your perspective. appreciate it. >> thank you. that's going to do it for this hour of msnbc live. i'm kate snow. "mtp daily" begins right now. if it's tuesday, the people want more debates, so let's give the people what they want. new hampshire, next thursday, prime-time, the "union leader" will host it for the democrats, msnbc will televise, rachel and yours truly will moderate it. this is "mtp daily" and it starts right now. six days, every hour feels like a day these days. good evening and welcome to "mtp daily." we are happy to kick things off tonight with some potentially big news in response to growing calls from voters in new hampshire, especially from some democratic leaders, for more opportunity to hear from the two democratic candidates. the new hampshi"new hampshire u"

has just announced they will host a debate next february 4th in new hampshire. and we are excited to partner with the "union leader." we're going to air their debate live in prime-time right here on msnbc. it will be the only democratic debate on the schedule between the iowa caucuses and new hampshire primary. if this doesn't happen -- if this didn't happen, it would have been the first time in over a generation that there would have been no debate between democrats in an open presidential race between iowa and new hampshire. and i'm especially excited to say that i'll be co-moderating this debate with my colleague, rachel maddow, who, by the way, has heard it straight from the two top candidates, hillary clinton and bernie sanders themselves, in recent days that they are game for more debates. >> do you wish there were more debates? are you enjoying these debates when they do happen? >> i love the debates. i really do. >> count me in as one person, you know, if secretary clinton and governor o'malley want to do it, i'm there. i love debates. >> so there it is.

they all want more debates. so we're giving 'em one. now let's turn to tonight's take. just as the east coast begins to thaw out, iowa is heating up with less than a week to go before the first contest of the 2016 season. and we start tonight with the democrats. in one short week, clinton and sanders have undergone a complete role reversal. eight days ago, when the candidates shared a stage in south carolina, that debate night was all about sanders. they were neck and neck in iowa polling, and clinton was the aggressor and the whole debate felt like it was about sanders. last night, the three candidates appeared on the same stage, though at separate times, and this time sanders assumed the role of a challenger, falling slightly behind. >> hillary clinton voted for the war in iraq. i led the effort against wall street deregulation, see where hillary clinton was on this issue. why did it take hillary clinton such a long time before she came into opposition to the keystone

pipeline? secretary clinton was secretary of state of this country for four years. that is a lot of experience. dick cheney, he had a lot of experience, too. >> that was something else. that was his response when asked to react to simply a clinton political ad. sanders was noticeably on the defensive at times. meanwhile, listen to how clinton responded to that much-talked about sanders' closing spot. >> i think that's fabulous. i loved it. you campaign in poetry, you govern in prose. and we need a lot more poetry in this campaign and in our country. so, i applaud that. >> she was referring, of course, to the america ad -- our mistake for not showing that a little bit. that was a far cry, though, from how she spoke to iowa crowds just two weeks ago, when she took a lot of chances to take jabs at sanders for what she called were unrealistic campaign promises. >> i wish that we could elect a democratic president who could wave a magic wand and say, we

shall do this, and we shall do that. that ain't the real world we're living in. >> but you can tell, the clinton camp has pulled back on some attacks. they haven't stopped hugging president obama, though. that's something she kept his policies very close to her last night and she seemed to be happy to embrace the warmth of his strong praise. in fact, clinton looked like a candidate with a lead that she wants to keep. and today, sanders seemed to concede that maybe she has the edge in iowa. >> she's done this once before, we didn't. he has a very strong organization and i applaud her for that. we stand a real chance to create a large voter turnout. i doubt that it will be as high as 2008. wish it was. but i don't think it will be. >> the latest polls from fox news has clinton with a six-point lead among likely caucusgoers. the clinton camp clearly has pulled something back. perhaps sensing that derision was not working in the final days before caucus night. but the development follows a larger trend within the party itself.

>> i have tried, as i hope you all know, not to run a negative campaign. and by the way, with a few exceptions, we're doing a lot better than the republicans in that regard. but on the other hand, that's not a very high bar to reach, so. >> sanders is right. it's actually amazing that in a race this close, we haven't seen any negative ads on the democratic side. in fact, it's the biggest difference between the two campaigns, republican and democrat. the race right now is so negative on the republican side, on tv. on the democratic side, it's really only negative in your e-mail inbox. yes, there are conference calls, there are occasional sharp words from a surrogate. but with as close of a race as it is, it's certainly remarkable we aren't seeing the air waves flo flooded. so instead the advertisements getting the most attention today are coming from a conservative super pac who tried to stick their hand into the democratic race. >> now bernie's doubling down with medicare for all. which is basically single-payer,

government-sponsored health care. no big insurance companies, just more government spending. paid for by raising taxes on wall street, big business, and the super rich. senator bernie sanders, too liberal for iowa. >> so the group founded by republican donor and former td ameritrade boss, joe rickets, put out what is seemingly, frankly, a ham-handed attempt, i think, to bait democrats to support sanders, with just a few days to go. will voters take it? and i have to say, i think this was a clear example of republican ad makers mistaking the idea that somehow democrats respond to the word "liberal" base voters the same way republican base voters respond to the word "conservative." trust me, they just don't know. anyway, we'll hear from the sanders' sigh and former ohio state senator, nina turner, in a moment. but first i want to bring in brian fallon. let me start with what is -- and

i don't think it's just my observation, but the observation of others. have you guys changed your tone in dealing with bernie sanders over the last few days? >> i don't think so, chuck. i think what you've seen is over the last couple of weeks, as the polls tightened in iowa and in new hampshire, there was a natural degree of scrutiny that was being applied to senator sanders about issues like his record on guns, and he's had to explain some of his previous positions. that's normal for somebody who is a viable contender for the democratic nomination, to encounter that. he still hasn't seemed to get his sea legs in terms of how he answers those questions. last night at the forum, hosted by cnn, he continued to try to excuse his vote in 2003 and 2005, for immunity for gunmakers, by suggesting he voted for it, for the sake of child safety locks. that provision, however, wasn't in the bill in 2003. it was a straight immunity provision then. but, by and large, as you just noted in your hope, we have kept

this on the issues, with a few exceptions on the sanders' side. we, for our part, have kept it on the issues, and that's a natural and healthy thing and a stark contrast to what you're seeing on the republican side. >> it just seemed like a different hillary clinton last night, that she didn't seem to be as focused about bernie sanders' records as she was eight days ago. >> in these closing days, the final consideration that we think will be on the minds of iowans is who can get the job done, who can get results? who can translate the progressive values that senator sanders and secretary clinton both share into the hard work of governance, going up against a republican part that wants to repeal some of the signature achievements of this president. and i think as you heard president obama say yesterday, hillary clinton is uniquely suited to translate those progressive values into results. >> speaking of, we had -- as i noted there, there haven't been many negative tv ads against either one of you, except by this republican super pac, that

apparently yi don't know whethe you view it as an attack ad for bernie sanders or a promise until spot. how do you view the ad? >> it's a very transparent attempt to boost senator sanders. the republican party has decided the candidate they don't want to face in a general election is hillary clinton. >> so you think that ad peappea to liberals, to progressives? >> as you noted, i think it's a very ham-handed attempt to pull a mccaskill campaign-style trick. crafty, but in this case, they didn't pull it off as well as senator mccaskill did last time. some of the imagery of the so-called rich people in that add are cartoonish. but, yes, i do think it's designed to help animate the supporters of senator sanders. but interestingly, in the last couple of days, as you just played, he's now down playing his expectations that he actually stoked over the last few weeks. it was his campaign that predicted victory in iowa, and

not very long, it was his campaign adviser, tad devine, that suggested they needed to perform very well there. now they're lowballing the expected turnout. i think that suggests that hillary clinton has momentum in the last few days. >> let me ask you this, hillary clinton will not be in iowa for much of wednesday and much of thursday. off the trail in iowa to do some fund-raising. in the last week, should that raise some alarm bells to supporters, that you guys have some money, you're worried about money in the last week before the caucuses? >> no, chuck, we have events in iowa every day this week. >> i understand that, but you're off in the morning, basically gone for about a 36-hour period there to raise money. >> she'll be -- the fact is -- the fact is she'll be campaigning in iowa every day. she has events every day. and there'll be other events that and other meetings that she's taking outside the state. but there won't be a day that she's not in iowa. >> all right. brian fallen, i'll leave it there. i know we have logistical issues and then some to work out next

week, but i hopefully look forward to seeing you next thursday. >> well, they certainly picked an esteemed moderator for that potential new hampshire debate. >> all right, mr. fallen, thank you, sir. >> okay. yesterday, sanders won an endorsement from justin bamberg, who serves as south carolina state representative. and here's why it's notable. bamberg withdrew his support from hillary clinton to get behind sanders. but before there was bamberg, there was nina turner. she's the former ohio state senator who broke away from clinton in november to back sanders. the former ohio state senator and sanders' supporter nina turner joins me now. miss turner, welcome to "meet the press daily". >> thank you, chuck. >> let me ask you this, why did you switch? >> well, chuck, people want to make a big deal about a switch, but for me, similar to the representative, this is really about heart/soul agreement. and senator sanders, once you get to know him and hear his message, he really speaks to the needs of the people in this country. the people i serve and continue to serve. when he talks about increasing the minimum wage to $15 an hour,

that people should have a living wage and live a good life. when he talks about racial justice in this country, those are the things that the people that i serve want to hear about. they want to hear about family paid leave. and they don't want to talk about incremental progress, as i know that the clinton campaign wants to talk about. when you poor, you don't want to hear an elected official talk about incremental. you want to hear an elected official stand up and say that poor people and middle class people in this country, have every right to live a good life. and as the next president of the united states of america, you're going to do everything it takes to make sure they can have that good life. >> you know, some clinton supporters hear something like that, and they're like, you know, that sounds like you don't think president obama did enough. or if you don't believe in this idea of building a pond, where president obama did, you believe that maybe he wasn't as successful to your term. that's what some clinton supporters have pushed back on this idea of the entire sanders revolution. what do you say that?

>> first, i was a delegate for president obama in '08 and in 2012, somebody that stumped in ohio, especially in 2012, when republicans changed the voting rules. there's nobody that's been a greater champion for the president of the united states than i have in the great state of iowa. but let me tell you this.s aspi. there's no way we can go from yes, we can, no, we can't. and that's what the clinton campaign is promoting. this is not an indictment on the president of the united states of america. i regret that some folks are trying to drive a wedge between senator sanders' vision and all that president obama has accomplished, but within the administration, the next person that is coming behind you should want to aspire to do something greater and take us further. and that is what senator sanders is trying to do. and chuck, we would not be the united states of america that we are today if people wanted to go incrementally. i wouldn't -- my people wouldn't be free today if folks wanted to go incrementally based on the status quo. women would not have the right to vote today if we wanted to be

incremental. i would not be on your program today. i would probably be somewhere cooking today, as a domestic, if people wanted to go incrementally. so i think what is in the heart and soul of americans is the whole notion that we aspire for greater things. that it is not a radical idea to want people to have universal health care or for folks to have their college education paid for in this country, so they can live out their greatest greatness. so, chuck, this is not an indictment on president obama, but this is about a senator that has a vision that takes what the president has done to the next level. >> you know, on a campaign strategy front, the reason the clinton campaign feels so defendant in the long run is they believe that they're going to win a lion's share of the african-american vote. obviously, for senator sanders to win this nomination, he's going to have to get better acquainted in african-american communities, all around this country, particularly those early southern states that come in the primary calendar sooner. how does he do that?

obviously, you believe he. how does he do that. >> doing what he does right now, with the african-american community, he has surrogates like myself, he is working to own the vote. there's no doubt, he's a senator from vermont. he does not have the benefit of a national profile. there is no doubt about that. but i will tell you this about senator sanders, he's not going to take the black vote for granted. and i find it amazing that there is no other ethnic group folks are talking about that are already locked up. folks need to earn the african-american vote, just like they would do with any other ethnic group. you have to earn our vote, you don't own our vote. he's doing the things that are necessary to continue to earn that vote like anybody else that is running for office should have to. >> nina turner, a surrogate for the sanders' campaign, you bring a lot of passion. thanks for coming on, appreciate it. >> thank you, chuck. later, we're going to dig deep into the sanders' campaign origin story. find out which chapter of his past best predicts what a bernie sanders presidency would look like. here's a hint, we're going to his days when he was an

executive. it's part of our special series, "the making of a candidate. but first, a leap of faith. what donald trump's new evangelical endorsement means for the entire republican field. this is "mtp daily." we'll be right back. these are the hands that build the machines, the machines that sort, stack and seal. these are the hands that keep private information private. these are the hands of pitney bowes, the craftsmen of commerce. these are the hands that dig for opportunity, identify patterns, and uncover risk. these are the hands of pitney bowes, the craftsmen of commerce. in new york state, we believe tomorrow starts today. all across the state the economy is growing, 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.

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it said, "rocky mountaineer: all aboard amazing". with less than a week to go before the iowa caucuses, the candidates are making their closing arguments in person and on the airwaves. how about a little drumroll? we now have the total amount spent on campaign ads in iowa. and that total is $70 million. 7-0. the biggest overall spender in the hawkeye state, team bush. the super pac supporting bush has aired nearly $15 million worth of ads in iowa. try to find out how many of them are against cruz and trump. team rubio comes in second in overall spending there with nearly $12 million. again, how many of it aired against trump or cruz. the two republicans actually leading in iowa have spent far less. trump has shelled out $3.3 million in iowa ads, while cruz

has spent about $6 million. clinton has spent about $9 million. one of the biggest differences when it comes to ads, the content. the clinton and sanders' campaigns aren't really running negative ads this iowa, but the republicans and super pacs supporting them, they're absolutely running attack ads. we've got much more on the nastier tenor of the republican rays coming up on "mtp daily" right after this short break. my moderate to severe chronic plaque psoriasis made a simple trip to the grocery store anything but simple. so finally, i had an important conversation with my dermatologist about humira. he explained that humira works inside my body to target and help block a specific source of inflammation that contributes to my symptoms. in clinical trials, most adults saw 75% skin clearance. and the majority were clear or almost clear in just 4 months. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened; as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure.

before treatment, get tested for tb. tell your doctor if you've been to areas where certain fungal infections are common, and if you've had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have flu-like symptoms or sores. don't start humira if you have an infection. ask your dermatologist about humira. because with humira clearer skin is possible. it's less than a week until the iowa caucuses, and donald trump appears to be in clear command of the race. potentially. a new quinnipiac poll of what they say are likely iowa republican voters has trump on top with 31% of the vote. two points ahead of ted cruz. cruz, of course, is pulling out all the stops to try to close the gap and the campaign is up with another direct attack ad on trump, repeating his new york values' critique. >> i mean, hey, i only have been in new york city and manhattan my whole life, so my views are a

little bit different than if i'd lived in iowa. >> they are different, like on abortion. >> i am pro-choice in every respect. >> and what does trump think about iowa? >> how stupid are the people of iowa? >> donald trump, new york values, not ours. >> lots of trump's 1999 "meet the press" interview is in that ad. that ad is airing in iowa, along with three anti-trump ad from the cruz's meet the candidate ad. stop trump in iowa before it's too little. in fact, the christian broadcasting network's david brody obtained this video of cruz making this exact pitch to a group of iowa pastors. >> but i will say right now between donald and me, this is neck and neck. it is an absolute dead heat. >> and if donald wins iowa, he has a substantial lead in new hampshire. if uh he went on to win new

hampshire as well, there's a very good chance he could be unstoppable and be our nominee. >> the bad news for cruz on that front, trump announced an endorsement from a key evangelical leader, jerry falwell jr., one of the biggest names in the evangelical community. and unlike hillary clinton in the democratic side, trump isn't shy about rubbing an endorsement in an opponent's face. he got a head start earlier today on "morning joe." >> look, we have a very powerful endorsement coming down today, but so many people want to endorse us because they say, ted cruz, he's wacky. there's something missing there, there is something -- there's something wrong. and it's wonderful to be a rebel, but you've got to get some people on your side a little bit. here's a guy with all of the republican senators sitting out there, he deals with them every day, when he's there. he deals with them every day, and he doesn't have one senator supporting him, not one republican senator supporting him. it's pretty sad. >> so that's the challenge for ted cruz, who was on the trail this morning, with former

republican candidate and a trump casualty, rick perry. it is hard to get votes when your pitch to voters is, not vote for someone else. now, cruz talked to the press at one of his iowa stops today and he had this quote about what he called campaign conservatives. >> you know, every candidate can talk a good game on the trail. and we are so frustrated with campaign conservatives, people who tell us what they want to hear, but then go to washington and don't do what they said. every one of us have been burned by politicians who haven't followed through. >> joining me now, ken cuccinelli. you've been before in this role. welcome back, sir. >> good to see you. >> so jerry falwell jr. is an important evangelical leader in your home state of virginia. is it not an important endorsement for donald trump to be touting? >> you know, sure, you expect donald trump to tout it. i think it's probably more significant to have governor perry campaigning with ted cruz,

who is, frankly, beloved by evangelical community. and he was in this -- >> i think -- went against him? >> i don't know, he does unpredictable things, much like donald trump does unpredictable things, and i think you can add this to the list, but the biggest number of all, you put the poll up that's really within the margin of error, and the biggest number of all isn't talked much about. and that's about a third of voters in iowa are still undecided. if they brake for one candidate or the other, that candidate wins. >> it's an interesting new pitch i've not heard from cruz. i've heard it from every other candidate. got to stop trump. if you want to stop trump, you better do it in iowa. that's not an affirmative message these days. and for a long time, ted cruz has been an affirmative message guy. >> there's no question that his appeal is his consistent conservative history applied to policy. whether it's foreign policy, x taxation, protecting life and so

forth. something that contrasts very well with donald trump, but as you note, he's basically stating reality here to people. he's not denying it. we conservatives like to think we face reality, even if we don't necessarily appreciate it. >> you believe if trump gets airborne in iowa, he's going to be hard to stop. >> whenever anybody gets momentum, they're always harder to stop. he does have a lead in new hampshire. it appears that either -- it's either neck -- i think neck and neck is the best way to characterize iowa. so this race changes dramatically depending who wins iowa. >> he's got another key endorsement, sheriff joe arpaio, who for many conservative s who find immigration their most important issue, he is sort of a fixture in that community and he's with trump and not cruz. >> but i don't think he move miss ios many iowa voters. he is a fascination for those of us in the rest of the country, but never an influencer. so i don't think that one makes a big difference. i think what is going to finish this race out for cruz is, they

have built a machine on the ground there. and an awful lot of us, of every stripe, myself included, are going just from phone bank to door knock and they are targeting well. i've spoke to those in iowa who are with cruz and without cruz, and their the ground game is very strong and that's a powerful tool to bring you bear. >> bob dole's at it again. let me tell you what he said today in another interview with michael smerconish. he said, i don't think ted is a republican. he's a conservative extremist. and he adds, if it comes down to cruz and trump, i'm a big trump support. do you think the more dole talks against cruz, that that helps cruz or hurts him? >> well, i mean, ted is running against institutional washington. and bob dole, personifies institutional washington. it's what ted calls the washington cartel. i think you ask a good question. and i think bob dole plays in to

the campaign that ted has been running since march. i mean, this is not a new turn for him. this is what he's been doing all along. and one of ted's strengths is his consistent conservatism. and bob dole doesn't like that. >> will iowa voters -- >> -- reagan either. >> will iowa voters believe trump's an insider? >> they -- he's not an insider, but he's been dealing with all of them, including on the democratic side, donating repeatedly. what they won't believe is that he's somehow anti-hillary all of a sudden, after loving up on her for so long. and the biggest number, i think, in the polling, other undecideds, is the fact that consistently for weeks now, cruz beats hillary, trump loses to hillary. >> all right, ken cuccinelli on behalf of the cruz campaign, good to see you, sir. coming up, john kasich's kinetic energy in new hampshire. the governor joins us later this hour to talk about what certainly looks like to us as real momentum, potentially on the ground in the granite state. plus, making the candidate. a flashback to the '80s that could forecast what the country would look like if bernie sanders became chief executive. keep it right here.

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i got carried away last night at a town hall meeting. it's not the first time that i've gotten carried away and said something that i later apologized for. it doesn't happen often, but it happens. what i was objecting to both on sunday, monday, and i object to today is any, any type of characterization of what happened in jonas here to be anywhere near what happened in sandy. >> okay. so that was governor christie at a news conference in trenton, new jersey, today reacting to criticism he's received about making these comments about storm damage in new jersey at a new hampshire town hall yesterday. >> i heard some people actually, you know, compare it to sandy. i heard one crazy mayor down in south jersey say, this is worse flooding than sandy, what do you expect me to do? go down there with a mop?

>> christie has apologized to the mayor he called crazy. he sent representatives to survey damage on the jersey shore and returned to new jersey for previously scheduled meeting on atlantic city. the latest polling out of new hampshire showing christie falling a bit back into the high single digits. no telling whether or not this would impact his primary chances there. much more ahead on "mtp daily," but first, here's hampton pearson with today's cnbc market wra. >> stocks moves higher across the board, the dow rising 282 points with, the s&p up by 26. the nasdaq gaining 49. the federal reserve's rate setting open market committee began a two-day meeting earlier today. it's widely expected to keep interest rates unchanged. the central bank's statement is due tomorrow afternoon. apple's earnings came in better than expected but revenue and guidance disappointed. ipad and iphone shipments were also light. shares are slightly lower after-hours. that's it from cnbc, first in business worldwide.

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in today's "making of a candidate close-up," we're taking a look at bernie sanders and his four terms as mayor of burlington, vermont, or as his fans sometimes call it, the people's republic of burlington. in 1981, sanders defeated a five-time democratic incumbent we just ten votes in a state with a long history of electing moderate republicans that it only recently elected its first democratic senator. >> i think it's fair to say that it was a shock to the establishment. nobody thought we could win that election. >> he's right, actually. in his first year in office, by the way, 11 of the 13 alderman, democrats and republicans opposed everything sanders did. in the next election, sanders ran progressive candidates,

so-called sanderistas against the democrats on the counsel and won enough seats for veto power. >> there is one city in america where people have taken on the democratic party, the republican party, big business, the local newspaper, and the whole damned establishment and we beat 'em. >> some things never change, right? more than a thousand hours of tape, by the way, exist from sanders' time as mayor, thanks to a public access tv show he hosted called "bernie speaks." in this moment from 1987, sanders interviews several musicians who joined him to record a folk album called, "we shall overcome." the economic message will sound very familiar. >> we've doubled the number of billionaires in the last year, okay? you've got some people -- one guy's wealth group by $4 billion. one guy. now worth $8 billion. okay? you've got people sleeping out all over the streets, all over

america, okay? how come musicians aren't writing about that? >> how quaint, when somebody was worth just $4 billion. he boasts in his memoirs, in burlington, he out-republicaned the republicans, auditing the city's pension system for the first time in 25 years and fixing city streets. on the trail, especially for african-american audiences, sanders' touts his efforts to reform the police department. >> i was, as you all know, the mayor of burlington, vermont, for eight years. and in that capacity, worked very, very hard with our police department. >> and got to know many of our police officers and worked hard to reform our police department. >> we moved towards what you call community policing. >> the chairman of the police commission, one of the wealthiest men in the state, became an unlikely ally in 1987. "u.s. news & world report" named sanders one of the country's 20 best mayors. still, sanders' critics ridicules his leftist foreign policy in 1985.

he traveled to nicaragua at the behest of the sanderista government. when he came back, he praised both the sandersista and the castro government. >> more support than ronald reagan has among the american people. everybody was totally convinced that castro was the worst guy in the world. all the cuban people were going to rise up in rebellion against fidel castro. they forgot he educated them and gave them health care and totally transformal transformed. >> garrett nelson is a longtime sanders watcher. welcome, professor nelson. >> hello, chuck. >> i think we got the answer to what did a mayor sanders do when he ran into problems facing both parties, republicans and democrats. he just went and ran against them. so i take it that's what we should assume would happen if a president sanders ran into a gridlock and a roadblock with congress in his first year in

office? >> hard to do. very hard to do. and once again, we've god two parties, both have been around for two centuries for the democrats and 150 for the republicans. yeah, it's going to be hard to do that. jimmy carter tried it, tries to speak over the head of congress, to the people, and it didn't quite work. so, he's going to have to make some adjustments, make some sort of peace with at least the democrats. >> as an executive, when he was mayor of burlington, how did he handle, when things pop up that weren't what he campaigned on, right? that weren't what he was focused on. obviously, economic justice has been sort of the connective tissue for bernie sanders, the politician, for decades now. but not everything had to do with economic justice, as mayor of burlington. how did he handle those moments? >> one of the things about bernie's that's fascinating, bernie brought into burlington locals who are extraordinarily talented.

the people around bernie, you know, most burlingtonians, were really, really eager to have a chance to run the city. and they did so in an extraordinary way. they were very successful. the city has won multiple accolades, by the last count, 67 accolades since 2000 that burlington has achieved. and this is after bernie has left as mayor. so bernie totally changed the way in which the city operated and how people regarded themselves in the city. i came into burlington in 1968 and i can tell you, it was a sleepy community and, you know, we had to go down to middlebury to find a good bookstore and a good restaurant. but bernie's transformation of the city was remarkable. and the city remains remarkable today. >> so you're basically saying, the burlington of today, that the godfather of that city is bernie sanders? >> you got it. put it this way, i was not always willing to accept that denotation, but i would have to

say that now. because the people he brought into city government were incredibly creative and talented and we got an arts council and a youth council, and ag councils and women's councils. and they basically really just transformed the city. really made this city as open as possible to the citizenry. now, you have to understand that before bernie came, there was a very serious effort to sort of yupify burlington, push the poor people out of the city, into the surrounding communities, build high-rise, condos, very expensive dwellings. but bernie prevented that from happening. and he really made the waterfront park, if you've been to burlington, beautiful, as they say, it's accessible to the citizens. and he really made sure that the people of lower, middle, and lower income were not pushed out of the city. not priced out of the housing, and he just -- just remarkable, what he did. as i said, we've been somewhat skeptical of bernie over the years, but in retrospect, he made the difference.

>> wow, whofprofessor nelson, appreciate you sharing your insight on bernie sanders and his one time being an executive. thank you very much. we'll continue our "making of a candidate" series in the coming weeks, so stay tuned. all of the eight or so relevant candidates left in this race, we're all going to look at some part of their background that's not quite at the forefront, that may tell us a lot about what kind of president they could be. still to come tonight, we'll check in with presidential contender john kasich about what appears to be a recent rise in new hampshire. plus, the five ws of today's candidates, including why rand paul's 2016 run just got a little more interesting, and we're not talking the white house here. we'll be right back. ♪ i built my business with passion. but i keep it growing by making every dollar count. that's why i have the spark cash card from capital one. i earn unlimited 2% cash back on everything i buy for my studio. ♪ and that unlimited 2% cash back from spark means thousands of dollars each year going back into my business...

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that forms a protective barrier that helps keep stomach acid in the stomach where it belongs. for fast-acting, long-lasting relief. try gaviscon®. time for the ws. the who, it's nebraska senator ben sass hitting the non-trump stump. the freshman will campaign with both marco rubio and ted cruz over the next two days. sasse had an anti-trump twitter rant just a couple of days ago. now to the what. it's retail politics, paying off for martin o'malley. in late december, he held an iowa event that only had one person show up in bad weather, but at the time, the lone attendee said he wasn't sure who he'd back. politico reports he's made up his mind, and he's for o'malley. now to the where, it's vatican city. that's where iranian president hassan rouha hassan rouhani visited pope francis earlier today. the two talked for 40 minutes on middle east peace efforts.

now to the when, it's here on msnbc tomorrow night, my colleague rachel maddow is hosting a town hall in flint, michigan, to discuss the water crisis there with residents and their firsthand challenges. now to the why. lexington, kentucky, mayor set up a face-off. as for the why, paul's focus is still on the presidential race, but gray is a credible enough democratic challenger to make paul sweat a little bit. the kentucky gop changed its rules last year, so paul could run for two offices at once in 2016. well, less than a week before iowa, the republican establishment seems flummoxed as ever. jeb bush stuck in single digits in polling, marco rubio in low double digits with jeb bush still attacking him. we'll check in with john kasich in new hampshire. we'll be right back.

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or visit your24info.com. we said it before, ohio governor john kasich seems to be playing by john mccain's 1999 playbook, and that strategy might be playing some dividends. just take a look. kasich is now in third place in the most recent "boston herald"/franklin pierce poll. he's jumped six points since october. kasich scored more endorsements, two big new england papers, "boston globe" and the concord monitor. now, we'll see how much newspaper editorials matter to republican primary voters, but there's something happening. joining me now on the phone is governor john kasich. we keep meeting again like this, but i have to say, i keep seeing newspaper editorials. i keep saying, it's incremental progress. do you feel it? >> chuck, i don't want know what poll you're talking about, but we've got like seven of them and six of them, i'm in second

place. >> second or third. but in all of them, the trend line seems to be in the right direction for you. what is a good night for now? >> i'm sorry. didn't hear that. i'm on the bus. you said what is what now? >> what is a good night for you in new hampshire? you always have the story, but are you feeling good? >> you guys will talk about, you'll talk about, you know, start saying how i did. listen, we're on this magic tour bus. i can barely hear you. i think we have it straightened out now. i think we have to come out of here where you say wow, kasich does well, drives me into the national consciousness. as you know, i'm not well-known, but getting better known all the time. >> do you have, look one of the concerns, i've heard from some of the establish. donors is that okay, we like kasi kasich, we like christy, but rubio and bush have more of a national organization to build coming out of new hampshire than

kasich or christy what do you say to that? >> i don't think they know. we have people on the ground in south carolina, we have people on the ground in nevada. as you know, trent lot is heading my effort in mississippi, the governor in alabama. signed up our state chairman in louisiana. doing well in michigan. over 30 ballots. i mean, look, chuck, they said i wouldn't get in the race, they said i won't raise the money, they said i wouldn't get into the debate. they said i wouldn't make it to new hampshire. who are these people? >> yeah, well, i don't know who the they are, but they stay anonymous until they think they're right at the end. >> i gotcha. we're fine. we're having a great time. >> all right. i'll leave it there. are we going to see you in iowa before the caucuses or no? >> yeah i'm going to be there for the debate. i'm coming in tomorrow, and i'll be there for the debate and the day after. so i'll be around. >> all right. we'll see you in iowa as well. gov floor kasich, thanks for checking in with us.

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chicago tribune and molly. let me start with you. cruz and trump are the front-runners by a lot. they've spent a lot on this ad. they're still doing it. >> rubio trying to fund raise today with an email saying he's been the subject of $20 million of attack ads. >> he's right by the way. >> interesting thing going back to the kasich interview, you have this lane trying to play second in new hampshire. you have this warfare between the rubio and bush people. if they can get into second, they can -- if kasich plays spoiler, i don't think rubio or bush gets out. the establishment side of the gop continues through super tuesday. >> molly, is he right? >> i think the same thing. i think that's where they're headed. nobody gets out of new hampshire. >> i've been talking to some jeb donor today, and their feeling is the trump people and cruz people are fought gettable. why go after them. the f you look at a national

poll, the trump and cruz people are 50% -- >> but you just said, that's why you go after them. why do you rob banks. that's where the money is. >> but, they're a also involved in a suicide pact. they're more credible against each other with that particular segme segment. vote than rubio would be. >> siri aside there. >> why not trump and cruz. >> you can tell we can't handle the iphone. >> why go after, then you're not getting the nomination. end of story, period. >> that's right. >> if you don't think they're gettable. >> this contest does go on past nume new hampshire. i always remember bill clinton up there declaring himself the come back kid, gave the impression of victory. a lot of people think he won it years later. but he did not. so a lot of this can become a

spend game. >> i just wonder, matthew, and i've noticed, there is re-sent mentbuilding in both cams about the other. how much of this is some of it is bitterness. starting to come in. rowe wrote about this. saying the rubio people blame bush for trump. so you're going to have all of these recriminations taking place. if trump does do his scenario where he wins iowa and new hampshire, the establishment is going to be left with nothing but recriminations and playing the blame game. >> it is intriguing. let's shift to ted cruz here. i think it's fascinating, i might be the only person that can stop trump. that is -- he used to not -- he wanted to be an affirmative guy. he's saying, well, that's a tough case to make at the end. it means you're losing momentum. >> i think he does know he's losing momentum. that was clear. at the same time, that's an

argument that plays very well to all of the people who read that national review cover story, right. a large contingent of conservative policy intellectuals, i think a national review subscriber in iowa. looking for a true conservative. there are two republican bases, right. a republican base that really believes in and then there is the attitude and the re-secruz trying to get the other one. >> apparently no room for the establishment. >> interesting development here of the establishment, especially to be remarkably hallow. a lot of individual republicans out there, in other words, true conservatives who don't want to shake everything up like the trump folks do. and that's the big segment of the gop that we haven't really seen assert themselves much lately. jeb bush was depending on it.

>> i can tell you in the quinnipiac poll, they had a very large contingent. if it's high, trump wins. if it's back to normal, cruz wins. any way, thank you all. we'll be back with more on "mtp daily." whi i'm mark halperin, the republican field, good to have rick perry back in iowa. >> if feels right. it smells right, and it is right. >> hello, from what we call the center of the political universe, at least for another week. we're here in iowa, bloomberg politics, with all due respect politics. less than a week to go before the presidential caucuses. today, candidates of both