>> thanks so much. and taking time with us today, kristin dalton wolfe who represented the u.s. in the 2009 pagea pageant. >> thank you. >> that does it for this hour. i'm richard lui. stick around. "mtp daily" starts right now. >> if it's monday, there's one less establishment candidate in the republican race. for weeks we've been asking if the party needs to push the panic button. but should the gop establishment be reaching for a different button. the one marked reset. this is "mtp daily," and it starts right now. >> good evening from new york, i'm steve kornacki in for chuck todd. how does a long shot candidate who's barely registering in the polls change the 2016 race? maybe by quitting. today was the deadline for

lindsey graham to get his name off the ballot in south carolina. so graham, the only candidate from one of the four early voting states, bowed out of the race. even his most strident supporters didn't think he had a shot at winning the republican nomination, but it's what happens now that matters. in a cnn interview, graham said he doesn't intend to endorse at this moment and the 2016 race isn't about any one candidate. >> this is an election for the heart and soul of the republican party. this is no longer about 2016. this is about who are we as a party, where do we want to go. >> and those words from graham as he leaves the race echo what another presidential hopeful said as he ended his campaign earlier this year. >> i will suspend my campaign immediately. i encourage other republican presidential candidates to consider doing the same, so that the voters can focus on a limited number of candidates who

can offer a positive, conservative alternative to the current front-runner. >> and neither walker nor graham said the words donald trump, but you don't have to squint too hard to read between the lines. graham has been a vocal critic of trump. we'll have a lot more of that ahead. graham had hoped to hang on at least through the new hampshire primary, but the latest poll out of that state has trump leading there, basically doubling up the competition at 26%. his next closest opponent there, ted cruz in second place with 12%. and while no republican candidate has been able to challenge trump's dominance in the polls, this is where graham's exit becomes potentially important. it comes back to what both graham and walker have been urging. for the establishment, the party establishment, to coalesce around a single candidate. if that is going to happen, if the establishment is going to stop trump, it almost has to happen in new hampshire. iowa is a caucus state, dominated by evangelicals.

but new hampshire, that is where the establishment usually strikes back. mitt romney took it big in 2012. john mccain won it twice in 2008 and in 2000. and remember, mccain is close friends with lindsey graham, he's been supporting him, but now with graham out, now john mccain is a free agent, with potentially a lot of pull in new hampshire. in modern times, no one has won the republican nomination without winning either iowa or new hampshire. so if iowa does go to cruz or trump, then the establishment almost has to put a win on the board in new hampshire. will graham's exit help the stop trump side of the party come together? joining me now to talk about the fight waged in the granite state, former white house chief of staff for president george h.w. bush, john sananu. a lot of people hate the term

establishment candidate. let's use it for shorthand. i'm talking about rubio, about bush, about christie, about kasich. for one of them to win the nomination, if they don't break through and win iowa, if that goes to cruz or trump, like the polls are saying, does one of those candidates to win the nomination have to win new hampshire? >> no, i don't think so. look, i think this whole process is a bit different in terms of timing this year. new hampshire is going to be very important. i think whichever one of those candidates comes in second or third in new hampshire will set the tone for the rest of the campaign. there's a lot of things being done differently in this campaign that i don't think people appreciate. i think the candidates are using the debates differently. in the past you wanted to, quote, win the debate. i think in the last debate, you saw candidates very smartly, i think, lay an agenda for what they were going to do over the next few weeks. i saw the rubio/cruz exchange

where rubio tried to put cruz on notice that he was going to talk about the fact that cruz used to support a path to legal status. cruz put rubio on notice that he thought he was too soft on immigration. bush went after trump particularly in terms of the fact that if you want to take care of isis, you've got to put troops on the ground. we really want our allies to put 90% of those troops there and you can't do it if you denigrate our middle east allies. and christie looked into the camera and laid the message down that he thought he was the straight-talking candidate. i think that's the agenda that they have laid out on the 15th of december, and that's what they've been doing for the most part up here, over the last two weeks. and i think that's going to set the tone for how this campaign moves in to new hampshire's election on the 9th of february. >> if we put that boston herald poll back up on the screen, you're talking about who comes in second, but when you look at that poll, trump in first place,

but that so-called establishment wing so spread out. bush, kasich, rubio, christie. together they have enough to beat trump, but they're so spread out right now, that not only is trump winning, but cruz is in second place. what will it take to sort that out, for one candidate to emerge as the sort of default non-trump candidate? >> there's two pieces to that. one, people have to start looking seriously at trump in terms of what he stands for, in temperament and inexperience. i thought the question to trump on the triad, where trump had actually no idea what hewitt was talking about, was very telling. i think trump's infatuation with putin, the same putin that's bombing some of the folks that we want fighting isis in syria and the same putin that took over a big chunk of the ukraine. for trump to be infatuated with him is ridiculous. so i think there's going to be

some chinks in the armor of trump as we move into the last weeks of new hampshire. those voters will get distributed and where they end up will probably determine who comes in second or third. >> there's been considerable talk from republicans about marco rubio and his ground game and his personal presence in the early states. in new hampshire, christie has been there 50, 60 times. for rubio, the number is in the teens. is marco rubio doing enough of what he needs to do to be competitive and win new hampshire? >> i think he's in the state this week, monday, tuesday at least. jeb was here saturday. christie was here saturday. they're all showing up in new hampshire and doing what they need to do to run a good campaign here. which one is doing best? i can't even tell at this point. i don't think the polls have any significance. they'll have significance starting the first week in january. i thought you would see sorting out before that. but i think as i say, using the last debate to set the agenda

was laying the ground work, if you will, for the push starting on the turn of the year. >> and finally, about a year ago, you said in an interview, i think the next president has to be a governor. that would be bush or christie or kasich right now. do you still feel that way? >> i still feel that way. i'll take a senator rubio, who was speaker of the house, that's a good substitute, a little bit of a substitute for the experience as governor. but we need somebody that can handle the oval office and deal with congress and get legislation done and have the understanding of what the country is about and what the world is about. and braggadocio talk is not the tool that the president of the united states needs. the tool the president of the united states needs is experience. we've got to pick from the experienced candidates or else this country is going to continue the last spiral it's

seen the last seven years. >> all right, thank you very much. let's turn now to two people with their ears to the ground when it comes to the granite state. associate professor of politics at the university of new hampshire and shira center from "the boston globe." let's pick up on this muddled establishment picture, add the bush, theicatkasich and rubio n together. that beats trump. how will the establishment sort this out up there? >> that's the $64,000 question. it's going to be very difficult. because who is the leader of the republican party that's going to tell kasich or christie or jeb bush or rubio, that they need to step aside to make way for someone else? is it paul ryan, who is new to his own post? is it dick cheney? who would tell that person and make those arrangements to ensure that goes through?

but it's a problem for the republican party. that they are not coalescing behind one candidate for the establishment lane. there's a scenario in which you can see them not even making a third place -- an establishment candidate not even getting third, maybe just taking fourth place. >> yeah, on that point, talk about the union leader, the state's biggest newspaper. this is not a typical endorsement, like on the one day and that's it. the "union leader" is driving this home for chris christie or trying to. does that muck things up potentially for the establishment? rubio, maybe he's at 10, 15%, or bush if he's there, trying to grow their support, with the biggest paper in the state pushing christie. does that complicate things? >> it does. especially for marco rubio, who right now, has the most potential to grow in new hampshire. even though he hasn't been here as much as other candidates have

been. in terms of new hampshire voters overall favorable views toward him, he ranks at or near the top. so the question is, will the "union leader" in an effort to help governor christie, who has turned around his own favorable numbers to his credit and hard work, will they go after marco rubio and try to tamp him down in an effort to help governor christie? because i agree with shira, it's all about finishing in the money for an establishment candidate in new hampshire. and even if donald trump gets first, the so-called party establishment, which has taken its licks this year, is going to be looking for who finished second, who finished third, but the problem for christie, kasich, bush, there's maybe one ticket out of new hampshire for any of them, if they perform particularly well. they're not all going to do well. and a couple of them are either going to go home or straggle into south carolina and then go home. >> let me ask you the follow-up on that. that is the potential impact

that john mccain could have in new hampshire. we talk about how he's won the state twice. a lot of those republican leaning independents like him. he was going to be loyal to lind graham as long as he was in it. but could you see mccain coming in for an establishment candidate and that's what moves it for them? >> here's the thing, lindsey graham all year long has been a one-man tribute band to john mccain's legacy in new hampshire. not just hawkish interventionism, but promoting bipartisan compromise on domestic issues like immigration. the fact that graham did so poorly after campaigning so much doesn't just tell you something about graham. i think it also tells you something about where john mccain would be performing right now if he were running for the nomination in 2015 as opposed to 2000 or 2008. the party's changed. >> and shir a the party's changed. what about the nature of

campaigning in new hampshire as well? when you look at trump out in front with not visiting the state and doing the retail politicking, lindsey graham doing it and getting nowhere with it. is it our understanding of what it takes to win new hampshire changing? >> yeah, i do think it's changing and john mccain is a great example of that. because he did so many of the town hall meetings and house parties that are quintessential to the new hampshire primary political experience. and chris christie was following that path, or at least he was trying to. he's just now getting a little bit of traction. and you look at the candidates who are doing well in the polls in new hampshire, they are people who are not following that pattern at all. donald trump comes in on his private jet, does a big rally and leaves within a couple hours. marco rubio, as you mentioned, is starting to spend more time in the state, but previously would come in relatively infrequently for just a couple events. ted cruz has more of a focus on iowa. he's number two in that poll you showed. he's hasn't spent time pressing the flesh in new hampshire.

so, yes, i think the nature of campaigning in new hampshire is changing. but it's changing everywhere. this is a nationalized primary much more than an early state focused primary compared to previous election cycles. >> thank you both for joining us. and coming up, primaries, what primaries? the front-runner fight being waged between hillary clinton and donald trump. plus, where president obama is admitting to falling short on his isis strategy.

nbc news confirmed that six american soldiers died today and at least two more were wounded in one of the most deadly suicide attacks in afghanistan this year. a motorcyclist blew himself up near bagram air base. the taliban posted a message online claiming responsibility. this attack comes one day after

defense secretary ash carter returned from a trip to afghanistan. general john campbell has described 2015 as, quote, a very tough year, with increasing attacks from both the taliban and isis fighters. up next, president obama said he understands why there are concerns about his plans for fighting isis. keep it here. give the gift of the better network. save up to 50% on our hottest android smartphones like the samsung galaxy s6. get the best deals and the better network.

>> president obama warned that the rise of isis has to be taken seriously. >> they've shown in paris what they can do in an organized fashion and in san bernardino what we've seen as their ability to proselytize for their

perverted brand of islam and spur small-scale terrorist attacks. and those are very difficult to detect. so it is gonna be important for us to be vigilant. i'm confident that we're going to prevail, but it is also important for us to keep things in perspective. and this is not an organization that can destroy the united states. but they can hurt us. and they can hurt our people and our families. so i understand why people are worried. >> the small-scale terrorist attacks the president says are so difficult to detect, were exemplified in san bernardino earlier this month. and today, enrique marquez, friend of one of the san bernardino shooters, made a second appearance in court. though police have said there's no evidence marquez was directly involved in the san bernardino attack. he has been charged with three

criminal counts, including providing material support to terrorists for allegedly plotting other attacks with farook in 2011 and 2012, attacks which ended up not happening. pete williams joins me now. pete, what's the latest on this? >> the hearing's over. the judge denied him bail. he will stay in jail until the trial. the prosecutors have said he was a danger to the community and a flight risk. the judge said no evidence of a flight risk, or they haven't overcome the burden on that, but there was indication that he was a danger to the community. so he'll be held in jail until the trial. the date will be set next year. he'll be back in court in a couple of weeks for his plea. but i just heard the president there, steve, and it's interesting. the president talks about isis being a factor in the san bernardino shootings. what we learned in the court document is how much farook was apparently radicalized by al qaeda and the role of isis is

uncertain. so it's interesting the president continues to cite san bernardino as an example of isis influence. the only reference to isis in the entire criminal complaint is tashfeen malik's apparent posting on the day of the shooting of support for isis and its leader al baghdadi. >> pete williams, thank you. still ahead, if it's a monday, we have a bonus clip of chuck's exclusive interview with speaker of the house paul ryan. ryan shares his take on the republican party's plans for 2016. and later, as lindsey graham ends his campaign, we'll look back on the best shots that he took against front-runner donald trump. ideas are frightening because they threaten what is known. they are the natural born enemy of the way things are.

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here's a brand-new part of that interview not yet seen on television. it begins with ryan's views on president obama. >> do you think he's had a good year? he got a lot ever his agenda done by going around you guys, which is why the right is so mad at you and others. >> yeah. >> that he succeeded even though you wiped out his party. >> we blocked bad legislation from passing and the president tried to go it alone. we've had some successes in court and in congress, but the real success is going to have to be 2016 at the ballot box, where we replace this president with one who actually respects the government -- >> but getting an iran deal, climate change agreement, defending the health care law, keeping government open, he could say he's had a good year. >> i think a liberal progressive believes he should go around the

constitution. on obamacare, we have a case still pending that may be successful. on conscience, one of the things that bothered me the most about obamacare, it violates the religious freedom and conscience of americans. we have a court ruling coming up in the spring. so whether it's the court challenges that we're advancing, or other people are advancing, whether it's the oversight we're doing in congress, whether it's holding the irs accountable, or more importantly, offering an alternative. look, let me just say this. the country's on the wrong track. most americans believe the country's on the wrong path. we think the president has led us in the wrong direction. the economy is flat. wages are stagnant. hard-working families are working harder and harder -- >> you don't believe the economy is getting better? >> no, i don't. >> the fed thinks so. >> 45 million people stuck in poverty. look at our foreign policy.

look at o it's a disaster. look at our military. it must be rebuilt. whether it's the regulations, slow-growing economy, bad foreign policy, weakening military, the republicans, the conservatives will be offering a better way forward in 2016 so the men and women in this country get to have a choice of what they want america to look like in 2016. that's our duty and obligation from being an opposition party to a proposition party, that's why our members are excited to turn the page on 2015 and getting on with 2016. >> you guys put out a video, sort of marking the end of this calendar year. it was what you just proposed. you have an optimistic tone about what you want to do, not a negative tone. the video is pretty optimistic. it's more optimistic than anything i'm hearing on the presidential campaign trail, why is that? >> i think it's because we're in the primary. i come from the happy warrior school of the conservative

movement. jack kemp, ronald reagan, that's a personal view, i take a look at things. >> do you wish the campaign were more optimistic? >> i think that happens after the primary. i think these people are trying to distinguish themselves. remember the obama primary, that was pretty rough. you're a student of this. i think that phase will change in the general election. but in the meantime, those of us in congress, those of us deeply worried about the direction of our country, but who are excited about our ideas, and the potential we have for our country, are happy about moving on with the kind of conversation we need to have with our fellow citizens about how to fix problems, real solutions and that's what i'm looking forward to. and that's why we're happy and optimistic. >> and still ahead on "mtp daily," donald trump demands an apology from hillary clinton after she calls him isis's best recruiter. see how clinton is responding today. but first, jane wells as the cnbc market wrap.

>> hi, steve, thanks. stocks beginning the short trading week higher. the dow climbing 123. the s&p adds 15 and the nasdaq up 45. shares of disney falling 1% despite a record smashing opening weekend for "star wars: the force awakens", scoring $248 million in north america and more than a half billion globally. it you're hitting the roads for the holidays, you'll be paying less for gas. average price below $2 for the first time since 2009. if you're in california, it's more like $2.50. that's it from cnbc, first in business worldwide. who wants to try? before earning enough cash back from bank of america to stir up the holidays, before earning 1% cash back everywhere, every time and 2% back at the grocery store, even before they got 3% back on gas, all with no hoops to jump through,

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if you've been watching hillary clinton and donald trump recently, you might think we've moved past the primary and

straight into the general election. at this weekend's democratic debate, hillary clinton went after donald trump and of course in traditional trump fashion, he fired right back. >> i worry greatly that the rhetoric coming from the republicans, particularly donald trump, mr. trump has a great capacity to use bluster and bigotry to enflame people. we also need to make sure that the really discriminatory messages that trump is sending around the world don't fall on receptive ears. he's becoming isis's best recruiter. they are showing videos of donald trump insulting muslims. >> nobody has been able to back that up. it's nonsense. it's just another hillary lie. she lies like crazy about everything, whether it's trips where she was being gunned down in an helicopter or airplane, she's a liar and everybody knows that. but she just made this up in thin air. >> this morning on the "today"

show trump called on clinton to apologize. when asked if clinton would apologize, her spokesman said, quote, hell no. just last hour, a clinton spokesman backed up clinton's claims that trump is being used to help recruit terrorists. >> there is footage all across the middle east airing of the comments that he made and the proposal he laid out to bar muslims generally from entering the united states. >> but pollit fact said there's no evidence that isis is using videos of donald trump as a recruiting tool. trump is set to hold a rally in grand rapids today. katy, the democratic base doesn't like donald trump. the republican base doesn't like hillary clinton. each candidate serving their own interest by going after each other. >> reporter: a cynic would be right. i think it's interesting what you said earlier, this sounds like a general election race, rather than a primary race.

donald trump going after his opponents less and hillary clinton more, assuming he's going to be the nominee and certainly assuming she's going to be the democratic nominee. that's partially because his main competition right now is ted cruz and he can't go after ted cruz because they've been in this hold fire. he's not going after him until he absolutely has to. probably going to start in january, so i could be wrong about donald trump. sometimes he likes to change the script and go off script, but this feud between hillary and trump is probably not going to die down, certainly not tonight. we expect to hear him call her a liar again and these are some of the biggest applause lines when he talks about hillary, and reinvestigating benghazi and the e-mail scandal. even outside when you talk to the pin hawkers, the guys selling pins, a lot of them say hillary for jail time. and t-shirts as well. they scream she needs to go to

jail. nobody's a fan of hillary clinton at his rallies. and people at hillary clinton rallies are not a fan of donald trump, so they're both speaking directly to their base and they have nothing to lose with this back and forth rhetoric. >> katy tur in a very festive grand rapids, hearing that christmas music in the background. thank you for joining us. >> this is an okay song. the others have been terrible. you're lucky you're getting past it. >> we timed it perfectly then. time now to bring in our panel, senior editor, beth fuohy, henry fernandez, and jillian melter. so they're playing to each of their bases. is it giving credit to clinton to also say, is there an aspect of trying to pick your general election opponent? >> oh, yes, steve. hillary clinton would love to run against donald trump. apparently her folks, her advisers think that cruz is more likely to be her opponent and

they're taking steps really to campaign against him, but trump is such an easy target for her. and a very popular target for her base. democrats still can't believe that he's in the lead on the republican side and there are plenty of things for hillary clinton to go after that make her look better. so why wouldn't she go after him as often as possible? >> with the republican base, with the conservative base, if that's her strategy, is it working? if she goes after donald trump and that's the headline, does that cause what he's looking at right now, get the republicans on board for the primary? >> well, no doubt he's done some damage to the republican brand. we're looking at somebody who's not only said inflammatory things about muslims, the kurds, but also back to the 1970s in in the trump organization, the department of justice suing him for racial discrimination, repeated examples of racial coding being used. so with the republican party choosing this candidate, if that's the case, it's going to

do lasting damage. hillary clinton would have to be a fool not to take advantage of it. i do think we've got maybe a pot calling the kettle black situation, but it's interesting. >> some of the stuff he's bringing up, it's a time warp. talking about white water again. but what about the democratic side, it was debate time, bernie sanders, he's down 20, 30 points nationally, but very competitive in iowa and new hampshire. >> leading in new hampshire. >> in the democratic primary, hillary clinton doesn't want to have a fight with him. is she scheduling pulling attention away from their fight towards the republicans? >> i think that's working well. donald trump is creating a big problem for the republicans. this idea of a tarnished brand. what we have to have for the republicans to be able to win is, they'll need to get about 47% of the latino vote.

donald trump polls at 13% among latinos. that's just one example of the damage he's doing to the republican brand. she's very smart to point to that and she's got a very good record as it relates to the majority of the issues that matter to the progressive base. >> all right, beth, henry, jillian, stay with us. up next, the who, when, where, and why in the headlines, including "the force awakens.aw" stay tuned. want bladder leak underwear that moves like you do? try always discreet underwear and move, groove, wiggle, giggle, swerve, curve. lift, shift, ride, glide, hit your stride.

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>> it's time now for the ws, starting with a who, congressman richard hanna from new york, the republican plans to retire next year after completing his third term in the house. one of the few republicans in congress to support same-sex marriage. hanna was facing a conservative challenger in his primary, but he denies that's why he's decided not to run again. now for the what, the fda is lifting its ban on blood donations from guy and bisexual men. they must be abstinent for a year before donating. to the where, spain is bracing for weeks of political instability after sunday's elections. the two leading parties failed to reach a majority in seats in parliament and are now struggling to find a way to build a governing coalition. to when. whenever chelsea clinton is due. the former first daughter announced today she's pregnant with her second child.

the due date is next summer, right around convention time. now the why. "star wars" pandering continued to be out in full force this weekend. the white house was all over social media, touting a special visitor. and hillary clinton signed off on saturday's debate with this line. >> thank you, goodnight, and may the force be with you. >> as for the why, politicians are making these nods to "star wars" fans because the films are ridiculously popular. "the force awakens" brought in $248 million from the u.s. over the weekend. that's the most money ever made in an opening weekend. as outrageous as it seems, a "star wars" vote there may be. up next, the how. how lindsey graham's departure may affect the 2016 race. stay tuned. i asked my dentist if an electric toothbrush

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that's huge for my bottom line. what's in your wallet? >> welcome back. as we covered at the top of the show, the big news from the presidential campaign trail, south carolina senator lindsey graham dropping out of the race. today is the deadline for candidates to withdraw their name from the ballot. he likely dropped out to amount void an embarrassing showing in his home state. the person who is up in the polls in south carolina is none other than donald trump. besides national security, the main hallmark of graham's campaign seemed to be his firm anti-trump stance. my colleague kasie hunt is here to break down the graham/trump feud, which looks like trump has won. >> seems that way, steve. it's funny to think about how

far we've come. when we first started talking about this race earlier this year, and when lindsey graham got in it, he was getting in it to take on rand paul and the what graham would call the isolationist string that paul has brought to the party. but it quickly turned into a graham versus trump feud in many cases. take a look at some of those greatest hits. >> what he said about john, i think, was offensive. he's becoming a jack ass. at a time when we need to have a serious debate about the future of the party and the country. >> then i watch this idiot lindsey graham on television today and he calls me a jackass. he called me three, four years ago, i didn't even know who he was. he goes, mr. trump, this is senator lindsey graham, i wonder if it would be possible for you to call fox. so i say, okay.

he said could you mention my name? and he gave me his number. i found the card. i wrote the number down. let's try it. 202-228-0292. it's three, four years ago, so maybe it's an old number. ♪ >> trump has done the one single thing you cannot do, declare war on islam itself. to all of our muslim friends throughout the world like the king of jordan and the president of egypt, i am sorry. he does not represent us. >> in many ways there are a lot of reporters out there who will miss the humor that lindsey graham brought to the trail. that video is one we'll remember and be in the year-end's greatest hits. on a more serious note, what graham really brought to the table and i think you saw it at

the end with his comments about muslims, was a focus on national security, almost to the exclusion of all else and a deep belief that he doesn't think donald trump is ready or qualified to be commander in chief. and i think it plays into graham's overall mission with regards to the republican party. it involves trump, it's also demographic which plays into another issue. we didn't show anything of senator graham talking about immigration, but he's somebody who really believes that the gop has a demographic problem, and he'd be the first to tell you he doesn't think that donald trump or ted cruz even are going to be potential general election nominees for the party, that can actually win. because of some of the rhetoric on hispanics. as you know and i covered senator graham's race in 2014, when he was running for re-election. he took this banner on himself a little bit too. he was one of those people we were watching to say, he might lose to a tea party challenger and he really made a point to go out there and say what he believed to say things that

maybe would offend the tea party and to say, i am out here to prove the republican brand is something different than you think it might be. steve? >> it's a great point. hard to remember, but all the talk was could the graham-mccain wing stop rand paul? thank you for that. we played the tape. it was funny to watch that. but lindsey graham, more than anybody else, has tried to make the case against donald trump, his his style, against his policy, against the idea of nominating donald trump. what does it say about the republican party that he got zero traction doing that? >> i think it's hard to argue with team stupid using rational arguments. but donald trump has not the majority of republicans support him. he's the second or third choice for the majority of republicans. >> i got to tell you, we're seeing him push near 40% and

lindsey graham might have been at .4% on a good day. >> but i think what he'll bring by dropping outs of this race, some of the establishment to be freed up to rally behind other candidates. you have john mccain, they'll play hopefully a helpful role defeating trump. i wish more candidates would follow suit. >> you're shaking your head there we were talking about this at the start of the show with the panel there. i'm wondering about somebody like john mccain. lindsey graham didn't have a lot of support. we know that. john mccain has a reservoir of support in the republican party. he's not tied to lindsey graham. maybe he could step in and get that establishment wing united, no? >> i don't think so. i don't think this is the year of the establishment candidates. there are so many establishment candidates in the race right now, particularly new hampshire was supposed to be their fire wall. it doesn't look like an establishment candidate will finish first or second in new hampshire. by the time you get to super

tuesday, it's hard to see how the establishment gets itself back in the game. with lindsey graham losing or getting out of the race here, there is no longer a single republican candidate for president who supports comprehensive immigration reform with a pathway to citizenship. that's going to be deadly for them in the general election. >> i want to get this in, too. we were talking about this earlier. donald trump and hillary clinton getting into this dust of hillary saying he helps isis recruitment. jeb bush today weighed in on that and he sided with donald trump. you have the quote upon your screen. he says there is no evidence -- talk about chutzpah, there is no evidence of that at all. i can't believe she said that without any evidence. the whole point of the jeb bush campaign after that last debate was to be good night who stands up to donald trump. now he's defending trump. >> poor jeb is stepping on his message there the sad thing is

we never saw lindsey graham on the same debate stage because of roulettes the networks used to determine who could be in the main stage debate. it was polling rather than who are good debaters? >> lindsey graham was a fantastic debater. he was so strong in his anti-trump message. he was better than anybody else on that main stage. to see the two of them having had the chance to go at it and really talk about issues, talk about substance, talk about the nature of it, talking about that proposed ban on muslims which lindsey graham was so against would have been great to see them together. >> would have been interesting to see the grm in the last undercard debate. stick around. next in "the lid," the political funies and the rest of the day's headlines.

they come into this iworld ugly and messy. ideas are frightening because they threaten what is known. they are the natural born enemy of the way things are.

yes, ideas are scary, and messy and fragile. but under the proper care, they become something beautiful.

now hold on, hillary. even if you beat bernie, aren't you worried about the republicans. who's their front-runner? >> oh, i will tell you, but only if you grab on to something to brace yourself because you are going to hit the floor. >> i'll be fine. just tell me. >> no, yeah, you need to hold on to something. i am warning you, hillary. >> just tell me. >> donald trump. i told you. oh, my god, we're going to be president. >> i know! >> that was amy poehler reprising her role as hillary

clinton from the 2008 campaign with kate mckinnon as president-day hillary clinton. the real hillary clinton is falling foul on her main democratic challenger bernie sanders for that dnc data hack. sanders apologized, but is calling on the clinton campaign to join their request for the investigation of the dnc's fire wall. the panel is back with me now. let me ask you about this. this sanders' campaign on this whole data issue, the sanders' campaign would like this to be about not the fact somebody on their side of the wall went into the clinton side, performed surges, saved the result of those searches, got a readout from that. they don't want it to be about that. they want it to be about the fire wall failures and the dnc is favoring the clinton campaign. can they credibly do that given they did go around that fire wall? >> i run political campaigns as

a campaign manager up to the governor level. at the heart of campaign is the voter file. democratic candidates across the country use what's called the tool to access the voter file in question here. in addition to democratic candidates using it, over 900 nonpartisan, nonprofit organizations use it for things like voter registration, getting people to the polls, and if in fact there are breaches in that fire wall, that would create severe tax law issues, severe problems for the kinds of information that's available to these organizations that are 501-c3 nonprofits. that actually is a very big story. >> sure. i understand that is potentially this fire wall is a mess this company that runs it could be a mess. >> don't steal stuff. >> that's the point.

if money keeps falling off brink' trucks, brinks has a problem there. is that okay to take the money? >> i thought the sanders campaign was fascinating how they dealt with this friday. their crisis management was brilliant. >> it was well done. >> they were clearly in the wrong and clearly stealing stuff, yet they successfully pivoted to make it about the dnc saying the democratic national committee is out for bernie sanders. they don't want bernie sanders in this race with hillary clinton. it gave them a big platform to say it again. in a way, chairwoman wasserman-schultz played into that going on tv being quite aggressive and shooting down bernie sanders. she gave them ammunition. when we get down to it, don't steal stuff. bernie sanders' folks did the best they could with a bad hand. senator sanders tried to get rid of it at the debate. >> republicans love the idea saying look the dnc is trying to prop up hillary clinton. they are desperate. >> i think so.

did he have a scrappy response. republicans are laughing at the irony of hillary complaining about an insecure server. i love it. >> there it is. erica hill picks up our coverage next. tonight on msnbc live, the republican field shrinks and donald trump's lead grows. katy tur is on the campaign trail. a deadly attack on american soldiers in afghanistan. tonight, the taliban claiming responsibility. breaking news from the sports world. a star nfl receiver suspended for his on the field antics. does the punishment fit the crime? all that plus steve harvey and the miss universe misstep. good monday evening. i'm erica hill. this is of course the week of countdowns, but not just at christmas.