up there. yesterday, i don't know if you knew it or not. you may have felt it. you may have felt it if you were in southern california it never rains in southern california, but it does rain proclamations for mika brzezinski when she comes to town. yesterday, mika brzezinski day in los angeles. or as they -- i guess, what -- the city of ridley. john ridley is here. >> good morning. >> i haven't seen you in a while. why did you wander in today of all days? >> why didn't i? >> no. why are you here? you're here for a reason. >> i was on the web. a lot of kids get on the web in the morning. and i saw the nbc menu, black history month, and it was so delicious. it was absolutely the food that all black people eat every single day. three meals a day, and then --

>> stop this is not -- >> this is true. >> why are they getting into this. but this is a true story. >> no. i -- >>nbc -- >> they had fried chicken, collard greens, black eyed peas, and i think for dessert, they had freedom. >> no. >> you got wandered over and lick your lips a lot and drink out of the same drinking fountain. some executive went home to his wife and said, honey, i did the best thing today. i am going to do something to help live in this post racial -- joe is actually crying. actually crying. >> you know, somebody -- the woman, african-american, feels terribly. but somebody at nbc should have

said, dear, fuzzy zoeller got in a lot of trouble when he said this about tiger woods' master's meal. >> i think he said fried chicken and watermelon. trying to make a joke. >> this is a great way to start the show, everybody. norah o'donnell -- >> the terrorist's job. boom. >> seriously. norah -- well, actually she might have gotten up and left after she saw you two. oh, god. thank you so much, norah, for joining us, and is savannah guthrie, still with us, after being with us wait too early. don't know how you're doing it. >> right back at you, mika. more problems for toyota as they face another possible recall. a major jobs report due out today that has wall street worried. we'll bring you the news live

whether it's released during the show if we can get these two pulled together. >> we got to get home. >> ain't going to happen. >> what? >> pulling it together. >> that's fine. i need to get home. >> i become skeptical about the entire political process. >> you believed in change and now you believe it was like the bait and switch on you, john ridley. >> i still support the president, but i think the political process is -- >> it's broke. >> and we'll have information on the huge snowstorm hitting the northeast. >> we have to get home. >> yeah. >> representative elijah cummings will be with us, and david gregory as well. can i do the show while ignoring you two. >> i'll connect with john. go ahead. >> let's talk. we want to separate, lie down and reconnect. just saying. time for a look at today's top stories it's going to be a long three hours.

toyota's chief executive will hold a news conference as the company faces a series of public relations nightmares. another major recall considered involving the braking system of its 2010 prius hybrid it would affect more than 100,000 drivers in the united states and 170,000 in japan. that's on top of the 4.5 million other vehicles already being recalled over sticky gas pedals. >> what's happened to this company? >> i don't know. i love toyota. >> when they hire people, do they pass out bongs? >> they are great cars. >> i was a prius driver. i had a prius up until three weeks ago. >> what happened? did somebody tap you from behind and you blew up? >> i'll tell you the story.

>> what happened? >> it's a cautionary tale about to corporate america on keeping customers. >> the automaker will cooperate with congressional hearings scheduled later this month. president obama will push job growth when he meets with small business owners in maryland. this follows a national prayer breakfast yesterday. the president urged both parties to find common ground. >> at times, it seems like we're unable to listen to one another. to have a serious and civil debate. and this erosion of civility in the public square sows division and distrust among your citizens.

surely you can question my policies without questioning my faith. or, for that matter, my citizenship. >> norah, the president went to this national prayer breakfast. usually a great time to go and talk about being bipartisan. how did the event go yesterday for him? >> well, he came with his gloves on, as you can tell. talking about don't question my citizenship. i think it was a shot across the bow to tea party organizers who were having their first convention this weekend in nashville, tennessee, with sarah palin as the head liner on saturday night. he was pushing back and saying stop it, let's cut it out and pretty interesting to use the prayer breakfast as the occasion to do that. >> also, savannah, the president is taking an interesting tact. he's talking about bipartisanship. we need to come together. but he's being really tough with the republicans and his critics. i'm not knocking him at all for that. i think after a year of this, i

would probably strike back too. he's on the defensive. but it's an interesting approach. talking bipartisanship, but at the same time, starting to hit a little bit harder. >> yeah, i think it's a little ironic and classic washington that bipartisanship is now a partisan issue and so the president's talking about it a lot more. we heard him at the prayer breakfast yesterday, but i thought something was really striking. norah and i just talked about it on "way too early." the president introduced this jobs bill. we don't have the specifics yet. we'll see it next week. but senator harry reid says he will get bipartisan votes on it it's fascinating. he didn't hedge on that. he expects it to pass with bipartisan support. that will mark a sea change as we all know from last year with rare exception. so how he plans to do this will be interesting, but i think it also casts light on a strategy here by the white house. number one, they are saying, okay, now we have 59 votes. that means, republicans, you can no longer stand on the sidelines

and say, democrats, you have the majority, we have no role here and stand on the sidelines and throw grenades. and i think the jobs bill will be filled with goodies that republicans will find very hard to vote against. i think that's the strategy we'll see. we'll see if it works. >> that's what i've been saying for some time. when the white house presents the type of stimulus bill they presented, they rejected the partisan approach that barack obama drafted himself, and went with the nancy pelosi approach. you can't follow republicans to follow that or cap and trade or the health care bill. when you talk about chuck schumer getting ready with orrin hatch, republicans will vote for that. why? republicans support that sort of thing. >> they need the votes now. >> it's not even that they need

it for them, republicans believe cutting taxes for small businesses will create job growth. >> my point is, it's a give, isn't it? negotiations. >> that's actually what's supposed to happen when you say are you bipartisan. the president calls for cooperation. it came on the same day senate republicans gained their 41st t supermajority. scott brown was sworn in yesterday. brown plans to be an i understand vent voice, but used his first news conference to attack the economic stimulus plan and discussed the issue of terrorism, making a small but perhaps significant mistake. >> also this week, the cia director said that there be another al qaeda attack here in the united states in the next three to five months. and obviously this is frightening news. and we owe the people of america everything we can give them to make sure we keep them safe from

any type of attacks, and i want to be part of that. >> those intelligence officials actually predicted an attempted attack by al qaeda, not one that would actually occur. >> everyone heard panetta and the other guys saying there would be an attack. i want to commend the democrats. john ridley, i think this is smart. a lot of people were telling them to drag your feet. unions were saying drag your feet, don't seat this guy. they sworn him in. i think i've seen both parties be too clever by half. >> the guy one. no point in trying to delay it it's owning up to it. manning up to it in some ways. we lost this, didn't do a very good job for some reason. we have to deal with if, let's deal with it now. >> it's really stunning, norah o'donnell, you covered the hill for a long time, at least for

the next year, scott brown is in teddy kennedy's office. it's just an earthquake. he actually moved into teddy kennedy's office yesterday. i can't believe that. >> and, of course, when luke russert reported this yesterday, my jaw dropped, because, everybody knows it's seniority, and ted kennedy had been there for 40 years, had the best office in the russell senate office building. a beautiful patio. overlooks the senate and of course, teddy kennedy, that office was filled with kennedy mementos, and his replacement, paul kirk was in there and scott brown will hold this very storied office. an office with a lot of history. and i think after a year, though, they will kick him out to a smaller office. anyway -- >> almost worse than never having the office. >> he will be constantly reminded, however, he's filling

pretty big shoes up there on capitol hill. >> yeah. he better enjoy it this year, because after the election, they -- they base it on seniority, and then, of course, he will -- they may give him the -- >> don't get too comfortable. >> -- third toilet stall to the left in one of the senate office buildings. continued doubts the labor market can rebound in the coming months. and a key jobs due out this morning, the dow plunged 269 points, 2.6% of a drop, the biggest slide since october. although more jobs have been added in january, analysts say revised numbers may push overall unemployment above 10%. that's a lock at tok at the new. savannah guthrie, a busy day? >> yes, i had come back. >> see you later in the show. we'll also watch you on "the daily rundown" at 9:00 eastern

time. >> speak for yourself. >> the tension between those two is getting so intense, i don't know if i can watch it anymore. >> they have them on separate sets, it's okay. >> the president and congressional democrats clash over an economic proposal. who is going to get their way? the "politico playbook" is next. and representative elijah cummings and moderator of "meet the press," david greg gregory. a major winter storm expected to slam d.c. >> why is it that bill karins, every time a big story comes up, he's off like in the tropics somewhere? >> that's okay. weekend meteorologist chris warren is here. >> whatever. do you really believe that? >> the tropics? >> he's a sucker. >> i don't know about the tropics. >> this is the third time this

year that broadway bill karins says, hey, i have to go, my wife is having a baby. she had a baby like in october, and she had a baby in december. i think he may be rehab. >> let's let chris warren speak. >> i'm sorry, chris. we're looking at a pretty big storm bearing down on the east coast. rain to the south. and looking for snow to move into the mid-atlantic. we're talking about quite a bit of snow. in fact, some areas up around a foot of snow. take a look at this. the little checkerboard you see there, winter watches, and warnings. winter conditions on the jesse shore on into delaware. look at the storm totals, forecast models showing in the pink alone, 6 to 12 inches. in the pressure pe purple, more of snow. the northeast itself from new york. kind of on the fringe.

should see snow in new york city later on tonight into tomorrow. boston, cold but still looking like we'll be dry in the northeast. we'll look for more snow in chicago. you're watching "morning joe," brewed by starbucks. i drove my first car from my parent's home in the north of england to my new job at the refinery in the south. i'll never forget. it used one tank of petrol and i had to refill it twice with oil. a new car today has 95% lower emissions than in 1970. exxonmobil is working to improve cars, liners of tires, plastics which are lighter and advanced hydrogen technologies that could increase fuel efficiency by up to 80%.

doesn't like to be held back. they let me break past the counter... and choose any car in the aisle. unreal! oh yeah! whoaaa-- ( alarm sounding ) i'm sorry. you okay? my bad, mr. sapp. oh yeah. go national. go like a pro. i'm sorry. you okay? my bad, mr. sapp. oh yeah. ♪ (announcer) right now, all over the country, discover customers are getting five percent cashback bonus on travel. it pays to get more, it pays to discover.

my feeling was you could have defeated bloomberg in this cycle. but you didn't run. >> i could have beaten bloomberg like a rented mule, but i decided -- >> by the way, how much does it cost to rent that mule? >> it's an expensive mule. >> wow. that was -- did he sigh that? >> he said it. >> i'm just curious. jon looked healthy in that shot.

>> he had lighting. >> oh. they weren't lighting him with a flashlight. bill o'reily's people putting the flashlight up under his face. "the wall street journal" global markets shutter, doubts about the u.s. economy and in europe hopes for a recovery. and "the new york times." haiti charges the americans with child abduction. the charges against ten members of a baptist congress will be decided by a judge who has three months to decide whether to peruse the matter further. "usa today." can the saints really win it all? all roads lead to sunday's nfl showdown. and "the washington post" snow is expected to fall at two to three inches an hour. not going to take the marion berry approach, which was god brought the snow, god can take

the snow away. >> "san francisco chronicle" carly fiorina's campaign has created the newest online star. the demon sheep. >> it's a new ad attacking the front-runner, and while the video is getting laughs, some are worried it could backfire. >> let's play -- this thing goes on for like 18 minutes. longer than "stairway to heaven." >> let's play a little bit. >> tom campbell. you see what he tells us. we see what he's become over the years. a fcino. fiscal conservative in name only. a wolf in sheep's clothing. a man who literally helped to put the state of california on the path to bankruptcy and higher taxes. fiscal conservative or just another same-old tale of tax and

spend offered by a career politician who helped guide us into this fiscal mess in the first place. >> oh, my -- >> you know, that's not even the dumbest part of it. you need to go online and see this. i think carly is having a pretty good campaign, but she really should fire -- >> the wrong clip. i think that was from "avatar." one of those weird animals. >> that was ridiculous. chief political correspondent of politico, mike allen with the morning playbook. >> happy friday. >> oh, i knew you would say that. >> president obama is trying to shift to the center. talk about it, and why are they pushing back, mike? >> this is like a family vacation that's gone on a day too long. too much time in the minivan. you're seeing real splits between the two ends of pennsylvania avenue. it came through most clearly in a closed door, senate democratic

meeting that politico found out about. five senators talked to glen about what went on in that meeting. senator al franken from minnesota, he's been fairly quiet. he lit in to the president's senior adviser david axelrod, saying that the white house provided too little guidance about health care and have not been pushing the agenda the way they should have. also, we saw this week a chairman, christopher dodd, complaining that the white house wasn't taking his advice about how to push financial reform. he said these political sounding attacks on banks were not helping. >> you know, we're finding in l.a. last night. and where we go, a lot of democrats, a lot of obama supporters are very frustrated. they want him to do just what al franken wants him to do. take control. take charge. tell people what you believe, and go after it instead of

sitting back and allowing 435 people in the house and 100 people in the senate to frame the debate. >> unbelievably, we're seeing the same thing on the jobs bill. the president on the state of the union says that jobs was job one for him and yesterday you have senate democratic leaders coming out in this inexplicable news conference saying they will do a bunch of little jobs bills. they don't know what it will be. >> seriously? >> they hand reporters 2 1/2 pages of talking points. year two? come on. >> it really is unbelievable that they did strike down the path again with the jobs bill, where, again, the president is not showing leadership. he's not saying this is my jobs bill, this is how we move forward and now you even have senators michalikmichaelike al

standing up saying, wait a minute. >> nicolle wallace, give us the scoop. >> nicolle wallace, president bush's communications director, has a novel coming out in the fall called "18 acres" in reference to the white house complex and her hero heroine is first woman president. >> i love science fiction. >> a little bit of a thriller. >> happy friday. coming up next, is socialism a dirty word? how americans really feel about it. and more of jon stewart vs. bill o'reily, round two. keep it right here on "morning joe." >> right here live from los angeles, brewed by starbucks.

♪ there are many paths to good health. that's why nature's bounty makes... a full line of high-quality vitamins, like fish oil for heart health. go to naturesbounty.com now for a $2.00 coupon. nature's bounty. perfect for every body.

people think that honda is always the most fuel efficient choice. well, this chevy cobalt xfe has better highway mileage than a comparable honda civic. this chevy traverse has better mileage than honda pilot. the all-new chevy equinox has better mileage than honda cr-v. and chevy malibu has better mileage than accord. however, honda does make something that we just can't compete with. it's self propelled. chevy. compare us to anyone and may the best car win. just because i spent less on it? nope! (announcer) the exact same brands sold in pet specialty stores. at walmart's unbeatable price. save money. live better. walmart.

hey! announcer: you don't drive every time you smoke. yet you smoke every time you drive. driving and smoking don't have to go together. re-learn life without cigarettes, free, at becomeanex.org. a new way to think about quitting.

all right. welcome back to "morning joe." just after 6:30 on the east

coast. >> mika, you know, the snowstorms are coming. it looks beautiful right now in the city. but a huge winter storm this weekend. >> we need to monitor that. >> you have to take kate and jack to the park. >> that will be fun. take the girls sledding. job story, global stocks tumbled again among ongoing fears nthat a u.s. jobs report will cast new doubt on economic recovery. markets fell on japan and europe. and a new labor department is expected to show another 800,000 lost jobs, pushing overall unemployment to 10.1%. we'll bring you the numbers live. officials say the pentagon will be making an emergency contraception available at all military facilities around the world. it followed the recommendation of an advisory panel, who voted to include the morning after pill on its list of drugs that military health clinics should keep in stock. the move represents a shift from

the bush administration, which resisted those recommendations. and north korea says it's planning to free a u.s. missionary detained since christmas for illegally crossing into the communist state. robert park will be released after his "admission and sincere repentance of wrongdoings." and in sports, the clippers coach fires himself. something i desperately tried to do at 1:30 this morning. >> i'm fired! >> and a brazilian sportscaster passes out on the air. >> i'll have to try that. >> let's go to fred roggin. >> thank you, and good morning. no secret in sports that if you don't win, you get replaced. and also no secret that the l.a. clippers haven't won for a very long time. so yesterday general manager mike dunleavy decided to fire head coach mike dunleavy. he has been serving as both the coach and general manager.

in six years, the clippers have won less than 40% of the games. and kim hughes will take over in an interim basis. j.j. hickson, posterized dwyane wade. not every day you see wade getting dunks on like that. and the cavs up 56-52 at the half. lebron wasn't done. the long stepback jumper. cleveland wins 102-86. just when you think you've seen it all, former super bowl winning coach and fox broadcaster jimmie johnson has signed on to pitch a male enhancement product calls extendz. and mr. yellin says that "johnson is one of the few people that could pull this off." watch the guy on the right. he passed out on live tv.

it happened during a soccer match. he suffered from a mild case of heat exhaustion. now you see him, now you don't. finally, wonder who to pick for the super bowl? orangutans trashed a saints helmet, which means they pick the saints. need a second opinion? these lions too went with the saints and destroyed the box. don't known the saints will destroy the colts or the scoreboard, but the animals have spoken. the saints will win this weekend. that's it for me. have a great weekend. >> wow. fred is smoking. up next, reshaping the political landscape. ron brownstein show us where democrats face the greatest vulnerability in november. and we're now just seven days away from the winter olympics. >> hold on a second. it's the willie winter olympics. we'll be getting live reports from the olympic village from our own willie geist. at least until he's busted for

smack and deported like keith richards on a canadian tour gone terribly wrong as the sun sets on schnectady, new york. >> it's rising. all right. whatever. you're smiling. and when they're laughing... you're laughing. be kind to your eyes... with transitions lenses. transitions adapt to changing light so you see your whole day comfortably... and conveniently while protecting your eyes from the sun. ask your eyecare professional which transitions lenses are right for you. wto answer 10 questionss you help our community get what it needs for the next, oh, 10 years. we can't move forward until you mail it back.

2010 census and added a little fiber? sweet! sweet! sweet! (announcer)splenda no calorie sweetener with fiber. now for the first time, a gram of healthy fiber in every packet. sweet! (announcer) splenda no calorie sweetener, starts with sugar. tastes like sugar. but it's not sugar. no calories and a little fiber. how's that taste? (together) sweet! sweet! (announcer) splenda with fiber.

sarah palin, you've been a little tough on sarah palin, haven't you? >> no, i don't think so. >> you haven't been mocking her? >> i've been mocking her, but i don't think i've been too tough. >> you don't like her? >> i don't know if i like her. i don't like the whole there's a real america and the coastal america. >> you don't think there's a difference between san francisco and whistle, alaska, in terms of mentality and how you look at life? >> i think there are individuals -- let me put it this way. i don't say that where you live is the factor in deciding who

you are. >> amen. >> that got deep. >> that was good. mika, a beautiful shot of washington, d.c., also going to get pound ed there. you talk about real america all the time. >> not all the way. >> and people like me -- >> bring on the e-mails. >> that was an absolutist. >> here is the problem with joe. he's an absolutist with no filter. >> yeah. >> you know? >> that's how you get cable shows. >> exactly. >> speaking of which, you are saying when you walk around new york city, people ask you two things. >> i've gotten in new york city, i've had two people ask me, kind of jokingly, hey, john, how come you hate white people so much? >> why do you? >> i don't hate anyone. i don't hate anyone. >> that's right. you only hire white people to work at your estate. >> they think television is all

serious and real and true and when people say things they mean it. >> you don't just hire white people to work at your estate? >> i hire all kinds of people. >> new exhaustion. >> i'll tell you what other things they ask me in the next four hours. >> no, they ask you why you're so angry. >> no, they don't ask that. >> it's because you have that goatee. >> idiots. let's get ron brownstein into the conversation. you might be regretting your decision at this point. >> i'm sure i have much more to add. >> much more than two of us. >> so good to have john ridley back. >> national columnist for "the national journal." he has a fascinating article, saying that the democrats who benefited most from the democrats in congress might vote them out. can i read a must-read op-ed?

>> that's what we're supposed to do. and we'll ask ron, norah, and the goateed one what they think. >> "wall street journal" peggy noonan -- 6 >> that's a good point. ron brownstein, you have some polling and information that shows american voters, again,

just as restless as ever with washington, d.c. maybe americans are catching on to what's going on in d.c.? >> well, look. i think the long-term trend that peggy is writing about is much more than one year, one president trend. a couple of years ago, the second civil war, the political system is losing its capacity to solve problems, largely because it is so polarized. the political system is more divided than the country. having said that the acute, immediate problem for the democrats, and one very few people would have anticipated after the 2008 financial meltdown. really, the worst failure of the markets since the great depression is that the -- the public apprehension and anxiety and antagonism about that failure is being aimed more at government than at business right now. and that's really been the fundamental problem for obama. >> i found it ironic, a bailout

that began under george w. bush -- that barack obama supported, but began by george w. bush has cast a shadow over every progressive idea he had. americans were disgusted with big government before obama was even sworn it. >> the bailout was done by george w. bush and a republican administration and yet barack obama feels the hangover from it and the american people fed up with the banks, and i love ron brownstein's piece, and he talks about how this is hurting the president with working class, white voters, and it's amazing when you look at that district by district. ron has all of the great reporting on it. he didn't do very well with working class whites in the last election, democrats have a real problem with them coming up. >> and, you know, 1994, one of the big shocks, one of the big takeaways, republicans swept

into congress. people get upset. but parallels are remarkable. the thing that surprised the press is that working class people making $40,000 or less went overwhelmingly for the republican party, and it looks like it may be happening again. scott brown got sworn in, talked about trierrorism. that was an issue that really resonated, gitmo resonated on the campaign trail. last night, o'reily and jon stewart talking about gitmo. >> that's like saying you have to close guantanamo because it's a terrorist recruiting tool. they are already recruiting terrorists. >> are you exactly right. i don't think that's why we should close guantanamo. >> why should we close it? >> it's limbo. >> it's better to be there than some p p some prison here. >> it is?

>> trust me. i've been there. >> we need to have an american that has the integrity to withstand even the most i'll have interests. >> i totally agree with jon stewart. interesting conversation. >> yeah, but remember the very day after the massachusetts senate race, when i reported on your show, that the republican strategist and the scott brown campaign believe terrorism was one of the top issues, if not the top issue, according to internal polling. scott brown in his victory speech said we need to use our taxpayer dollars on weapons to stop them, referring to terrorists, rather than lawyers to defend them. and that was a rallying cry and certainly one republicans believe that they can use, certainly in these mid-term elections, other than the economic stuff, that is a terrorism national security stuff that they believe will play well with their kinds of voters. >> ron brownstein, we want you to talk about your economics.

$30,000 and less. but also talk about this. the fact we've seen it all year. nancy pelosi takes on the cia, says they are layers. her approval rating goes from 54% to the low 30s%. we have seen it time and time again. scott brown what he was learning over the campaign, we've seen it over the past year this is a tough issue for democrats politically. >> first of all. i'm struck. the ford theater is reprising norman corwin's great play on the lincoln/douglas debates. they had lincoln/douglas. we have stewart/o'reily i guess. first on the economics and election, democrats as we talked about, are facing problems looking toward the mid term from a lot of different directions. out of all of them, the most severe is a reprise from 1994. a complete collapse from blue collar working class white

americans. and the cover story in "the national journal," the number of district s dominated by whites without a college education is shrinking, but it's still the largest. and martha coakley, this isn't appreciated enough. the two best post election polls, she won college educated white voters. she lost blue collar voters 2-1. that's pretty much what happened in 1994. the big move in the electorate was among blue collar whites. and while the country is moving toward more diverse district. they have to really compete for lasting control of the house there, is still a lot of these districts dominated by working class white voters and they are very alienated. >> mika, you can go back to

1968. democrats have had trouble with working class whites. they were the reagan democrats. and they were the pro people and now the tea party people. and really, the only democrats that figured out how to get working class votes to work for them. and barack obama in '08. in both cases, the second they got in and started aboveenin ee necessity lost them almost immediately. >> and on the gitmo issue, i agree with jon stewart. it's a winning point of view on the other side of it, politically. >> a big winner for republicans. >> ron brownstein, thank you very much. when we come back, it was fraud? the government follows the money and goes after the man who used to run one of the biggest banks in america. >> going after ken lewis. bank of america.

♪ go on take the money and run ( music playing ) hey! announcer: you don't drive every time you smoke. yet you smoke every time you drive. driving and smoking don't have to go together. re-learn life without cigarettes, free, at becomeanex.org. a new way to think about quitting.

and all your little mile-pebbles ameriprise financial can help. we have over ten-thousand advisors ready to listen to your dreams and help you plan for them. because the first step towards reaching what you want is reaching the person who can help you get there. our advisors. your dreams. more within reach. meet us at ameriprise.com. and when it comes to the playoffs, we get together every year to watch it. with walmart's prices,

i can afford all the food it takes to make everyone happy -- no matter how many times they come back for more. [ female announcer ] people who spent $100 a week at the leading national supermarkets on frequently purchased groceries could have saved $55 in just one month by shopping at walmart. [ mom ] game time costs less at walmart. save money. live better. walmart. so i got my nephew to build a website. i hired someone to make my website... five months ago. we are building a website by ourselves. announcer: there's an easier way. create your own small-business site with intuit websites. just choose a style that fits your business and customize, publish and get found in three easy steps. sweet. all from just $4.99 a month, get a 30-day free trial at intuit.com.

and island music] ♪ fa-diddle-diddle-do-do-do ♪ fa-daddle-daddle-la-da-da ♪ fa-diddle-diddle-leh-dee-dee ♪ fa-daddle-daddle-leh-do-do ♪ fa-daddle-daddle-leh-deh-dee ♪ i need to get out of here ♪ ah-deedle-deedle-leh-deh-do travelocity is your cure for cabin fever. if you find a lower hotel or vacation package price online, we'll match it, right up until the day before check-in. and we'll also guarantee that your booking will be right. travelocity. you'll never roam alone.

toyota is recalling over 8 million vehicles for gas pedal issues, with more to be recalled with braking problems. to show how committed we are, effective immediately, chrysler is removing the brakes from every one of our cars. a message from chrysler. >> okay. that's just wrong. welcome back to "morning joe" as wall street was coming off one of its worst day in months, new york's attorney general was filing fraud charges against bank of america former ceo ken lewis. msnbc senior investigative correspondent lisa myers reports. >> reporter: the charges stem from the takeover of merle listen in 2008. >> it came with risk. >> reporter: lewis and the bank

are accused of misleading investors by hiding massive losses at merrill lynch. and in manipulating the federal government to providing a $20 billion bailout to help deal with the losses. the complaint calls this an enormous fraud on taxpayers and claim the bank and top management were motivated by greed, hubris and a palpable sense that the normal rules of fair play don't apply to them. this is a significant development. >> i think the american public wants accountability this is the first time that anyone is seeking to hold responsible senior executives at a major bank. >> reporter: it came as the securities and exchange commission moved to settle charges against bank of america for concealing losses and bonuses. they agreed to pay a $150 million penalty to shareholders. this must be approved by a judge. the tougher fraud charges broad by new york attorney general

andrew cuomo, joined by the top cop for the bailout program, neil barofsky. they think the s.e.c. didn't go far enough. >> this does read as kind of an implied criticism of the s.e.c. >> reporter: a spokesperson for the bank of america called the fraud charges totally without merit and said all acted under good faith under difficult conditions. lewis' lawyer says there is not a shred of objective evidence to support the charges against him and that he will has been unfairly vilified in the political search to assign blame for the mitt capolitical meltdo. still ahead, the moderator of "meet the press," david gregory. we'll be right back, live from los angeles. ♪ oh china grove so how long does it take a fresh vegetable

to start losing essential nutrients? not long. in fact, green beans lose half their vitamin c in a week. that's why green giant freezes them within 8 hours

to lock in nutrients. ho ho ho green giant the chevy malibu and toyota camry received 5 star crash safety ratings. but only malibu has onstar. big deal. i'll just use my phone. let's say we crashed. whoops, you lost your phone and you're disoriented. i'm not disoriented. now you are. onstar automatic crash response can call to see if you're ok. onstar emergency. is everything ok howie? you don't answer, they can automatically send help to your exact location. i think i'll ride with you. the award-winning malibu. from chevy.

global warming. you're big on that, frightened of it. you want to flee, don't you? >> flee what? the planet?

>> yeah. >> i'm okay. i'm not a scientist. i can only assume common sense, if you burn a lot of stuff and put it in the atmosphere, it means something. what it means, i don't know. >> you believe global warming is man made. >> i have no reason not to. >> well -- >> welcome back to "morning joe." almost 7:00 here. that is very intuitive. you burn a lot of stuff, put it in the atmosphere, things happen. >> possibly. >> one of the things happen, john ridley walks in from nowhere. >> a connection between burning stuff and me. >> for people who weren't here at the top of the 3:00 a.m. hour on the west coast this is very interesting why you came in. we haven't seen you in a year or two. >> it's been a while. >> tooling around on the internet last night. >> doing things that normally -- not that i don't have time for you two. but i don't have time for you two. on the internet yesterday, looking around and what do i see posted? the nbc commissary black history

month meal. fried chicken, collard greens, black eyed peas. and i can't figure out what is for dessert. you said cobbler. something like that. >> what's your point? >> my point is -- >> is that bad? >> it's not necessarily indicative of what all people of color eat each and every day. >> are you serious? >> i'm serious about that. >> i was on the phone with fuzzy zoeller yesterday. >> oh, god -- >> one of the greatest civil rights leader of our time. >> the poor lady at the nbc commisary does this, black history month, and fuzzy zoeller cot in trouble for saying tiger woods' master's meal would be --

>> and by the way, she's an african-american. >> i know she's black. >> that's such a white way of looking at things, mika. good lord. >> i think it's an important part of the story, which i really don't want to be involved with, but apparently wanda sykes stepped into it. >> you -- you worked on wanda psych sykes. >> i'm the head writer and co co-executor. >> nbc, they had a menu for black history month. they were serving fried chicken, collard greens. black eyed peas, cornbread. no, you don't know to need about harriet tubman. here is fried chicken. jay what is happening at nbc? >> we're a very progressive company.

>> is the whole damn company on medical marijuana? what is going on over here? >> with us from washington, nbc news white house correspondent, of course, savannah guthrie, co-host of "the daily rundown" with chuck todd. and john ridley. and msnbc chi bnch krncbc chief correspondent, norah o'donnell. i want to see more clips of o'reily and stewart. >> we'll have that as well. >> and wanda sykes. >> but, first, mika brzezinski with some of the top stories. >> yes, finally. time for a look at today's top stories. the toyota story. toyota's chief executive will hold a news conference today as the company faces a public relations nightmare over a series of safety concerns. executives are considering another major recall this morning, amid new issues involving the braking system in its 2010 prius hybrid it would

affect more than 100,000 drivers in the u.s. and 170,000 in japan. that is on top of the 4.5 million other vehicles already being recalled over sticky gas pedals. the automaker says it will cooperate with federal investigators and congressional hearings scheduled later this month. wow. president obama will be pushing his attempt to jump start job growth in maryland. it follows yesterday's appearance at the national prayer breakfast, where he called on leaders to reject cynicism and partisan attacks that dominate the political landscape. the president urged both parties to find common ground. >> at times, it seems like we're unable to listen to one another. to have at once a serious and civil debate. in this erosion of civility in the public square sows division

and distrust among your citizens and poisons the wells of public opinion. surely you can question my policies without questioning my faith. or, for that matter, my citizenship. >> i like a message. i think at the national prayer breakfast is a place to deliver that message of civility. >> absolutely. >> i think he needs no challenge opponents. it's not this year been about -- for a lot of people on the far right, it's not been about his policies. which i disagree his economic policies i think are disastrous. but at the same time, i've been stunned by people that haven't wanted to debate those issues. instead, they want to talk about where he was born, they wanted to talk about whether he was a marxist. my point has been the policies are so bad, you want to be able to intellectually argue and be civil and still respect him as a

president and as a man. >> i will say this. and i do think president obama and the democrats let all of that other nonsense go on too long and part of that -- i don't want to make blanket statements, the democrats kind of intellectualize and say we can rise above this. we have to push back. the state of the union address, i was reminded why president obama has the potential to be the great leader he could be. i was missing that a long time. we are seeing the push back. here is the situation, how things work. when i came into office and here is what we're facing down. that's what i would like to see. more of that, and i like seeing that at the prayer breakfast. talk about my policies, that's fire. don't talk about where i was born. >> let's have a tough debate and we can have a tough debate. we can do it with republicans respecting democrats and democrats respecting republicans. >> i felt like the state of the union, which was a really good speech. it was the meeting with republicans last friday, a week

ago today that actually -- i don't know, was the sign of hope i thought. >> the q & a? >> yeah. >> this may sound silly to a lot of people. one of the things we see when we go out that's really frustrating is the cable news wars. everybody attacking each other. i really liked the fact that bill o'rile eye and jon stewart got on -- these are two people. two really powerful tv presences. huge audiences and nice to see two people who go after each other, sitting down, talking rationally. >> absolutely. >> and we are at a stage in america we have got to begin a healing process. we've been at war politically for a very long time. maybe it started with bill clinton and republicans going after him and democrats going after george bush. but what -- wherever it began. maybe it began at watergate. we have to start talking to each other and let's hope it's

starting. >> let's play a little more. >> let's watch some more of jon stewart and bill o'reily. >> let's play a little bit of a scenario. i'm thinking about running for president. >> i think that's a really bad idea. >> i want you to be my vice president. >> i think that's a really bad idea too. i have pictures from me from college in a shoe box that precludes me from working at the post office. >> this is why i've selected you as vice president. your image is so bad, no matter what they found it wouldn't matter. now, i need a strong vp. >> i'm not running with you. >> you've turned it down already? >> i'm not running with you. i'm not going to be your vp. i know what that's going to be. i get one job, and that's to light the white house menorah. not interested. >> iran building nuclear weapons over there, and if they get them, they might get them to ahmed who might take them to cleveland and blow everything

up. what do we do with that? >> doesn't pakistan have a nuclear weapon? >> yes. >> doesn't russia have nuclear weapons? >> yes. >> couldn't they give them to somebody? >> yes. >> the problem isn't the country, it's the nuclear weapon. >> i'm glad you're concerned about cost. iraq war was coming up, that would have been a big help. >> i said many times on this program that was not a good thing to do. >> you said you would apologize if they didn't find weapons of mass destruction. >> and i did. that whole iraq thing, did not go well. >> wow. >> he talks about it like it was a beach party. >> you know, that whole iraq thing -- >> didn't work out. >> so, savannah, let's go back to the president of the united states. the president obviously in a difficult position. gallup has been putting polls out all year that has shown pollingwise, he's the most

divisive president since they have been taking these polls since harry truman. he knows he has to bring america together. but he has his fabase that's frustrated. they don't think he is fighting hard enough. how do they thread that needle moving forward? >> he has to focus on things that will appeal to everybody. yeah, forward. and the president always talked about civility and bipartisanship.

nothing new there. but i think he does find some fault within himself for not doing more of what we saw last week. which was the q & a, for example, with republicans. trying to be more transparent. recognizes the health care debate could have been more transparent. he has taken some responsibility there and trying to tushory a new leaf. he knows he has to deliver on jobs, and they are working ton right now. and senator reid has to pull it together on the hill. he has to come up with a deal that will get bipartisan support. that's what they are trying to do right now. and we talked to a senior official, trying to do a small piece of the jobs bill that can get a couple of republican votes like a grassley or hatch and then go forward with more of the controversial points that the president has laid out. >> norah o'donnell, the prayer breakfast, the president of the united states went after the birthers, went after the people that called him a socialist, suggested he is anti-american. why did he do that?

i would have done it too. but i'm just saying politically, what was the president trying to achieve? >> he was trying to make a point about civility and trying to agree on some things. saying the message, cut out the cookiness. come on, i was born here. i'm a citizen, let's cut out the cookieness. we can't move forward until we cut out the baloney. and a shot across the bow to the tea partiers. who are meeting in tennessee. and also the jobs bill. this is an opportunity that the president has to match with action, his words and about working together. that's why the jobs bill is so crucial. that's why in part the democrats on capitol hill were so reluctant to provide details. they don't want the thing to fall apart. what they want is to get some republicans on board. there will be small business tax benefits. $5,000 for every new employee

you hire. and elimination of capital gains through 2010. that's something that they should vote for. the president needs a victory on that. >> and, by the way, mika, a lot of people have been saying -- democrats saying the republicans will vote against everything. no, they won't. you eliminate capital gains taxes for small businesses if they hire new people, republicans will vote for that. you give payroll tax breaks to small businesses for hiring new employees like orrin hatch and chuck schumer, republicans will vote for that. >> but on some issues, like the deficit, they have been complete hypocrites. let's not make it look like they have been the easiest side. >> everybody has been hypocritical this year. >> everyone has. >> especially on spending. if you want 60 votes, you can get 60 votes on just about everything if you want to be bipartisan. >> i do agree with that. i think the president talking

about birthers and all that it's a way of saying, you know what? you think we've been wasting time? a lot of this conversation has been ridiculous, and we've wasted a lot of time together. savannah guthrie, thank you very much. >> thanks, savannah. >> anyone special on "the daily rundown." >> i hope a marriage counselor. >> dbesides that, we have an interesting guest. the man who defended moussai in federal court. he'll be on our set this morning. >> wonderful. great. fascinating. >> and in most pr shots that msnbc takes, they are standing next to each other, but put back up "the daily rundown." >> there's a line. >> they can't even get them in the same room to get pictures. >> you know why? those are obviously our fourth grade pictures, and we lived in

separate states at that moment, so it was not possible. that is the real explanation. >> all right, savannah. thank you for helping us out this morning. >> thank you, savannah. >> when we come back, we'll get a preview of "meet the press." if it's sunday, it's "meet the press." if it's friday, it's david gregory talking about what's on "meet the press." and coming up, representative elijah cummings, from maryland. and the president is in maryland talking to small business owners. first, more on the major winter storm hitting the northeast this weekend. let's go to meteorologist chris warren with an update. >> we are looking at a big storm. in particular for the mid-atlantic. this is a juicy one. heading out of town, go early if you have the choice. because we are likely to have flight delays. not seeing much right now in the mid-atlantic or northeast, i would suspect that will be changing. take a look at the storm. a lot of rain in the south will

translate to a lot of snow in the mid-atlantic. winter watches, advisories and winter storm warnings. the purple color, blizzard warning. take a look at the snowfall expected. more than a foot in washington, d.c., some areas could see two feet of snow. meanwhile, still looking quiet for now in boston and new york. that will change today and tomorrow. you're watching "morning joe," brewed by starbucks. ♪ fiber one -- i'm looking for some fiber. this bar is an excellent source of fiber. there's no fiber in this. it tastes too good. they have 35% of your daily value.

oh, samples. mmm. fiber one. cardboard no. delicious yes.

>> i tell you what, i think it would be a hell of a game. i'd tell him, look, you get your best five, i'll get my best five from my office. we have to have three women on our team. i have a young woman that was a

point guard -- >> so you're covered. you're covered. >> fantastic. so so biden -- a shot of the white house where washington, d.c. is bracing for a big winter snowstorm. rolling in later today. the whole east coast will get hit. the mid-atlantic states will really get pounded. >> we need to get our plane after the show and get back home before -- >> stay in california. >> john ridley here with us. >> always a pleasure. >> we were at the grove for a book signing with mika. and we were blown away by how supportive people are who actually watch this show from 3:00 to 6:00 in the morning. huge crowd there. probably as big as everyone in america. a lot of people asking where you were. >> yes. >> i have a really nice fan base in california. they tend to get up early and watch the show. >> they want to know where you are. >> nice to have you back on.

>> it's actually nice to be back. would have been nicer if you were back at 8:00 p.m., as opposed to -- >> of course, norah o'donnell with us and moderator of nbc's "meet the press," david gregory. david, did you have -- do you know who your guest is yet for sunday? >> we are. we are going to have a big focus on terror and the economy. we've got the president's top counterterror adviser, john brennan, as well as get this. a big conversation about the future of the economy, allan greenspan and henry paulson, talking not just about the financial crisis, but about where jobs are, where it's going, health care, and the debt. >> and obviously, terrorism is taking front and center stage in washington, d.c. of course, a lot of people still rumbling about scott brown's exit poll showing terrorism the

top topic. and a real buzz about a possible attack on the united states this summer. what are you going to try to get from john brennan? >> what's leading to those conclusions, had you all of the intelligence chiefs, as well as the head of the fbi, talking about it was a certainty that al qaeda would attempt a larger scale attack on the united states over the next several months, so the obvious question is what is precipitating that? what kind of intelligence do they have? what are they learning about al qaeda in yemen? we have the recent tape by osama bin laden, which raises questions about to what extent he is in command and control function of al qaeda. there are a lot of major security concerns now that are occupying the administration's time, and you're right. politically, whether it's decisions about giving the christmas day bomber his miranda rights or the decision about where and whether to try khalid shaikh mohammed in a civilian court, these are fodder for this

debate about obama and national security. >> and, you know, norah o'donnell, it seems to me that the democrats have been on the defensive since christmas day -- since the attempted christmas day bombing. the khalid shaikh mohammed trial being moved away from new york city. and gitmo continues to linger on. talk they may not end up sending those gitmo detainees to illinois after all. there is after all a very contested senate race in that state. >> i think there was a sense among the democratic party that they underestimated how much anger and concern there is out there on this issue. scott brown used it in his campaign in massachusetts. said that we should not be spending taxpayer money on lawyers -- we should use taxpayer money rather on the terrorists in terms for weapons to stop them, rather than on lawyers to defend them. that was a rallying cry for his

campaign. his advisers told me that they thought it was the number one issue. clearly, there were those in washington that recognized that, and then, of course, the decision made to move that terror trial out of new york. so this is sort of one of those issues. jobs and the economy, the top issue. terrorism and national security is another very important issue that democrats have to be weary of. >> david, how -- how quickly did christmas day change this debate, reframe this debate? >> well, i can tell you, from talking to people inside the white house, that a couple of things going on. number one, they recognize how quickly this has moved. they would also make the case that they have racked up more successes in the fight against al qaeda than even the previous administration, in terms of how the intelligence community is

moving and acting. a lot of that is not something they can talk about publicly. the other recognition is that the president knows that he's going to be on the other side, on the wrong side of the poli c politics of some of these decisions but still intend to move forward by arguing for a civilian trial for ksm. whatever the politics are, he thinks its the right thing to do and will continue to make that case. >> at the same time, though, joe, don't you think when he talks about being on the wrong side of politics which is the right way of putting. politically this does resonate with people, but it's not like this is the first terror trial, not the first terrorist tried in a civilian court. it happened in the last administration, and there were others that were red miranda rights as well. and i don't think republicans were crying foul then. >> not khalid shaikh mohammed, not the guy that masterminded 9/11, and no one thinks for a second, john ridley, the reason that george w. bush and dick

cheney decided to try moussai in an american courtroom to make america feel better. when it comes to terrorism and this may upset a lot of progressives on the left, but most americans just don't give a damn what luxembourg thinks about how we treat terrorist suspects. i'm saying most americans, those swing voters, do not care. >> i don't think they care. but to the point, it has been done before. there are hundreds of terrorists locked up in supermax prisons. think under the bush 5d mi administrati administration, 300 trials have taken place. it has been done, can be done and quite frankly, whether it's terrorists or the mob, you can myrrh a mirandize people and get

information. >> agree. >> let's go to two of the top thought leaders, your dad, and then have you bill o'reily and jon stewart this is them talking on ksm last night. >> trying khalid shaikh mohammed in your living room, because you live downtown and he'll be in your living room. >> that's right. >> you down with that? >> i'd like him honestly tried in the pit. right down in there, and executed at halftime of the super bowl and then reanimated so we can do it every year. there are valid concerns about trying him in civilian court. but one of them isn't it makes u.s. a terrorist target and it emboldens the enemy. >> how do you know? >> because we're already a terrorist target. >> and why wouldn't it have happened when other terrorists were tried. >> he wants him executed and reanimated so he can be

re-executed each year at halftime of the super bowl. full hour bill o'reily and jon stewart on "meet the press." >> bring it on this is an interesting point. and i can tell you again, people who know the president's thinking said he wants a civilian trial, because it is his firm belief that as a propaganda tool, a military commission would be used as propaganda much more than an open air civilian trial would be there's a lot of debate about that. how would that be any more of a propaganda tool than a conviction in u.s. courts? the u.s. has been very clear about this. eric holler, the president, president's advisers have made it very clear that ksm will never go free. what is the point of holding up our judicial system if we're also checking out the window of

presumption of innocence. there is no way he is going to be allowed to go free. what kind of exercise is this? that's how the argument goes of why we're going through these motions and whether new york would be a terrorist target. yes, it already is. yes it could become more. there are businesses down in new york and city leaders flipped on this. they heard enough. why would we want to he did indicate tdedicate the resource just to protect the courthouse. >> no doubt about it. norah o'donnell, a great point again about the fact that there's -- again, when there's not a presumption of innocence, when you have everybody in the administration already saying he is going to be tried and then executed, not a lot of due process there. i don't know how that makes them dance in the streets of luxembourg. but i will say this as we go to

break, even though the president is wrong policiwise i believe, i do think it shows an awful lot of courage for him politically to go in this direction because there's no doubt, it's very unpopular, with a lot of independent voters and it costs votes in massachusetts and cost votes throughout 2010. nobody can say this is the politically safe thing to do it's politically disastrous. >> look, they may move the place where this trial is, but they are still holding true to the value which is every terror suspect that has been apprehended in the united states has faced a criminal trial. they will stay true to that. there's no other way around that. they will do it with ksm. it may not be in new york. it may be somewhere else, but the president wants to stay true to those values. same thing that happened in the bush administration. civilian trials for terrorists caught in the united states. >> thank you so much, norah.

and david gregory, we'll see you sunday on "meet the press." if it's sunday, it's "meet the press." sink or swim? should struggling homeowners get another lifeline from the government? we'll discuss that with elijah cummings. and a major winter storm expected to hit the east coast this weekend. an update when we come back, live from los angeles.

somewhere in america... the slightest breeze harbors immense power. the tallest buildings leave the lightest footprints. a fifty-ton train makes barely a mark on the environment. and a country facing climate change finds climate solutions. somewhere in america, we've already answered some of the nation's toughest questions.

and the over sixty thousand people of siemens are ready to do it again. siemens. answers.

siemens. ♪ well, look who's here. it's ellen. hey, mayor white. how you doing? great. come on in. would you like to see our new police department? yeah, all right. this way. and here it is. completely networked. so, anything happening, suz? she's all good. oh, my gosh. is that my car? [ whirring ] [ female announcer ] the new community. see it. live it. share it. on the human network. cisco.

welcome back to "morning joe." just after 7:30 on the east coast. stock futures sharply lower this morning with continued doubts about the nation's fragile economic recovery. with a key jobs report due out this morning, the dow plunged yesterday 268 points. although more jobs may have been added in january, analysts say revised numbers may actually push overall unemployment above 10%. officials in haiti are charging ten american baptists with kidnapping for trying to take 33 undocumented children outside the country. their attorney indicates nine of the suspects are innocent and were simply caught up in group's

leader's plan. that's what it's called. many of the kids are actually not orphans, but had parents who willingly turned them over. the lawyer did not say if any money was involved. and the mid-atlantic bracing for a big storm, where over 24 inches of snow forecast for parts of the region. flights and train service canceled with officials warning travel may be "nearly impossible." the national weather center forecasts near blizzard conditions through saturday. wow. and we'll be back with congressman elijah cummings on "morning joe" brewed by starbucks, live from los angeles. why does lubriderm work so well with skin?

one reason? lubriderm® contains the same nutrients naturally found in healthy skin. skin absorbs it for a clinically shown 24 hours. for skin that looks and feels truly comfortable. lubriderm®. your moisture matched. ♪ (announcer) right now, all over the country, discover customers are getting five percent cashback bonus on travel. it pays to get more, it pays to discover.

as i said at the state of the union, we should be very deliberate, take our time. we should move a jobs package over the next several weeks. that is the thing most urgent right now. in the minds of americans all across the country. and that will allow everybody to get the real facts, both about the health care crisis that we face, why it's so important for deficit reduction, why it's important for families all across the country. it allows to us see, are there, in fact, some better ideas out there? >> with us now, let's bring in democratic representative from maryland and also member of the joint economic committee, and the committee on oversight and

government reform. congressman elijah cummings. president obama is going to be visiting his home state today to talk jobs and the economy. we'll talk about that in a minute. first, elijah, i think back to when we were in congress, on the same committee, we did a lot of good things together. democrats, republicans working together. when mika and i go out, a lot of people are asking why isn't that happening anymore. are you hopeful we can have more bipartisanship moving forward on the jobs bill? or are we going to have another year of fighting like last year? >> i'm cautiously hopeful. but i can tell you it will be difficult. i do applaud the president for coming to my district last friday, and talking to the republican caucus. i thought that was phenomenal. and i thought it was a good exchange, and hopefully it will -- i thought it would be the beginning of some good

dialog, but then immediately after he left, i understand they put out a pretty scathing press release that, you know, was complaining about the president. i thought it was good he did that. but hopefully we will, joe. because people are hurting, they are hurting bad. and i know the super bowl party is going on in the white house this weekend, and i'm hoping that -- and i thought it was a good idea for the president to bring in top leaders in the democratic and republican parties and hopefully they'll be able to sit down between, you know, touchdowns or whatever, and discuss some jobs, because people are seriously in trouble. >> what -- they are. and john ridley, they had one of these a couple of years ago, or was that just a year ago? they had republicans there. cocktail party, super bowl party. >> i was at the party, joe.

>> were you? and republicans and democrats getting along. but it didn't turn out well after that. >> i think we have a situation where, joe, as you know from serving in the congress. they who have power, have all power, and i think basically what my republican friends have done is they have decided that they are going to say no to almost everything this president tries to do. i got to tell you, joe. we have got -- there are too many people hurting, and we have to leave politics at the door so we can resolve these problems. people don't have jobs. >> all right. >> but, eladies and gentlem elin if we put ideology at the door, the president does have responsibility to put some things forward that the republicans might like. tax breaks for small businesses, a payroll tax break for small businesses to get people back to work. it's -- i mean, it is a two-way

street if you want bipartisanship. it can't be the president saying my way or the highway, right? >> i totally agree with you, joe. we democrats have to give some. republicans have to give some, and the president has got to be the glue that keeps all of us together. but the fact still remains that what's happening now, joe, is nothing is happening. and so -- so we've got to get past that, and i think -- i do believe, though, that the president, when he spoke in baltimore and over the last few weeks, he sort of maintained his strategy and went back to the things that he was talking about during the campaign, and basically saying, look, guys, put these little arguments aside, and let's come together, you know what? i have a feeling it will get done in the end. >> all right. but we're hearing you saying three times that people are hurting. we're hearing the president using those words as well.

honestly, has the president been behind the eight-ball with that message? and has he done enough, congressman, to spur job growth? >> jobs, jobs, jobs. >> i think the president is clearly very much focused right now. he'll be here in my state today again and he'll be talking about how you keep small businesses in their facilities, if they have mortgage problems. and i think he's put together -- put forth some very strong proposals, such as the tax breaks for those hiring folks, such as getting money to our community banks from the t.a.r.p. funds so small businesses can have access to capital. all things are very significant. and i think he's giving republicans and democrats some things to chew on. harry reid announced yesterday that the senate would be announcing their -- putting forth their proposal come monday, so i think we're on the right track, and the president has done what i would hope he

would do to get very, very much involved. he has a lot on his plate. he understands clearly we have to employ americans. >> elijah, thank you so much for being with us. we greatly appreciate it. >> thank you, all. >> congressman elijah cummings, great talking to you. go ahead. >> i don't know. i have to say it seems like there has been such a turn. health care is on the back burner in terms of the president's message. fair enough? >> the president going out today and we know he's talking about jobs. he's going to talk about jobs. over the past year, we have been suggesting and mike barnicle as you know he has been suggesting every day, jobs, jobs, jobs, forget about health care, forget about cap and trade, forget about global warming, oslo, forget about copenhagen, forget about don't ask, don't tell. by the end of the year, we were debating abortion in health care

bills. the white house would say we request walk and chew gum at the same time. we don't want you to do two things at the same time. we want you to focus on jobs. sounds like message received by the white house, finally. >> remember 1981-82, ron reagan. and he said it was a slight recession. it became the reagan recession, and he got the message. it was the mid term election and he went on to be -- at least as far as conservatives are concerned, a really great president. what's going on with the president is somewhat of a wakeup call. it's not easy. i go to work every day and make mistakes. i don't have his job. i believe we can walk and chew gum at the same time. and people want to know, it's politics as you know, it's local and in the pocketbook. when there is a sense of things turning around, i think it's more receptive to other things. >> if the president focuses on jobs and all of these

ideological pursuits, some of which are very important. but if they see a president trying, then they won't -- they will say he's doing everything he can do, this is bush's recession. when they see a president distracted. they say bush got us into this mess, but this guy doesn't seem to get it. >> the white house will tell you that every effort they have had, especially health care, has everything to do with jobs. >> that's just not true. that is not true, and the american people are not stupid. health care with 75% of americans said they liked their health care before the process started, this was an ideological pursuit for progressives and the left. make no mistake of it and they pursued it over the cliff while we were warning them every day on the show to focus on jobs and they were contemptuous of that message and then they went to cap and trade we said focus on jobs. then they went on this rabbit

trail, that rabbit trail. got killed in massachusetts politically. they got the message and corrected their tracks. >> i don't think some of these long-term strategies can be good. >> for deficit reduction and jobs. >> i agree that the headline has to be jobs. >> if they were going to do health care reform, they should have done real health care reform, instead of selling out to big pharma, trial lawyers, unions, big health care companies. not getting rid of the antitrust exemption for health care insurance companies, allowing people to buy health care across state lines. there was a way to do this and get 60 votes. >> up next, big developments on toyota. >> can that seriously happen in government, knowing what's happened in the past? so much money, so many votes. >> it takes courage. >> i think it does. we'll be right back. >> as my good friend dan rather

says, courage. today, we're giving my living room a much-needed makeover. i thought we couldn't afford it, but then i went to walmart and i found the new home trends collection. i started off with rugs and pillows... and i got those for a steal. [ son ] mooom. steal as in a good price, honey. and then, it was on to my bare walls... i even got all the little extras, guilt free. tables, lamps, pillows, candles... and just like that, voila! a room i want to show off. get the new home trends collection at walmart. save money. live better. walmart.

this bar is an excellent source of fiber. there's no fiber in this. it tastes too good. they have 35% of your daily value. oh, samples. mmm. fiber one. cardboard no. delicious yes. and while it can never be fully answered, it helps to have a financial partner like northern trust. by gaining a keen understanding of your financial needs, we're able to tailor a plan using a full suite... of sophisticated investment strategies and solutions.

so whatever's around the corner can be faced with confidence. ♪ northern trust. look ahead with us at northerntrust.com. ♪ ♪ when it comes to protecting the things you care about... ...leave nothing to chance. travelers. insurance for auto, home, and business. - ( whirring ) - oh, you know what? let me call you back. announcer: you don't drink every time you smoke.

yet you smoke every time you drink. drinking and smoking don't have to go together. re-learn life without cigarettes, free, at becomeanex.org. a new way to think about quitting. re-learn life without cigarettes, free, to make certain your child is prepared... call sylvan now. our individualized approach sharpens the skills your child needs to succeed. sylvan even guarantees improvement. invest in your child's education. call... for a free dvd/ information kit. that's... call now. toyota is recalling over 8 million vehicles for gas pedal related issues with more still to be recalled for braking problems. in light of this announcement and to show how committed we are

to remaining competitive with industry leader toyota, effective immediately, chrysler is removing the brakes from every one of our cars. a message from chrysler. >> all right. there is more trouble to report this morning for toyota. just minutes ago in japan, toyota's president apologized for these global recalls, as the auto company deals with its latest round of setbacks. this time with its popular brand, the prius. cnbc's phil lebeau is live at a toyota dealership in parkridge, illinois. i take it with, phil, the dealerships are being hit really hard. >> reporter: they have been, mika. they're noticing that it's much quieter because fewer people are coming in. they're not selling eight of their most popular models. this is a company right now -- and the dealers are noticing the impact -- a company that's trying to deal with two major recalls and people bringing up serious questions about the safety and reliability of prius brakes.

toyota's latest problem, the prius, its best-selling gas/hybrid. the prius is considered toyota's gold standard and a badge of conspicuous for owners. less than moont after buying her 2007 prius, today west coast contributor maria felt like her brakes failed after an accident. federal investigators are looking into 100 consumer complaints about the brakes in the 2010 prius. >> it's going to really hurt toyota, definitely in the short-term. >> reporter: toyota says it's looking into what may cause the brakes to pause before slowing down, saying, "we're making every effort to address this situation for our customers as quickly as possible." yet another setback for the world's number one automaker, already under the microscope for two massive recalls to address

unintended acceleration. but as dealers around the country began the monumental task of fixing potentially faulty gas pedalingins, they're fayed with repairing relationships with millions of loyal customers. >> i just want it fixed. i want to go on driving my car and be happy and safe. >> reporter: so at toyota dealerships around the country, the big fix has begun. almost all the dealerships have begun to receive the shims that will go into the faulty gas pedals. it will take the dealers weeks if not months to fix 2.3 million cars that have been recalled because of these sticky gas pedals. >> that's incredible. and phil, really, quickly, put into context this apology by toyota's president. how significant is that? >> reporter: huge. actio toyoda is the grandson of the founder of toyota, rarely talks in public, and his comments, we've had a chance to

listen to them this morning, he's saying, not only are we apologizing, but we're ready to cooperate with congressional hearings. toyota is getting the message that it's got to step up. >> phil lebeau, thank you very much. coming up next, right here on "morning joe," "the washington post's" eugene robinson. and we're a little more than 30 minutes away from that big january jobs report due out. we'll bring it to you live, right here on "morning joe," brewed by starbucks and live from los angeles. have an old 401k?

no matter how the market changes, your retirement savings need care and attention from year to year. open a t.rowe price smartchoice rollover ira, and let our professionals manage it for you. just choose the retirement fund closest to your expected retirement date. our fund managers will adjust the investment mix over time to become more conservative as your retirement date nears. all with no loads, sales charges or commissions. visit our website, or call our investment guidance specialists at 1800-539-8115 and consider a move that could make all the difference in your retirement. the t. rowe price smartchoice rollover 1-800-539-8115 request a prospectus or summary prospectus with investment objectives, risks, fees, expenses and other information to read and consider carefully before investing.

t. rowe price. invest with confidence.

play a little bit of a scenario. >> i'm thinking about running for president. >> i think that's a really bad idea. >> i want you to be my vice president. >> i think that's a really bad idea too. now, listen, i've got pictures of me from college that i have in a shoe box that preclude me from working at the post office. so i would not -- you have no idea the trouble -- >> this is why i've selected you as my vice president. >> all right. >> your image is so bad, no matter what they found, it wouldn't matter. >> i need a strong vp. >> i'm not running with you. >> oh, you're not? >> no! i'm not going to be your vp, because i know what that's going to be. that's to light the white house menorah. nost intere not interested. welcome back to "morning joe." we're live from los angeles. last night, mika was at the

grove, we were all at the grove, at the barnes & noble there. what a great signing. we had hundreds of people out there. a lot of -- believe it or not, "morning joe" fans that watch this show from 3:00 to 6:00 a.m., i don't really understand. and really, the stalker, the biggest stalker, councilman, we love him and came and gave mika declaration yesterday, i'm sure you felt it, your spine was probably tingling, yesterday was mika brzezinski day in los angeles. >> just ridiculous. >> which is why john ridley came here. >> what a lot of people don't know, they know i write, know i do things like that. they don't know every time there's a day named after someone, they call me. i come along. >> you said it was also the commissary menu. >> oh, lord, please. no, we are not starting this. not with eugene on tab.

>> i'll talk about it. >> right now, then we'll go to gene robinson, because he's won a pulitzer prize. this is wanda sykes talking about why john ridley is here today. >> nbc, they had a menu for black history month. y'all have it -- yeah, they were served fried chicken, collard greens, black eyed peas, corn bread. that's how they celebrate. no, you don't need to know about harriette tubman, here's some fried chicken. what is happening at nbc. >> we are a very progressive company. >> is the whole damned network on medical marijuana? what the hell is going on over here? >> okay. you work with wanda. you're the head writer. >> head producer of her show. she's a terrific person. very funny. >> hysterical. >> but as you mentioned, the you

can aquafina water. >> there's a reason for that. it goes back hundreds of years. >> this is actually all based on a true story out of nbc, which we don't want to get into, but we just did at the top of the hour, which makes no sense at all. we have a lot to talk about today. >> yes, we do. >> but nothing more fun than we just talked about. but the lady apologized. >> she apologized. >> she was an african-american, she thought that she was doing something good. she was very tearful and she said, i don't get it. i don't get it. is this bad? >> a lot of people don't get it. not getting it crosses all racial barriers. >> this poor woman didn't get it, but now she's getting it. >> gene robinson gets it. pulitzer prize-winner from "the washington post," thank you so much for being with us today. >> it's great to be here.

>> hold on while i take a sip of my aquafina. and i would say good morning to all of you, but i -- it's not even morning out there yet. so good middle of the night. >> i will officially apologize to joe for this book tour, literally, running him into the ground. you have done it, thank you very much. >> it is the bataan death march of the publishing world. >> i'm sorry. it was nice of you to come along. very supportive. >> an average of three hours' sleep per night. but at least it was a restful three hours. a big jobs report coming out in the next half hour. we'll get to that. also talk about whether the obama administration can handle messaging the fact that they care about a recovery, an economic recovery, given the fact that these numbers may not look so good. but we'll bring them to you live coming up. it is now time for a look at some of today's top stories. our top story is president obama

pushing his plan to jump-start job growth when he meets today with small business owners in maryland. it follows yesterday's appearance at the national prayer breakfast where he called on leaders to reject the cynicism and political attacks that dominate the landscape. the president urged both parties the to find common ground. >> at times, it seems like we're unable to listen to one another, to have at once a serious and civil debate. and this erosion of civility in the public square sews division and distrust among our citizens. it poisons the well of public opinion. but surely you can question my policies without questioning my faith. or for that matter, my citizenship . >> hey, eugene, what did you think of the president's speech before the prayer breakfast yesterday? >> you know, i thought it was good. i think it's in keeping with the

white house campaign, the president's campaign, to regain control of the discussion, of the debate, and of the language of the debate. and who can argue with prayer, who can argue with comedy as a way for republican and democrats to deal with each other in washington. so, you know, as a world-changing speech, no, but i thought it was certainly appropriate and seemed to be well received. >> all right. now moving on with news, toyota's president is promising to improve quality control at the automaker amid the massive recall of millions of vehicles. the company is still deciding how to handle braking problems with the popular prius hybrid. although toyota did not announce a recall of the model, officials say they are considering it. it comes as dealerships extend their hours to repair a different problem, where the gas

pedal can become stuck on eight other popular models. this is a huge, devastating time for toyota. >> oh, no doubt about it. >> and dealerships. >> and gene, in your new article, you say that the recall is toyota's payback for combining computers and cars. and you write this, "when something goes wrong with a car, you don't start by opening the hood and unbolting pieces from the engine one at a time, the way you used to. you plug in a reader device and ask the vehicle what its problem is. raise your hand if you think it's a great idea to make our cars precisely as dependable and problem free as, gulp, our personal computers." explain. >> well, that's what a car is now. a car used to be a mechanical device. you press the accelerator pedal and, you know, it opened a valve and let more gas to the engine. you know, what happened when something went wrong with your car.

you opened the hood, scratched your head for a while and looked at it, and you knew the big thing on top was the air cleaner, you took that off, and you knew there was a carburetor under there and you knew where the spark plug and spark plug wires were. and you know, i'm not some huge mechanic, but i defy you to look under the hood of any car now, not just toyota, but this is what an automobile is now, it's a collection of parts that are essentially told what to do by little computers and it has made, you know, this advance, this entry of automobiles into the information age has made cars safer, it's made them less polluting, but it's also made them a lot more complicated and a computer's only as good as its software. this prius braking problem, for example, may be a glitch in the software that switches from something called a regenerative braking mode to a hydraulic

braking mode. >> you're making my head hurt. >> brakes used to be really, really dumb. they just stopped the car. that's all they did. >> press it, and the things go down on the wheels, right, and slows them down, like the flinestones. >> you have a following out here. >> yeah, by the way, gene, next time we come out here, you've got to come with us and do the book signings at night and wake up a at 1:30 in the morning. gene robinson is the reason why a lot of people wake up at 3:00 a.m. can you believe that? >> no, i can't believe that. >> eugene! >> seriously, they love you out here. a couple other news stories to get to this morning. stock futures are sharply lower this morning with continued doubt about the state of the fragile economic recovery. a key jobs report is due out in about a half hour. the dow plunged, yesterday, though, 268 points. the 2.6% drop, the dow's worst performance in nine months. >> and by the way, erin burnett's going to be here to

give us a jobs report when it breaks at 8:30. >> they say the revised numbers may push overall unemployment to above 10%. that is going to be very difficult for the president, who has, i would say, a renewed message about recovery and showing a connection with the fact that people are really hurting. >> but, again, though, mika, if the president focuses primarily on jobs and is not debating abortion provisions in health care bills, americans will give him a pass, because the majorities of americans still see this recession, gene robinson, as george w. bush's recession. the polling all shows that most americans still blame george w. bush. barack obama and democrats get hammered in massachusetts and new jersey, and bobs for jobs in virginia, not because they were blaming democrats for the recession, but because they were blaming democrats for not sufficiently focusing on the recession. but it seems like the message

has been received because of massachusetts, gene, don't you agree? >> i absolutely agree that the message is received. and i think that's basically right. i don't think people, you know, people aren't stupid. they realize that barack obama came into office at a time of economic crisis that was not of his creation. but they expect the government to fix it. and, frankly, some of the expectations are not terribly realistic in that job growth is inevitably going to lag and economic recovery, according to the figures we got recently, the economy grew at nearly 6% in the last quarter of 2009. >> that's pretty great. >> yet -- that's great, but unemployment will not catch up until months or close to a year after a recession ends. that's when you start getting people hired again. and who knows how long the lag is for a recession this deep and

this long. this is not quite uncharted territory, but it's not your usual recession. so i don't -- >> you know, one thing, though -- no, i was just going to say, gene, one thing that you can -- this is not unchartered territory. and you can look back to the great depression, and you can see that industrial production shot up about three years after the new deal began. but it took about seven, eight years for unemployment to -- well, actually, it didn't really kick-start -- unemployment didn't start to go down significantly until world war ii, in 1939, 1940, i think there was still 20% unemployment. so, yeah, you're right, there is a lag between production, industrial production picking up, and people getting back to work. >> and the white house will say, they have done things to post economic recovery, and there is data to back it up, and the stimulus plan, whether you like it or not, is kicking in and has yet to kick in in a number of ways. but at the same time, i think

what you're saying, and you tell me if i'm right, is that people want to hear a complete focus on jobs. and what the white house hasn't been able to communicate is that health care reform and these other initiatives is not choosing against jobs, they believe, it is interrelated. but they haven't been able to -- >> but it's not. and as gene said, americans aren't stupid. and they know that passing health care reform is about passing health care reform. if, in fact, it significantly brought down the cost of health care over ten years, people would get that. this was a horrible bill and it was a horrible bill, john ridley, because the president didn't define it. it was a hodgepodge of louisiana purchases and nebraska compromises. what with surprises me, and we had the report from savannah guthrie earlier this morning, it seems that the jobs bill, now, may be the same thing where democrats went out and said, we're going to do a jobs bill. well, what's in it? we're not really sure. here are our talking points.

>> i think there's that little sense of, we're going to tell you you want to hear first and we'll tell you what you need second. i think the president is up it a little bit. and it's not a bad thing. we talked about it's a little bit of a wake-up call. and i think that's a good thing. but i do wish that, and this goes back to what we talked about the state of the union message, part of being a great leader is being a great communicator. and that's what the president has going for him. and i got a shot of that at the state of the union. i know, mika, you felt like it was just another big speech. but that's a part of it, telling people exactly what you're going to do and how you're going to do that and getting them behind you. that's what the great leaders were able to do, communicate what they want to do. >> but gene, when ronald reagan spoke before congress, he told them exactly what he wanted. he was going to cut taxes, he was going to beat the commies. it was very specific. this is what we're pushing for.

do you think the president's going to be more specific moving forward and not defer as much to nancy pelosi and harry reid as he did in his first year? >> well, i do hope the president is more specific and kind of lays, you know, draws more lines in the sand and says this is what we need to do. but think about this, we're talking about a jobs bill. what could conceivably be in a jobs bill, any sort of jobs bill? one assumes it's going to involve some government spending that's zidesigned to put peopleo work. and since consumers aren't spending, it's -- the sprender f last resort is the government. well, that works counter to the other great imperative of the deficit and short-term and long-term. and that's a difficult political line to walk, because i think you could look at polls and say, well, these are two things that people want the government to do

and it's really hard to do both of them at the same time. >> all right. eugene robinson, thank you very much. good to see you. >> thanks, gene. >> come out to l.a. with us next time. up next, connecting with america's middle class. the president and congressional democrats are clashing publicly over economic proposals. who's going to get their way? the politico playbook is next. we're also minutes away from the january jobs report that's keeping world markets on edge. we'll bring you those numbers live with cnbc's erin burnett. and what about the demon sheep? should we show you that? >> we're going to show you the demon sheep. more of jon stewart and bill o'reilly. and a major winter storm is expected to slam the east coast this weekend. let's get the latest from meteorologist chris warren, because, of course, broadway bill karins, once again, claiming his wife is pregnant -- >> having another baby. >> fourth time he's used that excuse this year. oh, my wife's pregnant.

you're like, dude, she can't be pregnant in august and november. chris, what are we looking at this weekend? >> we're looking at a bill storm, especially for the mid-atlantic. so if you are flying out of town, you have your choice of today or tomorrow, go today, go early. let's take a look at the airport delays, we're not seeing any, but i can bet these airplanes will be a different color later on today and tomorrow because of that right there. take a look at the east coast. big storl bringing a lot of rain to the south. it will bring a lot of snow to the mid-atlantic. already winter weather advisories, winter weather warnings. and that purplish pink color there, winter warnings tonight for parts of new jersey and delaware. wind and heavy snow. look at this, pink indicates 6 to 12 inches. the purple, more than a foot. some areas, including washington, d.c., could be upwards around 2 feet of snow. otherwise, new england, not looking too bad. the middle part of the country, the plains also are going to see some snow showers. it's going to be a big one. you'rewatching "morning joe," brought to you by starbucks. national car rental? that's my choice.

because with national, i roll past the counter... and choose any car in the aisle. choosing your own car? now that's a good call. go national. go like a pro. it can go from a scratchy throat in the morning. to a cough. to a full body ache... at night. new tylenol cold rapid release gels day and night work fast too. they release medicine fast to relieve painful coughs, congestion and sore throats. so you can rest, day and night. feel better, tylenol cold.

so you can rest, day and night. my feeling was, you could have defeated bloomberg in this cycle, but you did not run. are you going to run the next ti time? >> i could have beaten bloomberg like a rented mule, but i decided -- >> by the way, how much does it cost to rent that mule? >> it's an expensive mule when it's bloomberg. >> about a $1 billion mule, if you want to beat bloomberg. >> don't start me. >> i love michael bloomberg. >> that wasn't fair. >> i feel blessed -- >> that was everything that is wrong with the system.

>> there's nothing wrong with the best guy winning. >> he's a good mayor, i believe that. >> we love him. >> why is it okay? >> because he's a great mayor. >> because i'm trying to get a loan, that's why. let's take a look at the morning papers. >> by the way, by the way -- >> we've got bobby jindal. >> he was just on another network, bobby jindal, but as you know, he's been afraid to come on "morning joe" about a year now, since we compared him to kenneth on "30 rock," his flawed state of the union address. it might have gone down as the worst state of the union address. the only one that was comparable, 1969, the democrats in a tragic mistake trying to reach out to the middle had pat paulson deliver the address. democratic address. >> you know, one should be able to laugh at ones self. >> not if one can't handle

pressure. >> and kirsten gillibrand also won't come on this show. >> yeah, i'm going to have coffee with her. >> didn't ask me? >> you're not invited. >> we're running the harold ford for senate committee. we're not running that committee, we've been really tough on harold ford too. make subway jokes every chance we get. and helicopter jokes. >> but i thought he was great when he went on colbert and laughed at himself. >> maybe we can get kirsten gillibrand and bobby jindal. >> you're underestimated kirsten gillibrand. i'll make a bet with you right now that you are underestimating her. >> what about bobby jindal? >> not sure you're going underestimating him. "wall street journal," doubts dashed for a recovery. >> "new york times," haiti charges americans with child abduction. the charges against the ten members of a baptist congregation will now be considered by a judge who has up

to three months to decide whether -- >> do you think those people were really trying to steal kids? >> it doesn't make -- >> it doesn't make any sense. >> you can't show up anywhere and say, i'm going to take your kids because i think i'm going to give them a better life. >> unless you'ring an leana jea, and then you can, of course. >> "usa today," super weekend -- >> i'm going to go to the appalachian and pick up some kids, because they may not live as well as i do. >> you can't think that way. >> that is so cold. >> can we talk about the super weekend. can the colts' peyton manning be stopped, can the saints really win it all? >> and "the washington post," highway crews are already started pretreating roads in washington, d.c., where snow is expected to fall at 2 to 3 inches an hour. do you remember when marion barry was mayor, he was down in jamaica on vacation, the snow came, he didn't come back, and

they asked him about it, he said, god brought the snow, god can take the snow away. >> that was what ruined his career, right? >> that, plus the crack sting. what was the exact quote? >> i can't say the word, the "b" word set me up. >> smoking the crack pipe. who would think that would hurt your career. >> carly fiorina's political campaign hascreated the newest online star, the demon sheep. why the video is getting laughs, some say it might backfire. it's a freaky video. >> it's pretty silly. let's bring in politico editor, jim vandehei. what do you think about that demon sheep? >> that's a wolf. >> it's one of the weirdest -- and it's longer than dr.

desaradevago. it keeps going on and on. >> i don't even get it. it looks like such a silly beast. i was actually thinking of coming in dressed like that for my morning show. if you don't like what i say -- >> yeah, that is -- it's just bizarre. anyway. let's talk about -- let's crack open the politico playbook. >> i'm uncomfortable with that. >> even before the demon sheep shows up, is just so stupid. democrats are pushing back as president obama is trying to move a little bit to the center. jim, what's going on here? >> well, i think that even before the state of the union, but certainly since the state of the union, democrats are really trying to figure out where they have common ground. put aside republicans, like, what can they do that they think is popular with voters, that they can actually get through the house and senate. and obama's having problems. even with the jobs bill, which in individual pieces, a lot of them are very popular, but when you put them together, he has trouble. he would like to use t.a.r.p. money and give that to some

small businesses and congress is like, we'd much rather you just do that by executive order. why do we have to keep taking these votes. and then you have health care, there's so much hand wringing and finger-pointing still going on about who's to blame for what seems to be, at least, so far, the defeat of health care. they want leadership out of obama, there was this private meeting two days ago where franken stood up and really got in the face of axelrod and others and said, we need more leadership from you. we need more direction. you need to be pushing the house and senate with clarity on what you want to do with health care. so i think what this reflects is, it's just a broader frustration with they're looking at the poll numbers, they're looking at the electoral math for 2010 and they want to figure out, is there anything we can do to sort of win back those independents, protect ourselves, and then get on to legislating down the road in 2011. >> and so many democrats have come on our show throughout the year, complaining that the president was not providing leadership on health care. saying, specifically, this is what i want, this is the direction we're going in.

any indications the white house may change tact and the president may actually lead a bit more forcefully this year? >> i don't see -- not on health care, at least, not so far. i do think it was probably a pretty big tactical mistake last year in giving so much freedom to congress to write all of these bills. they felt they had to if they want to do a lot of things simultaneously. but what happens is, you end up losing control over the message. he's still the most popular and powerful person in the democratic party and a lot of democrats want him to use that popularity, use that power, enforce people, use the power of the presidency to sort of work his will. and that is an approach, it has worked for some presidents in the past. so far, at least on health care, he has not wanted to do that. >> all right. politico's jim vandehei. thank you very much. >> thank you, jim. coming up next, those january jobs numbers are due out any minute now. the very latest with cnbc's erin burnett, live at the new york stock exchange. we'll be right back. >> she's an international superstar, by the way. oh sure, we have plenty of employees that...

you can label as "different." like janice.

uh-huh. yeah. fashion deficient. and tom... copy incapable. it's open kimono time. looking good, dan. oh, we want to make sure all our ducks in a row. yeah. volume control syndrome. but we focus on the talent and skill that each person... brings to the team. i mean, no one's really concerned about labels. not even mine. labels get in the way. disabilities rarely do. visit thinkbeyondthelabel.com to evolve your work force. right now 1.2 million people are on sprint mobile broadband. 31 are streaming a sales conference from the road. 154 are tracking shipments on a train. 33 are iming on a ferry. and 1300 are secretly checking email on vacation. that's happening now. america's most dependable 3g network. bringing you the first and only wireless 4g network. right now get a free 3g/4g device for your laptop. sprint. the now network. deaf, hard-of-hearing and people with speech disabilities access www.sprintrelay.com.

we're back. we're apparently back. oh, breaking news, the january jobless rate report is out. we are being told the latest now. >> so is my ear piece. my ear piece is out. >> let's go to cnbc's erin burnett. >> the numbers are bad. the numbers are bad. here's the thing. and here's why -- i'll give you the good news first, to the extent that it is good news, but

it really isn't. the unemployment rate was 10.1% and it fell to 9.7%. again, you've got to emphasize, though, for that, you're only counted as unemployed if you've been looking for work in the past month. and the unemployment rate can distort the story, which it appears it is again. the payrolls, which is the number the market looks at and it tells the truth about the economy, we did see a drop of 20,000 payrolls. a lot of people have been looking for a gain. the consensus estimate is that we would see an improvement, as in net hiring for the month of january. we did not, we saw a drop. on top of that, in december, there was a revision, and it was even worse than had originally been reported. we lost 150,000 jobs in december, and originally that was reported as a loss of only 85,000. another reason why this is an important month to look at the payroll number is this. last year in january of 2009, we lost 741,000 jobs. that number is adjusted. it's adjusted seasonally, and that's a very important thing in

january, because in january, you always see a lot of people lose their jobs post holiday season. the seasonally adjusted number is the number we go with. last number that was 741,000, but the real adjusted number was a loss of 3.6 million. so usually in january is the number is a whole lot worse than the number we tell you on the screen. while the number was 20,000, a lot more people actually lost their job than that in january, but they're adjusting it, trying to get rid of that holiday effect. >> i'm a simple country lawyer, as you know, just a plain old country lawyer. it seems to me, last week, we get news that the economy grows at 5.7%, and everybody says, not that big of a deal. now unemployment's dropped from 10.1% to 9.7% and people say, that's not really accurate. it seems if you just looked at these mac ro number, there could

be good news. >> tun employment rate only counts people who have been actively looking for work. 8.4 million people have lost their jobs, just on the raw count, since the recession began. a lot of people out there are looking for work, but they've given up. they looked for three months and they cannot find anything. so they stop looking. so that's why the unemployment rate is very hard to read anything into. and in fact, what we expect will happen is that when you start to see an improvement in the labor market, as in jobs become more plentiful, that unemployment rate's going to tick up. because all those people who have given up are going to start looking again. >> hold on a second, hold on! see, this is why i never went into the business building at the university of alabama, because it hurts my -- so, you're saying, when people start getting jobs, the unemployment rate will go up. >> yes. >> but people lost their jobs more this past month, so

unemployment rate went down. >> well, there's also this other thing, joe -- >> my teeth hurt. >> i think i made it hopefully explained why the rate would go up when the jobs market starts to improve -- >> you did. i'm just slow. >> the other thing to keep in mind is something we've talked about before. which is the payroll number is the number that is perceive ed the most accurate and based on a survey of businesses conducted by the u.s. government. the unemployment rate is not based on the same data set. it is based on calls to americans in their homes, what regular people say about their employment situation. so that's why those two numbers are not necessarily the same. not saying it makes one better than the other -- >> and wall street's going to react negatively to this news? so they'll react negatively to this -- >> you know, it's interesting, they're trying to figure out what to say, how to react to it, joe. it's not horrific in the sense of you didn't see a drop of 100,000 or something like that, but it's not good.

the market dropped sharply when the news first crossed, and it's now come back a little bit, and they're going to fight through. but people really just want that positive sign, just like you do, they just want a positive sign in front of that payroll number and we don't yet have it. >> all right. erin burnett, international superstar -- >> erin, thank you. >> thank you so much, we really do appreciate it. >> bye, guys. >> if i'm president obama, i'm sorry, i'm going to take these numbers and run with them. i would love to be able to go, if i'm president, and i'm talking politics, not economics, i would love to say, last quarter the economy grew at 5.7% and unemployment fell from 10.1% to 9.7%. we still have a lot of work to do, but make no mistake about it, things are going in the right direction. again, that's the political side of it and we're talking macroeconomics, but erin says that, and again, economists say this, good news is bad news and bad news is good news. >> that's why nobody likes economists. >> i know, exactly.

well, that, plus, i don't know if you knew it, but a lot of economists, day don't bathe regularly. >> oh, great. >> that seems like a perfect segue to our next guest. >> no, it is not. you're ridiculous! coming up next, a preview of "the new york times'" book review and week in review, sam tanenhaus, next on "morning joe," live from los angeles. idiot! >> mayor, i noticed you're not wearing a today? can you comment on why you started wearing one? >> i couldn't hear what you had to say? other questions? [ male announcer ] when it comes to reaching your big milestones, and all your little mile-pebbles ameriprise financial can help. we have over ten-thousand advisors ready to listen to your dreams and help you plan for them. because the first step towards reaching what you want is reaching the person who can help you get there.

our advisors. your dreams. more within reach. meet us at ameriprise.com. hey! announcer: you don't drive every time you smoke. yet you smoke every time you drive. driving and smoking don't have to go together. re-learn life without cigarettes, free, at becomeanex.org. a new way to think about quitting. go to hotwire.com.

when four-star hotels have unsold rooms they use hotwire to fill them, so you get them at ridiculously low prices. ♪ h-o-t-w-i-r-e ♪ hotwire.com

my critics have said, oh, there she goes again, senator landrieu, just running off on her own, making all sorts of terrible things and making the state of louisiana look bad.

i've spent 30 years of my life trying to represent the people of my state and make them look good. even when they were wrong, i've defended them. and when they were right, i've praised them. and when i was wrong, i apologized. and when i was right, i was very proud of my work. i don't need this job badly enough -- maybe some people do, i don't -- to throw the people of my state under a bus to protect myself politically. >> that was senator mary landrieu, yesterday, on the senate floor. and you know, john ridley, it's so fascinating, mary landrieu and ben nelson have been damaged politically in their own state. i think ben nelson in a way that he won't recover. it's over for ben, gentle ben. for the louisiana purchase and the nebraska compromise or the nebraska kickback or whatever they call it. isn't it fascinating, people in the state saying, keep the money, we're offend by what you

did, and we're going to run you o out of office. and mary landrieu getting emotional on the floor because she and these other moderates under extraordinary measure. >> that's so much what politics is, getting money for local projects, getting money for your people, but $100 million, and folks are saying, no. >> she was bragging it was actually $300 million. >> that's the amazing thing, to go back to your constituents and say, i got this money, and for people in these times say, we don't care about the money, we don't care about that, we're more concerned with the process and more concerned about a deal that got us there. >> we've been talking about conservatives for the past year, mary landrieu, trouble because she voted for the health care bill. ben nelson, trouble, because he voted for the health care bill. evan bayh, in trouble. that is going to be a hell of a fight for evan bayh, whose father in 1980 was defeated.

these moderates were marched to the cliff and jumped over it because of health care reform. and it's going to be a difficult election year because of it. >> i think evan bayh has been politically realistic, though, about what's going on. so i'm surprised to see -- >> well, he has, but, again, in the end, he voted for this health care bill, and boy, again, we've been saying it all along, the polls are now bearing it out, that this is just going to make his life extraordinarily difficult, regardless of what he says. >> with us now from new york, editor of "the new york times" book review and week in review, sam tanenhaus. sam, good to see you once again. >> i'm going to throw y'all under the bus. i've got the studio to myself. we are changing the locks. i am the king of the world. this place is mine. >> can we have a shot showing how lonely and isolated sam is

in the cavernous 30 rock studio. >> crickets. >> it is so sad. what did i tell you about the bathing thing. first of all, let's talk about week in review. what's your lead story in the week in review this week in "the new york times"? >> well, david siegel, who's been a great writer for us at the section is looking at toyota. oh, we're all so sad, toyota's going down. actually, i've got a 2004 camry, this is no joke, for me. but what siegel looks at is how toyota is really a part, weirdly, of american culture and society. in fact, one of the greatest modern novels is about an all-american guy who sells toyotas. and for many of us, the symbol of how detroit got overtaken was the invasion of japanese vehicles. well, guess what. this may open the door for our manufacturers again. and we've got another -- yeah, go ahead. >> that shot. i was just saying, that is such

a lonely, lonely shot of you in that studio all by yourself. seriously, sitting at a thanksgiving dinner by yourself at the end of a very, very long table. let's also talk about the politics. i think this is fascinating, the politics of war movies, you guys are focusing on that this week as well. >> yeah. here's an interesting question. a.o. scott, a great film critic for the times, looks at two movies about war. "the hurt locker," we know that one, up for academy awards. then there's another film that's been all the rage of sundance, the big hot film festival that robert redford created. and the directors of both these films say -- now, one is about iraq, it's a feature film, and the other is a documentary about afghanistan. they say, these are films about war, there is no politics in them at all. which is kind of an odd idea. how do you show war without a

perspective, without a point of view, without an argument. so t.o. scott is going to look at that. >> john ridley, we have been talking over the past several years about these movies that come and have had sort of a ham-fisted approach. anti-war films, and americans rejected them outright. we've seen over the past couple years, moviemakers making movies where they actually take you in and they focus more on the human beings that are fighting these terrible conflicts, like "the hurt locker." and there's not as much as a ham-fisted -- what was that movie we were laughing about, where the two guys were making the final stand up on the -- i remember us laughing about it on this show a couple of years ago. do you remember that? >> what were we talking about? i honestly don't remember. >> it's so early in the morning. >> yeah. >> but let's talk about the failure of all of these anti-war movies and now where we're moving to something like "the

hurt locker". >> as someone who has written two war films, it's very difficult to sell a war movie, period. because most of the time, we're living through war and it's pretty terrible. and you look at a film that is probably -- and i was thinking about this -- one of the most pro-war films, that is not sort of a 1940s prop film, "green beret," which was made during the vietnam war and was basically, why we fight and why we should fight, it still made war seem horrible, which it is. and i think it's very difficult, people talk about pro-war, an anti-war films, i don't think there's anything -- you can't really have a pro-war film, war is bad. but you can talk about the perspectives of the people fighting and what they're going through. and i think that's the difference, mostly. i would say with "three kings," i had a different agenda in mind that never got on the screen. and with "red tails" -- >> you just wanted to make money. >> i can't save the world. i can't save the world, i can

save me. >> but he can buy another condo. sam, what's on the cover of the book review? >> louiser ederrich has a new book called "shadow tag." this novel is a little different, because some will remember, there was really a terrible episode involving her late husband, michael doris, also a writer, also a native american, who committed suicide under very questionable circumstances, loving their children and allegations of possible child abuse. this novel, in a very delicate way, explores those issues. very important book. >> oh, wow. >> all right. sam tanenhaus, i owe you a review later today. i'll make your deadline. >> you do owe us. you're late! >> another week on the list. >> another week. thank you very much. >> that's exciting. >> thank you very much. >> thank you, sam.

you look so lonely there. we'll see you next week. and i promise, you will be surrounded in the warm, amber glow of the "morning joe" community. >> i like having the place to myself. >> yeah, okay. >> he's good. >> just looks so cold and stark. we'll be right back and give you an update on that big winter storm about to slam the east coast. as we go to break, do you remember this song, 1971? >> no. was not born yet. >> okay. gilbert sullivan, "in love again," naturally, the theme of sam tanenhaus this morning. let's just listen as we go to break, watching sam alone.

investors are demanding more for their money. good. this time, i'm watching fees like a hawk. i hate hidden fees. why should i have to pay for something that i shouldn't have to pay for? td ameritrade's pricing is clear and it's straightforward... it's spelled out upfront. no hidden fees... no bait and switch. no gotchas. and there's one flat rate for online equity trades... for big accounts... or small ones. that's the way it ought to be. time for fresh thinking. time for td ameritrade.

when it comes to things you care about, leave nothing to chance travelers. insurance for auto, home and business. the skaen at the white house is going to look a lot different come this time tomorrow. and the reason why, we do have a big storm that's moving through much of the east coast and the mid-atlantic. take a look at this. it is a big one. a lot of heavy rain to mississippi, alabama, now alabama and atlanta is seeing a lot of heavy rain, moving up into the middle part of the country there, the mid-atlantic. we are going to see some heavy snow already winter storm watches, advisories, and warnings. that purple color there, that is a blizzard warning that goes in effect for tonight into tomorrow for parts of new jersey and delaware. we could see in the nation's

capital, more than a foot of snow. some areas up around 2 feet of snow. so this looks like a major winter event that will last through a good portion of the day tomorrow. and this extends from the mid-atlantic all the way to the ohio valley. we'll be right back. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] the cadillac cts sport sedan. one of car and driver's 10 best for the third year in a row. ♪ and now, cadillac announces the new luxury collection lease. ♪

hey, welcome back to "morning joe." time to talk about what we learned today. what did you learn, john ridley? >> not what i learned, but what i recall, lambs for lions was probably the worst war film ever. >> what did you learn, mika? >> wearing red today, like many msnbc anchors, for heart health. >> well, great. that's what you also wore last night when you were given -- they made it mika brzezinski day in l.a.. >> yes, i did wear this last night. thank you very much for that! >> mika brzezinski day. and a lot of thanks, first of all, to an incredible group of people out in los angeles and burbank. we really appreciate it. you woke up at obscene hours and put up with us. also, jim leech in orange county, running us from 6:00 to 9:00 on the west coast in orange county. and coming to l.a. some time soon. have a great weekend. be safe if you're out there traveling on the east coast. a lot of snow. stay inside. and i've got to say it because

i'm from northwest florida, go, saints. if it's way too early, mika, what time is it? >> it's "morning joe." but now it's time for "the daily rundown." have a great weekend, everyone. numbers just in. the unemployment rate has dropped, but there's more than meets the eye behind those figures and it's not good news. and the head of toyota says, i'm sorry, but is another recall on the way? good morning, it's february 5th, 2010. i'm savannah guthrie. >> and i'm chuck todd. let's get to the rundown. we start with the big numbers from the labor department. the unemployment rate has dropped to 9.7%. that's a mild surprise and comes despite the fact that employers cut 20,000 jobs. analysts had predicted the unemployment rate would rise. but, of course, these predictions never seem to be correct. at the same time, though, we're getting a clearer look at the scope of this recession. after updating its numbers, the government now says 8.4 million jobs, 8.4