ere when my dad suffered with diabetic nerve pain. if you have diabetes and burning, shooting pain in your feet or hands, don't suffer in silence! step on up and ask your doctor about diabetic nerve pain. tell 'em cedric sent you. this morning, my question -- what is the weirdest thing this year? so far. plus, the brown/black agenda 30 years later. and the republican response to poverty. but first, new poll numbers and what they really add up to. good morning. i'm melissa harris-perry. last night, well, last night i did not win the powerball. but i did play and i am likely to play again this week. i know, i know all the problems

with lotteries, but come on, the jackpot is now more than a billion dollars and a i have to take a shot. even if winning the lottery is highly improbable and i mean like wildly improbable, like 1 in 292 million chance, like grains of sands impossible. but who cares about probabilities? it is the lottery. and winning would be so definitive as to change the course of somebody's life and when the prize is big, we get much more interested in watching not only the outcomes but in watching all the predictions leading up to the big moment. looik tonigh like tonight. since i won't be out celebrating my jackpot win i'll be home watching tv and awards season kicks off in earnest tonight with the 73rd annual golden globes. forecasters are sifting through the awards tea leaves all the way up to the red carpet. same way that football analysts and fans are wagering over who is destined to take super bowl 50. it gets us all riled up and

excited because we get a chance to predict, too, will it be our favorite movie, our favorite team, ow favorite number that's the big winner? will we be proven right when they open that envelope? will we have rooted for the winning side when the clock runs out on february 7th? now in the world of american politics no jackpot is bigger than the white house, no i a ward more coveted than 270 eelectrele electoral votes and no super bowl more consequential than election night. we find ourselves knee-deep in political prognostication with only 21 days left to the iowa caucus. a new nbc news/"wall street journal"/marist poll out this morning from the all-important states of iowa and new hampshire tell us that in iowa, among likely democratic caucusgoers, hillary clinton has 48%, followed by a surging bernie at 45%. basically a dead heat. among likely republican

caucusgoers in a field much more crowded it is now ted cruz in the lead with 28%. donald trump at 24%. marco rubio at 13% and ben carson still hanging on there in double digits at 11%. in new hampshire the numbers tell a different story. not so much among democratic primary voters where it is still sort of a dead heat but there bernie sanders is actually leading hillary clinton by four points and among republicans polled in new hampshire, the gop front-runner, donald trump, still has a strong lead at 30% followed by rubio at 14%, chris christie at 12%, and ted cruz at 10%. so let the predictions begin. joining me now, gentleman malsim tons, sabrina sadiki, robert traynam, and juan manuel

benitez. and from washington, d.c., democratic pollster, fred yang. fred, what do you read in the tea leaves of the iowa/new hampshire polls this morning? >> i read that the trump surge, number one, is still occurring, especially in new hampshire. we also have noted in our national polling an uptick for senator cruz zips the fall and that's born out in the iowa polls. i think for the republican electorate and the primary there's two questions. can trump win a primary? he's never held elective office as he likes to tell people so he's never won or lost. number two, right now looks like it is trump, cruz, rubio. both the national polls and both in iowa and new hampshire, and so the big question coming out of new hampshire is will there be a fourth candidate? nd a right now looks like that fourth candidate could be chris christie depending -- and if he can finish in the top three in new hampshire. >> let me ask this question.

how concerned should the clinton camp be about the sanders candidacy based on the numbers? so does it look like there is a realistic possibility of bernie sanders stealing iowa in this case? >> i think the other thing -- this, mechaniclissa, is turnout. polls try their best to capture who we think will turn out on certain days. in iowa and new hampshire there are weird quirks of both states which makes predicting turnout very difficult. so, look. >> snow being one of those weird quirks. february in those states can sometimes be pretty brutal weather. >> you get a natural any phenomenon like weather, a political toe nphenomenon in ne hampshire, a voter can decide that day if they'll vote in the

democratic or republican primary. i think the polls suggest mrs. clinton will win iowa. bernie sanders will win new hampshire. i think if that's the outcome on the democratic side, that favors mrs. clinton because then we go into states afterward like south carolina where she has built-in advantages. >> sabrina, are there any surprises for you on either side? >> well, i think one of the surprises actually is there's a sense certainly that this could go either way still and that the field is very wide open on the republican end of things. but when they polled how committed some of these caucusgoers are, some of these primary voters are, when it comes to donald trump he has the largest margins of voters who say they're already committed, that they have decided. two-thirds of new hampshire voters said we are supporting donald trump whereas marco rubio who's in second place just over 40% can say the same of him. you have a situation where the establishment or alternative lane to trump is eating into each other's support so those who support rubio say christie's a second for them or those who support christie say rubio is a

second for them. that's the biggest question facing republicans. if you have cruise for example take iowa, then you have trump come up strong in new hampshire, are those candidates then preventing an alternative from actually coming forward to scenario where this could come down to donald trump and ted cruz? >> for me, i'm always a little hesitant to put too much stock in the polling, especially the realities of turnout in these particular states where people take primary voting very seriously and where there are all of these bizarre kind of local things that can happen. and yet one of the things that is different here than in the where for example, the golden globes, the polls can actually impact what people do. folks like to back a winner. if we say this person is winning, that can affect outcomes? >> in 2012, ron paul was winning iowa by 12 points but rick santorum won by is%.

if you look at history of republican voters, people who win iowa and new hampshire do not become the nominee. it is also very interesting. if i can move over to the democratic side, remember that bernie sanders really is tapping into a moment here. if you look at his polling numbers, you look at his crowds, they are very, very large. those people are very energetic and also, too, bernie sanders is the democratic senator from vermont. same media market as new hampshire. new hampshire voters are very, very proud people. exit polling the vast majority of independents that went into the polling booth five minutes beforehand didn't know who they were going to vote for. they made up their mind as they were literally casting their vote. >> if i'm on the clinton campaign am i panicked by these numbers? in part, because the 2008 -- she was third in 2008 in iowa. >> i think you might be a little concerned. panic might be an overstatement. if you win iowa and you are hillary clinton you stand a good chance of changing the math in new hampshire because sometimes what happens is a winner in iowa

gets a little propulsion that takes them into new hampshire that works out pretty well for them. sometimes not. it didn't work out for barack obama that way but it did work out for john kerry that way four years earlier. the clinton campaign is banking their candidacy on the fa kt that she's built out to such an extent in every state after the first two and it is bernie sanders' sell in south carolina. that's what happened for barack obama. he went to south carolina, african-american voters rallied around him and that's what really took efverything to the next level. can bernie sanders do that? i'm not sure he's really made the case yet. >> i do think that the clinton campaign should be worried with these numbers. remember that in 2008 new hampshire was a state that gave hillary clinton the comeback after barack obama won the iowa caucuses. now we see that bernie sanders is winning in new hampshire. not only that, the numbers are really bad for hillary clinton in a general election period with some of the gop contendsers.

bernie sanders beats all of them or most of them, something that hillary cannot do. >> i want to ask you, fred, about that. because we had a bit of a scuffle about this in "nerdland" this morning before coming on air. how should i think about these if the election were held today numbers? many of which do in fact show that hillary clinton is losing to the republican in iowa or new hampshire, not nationally. if the election were held today, because i just keep thinking but all the news coverage has been of the republicans. isn't that just the reason that they are "winning"? >> yes. well, i think first of all i would have loved to see the scuffle in "nerdland." >> it gets good. yeah. >> wonder what that looks like. number one, i think a lot of what's going on in the general does reflect what you're saying, melissa, the inordinate amount of media coverage that the republican primary process is receiving. i think in terms of the general election numbers that juan

mentions, look, here's my one predicti prediction. my one prediction will be important to iowa. in campaigns like this, every day is a dog day. it is like a year in the life of a campaign. number two, i think no matter what happens, this is going to be a very, very, very divided general election. regardless of who the democrats nominate, hot republicans nominate, as we've seen from the past year, heck, from the past couple years, melissa, we're at 50%-50% country. fred, you are invited to the next polling fisticuffs in "nerdland." fred yang in washington, d.c. thanks. up next, a surprising show of force by the u.s. military. ♪ ♪

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early this morning the

united states in solidarity with south korea flew a nuclear capable b-52 bomber jet over south korea in a show of force. the move comes days after north korea's widely disputed claim that it tested its first hydrogen bomb which has been linked to the magnitude 5.1 earthquake the country experienced wednesday. commander of the u.s. pacific command admiral harry b. harris said in a statement, this was a demonstration of the ironclad u.s. commitment to our allies in south korea, in japan, and to the defense of the american homeland. joining me now from the white house is nbc news correspondent ron allen. ron, what more can you tell us about this show of force? >> reporter: clearly it was a response to that test device. the white house and others are still casting lot as to whether that was a hydrogen bomb but it was some sort of device. this is all a reminder of how

tense and volatile that part of the world is. the u.s. is very concerned about our ael lisz in that part of the world, like japan. the capital of south korea, seoul, 11 million people, just 35 miles from the north korean border. this comes at a time when jim jong unhas been taking somewhat of a victory lap around his country since that test. this is the fourth test in nine years. the third test on the obama administration's watch. and the obama administration's response and their policy has generally been described as something called strategic patience, calling for more sanctions led by the u.n., trying to put pressure on china which is the direct route to north korea. they talk to the north koreans to put more pressure on the chinese to try to bring the north koreans in line. a very difficult mission obviously because this is a rogue nation that is -- seems to be so far out of step with not just reality but the mainstream part of the world. it is a very difficult problem. sanctions, for example, are difficult to see how that causes more pressure on the north

koreans because it is a society that's been so devastated, famined, just so little there. but again, the u.s. policy is to try to impose more sanctions. there is little expectation of a military response even the b-52 flyover this morning. strategic patience, more sanctions and the hope and expectation that some day more pressure will cause a change of course by the north koreans. >> thank you to nbc's ron allen at the white house. i have a teenager so i know about strategic patience. up next, a political forum focused exclusively on the issues facing voters of color. what would you ask the candidates? with creative new business incentives, the lowest taxes in decades, and university partnerships, attracting the talent and companies of tomorrow. like in utica, where a new kind of workforce is being trained. and in albany,

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ashton kutcher, and, of course, site of the oldest minority oriented forum for presidential candidates. what? yes. although iowa's latino population is less than 6%, an programs account for just more than 3% of iowans, it is in iowa where the brown and black forum was established in 1984 to, in the words of forum organizers, give all candidates the opportunity to answer essential concerns of african-americans and latinos. 1984. the year the brown and black forum was established is the year reverend jesse jackson made his first bid for the democratic nomination, but his late starting campaign did not even make an appearance at the event which was held in the des moines tiny tot child care center. now four years later in 1988 reverend jackson was clearly the event's star attraction. >> i think a fact is missing in these analyses about jobs. a black and a brown youth is more likely to go to jail

because he or she is black and brown. there is a racism factor in the judicial system and a class factor in it. it is like when the rich -- when the poor are caught, they go to a san quentin. the rich prisoners go to san clemente. there is a double system here. >> it didn't help much, jackson came in a distant fourth in the caucuses, not even breaking double digits. in 2008, senator obama took the iowa caucusgoers to an historic victory. >> they said this day would never come. they said our sights were set too high. they said this country was too divided, too disillusioned to ever come together around a common purpose.

but on this january night, at this defining moment in history, you have done what the cynics said we couldn't do. >> just one month earlier, the man who would go on to become our country's first african-american president made his stage on the case of north high school at the brown and black forum, even laying out a plan for something that might sound familiar. >> it is indisputable that if you are poor in this country, that is hazardous to your health. if you are black or brown and poor it can be down right deadly for all of the statistics that you cited. that is why we have to create a comprehensive health care program that is available to all people who need it. >> so tomorrow, democratic presidential candidates hillary clinton, bernie sanders, and martin o'malley, will get their chance to make a case at the 2016 brown and black forum. the forum has moved on up from its 1984 start at tiny tot preschool, even up from its 2007

location in northern high school. on monday the forum will be held at drake university which will live broadcast it on the cable channel fusion. but 2016 is not 1984, and according to the demographic researchers, white americans are on the way to becoming a racial minority in this country. and in this election cycle, brown and black activists have barely needed to wait on a special forum to make their demands known. so more than 30 years after it was established, do we still need a brown and black forum in iowa? thoughts? >> iowa, south carolina, new hampshire, pennsylvania, i mean all across this country. look, you turn on the television set on msnbc, we continue to hear about black lives matter, we continue to hear about individuals being jailed and murdered for driving while black. of course this is needed. the reason why it is needed is because there are some people in this country who do not look like me who say that they don't recognize this america anymore.

that the bygone america has gone past, they don't believe in the american dream again. this is a collective conversation we still need to have all about americans and about the future of this country. >> i would actually argue that because of the social movements that maybe we don't. i was really getting into writing about this yesterday, in part because it is not those kids. it's actually this kind of different generation, asking a different question of questions. >> it is so marginalized. it is always in reaction to a racial moment in this country. it is never proactive. that's what needs to change. >> i think if you do it, then you just put those issues in that small forum. then the following day you just keep talking about mainstream issues when we see demographic issues in this country, mainstream is something politically different. it should be part of the crucial conversations, not just marginalized in a forum in iowa one day in the campaign. >> i think there is an issue where you are having this conversation primarily on the

democratic side and you kind of see two completely different primaries taking place where immigration an criminal justice have emerged as key issues in the democratic primary and they aren't just talking about -- >> immigration showed up on the republican side. >> well, in a very different way. immigration on the republican side is being framed as a national security issue as to why we can't allow more people into this country. in recent weeks two issues have under cut democrats' messages on criminal justice and immigration. . rahm emanuel situation in chicago. >> ma'am! yes, we do. >> exactly. you have hillary clinton is going to be gh a position, i would not be surprised if that question is posed to her as to whether or not he should resign and also -- >> just one second. i don't want to go away from rahm too fast. i promise we'll go back to immigration. can i ask the nerds in the control room? do we have that sound? let's take a quick listen. >> one of your predecessors as chief of staff is now the mayor of chicago. the president endorsed him.

the president campaigned for him. does the president still have confidence in rahm emanuel as mayor? >> i just had a chance to be back in chicago. my in-laws live in chicago. city looks great. opportunities there are boundless. i think what the president sees is a city and a people of chicago and a mayor of chicago that continue to do very good work. >> so he's still confident in rahm emanuel being able to do the job? >> the president is. >> that was a lot for me to see. so the president is still down with rahm? >> especially when the president just last week during the whole executive order talked about incidences in chicago with gun violence and so forth. when you take a look at the real heat that -- rightfully so, by the way -- that rahm emanuel is under, i'm questioning whether or not that's really an authentic statement from the white house chief of staff. >> he would have done better by at least acknowledging some of

the pain the people are feeling in chicago, what's happening -- >> boundless opportunity is not how people are experiencing chicago on the south and west side right now. >> but here is the problem. there's no earn ittive re talte. they don't have a path for getting rahm emanuel unless he leaves himself. >> that's a different question than does he still have confidence. >> they don't need to call for him to resign but at least raise some skepticism or some concerns. they haven't done that. the other issue in recent weeks the administration sets up these deportation raids. there is concern about the democratic candidates this undercuts the message on immigration. >> for me for the black and brown forum, i give credit. tim scott organized a poverty conversation in south carolina -- >> which i promise we'll talk about in a little bit. yes. >> i think he deserves credit for that. but there's two things that are big. every campaign is about fear and

hope. people are afraid in the black community around these criminal justice issues. for most candidates they now have an opportunity to coalesce around a set of issues that they didn't have the opportunity to come in on earlier. because if you asked ten black activists what the most important issue was, you get ten answers to that question. now at least there is some real unity around this issue of criminal justice. on the other hand, they also have to talk about aspiration, what's the hope question in the black community. i think people want jobs, people want incomes, they want entrepreneurship, they want all that stuff that matters. i want to see all candidates address those things. >> more on the brown and black debate when we come back. ♪ ♪ why fit in when you were born to stand out. the 2016 nissan altima has arrived.

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whe heroin and usually they impregnate a white issue before they leave. >> that was a maine governor at a town hall meeting discussing the issue of drugs in maine. later he tried to clarify his remarks. >> i was going in prom ptu in m brain, didn't catch up to my mouth. instead of say maine women, i said white women. i'm not going to apologize to the maine women for that, because if you go to maine, you will see that we're essentially 95% white. >> so that was all happening. so like it is true that the folks running for the democratic nomination for the u.s. presidency are in fact whiter than the population in maine. but there was this moments like that keep for me reinforcing why

this black/brown forum ends up instead an all-democratic forum. not because democrats have such a good answer but those kind of moments are republicans end up pushing folks thinking that isn't even a possibility. >> i don't even know how to respond. >> i know. that's why i was trying to bring something else to us here. >> what we saw was a stream of consciousness. he was obviously thinking outloud. that's an insight into how he thinks, clearly. in many ways -- >> he's not alone. >> right. that's right. that's an authentic moment. the question is how do we address that and talk about that in a way that more and more people can have those type of thoughts and we say, whoa, whoa, whoa, wait a minute, why are you thinking like this and what can we do to change your twisted way of thinking about this? because it is not really reality but it is reality in your mind and it may be reality in your state. >> you talk about so this becomes a moment we can then use

as a conversation. chris christie is very well supported by mr. lapage. if mr. christie is going to end up winning a nomination, if he's going top want to bring in enough of a coalition to win, isn't this exactly the sort of teaching moment maybe mr. christie would want to take advantage of? >> he would, except there is a whole segment of the republican primary if you look at donald trump and ted cruz's popularity in the process, who probably agree with mr. lepage, they just don't say it outloud, though donald trump says this sort of thing all the time and we cover it as normal. politics has pushed these ideas out into the open. >> i want to go back to the point it is not just -- of course it is policy on immigration. i do think these immigration raids coming out of the obama administration this week are going to have to be addressed by the democratic candidates. >> of course. and they are terrible for the democratic candidates right now. they don't even know how to

react. people are really scared in the latino community right now because they feel that they are not -- they are going to knock on doors and be asking for documents, for papers. maybe they have the papers but maybe their neighbors, maybe their family members don't. so it is really strange at this point. i.c.e. or jeh johnson has decided to have these people as a priority. when we are talking about for the most part people who are trying to become refugees in this country, fleeing the violence in el salvador. >> representative gutierrez is making this point that we aren't necessarily talking about undocumented immigrants. we're talking really about refugees. let's take a listen. >> there are armed men who take over public lands in oregon and have press conferences as they use their guns. and defy the american government. what's our response? well, let's talk to them. but when women come fleeing,

drug dealers and gang bangers who control their very lives? then we say, let's send armed men to go into their homes. on christmas eve. >> it is a hot mess. >> you know why it is also bad? latinos gave one chance to obama in 2008. he promised immigration reform. it didn't come. they gave him a second chance in 2012 and nothing happened. and he said -- he was labeled deporter in chief because of the huge number of undocumented immigrants being deported under his presidency. now if you have a change election, if the election in november is not about continuation of the obama policies, but it is more a change, we need someone fresh and new and maybe you go republican, then latinos are going to think about, well republicans are going to tell me that they want a build a wall on the mexican border and they want to deport everybody. but democrats are doing it anyway already. so it can get the latino

electorate can be in play and this could be extremely good for a candidate like marco rubio. >> if you don't feel like you have a choice, then you just don't show up at all. >> i think that would be a concern for democrats because they have to rely on these same coalitions that have certainly turned out in 2012 and 2008 to come and show confidence at the polls. i think one of the issues republicans though in this moment is they're not in a position right now to actually defend the latino community to push back against the deportations. they want to have a more enforcement message moving forward. i think that actually speaks back to chris christie's response to governor lepage's comments. republicans can't pivot to this messaging until the general election so they spent their primary not wanting to have to defend the black lives matter movement or donald trump. >> i will say i legitimately

need to understand why it is these immigration raids suddenly constitute a homeland security priority. we asked secretary johnson to come on the show this week. we will continue to ask every single week because i think that this is something the sfra administration should in fact give an answer to. we'll keep asking. up next, troubled waters in flibt and h flint and how a local resident is making a difference one bottle at a time. ♪ (man) some things are worth holding onto. they're hugging the tree. (man) that's why we got a subaru. or was it that tree? (man) the twenty-sixteen subaru outback. love. it's what makes a subaru, a subaru. choose, choose, choose. but at bedtime? ...why settle for this? enter sleep number, and the lowest prices of the season.

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t. rowe price. invest with confidence. iall across the state belthe economy is growing,day. with creative new business incentives, and the lowest taxes in decades, attracting the talent and companies of tomorrow. like in the hudson valley, with world class biotech. and on long island, where great universities are creating next generation technologies. let us help grow your company's tomorrow, today at business.ny.gov so strap yourselves in for action flo! small business edition. oh, no! i'm up to my neck in operating costs! i'll save the day! for plumbers and bakers and scapers of lawn,

she's got insurance savvy you can count on. you chipped my birdbath! now you're gonna pay! not so fast! i cover more than just cars and trucks. ♪ action flo did somebody say "insurance"? children: flo! ♪ action flo cut! can i get a smoothie, please? ooh! they got smoothies? for me. we now bring you to flint, michigan, a city under a state of emergency after its water supply was poisoned by toxic lead. this is a story that is part public health catastrophe and part political scandal, because back on april 2014 emergency managers working for michigan governor rick snyder decided to save money by switching flint from detroit's water system over to a new drinking water source, and that new water source was the flint river and the water corroded the city's pipes and it flowed through those pipes and

lead from those pipes leakched n the system. residents complained immediately with the color and taste of their water but detroit didn't switch back to the old water system for 1 1/2 years. this year it was discovered the city's infants and children with above-average lead levels had nearly doubled. this was devastating news for the people of flint because the neurological damage and behavioral effects of lead poisoning are believed to be irreversible. this tuesday governor rick snyder declared a deck cla mags of emergency and the same day the u.s. attorney's office is investigating the case for the residents of flint such actions came much too late and a message they sent loud and clear on friday when protesters gathered in the rain to call for their governor's resignation and arrest for the state's mishandling of the water crisis there. even now at this moment, health experts say the water is too toxic to drink.

i'm joined now by one of the residents who is taking action to address the situation in flint with the help of volunteers and donations, is distributing bottles of water to her community. good morning. >> good morning, melissa. >> i know that your organization is distributing bottled water for free to the community. because your community here does not have access to clean water. tell me more about what this effort is. >> well, it is called bottles for the babies. basically it was just a grassroots effort. heard about the situation of course and that was going on in my city and just was called to immediate action personally. i drove myself get out and go fill up my car with water and go take it to the nearest school. that's how it started. >> this is an amazing and meaningful effort. as someone who lived in a hurricane zone for a long time i know bottled water can get you through a couple of days. if you don't have running water. but we're not talking about a

couple of days here. this is an ongoing crisis. >> unfortunately, yes, it is. it is frustrating. the people here are angry and we want him to step down, him and his administration. >> stick with us, don't go away. jamal, you are from detroit. >> i am. i -- there is a lot of disgust about governor snyder on this, not only in flint but also in detroit. you think about what's happened in flint over the last generation,er in's down to 100,000 people left in the city. 40% are underneath the poverty level. it is sort of like detroit without some of the motown sex appeal. some of the same dynamics are happening. i think snyder's going to have to really -- the state is wrestling with what to do with this governor. >> this is not a political scandal about e-mails. this is not -- this is about children, infants in a city being poisoned by its water, by

choices made by unelected officials, appointed by this governor. if this happened somewhere other than the united states i feel like we would just say that's unacceptable. >> absolutely. in fact, the u.n. had actually issued a scathing report directed to detroit in 2014 because they were looking at cutting off water supply to people who were falling behind on their bills. much like the city, the residents didn't have money either. we regard water as a basic human right so i think there is this issue here, here we are in the united states where that's just what's is assumed to be the case and now you are seeing that that isn't. one of the biggest questions here, too, this decision is made by an unelected official so who's going to be held accountable? >> sabrina brought up the point about the detroit water bills. but i was shocked to learn flint is still sending water bills to the household of residents despite the fact that the water is unsafe? >> absolutely. and not only water bills, but

shut-off notices. if feels like extortion, to say the least. >> wait a minute. they're sending shut-off notices. >> shut-off notices. isn't that something? you're forcing the people to pay for poison. we know it is not good to drink but it is not good for any other thing but flushing your toilet. >> you are not supposed to be showering in it or washing your clothes -- >> oeshh, no, absolutely not. unfortunately, a lot of people don't have a choice. >> lead is going to hurt these children. >> it has. >> hurting these children's education prospects, hurting their economic prospects. when they end up in the criminal justice system, it is because of what is happening. >> you poison children, we found it in a very short period of time. these families must have

financial ben -- i mean these are medical bills and educational crises and health crises for their lives. we know about the impact of lead. can you meal me one more thing to try to end on some kind of happy note, tell me what your organization will do going forward to try to hope mitigate some of this? >> absolutely. again, just as when we started, it is to get clean water to those who need it most. of course, that's all of the city of flint. our organization is just reaching out to people who can't get to us. we're looking to partner with the local physicians and nurses, the visiting nurses hopefully and to get into the homes of people who can't get to us. that's what our goal is. >> thank you, lanice lawson in flint, michigan. a reminder of the power of community and citizenship and of being a food soldier even in the context of something this who a

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on tuesday, president obama will deliver his final state of the union address. it's an opportunity for him to lay out his vision for beau the public and his colleagues in washington. by looking back at his past speeches we can gain some insights into his evolution as a president. now, during his first address to a joint session of congress in 2009, he was all hope and change evening in t even in the depths of the recession. >> while our economy may be weakened and our confidence shaken, we are living through difficult and uncertain times tonight i want every american to know this, we will rebuild, we will recover and the united states of america will emerge stronger than before. >> a year later in 2010 one

issue dominated the rest -- health care reform. >> here's what i ask congress -- couldn't walk away from reform. not now. not when we are so close. let us find a way to come together and finish the job for the american people. let's get it done. let's get it done. >> well, he got it done, but it did cost him the house in the following mid-term election. so with his next address he acknowledged his new reality. >> with their votes they've determined that governing will now be a shared responsibility between parties. new laws will only pass with support from democrats and republicans. we will move forward together, or not at all. >> well, reconciliation is all fine and well but by 2012 he was back in campaign mode and he was not about to back down. >> we've come too far to turn back now.

as long as i'm president i will work with anyone in this chamber to build on this momentum. but i intend to fight obstruction with action and i will oppose any effort to return to the very same policies that brought on this economic crisis in the first place. >> now, by 2013, coming off his hard-fought re-election, he was back to business and he had high hopes for finally achieving immigration reform. >> we know what needs to be done, and as we speak, bipartisan groups in both chambers are working diligently to draft a bill and i applaud their efforts. let's get this done! send me a comprehensive immigration reform bill in the next few months and i will sign it right away and america will be better for it. >> wiell, we all know that that bill never made it to his desk. very few did at 2013 turned out to be least productive year for

congress in recent history. so in 2014 the president took some time to remind them what in whole government thing is all about. >> let's make this a year of action. that's what most americans want. for all of us in this chamber to focus on their lives, their hopes, their aspirations. >> and of course, last year we got a sneak peek of "bucket" obama. >> i have no more campaigns to run. my only agenda -- [ applause ] >> i know. because i won both of them. yeah. my only agenda for the next two

years is the same as the one i've had since the day i swore an oath on the steps of this capitol, to do what i believe is best for america. >> now, president obama's final state of the union address is expected to feature an empty chair. a long-time political device. but this time it will be used to demonstrate the horror reaped by gun violence in this country further proving that this will be a hallmark issue of his final year in office. so, we'll see you on tuesday, mr. president. and my panel will be back in the next hour when we look at what we can expect to hear from the president on tuesday. is he save being the best for last? and the weirdest thing this year so far. more "nerdland" at the top of the hour. ♪ ♪

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welcome back. i'm melissa harris-perry. in just two days, a national television audience will gather for one of the first moments in

a year of last moments of president barack obama's presidency. because tuesday night is the president's final state of the union address. he's got just one more chance to stand before the largest bully pulpit available to an american president and bring us the coming attractions for what he hopes to accomplish before he leaves the white house for the final time. he even released a trailer of sorts to give us a sneak peek into what's on his mind as he prepares the speech. >> it is what i want to focus on in this state of the union address. not just the remarkable progress we've made, not just what i wlant want to get done in the year ahead but what we all need to do together in the years to come. the big things that will guarantee an even stronger, better, more prosperous america for your kids. >> we can certainly expect some of the state of the union standards to which we've all become accustomed. there will be love from democrats in the form of raucous

applause, as always enthusiastically led by the president's right-hand man, vice president joe biden. oh, joe, why didn't you run? of course, there will be the usual opposing party side eyes from republicans who during those same moments will remain most emphatically in their seats. and there will be first lady michelle obama, looking fabulous and slaying every damn thing, while seated next to special invited guests that president obama will shout out in the every day americans portion of his address. with the rebounding economynd a declining unemployment rate, it is likely that we're going to hear the president's familiar assurance that, yes, state of the union is strong. but, there are also a few ways we can expect a flip of a traditional so-too script. we are in full swing of a presidential election so look for the president's policy agenda to signal hopes for his legacy.

he'll also be setting up an assist for the democratic successor to take it all the way for a win. then there will be one of the biggest changes we'll see in the optics of his speech this year. over the president's left shoulder, instead of the requisite looks of disapproval from the tanned face of former speaker of the house, john boehner, we can now look forward to the relatively paler complexion of his successor, new house speaker paul ryan. then there is this. the last state of the union is also the first state of the union since the full-blown emergence of "the bucket list." making federal prison visiting an amazings gracing and selfie stick using folks who want to pop off chicken gun reform action taking cry like nobody's watching no-damns obama. we don't look for a lame duck president on tuesday night because president obama has already let us know that he neat going out like that. the truth is we won't really know what will happen inle it happens but the political punditry is betting that

whatever it is is going to be big. so we thought why not do as pundits do when trying to predict the outcome of a political event that has yet to happen and engage in a lot of wild and rampant speculation. what if the president and first lady michelle obama take their cues from another power couple performance this week an switch roles a la channing tatum and jenna dejuan on the season premier of "lip sync battle," maybe inspired which channing's channeled of his iner beyonce and jenna paying homage to the stripper. maybe she'll add a few lines of dmx where my dogs at to none other than a special guest appearance by sonny and bo. as long as we are talking surprise guests, maybe they'll

be inspired by another epic moment from the show when gene bea herself showed up to show channing how it's done. if b. showed up for dejuan tatum you know she's coming from the president called. what if the president goes into full no-damns obama mode if into what was a weak sauce might drop on the jimmy fallon show in 2012 only this time he goes all rock him on him and slams it down when he's done to make sure it is broke. okay, fine, none of those things are going to happen. but this is the last state of the union from the country's first african-american president. it is going to be a state of the union not to be missed. jamal simmons, sabrina sadiqqi, robert traynam, and juan manuel

benitez. i'm sorry i made you all sit through that. anything can happen. we're just going to be wildly speculative. so what do you think will happen? >> well, think what we know is he's probably not going to give the full-on list. we've heard that before. if you look at his travel schedule, he's going to omaha, baton rouge, louisiana, he's going to places he hasn't been before. perhaps, perhaps he may be starting to make the case about poverty, particularly maybe as it impacts some white-americans which we don't hear a lot about and how his policies will make lives better around the next president needs to focus on the broad-based issues of income inequality. >> do you see it as a likely assist from whomever will be the democratic nominee? >> yes and no. i think to begin with, it is going to be a bucket speech. again, a victory lap after all these years. i think we're going to see him

stu turning to that inspirational leader we can assume barack obama is going to turn into when he leaves the white house. on the other hand, yes, he has to lay the groundwork for the democratic nominee. maybe he'll lay om some big themes and also make this election a continuation election instead of a change election. it all depends on the economy. right now the xh i is pretty st. recovery is really down, 5%. we'll see if in november the economy keeps the way it is right now and growth numbers are the same way, maybe voters will vote again with their pockets and they're going to give democrats another presidency. >> on one hand the possibility he's going to focus on poverty, but to focus on poverty would be to make certain kinds of claims about sort of the holes that have occurred in the economic recovery. >> i agree with both points. i think what the president is going to do is threat the needle. three needles. one is about his legacy and what he's accomplished over the lamb eight years.

also he'll hopefully lay out the future and talk about probably prof poverty but he'll probably link it to the jobless economy, saying there's still a lot to be done. then he can link it to china and talk about the devaluation of the currency there and also he can talk about the trade imbalance. there's still a lot of work to be done, then pass the baton to a republican or democrat, hopefully a democrat. on wednesday hillary clinton will be asked about the president's speech. she can take those themes hand apply it to her candidacy. >> i think in addition to the domestic agenda when he does this future look at what the post-obama years should look like he's also going to patalk about the role of the ut states on the world stage. you have escalating fears over the rice of isis, questions are being raised over his handling of foreign policy and you remember when he came in, of course after the iraq war a large part of his message was how do we view u.s. diplomatic relations around the world. i think you'll see him try and

re-affirm why his world view was actually the right approach for the country and also he will cite from my understanding from some assassination officials the nuclear deal with iran, the u.s.-cuba resemgs of diplomumpt diplomatic ties and try to re-affirm people's confidence in his role of terrorism around the world. >> the appalling humanitarian crisis in syria is a bit of a challenge. >> i think he needs to push back against those who do not believe the united states should be bringing in mr refugees. i don't think he'll dedicate a significant portion of his speech but he'll link it to immigration. >> there is a syrian refugee that's going to be in the first lady's box which suggests to me that he's going -- if you're in that box -- >> he's pretty good at this. it is called the heroes in the balcony. ronald reagan did this in 1982 where you put a good face to

good versus evil. president obama is really good at articulating a vision. he's very good as an aspirational leader. i do think he'll make us feel good as americans. >> one more thing about the box. this is kind of his beyonce moment because he's going to look back at it. he's got two really important figures from the 2008 campaign that are going to be in the box. take a listen to a conversation about that. >> the president's sat us down late last year to say i don't want it to be a list of policy choices. we have a lot of policy -- you'll hear a lot about that over the course of this year. but what he wants to do is talk about a vision for the future of this country. we feel like we can win this future. we feel very optimistic about the future. that's a big difference between us and what's going on in this public debate right now. >> 245 wasn't quite the one that i was looking for which is about edith childs and earl smith who are going to be the two folks from the 2008 campaign that are going to be there. that's the person who created

"fired up and ready to go." earl smith who gave up the kind of good luck charm. it is kind of this reminder that -- your point about that inspirational leader who we remember. >> it is the embodiment of hope. it's going back to ground zero and reminding us this is what this is all about, it is about the human faces that make this all possible. it is great to go back to circa 2007 to remind people this is what this is really about and this is why i'm president of the united states. >> if he's talking about the future and foreign policy is actually a help with hillary clinton without him endorsing her because bernie sanders doesn't really have a foreign policy/national security agenda. so the more that becomes an issue in the democratic primary, it reminds people of the stakes that are at play. and that maybe she is a little bit more prepared to do the full job than maybe bernie is. >> another issue with the box is that he plans to have an empty seat to represent the victims of gun violence. one of his most powerful and memorable moments in a state of

the union address was in 2013 when he had families of victims of gun violence sitting with michelle obama and he said they deserve a vote. gabby giffords, children of newtown and children of aurora. i think he will point to that empty seat and give another take on why there needs to be greatereon control. he views it as such a big part of his legacy. >> the president who we saw on tuesday, undoubtedly now a week later that piece will be there still. don't miss msnbc's live coverage of state of the union this tuesday at 8:00 p.m. eastern. up next, more. the president is a tough act to follow but we're going to take a look at who will be in the hot seat for the republicans. what if one piece of kale could protect you from diabetes? what if one sit-up could prevent heart disease? one. wishful thinking, right? but there is one step you can take to help prevent another serious disease. pneumococcal pneumonia. if you are 50 or older, one dose of the prevnar 13® vaccine

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state of the union address on tuesday night is going to be a tough act to follow. but the republican party is going to give it their best shot and their choice for the post rebuttal address, this year's chosen one is south carolina governor nikki haley. now, there's no question that governor haley has a pretty low bar for success given the most memorable moments from her rebuttal predecessors. they were not exactly moments that wanted -- that anyone wants to remember, but here they are. there was louisiana governor bobby jindal's response to the president's 2009 joint address to congress in which he was widely panned by many rebuttal watchers for the milquetoast response that fell far short of matching the president's soaring rhetoric. then of course my favorite, marco rubio, all anyone could talk about, the morning of at speech was what seemed like his unquenchable thirst. nevertheless, the gop's choice of nikki haley signals the party's high hopes for her ability to hold down not only the rebuttable but maybe possibly the vp spot on the

presidential election ticket. i've been saying this for a year, especially after what i think was the really lovely way that she managed the confederate flag question. >> you said it artfully, and that is whoever does the president's rebuttal, the bar is set so low. however, nikki haley is a unique person. though we did say that about bobby jindal as well. >> no, i didn't. >> nikki haley is very, very bright, and she comes from a state that's very important to the primary process after new hampshire and iowa. it is going to be important to see if she does anything differently, whether in a town hall format, in front of a fireplace. clearly we know everything she will say. whatever the president is for she will be against. i think it is important to look at her through a potential vice president lens. how comfortable is she in front of a national audience. >> i really hope they don't put her in front of a fireplace on a

couch. they should make her seem executive -- >> she's helped here because normally you wouldn't necessarily pick a south carolina politician because of all the racial issues that exist in south carolina. but now she's inoculated herself from you will a those attacks. the hillary clinton at the top of the ticket, perhaps. then you've got perhaps nikki haley at the bottom of the ticket to a male nominee. >> the interesting thing about nikki haley, she proactively habld t handled the flag. she went out front. >> whatever you think about all the rest of the policies in that moment in which the whole country was -- in fact the whole world was watching she really did beautifully handle it. i done think there is any way you can take that from her. >> what's notable about her is in this fractured republican primary where there is so much conversation about the divisions being created and rhetoric against immigrants and struggles they're having with demographics, it wasn't just

about the confederate flag. but amid the syrian refugee rooi crisis she was one of the few republican governors who said south carolina will open its doors to syrian refugees. i think she's trying to present herself as a more unifying figure. >> she also has a big economic story out of south carolina. it's sort of the rise of the new south, right? but i had long thought she was the vp choice but if cruz or rubio end up at the top, can you imagine a ticket where both folks on the republican side are people of color? >> that will be difficult not only because of that but also because of the age. because they can say marco rubio's too young. i think they are the same age, early 40s. on the other hand i think it is great they picked nikki haley. any time one of the major parties puts forward a female executive we don't see that many women in politics. we were talking about hillary

clinton, democratic party, or carly fiorina, but it is a male dominated conversation so far. i think it is great when any of the parties highlight the talent that they have. >> that's a lot of change at the top. i'm not sure the american people are comfortable with that. >> the american people are ready. >> you really think the american people are ready for a cuban-american president and also an indian-american vice president? >> yes, we can. yes. look, they're not my cup of tea but let me say this. for me, the fact that it is even possible on the republican side is an extraordinary shift in what the american political mill democratmil millue is. it is also a question of what happens happening on the democratic side. at the moment we don't seem to have a bench of executives at that depth and it is a question of what the party will, in part,

do. one more thing, coming back to the president's state of the union. you made the point about rubio and haley both being young. this is a president leaving after two terms who is extremely young, who may have as much life left after the american presidency as before. i'm just wondering how that affects the state of the union. he might be setting out not a five or ten-year legacy but a four or five-decade of work. >> bill clinton chose al gore and that set that new america era. >> if the pr i'm not sure the republicans can pull it off. >> the donald trump conversation around immigration, that would be an obstacle for them because they would have that potential where would that suppress turnout among their base. if you've seen reaction to immigration issue on -- that's dominated really, that's defying their primary, that's where it

becomes difficult. >> have you seen how their bails feels about hillary clinton if she ends up at the top? there are various ways to stoke turnout. >> to your point, we are talking about color and poverty and race and so forth in the republican party. just this weekend south carolina, there was jack kemp -- or jimmy kemp, son of -- >> hey, that is my upcoming blog. they just teedzing all the stuff! b thank you. up next, how little common sense helped to launch a revolution. life. so when my asthma symptoms kept coming back on my long-term control medicine, i talked to my doctor and found a missing piece in my asthma treatment. once-daily breo prevents asthma symptoms. breo is for adults with asthma not well controlled on a long-term asthma control medicine, like an inhaled corticosteroid. breo won't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden breathing problems. breo opens up airways to help improve breathing for a full 24 hours. breo contains a type of medicine

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know better sleep with sleep number. parking is hard to find. seems like everyone drives. and those who do should switch to geico because you could save hundreds on car insurance. ah, perfect. valet parking. evening, sir. hello! here's the keys. and, uh, go easy on my ride, mate. hm, wouldn't mind some of that beef wellington... to see how much you could save on car insurance, go to geico.com. ah! (car alarm sounds) it's ok! on this day in 1776, writer thomas payne published the pamphlet "common sense" and helped write a critical chapter in american history. the 47-page pamphlet with his its stirring but simple language is credited for uniting colonial residents and political leaders

on the idea of american independence from britain. payne had been in the colonies for just little more than a year when he wrote, "i offer nothing more than simple facts, plain arguments, and common sense. there is something very absurd in supposing a continent to be perpetually gofred lly governe island." he painted the struggle of 13 colonies as a value yabt battle that would transform the world writing the cause of america is in a great measure the cause of all mankind. we have the power to begin the world again. the pamphlet was an instant and influential hit selling more than half a million copies and payne backed up his words with action not only fighting with the continental army once the revolutionary war began but know natu donating his profit from "common sense" to buy supplies.

as george washington planned to cause the delaware river with troops suffering from exhaustion and frostbite he tried to inspire them with these words -- these are the times that try men's souls. tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered. yet we have this consolation with us that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. the next day, washington and his troops went on to a critical victory and the words of thomas paine have echoed throughout american history stirring people across the political divide. in 1980 ronald reagan quoted paine while accepting the republican presidential nomination. >> there are no words to express the extraordinary strength and character of this breed of people we call american. they are the kind of men and women tom paine had in mind when he wrote, during the darkest days of the american revolution, we have it in our power to begin the world over again.

>> 29 years later, the first african-american president in his first inaugural address would invoke the words of paine, the very words used to inspire droops during the american revolution. >> when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people. let it be told to the future world that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive, that the city and the country alarmed at one common danger came forth to meet it. >> the words of thomas paine, words that have inspired generations of americans helped turn 13 colonies into a mighty country and have their biggest impact in a small pamphlet first published on this day january 10th, 1776. we can help guide your investments through good times and bad. for over 75 years,

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republican candidates for president took on the issue of poverty at a forum in south carolina hosted by the jack kemp foundation. before we get to what they said, it is helpful to know who jack kemp was and what he meant and still means to the republican party. kemp was a long-time member of congress, a vice presidential candidate and secretary of the federal housing department. most importantly, he was the man most responsible for the republican party's focus on tax cuts as a tool of economic growth and prosperity. it was kemp who convinced ronald ray gran to run for president on a promise of tax cuts. and kemp who authored the 23% tax cut that reagan signed into law. but, kemp also dubbed himself a "bleeding heart conservative," and he didn't advocate cutting government benefits to pay for those tax cuts. in fact, as housing secretary under the first president bush, he pushed for more spending on anti-poverty programs. he spoke passionately about

america's duty to help the poor and his centerpiece proposal was a quarter billion dollar program that sold public housing units to tenants. unfortunately, there isn't necessarily any evidence to suggest that kemp's programs did anything to aleleviate poverty and they did not continue after his tenure. but, kemp remains a model to conservatives like house speaker paul ryan who moderated yesterday's forum. and who's carved out a space for himself as the republican voice on poverty. one common theme among the 2016ers speaking at the forum was that the republicans must do a better job of selling themselves as the party of poor. >> it begins by convincing people that you actually care about what they're going through, because what the other side is going to say is the respects, the conservatives, they're just looking to gut anti-poverty programs. >> when we go there and we talk about what we believe, they actually resonate with it and we have to stop having this phobia. we have much better policies than the democrats do.

>> you got to go sell it. the good in u.s. is we have a huge opportunity here because the president's policies have failed. >> our party has failed in going in to those places because we've said we don't get instant gratification back so therefore, why go there. we need to go there, show up and campaign in places where we're uncomfortable. >> joining my panel now, tiana gaines, and rebecca bellas. thank you. what do you think about this idea that the primary problem that republicans have is simply in selling their programs and explaining clearly enough how the plans of the republican party will impact and affect and assist people living in poverty? >> well, i think that it is really funny that they feel like they have to sell themselves, that the wording to me was just a little bit funny. but i am happy that they are

taking abreast of it and they're all working for it but as i said before, you don't need anyone to tell my story. i can tell my story best. i did remember at some point in time he said with el, we are listening. it is one thing to less listen, it is another thing to hear, it is another thing to act. at this time in 2016 we need action. we don't need head talking pieces. we don't need someone to pretend what's going on. we need for you to invite me to the table so i can tell you exactly what works, what doesn't work and how we can work together to make sure that these programs stay in and to make sure that we have a voice at the table. >> to me, both of those points are such critical ones. rebecca, both that it is good that both -- at least i just wlant to assert -- tell me if you think i'm wrong -- that it is good that boert partith part talking about putting issues of poverty on the table but it can't just be just candidates listening. we have to have folks living in circumstances of poverty to have conversations.

>> i couldn't agree more. that's why i'm always honored to be sitting this close to tianna and having this conversation with you. i think unfortunately we have seen that republicans have gotten better at selling themselves on this. they have upped their game big-time when it comes to talking about poverty. gone are the days of the 47%, now we're hearing opportunity and we're hearing right to rise. the problem is that once you get beneath the surface, it might be better lipstick but it is the same old pig. right? it's about block granting and slashing vital programs and sending them to the states. it is about telling everyone to get married. telling everyone to just get a job. what you didn't hear yesterday was what should have been top of the agenda if republicans really were serious about expanding opportunity and cutting poverty and that's raising the minimum wage. in this country our federal minimum wage is a poverty wage. what that means is we've got millions of americans who are working harder than ever and they're falling further and further behind and they aren't able to make ends meet through

work alone. they have tho turn o turn to pu assistance. if you were to raise the minimum wage you would not only lift millions of americans out of poverty but you would also shrink spending on public assistance which is what republicans claim they want to do. >> for me, this was maybe the most distressing piece of the forum for me was the distinction between people living in poverty and people working. when in fact we know that working people in this country are working and living in poverty. just so you know i'm not just making this up. take a listen to a bunch of the candidates as though working can eliminate poverty. >> work needs to be the single biggest requirements. no more waivers as this administration has done. >> you have to do more than just talk about work. you have to really reward the people who are out there doing. >> so we got to make sure that we have incentives for people to rise and not put them in a position of where they go to

work and they lose more than what they gain and they're like this system is terrible. >> let's teach those people that when they go to work, they get skills, they meet people, they get opportunities, they get to climb the ladder, they get much better off than the person who's just sitting at home receiving those things. >> no matter how much you say that you need to show up and talk to those people and sell the message, if you don't listen to the experts, if you don't talk to people like them to learn about the issues and how to elavaalleviate this problem, be you don't have a message to sell. only thing people are hearing so far for decades is that trickle-down economics is going to rise them up from poverty. we've seen before from experience that doesn't work. trickle-down economicsnd a the message if you're still poor, you're not trying enough. >> first, let me applaud the republican party for having this conversation. first they're starting off with

a positive. let's applaud them for doing that. jack kemp is the one who started this conversation 30, almost 40 years ago. again i think we need to focus on that a little bit. i also want to be political but also a little personal. this is south carolina, these are presidential candidates on the eve of a south carolina primary so what they are spe speaking in is political code. that's first and foremost, that's just the moral reality of the situation. now the personal. we now know that there are a lot of people out there that are working poor. living paycheck to paycheck and the longer and harder they work, they still bring home less. we know 40.2 million people are living in poverty. we know $2452 know 234 -- $24,0s not enough to live in any city. i view this as very transactional. we sell a lot of things but we as the consumers or you as the

consumer choose whether or not this is a good product. the republican party has to do a much better job not just of telling or marketing themselves to all americans but to your point, going deeper into the details here. let's be honest about the details. as well intentioned as a lot of our programs are, whether it is head start, whether it is welfare, there are some kinks in that system and there is room for improvement. let's have the kwfrconversation about the room for improvement and what really shgs wou lly wo what's not. >> okay. right after the break. i do my best to manage. but it's hard to keep up with it. your body and your diabetes change over time. your treatment plan may too. know your options. once-daily toujeo® is a long-acting insulin from the makers of lantus®. it releases slowly to provide consistent insulin levels for a full 24 hours. toujeo® also provides proven full 24-hour blood sugar control and significant a1c reduction.

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iall across the state belthe economy is growing,day. with creative new business incentives, and the lowest taxes in decades, attracting the talent and companies of tomorrow. like in the hudson valley, with world class biotech. and on long island, where great universities are creating next generation technologies. let us help grow your company's tomorrow, today at business.ny.gov house speaker paul ryan appeared on face the nation this morning and asked about past republicans who tour odd poor areas when campaigning like jack kemp. he said this -- >> i think it is a mistake that's been made. i think that's exactly right. we have got to go and compete for the minds and hearts and votes of everybody in this country, no matter who they are.

what i think we've had is one party takes a group of people for granted and another party has not paid attention to them. >> so you got a chance to meet mr. ryan. >> yes. >> and tell me a little bit about the context of that. >> so i went down and i was able to speak assen ean expert witn. which i don't think of myself as an expert. i think of myself speaking out for a people that don't have a voi voice. i appreciated that but where we at now? i would love to have another conversation with mr. paul ryan because he is now in a different place so he has the power to sit down across the table from me and let's have a joint conversation. i was a little disturbed about the conversation that was work, work, work, work, work. what about those who work constantly, every day? sometimes, two, three jobs. yet can still not find themselves to pull themselves out of poverty.

let's talk about the single parent, let's talk about the working people. it's the working -- the people who work the hardest always seems like sometimes we're the ones that are talked about as if we're the people over there. when you start realizing that we're not the people over there, that we need to be the people over here and so we can talk together and stop acting like kids in the sandbox throwing sand back and forth and realize that we're people, then we can really get a solid answer to exactly what they are trying to do. >> there was this moment when mr. ryan was considering the offer to become the speaker. he said this, to remind ourselves. i'm sorry. he said that he really didn't want to give up time with his family. i know you're a mother. you work. your husband's working. you all have four children. let's take a moment and listen. >> i cannot, and i will not, give up my family time.

>> simple enough. but i just want to let you respond. >> well, you know, it always -- it really perturbed me, i'm going to be honest, when he said he wouldn't give up his family time because we give up family time all the time. we give up family time when we have to go back and for the to sit in food pantry lines. we give up time when we have to go back and forth to the welfare office. my family time with my family is just as important as his family time. i feel like at first, they did not want to even think about the thought of making sure that they held on to sick and paid family leave to those who have kids with medical disabilities like myself. wasn't even a question. but you almost demanded it. i'm not going to give up my family time. so i found that to be really sad that it's -- so it's basically you do as i say and not do as i do type of motto. >> to that point, right, this really gets to the very heart of it. i think, unfortunately, what we heard at yesterday's summit was that republicans view poverty as an us and them issue.

they've been talking about i'm going to go out and sell this to these other people. poverty is about all of us. right? >> exactly. >> if you actually look at numbers, we aren't talking about some permanent class of people who are stuck at the bottom year in and year out. we're talking about musical chairs. we're talking about people -- >>. >> americans cycling through poverty -- >> yes. half of americans will experience at least one year of being poor or teetering right on the edge of poverty. when you add in needing to turn to a safety net or becoming unemployed, we're talking about 4 in 5 americans. this is all of us. it is not some "other," or people on the wrong side of the tracks. >> it is also, in part, why anti-poverty programs don't just look -- we saw mr. bush say that he would want to cut food stamps. right? but you know what else, a high-quality public transportation system, building infrastructure. because if you don't have to wait for the bus for an hour and a half, you can actually see your kids for a moment before you have to get on the bus to go

to work but we often don't talk about that kind of infrastructure development as constituting anti-poverty program but it in fact is. >> i'm a bit befuddled. at least we're having on the republican side the conversation. i look at it from a different angle. if we weren't, it is almost like damned if you do, damned if you don't. if we weren't, people would be saying why aren't they talking about this. why aren't they having a conversation. you can disagree with the policy or process, but at least they're thinking about this proactively. again i go back to that. again, this is something we choose not to talk about because i guess it is an inconvenient truth but there are some policies that are in place that aren't working. the question becomes how can we have a collective conversation putting the republican and democrat, liberal/conservative lens aside saying how do we improve -- >> let me just say, the stamp program is the main things that keeps folks from falling even further down.

>> it is a vital safety net. >> how are you going to set the bar so low? that means that a major political party is saying, well, we didn't really give up on the poor. we are talking about their issues for one day and we're just telling them that maybe they're not listening to us. >> so what is your solution? >> the solution is that they need to come up with specific proposals, number one. they have to come up with more than just a "no" when the other party artis proposing free community college or raising the minimum wage. then this if they admire so much ronald reagan, why don't they come to the south bronx like he did 1234. >> i could not agree more. talking is a great first step. but if we give them too much credit for just talking and we ignore the fact that you can drive a truck through the gap between their rhetoric and reality of their policies, we are doing a major disservice to 47 million americans. >> i want to say thank you you to my guests. up next, the weirdest thing up next, the weirdest thing of the year -- so far. so when my asthma symptoms kept coming back

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now that we're comfortably settled into 2016, it's time to start a new tradition. i'm calling it the weirdest thimg in the world -- excuse me, this year, so far. for the first installment it's much ado about booties. the booties of republican presidential contender marco rubio. it all started last week when "the new york times" michael barbaro tweeted that senator rubio was rocking some seriously fashionable black booties in new hampshire. setting off a media firestorm. his gop rivals wasted no time in getting in on the fun, like rand paul. >> i'm here in whoopi goldberg's office trying to choose some shoes. rubio has those cool new boots and i don't want to be outdone. >> carly fiorina raised the stakes, and rick tyler for ted cruz's campaign tweeted a new york magazine article

proclaiming that a vote for marco rubio is a vote for men's high heeled booties. while mr. rubio called it craziness, he's said to have set the slick looking floor shines aside for now which is a shame because, there may be a little perverse justice in the fact that the fashion firestorm does not center on either of the women candidates but it's one-sided as mr. rubio is far from the only man of the gop to take pride in his footwear. now let's take a look at these black ostrich cowboy boots with, as you can see, a small heel for support. nice, right? well, guess what, rick tyler. those are none other than your guy ted cruz's preferred argument books. he's also been seen sporting another pair in carmel. they're gorgeous. and back in october, jeb bush opted for a little flair on his

debating boots. and president ronald reagan, the macho cowboy president himself kick up his heels without any shame. senator rubio, don't mind the haters. who doesn't mine rocking a fly pair of shoes from time to time. i do. but with the sprint to iowa and new hampshire in full swing, the biggest political story at the beginning of the year are in 2016 turned out to be about the shoes the candidates are running in? that's got to be about the weirdest thing that's happened this year -- so far anyway. one last note. today is a bit of a sad day here in nerdland. after leading this team for nearly four years, our executive produce ir eric salsman is moving on to an exciting new gig at msnbc. over the years, we've seen nerd comes and we've seen nerds go. it's our nature as a business, lots of talented young producers

who stop through "mhp" show on their way to greatness. through every transition, eric was here. the true king of nerdland. eric makes coming to work, well, an adventure. and there is nothing quite like eric on those days when his mood is up and his coffee cup is full. he has 1,000 ideas an hour. boundless energy. jaw-dropping enthusiasm, endless stories and corny jokes. and a personal sound track of songs that he's composed for his daughters, just to make all the munda mundane daily tasks special. while all the nerd loves eric, what he and i have is special. i might not be the easiest host to produce, but eric has always been the first and best supporter of this show and of me. i've made tv with eric longer than i was married to my first husband. eric is our irreplaceable inspiration. our fierce advocate.

our creative partner. our true friend and great teacher. eric is the little nerd who could. the mighty leader of our motley crew. as we say, once a nerd, always a nerd. that's our show for today. thanks to you for watching. i'm not going to cry, and i'm going to see you next saturday at 10:00 a.m. time for a preview of "weekends with alex witt." richard lui is in for alex. plus, the legal trouble that could lie ahead. tired of ever -- three weeks to go before iowa, new numbers on the race between bernie sanders and hillary clinton. historic cold. the soul-crushing temperatures in store for the wild card game between the seahawks and vikings. don't go anywhere. we'll be right back.

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hello to you. it's high noon in the east. 9:00 in the west. sean penn meeting el chapo. he lands a controversial interview with the mexican druglord. what the fallout could be for penn and the actress who helped make that happen. no maybes? >> no maybes. i'm not leaving. >> you're going straight to the convention. >> maybe that can happen. >> he's in it for the long haul. in a new interview on "meet the press" donald trump talks about what happens if he loses iowa and while he'll not stop talking about former president bill clinton's past. and absolutely gargan tu an. the powerball expected to grow to $1.3 billion. we start this sunday hour with some extraordinary new developments following the arrest of the mexican