governors will be bummed out. >> it looks like 2016 is a go. >> jeb bush making it official. >> don't be afraid to shake things up. >> we've had enough bushes. >> all but dove head first into the to 2016 pool. >> i've decided to actively explore the possibility of running for the university. >> another clinton-bush election. >> there's the senator from kentucky, and florida. >> we've had enough bush's. >> he could be a very formidable candidates. >> if your parents work in politics. >> it's his mother who said -- >> -- we've had enough bushes. >> we're waiting for a press conference out of pennsylvania where police confirmed the death of bradley stone, the subject of an intense man hunt since yesterday. we begin with the big political story of the day and a

lesson in how to make your holiday message go viral, one have the last name bush, two, announce your maybe, possibly, probably running for christmas. this that beginning his facebook post. scott walker would say mala tov, maybe he is greeting it with more private concernation. after the moves from current governors with an eye on 2016, jeb bush has advantage of not being under any kind of state or federal investigation and the earliest big move could send big money jeb bush's way, super pack.

that being more of his facebook post. conversation that's might actively explore the possibility of asking for a check. joining us now, thank you gentleman. josh, let me start with you my friend. because no fewer than 100-some odd hours ago we were discussing your story in bloomberg business week that i think threw a veil of skepticism what do you make of it today. >> my story let people know he was new head of a hedge fund. soon as the news broke, we're like are you serious or not, i

think this pact is a way of saying yes i'm serious, i'm not just going to try to make money, this is my step into the lime light. >> so you are saying jeb bush is an avid bloomberg reader and you may have caused this. this is not something that played well for mitt romney. >> there were and there are. the first step today he said i'm going to release 250,000 e-mails when i was governor. i'm going to write this e-book and take a big step towards disclosure. which is differentiating himself from other top runners. >> so he's running? right? >> he's taking an interesting path he will do off shore tax

savings before becoming the president of the united states. >> it's a rite of passage. >> that's fine. i think you can look at how the republican nominee machine would crank out a candidate, former governor of a swing state, last name bush, looks like a candidate who can win. he wants to run, win or lose, being a moderate, i don't know if that will work out for him. >> what is your thinking about the bush brand at this moment? we've spent the last couple days talking about the senate intelligence committee report on torture which dredges up the darkest chapters of the bush presidency. nobody more so than jeb bushes doesn't want to talk about these. >> if he doesn't go actively exploring the possibility to actually running, he will, unlike anyone else on the debate

stage will have to disavow a blood relative. he will have to answer for eight years of a w. bush presidency. and there are folks in the republican base who are still angry with president george w. bush over what they say was profligate spending in those eight years. tea party folks are perplexed how he spent those eight years and he will have to answer sfor that. >> there will be florid anger over that for the next two years whoever will be 2016 candidate will have to tack that'll in a way not even the last candidate had to. >> it is a policy associated very much with the bushes. >> there's so many bushes.

>> it's out on the record as saying that coming into this country illegal is an act of love. so he staked out territory within the republican universe which is not where the heart of the party is when it comes to the heart of immigration. >> it is literally for some people a non-starter. rick perry said have a heart and he fell through the door. it is hard to imagine jeb bush, losing the primary to lose the general is not something you could do but seems to be his only strategy. >> as an american i think it is good that jeb bush is running. even though it may be harmful in the republican primary it is helpful for the immigration debate to have a moderate voice on the national stage. this is an argument i've been having with my friends in the democratic party, i think by the

time we get into the meat of the campaign jeb bush will be his own guy and find ways to distance himself. >> don't your, unnamed democratic friends, paul mcgalla are you watching, don't you think democrats will use that as a cogo -- use that against him. if do we want the brother of the guy who over saw a really difficult of american history. >> i think by the time you get to billions of dollars on tv, both what he wants to say about himself and what others want to say about him, the value won't be in tearing down george w. bush all over again, the value will be tearing down jeb bush and what he wants to do. it will be hard to tie jeb bush to what george w. bush was doing. i could be wrong.

>> in terms of the other strong contenders for 2016, we talk about chris christie, we talk about maybe scott walker, both subject to federal and state investigations, assuming their names are cleared in those, does the entrance of jeb bush put their candidacy on ice? >> i don't know about on ice. for chris christie i don't think it means anything. we all know he likes a fight. scott walker, i'm not sure. i think what governor bush has done today is send a clear message not to take anything for granted. >> yes he's actively exploring the possibility -- yes. >> so to the fundraising question, i mean, who is it? one prominent, top florida fundraiser says is this.

florida will be off limits? they can't visit? >> not at all. [ laughter ] >> but the donor community will settle on one governor not several. >> they probably are. the guy who will be most bummed is the guy from florida marco rubio. now maybe he is banished to georgia, or what do you do? [ laughter ] what it sends is a signal to big serious donors who will get behind it. there will be at least one serious credible main stream republican in this race, it will be jeb bush, or he would like us to believe that, don't sign up with one of these other guys until i figure out what i will do. >> rand paul don't worry about him because i might run. >> exactly. a lot of wall street republicans i talk to, paul has been courting them. he's coming to them saying i'm not a crazy wild-eyed guy the

media port rportrays me as. he was trying to seduce these wall street owners. now they have a more attractive option in jeb bush. so they will tell paul and other candidates to hold off. >> what does it do to hillary clinton? what does this active exploration do to another person who is exploring the possibility of something, i'm not sure what. >> i think it has very little impact on her and her plans. i she has her own plan and strategy. if she wants to announce before christmas or even announce an exploration, i don't think whether jeb bush or chris christie or any of the other guys will have an impact. but i will say on the fundraising point, when you are a governor of a state, big or small, you have access to muj donors. huge donors.

when you look at these guys they have a big strong base of donors. scott walker who the cook broer brothers love, is probably very uneffected. >> in a general election having bush as republican nominee assuming clinton is democratic nomme is a heat shield. it's neutralized. so move on to something else. >> any of the dynamic. if we have do it, democrats will say would you like to go back to the bush years with the war and recession or back to clinton, the x-factor is if it is bush

verse us clinton whether is there is a emergence of third party candidate. >> we'll leave it there. thank you all for your time. we are waiting press conference subject of an intense man hunt since yesterday we'll bring that to you live. but first the women closest to cosby as allegations of sexual misconduct, his wife is calling him the victim and now will the cosby family strategy work. and 132 children massacred in pakistan earlier today. what it means against our war on the very same terrorists, all of is that ahead on "now." is america's largest and most reliable 4g lte network: verizon. with xlte, our 4g lte bandwidth has doubled in over 400 cities.

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>> who is the sflikt . >> who is the victim? that's the question bill cosby's wife thinks we should ask. in a statement yesterday, she focused the blame on the media invoking rolling stone's recent rape story. quoting this. cosby's daughter is also speaking out with this. the statements from his wife and

daughter come days after bill cosby broke his silence as well saying this. a lawyer said he was not being told he was being recorded. at least 20 women now public accused bill cosby of sexual assault. he has never been accused of a crime and has denied allegations in the past. joining us now professor and analyst. professor you have written and debated extensively on the subject of bill cosby. what do you think of the strategy to have his watife and daughter out there? >> when beverley johnson came forward many seen it as the death nail.

when black man rape white women then they are more likely to report it. but when beverly johnson speaks up it pushed that to the side. now you have a legitimate black woman now you have to have another legitimate black woman. it has to be his wife against beverly johnson. i think is pretty cynical. it is predictable but sad. >> it is also notable that aaron keen points out what is most telling about camille cosby's statement she never says this. it is not a portrait any of us recognize. >> she's right. the problem is that the witnesses of character who are the family may not have been subjected to those behavior that the other women are testifying to. many people who have done a lot

of harm have been perfectly fine to their families and the families have been surprised to find out they have been living with a mass murderer ond mass rapist. the problem is bill cosby himself has not presented such a powerful and persuasive argument. he is avoiding and resorting to technicalities but he's not coming out and fighting because, i think, he has a weak case. >> who is the other sflikt victim? this from the washington post. >> well, alex, we are looking at two dozen women, each with completely different circumstances, they talked to different media outlets, they

have very similar accounts, they don't know each other, they are not asking for anything, one woman called a defamation lawsuit, the public can look at those facts and make up their minds. the questions about rolling stone article, it never said rape hasn't happened at u.va, it is kind of a distraction to bring that up. >> i would also say, i mean, this story is almost the inversion of the rolling stone article which didn't talk to the person who was accused of raping. here all the media is trying to do is talk to bill cosby and find out his take on these allegations. >> right and they have been met with total silence. this interview with camille at his side, again, in total silence. when you think of this sexual

immorality, he really needs this woman who has been by his side for 50-something years, he needs her to be this rock besides him. he knows he needs her very badly. it seems unlikely she will up end this particularly since the accusations have been around since 2006. >> the other part of this story is the racial aspect. what did you think of cosby's contention that the black media should be neutral. >> back against the wall, black against the wall, right. the o.j. approach. you know. people who have lost their ways in terms of race, now -- look bill cosby has had an incredible career and for 45 years he has

never mentioned race in his comedic act. now all of a sudden he becomes a race expert because he is pissed off. >> many in the black community say he doesn't have the right tact about talking about black and white issues in america. >> specifically right here. exactly. year beating up on people. you're a hypocrite by doing so which is why don't i speak about a lot of stuff which is why i don't speak about things because i know where my skeletons are, but the point is, i'm not going to beat someone down. the very kind of man who will rape a woman allegedly is the same kind of man who will rape poor black people using his powerful foot to clamp down on their neck. black people who think tough love and hate are the same thing as a sign of affection i think also have to admit this is something that is a part of our

own psyche that needs to be addressed. >> and i would also say in the contention that black media needs to be neutral there is a tacit criticism that white media has been on the attack but when we talk about cosby it is white families that have found the shattering of an archtype so hard that they haven't talked about it even though the allegations have been out for a decade. >> right. he got a free card. they mentioned it in passing the first round of claims that came in 2006. the other thing that has not been neutral is certain members of the right wing media have subjected these women to scrutiny as if they were on trial. these women, their mental health histories, professional

histories have been raked over the coals, so the idea that there is some sort of neutral italy neutralality is not the case. >> i don't know how you come back from this. that's something that you can't come back from. and the irony here is this. that while black people have shown that you can't have a perfect victim, michael brown has to be perfect. michael garner has to be perfect. now they're using that same logic to beat up on the women who are making an accusation against this vauntedblack man, this is racial madness and i ploy to exploit the racial bias and manipulate racial sentiment and that is horrible for mr. cosby, stop playing the race card, stop appealing to blackness, stand on your own two american feet and deal with what

you've done. >> someone who has been so thoughtful in his entertaining, in the cosby show, in terms of establishing a family, understanding where we are at in terms of what we want and need in terms of race in this country it is shocking this is at play now. >> no doubt about it. his other daughter said don't confuse mr. cosby to mr. hu xtable. >> good point. thanks for your time. we're still awaiting press conference where police are waiting. for . blarz .

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history with run ins with the law. he was awaiting trial as accessory to murder when he stormed the sydney cafe. his history could not be in starker contra starker contrast to those he killed. johnson was shot after grabbing the gun from the shooter, he died at the hospital. mother of three was an attorney. earlier today prime minister tone a abbott addressed the families of the slain. >> our hearts go out to the families of the victims.

these were decent good people who were going about their ordinary lives. it's about an innocent thing anyone can do to go grab a cup of coffee before the working day has fully started. decent innocent people who got caught up in the sick fantasy of a deeply disturbed individual. >> just ahead, the slaughter of school children in pakistan, and what it means for the middle east. that's next on "now." right now, for practically just your signature, you could drive home for the holidays in a new volkswagen. like the sporty, advanced new jetta and the precisely engineered passat tdi. ah, the gift of clean diesel. for the new volkswagen on your list this year, just about all you need, is a pen. festive, isn't it? get zero due at signing, zero down, zero deposit, and zero first month's payment on select new volkswagen models. ring ring!

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n newhanover, in the rear of 1400 block fourth street location approximately half mile from his home in pensburg. i'm going to turn the podium over to police chief nolan who also was head of the tactical operation. he was leading the operation today as the body was found. rather than my trying to summarize for you what they found today i will let him step up and share it with you himself. chief. >> thank you. yesterday three swat teams from the count wri were called out to three different locations in montgomery county to search three locations. two looking for possible act yort initially and third location we were looking for brad stone in his house. we searched his house and a neighboring house and a detached garage.

he was not located at that time. other swat teams stationed themselves there in case we had other areas to search. and this morning all the swat teams met back up in pensburg and started a grid search going block by block. in addition to the state police and federal marshalls, each were assigned an area to search and at about some time around 1:00 brad stone was located just off in a wooded area about half mile from his residents. thank you. >> we have not received official confirmation from the coroner as to the cause and manner of death, based on what we found at the scene we believe he died of self-inflicted cutting wounds in the center part of his body.

that's the information we have to share about that. i know many of you have questions, i'll take any questions you have. >> can you talk about the time line yesterday when you discovered you had crime scenes related to one person and then when it was determined -- >> it was a very fluid eventual event. at 4:30 the first call came in. then the second call. as we started to make the connections between those two victims found at those two locations we realized we had family members involved, nicole stone, her grandmother and mother. as law enforcement was distilling information they had we realized there could be other targets. trisha flick nicole's sister lived near by so we did a well

being check. at this point this time we had no information that anything had happened in solderton but we went to check on the well-being of the family members of we went to that location and initially found tragically, trisha and her husband aaron, aj, we backed out briefly and went back in and were able to find the children. >> that was district attorney and police in the area confirming that suspected mass killer bradley stone has been found dead, his body found in the woods near his home. we'll be right back. [ hoof beats ]

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>> the pakistan military launched massive air strikes today in its remote border region with afghanistan after a horrific day of terror at a pakistan school. at least 142 people, at least

132 children were killed in an attack in the early morning hours when seven militants scaled a wall and began opening fire with guns and grenades. the attackers severed heads and ledge edly burned a teacher alive in front of students. for more than eight hours pakistan gunman exchanged hours before the last taliban member was killed. the taliban called it a retaliati retaliation. three days of mourn have been declared and all political parties meet this wednesday. senator kerry called the siege an unspeakable horror. >> this act of terror angers and shakes all people's conscience

and we condemn it in the strongest terms possible. the perpetrators must be brought to justice and we pledge our full support to the people of pakistan in this difficult hour. >> joining me now senior fellow in the middle east at center for american progress, brian, it is horrific the news out of pakistan this morning. i wonder when you think about what spurred the taliban to do this. their explanation is that it's retaliation. others are saying this is a symbol of the taliban and pakistan fragmenting what is your take? >> i think it is a sign of desperation. if they are going after soft targets and murdering students it shows they are desperate and that is a sign of fracturing. the second thing the firepower they had, the planning and the type of school, this was well-thought out.

it was meant to send this message. for the last six months pakistan has been doing an operation in an area that has been a trouble for us and afghanistan. >> yes americans don't know much about anything but wizerstan we know. >> right. we have been convincing them to go into this. i think there is some impact. the fact had group has this firepower to plan in this wra makes you wonder what is next, the answer is the pakistan military will hit back really hard and i think the pakistan people, there are millions of them, ordinary citizens who are angry and hopefully this will lead to more unity. >> we know pakistan is driven by some divisions. does this actually unite the country? does it paper -- i won't say paper that is disinaga agaiagao

will this bring them together. >> the they divisions that exist but i think this will likely bring the country together. they have open politics, it is not completely democratic but it is competitive so different political leaders will use this to their advantage. in the short-run flohopefully i produces unity. the key is how do you bring these people to justices secretary kerr and others have said. the center of gravity this year has been in the middle east with isis and russia with its invasion of ukraine. i think this could pivot everyone's attention back to pakistan and afghanistan.

the obama administration is ending our combat phase but keeping troops in afghanistan. these are countries linked right next to each other. what is interesting is that this pakistan taliban which is separate from afghan tab ban -- taliban. zblrz what about the role of isis? where does isis figure into all of that? has it injected a new more viral strain of terrorism to the pakistan taliban? >> it may have. the first point to say is this is not about the religion of islam. it sounds like politically correct talk, but these guys are distorting this religion. things have gone viral to australia and other places but you see horrific acts like this in many places, including in the

so soviet union, that predate isis. it is just a way of thinking, people who lack humanitiy, lack a basic sense of dignity if they do this to school kids and teachers and things like that. so it has caught on. and the reason why there is a mass psychosis on the internet. >> there was an attack on a school in north othechia it was so horrific one couldn't imagine it could be duplicated ten years later. death toll there was 330. today death toll is 145. when people don't follow foreign affairs closely, we talk about a campaign against unseen islamic radicalism and for the average american it feels like we're losing.

this stuff is still going on in pakistan, no less. which is supposed to be a government that we work with to combat this. how do you grade the campaign against terror and isis. >> i greade it incomplete. because largely much of the resources, the u.s. and the world, unfortunately is focussing on the military. i think it is important but we need to talk about the ideas and then invest in the things that not only the state departments and development agszs do but charities and others. i wrote a book called prosperity agenda about how you defeat these ideologies, you get serious about what people care about, security, educating their children, and a sense of dignity and decency and we have lost that in our drone campaigns.

parts of it are necessary but it is incomplete. >> and i would say congress is unable to pass an authorization for the use of military force and engage sub stan atively on the campaign around isis, we are at the point where we don't speak about it at all. >> again if we get to that point it's only one step. that's what we have been doing the last ten or 15 years. >> we have a long way to go on many fronts. thanks as always brian for your time. coming up a major defeat for the fnra, newly confirmed surgen general, that's next. first, we have the cnbc market wrap for you.

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>> the president asks us to install as custodian of our border a person who believes crossing our border illegally earns you the right to vovote. >> i will not aid a president dead set at defying our immigration laws. >> the confirmation laws came on the same day a judge declares part of president obama's action unconstitutional. this year the president is on track to get 88 judicial nominees confirmed, double 2013, and highest total in a single year since 1994. some republican blame ted cruz arguing his failed ploy last weekend gave democrats more floor time to push them through.

he gave a rare apology today. joining me now the great chuck todd. >> how about that ted cruz. >> ted cruz apologizing what's that tell you? >> look, he lost many of the republicans in his own senate in the party there. it was striking to me, the day the deal goes through you would have a bob corker, not just him, but others who would use their release to say they were for against the deal, and then say by the way, ted cruz really did x wrong and now look what the he's done. on one hand it is good populous politics, some conservatives say so what, some need to go in and blowup the senate and make a point but he realizes it stops your ability to get stuff done. it is the rules of how much time

you get and things like that. and it's a reminder that yes, sir a single senator can hold things up but you better have an end game. ted cruz didn't have an end game. elizabeth warren knew she didn't have an end game which is why she didn't employ the same ta t tactics in stopping the bill. >> harry reed's democrats may have left town. he's going to keep his people there for as long as he can, is he not? >> more than likely. there may have been more ways republicans might have dragged some things out that would have stalled some things and frankly maybe a third of these nominees don't get through. >> right. >> i think there procedural ways they would have been able to do

things and cruz made it harder. >> and let's not under state the importance of these confirmations. the judicial, the bench, the fact is, the federal appeals kor court, in 2010 ten of the 13 had republican appointed majorityis today 9 have democrat appointed majorities. >> you would expect that after eight years of a democratic president. >> sure. >> as the executive and judiciary branches no longer can get along and function very well, the polarized nature of our politics that will cause the gridlock we sister. >> executive and legislative, yeah. >> the court system is serving more and more of an arbiter and there is a danger that the courts are getting politicized.

some day republicans think it is in their favor some democrats think it is in their favor. this is now how the judiciary branch is meant to be. this is not the way judges should be confirmed on these very narrow margins. we're politicizing the jude rishry branch long term that i think we will regret. >> the last bastion of people doing their job irrespective of politics. >> right. >> we talked about immigration. one man in the hot seat is jeb bush who is actively exploring a presidential potential canadiancanadia candidacy. does this mean he's running? you can't walk this back and say i'm not going do it now.

>> he's made the decision in his head. look, for some reason he thinks it is impossible to win or that it will be destructive to to his family or maybe his son tore whatev -- or whatever, then you could see him walking it back, but to me it seems he's made the decision. he's very methodical. he makes a decision and it's like, let's go. all of a sudden if you're chris christie and mitt romney those two in particular it 3uputs a l of pressure on them. and marco rubio. i don't know if he was a solid second tier candidate that was hoping to make it in. >> floor is not big enough. >> this add a's hurdle for him. this puts pressure on romney and christie. they all share the same donor pool. >> right.

>> you don't think christie's donor pool is slightly better. >> no because governors are restricted in the financial sector w4 when it comes to raising some of that money so i really don't. and i've seen plenty of polling evidence as much as we talk about jeb bush's problems with conservatives, chris christie's are worse. i think jeb bush has a narrow path to this nomination, he seems to be very comfortable having a difficult time. that will make it fascinating to watch this campaign. not since mccain 2000 do you get a candidate who is so comfortable in his own skin, which jeb bush is. it will be interesting, does he take on his base? >> right. >> losing the primary to win the general. >> which you can't fully do. but when will conservatives feel

comfortable saying i disagree with him but i support him. he obviously has to find that point zwl if he runs . >> if he runs, how much do you think he is going to have to answer for the legacy of his brother george w. bush. how much do you think that is still with the american people? >> i think this is where hillary clinton's candidacy will has to answer. is there going to be a double? >> if i'm picking sides i would rather answer for the clinton years than the bush years. >> certainly when you're talking about simply the economy. >> that's what i'm saying. >> first and foremost just on that. in the same way it will be important to figure out how hillary clinton distinguish herself from many bill clinton

and barack obama. same way jeb bush has to distinguish himself. he will get some benefit of the doubt in the way hillary clinton will. but i think with the public he does, he is going to have to, particularly on foreign policy, i think this will be a foreign policy election. >> yeah. >> i think the economy will improve. if the accelerator pedal has been stepped on and the lower gas prices have helped push it further than this time next year we will be in good economic times where the debate will be who do we trust to manage the mess in the middle east. that's where it will get trickier for jeb bush and won't be easier for hillary either. it's a mess under obama, more of a mess under george w. bush, so do you trust a bush to handle

the mess. that's the question. where are we a year from now? i think we will be in foreign policy environment and that is where jeb's charge will be harder. >> chuck todd let's do this every day. >> i would love to. >> thank you as always, chuck. make sure to catch chuck every sunday meet the press nbc. thank you chuck. that is all for "now." "the ed show" coming up next. good evening americans and welcome to "the ed show" live from new york. another bush? let's get to work. ♪ ♪ >> we're seeing more and more that people often model their lives on their parents. >> there's other people out there that are very qualified. we've had enough bush's. >> i can tell you if your parents work in politics, we