>> joe, did you learn anything? >> i learned if it's way too early, it's "morning joe." stick around, because chuck todd is straight ahead with the "the daily rundown." one, two, three. >> yeah, like that. stop it, louis. is there a solution for syria? president assad is still in power, and he's still bombing his own people. and president obama is sounding like he's ready to try something new to make it all stop. also this morning, southern discomfort. autoworkers reject the union push that would have been a historic first in tennessee. a look at what drove the opposition and what's next for the labor movement. plus, a look at why presidential good-byes are often the best place to start if you want to understand the chief concerns of america's commanders in chief. good morning from washington. happy presidents' day, or washington's birthday, as the federal government still technically calls it. it's monday, february 17th, 2014. and this is a holiday edition of

"the daily rundown." a big show for you, that also includes a "deep dive" in where the democratic party is headed post-obama and perhaps post-hillary. but let's get to my "first reads." although you may not realize it, the problem of syria is taking up more and more of the president's time and energy. on the foreign policy front, it may be the single biggest issue for the president and his advisors, and frankly, it's a riddle they simply may not be able to solve. over the past week, president obama has admitted that u.s. policy toward syria isn't working. first, while speaking alongside the french president, and again following the sitdown with jordan's king abdullah. >> nobody's going to deny that there's enormous frustration here. i have said throughout my presidency that i always reserve the right to exercise military action on behalf of america's national security interests. but that has to be deployed wisely. >> there will be intermediate

steps we can take to apply more pressure to the assad regime, and we're going to be continuing to work with all the parties concerned to try to move forward on a diplomatic solution. >> keep in mind the president's not admitting that he's had the wrong policy, but he's saying that he needs a new approach. but in a background briefing by senior administration official over the weekend, they indicated they're still casting around for some ideas, mentioning only that a, quote, wide range of policy tools and options are in play. meanwhile, the crisis seems to have intensified in recent weeks. while syrian president assad has shied away from using chemical weapons, the syrian air force has begun dropping barrel bombs in reese ebts weeks and new numbers from syrian observatory for human rights indicate 140,000 people have died in the syrian civil war since the spring 2011. more than 5,000 have died since peace talks began in late january. we're talk be weeks, folks. the same time, the u.n. says

3 million syrians remain out of reach of humanitarian assistance after a second round of talks fell apart over the week, the chief mediator issued in unusual apology to the people of syria. >> i'm very, very sorry, and i apologize to the syrian people about their hopes which were very, very high that something will happen here. >> the collapse of the peace talks leaves the president with few options. he'd hoped a deal to force assad to give up chemical weapon wuss bear some fruit, but it's been repeatedly delayed. the limited amount of weapons that's been sent to the rebels has failed to turn the tide, and even a u.n. resolution to pave the way for more humanitarian assistance has been blocked, by guess what, russia. and to make matters worse, al qaeda splinter groups are using syria as a base, leading to fears that the security of the u.s. homeland is now at stake. and a lot of critics out there say something needs to change

and change soon. >> there are viable options. there is a viable free syrian army. there are people who -- there are groups that have joined together against these extremi t extremists, isis, radical extremists that are there. there is still viable opposition and we can help and assist. we can do that, and to do nothing, of course, we'll see a further deterioration and a regionalization of the conflict. >> part of the problem may be the politics of all this. congressional and public opposition effectively curbed the president's plan to launch strikes last year. and former white house senior advisor david axelrod says the situation on that front hasn't changed. >> the politics are very bad. there is a hangover from iraq and afghanistan. the country's looking enward. there's not a great interest in this. and so, the president is looking at 100,000 people killed, these

horrific images, the refugees and so on, and looking for answers. but the country wants him to ebb focused on the economy, and that's a thing that presidents have to wrestle with. >> with me now, dr. brzezinski and, of course, andrea mitchell, host of "andrea mitchell reports" or these days it's been the olympics. >> yaed, curling. i'm doing a great job on curling. >> andrea, let me start with you, because i want to play a piece of sound from overnight, from john kerry traveling in asia on once again ruling out the use of the military. here's what he said. >> we still believe there is no military solution with respect to syria. it has to be a political resolution. but right now, bashar al assad has not engaged in the discussions. they have refused to open up one moment of discussion legitimately about a transition

government. >> no military option but -- and it seems to me the administration may be changing their policy on this front. >> well, the policy has not worked. the fiction is that there are diplomatic talks going on. they collapsed. rahimmy said so, the u.n. mediator. no schedule to resume. and the opposition did engage in this round, but the regime refused to even consider the basis for the talks, which is a transitional government presumably without assad. so that is a dead letter right now. and this is was the fiction that the administration could point to, well, we've got these talks going on. >> right. >> look, this is awkward for kerry. kerry is the guy who gave the, we are going to war speech on the friday before labor day weekend, over the crossing of the red line. first of all, you don't say there's a red line if you're not going to do something once they cross it. once there is proof they crossed the red line on chemical weapons, which are not the cause of the worst number of deaths

and destruction, the catastrophe that's there, they backed off from that, without even informing properly the secretary of state. now what you're seeing is the u.n. ambassador, samantha power, along with kerry are becoming frustrated with the policy, but it's the president who so risk averse after two wars does not want to engage -- >> he's the one slow walking this. dr. brzezinski, there's clearly a do-something chore us in the president's ear, but what is that something? what would you be advising the president to do? >> i would be advising him ba c basically to stick to the course on which he has embarked, because bear in mind we're facing, first of all, a regional problem. it's not just a syrian problem. it's a regional problem. if we get involved militarily, it will be our regional problem, much larger. >> and you think even if it's a

surgical strike at trying to cripple assad's air capabilities -- >> we're taking sides in the sectarian war. it's a sectarian war between shiites and sunnis, with the sunnis initially starting it. >> right. >> who would be taking sides. secondly, we have simultaneously three problems in our relations with russia, all of which are serious and dangerous, and can best be solved by compromise -- syria, iran, and ukraine, which is also very serious international problem. if we simply embark on a unilateral, solitary military action in which no one joins us, we are simply setting the region on fire and we're setting our relations with russia on edge. with the russians probably having a larger freedom of action regarding ukraine than we do. we need to strive for comprehensive bargain involving, first of all, syria, where some

adjustment has to be made on the issue of assad -- >> you're saying this needs to be u.s. and russia working -- >> part of it. in a larger setting, both. because all three problems are potentially very explosive. >> you'd be linking the three of them together and seeing -- >> in a process in which we deal with each of them separately, but we deal with each other. >> you know, andrea, it is interesting, the tone of rhetoric -- >> boy, has it, against russia. >> -- changed big. it's been negative, but john kerry and the senior administration official that briefed -- >> who shall go nameless, he or she. >> -- shall go nameless, was rough on russia, rhetoric, saying they are bad actors. >> under ground rules, we can't say who was briefing in california, but it was a senior -- emphasis on senior official. >> not a press person. >> correct. and what i've noticed in the last week or so is coming from the u.n. -- the u.s. mission at the u.n., from authorized spokespeople, and coming from

the white house -- not coming from kerry, because kerry has not explicitly criticized russia, he is more the diplomat. but coming from some of the other senior officials, they are making it personal about vladimir putin. i'm getting messages from top people saying, you know, why don't your people ask why vladimir putin is glorifying sochi while he's supporting the brutality in russia? that's a quotation. there's no room, and i agree with vig on a major point here, iran, if anything, is the diplomatic legacy of this president, if there's a nonmilitary approach to denuclearizing iran. >> but syria -- >> but syria is now becoming a crisis because of the videos, because of the pictures. i did a story last night with that child crying about his brothers, the helicopter -- the barrel bombings from helicopters, the regime's jets, the differences, john mccain and others, who disagree with the administration's policy, is the

difference is the air power. >> dr. brzezinski, this is the argument, sandy berger, bill clinton's former national security advisor, he laid out in an op-ed he's three points, and it sounded like john mccain. which was arm the good guys, the good insurgents, try to figure out a way to separate the al qaeda groups and these quote modern insurgents and take out the assad air power. somebody has to do it. and the argument is, if you don't change the equation, then assad has no reason to negotiate. what do you say to that? >> my answer is very simple. if others are prepared to join us in this mission, so-called of peace, fine. but they're not. it's going to become american participation in a sectarian war, who shall quickly spread to adjoining countries. look at the demographics and religious beliefs. shiites and sunnis are spread together around syria. if syria explodes, they will explode, and we'll be the ones who have caused it, the explosion, and we'll be the ones

who are deeply engaged. and at the same time, by emphasizing russian guilt or irresponsibility or lack of willingness to accept our positions, we'll be exploding the deal in iran and we'll probably worsening the problems in ukraine. is that a sound strategy, or is this just lashing out, because of the lack of strategic consensus and strategic vision? i'm very concerned that we may swing from one extreme to the other. >> it does seem the president -- it does seem the president has not been able -- and this is why he has pushed back on his own advisors, they can't answer the question, basically, to dr. brzezinski's point. >> exactly. >> what does it look like the day after the bombs drop? >> and the other question. this is a president who blinks, on some would say, blinked on his own red line, because there was no u.n. resolution, as there was with libya. no constitutional authority -- >> no legal authority in here. they haven't found a legal way to do this. >> one predicate could be that jim clapper testified last week that now this is an al qaeda-supported threat coming out of the groups that are -- >> but it's not assad.

clapper is saying, you have to attack the assad opponents. >> right. >> just think of this. >> i'll give you last word. >> the term expires soon. we could be pressing that he doesn't run again after his term. starting a war, blasting the russians, complicating our relations on iran and the ukraine, what are we accomplishing? >> i'll leave it there, because that's a question that i think the administration -- >> there isn't a strategy. >> there is not one. dr. brzezinski, andrea mitchell, thank you both. bringing real perspective to this. by the way, starting next week, february 24th, can you catch andrea mitchell reports at new time, 12:00 noon eerp, at lunchtime, where you should be spending your run. . up next, state of the unions. in a highly unusual and closely watched vote, volkswagen workers decided against unionization, even though vw was sort of supporting it.

struck a big blow to organized labor in the south. and the presidents' day sale, no, not a sale on mattresses, suits or sedans, we'll look at dwight eisenhower who used his final office speech to warn again the rise of the military industrial complex. >> we can take nothing for granted, only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals. so let security and liberty prosper together. as we peer into society's future, we -- you and i and our government -- must avoid the impulse to live only for today, pondering for our own ease and convenience the precious resources of tomorrow. we cannot mortgage the material assets of our grandchildren without risking the loss, also,

of their political and spiritual heritage. we want democracy to survive for all generations to come, not to become the insolvent famine of tomorrow. >> perhaps one of the most presh ent farewell addresses there ever was. we'll have more farewell addresses throughout this hour. they're fascinating to look back on the legacies they leave. a quick look ahead of today's "politics planner." busy overseas with john kerry. the president wraps up his minivacation of sorts in palm springs. 800,000 hours of supercomputing time, 3 million lines of code, 40,000 sets of eyes, or a million sleepless nights. whether it's building the world's most advanced satellite, the space station, or the next leap in unmanned systems. at boeing, one thing never changes. our passion to make it real. ♪

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a union vote in chattanooga, tennessee, is sending shock waves across the country today.

volkswagen workers voted against unionization and set big labor on its heels as they try to move into the south. the past year, they've been wooing 1,300 workers. volkswagen themselves vowed to stay neutral while union leaders were allowed plenty of access and heavily lobbied the workers. even president obama weighed in on friday, advocating unionization behind closed doors. at the same time, there was powerful pressure from corker and has lynn. at the center of the debate, the workers were circulating a rumor, if they vote against unionizing, the plant might expand. grover norquist, conservative anti-tax activist, launched a new branch of his lobbying effort called the center for worker freedom, and this norquist group put up 15 billboards like this one across chattanooga pushing for a no vote. this bill board shows a rundown section of detroit and blames the uaw for the city's

bankruptcy. senator corker, who helped bring volkswagen to town when he was chattanooga's mayor, told workers that unionizing can only hurt them in the long run. >> so they can't help with wages. you have a fatality that's the most advanced environmentally sound facility in the world right here in chattanooga, tennessee. so what's this about? it's about one thing. it's about money and it's about power. >> i think, yes, that is correct, on both sides of this argument. finally, though, after a three-day secret ballot vote, they voted 712-626 against unionizing the tennessee plant. >> it's the problem of the uaw has a need for our money. they don't care about these guys. they really don't. i've been there. >> we're thankful that it turned out the way it did, and now we can move forward and heal our wounds.

>> this is one of the reasons workers said they voted against the union. they want to build the new volkswagen cross blue. the company hasn't said it will build the suv in chattanooga, but workers have been talking about it throughout the voting process. and senator corker says he's in talks with volkswagen about it this week. >> we have conversations set up for later this week on the telephone. i'm very hopeful based on assurances that we've been given that that will work out. >> so what does this vote mean for the on ons, and was it fair to use detroit to persuade workers to vote no? joining me is phil lebeau, who covered the story on both sides. phil, i can't help but look at the republican opposition on this and corker and haslam, and it seems there was fear of the uaw becoming a political force in tennessee, that that was his primary motivation. but what was the motivation on the side of the uaw to organize? what was the motivation of the 600-plus foal bes who did want the uaw to represent them in

talks with volkswagen? >> well, you have to keep in mind that volkswagen has a structure as a corporation that with every one of its facilities around the world, and they've got more than 100, that they have some type of a works council, basically a union, and at each plant, that union is part of the works council, able to communicate with management in terms of, hey, here's what's working at the plant, here's what we can do in the future to improve operations. so volkswagen wants some type of a works council slash union at this facility in chattanooga. for the workers voting for the uaw, they're saying, we need one eventually, the uaw has a long history of auto unions, why not join them. >> so what you're saying this was a rejection of the uaw more than it was a rejection of any unionizing? >> reporter: well, i think that's a rejection of both, to be quite honest with you. look, for the uaw, this is a huge blow. they need to organize these

foreign transplant auto plants in the south. >> right. >> reporter: and you're looking at about 16 of them, and this is the best opportunity they're ever going to have. for those workers down there, however, keep in mind, it's not just at the vw plant. i've talked with workers at other plants in mississippi and alabama. there is no desire at all, for the most part, for those autoworkers in the south to join the uaw. it's just culturally not something that they're interested in doing, and they look at it and say, we're making good money, generally speaking, we're being treated well, why are we joining the uaw? why would we join the uaw, or for that matter, any union? >> it's interesting here, you said vw has this works council, and that's what i'm wondering here. are the only -- and most of these are german automakers, though there are japanese automakers with plants in the south, too, but on the german side, the only nonunion plants in the world for them are the few in the south, correct? >> reporter: yeah. yeah. and volkswagen -- >> and they wanted something, right?

>> reporter: they do want some type of a representation for those workers, at least the volkswagen has said that, because they have these works council around the world. they didn't come out and said, we want the uaw, they just want union representation for the workers. you look at mercedes-benz has a plant in alabama, bmw has a huge plant in south carolina. there is no movement at all to organize those. the uaw has said, look, we'd like to eventually represent those workers at all, but when you go down there and talk to the workers, there's no indication that, yes, we'll join the uaw someday. >> this feels like red-blue politics totally hijacked this process. >> reporter: absolutely, it did. absolutely, it did. when you listen to the comments of the workers who voted no, a lot of them talk about, well, if we vote no, we're going to get this next automobile that's going to be built here. there's no guarantee of that, but that certainly played on their emotions. >> that's for sure. definitely a lot of politics being played on this one.

phil lebeau covers the auto industry for cnbc, my pal in chicago. thanks for coming in. you guys don't have to work today at cnbc. >> reporter: absolutely. day off. >> you know, washington's birthday, we don't mess around. anyway, all right, lebeau, thanks, brother. our presidents' day databank, it's coming up next. first, today's trivia question. who was president when washington's birthday became a legal holiday? the first person to tweet the correct answer to @chucktodd and @dailyrundown gets the glory of all of that. before we go to break, another presidential farewell. rather than an oval office address, lbj delivered a state of the union at the very end of his term. >> frankly, as i leave the office of the presidency, one of my greatest disappointments is our failure to secure passage of a licensing and registration act for firearms. [ applause ]

i think if we had passed that act, it would have reduced the incidence of crime. and i believe that the congress should adopt such a law, and i hope that it will at a not too distant date. if i can impart one lesson to a new business owner, it would be one thing i've learned is my philosophy is real simple american express open forum is an on-line community, that helps our members connect and share ideas to make smart business decisions. if you mess up, fess up.

be your partners best partner. we built it for our members, but it's open for everyone. there's not one way to do something. no details too small. american express open forum. this is what membership is. this is what membership does. could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. mmmhmmm...everybody knows that. well, did you know that old macdonald was a really bad speller? your word is...cow. cow. cow. c...o...w... ...e...i...e...i...o. [buzzer] dangnabbit. geico. fifteen minutes could save you...well, you know. ♪ ♪

♪ told ya you could do it. (dad vo) i want her to be safe. so, i taught her what i could and got her a subaru. (girl) piece of cake. ♪ (announcer) love. it's what makes a subaru, a subaru. ♪ we asked people a question, how much money do you think you'll need when you retire? $500,000. maybe half-million. say a million dollars. [ dan ] then we gave each person a ribbon to show how many years that amount might last. ♪ i was trying to like pull it a little further. you know, i was trying to stretch it a little bit more. [ woman ] got me to 70 years old. i'm going to have to rethink this thing. [ man ] i looked around at everybody else and i was like, "are you kidding me?" [ dan ] it's just human nature to focus on the here and now. so it's hard to imagine how much we'll need for a retirement that could last 30 years or more. so maybe we need to approach things differently,

if we want to be ready for a longer retirement. ♪ ♪ time now for your presidents' day me significance -- edition of databank. three, the number of officials expelled from venezuela. he's accusing the u.s. of meeting with students involved in anti-government protests. the students are protesting inflation and crime. guess what? yes, our folks do do that, they meet with people looking for democracy and freedom in these countries that seems to step on it. next up, 57%. that's how many new yorkers, or the percentage of new yorkers,

support legalization of recreational use of marijuana, all according to a new quinnipiac poll. they support legalization of medical marijuana by a 10-to-1 margin. next up, 4. how many presidents were born in the month of february. you know about presidents washington and lincoln. did you know william henry harrison and ronald reagan celebrated birthdays in february, as well? by the way, a new 2016 loss, the only february birthdays that we could come up with, jeb bush and sarah palin. they actually share the same february birthday, born on february 11. next number you should have, while lacing your skates, four. that's how many gold medals the u.s. team have won in sochi. as for the overall count, netherlands are still in the lead, and russia and u.s. are tied with 16. next up, a double-double for arnie duncan. and let's spell his name du

dunkin'. he had 20 points and six assists in the game. >> what a dime of -- oh, wow. very well done, arnie. very well done. that was beautiful. >> he's got to be playing on the president's team, right? >> yeah, it's automatic. >> it was like that the whole game. duncan was on fire. anyway, captain of the team. now finally, i think got mvp honors. finally, the last number for the day, 42, for the first time in 42 years "the tonight show" will originate out of the place it was born, new york city. "the tonight show with jimmy fallon" debuts midnight tonight. you don't want to miss it. good luck, jimmy. up next, party planning. taking a "deep dive" into the future of the democratic party. which path will they -- will the party follow after president obama leaves? and what would happen, and could hillary clinton change the calculus?

but what if she leaves? first, some of the most memorable moments from the farewell addresses. here's president ronald reagan's farewell address to the nation. >> finally, there is a great tradition of warnings in presidential farewells, and i've got one that's been on my mind for sometime. oddly enough, it starts with one of the things i'm proudest of in the past eight years, the resurgence of national pride that i called the new patriotism. this national feeling is good, but it won't count for much, and it won't last unless it's grounded in thoughtfulness and knowledge. if we forget what we did, we won't know who we are. i'm warning of an eradication of that -- of the american memory that could result ultimately in an erosion of the american spirit. let's start with some basics. more attention to american history and a greater emphasis on civic ritual. and let me offer lesson number one about america. all great change in america

begins at the dinner table. so tomorrow night in the kitchen, i hope the talking begins, and, children, if your parents haven't been teaching you what it means to be an american, let them know and nail them on it. that would be a very american thing to do. all stations come over to mission a for a final go.

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today, a "deep dive" into the future of the democratic party and the question of whether democrats are on the verge of same kind of ideological split that's been impacting the republican party over the last four, five years. president obama has chosen a populous vision as the defining theme for the rest of his second term, something he underscored again over the weekend. >> too many americans are working harder than ever just to get by let alone get ahead. that's why we've got to build an economy that works for everybody, not just the fortunate few. >> it's become a popular theme among democrats, as a whole.

but it hides a growing gap within the party between the party establishment and a more populous wing. so far, president obama has been able to paper over that gap working to connect the two sides by opting to emphasize pragmatism over ideology. hillary clinton, a fellow prague ma activity, would likely play the same role, but the split is still there, and if neither obama nor clinton were able to hold the two wings together, it wouldn't take much to spark a full-blown ideological dive. people like warren or de blasio are on board for income equality, but arguing for more aggressive policies than the ones currently in the democratic mainstream, and currently being pushed by this president, like taxing the wealthy to pay for pre-k program and expanding social security benefits. it remains to be seen if that can gain currency with the establishment. al frum said new ways of thinking will be key to energ e energizing democrats in the post-obama era. >> today in politics, there's so

much emphasis on how you communicate and how you communicate to true believers -- >> identity groups. >> -- yeah, right, and i think for building long-term majorities and sustainable ability to govern, you have to have ideas. >> well, economic policy is just one play where populous and the establishment wing of the party part ways, entitle tmenentitlem education, but supporters say issues like same-sex marriage and the legalization of marijuana show the country as a whole is shifting towards a more liberal position. the challenge for clinton may be to determine how to fuse the two sides that appeals to both wings of the democratic party. one big question, however, is potential democratic presidential candidate, former montana governor, brian schweitzer points out, is whether big-money donor also back a progressive vision. he told "washington post" this, i think the party is

increasingly responding to the special interests they need to get elected. the military industrial complex, big energy, pharmaceutical companies, banks. this article, by the way, was co-written by dan balls, who is with me today, and also adam green, co-founder of the progressive change committee and jim kessler, senior vice president for policy with the democratic think tank third way, representing the two wings of the democratic party. dan, set up this debate, you know, the republican party divide, we all know a lot about. party out of power, that gets in the forefront. this is something that's been papered over by obama and clinton, but where do you see this potentially clashing? >> well, i think that the biggest areas are, a, on foreign policy, because we know there are divides within the democratic coalition about many of the policies that the president has carried out -- the drone policy and the surveillance policy. but i think the real issue that is going to be of debate is over economics. nothing is working well.

the president's policies aren't working. republican policies haven't worked. we're in a time of perhaps historic change, and we don't quite understand what the economy is doing, and i think both wings of the democratic party are grappling with this. but they may have different directions they want to go. >> you are really nodding your head on this, adam. so i take it you agree that it's -- it's on economic policy where we're going to see more of this? >> yeah, economics is the game. and the elizabeth warren wing of the democratic party is clearly ascendant, fighting for the little guy in our economy, sticking up for hard working people, against the oil companies, and even if you live in red state, purple state america, you're not rooting for wall street. in terms of actual voters, the overwhelming majority of republican, democrat, independent want someone like elizabeth warren to stick up to wall street. >> and this gets sort of at this anti-big that we're in. there was in -- jim, there was

this movement when you had occupy wall street, and there was core elements of the tea party in occupy -- frankly agreed. >> oh, sure. >> because of the fear of big, whether it's big government or big power on wall street. >> right. and i think most americans don't love the tea party, and most americans don't like occupy wall street either. i want to take issue on one thing you said. i thought the president's state of the union speech was anything but possibpulist. i think the president has moved towards the center -- >> you think he's a center-left guy? >> i do. look, things that work in massachusetts and new york don't necessarily work electorally or economically in the rest of the country. the problem with populism is it is pessimistic, it's us versus them. it puts the middle class into a victim state. and the solutions, in our view, are too puny to really help the middle class. there are huge structural changes going on in the economy.

and we need, you know, big idea and new ideas for the new economy. i'm not sure the populist ideas are the right ones. >> there's pressure being put on hillary clinton, from both -- she has the bill clinton memory of the '90s, very much a pro-business democratic party. barack obama doing a little bit of bridging, i would say, trying to bridge the two wings of the party together, probably more so than bill clinton did, until late in his presidency. how do you pressure hillary clinton to be more to the left of her husband? >> well, so we'll be organizing states like new hampshire and iowa to make sure every democratic candidate, including hillary clinton, is asked whether they agree with warren on key economic populism issues like expanding social security benefits, not cutting it. more wall street reform. but i think -- [ overlapping speakers ] let me just finish. >> one of the worst ideas out there. >> not according to voters. we done the polling, in red states like texas and kentucky, expanding social security

benefits is popular three to one, two to one. >> of course. >> that is what's wrong with politics both on the left and the right. of course, if you give away free stuff, that would give a raise to every single senior citizen, whether you made $100,000 a year or $20,000 a year or $200,000 a year, whether you put more money into the trust fund or not, it's -- >> why is popular a bad thing? >> popular is bad if it leads the country down the drain. >> that's not inherent. >> popular is good if it does good things for the country. that is a terrible idea. >> dan, obviously, we're getting a taste of what you were trying to write about here. >> yes. >> and my question is, where do you see hillary clinton -- you know, it was interesting, remember, at the bill de blasio swearing in. >> right. >> yes, someone that managed her campaign, so there's a personal connection, but she's trying to -- she's going to have to, in an odd way, particularly if she gets challenged, serious challenge in the democratic primary, almost has to distance herself from the bill clinton economics of the '90s a little bit. >> it's interesting, one of the people we quoted as bill

gallston, came out of the dlc wing, had worked for walter mondale in '94, and he said what i thought was an interesting thing, which is she's going to have to come up with something new. and as he put it, he knows two things. one is, it can't be clinton cometics from the 1990s, but also can't be pure populism. the challenge for her, because i think she is a little bit left of her husband on economic issues. we saw some of that in the '08 campaign, particularly when she was losing, i mean, she was a very full-throated kind of, i'm for working families candidate. and an effective candidate. i think she's to the left of her husband on trade. but she has a lot of thinking to do. there's nothing that's sitting on the shelf right now that she can pull off. >> i'm going to ask both of you. is this issue of trade going to pop this year, or do you think it will be tabled for 2014? >> well, my fear is that it will be tabled for 2014. i do think that there's no path

to middle class success and american success unless we get a far bigger slice of the asian market. u.s. market share of asia fell more than any other country between 2000 and 2010. that's the future. we're last in trade as a percentage of our exports. there's a bad taste in a lot of people's mouth on nafta, but tpp -- >> you go to ohio, you go to wisconsin, i've been in these folks -- and these folks who say the economy is recovering now, they think nafta is the reason why every midsized city in ohio is decimated. >> right. the thing is, you know, if we don't write the rules in asia, china writes the rules in asia. we don't have virtually any trade deals in asia, and we're just getting killed there. we need something. >> adam, do you think it's going to be tabled? is this a healthy debate? >> it's a healthy debate, and do we prioritize corporate interests or regular people. i come down on the side of regular people. >> me, too. >> let me tell you, one of the

most formative political years was sitting this far away from dan pfeiffer in the white house communications director in south dakota, 2002. most democrats lost the re-elections, working for a senator tim johnson in a red state. the reason we won that year was because culturally conservative farmers and ranchers voted for our senator because he was against nafta, and because he was sticking up for social security and won on economic populism issues. my big lesson, especially in red states, democrats need to embrace bold economic populism if they want to win. if they muddy down that message, then the only thing left is cultural divide issues and we lose. the biggest path to political success is economic politics. >> it wasn't quite usa/russia with the divide, but good stuff there. dan, thank you for bringing this debate together. >> thank you for having us. >> bringing people together sort of. >> that's our goal. >> yeah. anyway, this to be continued, as they say. we'll be right back. first, no soup of the day today because the white house mess is

closed for washington's birthday. you should have some peanut soup or something, something very autumn/virginia like in washington. before we go, a highlight from president clinton's farewell address. >> we must remember that america cannot lead in the world unless here at home we weave the threads of our coat of many colors into the fabric of one america. as we become ever more diverse, we must work harder to unite around our common values and our common humanity. we must work harder to overcome our differences in our hearts and in our laws. we must treat all our people with fairness and dignity regardless of their race, religion, gender, or sexual orie orientation, and regardless of when they arrived in our country. always moving toward the more perfect union of our founders' dreams. you stopped by the house? uh-huh. yea. alright, whenever you get your stuff,

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trivia time, the answer, rutherford b. hayes. it was celebrated on february 22nd until 1968, when congress passed the monday holiday law, moving the observance to the third monday in february, making mattress sellers happy around the country. congratulations to today's winner, bradley america, who has been all over us for even calling this day presidents' day. your reward is you won the trivia contest. send your trivia suggestions to us. we'll be right back. ♪ [ laughs ]

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murdering innocent to advance an ideology is wrong every time, everywhere. freeing people from oppression and despair is eternally right. this nation must continue to speak out for justice and truth. we must always be willing to act in their defense and to advance the cause of peace. >> well, time for my presidents' day takeaway. i've shown you several presidential good-byes today, and if you're looking to brush up on your presidential history, let me recommend these farewells are often a great place to start. they are often used as a last chance to express regret and offer advice against successors. lbj shared discomfort on gun control, reagan talked patri patrioti patriotism. that echoed back to george washington in 1796, when he

wrote about the importance of patriotism, the dangerous influence of foreign powers. during the darkest days of the civil war. and within a few years, it became an annual event for one senator to read the 7,641-word address on the senate floor. and guess what, this afternoon it's going to be read by an independent senator, maine's angus king. maybe he will enjoy reading the parts especially about the power of political parties. that's it for this special edition of "the daily rundown." i hope you enjoyed our trip down presidential lane. coming up next, chris jansing. we'll see you tomorrow. i'm meteorologist bill karins, and the country, we're divided today. the southern half of the country

is saying bring on the warmth and the springlike conditions from phoenix to georgia, very beautiful weather, even denver, while we're dealing with another snowstorm from minneapolis to chicago and tomorrow that snow moves into the northeast. have a great day. if yand you're talking toevere rheuyour rheumatologistike me, about trying or adding a biologic. this is humira, adalimumab. this is humira working to help relieve my pain. this is humira helping me through the twists and turns. this is humira helping to protect my joints from further damage.

doctors have been prescribing humira for over ten years. humira works by targeting and helping to block a specific source of inflammation that contributes to ra symptoms. for many adults, humira is proven to help relieve pain and stop further joint damage. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal events, such as infections, lymphoma, or other types of cancer, have happened. blood, liver and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure have occurred. before starting humira , your doctor should test you for tb. ask your doctor if you live in or have been to a region where certain fungal infections are common. tell your doctor if you have had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have symptoms such as fever, fatigue, cough, or sores. you should not start humira if you have any kind of infection. ask your doctor if humira can work for you. this is humira at work. how did edward jones get so big?

let me just put this away. ♪ could you teach our kids that trick? [ male announcer ] by not acting that way. it's how edward jones makes sense of investing. a co-pilot hijacks a plane while the pilot is in the bathroom. the passengers are now safe, but why did he do it? meanwhile, secretary of state john kerry is speaking out

about a weapon of mass destruction that threatens the u.s., climate change. why the obama administration is trying to shift the paradigm. and hillary's just found an unlikely defender, mitt romney. what is the former gop nominee up to? and we are wishing you a good morning, with, yes, the 50th anniversary of the "sports illustrated" swim suit issue. petra is in studio with us today. good morning and happy presidents' day. the current president is rallying democrats around a jobs agenda for the second term, a policy priority democrats will hope will power them through this year's midterms. the plan, to force the gop's hand. first, democrats are escalating their push for a higher minimum wage by trying to bypass speaker boehner. they are using a special house tool called a discharge petition, which can force a bill to the floor without the leadership's support if it