to us. i think it's a terrific show. we have a fantastic task. we are very, very luck tow have them. the scale of the popularity around the world, people say why is it so popular? if i knew, i would never do anythingics but write hits. we seem to have gotten the recipe right. >> have you been surprised by it? >> enormously surprised. i couldn't put it down. by the end of the time i finished, we did the first episode.

in my mind, i transferred that emotional part because they want to know what happens next and they're interested. >> for those who are concerned about dan stachbs's departure, the season is fantastic without him. on the other hand, you two are very popular globally. how is he doing? >> we seem to find out tomorrow here in new york. he has done movies. >> he has done three or four films. >> he felt it was right to go at that time. i think the results are that he has a lot of film works. maybe he got it right. anyway, we have this -- there is an advantage rather than -- and

her recover is that may not. >> do you feel, do your family members and friends shake their heads? the unlikely icons and rock stars. do people come up to you on the streets? are people in your inner circle -- you are so distinguished and you are artists and british artists at that. i think people might think it's for the elites, but the masses love you. >> i have been working for 25 years. several producers are saying you must have been relieved. i had a very happy career, but because this show impacted in a way that others before have. the global part if you like,

people do it soon that this changed one's life. all of this jumping is having a lucky break. >> the young ones that have shortened that journey, they have gone up and filmed that. it early inially takes to ten years. that's nice to give a social lift off. that seems to be a good thing. >> why and how did you decide to borrow to the cast of character who is lived long ago with such an elite aspect of a culture. you don't recognize why and how did you do that? >> the reason why is because i had written this and if you remember, it's years ago. we were planning to do something

completely different. we featured it. it didn't lift off. you have a project and it doesn't have wings. we were having dinner to say goodbye to it. would you ever go back to television? that was how it began. the other thing is the subtext that goes and it's about to come to an end. we are getting into the 30s and the second world war. it was a kind of debt now. for those people. we need to go back and we went back 20 years from 1932 to 1912. that was how it began. there might be an audience for it and i hoped there would be and there had been. i didn't obviously expect anything on the scale that that happens. >> this season if you take on race and gender, a lot of great new themes sell to people who never watched the show.

what is it feeling like with an american audience. >> i would say these are terrific characters. there will be another one along in a minute. >> in terms of these with the west wing. if you think of the pace of the west wing and the breath of the characters with the british soap, thattive guess you a flavor. it gets it done with beautiful questions and a fascinating era. >> and a fantastic cast, but i think you say we take on race and gender. we do. we have a black character in the new series and women's votes issues and things. it's all pretty gently done. we don't slap the audience around on the whole. we take you gently through the issues. >> the gently culture at that point in time is a spectacularly

well done series. downton abby returns on january 5th. thank you very much for joining us. we appreciate it. up next, what if anything did we learn? we have learned a lot. you have seen the series on apple tv. as a business owner, i'm constantly putting out fires. so i deserve a small business credit card with amazing rewards.

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>> let's do traffic and weather. >> i love your reaction when we talk about barnacle. the person of the year and two choices were the right choices and the person who got it, the pope, is the right choice. >> i have always inspired person of the year and the explosion on twitter. >> i learned that i am moving out by not watching downton abby. >> checking language and you are doing your job for the senate and he worked maybe a third of

the year thus far. how about showing up for work. coming up next, chuck todd our old pal and he has the 1980 scene with him. the 2004 boston red sox. chuck, take it away. >> thank you, mike. it's not sad time. actual members of congress have something they can call a bipartisan deal. you hear from them the on camera reaction that nancy pelosi may have to provide the votes to pass along. more on president obama's low marks and the new nbc news "wall street journal" poll. we heard the frustration in battle ground ohio. cannery breakthrough fm