getting dressed in the morning. >> you trying to cut the first lady slack, you think that's easy? >> you think white socks are easy to find? >> with the blood stain. >> everything's falling apart. >> i love your shoes. those are wonderful. >> willie, what have you learned? >> as if you didn't have reason to watch the new year's eve special, special appearance by jimmy "the rent is too damned high" mcmillan. >> i learned that you have a great dance floor that i don't know if you're using, and you made me freaked out about all the debt we're in to china. so i freaked out. >> wrap it up. show's over. >> show's over? i guess it's over. willie, if it's way too early, what time is it? >> it's "morning joe," but stick around for "the daily rundown" with chuck and savannah. the final vote on the tax compromise is today in the senate, even as democrats say that estate tax provision is

still a deal breaker. plus, mending fences? the president meets with top business leaders today. a live statement from the president in 15 minutes previewing that meeting. and live video captures a crazed gunman taking florida school board officials hostage. the heartstoping showdown that followed. awful. it's wednesday, december 15th, 2010. i'm chuck todd. >> we'll have all that plus the chuvannah award for the best and worst presidential moments of 2010. we'll get to the rundown in a minute. but first, what we're watching today and on our radar, we'll start with the s.t.a.r.t. drama in the senate. will the republicans force a reading of the entire s.t.a.r.t. treaty on the senate floor today and will that stop it? and hot off the presses, the new nbc news/"wall street journal" poll comes out later today. here's a hint, a little shocking how little americans feel they really know president obama. >> and one day before the president's status report on afghanistan, how did the

intelligence reports leaked today painting a very bleak picture undercut the strategy's basically working narrative we are expecting to see out of the white house tomorrow. we'll get to that in a minute. but first, the rundown and the tax deal going for a vote today. house democrats' frustration and anger may be giving way to acceptance. kelly o'donnell is nbc news capitol hill correspondent. all right, kelly, how do we expect this to go? >> reporter: well, today the senate will, around noontime, start to take a couple of procedural votes. then we expect the big vote. and it should be overwhelming in favor of this. and even one of the democrats who had voted against the first step the other day, sherrod brown of ohio, says he's going to vote for it too. and a lot of people swallow hard, saying there are things they don't like about it, but enough benefits they want to get this done. and nobody wants to be blamed for allowing tax rates to go up for everybody in a couple of weeks. among house democrats, there was another one of those kind of spill your guts sessions last night where they got together, talked about their concerns, tried to figure out a way to

fight this. and those who came out of the meeting told us that there was a lot of chance to talk about it, buts theren't a clear path as to how they would try to fight this. so there's a gaining sense of recognition that it's going to go forward. mitch mcconnell on the senate side. the republican leader said, don't even try to mess with it. it's a take it or leave it kind of deal. it seems to be lurching toward that, but democrats still aren't too happy about it. >> two other issues out there, the spending bill in the senate and the s.t.a.r.t. treaty. and it seems like the entire arizona delegation is now at war with the democrats. jon kyl trying to stop s.t.a.r.t. john mccain trying to stop the spending bill. >> reporter: exactly. and john mccain, who's long been a guy who's been against earmarks, those special projects that members of congress can sneak into a bill that pay for things back home. many of them are noteworthy and worthwhile projects, but the kinds of things that aren't approved separately, so they get a lot of attention. and there are 6,400 of those

worth about $8 billion in a huge spending package that covers all the agencies of government. so lots of republicans are upset about that, given the deficit. jon kyl, who is really the point man on the s.t.a.r.t. treaty with russia, he is definitely saying this can't get done and he's getting some help from jim demint of south carolina, who says he wants every word of that treaty read on the senate floor. that could take 10 to 12 hours, if they go that route. so we thought we had a drama with the tax cuts, but, oh, no, there's more to play out in these remaining days. >> all right. kelly o'donnell on capitol hill for us, for what could be quite the wednesday. thank you very much. well, the president's mission to mend fences with big business continues. today he meets with 20-some ceos at blair house. we expect a statement from the president at any minute before the meeting. we'll bring you that live. let's check in with nbc's athena jones live for us on the white house north lawn. athena. >> reporter: good morning, chuck. >> this whole outreach to business, one of the critiques i

hear is why does he do this in groups, as sort of a summit. although we're not allowed to use that word. why in groups and not one on one? >> reporter: the white house doesn't like to hear the word "summit" thrown around constantly. they'll argue that the president's done this many times. sure, he'll speak to big groups like this at blair house across the street later this hour, groups like the chamber of commerce, but he's also had private lunches. yesterday he had the export council meeting here at the white house talking about exports and how to boost jobs that way. the white house will argue, there's a mix of groups. sometimes you'll have these several hours long meetings like today. among those ceos, people from motorola, google, cisco, pepsico, ge, comcast, just a few of them. and this is the kind of dialogue that the president has wanted to have with business leaders, to get their ideas on how to boost investment, how to spur innovation and competitiveness, and private sector hiring. no doubt the president and the white house are aware of these

reports of nearly $2 trillion in cash reserves that corporate america has sitting on the sidelines. this is the kind of money they want to see pumped into the economy. so they're likely to mention trade, the south korea free trade agreement, the tax deal, which we believe will put money in hands. >> athena jones, this is where we always mention that ge is the parent company of nbc universal among -- >> and comcast might be. >> comcast, potentially. there, we've done our due diligence. >> no relief in sight from the snow, ice, and bitter cold across much of the country. the deep freeze stretches all the way down to florida, where temperatures are about 30 degrees colder than normal. nbc's kerry sanders is live in orlando, where they may hit record lows today. kerry, i don't even know where you got that outfit. you don't need clothes like that in florida. >> it's my ski clothes, what can i tell you? i'm at the wizarding world of

harry potter here in orlando. this would be a tip-off of where i got this, if you read those books. it is a record here, 23 here this morning and all the way as for a south as you can go, down to key west, at the southernmost point, 47 degrees. all records. tourists are bundled up, as you can see. this is not what they expected when they came to florida for their vacations. it's not as if people are going to take off to go on vacation somewhere else. but they are finding if they brought gloves down because they came from up north, they're having to dig them out of their suitcases and it's probably going to continue like that straight on until thursday or more likely friday when it will warm up. the serious economic impact is really for the crops. big impact in the agricultural area, specifically ruined in southwest florida are the carrots, the corn, and the green beans. the citrus industry is watching this very closely. they are, right now, harvesting as much as they can, getting it

to the processing plants, because the temperatures were 28 degrees or lower for more than four hours for two days. they know there's going to be a damage, but not a full assessment yet, guys. >> a bundled up kerry sanders, and of course, another nbc property we ought to mention, universal studios. anyway, kerry sanders, thanks. wall street may have already factored in the new tax cut compromise, so what's driving the markets today? for a preview, we're joined by cnbc's michelle caruso-cabrera. >> we're also going to be watching the orange juice futures as a result of those cold temperatures. so when those reopen, we'll try to get those numbers to you. but overall, it looks like the markets are going to open lower. not a big surprise. the markets hit a two-year high yesterday, we've been in rally mode, so a pullback today is not particularly surprising. we got inflation data, fairly tame, which means the federal reserve will be able to keep doing what they were doing. so that's good news for some components of the market. we have some news out of spain. moody's thinking's it's going to downgrade that country's credit

rating. that may have spilled over here. and we're also seeing very large protests in greece, once again. about 20,000 people marching toward the parliament, trying to protest the austerity measures that are being put in place as a result of their deep budget deficits. whether or not that's going to impact the markets, we'll have to wait and see. but europe is still dealing with their full-fledged crisis going on over there. thus for a, markets open here slightly lower and we'll be watching to see what comes out of that summit -- no, not a summit. at blair house, a meeting with the ceos. >> a working group. michellecaruso-cabrera, cnbc, thank you. new details on that crazed gunman in florida who opened fire inside that school board meeting in panama city. just a horrible, horrible scene. plus -- >> he knew it was his time to move on. and to write the next chapter --

next chapter in his life. >> coming up next, what made the senate republican leader cry on the senate floor yesterday? the answer will join us live next on "the daily rundown." but first, a look ahead at the president's schedule. we've been proving it all morning. he'll make a statement in just a few minutes to us about his big meeting with ceos and then it's behind the scenes. you're watching "the daily rundown," only on msnbc. my doctor said most calcium supplements... aren't absorbed properly unless taken with food. he recommended citracal. it's different -- it's calcium citrate, so it can be absorbed with or without food. also available in small, easy-to-swallow petites. citracal.  missing something? now you get a cleanser with scope freshness. ♪

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it's hard to say no, but at some point, you can no longer, with a straight face, i think, carry the proposition that we are going to do this whole long list of things before the christmas recess. it's simply impossible to have the time to do them right.

>> well, it's shaping up to be a very busy day, particularly on the senate side in capitol hill. the final days of this lame-duck session upon us. the senate tries to juggle several major bills at the same time today. >> first, the passage of the tax cut extension. then a twofer. the s.t.a.r.t. treaty and a massive government spending bill. joining us now, republican senator, judd gregg. he's the ranking republican on the senate banking committee and he is retiring after this year. so senator gregg, i know you always are a straight talker, but i hope you're even more liberated to speak plainly this morning. let me start -- >> i should say, i'm ranking on budget, not on banking. i don't want to insult richard shelby. >> yes, sorry. apologies for that. >> no problem. >> let's start with the s.t.a.r.t. treaty. will you vote yes for the s.t.a.r.t. treaty if it comes up this week, or will you stand with senator kyl and some who say there's not been enough time? >> i actually think the administration's on the right track on the s.t.a.r.t. treaty, but i also think jon kyl has

very legitimate concerns and they need to be aired in a responsible way. this is a big, complicated piece of legislation relative to our international policy and how we approach russia in the coming years. senator kyl has suggested a specific time to have a vote. it would be next year, but it would be before the time required for ratification. i think that's a reasonable approach on his part. to do this before christmas, i think might, unfortunately and inappropriately, contract the debate. >> i guess my question, senator gregg, is what -- you know, there have been a ton of committee hearings about this. i think it's 18 of them. there have been a ton of questions the administration has answered over the last year, essentially, so, you know, the way washington works. they never move unless you put a deadline. how much of this is arbitrary? >> well, i think that's why senator kyl's agreeable to a deadline. he understands that, and you have to have a vote on this before the time frame which is required. and he's saying -- he's suggesting we do a deadline

towards the end of january and have a couple of weeks to debate it then. i won't be here, but i think that's a reasonable approach. there are some very big issues here. there's the issue of modernization of our nuclear weapons, which is absolutely critical. we've allowed them to go into disrepair. there's the issue of strategic defense, which needs to be discussed independent of the treaty, but needs to be clear it's independent of the treaty. and there's some very specific issues relative to verification that need to be discussed. so i don't think doing this in the christmas holiday season, when everybody's thinking about something else, and when an important issue like this is really good, i don't think it's healthy. >> well, senator gregg, i think the president put the s.t.a.r.t. treaty on his christmas wish list, but setting that aside -- let's move to this big omnibus spending bill, a giant spending bill for the federal government there, a controversy over the fact that this spending bill still has earmarks. where do you come down on this? on the one hand, a lot of politicians are saying, oh, we're done with earmarks

starting tomorrow. well, now you have the opportunity to reject a spending bill because it happens to be loaded with earmarks. how do you think this will play out and what do you plan to do? >> well, i don't intend to vote for it. it's too big a piece of legislation for us to -- for other members of the senate to take up and swallow in the brief period of time that it would be available. it's 1,900 pages. i'm not as concerned about the earmarks in it, because the actual overall spending level is a hard freeze. and i congratulate senator inoway for bringi inin ining int that level. i would rather, again, that we have a pure, clean continuing resolution over to the middle of february and we come back in a much ordinarily way and do this. >> senator gregg, you're a student of this budget process. how much does it cost taxpayers to continue to do continuing resolutions?

it's my understanding, this really, actually handcuffs a lot of government projects to the point it actually ends up costing taxpayer money in the long run. how long n we afford to continue doing these continuing month to month budgeting? >> actually, we save money. because a continuing wez lue ii is based off last month's spending levels. so there's no policy, so you're continuing policy, and if the policy you spent the money under last year was not well thought, then that is a problem. but you're basically working off a freeze level, a hard freeze level. and as long as it's a clean continuing resolution, it actually saves money. >> senator gregg, it's obviously -- i know when i talked to you the other day, i thought it might be the last time i talked to you as a sitting senator, but you never know. but tell me this, give me the big regret you have in your 18 years. you know, the big accomplishment

you feel good about, but the big regret you sit here thinking about, boy, i hate walking away with that undone. >> i sort of feel like sifyus pushing the rock up the hill on our fiscal issue. we're looking at a debt-to-gdp ratio that will equal greece. we need outyear reform. i was very disappointed that the simpson/bowles proposal, which is a step in the right direction, won't solve the problem, but a major step in the right direction, was not immediately embraced by the administration and the leaders of congress and brought to the floor for passage before we left. that's what should have been done. on the upside, well, i have to be honest. i actually think doing t.a.r.p. was the most significant thing that's happened in the 5 to 10 years. we are on the verge of a cataclysmic event. and if we hadn't stepped forward as a government and done it in a bipartisan way in a short time frame, the trauma this country

would have been put through as our banking system melted down and our economy melted down, would have been devastating. now the taxpayers will make money on this deal, it looks like to me. i think the program worked the way it was supposed to. >> let us play just a moment from senator mcconnell, your republican colleague, talking about you on the senate floor yesterday. >> and while senators come and go all the time, i can't help but note that when judd walks out of this chamber, when he walks out of this chamber for the last time, he'll leave an enormous void behind. >> senator gregg, before we let you go, obviously, quite a tribute to you on the senate floor yesterday. i have to ask you, do you think the senate's best days in terms of collegiality and productivity are behind it in this age of gridlock and frankly, partisan

sniping? >> first, i have to thank mitch. he's a close friend and we've been through a lot of fights together and a lot of battles together and he's one of the best leaders i've ever seen in the senate. the last 18 years, it's been just an honor to serve with him, really, and i appreciate his words very much. no, i think the best days are ahead. i think the senate is the caldron and the center of our constitutional democracy. it's where the minority has a voice. it's where we air issues. it's where we have amendments. it's where we have debates. it really is the essence of a deliberative democracy. and the senate is just an incredible constitutiinstitutio. yes, people get frustrated because it's slow and ponderous and there's a lot of talk, that's the way the founders wanted it to be. they designed it that way, it's protecting freedoms by making sure the minorities get heard. i think the best days are still ahead. >> senator judd gregg, ranking member on the budget committee. always will be known as a big budget force. we expect to see you back here, but do me a favor, take the cold weather back to new hampshire with you. >> we want the snow, we love it. come up to new hampshire and

ski, we'd love to see you. >> we'll be in new hampshire around 2012, senator. >> 2012, we'll see you in a coup weeks, probably. >> hope you'll come back as an ex-senator on "the daily rundown." thank you. and we should show you a live picture, i believe we probably have, of where we expect to hear from the president just a couple minutes from now. at any moment, he'll be addressing the press before this meeting with the ceos over at blair house across the street from the white house. he'll meet with them. and i think we also expect the president to talk about the tax cut vote, which will take place in the senate today. >> a little bit -- this statement, though, and they're doing it early and really want to bring attention to this, they're trying to make that pivot, again, and we know how many times they've tried to do this pivot that, hey, they're focused on jobs. they get it, they know. and all the polling, that's what the public wants them, republicans, everyone to focus on. jobs, jobs, jobs. you see the pessimism in these poll numbers that we've been looking at from our own, from the ones that have been coming out over the last couple of

weeks, and it all centers around that job number. >> it does. and obviously we won't have a camera inside the meeting with the president and the ceos today at blair house, but will he prod business to open up their pocketbooks and start hiring again? a lot of these particularly big companies are sitting on a lot of cash on their balance sheets, but they're nervous and they haven't been creating jobs to the extent that, of course, the administration and the country would like to see. we just one of the members of the staff put the speech on the podium, which is usually a sign the president is very close. >> well, look, part of this has to do with the issue of certainty, right? and that's what you've heard from the business community, and i think one of the messages the president's probably going to send to them and what we've heard, hey, we're giving you certainty. we're giving you certainty right now for two years, all on the tax issue and this. we're even doing a little backdoor stimulus, although they don't like to use this word. but that's what this is. it's a real stimulus. >> here's the president. >> today the senate is poised to

pass tax cuts and unemployment insurance, putting the house of representatives in the position to send me this critical economic package so i can sign it into law. i am absolutely convinced that this tax cut plan, while not perfect, will help grow our economy and create jobs in the private sector. it will help lift up middle class families who will no longer need to worry about a new year's day tax hike. it will offer emergency relief to help tide folks over until they find another job. and it includes tax cuts to make college more affordable, help parents provide for their children, and help businesses, large and small, expand and hire. i know there are different aspects of this plan, to which members of congress on both sides of the aisle, object. that's the nature of compromise. but we worked hard to negotiate an agreement that's a win for middle class families and a win for our economy.

and we can't afford to let it fall victim to either delay or defeat. so i urge members of congress to pass these tax cuts as swiftly as possible. getting that done is an essential ingredient in spurring economic growth over the short run. and spurring economic growth is what i'll talk about later this morning when i meet with some of america's top business leaders. that includes jim mcnurny of boeing, and several members of my economic recovery advisory board. it's one of many discussions we'll be having in the months ahead to find new ways to spur hiring, put americans back to work, and move our economy forward. as i said when i was running for president, and as i've said since, i believe that the primary engine of america's economic success is not government, it's the ingenuity of america's entrepreneurs, it's

the dynamism of our markets. and for me the most important question about an economic idea is not whether it's good short-term politics or meet somebody's litmus test. it's whether it will help spur businesses, jobs, and growth. and that's why i've set a goal of doubling u.s. exports in the next five years, to create more jobs selling more products abroad. that's why i'm so pleased that earlier this month, after intensive negotiations, we finalized a trade agreement with our ally, south korea, that will boost the annual exports of american goods by $11 billion. a deal that all told, will support at least 70,000 american jobs. it's an agreement that won support from business and labor, because it's good for the economy. this morning, i hope to elicit ideas from these business leaders that would help us not only climb out of recession, but seize the promise of this moment. ideas about tax reform, ideas about a balanced approach to

regulation that will promote, rather than undermine growth, ideas that will help encourage businesses to invest in america and american jobs at a time when they're holding nearly $2 trillion on their books. i want to discuss our shared mission of building a strong economy for the long run. we know some of what we need to do to out-compete other countries in the 21st century. we need to offer our children the best education in the world. we need to spur innovation in new industries like clean energy that will create the jobs of tomorrow. we need to upgrade america's crumbling infrastructure, its roads and bridges, update high-speed rail and high-speed internet to connect every community, and we need to redouble our commitment to fiscal discipline and address our long-term deficit challenges. we know the path that will lead to economic success. the only question is whether we will take it. whether we have the political will to do the work. i'm committed to taking that

path. i know america's business leaders are as well. and i look forward to talking to them this morning and working with them in the months and years to come to make sure that we're adopting the best ideas for growing our economy and making the 21st century another great american century. thank you very much, everybody. >> well, that was president obama doing two parts in that about three-minute speech there. number one, making a final push, savannah, for the tax package. trying to make sure he gets over the finish line in the house. he also brought up the fact that it is going to extend unemployment benefits, but he also talked about his goals and the conversations he wants to have with the ceos. brought up tax reform, which there has been a debate internally, how seriously they're going to take it on next year. the issue of regulation, a lot of concern in the business community, how aggressive the obama administration is going to be. and of course, he brought up what you and i talked about before, which is the $2 trillion sitting on the sidelines. >> and he obviously wants to prod those ceos to start hiring again.

coming up, we're following new information about the gunman who terrorized a florida school board meeting before taking his own life and that drama unfolded on television. and was it a fight against republicans? the liberal rebellion? or maybe the battle against oil gushing in the gulf? coming up, we're going to unveil the chuvannah award for the best and worst presidential moments of 2010. by the way, i know people were confused, it is chuvannah or chuvannah. >> it's chu, not chew. >> i like chewbacca. let's do today's trivia question. what are the number of states president obama has not visited since he became president. the answer and more next on "the daily rundown."

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bottom of the hour now. pretty close, actually. let's see what's driving this hump day. >> we're on time, for once. the senate is now set to vote on the tax package this afternoon after postponing it yesterday. despite that delay, the measure to extend the bush tax rates is expected to sail through the senate with strong support. all the suspense, what's left of it, is in the house. this morning, president obama sitting down with 20 ceos to talk about ways to spark the economy. some of the companies whose top bosses are attending, general electric, dupont, boeing, pepsico, comcast, potential parent company of nbc, and google. >> a mommy and a daddy. >> okay. later this morning, vice president biden will chair a united nations security council meeting. talks will focus on iraq and ways that members can continue to support that country's government. and a programming note, the vice

president will be on msnbc tomorrow afternoon in an interview with "andrea mitchell reports." other stories making headlines on a wednesday. while much of the nation continues to deal with severe weather, a small town in oregon is recovering today from a rare tornado. the twister tore through the town tuesday, ripping roofs off buildings and uprooting trees there. the good news, no serious injuries were reported. it's the first tornado in oregon in more than a year. tragedy off the coast of australia where rough waves tossed a boat packed with people thought to be refugees against jagged rocks on tuesday, flinging those on board into the water. at least 27 people died. australian officials say they are not sure where the passengers were coming from. well, next time someone says they need their beauty sleep, believe them! researchers in sweden took photographs of people after a good night's rest and then again after those same people had been awake for 31 straight hours. they then had observers rate how

attractive the people in the photos were, and turns out they were more attractive after well rested. and "time" magazine has named facebook founder/ceo mark zuckerberg person of the year for 2010. federal reserve chairman ben bernanke had the honor last year. zuckerberg beat out julian assange, among other people. >> and the tea partyers. now to a terrifying scene at a school board meeting in florida yesterday. a distraught gunman interrupted the meeting, took members of the panama city school board meeting hostage and then turned the gun on himself. >> all of this was captured by cameras rolling inside that room. mark potter has the details. >> reporter: the gunman was killed in the incident in the building here behind me and that was captured on tape. we are not going to show that and we warn that the rest of the video leading up to that moment is very intense. just as the school board opened

the floor for public comment, a man later identified as 56-year-old clay duke began spray painting the wall with a circle and a big "v." after drawing a handgun, he ordered most people out of the room. one board member who left the room, ginger littleton, tried to intervene, hitting the gunman with her purse. >> no! no, ginger! ginger, no. >> i could either walk away and try to live with myself, because i news something bad was going to happen, or i could try to defend, delay, somehow or other divert, hoping that the cavalry would come soon. my guys had three-ring binders and pencils to protect themselves. >> reporter: littleton was unhurt and left the room again, while duke, gun still in hand, complained to the school superintendent, four board members, and their attorney that his wife had been fired. off-camera, the superintendent tried to get duke to let the others go. >> this is -- this isn't worth it. this is a problem -- please

don't! please! [ gunshots ] >> reporter: after duke fired at the board members, witnesses say, school board security chief mike jones rushed in and exchanged shots with him. panama city police say duke, who was wounded, then ended up killing himself with his own open. >> you could see in his eyes that he was intent on dying. the entire incident was also captured on a school board camera and streamed live, as horrified workers and viewers watched the drama unfold. on facebook, one of his apparent profile pictures is similar to the "v" he painted on the school board wall. a symbol some have suggested looks like the one used in the 2006 thriller "v for vendetta," but police say they cannot confirm any link between duke's actions and the movie. >> and the superintendent says

the school system has no record of anyone who could be the gunman's wife being fired, as he claimed, or even actually working here. and he says it's very lucky that no one else was hurt in that incident. better squeeze in all the relaxing he can, though, because he's going to be returning to a very different washington in january, and perhaps a very different white house too. in fact, you could call it west wing 2.0. >> so with us now to break it down, richmond wolfe, msnbc political analyst, our friend in the white house booth, compadre, author. >> you have a much nicer office here. >> roomier. >> author of the book "revival." >> richard, let's start. we know changes are being made. we just don't know what they are and now when they're going to be

announced with a lot of speculation now saying it's going to be after the first of the year. so let's take a look. rahm's already out. >> yep. >> we know david axelrod is leaving. we know robert gibbs is leaving the post of press secretary. we just don't know to what. larry summers is out. >> dave plouffe is in. >> and pete roust is still in. let's start with that. is pete rouse a permanent replacement? >> sure he is. this is the story of pete rouse. when he handled the transition of the new senator obama, it was, oh, just stay for a month or two, or six months and he kept streaming him long. this was senator obama stringing along pete rouse. pete is familiar with this game. you've got to think that he knows what the m.o. is here. >> and let's talk about the press secretary job, because as chuck said, everyone's understanding that robert gibbs is going to leave in some capacity, whether he stays in the white house or goes somewhere else, this remains to be seen. who are the potential replacements? people talk about bill burton, obviously the heir apparent, somebody who's briefed the

press, so he knows the job. then you have jay carney, a big gig for a newcomer. >> he did a lot of tv as a journalist, but doing those briefings, those podium things are very, very different. and don't discount the search for an outside candidate, okay? there's been sounding outs about who may come in from the outside, but i wouldn't think this short list is down to two. >> got it. >> and now let's go to -- we know david plouffe is coming in, valerie jarrett staying. but one of the criticisms of this white house is it lacks a little gender diversity. that outside valerie jarrett, there aren't a lot of women in the circle. is that going to change? >> i don't think so. remember, they had that whole golfing trip with melody barnes, and they kind of stopped there. i just don't think that's the priority right now. much more, it's about sort of figuring out what their identity is, moving into this two-year period, which i get into in the book, this idea that plouffe is

coming back is really a sign that they're trying to get back to that campaign spirit. you heard a bit of that when the president was talking about the tax cuts. he took this sort of centrist line, and calling out the gimmicks in washington. that's a signature move for anyone involved in the campaign, and plouffe surely knows that better than anyone else. >> but richard, you know and they know very well, that the book on them is that they're very insular. if bringing plouffe in, if that is what passes for bringing in an outsider, it would indicate they haven't quite gotten this message. do you think they would bring in one of the titans of the democratic party to come in and shake things up a bit? >> no. honestly, paul begala is very close to rahm emanuel, and when they look back on the whole rahm era, there's a lot of sense of disruption, that the guy just didn't get it. you know, he achieved a lot, was brilliant and had that energy and enthusiasm for getting stuff done, but he didn't ever understand his boss. and i don't though that paul begala would fix that issue. i don't know that the inside/out

is what they see as their fundament toal problem. dona don't be surprised to see james spellering picking up larry summers' job. >> you brought up rahm. >> i was going to say -- >> good segue. you've got to watch these clips of rahm emanuel yesterday under fire on his residency from chicago from average citizens. it's -- let's just say, it's quite the demotion from what he was doing in the west wing. let's watch. >> that's your home, correct? >> correct. >> of course, that room is the kitchen? >> yes, very good, mr. olson. u.s. history for 200. we bought a mercury mariner. >> mercury what? >> a mercury mariner. >> mariner. okay. >> hybrid. i'm a citizen of the united states. >> well, we all know the issue in chicago is, is he really a

resident of chicago who can run for mayor or did he actually move out of chicago when he was white house chief of staff here in washington. i think what's interesting about that is the restraint that rahm didn't explode or anything. >> what i didn't understand though, if you can be a resident of illinois, and a voting resident in chicago, how that doesn't make you a resident to run for office? >> i'm told it comes down to intent. you've got to question the intent of rahm emanuel here. this is his dream job, and as bad as this is, full credit for his restraint. he never showed that restraint when he was talking to people like us. but he's got to deal with these aldermen now -- he won't be under the thumb of a daily for two generations or more. does he want to put up with this stuff from the aldermen not on these issues, but on potholes and everything else. that's a dream job for him. >> a dream that could be a nightmare. >> richard wolffe, great to have you here. author of "revival." see you at the white house later.

all right, trivia time. what's the number of states that president obama has not visited since he became president? >> and the answer, believe it or not, is just nine. there are your nine states he hasn't been to as president. arkansas, red, idaho, red, kentucky, red, nebraska, oklahoma, south carolina, red, red, red, red. utah, red. vermont, the only blue state he hasn't been to. it's amazing, when you think about it, though, he's been to 41 states, in just less than two years. well, coming up next, get excited, the 2010 chuvannah awards. this morning, we will crown the year's best presidential moment, and, sorry, the worst too. >> that's right. but first, it's a cold day, so what's the soup? more people will be eating it today than normal. split pea! a lot of us would like to be splitting this week, but i have a feeling the senate ain't allowing it. we're not splitting anywhere. better call it stay pea.

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well, as the obama white house approaches its two-year mark, the chuvannahs recognize the best and worst presidential moments of 2010. >> yes. and we have to get the "rocky" music going in order to do this. as they say, history will judge. but first, we will. and the nominees are. >> well, for the first one, it's the president's january face-off with republicans at their congressional retreat in baltimore. just ten days after the massachusetts special election cost democrats their supermajority in the senate, the president adopted a lion's den's strategy, defended his health care bill, proved that an unscripted hour and 22-minute policy debate can be riveting television. >> you know what they say, keep your friends close, but visit

the republican caucus every few months. if you were to listen to the debate and frankly, how some of you went after this bill, you'd think that this thing was some bullshivic plot. that's just not true. >> one more after that, if your time permits, mr. president. >> you know, i'm having fun. >> really got the knife in there at the end. our next nominee for best presidential moment, the president's sacking of general stanley mcchrystal and his appointment of david petraeus, in all one fell swoop. it stopped an unraveling of the afghanistan strategy. the president's top general had derided the commander in chief and his leadership team to a rock magazine, "rolling stone." a bad situation for the president, but he turned into it a positive. after a ten 40 hours at the white house, the president moved decisively, silenced his critics, got petraeus in there, preserved the chain of command, and kept that counterinsurgency

strategy in tact. it may have been a lemon -- >> truly a lemonade case. and finally, his hard sell on tax cuts, proving he's not afraid to take on liberals in his own party. a defiant president obama fired back at critics on the left and right, defending his tax cut compromise and daring democrats to argue he'd been outmaneuvered in the debate. this just happened. >> take a tally. look at what i promised during the campaign. there's not a single thing that i've said that i would do that i have not either done or >> all right, so those are our nominees and the chavannah. you're doing your own drum roll. we have a budget, we have a drum roll. >> all right, the winner, it's the faceoff with congressional republicans of baltimore. how well did it go, savannah? it went well enough, republicans haven't invited him back for an on-camera moment. >> they don't like to talk about that one. well the excitement isn't over,

chuck. no, it's not. up next we unveil the chavannah for the worst presidential moment of 2010. >> you can follow us on twitter, compliment us on twitter. we like roses and thorns. you're watching "daily rundown" only on msnbc. introducing the duracell mygrid™. simple and smart. it's mygrid™. from duracell. trusted everywhere. think you can only charge one thing at a time...? consider this: drop & go charging for up to 4 devices at once... the duracell mygrid™. simple and smart. it's mygrid™. from duracell. trusted everywhere.

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now, we have to do the worst presidential moments of 2010. >> woor we're going to start with the missteps that cost the white house momentum. the nominees are. >> velma hart, it happened at a town hall six weeks before the election. after months of attacks from his critics, it was an obama supporter that captured the economic frustration that so many americans are feeling. >> i'm one of your middle class americans and, quite frankly,

i'm exhausted. i'm exhausted of defending you, your administration and defending the mantle of change that i voted and deeply disappointed with where we are right now. >> it was how he didn't respond that earned him this nomination. >> our next nominee. the president's november 3rd post-election. cost democrats 63 house seats and 6 in the senate. the white house didn't have any good answers to explain the shellacking, but they went out there anyway. nuthing to say. >> except for coining a new phrase, shellacking. >> finally, the president's gulf coast backtracking for support for a mosque at ground zero. this was really an overnight reversal. let's charge a story that died down at that point. the president spoke out about it on friday night. turning it into a national story and this dogged the white house for weeks. >> as a citizen and as president, i believe that muslims have the right to

practice their religion as every one else in this con. and that includes, that includes the right to build a place of worship and a community center on private property in lower manhattan. >> i was not commenting and i will not comment on the wisdom of making a decision to put a mosque there. i was commenting very specifically on the right that people had that dates back to our founding. >> okay. the chavannah goes to, let's see here. didn't seal it very well. >> it's the backtracking on the ground zero mosque. just so why we're clear on why this won. it's not about the sentiments expressed, but the backtracking saying one thing friday night and kind of changing it and lawyering it up the next day and also entering into a debate rather unnecessarily. >> it's like extending the story even further than we did

probably the white house would admit, probably their lowest political moment outside of the election night. >> that is for "daily rundown". coming up next, "chris jansing & company." >> at 1:00 "andrea mitchell reports." have a great day. [ male announcer ] this is lara. her morning begins with arthritis pain. that's a coffee and two pills. the afternoon tour begins with more pain and more pills. the evening guests arrive. back to sore knees. back to more pills.

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