it is why are you awake time. >> it's throwback thursday and over to john tower. >> old man john here. remember me? >> nope. what is on your pager. >> blast from the past. high school. >> oh, yeah! >> i think i can speak to the staff with my haircut. >> isn't that good? they say it's a sign of intelligence if have you a wonkie eye like that. look at that. eric stults there. best teeth in the business. any way that is "way too early." "morning joe" starts right now. ♪

good morning. it's thursday, january 16th. great to have you with us on "morning joe." a little moderate outside. it's like almost 40 degrees. get the bathing suit out. spring has sprung. with us on the set, president of politico, jim vandehei. pulitzer winner jon meacham and then katty kay with us. news out of washington yesterday, the intelligence report. >> about benghazi saying the attack that left four americans dead in benghazi was actually preventable. state department is blamed for the deadly breakdown. andrea mitchell has more. >> reporter: 16 months after the

terror attacks that killed four americans including a u.s. ambassador, that senate intelligence report is scathing and categorically blaming the state department for failing to provide adequate security. benghazi, libya, 9/11, 2012. the month and day alone should set off alarms, but didn't. the report says the attacks that killed the four americans, including ambassador chris stevens, were preventable. in fact, hundreds of intelligence reports in prior months had warned militias and terrorist groups had the ability and intent to strike u.s. and western facilities and personnel in libya. >> the intelligence was really ample. i had an opportunity to review it myself. >> reporter: the report says the cia increased security at its annex a mile from the diplomatic mi

mission, the state department did. a major new finding. ambassador stevens declined two specific offers from carterer hamm for more military support and the report says the pentagon, whose closest fighter jets five hours away were not prepared to respond to the attacks. committee republicans issued a blistering attack on former secretary of state hillary clinton who last year tried to rebut charges of a cover-up. >> what difference, at this point, does it make? it is our job to figure out what happened and do everything we can to prevent it from ever happening again, senator. >> reporter: the republican committee members categorically blamed clinton citing at the end of the day she was responsible for ensuring the safety of all the americans serving in our diplomatic facilities. that will be fodder for any presidential campaign. >> she herself says the buck stops at the top and she was in charge of this and the state

department at the time. >> reporter: hillary clinton office referred all questions back to the state department which told nbc news we are focused on improving the secu securing of our embassies and leave politics to others. the report also concluded that baeed stevens requested additional security on at least three separate occasions, joe. still quite a lot of confusion about what actually happened in benghazi but it seems like the attacks could have been prevented. >> it certainly is what the senate, the bipartisan report suggesting, the lead story this morning. jim vandehei saying "the new york times" lead called it a stinging report by the senate intelligence committee and said that the report singled out the state department for criticism for its failure and, of course, also chris stevens, they detailed, the republicans and

democrats alike, you saw senator feinstein there, obviously, not a right wing blogger, talking about benghazi. this is the story that really won't go away. a lot of people on the right have been talking about it nonstop from the morning after that it happened. but here this actually seems like it might have some fallout moving forward. >> it doesn't go away as long as hillary clinton is in the conversation about running for president. republicans demanded that in the addendum that the report that they specifically on the republican side minority side blamed hillary clinton because she was in charge of the state department. i thought the most astonishing new details in the report dealt with ambassador stevens in the fact that twice he was asked do you need more security help and he said no. in fact, on one occasion, he said i think i'll trust that we can put together local protection from the libya community i think runs contrary to what everyone else was

feeling at the time in benghazi about the threat there. >> that seems to contradict the part of the report and the fact that he requested additional security. square those two up with me. >> throughout this entire controversy, there is a lot of confusion but in the report, they specifically cite two different instances where he was asked by folks in washington if he wants reinforcements, if he wants more security. he declined security in those case. there is also parts of the report that say earlier junctures, he had talked about the need for more security. i think that is why this report in this entire episode, there's been so much confusion and easy to republicans to point the finger at hillary clinton. at one point they tried to make a big deal they are arguing that the white house in fact, doctored talking points to back up their side of the story. >> susan rice's comments she used on some of the sunday shows

derailed her in many nation. >> totally derailed. >> based on intel reports that they had. >> we talked about this months ago on this show. what people can't accept when you have the world on fire and you have so many different hot spots and bad decisions are made all the time and can you do it from pure motives. i don't think the ambassador is saying i'll weaken security because i don't think we need it but it was a bad call clearly if that is what he was arguing at the time and i think it happens all the time. what happened this has boiled into, i think, one of the top two or three republican talking points over the last year trying to argue about incompetence among the white house and specifically with hillary clinton. >> jon meacham, so many contradictions. this report has contradicttions in it and it contradicts what we saw on the front page of "the

new york times" last sunday, i think? >> yeah. >> when "the new york times" reported there was no al qaeda lk connection. i'm not saying the times didn't have great sourcing on it at all. they did or they won't -- just think. there is still, even after this report, there is still a lot of conflict. >> a lot of fog of war. and both tragically in a real sense and also in the classic bureaucratic run-up to these things. i think the benefit of these kinds of reconstructions is everybody should weigh in. you know, every conceivable party and then you try to figure out what you can learn from it. the point of these -- the point of these reconstructions is never again. but everybody will make mistakes. i don't think the point of

pointing fingers for purely partisan purposes on either side makes sense. it's like to some extent when critics of george w. bush wanted to say about prior to september 11th look at the headline and the intelligence report and how al qaeda wants to hit targets in the united states. now you've got something about secretary clinton on a smaller scale. i just think having a measure of proportion and a measure of understanding that these are, in fact, human institutions and it's important. >> when we think about the context of the time line, we know that libya was purely a rat nest. omar gadhafi had fallen and arab spring uprising was happening. to your point, jim, what stands out is talking about ambassador stevens and the conflicts between was more security requested or was it kind of brushed aside? >> he requested it earlier?

and then pulled back from it? again, i'm trying to figure out the time line. >> i think a lot of people and journalists especially are trying to get to the bottom of not just only figuring out why the tragedy happened but what was the mission of chris stevens to be there in the first place at that time period? why was he there? do we have that specific information revealed to us yet and put him in jeopardy and three other -- >> before you answer, that everybody is looking at the july 9th, 2012 cable talking about stevens sending to the headquarters asking for a minimum of 13 temporary duty u.s. security personnel. he later sent cable, alex, did he not, saying he didn't want additional security, right? he wanted local security. so, again, back and forth. >> not that he didn't want additional security. you could supply additional security from libya. according to this massive hot spot to begin with. ambassadors aren't generals.

they aren't cia operatives and not necessarily trained in the art of trying to protect an impes impes. i think hillary clinton when she is agitated in that clip you showed, it's not a bad point to make. people die. let's figure out why that happened and how you prevent it in the future. nobody really wants to have that debate. people want to have a debate if you have a cover-up, did you do it because you're totally political? >> there are all of these stories being ordered to stand down and we want to go save these american lives. stand down! and, of course, we had the guy fabricating the story on "60 minutes." a lot of this stuff fog of war and a lot of this playing into people's worst expectations of whoever is on the other side f

it's republicans looking at democrats or democrats looking at republicans and george w. bush as president and it's all fodder. my biggest criticism of this is, yes, mistakes happen and you have all of these outposts and sometimes terrible things happen across the world. only thing i would say is that if you were going to focus on countries that you're going to give extra security to, you know, you would probably look to instead of, say, norway, you would probably look to a country where you just ended fighting a war, where there was an unstable government, where it was just a rat's nest of terrorists in and out. there was anarchy across the country and if you're secretary clinton and you get cables from the ambassador saying we need

additional security, you know, you act on that. it's not like it's just another outpost. it's like one of the hottest outposts out there. i think that is a fair criticism and i don't know that hillary clinton ever answered that. >> yeah. i think there always is two important points about this story and neither of them frankly is political. one is the intelligence. why did u.s. intelligence analysts miss what was clearly a buildup of insecurity in benghazi? the british ambassador had been targeted in his car just before the attack on the u.s. compound. we knew that this becoming increasely volatile. the other were the security issue. why were outposts in an area, as you suggest, that was difficult, where the americans had just completed a war. why were they not properly defended? this report in a way is very sad because chris stevens, who was the ambassador who was killed who was clearly a brave and honorable man, was also fallible and didn't ask or rejected some

of the security that he might have had. there are questions about that benghazi report. i'm sure. let's turn to other news because big news on the economy as well. president obama says he will not wait around for congress to tackle the nation's economic challenges. speaking in north carolina, the president addressed the unemployment bill that is stalled in congress and added that he is willing to take executive action to help speed up the recovery. >> we got cheap energy costs. we got the best workers in the world and the best university systems in the world and the largest market in the world, but it requires us to take action. this has to be a year of action. we can't wait for congress to solve it. where i connect on my own without congress, i'm going to do so. and today i'm here to act. >> millions of americans struggle to get back on their feet, there is a different story happening on wall street. yesterday, the s&p erased all of its losses this year, closing at

a new record high. but that hasn't translate to optimism at home. a new gallup poll says merns are worse off an year ago and the same poll also says the biggest problem in america at the moment, not unemployment, not the economy, it's government itself. >> katty, so fascinating you look at those numbers and show more americans think they are worse off than a year ago. every week, we get all these numbers that come across the screen and maybe unemployment is down and maybe durable goods purchases are up. we sift through all of these numbers. wall street numbers are off the chart but look at that number. more americans believing they are worse off today than a year ago. plurality. that is a number that really tells the tale of the tape than any other. >> it's a terrible indictment of

washington. >> yeah. we are just -- john, i saw you smiling when president obama said he would do what he could do without congress. >> we can check that box off. every president finds this moment where perhaps there is an executive order in the drawer and you can redo it. i remember when it was in -- right after you went to congress. it was '95. clinton says, the president is relevant. >> i'm still relevant. >> i'm still relevant. >> read the constitution. >> but i remember the conversation at the time about, well, maybe you think it will help settle the baseball strike. usually it's in foreign affairs, right? right about now. with two or three years out, and if you talk to former presidents, they always say one of the reasons they really get engaged with foreign affairs and

particularly late in a term you don't have to deal with the subcommittee chairman. they are always trying to find a way some means to get action. the president has got -- i mean, the only institution that makes him looking really strong is congress. so even worse days he is three times more popular in congress. >> exactly. if you're going to like, you know, follow an act, you would like congress to open up for you on, say, so, jim, where is the president right now? as far as the strategy, the white house. once the grand strategy for the last two and a half, three years, as jon said, what a lot of presidents do. we talked about immigration reform and background checks last year. we talked about so many things. >> it's a bad sign for a white house when you're talking about executive orders and using the

power of speeches and gathering people. that doesn't change a law. here is the problem. since december, democrats in seats that are vulnerable have stepped down in the house or now stepping down. it's now almost impossible for democrats to win back the house so the president is staring at the reality that he is going to have house republicans in control for the remainder of his presidency. >> and "the new york times" talking about how democrats or what was the word they used yesterday? the democrats are, you know, basically scared, really rattled -- >> stunned. >> staggered. they are staggered. but, you know, mary landreaux always figures how to win. even if it's 14 points. she is remarkable but she's in trouble. kay haggan is in trouble and i'm

not saying the senate is endangered but the president is not going to roll up big wins on the senate side either. chances are good, his opportunities are even more limited if everything stays the same between now and -- >> very little on the horizon he can get done. they will do it in tiny pieces and month-by-month to get to a place where you have comprehensive immigration reform. one bright spot for potentially the country and it's a tyne yif bright spot would be they could do have a one-year budget deal that looks like it's going to get through the senate. the tea party sort of opposed it but john boehner showed he could get something done in a tense moment for once. he will get the majority of the congress to support the bill and we have certainty for a year and there is not going to be a shutdown and i think that might

make businesses more likely to invest. one of the things we hear from ceos we are not going to invest because we don't know what congress is going to do. >> enough of doing nothing so there hasn't been a stupid thing they have done. >> shutting down the government. >> shutting down the government, certainly. in terms after jobs bill or something talking about infrastructure and getting people back to on work as we see so many people in the middle class and lower worry about their kids not able to access the american dream and not do better than than they did. we take a look at the market. the markets are doing great. wall street is doing great but they have not gotten out of that recession mindset of spending to hire. just not hiring people. there is that, i guess, fear that you talk about because we have been through it and lived through it. no one really wants to go through that again. they are making money hand over fist on wall street. >> that is where it matters.

i think an emotional side to investing and more logical side and i'm talking companies investing so you can create jobs. the jobs bill ultimately is not the easiest way to create jobs. the easiest way to create jobs is have a bunch of money and try to do that and they have been afraid to do it because they think washington is going to do something to tank the economy. >> this is a very volatile five years, not only the market but in washington, d.c. as well. you've had a lot of things happening. it looks like things may be leveling off. we always hear people saying that american gets the government they deserve. well, it is possible, despite all of the good government talk that goes around this table every morning that maybe america has the government that it wants. if americans wanted a conservative revolution, we would have a conservative president elected last year and if they wanted an aggressive

revolution, we would have that as well. they have that option every two years. you know what? they are going to probably, you know, republicans look like they may have a good year in '14 and they didn't want to put one in the white house last year. >> triumph of dissidence. >> what i was going to say, jon. except the fact i didn't go to the university of la salle. >> you could have been there if you went farther to the north. >> i suppose so. i kept on driving. coming up, we have a lot more to talk about. talking to admiral dennis blair and senator jon tester will be here and andy serwer will join us. and chuck todd will join the conversation on the set. jim will tell us next what the top stories are in the politico playbook and including an important weekend ahead for governor chris christie where he

just racked in, i think, a lot of ious. he has got a lot of money people meeting this weekend. first, here is bill karins with a check on the forecast. it's almost spring by new york standards out there! >> yeah. we have been spoiled the last week. nice january thaw after that big polar air mass. i tell you what, we are nothing compared to the warmth out west. this is a big developing story and maybe the biggest weather story and environmental story of the new year. the drought out west is horrendous. the temperature yesterday was 73 in san francisco. going back, their records go back about 65 years at the airport. they have never had a warmer january day before. it was 85 in l.a. i want to show you the snow pack in california. this is back in 2013. this is all snow. this year right now is the only snow in the sierra. they are starting water restrictions in sacramento which is unheard of for the month of january. typically their wet month. the next ten days no rain is expected in the west.

this is one of the wettest months of the year during their rainy season and they are expecting zero, zip. driving in the northern plains, arctic air coming down and windy conditions and high wind warnings. difficult driving. dakotas down to kansas city today, the temperatures will plunge. east coast is still warm. tomorrow is when we see the winter returning. first in the great lakes it will make its way to the east coast the upcoming weekend. the good news no big snowstorms on the horizon for anyone across the country. washington, d.c., a lot better morning than the fog you dealt with yesterday. you're watching "morning joe." [ male announcer ] here's a question for you: where does the united states get most of its energy? is it africa? the middle east? canada? or the u.s.? the answer is...

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evidence that an american service member is alive five years after he disappeared from his base in afghanistan. last week, the united states intercepted a thumb drive including a video of army sergeant bowe bergdahl looking frail and recognizing the death of nelson mandela. the first sighting of him in nearly three years. the only u.s. service active man in captivity there. legislation to limit abortion access creates, quote, job creation. he pointed to the care and services that need to be provided by a lot of people to raise children. critics of the legislation they are unlikely to advance in their career without family planning. "the philadelphia inquirer."

$1.28 talker on the horizon because of how well "morning joe" is doing. we build those, jim, and money comes through the vents because of this show. i wanted to be this jim miklaszewski center and i think it's the mika talker. the comcast technology center is its nickname. my name will be on the granite of the cornerstone. standing at 1,121 feet tall. the project will house a new four seasons hotel and bring in jobs to the city. dallas morning news. jcpenney announced plans to cut

3,000 jobs and have a savings of $6565 million a year for the company. they have had revenue declines under the former ceo ron johnson who was pushed out last april. the stores are expected to close by may. from "the san francisco chronicle." apple will refund nearly $33 million to children who made purchases from their parents's phones without the parents consent. children were racking up thousands of dollars worth of charges while playing games or using apps. the ftc will evaluate cases after the class action suit was filed. >> one of those games is my 8-year-old's favorite game too. >> which one? >> the pet one. i think there is this pet one. i dread to think how much money she has been racking up but i have to go home and check.

>> british outrage! >> that's what we say in tuscaloosa. >> there is a verb. >> i dread to think about that! >> i hate to think that will happen when we run out of barbecue sauce! >> there is fear in the south. my little boy plays angry birds and you think you download the app for like $1.99. >> they say, mom, it only cos costs$1.99 and can i have it? >> and then everything pops up. and it's a constant like mighty eagle. >> the mighty eagle costs more. >> you might not get it back, joe. >> mighty eagle costs more but then the kids have the avenue to then go download more. >> it's absolute nonsense and

n nothing like the good old days for jim vandehei, right, jim? >> i don't know what to do with that, joe. >> nothing can you do with it but listen to katty. go ahead. >> i dread the same. the games that i get and that people think -- >> what do you get? >> my daughters get this beauty parlor game and people don't believe me when i say that but i dread the thing that people will think it's mine. >> is it bad to give your kids your iphone and your ipads? >> yes. but everybody does. yes, but everybody does. >> they steal it? >> oh, yeah. >> they are criminals. >> better it ask forgiveness than permission is how i roll. >> you never give them your iphone. >> sticky fingers. >> we have sort of a communal ipad that gets passed around and that is where they go and keep downloading it and downloading.

>> jim, if you have kids one day, i promise you they will get hold of your ipad and iphone and download games. >> i dread it. now it's time, i guess, to go to politico playbook, jim. >> should we do that? jim, the new polls are showing promising signs for chris christie despite the bridge scandal. 69% say their opinion of the governor is unchanged and nearly half of americans say they view governor christie as a leader. 27% say he is active like a bully. when it comes to believing the new jersey governor, 44% think he is mostly telling the truth. but in the state of new jersey itself, the governor has seen erosion in support and losing 20% from his approval since this time last year. jim you say this weekend is an important one for chris christie's future.

what does he got to do? >> number one, it's going to take a long time to figure out how much damage has been done. the idea this disqualifies him from the presidential race i think is nonsense but equally nonsense cal to say this is not problemat problematic. a bill nair media mogul in minnesota is going to the fund-raisers and this is his quote directly. he has a big problem because perception is everything. perception is reality. i'm sure he is an honorable decent guy but i wonder how the hell did he let this happen some who did he hire? what kind of idiot? it's ridiculous. i think that is on the record from one of these big republicans donors and i think that is what he is going to have to address. i think the bluster and the christie style resonated well and probably still does with the donor class among republicans but they have real questions. how could this happen under your watch? christie will survive this. assuming nothing else comes out.

but if anything comes out that links him directly to this he is truly is toast and he is out there after two and a half hours, the marathon press conference he had nothing to do with it, he better have had nothing to do with it. >> get together like one of christie's biggest champions. we have all seen these things. >> who? >> the former head of home depot. >> right. >> so he invited a lot of his friends and i'm sure they will be looking at this guy and nobody is writing checks yet. i think it's a real challenge and a wait and see attitude from a lot of the donordonors. >> it is an opening to others. if you like chris christie as a governor who would you like second best? scott walker in wisconsin suddenly gets a second look? i don't think it's a coincide that walker was out there defending chris christie. what better way to show your toughness and allegiance to the party and defend somebody in

troubled waters and here is somebody who is not as impressive but an impressive track record in wisconsin. other governors will get another look and some who don't like christie and they don't care what the donors think about him. >> i think that has been the headline from this. there is a great -- op-ed we will read talking about, you know, just the crazy overreaction online from all sides here. so there is a lot of ground noise right now but the signal of this story is the fact that so many conservatives hands off and quite a few were actually a little gleeful that chris christie is whisking in the wind. >> rich runs national review and one of the smartest conservative thinkers out there. he says it's a great wake-up call for chris christie. you thought you had all of these friends in the media and every show, every reporter, every

cluc columnist saying christie is inevitable. when you're in the middle in today's atmosphere, you've got no allies because all of the activity, all of the energy -- >> a special prosecutor has been assigned to this and four biggest sins is -- >> it's very simple. if he stoned the crew, he's good. if he's is not, he's gone. and if he is telling the truth -- again, i'm inclined to think he is -- if he is telling the truth, he has that bigger problem that conservatives were hands-off during this. we always said this about john mccain who always thought he was so beloved in the press. remember in the '90s and early 2000, straight talk express and he would go after the left and he liked to elbow the right.

we always laughed and said the media is going to love him until the day he actually runs in his first general election. so when that happened in 2008, there were a lot of us calling each other on the phone going, did we not say this was going to happen ten years ago? suddenly, john mccain, they are all going saying john mccain is a good republican. he is the republican that -- suddenly the day he gets the nomination he is running against barack obama, it was like, what happened to john mccain? he became a mean, you know, bitter, old man. oh, he has tarnished his reputation. that is rich larry is exactly right. better chris christie find out now than he find out the day after he wins the primary if he does that, because the press, i'm sorry. conservative republicans, i believe, they are always going to try to knock your head off when you're in the general

election if you're a conservative. >> i think both sides. getting this treatment is hillary clinton. the minute it gets more serious the tough coverage comes swinging back her way. >> i got to say, hillary has to know the second and left, they are going to try to knock her head off like in 2008. >> mccain learns if the media is your base, find another base. >> unless you're barack obama and then you're golden. >> it seemed to work for him. >> it worked really well for him. >> i'm not sure he still thinks that. >> he lost his faith. >> that is what is always so maddening to me that the democrats that were treated as -- like the second coming of christ, bill clinton in 1992 and barack obama in 2008, you're sitting there and like, you know, we would just love to have one day of coverage, like they

would get for like a year and a half. how do these people get in the white house and suddenly become embittered at the press that carried them on their shoulders through the general election campaign, right? >> yeah. no. bill clinton's line in '08, if you have a rolls-royce, pull up. if you're obama, if the rolls-royce rolls up, you'll get in and he was surprised when he was president everybody doesn't love everything you do. coming up the baseball's 200 million dollar pitcher for the dodgers. clayton kershaw, is he worth the money? mike barnicle will join us with sports coming up. [ male announcer ] this is joe woods' first day of work. and his new boss told him two things -- cook what you love, and save your money. joe doesn't know it yet, but he'll work his way up from busser to waiter to chef before opening a restaurant

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start with some baseball news for you. l.a. dodgers ace clayton kershaw will soon be a very wealthy guy. he reportedly signed a seven. year deal worth $250 million. this is the biggest deal in major league baseball history for a pitcher. he is a lefty and justin verlander's 180 million dollar deal really pales in comparison. this 25-year-old has won two cy young awards in the last three years. is he worth the money, mike? >> he is for the dodgers.

they are paying him the money. it's amazing. the dodgers have now five players in that club making more than $20 million a year. their payroll is so swollen with clayton kershaw. yes, he is worth it. >> the lefty. >> if he hit the free agent market he probably would have gotten more than than that if you can believe that. >> would you want your team to pay that much for anybody? >> no, i would not. especially not for a pitcher. he can impact at 35 at most of 152 games played but that is the way the business of baseball is these days. >> we learned that really last year. we dumped $250 million from our payroll. >> to the dodgers. >> to the dodgers. i thought, i'm sure you thought, too. i'm glad we dumped that. we will slowly build up over two or three years and three years be a contender again. the next year, the sox win the

world series. fault economy is the wong word for it but it doesn't pay off in the long run. >> it's a long time, seven-year deal and opt out after five and can go into free agency after five years. >> you're a happy guy if you're kershaw. >> he is the big winner. left-handed and i know these things! coming up, why hillary clinton -- >> why do you think you just signed $250 million deal? because you're a lefty. >> i need you to renegotiate. >> can i do that. >> thank you. >> have you to have your contract a week and a half before i go in and talk to phil. >> we are three days out. coming up, why hillary clinton may keep the political world guess ago long time to come. we real "time" magazine's new cover coming up on "morning joe." it's hip-hop.

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beautiful look at the capital this morning. nancy gibbs is here to reveal this week's new issue of "time." nancy, great picture of the rendering of hillary clinton's foot. >> you've been talking a lot about the dynamics within the republican field. we wanted to look at the democrats and how she really is managing to do something we have never seen before, which is basically clear the field of her rivals without having to say anything like the fact that she might be running for president. and -- >> how is she doing it? >> partly doing it because she represents something new which is almost a new kind of incumbent. the reason people have to declare at some point they are running is raise money and recruit the best staff and build their network. she doesn't have to do any of that. she already has everything that she could need and as you just said, the minute she says she is running the hounds of hell are released. >> they are. >> she has the incentive to prolong as long as possible the

fact that other democrats assume she is running and all coming out and satisfying they basically would support her and so she can sit on the sidelines probably longer than any probable candidate we have ever seen and just, you know, let her opponents chew each other up. >> i've never seen anything like it as far as hillary goes. the most attractive presidential candidate and the second she announces her candidatesy all of the years the trains going and the baggage carts and the second she announces, it stops and all of the baggage piles on top and it's the weight of that legacy that helps. >> it also hurts. >> turns the press on her. >> would you be stunned if she did not run? >> beyond stunned. >> really? >> i agree with the thesis she is not running and stopped running a long time but doing a lot of running and not running. the amount of activity they are doing behind the scenes. the meetings they are having and the people they are putting on payroll at various foundations.

>> and research operations. >> the grassroots is there and she could do that forever. >> mike, would you be stunned if she didn't run? >> i wouldn't be. >> i wouldn't be either. >> why do you say that? >> she has been doing this for a long time and it's an ugly mess, the business. >> she knows -- >> she knows better than anybody. i mean, what she had to go through in '93, '94 and again in '99 and 2000, what she had to go through in 2008. she remembers. she went from being the one katty kay that was going to save the republicdemocratic party fr republicanism and along with her husband in february of 2008. 2 got very ugly and she has to know it's going to get ugly again. there will be a challenge from the left and the media will race to that person and, once again, they will be brutalized by the media, of all people. >> yes. i think when she came out of the state department a revision about hillary clinton. she came out with the huge

approval ratings and everyone assumes she was america's darling. you don't have to scratch very far for republicans to be reminded of that 2008 campaign and not just the democratic primary, joe. i think even if she wins the nomination, the campaign itself will be brutal for her. republicans who were lining up to take her on as the candidate last time around and was disappointed she wasn't the candidate, will jump in again. i think benghazi is just a small reminder of how difficult this campaign would be for her and i think that is what i imagine that is what she is weighing. if i had to spend my money somewhere, i would assume she is going to run but i could see she would think a lot of reasons and people close to her are saying, look. be careful. you may decide in the end that it's just not worth the amount of stress that it's going to be. >> i think it's crazy that she might not run and you guys wouldn't be shocked. she is a clinton and she is hillary clinton.

their entire life in politics and could be the first female president of the united states and she will say, you know what? nah. no way! there is no way! everything that they are doing and thinking says she wants to run for president. >> i got to say, how old are you, jim? >> i'm pretty young. i'll be 43 in february. >> i'm dead serious. when you turn 50 and i know a lot of people say that is pretty young but people say that is pretty old. you start looking ahead. you say how many years do i have left above ground? and how do i want to spend those remaining years above ground? and do i really -- >> she will be looking at the big 7-0. >> is she 69? >> she will be looking at the big 7-0 sooner rather than later. you neglect to factor into your assessment which i believe the weight of having spent 25 years of her life watching her step every minute of every day. at some point, you say you know what? nah!

>> i know you wouldn't understand this. >> my youthful ignorance? >> no, the human factor. the mcintosh scandal shows that. but you know what? what happens if she has grandkids? a lot of people think that is cute. they are human. they have been through the wringer for 20 years. maybe they step out of sight. i'm not saying it's like -- but it could happen. >> what you could do outside the white house to make a difference in the world. this is the fun part about this stage of the campaign. anyone can predict anything and it's way too far away to have it -- >> exactly. listen. the cover of "time" is "can anybody stop hillary?" we are way over the top of the hour. jon meacham wanted us to play a picture of lady edith. he likes her as well. (vo) you are a business pro.

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defense because there are now 59 senators, including 16 democrats, who have defied the president to support a bill to ready new sanctions if diplomatic talks fail. >> what? what? who? what? i guess republicans would line up to oppose obama on the ownrgm cancer act but why would they vote for this? >> i think a lot of them haven't read it yet. >> really? they haven't read it yet? that never slowed them down

before. >> welcome back to "morning joe." mike barnicle, jon meacham and katty kay is with us and also is ron fournier. how are you doing? >> good. >> how are you? >> who are you yep set with today? >> i think i'm just going to tick you off today. >> barnicle. >> yeah. >> so it 27 days before the pitchers and catchers report? >> down in lakeland and ft. myers, florida. >> let's look at that. >> this is not a boston red sox. it's the real team. >> the tigers. flip that up again. >> i'm sorry. >> yankee fans hoping there will be pitchers and catchers to report. >> that would be a shame, wouldn't it? i cry crocodile tears for them. >> boswell, life begins on

opening day. >> you don't love america if you don't love the yankees. >> i've never heard anybody say that until you. >> i'm here for you. >> did you learn that at chatham? >> katty, we have some news. by the way, i don't understand. we are talking about baseball. i never understood cricket. i saw this clip of pierce morgan dinged by a cricket ball three or four times. do you throw the balls at people intentionally or were they being hazel to pierce? >> i think that might have been just been pierce getting into the way of somebody else's anger. i'm not a big cricket fan but in all of my lessons on cricket, never a rule said chuck the ball as hard as you can at somebody else's head. >> did you see that clip? >> i didn't see that. >> you didn't see the clip?

>> no. >> i thought he handled it very well. i thought the other guy was classless but i never understood cricket. >> i think if you have an hour and a half and go through the rules, maybe you'd have a better understanding but complicated. the news here from washington. the senate intelligence committee says the attacks that left four americans dead in benghazi was preventible. a bipartisan report blames the state department and other intelligence agencies for the deadly breakdown. nbc andrea mitchell has more for us. >> reporter: still, 16 months later now, there have been no arrests in this attack.

>> reporter: the month and day alone should have set off alarms but didn't. the report says the attacks that killed the four americans, including ambassador chris stevens, were preventable. in fact, hundreds of intelligence reports in prior months had warned militia and terrorists and affiliated groups had the capability and intent to strike u.s. and western facilities and personnel in libya. ample. i had an opportunity to review it myself. >> reporter: the report says the cia increased security at a mile from the diplomatic mission. the state department did not. >> they needed more security measures. they needed more personnel. all of that was ignored. >> reporter: a major new finding, ambassador stevens declined two specific offers from african command for more military support. the report says the pentagon, with closest fighter jets more

than five hours away, were not prepared to respond to the attacks. committee republicans issued a blistering report on former secretary of state hillary clinton. >> what difference at this point does it make? it is our job to figure out what happened and do everything we can to prevent it from ever happening again, senator. >> reporter: but the republican committee members categorically blamed clinton at the end of the day, she was responsible for ensuring the safety for all americans serving in our diplomatic facilities and her failure to do so made the difference in the lives of the four murdered americans and their families. that will be fodder for any presidential contain. >> she, herself says the buck stops at the talk and she was in charge of the state department at the time. >> reporter: hillary clinton office referred all questions back to the state department which told nbc news we are focused on improving the security of our embassies and leave politics to others. there you got it. back to you guys. also according to the report in june 2012, the ambassador requested a force of trained local personnel but the state

department couldn't find people who were adequate. a month later, he asked the 13 temporarily u.s. personnel but the state department never fulfilled that request and never responded to those requests with a table. then in august, stevens report dlalg a growing militia presence and a looming threat of daily violence. another officer in libya, quote, expressed concerns about the ability to defend posts in the event of a coordinated attack due to limited manpower, security measures, weapons capabilities own post nation support. stevens reportedly declined two offers from general hamm for more security and the state department concluded that the security on hand was sufficient. mike, you know, very quickly, people left on this story to make political points. actually, i think the one thing we have learned is that in the fog of war like this, it is

almost impossible to do that, irresponsible to do that, because we still don't know what all of the facts are surrounding what happened in benghazi. >> yeah. reading the report last night, so many elements that popped off the page at me that had never been reported that remain mi mystifying. one is the lack of communication. nearly 14 years after september 11th, the failure of one department, the state department to connect with the cia, with central command out of tampa, the central command in tampa did not know about the cia house, the an lex located in benghazi, according to intelligence estimates, they had on hand and they knew that benghazi was dangerous and still one department, one agency not talking to another and they are complicit in this tragedy. >> we haven't learned big lessons from 9/11. this is a black mark on hillary clinton otherwise very distinguished career.

this was, you know, very poorly managed and a high level of incompetence. i will say the struggle i've had with this story from the beginning is to me it represents -- i'm independence to see what you think -- the troubling trend we have in political discourse where we immediately take the scandals and they are being politicized or polarized. both went to their battle stations and stuck to their talking points. >> immediately. one of my criticisms of mitt romney during the campaign was that i think he held a press conference maybe the next day, the day after, and -- >> that night. >> what was that? >> put a statement out that night. >> despite the fact a year later, we are still grappling through the statements and people online can say it's clear-cut either way if you're from the left or the right but it's not. we look at the senate report and

"the new york times" story which seems to be in contradiction to the senate report and you look at all of those sources and from what we just showed, you have three specific instances of requests for additional security. of findings that they were in dangered there. you're thinking, my god, this is absolutely damming and slam dunk. then chris stevens, the ambassador, killed over there and denying two specific requests. it is the fog of war as mike said. the only thing we know for certain there are four americans who are dead and this was horribly mishandled by "the new york times" quotes the senate report, by the state department. yet at the end of the day it does rest on hillary clinton's shoulders. now this report suggests that chris stevens, a great public servant to this country, also may have made some serious

mistakes and it ended up costing him and three others their lives by refusing additional military support. again, we don't even know all of the details of those requests that were ultimately turned down. people are just concluding that this is a black and white issue, after all this time, a fog of war. >> the reason it's so interesting to cover and be a part of because is really is black and white. what has happened is we have no room now in the public's face to stand in the middle and say what happened here? we saw it with the christie case and the irs and the nasa. it's getting to the point you try to find out what is happening you're getting slammed from the right or the left. >> exactly. we want to go to the economy. we have senator tester waiting and get to that in a second. i have to read a column. a must read last hour but we

blew through that. "the new york times" today. we are weakened to the christie scandal and i'm already bored. because the political discussion about it appears to be evolving into pettiness. we are reaching that point in politics that we are all the too often reach, where this disgust becomes delight. this is when political accountability veers into political blood sport and they lick their chops. it becomes trivial and wreaks of fear instead of rooting for a bridge to drag christie under, progressives must focus about the deviation. we are moving forward more equality for all. that was about the left. i even saying that about my party for several years that

instead of demonizing barack obama and obamacare, we have to present alternatives. charles blow says also. there is such a delight in this game. politics is a blood sport that things really need to be cleared out in the center for people on both sides to have a rational reasonable conversation about things like this. >> we should be burying christie and saying there is nothing to this, move along. what was the motive behind closing down that bridge? we don't know that. we don't know why they did it and we don't know who was involved. i think more importantly we don't know whether this was an isolated incident once we find everything out behind it we can move on or a pattern of abuse. we need to find out but can't if we are already at a battle station. >> seems to me two reasons for this reconstructive reports. accountability and then there

historical lesson how do we keep it from happening again. i think on benghazi, we are still in the middle of that trying to figure out what happens so we can make sure it doesn't repeat itself. but human institutions are going to screw up and politicians are going to screw up. we had a pretty significant inquiry into pearl harbor. this is not a new phenomena. by the way, vietnam the same thing. still a debate on whether lbj -- yeah, to use that. this happens in war. as you said, a fog of war.

>> it bleeds into domestic politics inevitably. one of the reasons nixon wanted to bomb brookings was not to keep the reports from coming out, but to see if there were actually papers somewhere in the building that proved fdr had known about pearl harbor. he was going to create a fire in one part of brookings institution and gordon liddy was going to go in. this is the internal part of politics. >> if my father was still alive, he would say nixon was framed. now from capitol hill, senator jon tester. you've been hearing about all of this talk. you're a democrat and from a red state. you have to figure out how to find that space in the senate where you get votes and conservative and progressive people and figure out a way like governors all have to do in all 50 states how to get things done. why doesn't that happen in washington? >> i think there is probably many reasons for it but one of the reasons that i think just

coming off of a very expensive election in 2012 is the amount of dark money coming in and you might not think that has anything to do with civil discourse in washington but it does. when you come off a race that is very brutal and very difficult and very pointed and you come back here and now you need to and we need to work with some of the same folks who are advocating for the dark money add to these lexs i think it adds to the lack of being able to talk about the issues that are important for move this country forward. what do we need to do to get through that? i applaud patty ryan and patty murray and paul ryan for getting the budget deal and what just passed we had a few tea party folks in the house that voted against it. in the senate we have bipartisan bills and housing finance reform and ten cosponsors and five rs

and five ds and we have to continue to build on what is happening the last month and look for opportunities we can have successes working together and i think that is how you break through this. >> senator, it does seem that peace is not breaking out but it seems like we are at least starting to see maybe first signs of spring where we are not asking for massive legislation to be passed. we are preventing government shutdowns and government default is a pretty good place to start and it looks like we have at least gotten past that, the sort of do no harm aspect of this story. >> let's hope so, because for the last year or so, maybe even longer than that, we have been jumping from catastrophe to catastrophe while we are hoping the economy moves forward. guess what? the economy is moving forward even though congress has been a boat anchored and if we work together i think this economy would literally explode and we could get good policies passed

by democrats and republicans working together, i think this country would be off and running. but, unfortunately, that hasn't happened yet with the exception of the last few things i just visited about. you're correct, let's build off it and move forward. >> senator, a montana native and you can tell by your accent, katty kay has a question for you. >> senator, president obama was there in north carolina yesterday saying he has to bypass congress to get things done particularly on jobs and he mentioned the executive order. realistically, there is not very much the white house can do about boosting the employment numbers and not very much it looks like that congress can going to do either over the next -- the remainder of his term, is there? >> i'd love to disagree with you but the track record isn't particularly good. i think not to be repetitive but we have got to look for opportunities for bipartisan success. and the executive branch is

going to do their thing and we have seeded enough power to the executive branch. it's really time to look at the legislative branch in a proactive way and what we can do to move it forward. i think it revolves around education and training and retraining of the citizenry. unemployment is too high and there are jobs out there that folks don't have the skill set to fill. if we make college affordable again and make retraining programs out there a priority i think it would, once again, not only help the business but help the working class and families and move the economy forward. >> senator, when you first were elected, a look bit of talk, perhaps prafg imprafg to you about a mr. smith comes to washington when you arrived. i'm wondering what you've learned. what is the most significant thing in your time now that surprised you the most about the senate and how washington works? >> what has surprised me the most when i got here is how slow

everything happens but i think the forefathers set that up for good reason. i think what distresses me the most is how much money from a select few comes into these campaigns to try to influence their outcome and i think there was 50 to 60 million dollars spent in montana in 2012 total for about 475,000 votes and i'm not sure one voter went to the poll that was any better in form. we have got to do a better job at getting to the issues and talking about the issues and the vision for the future in these elections and that is simply not happening any more. i mean, it's becoming very, very partisan and very difficult. i mean, you can talk to some of the folks who are running this time around and i think tell you the same thing. the campaign on me started in october before the election in 2010. that was over two years out. this is crazy. in april of 2011, april of 2011, i had people telling me they

were already burnt out on the campaign in montana. i don't think this helps with civil discourse and i don't think it works with a better informed electorate. >> a lot of people who are new to politics they go through that process and they have their lives pulled apart and they are viciously attacked and unfairly attacked and they come to washington and iffer a conservative, for some people, it hardens them and makes them nor conservatives and they become more liberal and what i call and i know -- clarence thomas. you go through that and you get to washington and the hell with reaching out the other side after they have just completely brutalized and mischaracteristiced you. senator, without having to agree with what i just said about

clarence thomas, you would agree that we are all humans and if somebody goes through that and knows -- you know, all of these people on the right have basically gone after their character and gone after their family or all of these interest groups on the left have done the same thing, you come to washington a hardened person. unless you are really a big, big man or big woman and can look past that. >> and you're exactly right. and not only that, but, you know, until the primaries get done, i can tell you that -- we saw it with many of the votes. you see folks looking over their right shoulder and potentially over their left shoulder too. the bottom line is, you know, and this is a fact. hi a job before i came to this job. in fact, i still have that job. i'm a farmer. i just want to do the right thing for my kids and grandkids. i think everybody here wants to do that. we just got to remember this job isn't the most important thing in the world. the country is the most important thing. >> no doubt about it.

senator, it's great having you with us and thanks so much. ron, stay with us. coming up next, chuck todd is here to break down the numbers about chris christie. we will be right back. you're watching "morning joe." is this the bacon and cheese diet? this is the creamy chicken corn chowder. i mean, look at it. so indulgent. did i tell you i am on the... [ both ] chicken pot pie diet! me too! [ male announcer ] so indulgent, you'll never believe they're light. 100-calorie progresso light soups.

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7:30 on the east coast. the white house there. the justice department has new rules on profiling and it's putting new restrictions on federal agents even in terror cases. joining us from washington is nbc news justice correspondent pete williams. >> reporter: that is significant about these changes they would apply if they are approved to terrorism cases. they are singled them out for no reason other than their religion. a law enforcement official says the new rules under review by the attorney general eric holder would greatly expand the ban on what is generally called racial profiling. if these rules were improved, no federal investigations could be launched based solely on a group

or person's religion or origin or race. that would mean, for example, the fbi could not hang out in mosques to see if they got wind of anything suspicion. the fbi says they don't do this niver but one official says one advantage of the rules is they would put into writing the reforms that are already in place to help ensure that profiling is not revived in the future. >> williams, thanks very much. joe a complicated case because you're dealing with rules and you're also dealing with human perception as well on something like this. >> no doubt about it. thank you. let's bring in nbc news chief white house correspondent chuck todd. i read something about charles blow basically telling progressives on the left, what i've said sometimes conservatives on the right. calm down. let's see how stuff plays out then we will figure out how chris christie is doing. right now chris christie in this

new poll seems to be doing fairly well. >> depends on how you look at it. if christie's best asset is what? that he seems to be the only republican that could be competitive with hillary clinton, okay? if you just look at this poll in that prism and you're over at home depot and a big donor and woody johnson all you care about is winning. you don't care about whether tea party wing or the party but all you care about is winning. christie is a winner but doesn't look like a winner any more. in that case, you look at his poll. he is polling against her like every other candidate. he was the one guy that didn't poll like her. the other part of the poll that is damaging i think is he is polarizing figure and remember, mitt romney started the campaign 1-1. eventually all presidential nominees about him polarized. you don't want to start polarize, you want the benefit

of the doubt. most people say they don't care but this is the second impression. this is why i think -- i know, it's too early and this stuff for 2016 except christie's best asset was this prospect. >> by the way, you mention it's too early for 2016. doesn't hold the water. >> i agree. >> we're in the middle of it. >> i love people saying i love people -- guess what? guess what? you don't wake up one day in the fall of 2015 and say, "i think i'm running for president!" . no you do what chris christie is doing you fly to film and do what hillary clinton is doing. you create these shadow campaigns. i don't mean that negatively. >> what you have to do now. this is the rule. >> if you are going to run a multibillion dollar enterprise, you don't start it in 2015. you start it in 2013. so this whole argument that it's

too early to talk about how this story, about the george washington bridge. >> remember when bill clinton started to run for president? >> that is pure ignorance. >> october 3rd, 1992. no, '91. >> no, i think it was 1962. but the '92 campaign, when did he start worrying about it? when he went on johnny carson and worried how the convention speech was playing. the point is you do start working. it is a four -- frankly, it is truly a four to eight-year process. >> jon meacham and i, we have been talking about this an awful lot and you're teaching a course on the republican party. while i was putting my book together we were talking about the history of the republican party. richard nixon started running for president in 1958 when he was going around campaigning. >> that is the good old days. >> that is the good old days.

>> we didn't start elections very early. >> 1958 for eventually after the 1968. i know he ran two years later. but these people run around the clock. >> craig shirley, our mutual friend, points out that ronald reagan had his first meeting about a presidential candidacy before he took his first oath of office as governor in california. a man in office of some kind or another since 1966 saying in 1985, that bush was not prepared to take over the country in 48 months. that he needed to get going. when he was vice president of the united states. so it does require this. now whether the rest of the country, whether voters are with us or not. >> you have time to change perceptions and all this. let's go back to christie here. i think the problem is with this controversy scandal, mess, however anybody wants to describe it, the fact it's a

political problem. is that it cuts to all of his greatest assets and to me one of the biggest ones simply being how do you overcome the skepticism of conservatives? be the winner. if you're no longer the winner, conservatives say why compromise for a guy that is losing? >> the campaign is really been underway for months but the people that matter right now, the money people. >> donors. >> if you want the best team, you need to work on them now. to a lesser degree nowadays, the media. >> this florida trip for him is really important. this republican donor community down there, the big guys basically are splitting the two camps. jeb and christie. and most of them want to gravitate to christie because they worry like jeb bush name looking like the past. did you see quote from mel a couple of days ago? what did he say? >> mel was i'm christie. he was tough. he was just saying, this doesn't look good. i was surprised at how tough mel

was. now mel could be a jeb guy. no doubt. but he is a very -- you know, probably one of the ten or 15 most republican donors nationally. >> we have to go but what is the latest on jeb, reading the tea leaves? yes or no? i hear people close to him say no. i keep hearing no. >> but i'm hearing he has been telling people don't assume i'm a no. like there is a difference. four years ago, you can go ahead and plan as if i'm a no. i may change my mind. where i feel like the thinking has just been reversed. don't list me as a no and give me time and give me some respect. if you're him, isn't your last shot when a person with the last name of clinton is running? isn't that the best way to neutralize your supposed bush problem? >> i think this is his last shot. >> i think he takes a long time before he says no. >> i actually reached out to a couple of people close to him and before '12 and said --

>> i had heard that he thought '12 was his last shot. >> i thought he should have run in '12. i thought he would have run. >> his last race was '02, right? >> yeah. >> a long time. >> jonathan rausch idea, right? you do have a sell by dates? how long can you stick around. >> stick around, chuck, speaking of that. tomorrow, we will talk to keith ellison and general michael hayden. "morning joe" is back in a minute. [ male announcer ] this is the story of the little room

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next, we will ask former intelligence director about the president's plan to change the way the nsa does business on "morning joe." we will be right back. i've never skated. me either.

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[ male announcer ] this man has an accomplished research and analytical group at his disposal. ♪ but even more impressive is how he puts it to work for his clients. ♪ morning. morning. thanks for meeting so early. oh, it's not a big deal at all. come on in. [ male announcer ] it's how edward jones makes sense of investing. ♪ we have the former director of the national intelligence, co-chair of the commission on inner and geo politics, retired admiral dennis blair. i want to talk about the nsa in a second but i've been fascinated how new technologies allow the united states to actually put itself in a position we will be the number

one exporter of oil and that will mean an awful look at for our economy moving forward. you say the goal of energy independence is sort of fool's gold that we will never get there. >> the reason, joe, is that our transportation secretary 90% dependent on oil. price goes up for oil because of things having nothing to do with the united states and consumers pay and customers pay and we knock points off the gdp. the oil nexus of transportation. a long-term solution is the diversified fuel and the transportation secretary off of oil, natural gas, electricity, other forms. but in the meantime, there is a lot we can do with this energy abundance in our new position of being a big producer. >> but you sound like boone pickens. boone has been talking about natural gas, especially for transportation for cars and

trucks especially. 18-wheelers at the he said that would be a revolutionary move. >> 20% of the oil we use in the transportation sector is 20%. >> 20%? >> yes. and a good new engine has that the power, has the legs you need but we need to put in the infrastructure. there are about 350 truck stops across the interstates and that is doable in terms of putting the tanks in and get the 18-wheelers on natural gas and push electrification and disengage ourselves from this global market. >> admiral, katty kay in washington. what do you think is the most obvious natural security implications of the shale gas boone in the states and if it's toward energy independence for america? >> it's helped up in some small ways. recently, our ability to put the

sanctions on iran was made partially possible by the fact that the u.s. is putting more oil into the market and, therefore, we could pull out a billion, a billion and a half from the market, which was what iran was contributing. five years earlier, if you talked to the people in the bush administration when they looked at the same set of bit of measures, they couldn't do it because market was too tight. so our production helps in little ways to help in big ways, though, we need to have a more aggressive work with both consumers and with producers. >> the president tomorrow is announcing what he says are some major reforms how the national security agency collects data. honestly, my reading of it, it looks like he is tinkering around the edges. at the end of the day, he is not radically changing the way the nsa does business. so for folks that have been concerned about the nsa and its power to collect data, i think

they are are not going to be satisfied and maybe there is nothing the president could announce to be satisfied. as director of national intelligence, you oversaw nsa. what should be be done? what reform should the president be doing and do you think he is going to -- >> i think those people who think we are -- our programs are wrong are flat incorrect and misinformed and wrong on the basics. we do not -- >> you were there. this program, individually, this program stop any attacks? >> yes, yes. >> while you were -- >> we are sitting here in new york. a terrorist was head to do new york to do in new york what was done in london in 2005. a phone call he made that we were able to intercept was a key factor in being able to stop him from making that attack. people who say that this doesn't save lives are just wrong. >> there is a content that we have here that you're saying the

initial security apparatus trust us for protecting you and we know how to balance our security with our civil liberties. the public doesn't trust the government right now. we have a steep decline since 1950s and 1960s and only 29% of the public have any faith at all in the government. why should the american government after this deception and i want to use the word lies. we have had officials lying to congress about this. why should the public now trust our government to protect our liberties with this amazing power it now has? >> ron, here is the thing. this has been out in the press for, what, a year now? and there has not been one case of an internet american being harmed by these programs. we are not talking about mccarthy and not talking about american avens here. but talking about hard working intelligence officials who are trying to find people who are trying to kill you, your family and others and pushing as far as

they legally can to do that job and we saw the pain in 9/11 when we missed it and didn't work as hard as we should of and we stopped right at the lines that are set bay court, an independent court, that department of justice oversees and congress is reported to. so there are the same sort of checks and balances that we have on all of our government programs but the nature of business has to be done secretly. >> we got to run on that. admiral, thank you so much for being with us. where can americans -- oil security in 2025? a report online there? >> yes. it's securityenergy.org. >> hold up the book! >> secureenergy.org. >> i think this is absolutely

critical. >> so important. >> the country over the next 15 to 20 years so we don't make the same mistakes we have made over the past years. thank you so much, admiral. greatly appreciate it and chuck, thank you very much! ron, thank you, sir. don't read your replies on twitter. >> and we have the "fortune 500" list of the best companies to work for. [ male announcer ] at his current pace, bob will retire when he's 153, which would be fine if bob were a vampire.

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well, we're working on that. i promise you. i'm going to make it work. with us now, we have the managing editor of "fortune" mag sdple magazine. everybody still wants to work for goldman/sachs. and carnegie. you went there? >> it was a great show, acoustic show that he did. the people -- what are these people just yelling -- so many people just yelling, and i understand you're excited, neil young, and people just want to insert themselves into the show, and shut up. >> yeah, they kept screaming. what did he say, friday night, mikey -- >> yeah, our two oldest boys went, and it was audience participation, and neil took the time to say, i've been doing

this a long time, i don't need you. right? i'll figure it out. >> me musician, you audience. yeah, they inserted themselves, screaming lyrics before he's singing the lyrics, it was really just troubling. why don't we count down the top five companies to -- i'm sure comcast is number one. >> they're mixed in here, five and a half. so google. sas, the software developer. and boston consulting group, edward jones and quicken loans. quicken loans is out of detroit. the dan gilbert guy. owns the cleveland cavaliers, too. >> he was on with us from detroit. >> he is mr. detroit, right? >> he is. >> he's trying to singlehandedly bring the city back from a business perspective, and quicken loans, mortgage lender, and you get $25,000 forgiveness when you work there.

everyone wants to work there in detroit. it's one of the places where he cares about his employees. the companies actually care, hello, about the employees, right? >> andy, is that a common denominator that people want to work for whole foods, is there a common denominator, like health care, or anything universal, and four is edward jones, 3 bgc, and -- >> i think some of this is maniacal focus on not just customers so much. it sounds couldn't intuitive. and i remember hearing from schulz at starbucks, that's not my number-one constituency. it's my employees. because if i treat my employees well, they'll treat the customers well. >> it's the atmosphere these places are creating. >> and google being number one, because can you have your skateboard on kbus.

>> yeah, the skateboarding and the food. and this is another important point, is this the kind of place where the breast and brightest people on the planet want to work. you have google glass, driverless cars, and bought nest f you're a type-a person, if you did really well in school, if you're supersmart, you want to work with the cutting-edge people, which is maybe -- >> well, hold on. x, x, x, x, x. yeah, let's say that at least two of those -- >> well, goldman sachs, you go to harvard, captain. the football team, you do two tours in afghanistan, you get an mba, where are you going to work? you're not going to work for people like that. you go to google or goldman/sachs. >> why everybody still wants to work at goldman/sachs, why? >> a lot of it has to do with the kbengs. the average compensation there, almost $400,000. >> there's a reason why there's average compensation.

it's because that he get the best. >> yeah, a lot of them make a lot of money. skews because a lot of people make a ton of money. everybody from the bottom up make a ton of money. they have the shiny perks, and the building, and we're looking around here, but if you want to challenge yourself like that, you know, where are you going to go. if you're a super type a crazy person, goldman/sachs -- >> i had all xs, but one check. >> yeah, super-a type crazy, challenge yourself every single day, that's the place to work. they're able to attract and keep them. >> one out of six ain't bad. thank you so much, andy. thank you so much for being here. greatly appreciate it. the new issue of "fortune" magazine is out. make sure you get it. it will change your life. "morning joe" will be right back. i just assumed you went and bought a prius.

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good morning, 8:00 a.m. on the east coast, 5:00 a.m. on the west coast, a live look at new york city. back with us is john mecham, john roberts, and kathy kay. and obviously big news coming out of washington yesterday, the senate intelligence report. >> yeah, this is all about benghazi and the senate intelligence committee, joe, says the attack that left four americans dead in benghazi was actually preventable. a bipartisan report blames the state department and other

intelligence agencies for the deadly breakdown. nbc's andrea mitchell has more. >> reporter: hi, good morning. 16 months after the terror attack that killed four americans, including a u.s. ambassad ambassador, the senate intelligence committee report is scathing, categorically blaming the state department for ignoring multiple warnings and filing to provide adequate security. benghazi, libya, 9/11/2012. the day alone should have set off alarms, but didn't. the report says the attacks that killed the four americans, including ambassador chris stevens, were preventable. in fact, hundreds of intelligence reports in prior months warned militias and terrorist and affiliated groups had the capability and intent to strike u.s. and western facilities and personnel in libya. >> the intelligence was really ample. i had the opportunity to review it myself. >> reporter: the cia increased its security, but the state

department did not. >> they needed more security measures, more personnel. all of that was ignored. >> reporter: a major new finding, ambassador stevens declined two specific offers from carter ham for more military support, and the report says the pentagon, whose closest fighter jets were more than five hours away, was not prepared to respond to the attacks. committee republicans also issued a blistering attack on former secretary of state hillary clinton, who last year tried to rebut charges of a cover-up. >> what difference at this point does it make? it is our job to figure out what happened and do everything we can to prevent it from ever happening again, senator. >> reporter: but the republican committee members categorically blamed clinton, claiming, at the end of the day, she was responsible for ensuring the safety of all americans serving in our diplomatic facilities. her failure to do so made a difference in the lives of the four murdered americans and

their families. that will be fodder for any presidential campaign. >> she herself says the buck stops at the top, and she was charge at the statement department at the time. >> reporter: hillary clinton's office referred all questions back to the state department, which told nbc news, we're focused on improving the security of our embassies. we'll leave politics to others. there you've got it. back to you guys. >> andrea mitchell. the report also concluded that ambassador stevens requested additional security on at least three separate occasions, joe. so still quite a lot of confusion about what actually happened in benghazi, but it does seem like those attacks could have been prevented. >> it certainly is what the senate -- the bipartisan report suggesting the lead story this morning, jim, "the new york times," says benghazi called avoidable in senate report, and "the times" lead paragraph called it a stinging report by the senate intelligence committee, and said that the report singled out the state department for criticism for its

failure. of course, also in there, chris stevens, they detailed -- republicans and democrats alike, and you saw senator feinstein there obviously not -- not a right-wing blogger. talking about benghazi. this is a story that really won't go away. a lot of people on the right have been talking about it nonstop from the morning after that it happened. but here, this actually seems like it might have some fallout moving forward. especially with -- >> it doesn't go away as long as hillary clinton is in the conversation about running for president. republicans demanded in an addendum, in specifically that they blamed hillary clinton because she was in charge of the state department. the astonishing new details that dealt with ambassador stevens and fact the twiet he was asked, do you need more security help, and he said, no. on one occasion, well, i think

i'll trust we can put together local protection from the libyan community, which i think runs contrary to what almost everyone else was feeling at the time in benghazi, about the threat that was -- >> see, that seems to contradict the part of the report that -- the fact that he requested additional security. square those two up with me. >> i think it's relevant trout the entire controversy, there's a lot of confusion. in the report, they specifically cite two different instances where he was asked by folks in washington if he wants reinforcements, if he wants more security. he declined security in those cases. there's also parts of the report that say in earlier junctures he will talked about the need for more security. and that's why this report, this entire episode, there's been so much confusion. it's easy for republicans to make a huge issue out of it, to point the finger at hillary clinton, tried to make a big, big deal out of the fact that the white house doctors talking points to back up their side --

>> and they discuss this in the report, as well. it puts susan rice's comments that she used on the sunday shows that really derailed her nomination -- >> totally derailed. >> -- based on intel reports that they had. >> we talked about this months ago on the show. what people can't accept is the fact that when you have a world on fire, and you have so many different areas, so many different hot spots, bad decisions are made all the time, and you can do it from pure motives. i don't think the ambassador sitting there, yeah, i think i'll weaken security, because i couldn't think we need it, i'm not worried about state department officials, it was a bad call if that's what he was arguing at the time. and it happens all the time. and what's happened is this is just boiled into probably one of the top two, three republican talking points over the last year trying to argue about both incompetence among the white house, and specifically with hillary clinton. >> john mecham, there's so many contradictions.

this report that has constraw dikzs in it. this report, also, contradicts what we saw on the front page of "the new york times," what, last sunday, when "the new york times" reported that there was no al qaeda kwekz, and that --, and the senate intel shoots that down, not saying the "times" had great sourcing, they obviously did or they wouldn't have put it in. there's still, even after this report, there's still a lot of conflict. >> a lot of fog of war. and both tragically in the real sense, and also in the classic bureaucratic run-up to these things. i think the benefit of these kinds of reconstructions is everybody should weigh in. you know, every conceivable party, and then you try to figure out what you can learn from it. the point of these recon -- it seems to me, the point of the

reconstructions is never again, how do you do it? >> right. >> but everybody's going to make mistakes. and i don't think the point of pointing fingers for purely partisan purposes on either side makes sense. it's like, to some extent, when critics of george w. bush wanted to say about prior to september 11th, well, you know, look at the headline, the intelligence report, al qaeda wants to hit targets in the u.s. now you've got something about secretary clinton on a smaller scale. i just think having a measure of proportion and a measure of understanding that these are, in fact, human institutions is important. >> and when we think about the context of the timeline, we know that libya was purely a rat's nest. omar gadhafi had fallen, the arab spring, the uprising, but, jim, to your points, that's what does stand out, talking about ambassador stevens and the conflekts between, was more

security requested or was it kind of brushed aside. >> right. >> he requested it earlier, and then pulled back from it? or, again, what's the -- i'm trying to figure out the time -- >> i think a lot of people, journalists especially, are trying to get to the bottom of not just only figuring out why the tragedy happened, but what was the mission of chris stevens to be there in the first place at that time period. why was he there? do we have that specific information revealed to us yet that would have put him in jeopardy? >> and before you answer that, everybody is looking at a july 9, 2012 stevens, a cable sent to headquarters, asking for a minimum 13 temporary duty u.s. security personnel. he later sent a cable, alilaba saying he did not, he wanted local. and back and forth. >> not that he didn't want additional security.

you could supply the additional security from libya. again, we're in this massive hot spot to begin with. and ambassadors are not generals, cia operatives, not trained in the art of protecting an embassy. that's what the defense department does. it does come down to human error. and there's no room for human error. there's no room for humanity in political debate. i think like hillary clinton when she was agitated in that clip that you showed, it's not a bad point to make. yes, terrible things happen. people die. let's figure out, like, why that happened and how you prevent it in the future. nobody really wants to have that debate. people want to have a debate, did you have a cover-up, because you're totally political -- >> and all of the stories of people being ordered to stand down, you know, we want to go save the american lives, and, no, sir, stand down. >> right. >> and we had the guy fabricating the story on "60 minutes." you had, again, a lot of the

stuff from fog of war, and a lot of the stories playing into people's worst expectations of whoever's on the other side. if it's republicans looks at democrats, or democrats looking at republicans when george w. bush was president. and it's all fodder. i think my -- my biggest criticism, catty, yes, mistakes happen, and you have all of the mistakes, and sometimes terrible, terrible things happen across the world. the only -- the only thing i would say is that if you are going to focus on countries that you're going to give extra security to, you know, you would probably look to, instead of, say, norway, you would probably look to a country where you just ended fighting a war where there was an unstable government, whereas tom said, it was a rat's nest of terrorists streaming in and out. there was anarchy across the

country. and if you're secretary clinton and you get cables from the ambassador saying, we need additional security, you know, you act on that. it's not like it's just another outpost. it's like one of the hottest outposts out there. i think that is a fair criticism. i don't know that hillary clinton ever answered that. >> yeah, i mean, i think there's always been two important points about this story, and neither of them, frankly, a political one. one is the intelligence. why did u.s. intelligence analysts miss what was clearly a buildup of insecurity in benghazi. the british ambassador, for example, had been targeted in his car, just before the attack on the u.s. compound. we knew that this was becoming increasingly volatile. and the other was the security issue. why were outposts in an area as you suggest that was difficult, where the americans have just, you know, completed a war, why were they not properly defended? and this report, in a way, is very sad, because chris stevens,

who was the ambassador, who was killed, was also fallible. and perhaps didn't ask for or rejected even some of the security he might have had. you know, they'll carry on being questions, joe, about the benghazi report, i'm sure. let's turn now to other news, because there's big news on the economy, as well. president obama says he's not going to wait around for congress to tackle the nation's economic challenges. speaking in north carolina, the president addressed the unemployment bill that stalled in congress and added that he's willing to take executive action to help speed up the recovery. >> we got cheap energy costs. we've got the best workers in the world. we have the best university systems in the world. and we've got the largest market in the world. but it requires us to take action. this has to be a year of action. we can't wait for congress to solve it. where i can act on my own without congress, i'm going to do so. and today, i'm here to act. >> while millions of americans struggle to get back on their

feet, there is a different story happening on wall street. yesterday, the s&p erased all of its losses this year, closing at a new record high. now, that hasn't translated to optimism at home. a new gallup poll finds that 42% of americans say they are worse off than they were a year ago. just 35% believe that they are actually better off. and, joe, the same poll also says the biggest problem in america at the moment, not unemployment, not the economy, it's government itself. >> you know, catty, it's so fascinating, you look at the numbers that show more americans think they're worse off, better off a year ago, every week we get all of the numbers that come across the screen, and maybe unemployment is down, and maybe, you know, durable goods, purchases are up. and we sift through all of these numbers. of course, wall street off the charts. but you look at that number, more americans believing they're worse off today than they were a year ago, plurality, that

certainly, right now, is the number that really tells the tale of the tape more than any other, and that is -- >> it's a terrible indictment of washington skblchlt yeah, yeah. we're just falling behind. john, i saw you smiling when president obama said he was going to do what he could do without congress. >> we can check that box off. every president finds this moment where perhaps there's an executive order in the drawer from the last guy, and you can redo it. i remember when -- it was right after you went to congress, it was '95, clinton says the president is relevant. >> i'm still relevant. it was his al hague moment. read the constitution. >> i remember the conversation at the time, maybe, if you could help settle the baseball strike, it would be a big thing forward. usually it's in foreign affairs, right about now. and with two, three years out.

and if you talk to former presidents, they say one of the reasons they really get engaged in foreign affairs late in the term is you don't have to deal with the subcommittee chairman. you actually have unilateral action. and they're always trying to find some means by which they can get action. >> right. >> you know, i will say that the president's got -- i mean, the only institution that makes him look really, really strong is congress. so even on his worse day, he's three times more popular than congress. >> well, exactly. if you're going to, like, you know, follow an act -- >> yeah. >> -- you would like congress to open up for you on -- >> precisely. >> so, jim, where is the president right now, as far as the strategy, the white house, once the grand strategy for the last two and a half, three years, as john said, this is what a lot of presidents -- we talked about immigration reform. we talked about, you know, background checks last year. we talked about so many things.

>> it's a bad sign for a white house when you're talking about executive orders and you're talking about using the power of speeches and gathering people. that doesn't change a law. here's the problem. in the last, since december, four democrats who are in seats that are vulnerable, have stepped down in the house, or announced they're going to step down. it's now almost impossible for democrats to win back the house. >> coming up on "morning joe," how president obama is trying to keep his own party in line when it comes to iran. the white house push to win over skeptical democrats. we'll talk about that straight ahead. plus, chris christie hangs tough in new jersey. we'll look at new poll numbers next in the politico playbook. first, here's bill karens with a check on the forecast. bill, a lot of concerns out west in california. what's going on. >> joe, the drought there is just horrendous. it's amazing how different and large our country is. we have a ground blizzard, it's so windy and it actually picks

the snow up off the ground and blow it is around, and gives you whiteout conditions. that's what's hatching in fargo. look at the low visibility, and the temperatures are tanking as an arctic blast comes down from the north. let me show you what the actual weather map looks like. the storm north of dilute. winds gusting to 36 miles per hour in fargo. 46 in rapid city. high wind warnings through much of the northern plains. the next arctic blast is going to be coming down from the north. that's this area here. as it goes down to the south, that's when the temperatures will tank. it looks like the great lakes and new england, not as bad as the last arctic outbreak, but cold air on the way for the weekend. joe mentioned california. and this image says it all. the snow from last year at this time, in the white of the mountains in the sierra, image on the right, shows barely any snow at all throughout the west. i mean, the snow pack is their drinking water and their agricultural water for the year. they need it desperately. this is their wet season, and it's not raining. you're watching "morning joe."

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♪ it's time to look at the morning papers. first, from idaho, "the statesman," there's evidence that an american service member is alive five years after he disappeared from his base in afghanistan. last week, the united states intercepted a thumb drive including a video of army

sergeant looking frail and referencing the death of nelson mandela. it was the first sighting of him in nearly three years. he is the only active u.s. serviceman still in captivity there. and online at the huffington post, bob goodlatte says -- opponented to in his words all the care and services that need to be provided by a lot people to raise children. critics of the legislation say that women are far less likely to advance in their careers and education without affordable family planning. and from "the philadelphia enquirer," comcast corporation beginning construction on a $1.2 billion skyscraper in philadelphia this summer. of course, because just how well "morning joe" is doing. we continue, i mean, seriously, we fill the coffers, and money comes through the vents because of this show.

>> scarborough is up there, right? >> i'm asking if it could be -- i wanted to be the scarborough center. i think it will be "morning mika." >> naming rights are very important. >> it's very important. anyway, the comcast innovation and technology center will be its nickname. my name will be on the official -- like if you see the granite, the cornerstone. it will be the tallest building in the united states outside of new york and chicago, standing at 1,121 feet tall. the project will also house a new four seasons hotel and bring in an estimated 1,500 jobs to the city. >> joe, i think you didn't get enough sleep last night. >> perhaps not. >> "the dallas morning news," jcpenney announced to close 23 states in 20 states and cut 2,000 jobs. the retailer says this move will produce savings of almost $65 million a year for the company. the move comes aspen ni tries to bounce back from steep revenue

declines under former ceo ron johnson, pushed out last april. the affected stars are expected to close by may. and from the san francisco chronicle, apple is going to refund nearly $33 million to parents whose children made app store purchases without their consent. >> where do you sign up for that? >> yeah, i know. i'm going to get half of that. >> wow. >> various children were racking up thousands of dollars worth of charges while playing games or using apps. the ftc said it will also evaluate cases after the class action suit was filed. >> one of the games is 8-year-old's favorite game, too because -- the pet one. there's this pet one. i dread to think how much money she's been racking up. >> okay. now a sign to go to "politico" playbook. >> jim, the new signs showing promises polls for chris christie. in a new nbc/marist poll, 69%

say the opinion of the governor is unchanged. nearly half of americans view him as a leader. 27% say he has acted like a bully. and when it comes to believing the new jersey republican, 44% think he is mostly telling the truth. but in the state of new jersey itself, the governor has seen an erosion in support, losing 20% from his approval since this time last year. jim, you say this weekend is going to be an important one for chris christie's future. what's he got to do? >> well, number one, it will take a long time to figure out how much damage has actually been done. the idea this disqualifies him from the presidential race i think is probably nonsense, but it would be equally nonsense cal to say this is not hugely problematic. he'll do these fund-raisers in florida. a billionaire business mogul, and this is him, this is what most donors are telling us, he

has a big problem, because perception is everything. perception is reality. i'm sure he's an honorable, decent guy, but i wonder how the hell did he let this happen? who did he hire? what kind of idiot? is it just ridiculous. and i think that's on the record from one of the big republican donors. and i think that's what he's going to have to address. the bluster and the christie style, it resonated well, and still probably resonates with the donor class among republicans, but they have real questions, how could this happen under your watch. and christie will survive this, assuming nothing else comes out. >> right. >> if 234anything comes out tha links him to this, he is truly toast, after the two and a half hour press conference, saying he had nothing to do with it -- >> well, it's one of christie's biggest champions. and we've seen -- >> the former head of home depot. >> yeah, former head of home depot. he's invited a lot of his friends. and potential christie supporters down there.

i'm sure, yeah, they'll be looking at this guy. nobody will be writing checks yet. yeah, it is. i think it's a real challenge, it will be a wait-and-see opportunity from a lot of the donor class. >> and it gives an opening to others. if you liked chris christie, you like a governor, who would you like second best, so someone like scott walker in wisconsin suddenly gets a second look. i don't think it was a coincidence that scott walker was one of the first out there defending christie. what better was i to show your toughness, your allegiance, than defend somebody in troubled waters, and somebody who's not as impressive, but an impressive track record in wisconsin. let's face it. there's a lot of conservatives who don't like christie, so they're happy to pile on, and they don't care what the donors think about him. still ahead, the academy award nominations will be announced. we'll be telling you who gets the oscar nods. plus, our conversation with chef rocco dispirito and his new plan to help people shed one

pound every day. mika said this guy is great. you know. and giving me the book, suggesting i -- no, she is. >> she gives you the app, you're in trouble. >> yeah, i know. suggesting i need to lose one pound a day. if i do that for, what -- >> you don't want to wither away down to nothing. >> yeah, i'll be down to 324. >> tv, it's true. >> and it depends on how many cameras are on you. >> let's put 800 pounds. go-gurt?

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it's an age-old question, is there such a thing as dieting with deprivation? chef rocco visited to give us his plan of losing a pound a day without losing your appetite. >> barnacle, you can't eat the food yet. okay? stop. joining us on set, i can't wait, by the way, but barnacle is taking everything, chef rocco dispirito is out with a book called "the pound a day." what's behind the book? >> it's based on real science. it's the calorie-deficit

principle, metabolic fasting, fewer calories eaten, and every 3,500 calories you cut or burn, you lose a pound of fat. >> a day? >> a day. >> the longest anyone has gone, 30 days. she went 30 days losing a pound a day. and then, of course, you lose more gradually. >> is it healthy? >> it is. look at the macronutrients. 850 calories of food. have you ever seen so much food on 850 calories? >> i'm eating some of it. >> in addition to that, 100 grams of protein, 30 to 60 grams of carbs, so the macronutrients are sound. and the extra energy comes from the fat reserves. >> so, rocco, i'm eating absolutely delicious bacon-wrapped chicken. >> turkey bacon. >> full of salt. >> how do i prepare this at home? how easy is it -- >> it's a five ingredient dish. one piece of lean chicken brek, two slices of turkey bacon, and

some cheese, and microwave, broiler, ten minutes. all of the recipes are five to seven ingredients. >> take me there a day's diet. >> yeah, i just -- >> how many calories a day did you say? >> 850. >> you talked about before in the course -- >> 3,500 a day of deficit creates one pound of fat loss. and there's a little debate about that number, but most people in the medical community agree that's an accurate number. >> okay sdplchlt so do you agree? >> i do. >> i know you know your sufficient. >> it's hard. anyhow, go ahead. >> start with a chocolate breakfast smoothie, 30 grams of protein, 11 grams of fiber, 198 calories, 2 grams of fat, no sugar, no sweeteners. >> you make it? >> you make it yourself. >> can i have it? >> you can have it, yeah. bring it with you all day long, have it as a meal replacement. anything with 30 grams of protein is a very nutritious

drink. try to find something -- >> is it good, barnacle? do you like it. >> that's the most important part. dieting without deprivation. everything is delicious. >> all right. like a little boy. he eats everything. >> what's that? >> that's a napkin. >> this is a grapefruit. >> i love grapefruit. >> i'll have that. >> and it is known to boost metabolism. >> what did you put all over it? >> what i put on it is cinnamon and ginger flavored monk fruit sugar, and 100% natural calorie free. >> i don't know what monk fruit is. the ancient chinese fruit in (unintelligible) that grows in northern china. >> i'm glad you like it. so many people are afraid of the grapefruit. the next thing is the snack. it will be about two and a half hours later, metabolic fasting, or intermittent fasting. when you fast for long periods of time, you gain weight.

when you fast metabolically or intermittently, you turn yourself into a jet rocket. you burn fuel. >> the snack are potato chips. these are white sweet potato chips, flavored like sour cream and on on, made in the microwave in three minutes. >> give us an honest opinion. >> that's not bad. >> no, no, no. >> no, it's good. >> at least he didn't say it's interesting. just so you understand what's happening, normally 140 grams of calorie, that's 37 calories. >> no, no, that doesn't taste like a potato chip. it's fine. i'd eat it. i get the salty thing that you want from a potato chip. it's not a potato chip. >> so now we get to lunch. and lunch today is, where's the lunch. you already ate it. the rotisserie chicken. the asian rotisserie chicken salad. it's made with -- you buy it in the store. a bag of broccoli slaw and a

little bit of sugar-free teriyaki sauce, mix it together, and you're done. >> that looks good. >> that thing is good. >> yummy. it comes with the sticks, chop sticks. you've seen them before. you've never taken the time to use them. i could hook it up with a rubberband. >> you use those things to keep the monk fruit. >> exactly. yeah. you can have two grapefruits and skip the chips. the next is the banana cream smoothie, a slow carb, meaning your body doesn't absorb the calories, and coconut water, and some sweetener. i won't say it again, but that's snack two. that would normally be about 520 calories, my version of 103 calories -- >> oh, i love it. >> the potato chips, are they in a bag, you have to make them? >> she hates them, and you want to buy them in a bag. >> yeah. >> i just want the audience know it doesn't really taste like a potato chip. >> but they're very good, though. >> ant it doesn't really going

to kill you in about 20 years, too. that is an important distinction. >> how do i get them? >> i'll have to make them for you until we package them. >> and then sell them. >> let's make it a "morning joe" snack that we can sell, put in the bag -- >> get the name -- barnacles chips. >> dinner yet in. >> okay. dinner. -- you ate dinner for breakfast. bacon-wrapped chicken. it's a winter vegetable. you shred it on a box greater. microwave five minutes, alittle agabe nectar, and that would normally be 630 calories, but this one is only 232 calories and 4 grams of fat. you look like you enjoyed it. >> very much. >> most of the stuff is very good. >> you are proving that healthy and delicious are not mutually exclusive. >> i want to point out this diet is an extremely weight loss for

people with bmi above 25, and phase two of the diet is right for you. >> you are officially in the obese category -- morbidly obese? >> obese. >> if you're struggling with obesity, try this. this is something you can do that's realistic. and it does taste good. >> what do you mean, this diet's for everyone, isn't it? >> it can be, but it does produce rapid weight loss, and guys like you, you don't necessarily need to lose weight that quickly. >> that's important. because women, i think, especially have issues with weight. and if they are not obese or morbidly obese, but a little bit -- this wouldn't potentially they -- >> you could do it for a week if you want to fit in a size 6 dress for a -- yeah, any diet under 800 calories should come with medical supervision. mine's 850, so it's on the line. >> look into it all.

give it a try. the food's really good and really healthy. the book is "the pound a day diet." >> can we do it again? >> "the pound a day diet." >> very good. rocco dispirito, thank you very much. more "morning joe" in just a moment. ♪

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really? 25 grams of protein. what do we have? all four of us, together? 24. he's low fat too, and has five grams of sugars. i'll believe it when i -- [ both ] oooooh... what's shakin'? oops. [ female announcer ] as you get older, protein is an important part of staying active and strong. ensure high protein... 50% of your daily value of protein. low fat and five grams of sugars. see? he's a good egg. [ major nutrition ] ensure high protein. ensure. nutrition in charge! ♪ time now, "business before the bell" with machel caruso-cabrera. the latest jobless numbers. how did they look? >> better than what people were thinking. the number of people filing for unemployment fell to 326,000, so two weakness a row now where we've seen an improvement in that part of the labor picture,

which is maybe giving hope to the idea that the very bad number that we saw for the month of december overall maybe we're going to see an improvement in the january number when we get it later in february. so right now, we see the futures are suggesting we'll have a weaker open. not because of the employment data, but probably because of the earnings that we're getting out. there's a number of stocks trading on different news. citi, for example, is getting hit a little bit in premarket trade. there's two pieces of news. first, they're going to replace all of the debit cards associated with the target breach. that's not why the stock is lower. the stock is lower because thes missed on their earnings report. we're in the middle of earnings season on cnbc, where all of the companies that trade in the stock market report how their profitability was in the last three tongts, and they tell us, and the stocks react positively or negatively. citi is negative. best buy is getting punished. 30% lower. they reported december same-store sales, holiday sales, and they were down by 0.9%, and analysts had expect the --

expected the sales to be higher. the reported weakness when it came to electronics retailing. and goldman/sachs looks to be slightly higher. the profits are down from a year ago, but still better than what folks were expecting. >> one of the best companies to work for. michelle, thank you so much. >> thank you, thomas. up next, the oscar nominations. they have just been announced. we have a complete breakdown of the top tipick. our entertainment reporter mike barb kl. that's next on "morning joe." in my world, wall isn't a street. return on investment isn't the only return i'm looking forward to. and my parachute definitely isn't golden. [ male announcer ] for some, every dollar is earned with sweat, sacrifice, courage, which is why usaa is honored to help our members

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♪ so here we are. here we are. it's oscar time. >> let's go over this. i don't think a lot of surprises. >> but for best picture we're seeing 12 years a slave, captain phillips, gravity, dallas buyers club, the wolf of wall street. >> i've heard hers is fabulous. you love philomena. >> who should win? put that list back up. >> well, should win, i think

"captain phillips" should win for best movie. who will win "12 years a slave." >> which did win a golden globe, but the actors were looked over. we have four, actor nominees in a leading role. let's go over this -- chewetel edgiofo. i matthew mcconaughey, bruce dern for his turn and leonardo dicaprio, and the ladies, the actress, leading actress nominations go to cate blanchett for "blue jasmine." sandra bullock for gravity. amy adams for "american hustle" and meryl streep. >> judi dench should win. >> nominated actors in a supporting role.

we've got barkhad abdi, captain phillips. >> he'll be here tuesday. >> bradley cooper for "american hustle." michael fassbender, "12 years a slave." jared leto, and jonah hill, "the wolf of wall street." >> i better see an opera in nominees for actress in a supporting role. >> you're going to be disappointed. >> really? >> that's a shame. >> sally hawkins in blue jasmine. plays the sister. jennifer lawrence for "american hustle." she has walked away with the golden globe. lupita n'yongo, "12 years a slave." she plays patsy, i think. julia roberts, "august osage county." and june squib for "nebraska." >> big names there.

>> great names, but i don't see a lot of surprises, from what we know from -- >> one surprise. that robert redford was not nominated for best actor for -- >> that's pretty stunning. it actually is. remarkable performance, remarkable movie. i'm stunned by that. and i've got to say, seriously, oprah, i thought she did well with the butler, a remarkable job. i think that was an oversight. >> the other special is emma thompson in "saving mr. banks." >> and see who the directors are, and the academies, daniel o. russell, alfonso, steve mcqueen and martin scorsese for "wolf of wall street." do we have anything on john ridley? >> nominated for best adapted screenplay. >> oh, yeah. >> john will be with us on monday. >> so we'll have john here on

monday. how great. boy, he did an incredible job. >> yes, he did. >> good. coming up next, what, if anything, did we learn? [ male announcer ] this is the story of the little room over the pizza place on chestnut street the modest first floor bedroom in tallinn, estonia and the southbound bus barreling down i-95. ♪ this magic moment it is the story of where every great idea begins. and of those who believed they had the power to do more. dell is honored to be part of some of the world's great stories.

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like, really big... then expanded? ♪ or their new product tanked? ♪ or not? what if they embrace new technology instead? ♪ imagine a company's future with the future of trading. company profile. a research tool on thinkorswim. from td ameritrade. welcome back to "morning joe." time to talk about what we learned. >> i learned so much from andy. >> you really did. >> i really did. >> can you name one thing? >> i wanted to just absolutely

salute him and his good work for america. >> he's got nothing. >> he's got nothing. >> thank you for sticking around. >> okay. >> what did you learn today? >> i learned you shouldn't yell at a neil young concert. i don't. mike doesn't. you don't. >> i learned that hillary clinton looks at the calendar, she might decide, no, i don't want to do this again, and not run for president. it's a possibility. >> it's a possibility. what did you learn? >> hardened political reporter like chuck todd, who has seen everything, still scared by devil baby. scared. >> mike barnicle, way too early. what time is it? >> normally time for chuck, and now a new one with chuck todd. >> my back. >> take it away. >> demon baby was in the green room, anyway. benghazi versus the bridge. a new report fuels critics on the right with a talking point to try to tackle hillary clinton, but the perception problem for clinton is different than what's fin