time for one quick e-mail. >> william writes i wanted to see if my hero from new jersey was going to was going to throw his hat in the ring. help us, you're the only hope. now is your time, willie. >> i will not be entering the race. and i want to say for the record, i resent all those op-eds written about my weight. unfair. "morning joe" starts right now. ♪ what i've always felt was the right decision remains the right decision today. now is not my time. the answer was never anything but no. >> oh, my god, chris christie, 2012! wait, what? no? oh, well having said he wouldn't run in private, having said it

on the television, having said it to print reporters, having tagged it on a condemned trenton building, having demonstrated his position while attending a devils' game, it's over! so finally, christie could proceed with the press conference dedicated to more pressing issues. >> what i said was i would reconsider my no, i did, but the no never changed. i don't want to leave this job. i spoke with a lot of people this morning and told them the answer is no. that's not a relevant question anymore. i know it's your job to ask me this question a dozen different ways and i'll answer it almost a dozen different ways. in the end, the answer will remain the same. >> over here, one question quick. i'm from the trenton wasn't listening times, and the can't get it through my [ bleep ] head monthly. >> wow.

do you ever have trouble waking up in the morning? >> yes. >> today is a hard one. >> no question. >> barnicle has trouble waking up. and good morning, everyone. it is wednesday, october 5th. with us onset, we have msnbc contributor mike barnicle, and the former governor of vermont howard dean. and in washington, he's wide awake, msnbc political analyst and former chairman of the republican national committee michael steele. gentlemen, thank you for being with us. joe off today. just keep the camera off me. i couldn't wake up today. couldn't wake up. but i'm here because we have news to report. a couple of things. some polls that are coming out this hour are going to show without chris christie, mitt romney's taking a big lead, but also some really interesting things with perry plummeting and cain gaining. we'll talk about that coming up. but first, after weeks of speculation, new jersey governor

chris christie said unequivocally, he will not run for president of the united states in 2012. some of the biggest names in republican politics were urging christie to jump in the race. but in the news conference yesterday the governor said, "it's not my time." >> in the end, what i've always felt was the right decision remains the right decision today. now is not my time. i have a commitment to new jersey that i simply will not abandon. so, new jersey, whether you like it or not, you're stuck with me. the deciding factor was it did not feel right to me. in my gut to leave now when the job here is not finished. >> you know, let's just talk for a second. because joe and i were both talking to chris christie together and separately right up until the night before. and he was there. he was so there in many ways. and trying to figure this out. and you obviously can never know

exactly what deeply personal reasons might have kept him from staying in the race. but howard, you do know how hard it is. >> yeah. look, this is a smart thing he did here. he's been in for two years as governor, big state, but still, two years as governor. the problem is the republicans are undergoing what the democrats have done for years, which is they look at the front-runner and say, uh-uh, they're not ideologically pure, they want to find somebody else, anybody else, and he had to know that anybody else wasn't going to make a good presidential candidate. because the reasons he was being recruited were the wrong reasons. >> not necessarily a reason to run. not necessarily a reason to ravage your family and pull them through the process. >> right. >> of scrutiny. >> but the bottom line, mika, he wasn't going to win. he was not going to win. you cannot take a two-year governor out of jersey and have him beat the president of the

united states. >> i disagree with that. >> really? >> you had basically a state senator from illinois who became the president -- >> you do that once, you're not going to do it again. >> i agree with you there. >> michael steele, so the question now is, what does this mean for the field? does this settle everything now? and who does it help? mika talked about this poll i think we're going to show in a minute that shows rick perry's slide continuing, herman cain coming up to meet mitt romney at the top. is this good for mitt romney? >> let me say that yesterday was a tough day. no christie, no iphone 5. >> oh, my lord. >> just give me a moment. give me a moment. >> i hear ya. >> i've got to work -- it was just overwhelming. the expectation was so high. >> yeah. >> but the reality -- the reality remains the same. chris christie has been telling us for months, i'm not doing this. >> yeah. >> the iphone i can't speak

about, but chris christie was clear about where he was going. and mika just referred to this, you know, he was there. he was pulled there by a lot of people who had interest in him getting in the race. but howard dean is exactly right. this would have been tough for him. >> i'm going to take things way off track just for a second. because for those especially his weight obviously came into play into the conversation. and there was this really controversial piece that eugene robinson did on friday, michael kinsly, and a couple of them were mean, talking about his weight showing a lack of discipline. i'm sorry, if his decision yesterday doesn't say discipline with a capital "d," i don't know what does. and i actually wish he was in the race so he could shed light on the issue of obesity in america. i think he would've been the best person for that. and that to me is a big loss. i think obviously his weight probably is part of the decision.

not because he's afraid of anybody, because it's a health issue. and he should come back stronger and better later. having said that, there were some really low blows before he even announced anything about whether or not this man was disciplined. >> well, i agree with you. it's ridiculous. i actually don't think it would have been a big problem for him. >> no. >> but that -- but in some ways it's good -- not nice to say those things, but the good part is when you run for president, everything is a low blow. it is. the ugliest process. there's no such thing as a wimp that ever got elected president because what you go through. he didn't announce before he got hammered on stuff. it was only going to get worse. i don't condone that sort of stuff, but it's kind of a preview of what you get for a year and a half. >> and i think he would've handled it well. several republican candidates released statements yesterday praising the new jersey governor. >> of course. >> right now he says he's not

ready to endorse anyone. so simmer down. and christie's wealthy campaign supporters are moving on. this is how it goes. literally, people just move on. and christie knew that. ken langone, who led the effort in recent weeks to draft governor christie told charlie rose he's disappointed christie won't run, but now he's mitt romney's supporter. take a listen. >> i told him at my office last week, if governor christie doesn't run, governor romney, i'm with you. >> are you sure you made every argument that could have been made to governor christie to convince him to run? >> charlie, i did everything but kiss him on the lips, okay? okay? all right? >> with governor christie officially out of the race, a new cbs news poll shows herman cain has moved into a tie with mitt romney atop the 2012 gop

candidates. herman cain. cain has 17% support up from 5% two weeks ago. the poll also shows waning support for rick perry who dropped from 23% to 12% in two weeks among republican primary voters. michael steele, couple of things. cain's a story, perry's plunge is a story. and moving on to mitt romney. great news for mitt romney, but it's obvious he's a second choice. is that at all debilitating? >> i don't think it is. this whole process is about settling and coming into, you know, at a relationship if you will with one of these candidates. and as you've seen, the poll numbers reflect that people bounce around. you know, we were all -- everybody was in love with michele bauchmann, then it was rick perry, jon huntsman. so romney walked into this race as the front-runner. so the question became who is going to become the anti-romney?

now over the next few weeks, that's going to consolidate further and boil down to someone like cain and maybe perry depending on how that plunge if he can stop the bleeding there. and possibly bauchman making a resurgence because iowa looms large, particularly since the schedule has moved up to early january as opposed to the beginning of february. so there's time that's been lost, this thing has got to contract. and i think romney's in the best possible position and folks like langone and others realize this. they're going to start locking that money behind him. >> i want to go back to christie one more moment before we move on. we've heard over the last couple of weeks, you only get one shot. they're saying if he doesn't jump in now, there may never be another chance. but if you go back a little further, bush 41, reagan, nixon, your time may come again. >> republicans you don't get one shot, you get more than one. somehow there's something different there.

a, you get two shots, and b, the second time around is your time. so i don't think this is -- >> he'll be back? >> i think romney has a problem, though. he's by far the best-known candidate in the race and at 17% in the polls. that's not so good. if he gets the nomination, i think the odds are very heavily he will, he's got a big base problem. and usually that's not a problem. the republicans are very disciplined. they'll pull in behind him. even the democrats pull in behind after a fight like this. this year, you've got the tea party. they are not playing with a full deck. they could go off the rails here. it's going to be really interesting. >> what does that mean? >> they might sit home or vote for somebody else or find a libertarian or ron paul might do something. who knows. this is a really odd one. i've never seen this in the republican side. they're usually much more disciplined. and you see the leadership of the party. ken is a senior finance guy leading now toward romney. that's nowhere the base is.

>> aren't thereamili similariti? president obama's difficulties with moveon.org? >> interestingly not, mike. i think what you're seeing -- this is such a reversal of where the parties usually are. it's the fourth quarter, a lot of people who were upset with that and that and the other thing with obama, they see what the other side was like. they don't want somebody in the white house, they don't want a rick perry. and even romney is going to be beholden to these far right people. i think obama's going to -- and obama's out there in the last three weeks looking great. i think he's going to solidify his base. >> romney's strategy has worked so far to set back and let the others -- >> romney's a great politician and seasoned at this point. >> a with cain's popularity on the rise, he spent some time campaigning in new york city. and he made an appearance on "the view," and doubled down on

comments that he made before that african-americans had been "brainwashed" to reject conservatism. >> the good news is a lot of black americans are thinking for themselves. >> yes. >> now, there are some that are so brainwashed that they won't even consider a conservative idea. >> what do you do about that? >> well, you save the saveable. if they're not saveable because they don't want to hear the idea about my nine, nine, nine plan. they didn't want it because they saw me as a republican, a conservative, i call that being brainwashed. >> well, the party hasn't been black friendly over the centuries -- >> i never said that. >> and just for a little bit of balance here. there was a "washington post" poll that showed romney at 25% and cain at 16%. i think we have to wash and see how this plays out. >> right. >> but it does bring me to rick

perry and some issues pertaining to race that we talked about earlier this week. and other comments that he's made. and the plunge that we're seeing his candidacy taking. michael steele, i earlier this week was frustrated with our conversation about rick perry. would put it pretty high up in the show and personally i was writing him off as a candidate. and was i wrong to do so? because it just seems to me that like in the big game, i don't see him getting there. >> well, i think that's the feeling that a lot of folks have. and that goes back to what i was saying about what his campaign and he himself is prepared to do to stop the bleeding and the hemorrhaging. certainly the rock landed big on his campaign this past week. the debate performances, immigration, there are a number of things that would take out most candidates by this point. but perry has this retail aspect to his politics that works for

him. and so the more he's able to bring that to the fore, i think it helps him stop the hemorrhaging. the question still becomes, how is he able to galvanize that support and regain that footing after you've seen cain get the momentum he's getting. romney is solidifying that lead. though it may be 17% to 25%, it's still a solid number. and perry's got a real problem right now, and the next debate is going to tell a lot about where this campaign goes. >> and he certainly can raise money. >> yep. >> before we go to break, interesting dynamics between the president pushing his jobs program and the republican leadership. the president was in dallas yesterday. and he called out the republicans about his jobs plan, wanting this buffett rule to get support. and he brought in references of ronald reagan and went directly after the republicans. take a listen. >> middle class families, working families should not pay higher tax rates than millionaires or billionaires.

some of the republicans in congress, they say oh, you're engaging in class warfare. class warfare, let me tell you something, years ago a great american had a different view that he thought it was crazy that certain tax loopholes made it possible for millionaires to pay nothing while a bus driver was paying 10% of his salary. wasn't a democrat, wasn't some crazy socialist, it was ronald reagan. it was ronald reagan. last time i checked, republicans all thought reagan made some sense. >> president obama was referencing a speech given by then president reagan in 1985. president obama also took congress to task during his speech singling out one member in particular.

>> the republican majority leader in congress, eric cantor said that right now he won't even let this jobs bill have a vote in the house of representatives. won't even get a chance to be debated on the floor of the house of representatives. i'd like mr. cantor to come down here to dallas and explain what exactly in this jobs bill does he not believe in. what exactly -- what exactly is he opposed to? >> actually, i'm going to go to howard first. cantor responded on twitter. >> it doesn't matter what cantor says -- >> he said he accused the president of being in full campaign mode. and, of course, earlier in the week he declared the jobs bill package as dead in the water. but you know -- >> the president is in full campaign mode and he is on fire. look at the guy. i haven't seen him put four weeks together like this. the other day when he called out the republicans crowd for

attacking a soldier who was in uniform in the united states. who thought we would see the democrat go after the republicans for attacking the armed forces of the united states. this guy is on fire. he needs to do this for another 13 months and we are in. >> and the speech in front of the bridge. he's calling them out. >> it's unbelievable. this is a transformation. >> let's not get ahead of ourselves. >> it's four weeks, it's got to be 13 months. >> perhaps he ought to be taking these guys by the collars and having meetings with them, face to face. >> we've tried that, it doesn't work, they don't care. >> you know what? keep trying. >> he'll keep trying. >> you know what? i invited eric cantor over for a me meeting, he won't meet with me. i invited mitch mcconnell, he won't meet with me. you've got to do it, don't you have to? >> you absolutely have to. and let's put a little water on that fire. it's called 9.1% unemployment and it's called an economy that even the president's economic advisers are publicly stating is

not doing well. the president himself has said, gee, you're not better off today than you were four years ago. so there's a lot -- there's a lot of water out there surrounding that flame. and the president, i think, you know, yeah, you can be in full campaign mode. but you're on to the point, the american people are still expecting the president to do everything he can to make sure that a deal gets done. and, i think, it's to the president's advantage to make those offers like you said to get the team down to the white house and then you can go out and say, look, i tried to get these guys in a room. i laid out a plan. and every turn they blocked, they stopped. but if you're just doing the campaign side, you're going to lose a little bit of that flame. >> here's the republicans' problem. i agree, 9.1% unemployment is bad and the president's numbers aren't good. the problem is the public knows the republicans don't care. for three years they've been having meetings and the

republicans have been stiffing them. >> that's not -- >> michael, the republicans are branded as obstructionists and do not care about ordinary people -- >> that is not what the polls show -- first off -- >> will barack obama fight for the middle class? and if he does, he's going to win. and i think he's going to win this election. >> michael? >> you heard it here on "morning joe." >> on its face, howard, you are flatly wrong. >> that's what the numbers show. >> because at 12% -- >> michael! 12%! >> i don't -- the numbers mean nothing. the only number that matters is what happens at the voting booth on november 10th -- >> i agree with that. >> november of 2010 tells me that what you're saying is absolutely wrong. if that were the case for the last three years, i would not have seen the american people flatly reject the policies of this president in november of last year. >> we're seeing a different president than the last three years. >> really? >> yeah, really. >> we'll see about that because the numbers don't show that.

>> we'll go out for a dinner at godfather's pizza if the president doesn't win -- >> bring your wallet. >> that's what the republicans always say. >> i know. they want to save money. politico makes a case for five people who could be compelling independent candidates. "new york times" columnist frank bruni will be here. what a piece he did sunday in "the times." david gregory and harold ford jr., as well. but first, here's bill karins with a check on the forecast. before we get to the good news for everyone on the east coast, let me show you what happened in arizona yesterday. because that's where all the stormy weather is out west. this is a dust storm that caused havoc on interstate 10. two major accidents different times during the day. and visibility got so low as the dust was blowing through. you can see what they were dealing with on the roads.

let's get to the eastern half of the country. low humidity, cool mornings, we're going to see beautiful days. today in the 70s from d.c. to pittsburgh, all the way to new york. new england in the 60s. and look at the middle of the country. minneapolis today near 86 degrees. dallas is warm, but everyone has low humidity. it's just beautiful. and that's going to continue. and look at boston this weekend. mid to upper 70s. make your plans now. probably one of the best fall weekends we're going to have. you're watching "morning joe" brewed by starbucks.

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really? is that true? see what happens. we haven't talked about the yankees. >> that's right. >> time now to take a look at the morning papers at 25 past the hour. we'll start with the "chicago tribune." members of a 1985 super bowl

championship chicago bears will get to visit the white house. a quarter century after they crush the new england patriots 46-10. the original visit was canceled after the space shuttle "challenger" tragedy. their appointment with president reagan was never rescheduled. >> i hope they do the super bowl shuffle at the white house. >> of course. >> "new york times," a new martin scorsese. using unseen video and photograph to chronicle his time. a lot of people excited about this one. >> now to our parade of papers. fargo, north dakota. in a push to promote healthy lifestyl lifestyles, fargo is one of many cities in the u.s. participating in international walk to school day this morning. the 14-year-old event is -- spotlights fitness and the environmental benefits of walking instead of driving. i love it.

>> charleston post courier after 23-year run, producers for "the simpsons" say the show cannot continue. this comes as reports that deep pay cuts are underway for actors playing voices for main characters homer, marge, and bart. that's a big story right there. >> yes. joining us now with the political playbook. you've got your political primary. this is a list of five people who would be compelling, independent presidential candidates. tell us about the list. >> well, the idea is there's so much disgust with washington right now and volatile economic and political environment. and the pollsters pointed out, it seems ripe for an independent to jump in. and we want to get feedback from viewers and readers on what type of third party candidate would fit the moment. and we're trying to stimulate this discussion by throwing five people out there.

hillary clinton, condoleezza rice, john chambers, the ceo of cisco systems, the outsider, general petraeus as the strong leader from the military world, and erskine bowles. and we want other people to give us their ideas. entertainment from around the country, and then given the opportunity to vote on who fits that bill. and i think there's a lot of folks out there trying to figure out if a third party candidate is viable in this system and if anyone would jump in. >> and people could nominate their own at politico or go on twitter to do it. and then we vote on the ten that are left. let's talk more broadly about third party presidential candidates. >> right. >> a lot of people have said and written this is a moment for that. but is it viable? can it work for our system? >> well, obviously the system is stacked against a third party candidate. they don't have the

infrastructure in all the different states. they have to get on the ballot in 50 different places. the reason a lot of people think it's more plausible today than ever before, technology is the great equalizer. you have the ability to quickly organize people, quickly raise money, and all the different states and in a way you couldn't do it when ross perot was trying to do it in 1992. yes, it's a difficult proposition. but as perot showed in 1992, when people are this upset with washington, and those numbers to me are startling, how many people are just giving up on washington, on congress, and the existing political system for solutions. when you have that, there's certainly the opportunity for someone to come in and harness that anti-washington, anti-wall street fervor. >> is it the right time for a third-party candidate? >> never. you'd have to start four years ahead of time to do it. with three months to go before the primary season, it's almost impossible. and the problem is, you'll get somebody from the right or the

left. so the third party person can't win, they can spoil it, but they can't win. and i wish it weren't true. i think we ought to have more than two parties in this country. but it's not going to -- >> getting on the ballot is too difficult or raising money -- >> well, you can write your own check. mike bloomberg, his political positioning is such that how is he going to win? it's not that he couldn't get a lot of votes. in the electoral system, particularly, how is this guy going to win? we calculated in 2008 he wouldn't win a single state and he's probably made the same calculation. not that he wouldn't be a great candidate. he's been a great mayor in my view, but the math doesn't work. you've got to have a somewhat different system. and if you're going to change the system, start with four years out, not 14 months. >> it's an ecochamber thing. you can affect the election. if bloomberg wins, obama loses,

if tea party wins, republican loses. >> howard dean says never. what do you say? i think there's no doubt it's very much stacked against it. at some point i think either this election or in 2016, somebody is going to test that proposition and do sort of what howard dean is the godfather of, which is using technology as a great equalizer. being able to organize people much more quickly than you could in the past. and the question is, does anyone come in? particularly if they had money because that would be the other great equalizer. if they had money to go in and use technology. i agree bloomberg doesn't fit the moment. he's too closely tied to wall street. it needs to be somebody way outside of washington to rage against the machine and harness this anger and desire for change. >> thanks so much. politico primary, go on the site right now and nominate your own third-party candidate. coming up, yes, it's a little team that america has fallen deeply in love with. the scrappy new york yankees. somehow find a way. >> yeah. >> to extend their season.

meanwhile, the mighty texas rangers cruising into the alcs. plus, former secretary of defense donald rumsfeld gets into a testy exchange during an interview on al jazeera. >> you're talking over and over and over -- >> this is worthless. this is not an interview. [ female announcer ] from the very first moment we arrive... we're on the move. ♪ and we don't want anything, ever, to slow us down. so it's surprising that most women aren't getting enough calcium. but thankfully, with over 25 great flavors, like strawberry cheesecake and blackberry harvest, only yoplait original gives you 50% of the daily value of calcium and vitamin d in every cup. yoplait. it is so good.

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time for some sports. the yankees were on the brink of elimination. >> what about those phillies? >> hold your horses. new york, resting its hopes of the entire season on that man's right arm. a.j. burnett. he scares the daylight out of yankees fans, but i've got to say, he did the job last night. promptly in the first inning, loaded the bases with two outs. this is the play of the game. don kelly lines a shot to straight away center. a great leaping catch, came in at first, went back on the ball. jumping ahead to the sixth, yankees ahead, hit into left center, long run for granderson, but lays out to make the catch. what a game. full extension, yankees get help from the defense.

burnett pitched 5 2/3 inning. giving up one run. the yankees blow the game wide open in the eighth inning scoring six runs winning 10-1. now we force a decisive game five back in new york tomorrow night. the other american league series came to a close yesterday. texas rangers eliminating the rays thanks to a three home run day against the red sox. beltre, he had him, only the second time a player has done that during the post season. check out the camera man trying to keep up with beltre down the baseline. stay with it, he lost it. you hate to say that. rangers win the game 4-3 winning for the second straight year in the alds. the national league, cardinals and phillies series tied at a game apiece. game scoreless until the seventh inning when the unlikely hero

ben francisco, a three-run home run. getting the phillies on the board. cardinals threatening down two, the bases loaded, phillies bring in their closer ryan madsen, an easy double play. phillies squeak by the cards 3-2. they can finish off st. louis with a win tonight. brewers and diamondbacks, milwaukee could sweep arizona last night. brewers pitcher can't seem to get the sign straight with his catcher. catcher goes out once, still can't figure it out. let's see what they decide. >> i think settle on the fastball. >> i think the fastball down the gut is a good idea. takes them yard. puts the diamondbacks up six runs. his reaction, he throws the glove in the air. game four is tonight in arizona. what do you think?

game five yankees/tigers? >> game five's -- >> it almost doesn't matter what the play. >> the minimum wage yankees against america's team. >> what a great story. >> detroit. >> exactly. up next, mika's must-read opinion pages. plus an opinion poll released on the republican presidential race. and more with michael steele, howard dean, and mike barnicle. ♪

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would you like 50% more cash? no! but it's more money. [ male announcer ] the new capital one cash rewards card. the card for people who want 50% more cash. what's in your wallet? woah! [ giggles ] all right. it's time now for the must-read opinion pages. and we've got a couple of polls. one that's just out ten minutes ago. but first i want to read from the "new york times." she talks about christie. she says this.

man in the mirror. people are longing for a president who can understand their pain, mix it up, and get action. not one who averts his gaze, avoids conflict, delegates to congress, wastes time hunting for common ground. cedes the moon to opponents and fails to get anywhere. our nuanced president sticks to gray while the no-nonsense governor as joe scarborough noted paints in primary colors. christie said he spent the weekend trying to see whether i could look in the mirror and make that call. now that he has opted out, he says he's going to tear off the rearview mirror. the same can't be said for jilted, love-sick republicans scraping the bottom of the barrel and turning their lonely eyes to eric cantor. that was joe's piece in politico about why it would have been great if christie joined the race. great on a number of levels. now let's take a look at the fallout. a new "washington post" poll.

this came out yesterday. romney leading with 25%, the same support he had a month ago. rick perry and herman cain tied for second with 16%. this is a 13-point drop for perry. very bad news for rick perry, and a 12-point rise for cain in one month. now let's go to the polls out ten minutes ago. a new quinnpiac poll. cain at 18%, perry at 15%, gingrich, 9%, and it goes down the line. michael steele, where do you want to go? rick perry or herman cain? >> i think right now the momentum is certainly with herman cain. i think he's laid out, you know, a clear plan with his nine nine nine. he's been direct about it, concise about it, people gravitate towards it. i think he is sort of in one

sense the christie kind of figure here in the campaign. he's, you know, been that way in the debates. and i think people are responding to him very favorably now. so that puts a lot of pressure, again, on perry to step up his game and show he's ready for prime time. mitt romney, again, 24%, 25%, slow and steady. he's building that momentum towards that first bell ring in iowa in early january where i think at that point he's looking to run the tables. and i think he's going to have a lot of fun between now and then watching everybody else continue the pining for someone else only to have to come back to him. >> really? and so in terms of rick perry, howard dean, we had mitt romney attacking his social security stance. he was saying yesterday and going after rick perry and saying that in order to improve social security, you have to actually believe in it. >> perry's in a lot of trouble, he can raise money unlike

anybody else. those are the two guys that raise money. perry's been the best thing for mitt romney as you can possibly imagine. a guy who gets in who says outrageous things and romney gets to look statesman like and reassure independents. it's impressive, i have to say. >> i hate to say this because i like him. we've known him for a number of years now and followed him, but how does he get beyond -- michael steele, how does he get beyond being second fiddle? for so long, being the guy in the group that seems to be not enough for the party that they were begging, begging, and begging a brand new new jersey governor to take the run and then he turns it down? isn't there work to do there to make up for some lost ground there? and can it be done? >> well, i think it can be done, and i think it goes to what howard said earlier about how romney's position versus perry versus the other folks on the field. and right now again, there is

this sort of back and forth. but you know, i think for romney, a lot of it goes back to 2008. there's still a little bitterness from the establishment types from those who ran in 2008 towards romney. you know, just the way he approached that campaign. his aggressiveness, it flthrew lot of people off. he's taking a different approach now. people are coming to settle. and that's part of this process, you know. a as we try to figure out the direction of the party. this is beyond just who the nominee's going to be. this is also about where the party's going to go. howard dean can tell you from his race in other times in the democratic party recent history, that is a very much a part of how a party proceeds in terms of picking their nominee. >> that's the problem the republicans have, though. there's a ferment on the right there, and they're not happy, and that's a risk for mitt romney. >> that goes right to what the

"wall street journal" writes today in their editorial. they say this with chris christie's decision yesterday not to run for president, the republican nominee is now likely to emerge from the field of nine who are already in the race. at this point, that means the contest will probably boil down to mitt romney in one or at most two of the other candidates who can emerge from iowa as plausible alternatives in presidents. given the increasingly gop prospects in 2012, what's most striking about this field is how many prominent national republicans chose not to run. most notable is the absence of those like mr. christie and congressman paul ryan who have been most engaged in fiscal and economic debates over the last three years. the field is weaker for their absence. and mr. christie's remarks yesterday about the lack of presidential leadership showed why so many people wanted him in the race. i also think that's why it was such a tough decision for him ultimately. i mean, he really, really had a

hard time with this because he truly felt he wasn't ready, but he truly felt the pressure to step in to the void. >> in fairness, this has gone on before. i can remember -- and in 1992 when clinton was approaching the nomination, we've got to bring in cuomo, we've got to bring in kennedy, clinton can't win. when carter was running, church jumped in late. this goes on all the type. the nature of human beings is the grass is always greener, especially in politics. >> i absolutely agree. and that's what we're going through right now. again, romney's been the tortoise in this race, a lot of hares have jumped in and passed him. he's still slow and steady to the finish line. >> joe.msnbc.com. willie's news you can't use is next. keep it here on "morning joe." i want healthy skin for life.

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it's time for the news you can't use. if you're watching al jazeera english yesterday, i know many of you were, you saw donald rumsfeld being interviewed by a gentleman we've had on this show, the d.c. bureau chief there. >> how did that go? >> well, the former defense secretary was asked about mistakes made. did we put too few troops in

iraq at the outset not able to secure the borders. mr. rumsfeld didn't like the line of questioning. >> do you want to yell? or do you want to have a interview? you have a choice. >> no -- >> you're being true to form. >> no, no -- >> yes, you are. say yes once. are you going to stop? >> give me a straight answer. >> you can characterize my answers in any way you want, and you do it in pajoritive way. you're not being respectful. you're just talking over and over and over -- anyone listen to this program can see that. >> okay -- >> that's what you do. >> mr. secretary. >> you know, i listen to you and think to myself -- >> this is not about me, mr. secretary. >> you're not going to listen. you're not going to listen. >> you're not giving me an answer to my question. >> why should i do everything you want and you won't do a thing i want?

>> secretary, seriously. give me an answer. >> i'm being serious. >> okay. >> this is worthless. this is not an interview. >> he never did get his answer on that. >> interesting. i had the most fascinating conversation with someone very high up in the music industry yesterday about donald rumsfeld and his sex appeal. >> what? >> yeah. >> what about his arrogance? >> there's that too. but i'd never heard this angle. just saying. >> there was another interview last month where mr. rumsfeld praised the network and said i like what you guys are doing. so he's having a very volatile relationship. >> why is he doing the interview? >> i don't know. >> sell books. >> oh, he's selling books. >> remember the old rick perry lip-reading video? badlipreading.com. >> wait for a medieval cookie, hot yellow kool-aid and save a pretzel for the gas jets.

>> bad lip reading.com's doing it again, this time with michele bauchmann. >> we've been camping for two nights and six mornings in a oahu. and where i come from, you represent. i changed my facebook pic to borining sea gulls. with o i'm going to cure everybody who's nauseous, and my sister talks to big foot who's her neighbor. "three's company" had two dumb girls. i buy stickers for folks in prison, i bring milk, not backyard meth, it's a prison party. >> not backyard meth. mama gets a what what. badlipreading.com. >> this is a perfect time to ask howard about his intelligence squared debate last night. that you participated in. that was freaky to look at

michele bauchmann talking -- >> isn't that something? >> yeah, it is. tell us about it. >> actually it was a fun debate, intelligence squared is a speakers series at nyu. and jeff madrick and i, who is an author, were debating with the granddaughter of the former president and we prevailed and convinced the crowd to change their mind. and grandma's benefits do not endanger the younger people in this country. what the problem is the political people are endangering the younger people in this country. the benefits are not the problem. you don't cut the benefits in medicare and social security, you fix the programs, and you can't fix the programs if there's gridlock. >> what's the big fix on social security? >> it's not a big fix, you have to tweak the taxes and so forth. in medicare, you need to pay people, you can't pay people fee for service anymore. you've got to fix the whole system, the whole health care system. medicare is not the problem, the problem is the health care system.

>> we'll move the conversation forward. up next, "washington post" columnist ezra klein. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] the peace of mind of owning a 2011 iihs top safety pick. the all-new volkswagen passat.

a 2011 iihs top safety pick. fresher less processed foods introducing freshpet recipes so fresh the only preservative we use is the fridge freshpet fresh food for fido it's not news flash today that i'm overweight. >> that question was about whether christie appreciates the weight humor coming his way on late night television programs. >> for me, their job is to be funny. and if one of the things they

want to make fun of is my weight. it's fair game, i'm a public figure, so they can make fun of it. all i care about is that they actually are funny so i can at least laugh about it while they're mocking me. some of the stuff i didn't see initially and andrew would come to me with his computer and go, hey, dad, did you see this one? so he's been grounded, but -- >> boom! now that's a jersey guy. i like this guy, he's a straight talker, sense of humor, doesn't speak in talking points. he should really run for president. that's why i'm glad he left the door open just a little bit. >> yeah. two minutes past the top of the hour. welcome back to "morning joe." mike barnicle is still with us along with michael steele in washington. and joining the table is msnbc political analyst and visiting professor at nyu and democratic congressman harold ford jr. >> good morning. >> and columnist for the "washington post," ezra klein.

you've been down to take a look at the occupy wall street protest. >> no, i'm going down later today. >> all right. good. i want to talk to you about those coming up. we have frank bruni coming on the show in about half an hour, as well. we'll be talking about a couple of things, including what he wrote this weekend in the newspaper. in response to some of the very, i think, visceral and mean arguments made against christie, potentially running for president because of his weight. which we saw as we came in on "the daily show." chris christie is the first person to make fun of it and have fun of it. but there were people, including our own eugene robinson who said he was potentially not disciplined. and that is why i'm sad he's not in the race. do you feel that there is a sense of loss to the republican field that he has not decided to run, ezra? >> i feel like there are a lot of people who feel a deep sense of loss, whether or not it's a bad thing.

maybe he runs and romney and him split the vote. maybe he runs and it turns out he's not ready on the national stage. christie's had a rapid assent. i think it's hard to say. i think people always look better before they get in, but maybe he would've been one of these candidates that would've been good. >> harold ford jr., have you spent time with christie at all? >> i have. i met him here the first time and followed up with him. i found him to be an impressive guy. president obama had the same kind -- you made the comment about senator obama becoming president. those who follow politics and vote in it love those who appeal to them, connect to them. whether or not christie would've lasted is another question. but i do think his style of politic, his approach to the no nonsense. even when he seems to be against you where you found his politics a little off-putting, his politics was something you liked

because he put it out there, you knew where he stood. there's no doubt mitt romney is the winner this morning, though, in that republican field. >> we've got some polls to back that up, which we'll get to in a second, but i want to follow up and talk to michael steele, as well. because it seems to me that it wouldn't have been just been good for the republican field, it potentially depending on how it would have gone would've been a great debate for the nation to hear christie versus obama whether it was a run-up to the primary. i think it would have raised the game on a number of levels. am i overstating his potential? >> i don't think so. >> no, i don't think you're overstating at all, i think you're absolutely right. it certainly would've brought a new flavor to the debate on that stage that would've actually brought into the conversation a little bit more the white house. >> right. >> i think christie would have a way of sort of tweaking those who are standing next to him and sort of sending a little slap out to the white house at the same time. and that's what appealed to a lot of people. they love that down home honest

approach. but as a lot of other commentators have noted, there's a certain point where that begins to, you know, reach its water's edge, and you've got to have a little bit more on the table besides a quick tongue and good whit. you've got to have policies to back it up. and within a republican primary, christie would've had problems navigating those waters as they got into immigration, civil unions, climate change, and a lot of others where the base would've looked at him and gone, really? and that would have been a problem. >> the chairman knows the appeal with christie at the moment was that republican field seems unsettled. you have the front-runner one or two weeks, then another front runner two weeks, herman cain who has shown momentum in the last week or so. christie might have filled a void. and there are questions that remain of whether he could sustain it. but him versus obama in a debate would have been an interesting debate largely because christie

has a record of only two years of doing things in new jersey. and you said it best saying the real test will be whether or not they create jobs. it'll be interesting to hear christie and obama go back and forth. but now we have to look forward to a different kind of debate and republicans have to deal with the field they have. >> you know what's kind of interesting, at least to me, we, all of us, the collective media have disappeared so far into a media cocoon that we can't accept the fact that a guy comes out and says i don't want to be president right now. i don't want to run, i want to go to my daughter's soccer game, i want to have dinner with my family saturday night, i don't want you people on my doorstep asking me if i stole $6 on my paper route in 1973. i want a private life. and by the way, take a look at me, i'm a big guy, but if i went out there and ran for president, i'm the only guy running who people could look at me and say,

you know, there's a guy who knows what it's like to lose a job or be behind six months in mortgage payments. >> i was talking him the night before, 11:00 at night late and he was still there, but the bottom line is, i kept saying to him -- and this is where it really -- he was totally there on this. ultimately all these people want everything from you. they're throwing money at you, they're offering you the world, ultimately, it is on you. and you got to wake up in the morning and carry it, michael steele. you've got to somehow close this deal, make it happen. and he knew at this time in his life, there were different factors. and i have no idea what they are. i don't even proclaim to. but there were factors that made sense to him to stay out, which ultimately shows he's disciplined and that he can't just drink the kool-aid and get drunk on it, which so many people do. and there are some candidates in the race right now, and those others potentially dabbling with it still and slightly working for cable news networks who are

so full of kool-aid they can't even help themselves. and it's exhausting. what he's done, even though he's not going to be in the race and not going to entertain the echo chamber, discipline is impressive. >> it is impressive. in fact, i remember my first interview with chris christie when he came in to talk about his campaign. and you know, i'm a straight guy in terms of laying it out there on the table. and i said, look, if you take what i hear in this office and you put it on the streets of new jersey, you will win and we will back you 110%. but if you go out there and run a conventional, typical, republican, milk toast campaign, we'll pull every dollar out of your state. and christie held true to his word. he was true then and he's been true now. and i think to your point, people wanted it so bad, they weren't listening to what the man was saying. i know me better than you do, i'm not ready. and when i am, i'm in it to win it. but until then, i'm going to take care of business at home.

and i think that's enormous discipline in politics today. >> now we move on with the governor not officially entering the race. we have new polls to look at, and they're fascinating. a poll showing romney leading with 25%. that's the same support he had a month ago. rick perry and herman cain are tied for second with 16%. couple of things have happened here, 13-point drop from early september for perry and a 12-point rise for cain in just one month. now let's look as a new poll out this morning shows romney with 24%, herman cain with 18%, and perry with 15%. ezra klein, what's happening here? >> perry is deflating, and people don't have anywhere to go. >> in a big way. >> and obviously cain is benefitting from it. this is not going to sound great for the cain fans on my twitter feed. but i have too much respect for the republican party to believe

that's going to continue for very long. people here talking about the nine nine nine policy. nobody has any idea how much revenue that would raise. usually that's what you want to find out. >> what's that? >> the 999 policy he keeps bringing up. 9% sales tax, 9% tax on personal income, 9% consumption. you can see what the shift is there, right? it's a big shift to progressive tax in the sales tax. but nobody knows how much money it would raise. and you hear about it, and he says it's a regression analysis, which it isn't. there's a lack of policy seriousness at the core of that campaign and compared to the perry operation, i think that's going to trip him up sooner than later. but generally speaking, i think romney's the luckiest candidate we've seen in a little while. everything keeps turning up perfectly for him. >> in politics, you need a little of that. the president had that in '08, in '04, kerry got it late in the campaign, as well. and i would argue bush got a lot in '04, as well.

herman cain has come out of nowhere, and his plan, i would dare say that most -- >> he's going backwards -- >> oh, mike. >> he is. >> the analysis of his claims in all fairness, people didn't take his seriously ten days ago. now hopefully there'll be real math put to his plan. i think the real issue, though, you have to lock for the other side for a moment. the country still is unsettled in a positive way and negative way very, very upset. you're going down to listen and be part of the rallies downtown. later today. there are other americans who are outright upset that the jobs numbers are what they are and the government can't find answers to these challenges. senate republicans asked for democrats to bring up the jobs bill in the senate. why? not because they want to vote against it, they don't have the votes to pass it. with all due respect, i hope the president discontinues saying he's the underdog, that america is -- 10% of americans are

unemployed. no one wants to hear that. people are scrambling, trying to make ends meet for their families. what they're looking for from the president is come together and find a plan that people can pass. democrats are staking out what they want and republicans don't want it. republicans are staking out what they want, and democrats don't want it. as i listen to people i work with, colleagues of mine, people in business, they're asking over and over again, why don't these morons in washington wake up? what we're looking for is a real jobs bill. something both sides can vote for. right now the president's failing them and republicans are, as well. >> wow, harold, you're a contrast to howard dean earlier. >> that happens. >> that's fine, and i think you might be right. the comments he made about getting a little soft or we need to be tougher, i think there's different ways to inspire people. this country's in pain and we're

trying to get tougher because we have no choice. >> the president can't say we've been soft as a country when you have 500,000 soldiers who fought over the last 12 years, their families have suffered. you can't say -- >> had their families ravaged. are you kidding me? >> 10% of the country unemployed, another 10% underemployed. to say you're an underdog, you live in the white house, you're flying air force one -- >> you're the leader. >> he has it in him. he's got to recall that energy, vision, and passion to not only bring his party back. to force politics to do the things he promised in '08. >> ezra klein, you think he can do it? >> one thing i agree with harold about. you hear people say, i've got to work together. i came from an innovation conference. they've got to work together, they've got to work together. and i find it frankly infuriating. and the reason -- >> that people are saying that?

>> because they don't realize we've put these guys in washington in a situation where they have no way to work together. no incentive. their parties will vote them out as soon as they do. we have rules in the senate. you talk about when reid brought up the bill. the reason it didn't move, it would get filibuster. reid didn't want to waste the senate's time on a bill. you have a situation where republicans have done very well saying no. if democrats were in the minori minority, they would do a job of saying no. and we say why aren't they working together? because if they work together, the majority will win and the minority knows that the minority will block them until that happens. >> what do we say to those -- what do you say to someone unemployed in detroit, michigan? >> you say that we have to stop. we in the media who cover this stuff all day. we have to stop saying, you know what? there's somebody out there who is going to save you. there's a barack obama, chris christie, third-party candidate, there's some president, it's not going to be hard. we'll get this guy, he'll come

in and save you. and once that happens, it'll be fine. we have to change the system. the system is why we keep voting these guys in and out and we never get the results we want. >> michael steele. >> ezra hit it right on the head. and just really put it -- the cap on that whole thing. that's the washington way right now. the american people got a sense of that in 2010 and began to respond to that. it's going to be a very important dynamic for 2012. and the interesting thing is that both howard dean and mr. ford are right about the president and therein lies the rub. we don't know which obama we're going to see. one day he's feisty, one day he's contemplative. >> i know you're awake because i just heard a snarky comment come out of your mouth. >> barely. >> given everything we've just talked about, don't make a snarky comment, occupy wall

street. is it the start of something? given everything we've just talked about and also the state of this country, is it potentially the start of something? and that would be a leading question. >> well, it could well be. i've been down there, and part of it is theater, a large part of it are people who are floating as is the rest of the country on a river of anxiety. that's what's out there. people are anxious about the future. they're anxious about their children's futures. ezra's talking about washington, d.c. i got a way to figure out how to do something in washington. whatever happened to 51 votes wins in the senate? what is this 60 vote deal had? 51 votes, let's go. >> in fairness to washington -- >> don't be fair to washington. >> in fairness of how it works. we've always had differences in tension in washington. george bush had it, bill clinton. bill clinton got accused of murder. they accused him of killing vince foster. he worked with the republican

congress and got a lot done. the system itself -- the way the primary system works, outside forces. but at the end of the day, i'm still a believer that leadership prevails. if you look at the debt ceiling vote that happened. half the democrats voted for it, half against it. you had pretty much a bipartisan vote. they found leadership around that issue. it was excruciating and ugly, but if you're a small business person worrying about regulations, if you are a big business person doing okay and forecasting for the future or someone out of work for 12 months, you cannot accept the answer. and a group of adults in washington being paid $170,000 a year -- >> first, you need -- >> i hear you, but -- >> that's the answer -- but the thing on the debt ceiling, we almost indeuced a global financial crisis. >> it's terrible, but it got done in a bipartisan way. >> here's a huge problem. here's a huge problem for

washington. and if you're standing in line this morning at a starbucks or a dunkin donuts or any place in america and they have a tv on the screen and you're watching the news -- i should be standing in one of those lines -- and you see something out of washington, you know instinctively that for those people on the tv screen, the senators and the congressmen, it's a game. they're playing a game. >> right. >> they're playing a game with my life standing in line. that's their problem. >> and i think it's going -- look, i'm going to try and find this, alex. we're going to try to go into our archives. my dad was talking about this. you were there on the set about two years ago about this division leading to simmering anger, leading to something potentially more. i don't know if we're on the cusp of it. but i would take this seriously what we're seeing happening down on wall street. >> i think people watching in these places, they've tuned politicians out. i think in a lot of ways they're tuning the president out. it's the same old thing. >> they're going to go their own

way. tomorrow on "morning joe," live from pensacola, florida. the key swing state to talk about 2012 politics. and on friday, things get really ugly. we head to tuscaloosa, alabama, where we're going to host the show from joe's alma mater, the university of alabama. willie's going to be there, there's a game, let's just say it's going to be ugly. coming up next, the moderator of "meet the press" david gregory and also chuck todd. we're america's natural gas and here's what we did today: supported nearly 3 million steady jobs across our country... ... scientists, technicians, engineers, machinists... ... adding nearly 400 billion dollars to our economy...

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it is clear that overall, the recovery from the crisis has been much less robust than we had hoped. recent revisions of government economic data show that the recession was even deeper and the recovery even weaker than previously estimated. it's particularly important now that the economy is close, the recovery is close to faltering. we need to make sure the

recovery continues and doesn't drop back and that the unemployment rate continues to fall downward. >> we're going to go to nbc news chief white house correspondent chuck todd in just a moment. but ezra, ben bernanke's comments. >> if you translate what he said, he was shaking congress yesterday saying you have to stop it. you have to stop delaying on tax reform. everybody knows what you have to do what joe likes to talk about. you have to stop it. the economy is not in a place where you can keep messing around. that was really aggressive for the federal reserve chairman. what he said yesterday. >> you've got chuck todd and david gregory joining the conversation. we can talk about that. but i a also think given what happened in west virginia is really interesting. because the republican, the democratic acting governor won and the republicans were trying to make it a referendum on the

state of our economy and the obama administration, chuck. >> well, what they were doing was simply trying to nationalize the race. and i can tell you this, the west wing breathing a sigh of relief. this was one of those -- where ten days ago this race was done. okay. the democrats, the acting governor there, he had the support of labor, obviously, but he also had the support of the business community in west virginia, chamber of commerce. he had all of the -- everything going his way. and then what happened was the national party, the republicans came in and decided to spend the last ten days simply talking about president obama. and it tightened the race. it moved it, and the more casual voter in west virginia is more likely to be a republican voter. they were expecting a small turnout. and it was one of those deals where the democrats survived in this case. you have the governor here. he's now a governor instead of acting governor. governor tomlin who refused to say whether he was going to support president obama's reelection, you know. and as part of that has to do

with the fact that, west virginia still a very red state on the the national level. but democrats still have an infrastructure advantage on the local level. >> david gregory, after hearing bernanke's economic warning, knowing that chris christie is out of the race, where does obama's jobs fight with congress stand? >> well, unfortunately, i think that ezra's right. it was grabbing congress by the lapels shaking it, but i don't think that's a conversation that's going anywhere. we're in the middle of a huge ideological fight about what government should be doing in a distressed economy. and as much as he was chastising congress, i think what's also revealed in those remarks is this administration had very large opportunities to take on a failed economy, to try to have government play a large role in recovery. and it really hasn't worked. and that's the -- that's the problem. and there is a lot of those who are more liberal who made the argument going back to the first stimulus and even now what the government was proposing was

simply not large enough to stimulate the economy. so this is a reality that you have washington effectively shut down and you have this administration with some very big cuts, i should say swings at the plate to deal with economic recovery that simply haven't worked out. and it makes it very difficult for a president who may be effectively campaigning for a jobs bill to surmount the fact that the conversation is essentially not going anywhere on capitol hill. >> certainly not changing -- >> good morning. harold ford. last week on the show, you indicated that your sources suggested the jobs bill the president's campaigning for is meeting resistance, not only amongst republicans, but amongst some democrats. first, is that still the case? and two, what group coalition set of ideas could pass the house and the senate around a jobs bill that would incorporate enough support to democrats, enough democrats would support it and enough in it that enough republicans would support it. what are your sources suggesting there? >> well, to the first point, i

think there are enough democrats who even in the beginning felt this was a flawed enough approach and an overly political approach to the extent they felt the president was setting it up to campaign against republicans for getting in the way of a decent jobs bill. and i think that's only grown as democrats recognize and are not acting with a great deal of urgency to get something passed as the president's left to sort of be out on the road campaigning for this thing. i don't know what the answer is. right now, you've got a fight breaking out among republican ranks on the hill with congressman frank wolf yesterday taking grover norquist to task over this new taxes pledge that so many in congress are beholden to. that i don't see a lot of room here. and then you've got the so-called super committee that wants to deal with tax reform and additional cuts. when you have a conversation that has really broken down over whether tax increases have to be part of the conversation at all. and to ezra's point, what did

the chief economist of the country say yesterday? you cannot cut your way to economic growth. we cannot be so fixated on deficit reduction that we lose sight of the fact that the economy is still incredibly fragile. >> hey, chuck, is there any dissension within the message machine of the white house? by that i mean the president goes out into the country two or three, sometimes four times a week? and it's almost always with like a different message for a different group instead of one overarching theme, which would be aimed at the middle class. what about us? >> well, it's funny you interpret it that way. they think they're actually being a little more defined, a little more on message that they're trying to -- you know, i talked to somebody close to the campaign who said, you know, the president needs to get out there and say what he's fundamentally fighting for rather than what he's willing to compromise for. right so that has been the fundamental prism with which

they're trying to sell this jobs program. but you're right in how he's done it. you know, when he goes about to cincinnati, it's about the bridges in cincinnati. when he goes to dallas, he's talking about the district and all the bridges there and they're releasing that list in trying to create the illusion of public -- of a public push for this. but you know, that's been the problem. talking about democratic congressmen yesterday who were saying -- they're in the debt ceiling, there truly were a lot of people calling into congress, into capitol hill saying, hey, will you just solve this thing? it's almost as if the public's not paying attention, throwing up their hands, not tuning in. >> is he unable to figure out? has he not figured out that the other side of the aisle is n giving him nothing? >> i think that's the calculus they have made.

that's the calculation they've made. we're not going to get anything, so let's try to make the political argument. >> and jack up the rhetoric. >> the problem is, senate democrats aren't signing on to it. and that doesn't help him. >> wow. >> can i make a point here about what i think relates to the fight on the republican side, as well. is that look how much energy there is. we're seeing it among republicans on capitol hill. to not only to take the president on to criticize the president, but to not work with him. this is not a compromise approach on the part of a lot of republicans who are new to congress who say, no, we don't give in on taxes. this is the sort of energy that mitt romney has to confront. whether he's going to turn it and make it a force for him or force against him. because he may be a guy who wants to make things better with the economy, but he has yet to inspire that conservative base of the party. >> and his response to us about how he would get things done in washington counter to how

president obama does it, david, was to have private meetings to get in there and deal one-on-one consistently over time. he says he's done that, he says it works. and i wonder if perhaps this is exaggerated, but if there haven't been enough one-on-one meetings between the president and his opposition. >> i think he's faced pretty unified opposition. i don't think he's showed great political skill in confounding his adversaries on capitol hill. but i think there was a decision made early on in the conservative party, the republican party was going to take a different tact and be unified against him. >> david gregory, chuck todd, thank you very much. standing by in the green room, "new york times" columnist frank bruni will join us straight ahead. more "morning joe" when we come back. yesterday doesn't win. big doesn't win.

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i think the country will be better by making sure that president obama is a one-termer. unfortunately, even though there are areas a as you know that i support this president in, overall, he's failed the american people. because he's failed that absolute litmus test to be president of the united states. and that's to know how to lead and decide, and he hasn't done

that. >> all right. joining us now, frank bruni. and since your sunday piece, you've written another one called the twisting root back to romney. but i'm going back to sunday and we're going to divert wildly and talk about food and fat. okay? because you got a big response to that piece, did you not? >> yes. >> a lot of people connected with it. and i connected with it deeply and personally and i really appreciate that you wrote it. >> thank you. >> i really do. and you not only talk about chris christie's weight, but you talk about the relationship that many people in america have with food, and it is often a very abusive, terrible one. and one that consumes you for most of your life. and you write this. no two stomachs are precisely alike. and i know of where i speak. we're not going to have the full screen. i've chosen something different. i was born with a fierce, unappeaseable hunger that as a toddler, i threw screaming fits if i didn't get a third

hamburger. the thinness i managed in college didn't reflect self-control, it reflected bulimia and laxatives. my borderline obesity in my mid-30s, professionally i was working harder and more reliablely than ever. and my sustained anguish over my waistline and tortured efforts to regulate it bespoke a kind of shallowness and vanity i'm not looking for in politicians. it seems too prevalent among them already. you're talking about your fight and how much it took away from other parts of your life. because this wasn't something that you just did because you can and others can't because you have discipline and others don't. there's a bigger message here about where we stand in america's relationship with food. is there not? >> well, yes, and also a message in terms of what you can and can't tell about someone by looking at their weight. >> that's right. >> we have no way to know all of the factors that are contributing to chris christie being overweight.

and what was happening last week was there was this story line developing that his waistline was a measure of his lack of discipline and that was going to carry through to the way he governed and be a problem. and that is unbelievably over simplistic thinking that shows no knowledge of people's relationship with food, with what we're beginning to learn about why people are overweight or obese and i wanted to push back against that. >> i like it because i also think, you know, because there's no way of knowing why someone is obese. and as the obesity crisis in the past few decades really began to take hold of this country, i think there was this you can't talk about it. there's no way of knowing. you can't talk about it. if a person you're speaking to is obese, you don't recognize they have a terrible condition because it might be genetic or it would be rude. we're at a different point now, and i think chris christie whether he chose this or not has touched on such an important conversation where this is a condition, whether it is a lack of discipline, whether it is food addiction, chemicals in the

food that cause you to constantly go back to it, or whether it is genetic, it is something we need to talk about fairly and in a real way. >> right, and when you demonize someone, and that's what was happening. you shut down the discussion and don't go anywhere constructive. >> and by the way, you think that guy's undisciplined? the guy who ran for governor and works 16 hours a day and is raising four kids and is keeping a marriage together? he's undisciplined. >> he may be at the table. we don't know what's going on. but it doesn't tell us anything really a about what he's going to be like in other aspects of life. we were talking about before commercial, george w. bush, incredibly disciplined in his eating habits and exercise habits. that didn't make him a great president. or that didn't mean that all of these great qualities would transfer over into the oval office. >> we talk about bill clinton, as well. perhaps not the most disciplined man on the face of the earth. but i guess to play devil's advocate a little bit, don't

voters have a right to be concerned? we saw when he went into the hospital for asthma, he did have these health problems that were a consequence of his weight. do voters have a right to be concerned he might get sick in office? >> i think so to a degree. we had a right to be concerned about ronald reagan at the age of 73. john mccain was 72, i think, when he ran for -- those are risk factors that say maybe this person will die in office or get sick in office, maybe has a greater chance of that than someone else. >> oh -- >> christie's weight is no different than that -- >> the questions in these columns were not those issues. >> right. >> dick cheney had some health issues and legitimate questions raised around whether he would be able to serve out his vice presidential term. thankfully he was for him and his family. the questions raised in these

pieces were show leadership and eat a salad. it's back to your point. if these pieces had raised the point you were raising in a serious core way, it would be different than what they did. it was insulting to americans. family members or friends or spouses or anyone dealing with these kind of issues. to have someone suggest that the guy couldn't be president for these reasons is absurd. if you want to raise the health issue, raise it. i don't read all of your columns, but this column you wrote was excellent. >> it was incredible. and i think you touched so many people when you talked about your personal battle, if i may. >> took a lot of courage to talk about that. >> it takes a lot of courage. it's also what we need to do. because it isn't as simple as eating a salad. it is so not as simple as eating a salad. do you know that for some people it is just absolutely everything to them. they can't go through the day without thinking about food, without thinking about how to get to that next hamburger or french fries or whatever it is that they find their mind

wrapping around that this is not just a lack of discipline. this is a social condition, a medical condition, and it's something that we need to talk about. >> and the science of it is very, very complicated. >> very complicated. >> if you've been overweight for a long time as governor christie has now, it becomes more difficult to lose weight so that eugene robinson comment, eat a salad, take a walk -- >> how overweight were you? >> at my worst, i was probably about 70 pounds overweight. >> so describe what life was like for you. >> wow. i mean, life was a lot of evasions. i wouldn't go out to social events because i didn't like the way i looked. i wouldn't go shopping for clothes and make due with two pairs of pants because i didn't like the way i looked. it was a life of a lot of avoidance and shame. >> and every day was like that? >> during that period. i had to go out and make a living, i was on the campaign trail. there's a picture in the book i

wrote about this with me with president bush on air force one. i look like jaba the hut next to him. >> how did you lose it? >> moderation and a lot of exercise. it was very slow going. and i was lucky because i just -- psychologically i reached a point where i wasn't willing to live like that anymore and i had the resources to turn it around. i don't know that everyone does. >> i agree. >> i don't know -- >> i didn't have kids, i had control over my time, enough money to hire a personal trainer. a lot of the americans we are demonizing don't have those resources. >> let me tell you, with the resources, trainer, all the help, the strength inside of you, was it easy? >> no, it was very difficult. >> exactly. please come back and talk about this morning. let's figure this out. frank bruni, thank you so much. >> thanks for having me. >> if you meant to talk politics, i'm sorry. >> you're always full of

surprises. it's good. >> tomorrow we're going to talk to the secretary of agriculture. also verne buchanan will join us. up next, first rule of being a camera man, know your surroundings. that and your playoff highlights next. ♪ ♪ [ multiple sounds making melodic tune ] ♪

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okay. we're doing some sports. >> we're always full of surprises. just like frank says. >> i used to do sports. >> you up for it? >> absolutely. the yankees facing elimination against the tigers in detroit. new york resting its hopes on the shaky arm of a.j. burnett. in the first, loading up the bases with two outs, john kelly lines the shot to straight away center. >> yeah? >> former tiger kurtis

cranderson incredible catch to end the inning. we've got rafael in relief of burnett. >> johnny -- >> oh, my god, johnny. left center, a long run -- >> another one. >> let's get a replay. yeah. take another look. he makes the play. yankees get a little help from the defense. going 5 2/3 inning giving up one run. the yankees blow the inning wide open scoring six runs, new york goes on to win 10-1 forcing game five in new york tomorrow night. >> i'm going home! all right. >> yeah. >> what other games did you watch? >> the other american league series came to a close yesterday, the texas rangers eliminated the tampa bay rays thanks to a three-run homer by beltre. during one of his home run trots, check out the camera man

trying to keep up with beltre rounding third base. he falls over his own feet. >> oh. >> showering the field with camera parts. that's about $80,000 right there. rangers win 4-3 beating the rays for the second straight year. the yankees-tigers series. >> keep going. she's on fire. >> to the national league. cardinals and phillies series tied 1-1 heading to st. louis. game scoreless until the seventh. ben francisco puts the phillies on the board with a three-run home run off jamie garcia. next inning, cardinals threatening down by two. ba bases loaded, phillies squeak by with a 3-2 win. they can finish off. >> did the brewers play yesterday? >> bruins? >> brewers? >> did they play yesterday? >> game three, brewers and

diamondbac diamondbacks. in the fifth inning, bases loaded, brewers pitcher can't seem to get the signs straight. >> what happened? >> i don't know. like don't they know sign language. >> what do you think they're going to call for, fastball? >> i think so. down the middle. >> looper and he visits the mound twice to figure out what to throw. finally they settle on fastball and goldschmitt takes them yard. >> exactly. opposite field grand slam. diamondbacks up by six. check out markham's reaction after he throws the pitch. did you see that? >> yeah, he threw his glove up in the air. i'm done. >> yeah. >> i used to do that in the middle of the night. >> we've been rendered obsolete. once again. >> good? >> very. >> okay. >> i had enough of that. >> we'll be right back. the postal service is critical to our economy--

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carries the game pulled the hank williams jr. song after his controversial comments. >> what? they pulled the song? we count on it to gauge our country's football readiness. if anything, just give him a little slap on the wrist. make him head to espn4 and ask are you ready for actual football. hands aren't allowed and the pitch is just right. arsenal is playing united tonight. are you ready for a game that will probably end in a tie? >> last night's monday night football did not begin with hank williams junior asking the eternal question, are you ready for some football? sorry, espn, can you disagree with a man's politics but you have no right to rob the american people of the proper procedures of football preparation. he is not just asking if we're ready rhetorically. he's asking us all to embark on

a journey of reflection. check our surroundings, is there anything suggesting unpreparedness for some football? perhaps an empty snack bowl, beer that is unchilled, a telephone shaped like a baseball. >> that's pretty good. >> are you leaving? >> you're not leaving. >> that's what they tell me. >> i'm sorry about that. harold, thank you. coming up next, former governor howard dean and former rnc chair michael stiheel. they join the conversation. i remember the days before copd.

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i always felt it was the right decision and remains the right decision today. now is not my time. the answer was never anything but no. >> oh. well, having said that he wasn't going to run in private, having said it on the television, having said it to print reporters, having tagged it on what could only be described as a condemned trenton building, having demonstrated his position while attending a devils game, it's over! >> i spoke to a lot of people this morning and told them the answer is no. that's not even a relevant question anymore because i've made the decision not to run. i know it's your guy's job to ask me this question like a dozen different ways. i'll answer it almost a dozen different ways. >> governor christie over here, i'm from the trenton wasn't listening times. and i can't get it through my. [ beep ]

head monthly. >> good morning. it's 8:00 on the east coast. you take a live look at new york city. welcome back to "morning joe." back with us on set, we have mike barnicle and howard dean along with michael steel in washington. a couple of things, first after weeks of speculation, new jersey governor chris christie said unequivocally he will not run for president of the united states in 2012. some of the biggest names in republican politics were urging christie to jump in the race. but in a news conference yesterday, the governor said, "it's not my time." >> in the end, what i've always felt was the right decision remains the right decision today. now is not my time. i have a commitment to new jersey that i simply will not band on. so, new jersey, whether you like it or not, you're stuck with me. the deciding factor was it did not feel right to me, in my gut,

to leave now when the job here is not finished. >> you know, let's just talk for a second. joe and i were both talking to chris christie together and separately right up until the night before. and he was there. he was so there in many ways and trying to figure this out. and you obviously can never know exactly what deeply personal reasons might have kept him from staying in the race. but, howard, you do know how hard it is. >> yeah. this is a smart thing he did here. he's been in for two years as governor, big state but still, two years as governor. the problem is that the republicans are undergoing what the democrats have done for years which is they look at the front-runner and they go, no. they're not ideological pure. they want to find somebody else, anybody else. and chris christie had to know in his gut that anybody else was not going make a good presidential candidate because the reasons that he was being recruited were the wrong reasons, ie, they don't like the more moderate front-runner.

>> not necessarily reason to run. not necessarily reason to ravage your family and pull them through the process. >> right. the bottom line is he was not going to win. can you not take a two-year governor out of new jersey and have him beat the united states. he could have won the primary. >> i disagree with that. >> really? >> you had basically a state senator from illinois who became the united states senator in a lay-up election. >> the problem is you do that once, you're not going to do it again. >> i agree with you there. yeah. >> michael steel so now the question is what does this all mean for the field? does this sort of settle everything now? who does it help? we talked about this poll we're going to show in a minute that shows rick perry's slide continuing. he herman cain rising. >> yesterday was a tough day. no christie, no iphone 5. >> oh, my lord. >> just give me a moment.

>> i here you. >> work through it, my friend. >> i have to work. it was overwhelming. the expectation was just so high. but the reality remains the same. chris christie has been telling us for months, i'm not doing this. >> yeah. >> the iphone i can't speak about. chris christie was clear about where he was going. i think near the end and you just referred to this, you know, he was there. he was pulled there by a lot of people who had moneyed interest in him getting in the race. >> i'm going to take things way off track just for a sec. for those especially, his weight obviously came into play into the conversation and there was this really controversial piece that eugene robinson did on friday and michael continuesly and a lot of them were really mean. they showed his weight showing a lack of discipline. i'm sorry. if his decision yesterday

doesn't say discipline with a capital d, i don't know what does. and i actually wish he was in the race so he could shed light on the issue of obesity in america. i think he would have been the best person for that. and that, to me, is a big loss. i think obviously his weight probably is part of the decision, not because he's afraid of anybody, because it's a health issue. he should come back stronger and better later. having said that, there was some really low blows before he even announced anything about whether or not this man was disciplined. he's disciplined. >> i agree with you. >> ridiculous. >> i don't think it would have been a big problem for him. >> no. >> but in some ways it's good, just not nice to say those things. when you run for president, everything is a low blow. it is. ugliest process. gary hart once said there is no such thing as a wimp that ever got elected president because of what you go through. he didn't even announce and he was getting hammered. it was only going to get worse.

so it's -- i don't condone that kind of stuff. but it's kind of a preview on what you get for a year and a half when you're running. >> i think he would have handled it well. several republican candidates released statements yesterday praising the new jersey governor. but for now christie said he is not ready to endorse anyone. so simmer down. simmer down. and christie's campaign supporters are moving on. this is how it goes. people just move on. and christie knew that. the billionaire founder of home depot who led the effort in recent weeks to draft governor christie told charlie rose he's disappointed christy won't run, very disappointed. but now he's mitt romney's supporter. take a listen. >> i told him last week, if the governor -- if governor christie doesn't run, governor romney, i'm with you. >> are you sure that you made every argument that could have been made to governor christie to convince him to run?

>> charlie, i did everything but kiss him on the lips. okay? okay? all right? >> with governor christie officially out of the race, a new cbs news poll shows hermann cain moved atop with mitt romney. okay. cain has 17% support, up from just 5% two weeks ago. the poll also shows waning support for texas governor rick perry who dropped from 23% to just 12% in two weeks among republican primary voters. michael steele, cain is a story. it's so obvious he's a second choice. is that at all debilitating? >> i don't think it is. this whole process is about settling and coming into, you know, a relationship, if you will, with one of these candidates. and as you have seen, the poll

numbers reflect that people bounce around. we were all -- everybody was in love with michelle bachmann and then john perry and huntsman and chris christie. romney walked into this race as the punitive front-runner. the question became who was going to become the anti-romney? that's what the whole last few months has been about. the last few weeks sh that, thag to consolidate further and boil down to cain and maybe perry, depending on if he can stop the bleeding there and possibly bbak bachmann making a resurgence. so there is time that's been lost. this thing has to contract. i think right now romney is in the best possible position and foi folks like langone realize this. >> willie? >> looks like romney is in good shape. i want to go back to christie

for one moment. we heard the m & m theory. you only get one shot. they're saying if he doesn't jump in now, he may never have another chance. but history shows us bush xli, reagan, nixon, your time may come again. >> republicans get more than one shot. somehow, there is something different there. a, you get two shots. b, the second time around is your time. >> right. >> so i don't think this is a big problem. >> so he'll be back? >> i think romney has a problem. he is the best known candidate in the race and at 17% in the polls. that's not so good. if he gets the nomination, i think the odds are now very heavily that he will, he has a big base problem. usually that's not a problem the republicans are very disciplined. they'll pull in behind him. actually even the democrats pull in behind him after a fight like this. this year you have the tea party. they are not playing with a full deck. i mean, they could go off the rails here. this is going to be really interesting. >> what does that mean go off the rails? >> they might sit home or vote for somebody else or find a

libertarian on ron paul might do something. who knows? i mean this is a -- this is a really odd one. i've never seen this in the republican side. they're usually much more disciplined. and you see the leadership of the party is a senior finance guy, you know, moving now towards romney. that's not where the base is. >> aren't there similarities, though, between, you know, the potential problem that you just outlined republicans and the tea party on the far right and president obama's difficulties with moveon.org? >> interestingly enough, no, mike. it's the fourth quarter. a lot of people who were upset with this and that and the other thing about obama, they now see what the other side is like. they don't want somebody in the white house. even they certainly don't want a rick perry. and even romney is beholden to the far right people. i think obama is going to -- and obama is out there in the last three weeks looking great. i think he's going to solidify his base. i think had is possibly the first election in my lifetime where the democrats are much more united than the

republicans. >> romney's strategy is certainly working so far. just a setback. >> romney is a great politician and a seasoned politician. >> seasoned at this point wcain's popularity on the rise, the former godfather's pizza ceo spent time campaigning in new york city. he made an appearance on "the view" and doubled down on comments he made before that african-americans have been "brainwashed to reject conservatism." >> the good news is a lot of black americans are thinking for themselves. >> yes. >> now, there are some that are so brainwashed that they won't even consider a conservative idea. >> what do you do about that? >> you save the saveable. if they're not saveable because they don't want to hear the idea about my 999 plan, i tried to give that to some people and they didn't want it because they saw me as a republican. they saw me as a conservative. i call that being brainwashed, not being open minded. >> the republican party hasn't been black friendly over the many centuries in this country.

>> i never said that. >> all right. and just for, you know, a little bit of balance here, there was a "washington post" poll that came out yesterday that showed romney at 25% and cain way behind at 16%. i think we have to watch and see if this plays out. but it does bring me to rick perry and some issues pertaining to race that we talked about earlier this week and other comments that he's made. and the plunge that we're seeing his candidacy taking. michael steele, earlier this week i was frustrated with our conversation about rick perry. we put it high up in the show. personally i was writing him off as a candidate. and was i wrong to do so? because it just seems to me like in the big game i don't see him getting there. >> i think that's the feeling that a lot of folks have. and that goes back to what i was saying about what his campaign and he himself is prepared to do to stop the bleeding and the hemorrhaging.

there is certainly the rock landed big on his campaign this past week. the debate performances, immigration, there are a number of things that woshgs you knoul most candidates. perry still persists. he has this retail aspect to his politics that works for him. the more he's able to bring that to the fore, i think it helps him stop the hemorrhaging. how is he able to galvanize that support and regain that footing after you have seen cain get the momentum he's getting, romney is solidifying that lead, though it may be 17-25%, it's still a solid number. and perry's got a real problem right now. the next debate is going to tell a lot about where this campaign goes, i believe. >> and he certainly can raise money. >> yep. >> before we go to break, there are interesting dynamics between the president pushing his jobs program and the republican leadership. the president was in dallas yesterday. he called out the republicans about his jobs plan wanting this

buffet rule to put americans back to work to get support. and he brought in references of ronald reagan and went directly after the republicans. take a listen. >> middle class families, working families should not pay higher tax rates than millionaires or billionaires. some of the republicans in congress they say you're engaging in class warfare. class warfare? let me tell you something. years ago a great american had a different view. he thought it was crazy that certain tax loopholes made it possible for millionaires to pay nothing while a bus driver was paying 10% of his salary. wasn't a democrat. wasn't some crazy socialist. it was ronald reagan. it was ronald reagan. last time i checked, republicans all thought reagan made some sense.

>> president obama was referencing a speech given by then president reagan back in 1985 in which reagan said tax loopholes allowed to the wealthy to "avoid paying their fair share." president obama also took congress to task during his speech singling out one member in particular. >> the republican majority leader in congress, eric cantor, said that right now he won't even let this jobs bill have a vote in the house of representatives. won't even give it a chance to be debated on the floor of the house of representatives. i'd like mr. kantor to come down to dallas and explain what exactly in this jobs bill does he not believe in. what exactly is he opposed to? >> actually, going to go to howard first. kantor responded on twitter. >> it doesn't matter what kantor says. >> he said that he accused the president of being in full

campaign mode and, of course, earlier in the week he had declared the jobs bill package as dead in the water. but, you know, i still wonder -- >> the president is in full campaign mode and he is on fire. look at the guy. i haven't seen him put four weeks together like this. it's unbelievable. the other day when he called out the republicans crowd for attacking a soldier who was in uniform in the united states, whoever thought we would be able to see a democrat go after the republicans for attacking the arms forces of the united states? this guy is on fire. he just needs to do this for another 13 weeks and -- 13 months and we're in. >> am coming up next, we dedicate a segment to the must read opinion pages. now a new book visits the greatest newspaper columns. ♪ sent her back to college for her sophomore year ♪

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welcome back to "morning joe." joining us now, john avalon. john is the co-editor of "deadline artists: america's greatest newspaper columns." i love this. mike barnicle is in this. >> he's all over it. >> we're also going to talk about that fight with my dad. we're going to play that later. first, let's talk about "deadline artists." this is the greatest book. i can't wait to read it. john, give us a sense of what you're trying to do with this book and then let's get to mike

barnic barnicle. how adorable is he, by the way? >> this is a love letter to the american art form that is a newspaper column. it was so much fun putting it together. everybody's writing obituaries for newspapers. opinion writing is proliferating online. we don't have a sense, our generation, i think -- we don't have a sense of how good these guys were. we're writing way before the internet. the art of the reporting column. guys like breslon and ernie pile and dorothy thompson and will rogers, being able to put them all in one book has been -- was such an education and inspiration. and we included barnicle. >> you have him as boston's mike barnicle is a bridge between classic and contemporary newspaper commentating. >> he is. >> five days a week you'd have a blank page. and my dad talks about this, too. they didn't have the internet or anything. he would go out into new york city and get in the company car and drive to queens or brooklyn or staten island or walk out around times square. >> he had a company car?

>> he did. a chevy citation. and he would find a story. >> the great bill geist. and this book, as john eluded to, it is about a time before the internet when you'd go out and your job, you'd come back to the newsroom and it would be what happened? what did you see? what did you hear? and you would put that in 84 lines in what they call a newspaper column. now unfortunately in our business, you come back into a newsroom if they still exist and people say what do you think? >> right. >> and that i think is one of the challenges that book puts forward. i think it reminds us how high the bar is, how much you can do with that column. that simply type in your opinion is a lousy substitute for story telling and vivid characters and the quality of the writing before television when there was vivid descriptive writing and how much these are endorg lessoles enduring.

it's great to appreciate these. >> i'm going to read from mike barnicle's column. this is, you're writing about a sloppy mob murder at a local restaurant. the entire event perhaps four minutes in duration, involving at least 13 shots, five victims, and two suspects caught -- is a bitter example of how downsizing has affected even organized crime. for several years the federal government has enforced mandatory requirement rules, called jail -- on several top local mob executives. what's left is clowns who arrive for a great matinee murder in a beat up blue cadillac and a white chrysler that look like they're used for bumper car. they leave with the smell of cordite and about 37 people capable of picking them out in a lineup." >> you know what's so great about that column, too, isn't just that, you know, it's a crime column that's funny, it makes you laugh.

but the same month, the other column we have from mike in the book in crime, the same month he writes tragic column about a cambodian family that was slaughtered. you know, the great ones can hit any pitch. and they're not limited to one genre. they define their city. you know, you definitely go to boston. that was done in chicago. these classic voices. >> breslyn in new york. pete hamill, jack newfield who was my colleague at the "new york sun" with eric lewis my co-author. we started talking to jack. that's how we got the idea from the book. what are the greatest columns? so it began there. >> so when you went and talked to people for this book, did you find that there was a longing for days gone by and then perhaps the writing isn't as good as it is today or is that a romantic view? >> i think the swrig better. there was an obligation to have

a scene come alive in people's minds. there was an emphasis or story telling. >> there is a craftsmanship to it. that is a challenge to our generation to up our game. that is part of the fun of the book. >> it's like verbal vomit now. i'm sorey. it's not a craft now. >> you know, the challenge and again john eluded to this earlier, is that 1993, 1995 whenever it was, that wasn't that long ago in terms of how we measure history. but if you think about it, there was no internet. >> right. >> there was no 24-hour cable stuff. none of that existed. >> let's not forget how many great ones are still writing today. peggy newnan writes like an angel, david brooks, eugene robinson, maureen dowd all in the book, steve lopez out of l.a. >> my guy. the great ones, there are still great ones writing great copy. they're in the book, too. we wanted to give the full sweep, the fill picture. this is just a start. this is just a start. you appreciate there are still

great ones doing the reporting column, folks like molly ivans who we lost recently and pete dexter. you just appreciate these vivid personalities and the impact they had and the way they still resonate and can inspire. >> part of the difference today, too, young columnists are asked to post more than once a day. >> exactly. >> if you work for "the washington post," you have to get something up and get it up by 9:00 a.m. people are looking online. >> get the word out. >> you do one, two, three little small bites rather than a long thoughtful column. >> it's tough to zig when other people are zaging. if you interview the attending room physician as opposed to just covering the obvious service story, that's where the artistry comes in. >> i think, you know, when we spoke about this one, you're just beginning this project, when, you know, you came to me after talking to several other people, one of the things that's missing is in term of time

between the time you see an event occur and the time it appears in the morning paper the next day. you would actually think about what you saw, think about what happened before you wrote it. today, it's we need -- we get it online. get it online. >> yeah. >> had is a place, i know, the columns set aside in the paper for reflection, for putting news in context for making people think about what really matters. and that's the enduring value of this stuff. that's why the columns still read well. that was the criteria of great writing. with our short attention spans, you can read journalism. it will still resonate. that's one of the reasons this -- you know, retains its power. it hasn't, you know -- most of this stuff isn't available online. >> are there guys still doing really what mike barnicle did for so many years? >> yeah. we just mentioned them. >> but weren't just trying to get clicks and write something reactionary and actually going out and telling a story that maybe has no relevance to the news peg of the day but went out and found the story?

>> that's the challenge. steve lopez and others are still doing that. in that column, we need to return to. i think newspapers will find value and unique voices going deep on local stories. not simply the tail wagging the dog where everyone covers the same story because it's what's in the cycle. i think there's even more of an obligation to push through that and tell stories that are relevant to people and have resonance beyond the cycle. >> they still exist. they're just surrounded by a lot of noise and a lot of images and a lot of other stuff. i think what's great about this book is it reminds us to look for them. >> yeah. >> you know, it reminds us to look for them and weed them out of all the noise and take a moment to reed and think. you also are writing in the daily beast. i hope you're not just blurting it out, but thinking about it. but you talk about the wall street occupy wall street protest. we've been looking at those. we found this interview with my dad. i haven't seen it yet. i want to see how rez nant it is today. but -- when is this?

february of 2009 and we were on the set talking about the social inequality and the divide in people's economic situations. here it is. >> look, we're going to have millions and millions of unemployed. people really facing dire straits. and we're going to be having that for some period of time, before things hopefully improve. and at the same time, there is this public awareness of this extraordinary wealth that was transferred to a few individuals. what's going to happen in this society when these people are without jobs, when their families are hurt, when they lose their homes and so forth? at some point there will be such political pressure that congress will start getting into the act. there's going to be growing conflict between the classes. and if people are unemployed and really hurting, hell, there could be even riots. >> i remember that. and it was sort of a pause on the set like did i just say that?

seriously. and we're not there yet. but can we start talking about it as yet another thing my father has predicted as a worry that we should have as these divisions grow? >> we should be talking about it. i mean it's not socialistic to say we have a problem between the growing gap between even the super rich and the middle class let alone the rich and poor. that we have a basically, you know, average family of four wages and stagnated. we can talk about that. i think the key in covering the wall street protest is to understand the stories of the people who are there. put it in a sense of perspective, put it in context. when the protesters compare themselves to egypt and syria, that doesn't fly for a number of reasons. one of which is the cops in syria are killing the protesters and here the cops are trying to do it in good humor. >> actually, that's of debate as well. >> no. i've been down there. i live two blocks from ground zero right across. >> they're not shooting anybody, blah, blah, blah. but there was a little bit of a heavy hand at first. >> there have been incidents of heavy hands and that needs to be investigated as wellment i think it's the issue of put it in

context. one of the issues of demand they put forward is reinstating glass steel. we should have that. when the next sentence is let's have open borders aabolish credit agencies and you are dressed like a zombie, that is tougher to get taken seriously. how do you deal with this with a sense of fairness and perspective? and that's what i think the great columnists do. it puts the news in context. it brings the stories alive. what are the real issues we can learn from and should? look, there is plenty of absolutely realistic reasons to be angry about what happened down there. in terms of corruption and collusion and economic malpractice, taxpayers paying for bailouts and then bonuses. that never made any sense. define the common ground that exists and build on it realizing that extremism undercuts your argument. >> do you think they will spread? do you think they will grow into something? >> i think it's a satellite protest. i'm sure those will continue. they may diminish as things get cold. will they hit the maximum level of the tea party movement of 300

rallies being promoted sbhi networks, that's yet to be seen. can they create leverage on liberal congressmen to put forward certain legislation? that will be a key test. >> i notice an attitude of some of the people that are the wall street protesters where it's a little arrogant and laugh at them. they're like go back to dartmouth, get your birkenstocks, whatever. they're spoiled college kids. having said that, we laughed at the tea party. we laughed at the tea party. they looked funny and sounded funny. you know what, they're a serious movement, are they not? >> they are. the history of the late 1960s is the way the successes of the late 1960s protested alienated the middle class and provoked a backlash that lasted 40 years. don't forget that. >> if you go down there, i was down there the other day, we talked about this earlier today, i mean there is stick, there is theater. but then there are people who literally, as we said earlier, they're riding a river of anxiety that's out there in the country. they are there. that's there. you can't deny that whether it's

on wall street or in paducah, kentucky, it's there. >> john avalon, the book is "deadline artist: america's greatest newspaper columns." i love it. can i have this one? i want it. come up, public service is shut down around greece. business before the bell is next. [ male announcer ] this... is the montrose pet hospital -- montrose, california. ♪ in here, anarchy meets order. working with at&t, doctors set up a broadband solution to handle data and a mobility app to stay connected with their business. so they can run the office... even when they're not in the office. it's a network of possibilities --

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time now for a check on business before the bell with cnbc's simon hobbs. >> we have good news. a good headline. the adp report shows that private sector employers generating 91,000 jobs last month. that's better than we thought they would. and, of course, we're counting down to the monthly employment report on friday. but remember, this is notoriously inaccurate. but every month we look at it and we say well that's quite good news. the loss of the open won't be so bad. this remains a really vicious market at the moment. you were speaking earlier about social unrest and hatred of bankers on wall street. that is large on the streets of athens and more jobs, 30,000

jobs need to go in the public sector. so the traders here will keep one eye on what is happening in greece. we are in a ludicrous situation yesterday where the market actually surged 4% on a report in the financial times that europe was looking to recapitalize some of its banks, pump money into them to shore them up. there is no detail in the report today. but the market is so sensitive to what you see on your screen now that it will rally or fall on the basis of that. on a lighter note today, at noon we're getting to get a new -- an announcement from microsoft on the xbox 360. they have done a deal with come ca -- comcast so you'll be able to pay tv on the xbox. this is part of microsoft trying to make it the gateway to the digital living room and an attempt by comcast and verizon to stop people migrating away to other platforms. but yesterday, of course, we had

the big announcement on -- from apple. did you see the disappointment? we didn't get an iphone 5. we didn't get a redesign. we got a slightly newer version of the iphone 4. investors didn't like that at all. >> never mind investors, what about customers? >> yeah. >> it was like 1:00 yesterday, chris christie had the press conference and the iphone 4s came. what happened? seriously. why did they do that? >> well, you know, who knows? there are features within it. we get the voice texting. >> i don't need that. i don't want that. >> maybe they think the customers don't have as much money. maybe that's the idea. >> maybe we just want to have a thing that you can talk and you can text, type on and just -- >> get an xbox 360. maybe that's the place to be. >> i don't know what that is. that's for kids, right? >> that's for boys. >> and joe. okay. simon, thanks.

looking ahead to tomorrow morning, joe will be in live from the swing state of florida. and then on friday, it's a battleground state of its own. we're going to be live from tuscaloosa, alabama. ahead of the big alabama-vanderbilt game. willy and joe, they're going to -- it's going to be a big mess. they're going to get in a big fight and roll on the floor. more "morning joe" in a moment. # i know you're worried about making your savings last and having enough income when you retire. that's why i'm here. to help come up with a plan and get you on the right path. i have more than a thousand fidelity experts working with me so that i can work one-on-one with you. it's your green line.

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welcome back to "morning joe," joining us now the president and ceo of americares. we had quite a weekend. >> we had a great weekend.

we were together at the gala and there was a team of volunteers and americcares staffers. and before that, we raised some money. >> we did. we raised almost a million and a half dollars. >> that's good. >> that is nice. >> we had a wonderful time and then literally your team took off from the gala and headed to the dominican republic to do some more of the incredible work that americare does. tell us about that airlift. >> this is something we've been doing for some time. first of all, i have to thank you and your team for not only shining a light on what we do but also for creating a wonderful environment on saturday evening which contributed to the great success of the evening. >> well, there are echos in my neighborhood of what happened on saturday night because there was vodka pouring. well, yes. and we had a little fund-raising opportunity there. >> we did. >> but it was. >> we raised a lot of money by toasting americare. >> and there was competitive

toasting. it was great. >> oii only had one. >> we have done this for a number of years. we try to take people from this gathering and take them to a place where we can give them a representative view of health care conditions in the developing world. it's a very developing thing. you go to the west chester airport and you get on a plane and you arrive in some place like the dominican on el salvador at 3:00 in the morning and you visit hospitals and clinics and then you're back in your own bed at 11:00. so the compression and the intensity of this causes the processing to go on for a long time. and you know well because you talk about it here and jeffrey talks about it and the disparities even if you are in touch with poverty in this country which is a significant problem, mike you were saying your kids had an experience driving through the dominican republic. it's the first time people see the difference in health care

even difficult health care circumstances in this country are nothing like you experience in the developing world. so we had a little session with mainster of health before we went out on our tour. and he was talking about their priorities. they're very high infant mortality rates. they're trying to focus on chronic diseases like cancer and they spent $47 million in a country of $10 men million peop. we delivered $47 million of cancer meds to the dominican the last four years. these are desperately needy places. you try to give them resources to help them do more. >> how hard is it to get people to give at this time? >> first of all, i have to say as i always do because it's so true, american people have this bottomless reservoir of good will and generosity. you see it in disasters. you see it in an on going basis and we saw it saturday night. that is not necessarily a representative sample. people have to have a heart for

reaching out to people who are in need. and it's a little more difficult in this environment because we have so many acute needs in the united states. but philanthropy was flat in the united states last year which is a reasonably significant accomplishment. and it remains to be seen where this economic cycle is going to go this year. >> you mentioned you delivered $47 million worth of cancer medicines to the dominican republic over the last two years. what is -- is it a problem the distribution system within the dominican republic with medicines, food is delivered there? >> it's a question that everyone asks us. how can we be sure this stuff is getting where it needs to go? we've been in the dominican for 15 years working with local hospitals, atd mrtive health and other people whose job it is to provide the carement we have a tight supply chain. first of all, we audit it regularly and we visit regularly. but we know the people very well. and so we're working with the

leading institutions in the country. the problem is that there just are not enough resources to provide the comprehensiveness of care that's required to give the people any kind of reasonable regular access to health care. so we have a lot of confidence that medicine gets where it's supposed to go. the problem is that there are not enough institutions providing the quality of care. so $47 million for a population of ten million people is the total oncology bucket for the country, is you know, it's really a drop in the bucket. >> before we let you go, how can people watching to day help out? what do you need from viewers? >> of course, this is sort of like a broken record. what we all need is resources. we're totally resource constrained in a world where there are two billion people that don't have access to basic medicines and health care. we can't help two billion people. but question help a few hundred thousand or a fau million. cash is the engine that drives everything that we do. and we can effectively put to use all the resources that people are generous enough to

give. >> at the end of the trip, did bobby valentine fly back to west chester or boston? >> he flew back to west chester. i have it on good authority that you're on the short list for that job. >> you talked about bob mccallie. he passed away over the last year. i will say amiricare is part of my family's legacy. my father has been involved for 30, 40 years. i've gone on air lives as a child, volunteer, reporter. my husband has. joe's wife has. and it was a pleasure to be at the benefit on saturday night and i think the one thing that i can say is that i know this organization does good. i've lived it for decades. and that, noi, with all the different choices you can make out there, i hope lends it some more credibility. thank you so much, the president and ceo of americares. we'll be back in just a moment.

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♪ put a little love in your heart ♪ time now to talk about what we learned today. did you learn anything? >> i learned first and foremost you do a hell of a sports cast. >> oh, sure. making fun of me. >> high energy. >> as well as knowledge. >> i also learn that it pains me to make a complimen