are looking for. >> right now on "andrea mitchell reports," lions and tigers and bears, oh, my. wild kingdom with jack hannah coming up next from the columbus, zoo. plus, viva las vegas. >> rick, again -- >> rick, i'm speaking. i'm speaking. i'm speaking. >> you get 30 seconds. >> the way the rules work here is that i get 60 seconds. >> pardon the interruption. also under fire, herman cain's fruit salad. >> herman, i love you brother, but you don't have to have a big analysis to figure this out. go to new hampshire where they don't have a sales tax and you're giving them one. >> the state tax is an an el. we are replacing with oranges. >> and i will have a bush yell with apples and oranges because i will have to pay both taxes. the president's not so

secret weapon, michelle obama on the road again. >> we are so proud of you. and have you skills that are so precious to you. time management, organization, people skills, complex decision making and so many other incred ill skills and that is really the reason why we are here today. >> but account first lady help spark her husband's reelection campaign? and developing right now out of afghanistan, secretary of state hillary clinton, arrives on the surprise stop in kabul. i'm andrea mitchell live in washington. if you thought it was tough last night, wait until you hear what the republican contenders today say about each other. chuck todd, host of the daily rundown and political director and chris cillizza are both with us. chuck, first to you. i mean, this smackdown was really, rick perry, against mitt romney, herman cain was almost

an after thought. they did go after him on the 9-9-9. but all mitt romney. and did he go too far in fighting back? >> it's interesting. we thu this debate wag coming. it was the moment when rick perry realized, look, it's now or never. and the moment when the rest of the field realized when it came to mitt romney, it was now or never. so that's when it all came together last night and you saw i think the results of this. and one, the perry strategy was, go personal with romney. see if you can draw him out and boy did they draw him out. i think there are times when the romney folks that romney may have gone too far. i was impressed with how romney would always almost realize it and he would dial it back. but he ended up getting in these little mini lectures to newt gingrich who was somebody who -- somebody on that stage always trying to be the mediator, calming force. he seemed to get a rise out of newt. he got a rise out of santorum, though that isn't hard to do at

these debates. >> chris cillizza, take a look at these debates. this is an old attack line about illegal immigrants hire bade contractor who worked on his lawn. but take a look at this match-up. >> you hired illegals. in your home. and you knew about it for a year. and the idea that you stand here before us and talk about that you are strong on immigration is on its face, the height of hypocrisy. >> governor romney? >> rick, i don't think that i have ever hired an illegal in my life. i'm looking forward to finding your facts on that. >> i'll tell you what the facts are. >> rick, again -- rick, i'm speaking. i'm speaking. i'm speaking. you get 30 seconds. >> time for you to -- >> i get 60 seconds then you get 30 seconds to respond, right? >> they want -- >> anderson -- would you please wait? are you just going to keep

talking? >> chris cillizza, i think someone might look at it and say, do i want any of these people to be president. united states. >> i think that's a danger, andrea. i would say for someone like me, that is like a kid in a candy store, those exchanges. but for your average voter, who we already know, i think is kind of unhappy with politics, unhappy with politicians, that probably reminds them of everything they don't like. i want to echo chuck's point. i think the actual attack on the lawn service and illegals, this has been litigated out before in 2006. mitt romney in 2008. i don't think it was specifically about that attack. i think it was more to chuck's point about trying to draw mitt romney out. get him off his game. do something that won't allow him to simply coast through another debate. in that way, rick perry did succeed. now, the back and forth again, i

don't know that f that was beneficial to either in them. but in drawing mitt romney out, that clearly worked. >> let me make a point to both of you. this is what mitt romney had to say, and he was basically saying, you know, i was running for office, therefore i made sure that we got rid of these illegals. take a look. >> i don't think we have that tape ready. but can i say, he said, we hired a lawn company to know our lawn. they had illegal immigrants working there. when that was pointed out to us we let them go. we went to them and said, perry said, a year later. and he said you have a problem with allowing someone to finish speaking. but he made the point, romney did, that it was because he was running for office that checked it out. bottom line is it was wrong. why was it happening? >> right.

get to perry wants to do. a lot of elections are down to a values choice. you are trying to get at gut level of the voter. what perry has been trying to do and what we see in the poll says that romney is not connecting with the gut level conservative. not connecting with the populist outsider conservative voter right now that is searching for somebody that is a mitt romney and that mitt romney has that feel of maybe a little bit elitist. >> coming on too strong. >> i thought they both came on too strong. perry, hit him once. it came out of left field. it was a question about healthcare and you thought he might go healthcare, and they clearly decided would he do this. came out of left field. then he did it a second time. there's a funny scene in "a few good men." where you object once. and you strenuously object. okay, the judge heard you. he did it a second time, and you think, geez, is that the only

thing in your arsenal. i thought, get in your spat with him, he is a bully. that's one way to handle it. but to do this with santorum. it is a fine line between standing up for yourself and playing school yard. >> what about perry trying to take cain on, on 9-9-9 and the whole apples and oranges bit. >> herman, i love you brother, but you don't have to have a big analysis to figure this out. go to new hampshire where they don't have a sales tax and you are fixing to give them one. i'll bump plans with you brother. >> this is an example of mixing apples and oranges. >> are you saying the state sales tax will also go away. >> no. that's an apple. we are replacing a bunch of oranges. >> okay. so governor perry was right. >> no, he wasn't. he was mixing applees a oranges and i'm getting a bushel basket

with apples and oranges because i will get both taxes. >> so if i had the sign or stone that used to be on that property, i'm not sure i would have gone with the brother stuff. over and over again. >> i didn't understand the bump plans with you. i guess he means compare plans. but yeah, look. rick perry is selling a kind of populist, you know, every man, this will raise our taxes, this isn't true. this is all feel. these guys agree and michele bachmann, they agree on 99.9% of the issues. the differences you see are largely stylistic and tonal. that is what rick perry is trying to make his bones. he is saying i'm the straight talking guy who tells it like it is. romney is a elitist. cain is a good guy but doesn't know what he is talking about.

so much stylistic and feel than specific policy positions where there are these vast differences. these guys are all largely conservative republicans. >> just quickly on the brother thing. that's a southern cultural thing. i think, you know, there's times that people pick on rick perry, this is just who he is. >> i agree. it sounded to me more like hulk hogan. >> to brother tim, our late friend, he loved to refer to all of us as brother. >> it just came off a little bit strange. but we will ask someone in a position to know, because he was there, joining us now, the senior romney advisor to the campaign, thank you for joining us, eric. let's talk about the debate, the fallout. first of all, what people are talking about today, did mitt romney go too far in physically touching rick perry. it reminded people of rick lazio in 2000 with a tim russert debate with hillary clinton and rick laz why, that he is not rate rate when lazio entered her

space and that was such an invasion of personal space that people thought it was too much. >> i think that too much is made of -- i think too much is being made of that, andrea. at an earlier debate, rick perry laid his hands on mitt romney. mitt romney didn't take offense at that and i don't think rick perry took offense when mitt touched him on the shoulder at last night's debate. we have seen enough of the debates to know that when mitt romney comes on stage, he is not looking to take wild swings at his opponents. he comes prepared to talk about jobs, the economy and his plans to get this country moving again. what we saw last night with rick perry, was, it reminded me of an athlete whos had bad performances and he goes into the next context looking to pick a fight. people don't like that. i think you heard the audience more than once boo rick perry for personal cheap shots and negative attacks against romney and other candidates on that stage.

>> did you think it was a cheap shot we he brought up the question of the contractor who worked on governor romney's lawn? now that is an issue that goes back to the previous campaign. but the governor said, you know, we went to the company, we said, look you can't have any illegals working on our property. i'm running for office were for pete's sake. i can't have illegals. is that reason not to have illegals, because you're running for office? >> i think what mitt was pointing out is that absurdity of the false attack that he had personally hired illegal immigrants. this is an old story. it goes back many years. people are familiar with the facts. mitt romney hired a legitimate company to take care of his lawn. that company in turn had hired illegal immigrants. when mitt romney found out about it, he told them to correct the situation. when they failed to do that, he fired them. now that's not new. what was new is the information that mitt romney put on the table, which comes from the department of homeland security,

that is over the last ten years, in texas, under rick perry's governorship, the number of illegal immigrant in that state increased by 60%. that is at least partly due to rick perry's opposition to a border fence and for his passage of a bill that provides instate tuition to illegal immigrants. those act as magnets to bring more illegal immigration into that state. >> you've got some tart writing in the new york times today. her take, mr. romney looked like a country club tennis player dealing with a nonmember guest who calls a ball in that was obviously out. that is playing to the whole, the rap on governor romney for being elitist for being, you know, a little bit too cold, not warm enough on the campaign trail. how do you deal with that? how do you counteract that? >> i don't agree with it. you know, we just heard chuck

and chris talk about the debate. i think that one of them, made the point that, what mitt romney was doing was standing up to a bully. i think rick perry was acting like a bully. it was very unpresidential of him to come on to the stage and take round house swings at romney and other candidates up there. we have serious chals we face in this country. the biggest challenge is turning around this bad economy. mitt romney has 59-point plan to make things better. this debate was being held right in nevada. nevada is ground zero in the obama economy. the housing foreclosure crisis is extremely severe here. and we would have much preferred to spend all of our time talking about how we will fix things and make them better. but of course, if mitt romney is going to be atablged then he is going to defend himself and set the record straight. >> eric, i want to ask you about iowa. your candidate is going there

tomorrow. iowa is a tough call for him. we know, you know, it is ground zero, for the evangelicals. he did not play in the straw poll. what are your expectations now out of iowa? >> i tell you, we were pleased obviously four years ago, we would have liked to have won this state but we were pleased that mitt finished in second place, well ahead of better known names, like mccain rude joouny and thompson. well contest in every state where mitt's name is on the bl ought and romney was in iowa a week ago. spending three days there, stomping for republican candidates. so we are looking forward to it. we will be running in iowa, new hampshire and south carolina and every state where mitt's name is on the ballot.

>> thank you so much eric for the day after, after a pretty tough debate. it certainly was entertaining though. thank you for joining us. good to see you. up next, labor protest and shut down in greece. noah's ark run amok. send me your thoughts at mitchell reports and follow the show on-line [ thunder crashes ] [ snoring ] [ male announcer ] vicks nyquil cold and flu. the nighttime, sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching, fever, best sleep you ever got with a cold... medicine. clorox disinfecting wipes and...a digital recorder. i'm finally feeling better. good honey, you turn into such a little whiner when you're sick. no i don't. [ bawk! ] honey, i'm sick. i can't reach the remote. that sounds nothing like me. [ beep ] honey, i'm sick. i can't reach the remote. that kind of does. [ male announcer ] get low prices every day on everything

to prepare for cold and flu season. we're so confident in our low prices, we back 'em with our ad match guarantee. save money. live better. walmart. we back 'em with our ad match guarantee. the best approach to food is to keep it whole for better nutrition. that's what they do with great grains cereal. they steam and bake the actual whole grain while the other guy's flake is more processed. mmm. great grains. the whole whole grain cereal. [ horn honks ] ♪ oh, those were the best of days ♪

♪ i still feel the summer rays ♪ that graced our backs as we went down the lane ♪ [ horn honks ] [ male announcer ] when your car is more than just a car to you, the right insurance matters. are you getting the coverage options you need and the discounts you deserve? for an agent or quote, call 800-my-coverage or visit travelers.com.

greece is in turmoil today as labor unions and other protesters try to stop the government from voting on budget cuts, an austerity program that many say is essential to delaying default. a 48-hour labor strike, violence erupt in athens.

looters destroyed stores and hurled gas bombs at riot police who responded with tear gas. we are joined by david leonard. thank you for joining us. >> of course. >> the big picture is that parliament is supposed to vote this week on an austerity plan that some say doesn't go far enough, that will only delay the inevitable. and also from germany, that she doesn't see a big global agreement that will stall default. where are we with europe? >> i think the problem is that the global economy needs austerity from greece but it can't only be us a tai tausteriy from greece. they are just in too deep. so the solution needs to involve some combination, not only of us a tar knit greece, which quite frankly, greece has not yet come to grips with, and i think that some of what we see here.

but it has to involve probably some combination of bail yut, which no doubt they will come out with another word to use. and hair cuts for the banks that own some of this debt. and the question is that those are all politically tough. and will it happen in time to prevent some real market problems from debt that greece took out but can't repay. >> we always have to worry about the ramifications here if some of those financial institutions have exposure and there is a royaling effect. >> i think there would be ramifications here. obviously finance is a global industry. if you have a situation in which this becomes dire in europe, it pretty clearly affects market confidence here. we have seen that happen over the last couple of years. >> and with what is happening here on wall street, occupy wall street, is now digging in for the long haul. >> yes. >> this is the president with jake tapper on abc trying to make a connection between the

occupy wall street protest and the tea party movement. let's watch. >> i understand the frustrations expressed in those protests. in some ways, they are not that different from some of the protests that we saw coming from the tea party. both on the left and the right. i think people feel separated from their government. they feel that their institutions aren't looking out for them. >> do you see that connection? >> well, i do as long as we don't go too far with it. i think in both cases you do see an anger about what is going on. and do you see an anger that people want to express through more than simply voting. i think clearly, as those remarks got out a little bit, clearly we are talking about this anger coming from opposite sides of a political spectrum. of course there is overlap here and there. but the polling done has found that many of the tea party people are not new to politics. they are conservatives.

many of the people at occupy wall street are liberals or maybe even consider themselves to the left of liberals. and so while i think there is something of a similar fed upness to make up a word, it is coming broadly from very different parts of the american political spectrum. >> and in fact, just to make that point, some of the pictures we were just showing, showed in new york city some people with long hair who looked more typically out of the 60s, standing right next to the orthodox jews, you know, the jewish community with their hats and beards, from brooklyn or wherever, whatever neighborhoods. but it showes this is 5 very diverse crowd of protesters. >> we are a very diverse country. so you will have people who look all kinds of different ways in both the tea party and in occupy wall street. i'm sure you have a few people who somehow consider themselves liberal in the tea party and some consider themselves conservative at these rallies. i think the key thing here, it is highly unlikely we will see

an alliance between the tea party and occupy wall street. i think the question for occupy wall street, quite frankly, is can it have anywhere near the success that tea party has had. >> david lionhardt, thank you very much for being with us. up next, word play with the republican presidential candidates. you're watching "andrea mitchell reports" only on msnbc. ♪ [ mrs. davis ] i want to find a way to break through. to make science as exciting as a video game. i need to reach peter, who's falling behind.

and push janet who's 6 chapters ahead. ♪ [ male announcer ] with interactive learning solutions from dell, mrs. davis can make education a little more personal. so every student feels like her only student. dell. the power to do more.

in the politico briefing today, what's in a word in republicans running for president have had eight debates to define themselves. politics editor for follow ticko joins us now, this is from research on what people are thinking when you ask them the name and take it first from herman cain. what do you think when people hear the name herman cain. the first thing people say is 9-9-9, so that's coming through.

business, interesting, good and pizza. that's the impression he is is having on voters. how is that helping him though? he is obviously rising in will polls but not doing very well in debates. >> i think it is promising for a candidate when have you a number of positive words associated with your name. almost by two to one margin he has positive words compared to say mitt romney or rick perry. it tells you a little bit about how his message is resonating and how republican voters are perceiving it. what republican candidate wouldn't kill to have business listed as the number one term associated with the name or also, the 9-9-9 which i think is number two associated with him. his economic plan is exactly what people think of when they think of him. that's pretty promising when you say mitt romney, the number one term would have been mormon which is a value neutral term but at the same time it signals a problem he might have with some voters. >> let's go to mitt romney.

mormon, healthcare, politician, good, intelligent, no and president. a tie for the last. with herman cain, 9-9-9 may be what impressed people but after last night, it may not work so well for him. >> at the same time, reality in many campaigns is that people don't dig that deeply. i think if you want to be associated with the term, it is much better to be associated with the name of your economic plan than say, to be associated with the term politician, which i think in everyone's view is a fairly negative term. >> absolutely. right you are. charlie from politico, thanks for the briefing. up next, call of the wild in columbus, ohio. plus, what's the most popular obama or who is the most popular obama on the campaign trail? no surprise there. send your thoughts on twitter and follow the show on-line. this is "andrea mitchell reports" only on msnbc. ♪

everything you need to stretch out on long trips. residence inn. ♪ everything you need to stay balanced on long trips. residence inn.

i'm not a line item on a budget. and i'm definitely not a pushover. but i am a voter. so washington... before you even think about cutting my medicare and social security benefits... here's a number you should remember. 50 million. we are 50 million seniors who earned our benefits... and you will be hearing from us... today and on election day. ♪

topping headlines right now on "andrea mitchell reports." the u.s. has deported more illegal immigrants in 2011 than ever before. the obama administration is publicizing that figure. nearly 400,000 people, as evidenced, they are serious about illegal immigration. more than half were criminals, they say. social security papts are increasing for the first time two n two years. federal government announcing 3.6% rise in benefits next year. that's cost of living. and the post office is increasing the price of first class stamps again by one cent starting in january. post cards an packaging is also rising. but express mail will stay the same. noncampaign obama bus trip continued in virginia with the first family's best campaigner. first a nonpolitical stop to thank servicemen and women in virginia. >> i'm very thrilled, very

honored to be here. number one, i never get to do anything with my husband. i haven't seen him in three days. this is a nice date. it's good to see you. you're looking good. >> i hate following michelle. she's so good. how lucky am i to be married to michelle obama? >> mrs. obama seems to have gone into 2012 mode just like her husband, helping to fund raise and according to some, softening his image. anita mcbride, senior advise to the george w. bush foundation. laura bush raised $15 million in 2004, a great campaigner. much more popular than her husband. we seem to see that first ladies have a lot of popularity. >> first ladies do add a lot to a campaign, there is no question. there is no down side. they can raise a lot of money and distribute a lot gf will. i think you are seeing that also with mrs. obama.

this is a perfect campaign event for them, although it wasn't a campaign event. but she is marrying up a priority issue that she cares about with an initiative, the american jobs act that is critically important to the president. >> they said it wasn't a campaign event. and governor mcdonald, my interview yesterday as head of the governor's association, there with his wife. so you know officially it wasn't a campaign event but everything they do now is within that political prism. >> sure. you will look through everything in the next year, through the lens of politics. yet the policy doesn't go away. when you are a sitting president and sitting first lady, that is primarily what you are responsible for. but i think you know, she does a lot to humanize the president. every first lady, can do that for president. they are the closest person to them. they can humanize their struggles, particularly as a war time president. >> and her strengths as well in terms of reaching out to women and key groups independent

voters, who have been softening. her popularity is up with independent voters. his is way down. what else does she bring to the table? >> well, i think she brings a real comfort level as first lady. at the end of the day, voters don't vote for the first lady, they vote for the president bp but she is able to go to places on a much less demanding schedule than he has with every problem that comes to his desk. she is freed up to do a little more. i think you are seeing a very aggressive schedule she is willing to get out there. much more comfortable than she was in 2008. i think the strategy is to do no harm but contribute as much as can you to the president's effort. i have heard and seen that she asked the question at the end of a campaign stump speech, are you in and she has to be able to ask that question of herself. and she can convey that authenticity. people are drawn to it. >> one thing about michelle obama that some people have criticized, particularly coming from parts of the democratic party is that her choices are

very traditional. they are not edgy. you know, military families, child obesity and nutrition. but she is not doing things more controversial. >> understandable, though. >> and why do things where you feel you cannot make a contribution. she is taking what she cares about, has credibility to and she is bringing it to her very -- i think it sun fair for anyone to criticize what one does or doesn't do. you are damned if you do and damned if you don't. >> you are in the public eye. >> being in the public eye. >> anita mcbride. been there done that and thanks for wur your wisdom. >> good to see you. >> wild kingdom in columbus, ohio. officials believe that only two animals, wolf and monkey, are still on the loose. dozens of animals, including full grown lions have been shot by police. >> i had deputies that had to shoot animals with their side

arms at close range. that's how volatile this situation was. we are not talking about your normal everyday house cat or dog. these are 300-pound bangle tigers we today put down. >> joining me live is jack hannah, from the columbus zoo. jack, first of all, the tragedy of these animals. in horribly small cages. now she dr. v been shot, i guess for public safety, what is your view of all of this? >> well, obviously a shock to all of us here. the beautiful columbus zoo, 10,000 acres here, like i told someone earlier, noahs arc in the center of it all. you have to understand something, last night, the sheriff did what he had to do. if he had 30-something animal, lions, leopards, cougars, the neighbors one mile from the scene, you can imagine what we could wo have had here. we probably would have had loss of human life.

the wolf, i'm not extremely worried about that. i'm not worried about the monkey. but a cat that did end up some someone's backyard. they found that an hour or so ago. this is a tragedy. i talked to the wife. she is in a state of shock. she hugged me and was shaking. i said we are taking the animal to the zoo. we took three leopards, monkey and young grizzly to the columbus zoo. we will keep those until legally we can figure out what has to be done. we did the right thing. i think the sheriff did the right thing. right now, obviously the loss of animal life is tragic. and what happened, happened. >> i guess a lot of us don't understand what was the origin of all of this? a private zoo? why were these animals there? what happened with this individual? can you help us on what was going on in zanesville? >> yes. yes. very good question. this plan selected animals. where did the animals come from? from auctions, ohio does have

slack laws. just talking to the governor twice today. they are in meetings right now. we the previous governor signed a bill right before he left office. the problem is, who is to enact the bill. who inspect the places? who shuts down the auctions. we have 50-something animals like here today. the things that led here today, led to a meeting and hopefully we will the final bill. we shut down the auction here in ohio, which is like a source of drugs that people don't need to be buying. we can confiscate animals and hopefully put them in a place like the wilds or repository or other zoos can help. until we shut things down, i repeat, we do not want to shut down the people with proper permitting. they are breeding endangered animals. we do not want to shut them down because we need their help to save the animals. those are people who have tens of thousands of dollars to do

this. this person, this is not how we want to keep animals. it has to be stopped. >> do you think in your conversations with the governor that this law should have been signed. this man had just finished a year in jail on gun charges. so would not have been permitted to keep these animals under the law that was permitted to expire. >> exactly. that is what we found out that the laws are very lacks, obviously. who gave this guy the permits to have the animals. i don't know if it was usda or who it was. nobody knows anything. but he collected animals over the years. his wife just left here, she lost her husband. she looked at 30-something body of her family which she calls her animals. i let her get her pry mates, which she calls her babies, to take them to the zoo. we have to figure out what to do. this is not how to keep animals. some people use the word horrid,

deplorable conditions, that's not what we do with these magnificent creatures. we saw what happened last night and today as a result of how this was done. >> jack hannah, thanks so much for helping us out today. a horrible story. scary story. and fascinating all at the same time. thanks, jack. up next, an uncertain fall, and hillary goes to kabul. walmap to bring you a low-priced medicare prescription drug plan. ♪ with the lowest national plan premium... ♪ ...and copays as low as one dollar... ♪ ...saving on medicare prescriptions is easy. ♪ so you're free to focus on the things that really matter. call humana at 1-800-808-4003. or go to walmart.com for details. sweet & salty nut bars... they're made from whole roasted nuts

and dipped in creamy peanut butter, making your craving for a sweet & salty bar irresistible, by nature valley. ♪ for a sweet & salty bar irresistible, like so many great pioneers before me, guided only by a dream. i'm embarking on a journey of epic proportion. i will travel, from sea to shining sea, through amber waves of grain, and i won't stop until i've helped every driver in america save hundreds on car insurance. well i'm out of the parking lot. that's a good start. geico, fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent, or more on car insurance. but my nose is still runny. [ male announcer ] truth is, dayquil doesn't treat that. really? [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus fights your worst cold symptoms, plus it relieves your runny nose. [ deep breath] awesome. [ male announcer ] yes, it is. that's the cold truth! the two trains and a bus rider.

the "i'll sleep when it's done" academic. for 80 years, we've been inspired by you. and we've been honored to walk with you to help you get where you want to be. ♪ because your moment is now. let nothing stand in your way. learn more at keller.edu. if something is simply the color of gold, let nothing stand in your way. is it really worth more? we don't think so. chase sapphire preferred is a card of a different color. that's because you always get two times the points on travel, from taxis to trains, airfare to hotels, and all kinds of dining... from fast food to fine dining. and that's not all you get. there are expert advisors who answer immediately, whenever you call. and absolutely no foreign transaction fees.

does your card do all that? apply today and earn 50,000 ultimate rewards bonus points when you spend $3,000 in the first 3 months. that's $625 toward your next trip when you redeem through ultimate rewards. so, why settle for gold when you can have so much more? chase sapphire preferred. a card of a different color. apply now at chasesapphire.com/preferred. hi, everyone. coming up at news nation at 2 p.m., we are following developing news in the search for missing 10-month-old baby girl lisa irwin. now the scene of a family's home after a new search warrant is issued and parents have been barred from entering the home while that search is conducted. plus rick perry's camp will join me live. we will have his response to the romney camp saying perry took a quote personal cheap shot at romney during last night's

debate. all of that and more ahead on news nation. secretary of state hillary clinton is in afghanistan making a surprise visit to the afghan capital of kabul. this is after she made stops in oman and libya where she promised aid to the transitional government. >> we will be here as your partner. we will continue to emphasize the importance of the rule of law, respect for human rights, trade and investment, and the importance of civil society, academic institutions and learning. >> michael sing is managing director for the washington ins institute and with as director on the staff under george w. bush. michael, thanks so much. >> thank you. >> this is a pretty critical moment with the karzai government, tensiones with pakistan, from karzai to pakistan and recent attacks.

the attacks against key -- well, the embassy where she is staying tonight. the embassy compound in kabul. >> right. it absolutely is critical. i thing that given the allegations that was made by the network, given the uncertainty about the future of the terrorism fight with osama bin laden killed bit united states and frankly given the state of poor relations between karzai and the united states, there is a lot of business to be done and there is a lot to do in the future of u.s. involvement in afghanistan. >> what about the campaign trail from the republicans for both a slower and faster pace of withdraw, depending upon which candidate you are talking about. >> i think you hit it on had head, andrea. there isn't a unified line of criticism or attack coming at the obama administration right now. instead i think the feeling you get is sort of, there is a lot of uncertainty and confusion in washington over where is this effort going? what exactly is the united

states chief objective and how are we measuring ro gres there and things like the network allegations, things like the bad personal relations between president karzai and the united states don't give anyone any confidence in whatever those objectives might be. and the other piece that's coming from the campaign and also from capitol hill, especially, if the super committee doesn't do its work and they pass november 23rd and there are automatic cuts, is foreign aid. and also the state department's budget is just being slashed. the debate last night, what the candidate had to say about cutting foreign aid. >> i think it is time not only to have that entire debate about all of our forth aid but in particular the u.n. why are we funding that organization? >> i happen to think it doesn't make a lot of sense for us to borrow money from the chinese to go give to another country for humanitarian aid. we ought to get the chinese to take care of the people. >> michael, a pop quiz. how much of the overall budget is foreign aid?

less than 1% perhaps? >> it is very small. i that i what off then gets lost, andrea, in the discussion is that the united states doesn't give foreign aid out after sense of charity, which i think is off then how it seen in the public debate. it is to promote our interests around the world. whether respect to egypt or aid to africa. what we are doing is using this as one component a multifaceted effort. that is something we can't lose sight of here. we can end up hurting ourselves and our position in the world if we would draw in this manner from our forth assistance. >> is this likely to become the republican talking points no matter who is nominated that we should cut foreign aid, get out of the u.n. this is a real retreat from traditional establishment if you will, republican foreign policy. >> i don't know. in a sense, neither of these things have ever been all this popular. the united nations or foreign assistance. i think that burden is on both the current administration and

it will be on the next administration, whoever that is, to essentially sell foreign assistance, to make the national security justification for foreign assistance and frankly there are many people doing that now. but you know, in a time of austerity and at a time when budge elts are being cut, that the natural place to go. i don't think that means we won't do foreign assistance in the future. i think it means we will be more careful about explaining to the public and explaining to congress why we think this is important and how it is promoting american interests. >> thank you so much michael singh. what stories make headlines in the next 24 hours? frps his establishment! luckily though, ya know, i conceal this bad boy underneath my blanket wait, why are you taking... oh, i see...solitary. just a man and his thoughts. and a smartphone... with an e-trade app.

♪ nobody knows... [ male announcer ] e-trade. investing unleashed. our neighbors putting their lives on the line. and when they rely on a battery, there are firefighters everywhere who trust duracell. so, look for these special packs to see how you can help your local volunteers. duracell. trusted everywhere. just having some tender chicken and some tasty noodles. let's see...south western vegetables...60 calories. ya' know those jeans look nice. they do? yup. so you were checking me out? yup. [ male announcer ] progresso. 40 soups 100 calories or less.

which political story will make headlines in the next 24 hours? contributor and managing editor, chris joins us.

we're hearing on the campaign trail with rick perry in las vegas is telling audiences he will be proposing a fairer, flatter tax. not 9-9-9 because flat tax and he is out there pumped. the energy of his debate performance is now being carried over into the day after. >> yeah. very interesting gambit. he mentioned last night he would roll out a bigger jobs economic plan next month. this will be a big piece of it. it is a fast natcinating thing. there is always being talked about the flat tax. taking entire tax code away and saying 17% i think is what we expect. 17% tax across the board. the most famous, infamous use of this was steve forbes. >> i was going to say, steve forbes. >> this is his pet issue. he tried to run on this heavily. there is a critique to be made of it which is that it ultimately falls more on poor and middle class families than

it does on the wealthy. democrats will take issue with it but it it is smart of perry. it is bold to take a word from herman cain and it's simple. i think he wants to draw, whether overtly or subtly, a contest with mitt romney. mitt romney has a 59-point 150-page plan. rick perry wants to say here's my plan. 17% flat tax. we can get it done. the appeal is simple. similar to the appeal of 9-9-9. the comp the complexity of it. it is not a bad butcher sticker and it is very clear that he is worried about rick perry and his $15 million bank sxkt the attack ads to come and was pretty much ignoring herman cain. the real act now is mitt romney and rick perry. >> yeah. and andrea, and polling aside, and i rarely say that, this race

was not formed yet. the two candidates who have upwards of 10 plus million in the bank as well as super packs. and don't overlook that. both rick perry and mitt romney have super packs that will have significant amounts of money. it seem like they're the ones who will be able to prosecute campaigns in all of these early states, and probably keeps them as one and two in the race. maybe herman cain is 2a. he hasn't demonstrated the ability to build those structures that will allow him to compete once this race really engages on television and the mailboxes and those sorts of things. >> tomorrow joe biden files their papers for re-election in new hampshire. this afternoon in the next hour, he will be rallying for the jobs act on capitol hill. thank you, chris cillizza. that does it for our show of "andrea mitchell reports." tomorrow, david sang we are the tensions in iran. plus steve israel and "time"

magazine's mark halpern. my colleague tamron hall has a look at what's next. developing news in the search for that missing baby, lisa irwin. a bomb and arson team at the home where lisa has been missing. her parents barred from going inside the home after a new search warrants was issued. plus, up to 25-foot waves in chicago and tornadoes in chicago. we have severe weather. and rick perry's communication director will join me live with post debate reaction. we'll ask about the touch heard around the world. we'll find out about perry's flat tax proposal. all of that on "news nation." yy! [ beatboxing ] ♪ i help pay the doctor ♪ ain't that enough for you? ♪ there are things major medical doesn't do. aflac! pays cash so we don't have to fret. [ together ] ♪ something families should get ♪ ♪ like a safety net ♪ even helps pay deductibles, so cover your back, get... ♪ a-a-a-a-a-a-a-aflac!

[ male announcer ] help protect your family at aflac.com. [ beatboxing ] gives you a 50 percent annual bonus. so you earn 50 percent more cash. if you're not satisfied with 50% more cash, send it back! i'll be right here, waiting for it. who wouldn't want more cash? [ insects chirping ] i'll take it. i'll make it rain up in here. [ male announcer ] the new capital one cash rewards card. the card for people who want 50% more cash. what's in your wallet? sorry i'll clean this up. shouldn't have made it rain.

right now on "news nation." >> i don't think i've ever hired an illegal in my life. i'm looking forward to finding your facts on that. >> i'll tell what you the facts are. you had -- >> i'm