where they're trotdi itrotting w face, an interim coach designed on what the school says is too big to fail, its legendary football program. that's expected any minute. this is a layer in a widening sex abuse scandal that rocked the university to its foundation. let's go to our ron mott live in state college, pennsylvania, with more for us this morning. ron. >> reporter: hey there, thomas, good morning. yesterday, the final day as head coach here at penn state for joe paterno was full of drama and had some bizarre elements thrown in there as well. as well as some vandalism late last night with the gigantic student protests here on campus. they were not very happy at all about the coach's immediate termination from his job here on the campus. but what we also should point out is not only the very public fall from grace for this iconic head coach, but the university president, graham spanier, in his own right, a very well respected leader of academic institutions.

he spent 16 years leading this institution. and a lot of critics are saying that the image that he along with joe paterno formed here of this campus where you have high-profile athletics co-existing with integrity and academics. and they were able to sell this message not only to this community but across the country, they were well regarded around the country. and all of that came shattering down like a glass of a window coming down to the ground on sunday when jerry sandusky, a former assistant coach here, was arrested on sunday. and this scandal is still unfolding. a lot of developments. obviously, yesterday. there are still some to come, we are told. so this is far from over, but this community, there's a mix of shock. there's a sense of sadness in the air. and as far as the students here on campus at least last night were concerned, they were quite angry at how the coach was dismissed by phone and was not allowed to leave on his own terms which he had announced just a few hours before yesterday, before that announcement came in last night. thomas? >> and ron, when we talk about

the fact that the students rioted, we have the images where they tipped over a news van. they were pulling down light poles that are in the streets there. palpable anger that they're demonstrating, intangible action. but when we talk about what joe paterno has been able to say so far, he hasn't said much. i know we have images of him at his front door with his wife. now is the paterno family or side of things going to come out that he has been let go from the school will that free him up for people to hear from him firsthand what and when he knew things? >> reporter: well, that speculation is certainly circulating now is that he no longer employed here, that he wants to come and clear the air about his conversation with then graduate assistant coach mike mcqueary. he's the one who reported to joe paterno of reportedly seeing jerry sandusky allegedly sexually abusing a young boy who looked to be about the age of 10 in a locker room, in a shower on this campus back in 2002.

and so his testimony was very explosive. it is the foundation of that 40-count indictment and that 23-page grand jury presentment that came out this week. and so what a lot of folks are going to want to find out is how joe paterno's testimony to that grand jury differs. and it does differ from what mike mcqueary reported telling joe paterno. those two men are at odds to that conversation. we had heard rumors that paterno wants to clear up that confusion and come out again with his side of that story and what he knew and what he was told and then what he then subsequently relayed to his boss, the athletic director here. >> when you talk about the fact that you bring up the president, graham spanier, being let go as well. has the board made any announcement on who is taking over as an interim president voel? >> reporter: the provost will handle those duties in the interim while they conduct a national search. as you know, they are waiting for this press conference here at the stadium for the interim

coach, tom braddy, who incidentally replaced jerry sandusky in 1999 when sandusky quickly retired. and it was unusual because he was set to be, in all respects, joe paterno's successor. and then suddenly he retired in 1999 after a stellar career here as the defensive coordinator in those national championships, thomas. >> i think as this falls under more scrutiny, things will start to make sense about the past. let's go ahead and listen into the new interim coach. >> -- rounding this case were horrific. our thoughts and prayers are with all the victims and their families he who have suffered. after the board meeting last evening, rod erickson and i selected tom bradley to serve as our penn state interim head football coach. tom has dedicated his career to serving his alma mater and helping student athletes excel on and off the field. we thank him for that unwavering

service, and we look forward to his continuing leadership. as acting athletic director, i will ensure that our department will provide the resources necessary to support him throughout his transition and that our department and student athletes move forward in a new direction. our football team and staff have worked tremendously hard this season and will push through this adversity. we are particularly proud of the accomplishments of this team and especially want to honor those seniors for finishing their home collegiate careers. i hope that our student athletes and fans will continue to support them and show penn state pride. families who entrust us with their children demand us to be stewards, role models, leaders and solid decision-makers. we will take that responsibility to heart.

and tom will certainly take that responsibility to heart. ladies and gentlemen, please join me in welcoming our interim head football coach, mr. tom bradley. >> please raise your hand, and we'll bring a microphone to you. >> in light of the circumstances in talking about replacing coach paterno, do you have any reservations, or what kind of reservations do you take in the job? >> the question that now surrounds this program. >> i take this job with mixed emotions due to the situation. i've been asked by the university, by the board of trustees, by rod erickson to

handle this. and i told them i would do it last night. and i will proceed in the manner that penn state expects. as i met with the players last night and today, i told them the expectations are the expectations. we're not going to waver from that. and that's where we are right now. players came over last evening to the lasch buildings. we talked about certain things. we went over certain ways. we proceeded this morning to have a staff meeting and then a team meeting at 8:00. >> do you have any reservations? >> i have no reservations about taking this job. >> tom, when and how did you learn that you would become the interim head coach? >> i was actually down in my office watching film last night. like i do every wednesday night. and the phone rang. it was rod erickson calling on the phone about, well, about quarter to 10:00. and he asked me if i would take

the job as interim football coach. and i accepted. then i proceeded to make sure i got ahold of the team captains and other people so that we could get started immediately on the process. >> your brother told me earlier today that you face a huge challenge. he said you were really sad about the way this unfolded. and now you face the toughest three-game stretch of the season. he said it's almost unparalleled. >> first off, i did talk to my brother later last night, and first off i grieve for the families, the victims. i'm deeply saddened by that. it's with great emotion that i say that. and, you know, the football part, we will get working on that right away. right now i think you should know where our team is toward this whole issue. and it's toward those children. it's toward their families. and our thoughts and our prayers are with them. >> jeff?

>> i called coach paterno last night around 11:00. i think that's personal in nature. >> corey? >> tom, will mike mcqueary be coaching in saturday's game? if so, on the sideline or in the press box? >> yes, he'll be coaching on saturday. it will be a gametime decision where he is. >> nate? >> given how long you've been here, were you surprised by the phone call? >> i'm not actually alerted to how coach was alerted to that until this morning, i heard it was by phone call. >> did you think that was appropriate? >> that's not for me to say. you know, the board of trustees made a decision.

that's their decision. >> here on the right? >> coach bradley, i understand that you had testified before the grand jury that was investigating this sandusky affair. and i was wondering if you could explain what you came to know about that 2002 incident or any of the other incidents regarding coach sandusky. >> well, due to the ongoing investigation, i'm not going to say anything about that matter. >> neil? >> tom, you've been a defensive coach in charge of the defense. how involved will you be with the offense, and what will be the process in determining a starting quarterback and how you use a quarterback? >> first off, when i talked to the team today, i think they know me pretty well. i am who i am, and i'm not going to change. i'm not going to pretend i'm somebody else. when the time comes and we sit down as a staff, which we will, we'll make that decision who the

starting quarterback will be. right now, i've made some decisions based with our staff. i'm not quite sure exactly. so i want to make sure i clarify this. but right now, larry johnson and ron vander co-coordinato co-coordinators. i'm not sure if we'll get that in full swing before saturday. obviously we have not practiced that way in regard to signals and calls and how that all works out. we're going to head in that direction. and elijah robinson, he'll be a full-time coach starting today. >> in the back? >> some people have speculated that the whole current staff should go, you being part of the current staff. obviously, you're just interim right now. how do you feel if that were the case, to replace the permanent members? >> that's a decision that's up to the board of trustees and penn state. that's not my decision. i've been asked to do a job and i'm going to do that job bp

>> if that would happen, how would you feel about that if you were let go just because you're a member of the current staff? >> once again, that's their decision, not mine. >> joe? >> tom, you've worked with jerry sandusky a long time. could you characterize your relationship, and how shocked were you to hear the allegations? >> once again, due to the allegations, i'm not going to comment on that. jerry was a defensive coordinator when i was here, and i worked underneath him. >> john? >> coach, for a public who's watching nationally, is it reasonable for them to assume that four or five coaches with more than 20i years of experiene on this staff and mike mcqueary and joe paterno were the only ones aware of jerry sandusky's alleged perversions? >> once again, due to the ongoing investigation, i'm not going to talk about it. >> in the back. >> coach, as far as the coach's reputation standpoint, what does this team do to rebuild the trust in the community off the football field, in your mind? >> first of all, i think we've got to understand that this team has put a lot of hard work in.

this is senior day for them. okay? they deserve to have this day, okay? that's what they've worked for this whole year. and my job is to facilitate that that happens. you know, i think the reputation that penn state will go about it in the proper manner and restore the foundation and the principles of the pennsylvania state university. >> andrew? >> tom, right here, tom. in light of the -- first of all, your thoughts about the riots last night and the wake of the decision about joe paterno. and do you worry about the safety and atmosphere for the players and fans in the stadium on saturday, given everything that's taken place? >> no, i understand there was some activity last night. and no, i do not worry about the safety of our players on saturday. >> meeting with the players last night, how are they handling such a monumental change at this point in the season? >> well, obviously, a lot of them are in shock. they've had mixed emotions. when i called up and spoke to the captains, a whole bunch of guys came over to the lasch

building last night and piled into my office. and we discussed team matters. >> mark? >> tom, have you been given any indication the team will be playing after saturday? >> what do you mean, playing after saturday? >> will there be football games after saturday? >> hopefully so. that's up to the administration. >> john? >> coach, you guys have a lot left to play for. can you talk about getting this team, you know, back together considering what they've been through in trying to march forward with what could potentially still be in front of you? >> we have great leadership on this football team, ob? once again, when i spoke to them this morning, it's their team, okay? they're not here for me. i'm here to help them be as good as they can possibly be. and that's the direction we're going. i don't think there's any problem. they will be focused -- my job is to make sure they stay focused. obviously, they've had a tremendous amount of distractions over the past week. it's a very resilient group.

they will come to play on saturday. >> corey? >> tom, given the intense national scrutiny for mike mcqueary, why do you think it's appropriate for him to coach in this game and continue to be a face for this university? >> that's a decision that's up to mark shurber. >> were you part of any conversations whatsoever about potentially relieving him of his duties with the football team? >> absolutely not. >> ron? >> tom, i know you've waited a long time to be a head coach. you couldn't imagine under these circumstances. can you sum up your feelings? >> well, we're obviously in a very unprecedented situation that we find ourselves in. you know, i've got to find a way to restore the confidence and to start a healing process with everybody. and i'm going to try to go about it. as i said earlier, it's with

very mixed emotion and a heavy heart that this has occurred that i'm going through this. >> matt? >> tom, you said that you hope that this team can finish the rest of the season, but it's up to the administration. are you saying there's a chance the administration could cancel the rest of the season? >> really, that has never come up yet. so that's why i'm not sure on that question. >> okay. here on the right. >> coach bradley. i understand your reluctance to maybe go in this direction, but i just would like to ask you, in the interest of transparency and getting everything off to as fresh and clean a start as possible, could you comment on what you did know about the sandusky allegations and what steps you may have taken to report them and why or why not you did report them, if you knew anything? >> i've answered this question

before. due to the ongoing investigation, i'm not going to comment on that matter. >> ron? >> tom, what do you think the state of your team will be with all this craziness this week? how do you think they'll play saturday? >> i think they'll be ready to play saturday. they had a lengthy team meeting after i got done today. and they talked it out. there's -- this afternoon there's a letter arriving from the former penn state football letterman that wrote a letter to these guys, explaining to them the importance of what penn state means. and i think they'll be ready to play. >> in the back? >> in light, coach, in light of what happened with student conduct last night, what message would you have for students anticipating before, during and after the game saturday? >> well, i think the message is clear. let's show them what penn state's really all about. okay? it's not about some of those activities. let's show class. let's show dignity.

and let's show what we're really all about. >> mark? >> tom, how has all of this impacted recruiting -- >> we've been lisping to the new coach that's now going to be taking over for joe paterno at penn state. that is tom bradley, a familiar face to the staff there at penn state. he has been on this team for a long time, actually. taking the place of defensive coordinator jerry sandusky after his quick retirement back in 1999. so he stepped in to take over for sandusky. now he's taking over for joe paterno who has fallen out of this scandal as well. learning from tom bradley that assistant coach mike mcqueary in 2002 who walked in on sandusky allegedly raping a 10-year-old boy in 2002, will be there, senior day. whether he'll be on the field or in the press box is still not

decided yet. also, coach bradley saying that he's not going to be answering any questions in regard to whether or not he knew anything about jerry sandusky, although it is a public record that he did give grand jury testimony back in 2002. but due to the nature of the new investigation, he's not addressing any of those questions right now in this press conference. later in this hour, in our sondoff segment, we'll get a widespread perspective from melissa harris-perry who will be joining me. so stick around for that. the other big developing story this morning, the gop debate, despite a really disastrous showing of presidential candidate rick perry this morning says he's not quitting. the texas governor's train derailed when he forgot the name of one of the agencies he would shut down if elected president. >> it's three agencies of government when i get there that are gone. commerce, education and the, uh, what's the third one there? let's see. >> you can't name the third one? >> the third agency of government, i would do away with

education, the, uh -- >> commerce. >> commerce. and let's see. i can't, the third one, i can't. sorry. oops. >> on the "today" show this morning, he offered a reason for that stumble, insisting that the campaign is not about who's the slickest debater and that everyone's going to make some mistakes. >> i think i'm kind of like most americans, and there's so many agencies of government out there, we'd like to forget. the issue wasn't about whether i can sling off a line of a number of agencies. it truly gets to the core of the matter, we've got so much government out there. >> joining me now is cnbc's john harwood. he was one of the moderators last night. john, i've been waiting to talk to you because now we're over 12 hours after this. i was watching it at home last night. i thought you and the rest of the panel, maria did a fantastic job. last night perry saying afterwards in the spin room that he really stepped in it. this morning basically saying that again.

so what was going through your mind during that exchange last night? because you went on to press him. and it seemed like you were trying to give him an out there. >> well, there was a moment of ambiguity, thomas, when mitt romney, i think, helpfully stepped up and mentioned the epa, and perry said yeah, the epa. and so i followed up by saying, look, is that the third one? because i couldn't tell whether we had buttoned up the matter. and then when he said it wasn't, he tried again. and couldn't come up with it. the other reaction that i had was sympathy for him because thomas, as you and i both know as people who make our living in front of cameras, we have brain freezes, we may get off on a tangent and may forget where we were headed. it's one of those things that happens. unfortunately when you're running for president, people are scrutinizing everything you do. and you go into a debate with people who are wondering whether you're up to the task of sustaining a campaign, especially against barack obama in the general election, that was a very damaging slip-up for

rick perry. >> and last night, did you expect those boos, though, when your colleague, maria bartiromo, asked cain about the harassment allegations? >> we totally expected the boos. and the reason, thomas, was that maria and i had, with some other journalists, participated in a breakfast that morning with republicans from michigan at the hotel we were staying at near the debate site. and when we were asked whether that subject, the cain allegations, would come up, and we suggested that it would, it might. we couldn't ignore the news. we got yelled at by the people in the audience who clearly didn't want that to happen. this is what happens when you have a debate within a party before an audience of partisan activists. they don't like it when the home team, if you will, gets questions that are critical and unwelcome. and they reacted that way. and the sentiment in that hall is also a good explanation for why other republican candidates, including mitt romney, decided not to tangle with herman cain

on that issue. >> john harwood in michigan for us today. john, you guys did a great job. it was really a great debate. nice to see you guys all together and really not backing down when some of the guys on that panel and ladies included weren't so up-front about their questions. so well done work, sir. thank you. >> thomas, i really appreciate that. thanks very much. >> absolutely. coming, how president obama stacks up against his republican competition. but first, a look at what's happening on wall street right now after yesterday's big selloff. we've only got one green arrow, but it is the dow jones. we're back after this. capital one's new cash rewards card 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.

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chief for the comcast network. great to see you both. was this really a deal breaker for perry, the fact that it lasted 43 seconds and 20 minutes he tried to pick up on it and make a joke? >> there's no question it was one of the more painful moments to watch in presidential debates in recent memory. whether it's the nail in the coffin, it's really hard to say. he still has money. he can still compete if he wants to. and really, it's up to republican primary voters. but this was a lot that this has overshadowed as we look back to what happened in the debate last night. you looked at what the candidates had to say about issues like student aid. it seems like they all believe that student aid is not something we need to do in this country anymore. they all -- there are jobs and the economic plan continues to be tax baen fenefits for the hi income. as we look back and analyze what happened last night, i think there's a lot more below the surface beyond the painful moment of rick perry's gaffe. >> right.

robert, rick perry says he is going to take part in saturday's debate. that is the next one. he has proven that the debates really aren't his strong point. so should he bow out gracefully of this event? and then also, who do you think is the candidate that's going to send him a case of energy bars first? >> i don't know about the energy bars, but governor perry can make the decision as to whether or not he'll stay in the race or not. i'm not sure if it's the nail in the coffin. going into these debates, governor perry has always said they're not his strong suit. he's a little loose with the facts. so the question becomes is he's already feeding into that narrative, that he's not up to being president, that he doesn't have the horsepower and the depth you need to solve the complex problems that this country is in. so the question becomes is whether or not he can overcome that perception out there, not just that his opponents are painting. but unfortunately he's painting for himself. >> right. we all have to remember, none of us are walking a mile in their shoes. it's about the stam thina that'

needed to get through this process. but there's very little talk about the sexual harassment claims against herman cain. take a look last night when maria bartiromo brought it up. >> for every person that comes forward with a false accusation, there are thousands who would say none of that sort of activity ever came from cain. >> after that, though, he did get a lot of applause for that response. >> there were moments in the debates, he gets points for saying 9-9-9. but he didn't answer a lot of questions that were asked about tough issues. and also, the moment where he talked about leader pelosi as princess pelosi was not something i would have chosen were i dealing with the situation he is. >> robert, many are saying,

though, that mitt romney easily emerged as the we were last night, front-runner status. now it looks like the inestable gop candidate. let's look at this new quinnipiac poll out today showing the race very close in three swing states between president obama and mitt romney. we've got florida where romney leads obama. 45-42. in ohio, obama leads romney, 45-42. and nen then in pennsylvania, 4. how do you think the white house is looking at this, analyzing the performance last night and thinking how do they move ahead over the next year? >> well, of course, if i'm the white house, i'm nervous. this is information they already knew. they knew that obviously the battleground states are going to be tough to defend in 2012. they also know that mitt romney is a much powerful formidable force in the general election than he is in the primary. look, at the end of the day, this will be a tough re-election. this is not going to be a cakewalk with 9.1 unemployment. as we know, no incumbent president has won re-election with unemployment so high.

with romney being from michigan, obviously representing massachusetts, you know, he's an interesting -- he's an interesting republican general candidate against president obama. there's no question about it. and then the other question becomes, is whether or not whomever governor romney chooses as his running mate if, he's, he's the nominee, does that put him over the top? it's marco rubio, the republican senator from florida. again, bringing that diverse it'd to the ticket. bringing florida to the ticket. and also bringing the tea party to the ticket, it's a tough ticket to beat, no question about it. >> jen, robert, great to see you both. thanks for your time. >> thank you. so just over the past half hour, our other big story today is the penn state sex abuse scandal against children. a pressing question remains one that cuts to the very heart of this ugly and dark backstory. the alleged victims of former assistant coach jerry sandusky and how things might proceed legally on their behalf. their quest for justice. joining me is legal analyst criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor ricki klieman.

many more victims are likely to emerge as this story continues to evolve. and we find out exactly what happened. we have nine victims so far that we know of. what are the rights in the state of pennsylvania for these victims who are now young adults? >> well, we have to look at two things. first of all, there are the criminal charges and then, of course, there are the possible civil cases. so we start with the criminal charges, i can do them quickly. mr. sandusky is facing in essence a life sentence. he has multiple charges against him of 20 years or more. and at his age, if he is convicted, he's going away for a long time. mr. schultz, mr. curley, far lesser charges, the perjury, seven years, and the not reporting, really then a de minimis charge, three months. now let's look at the victims. is that enough for the victims? i say no. i think that the victims have a right here in the exact same way that they went against the catholic church. it's exactly the same kind of

case. it's the kind of obstruction of justice. it's the kind of putting something under the rug that, as you can tell, makes my passions run really high. so the civil suits. well, you have civil suits against some very deep pockets here. because it's not only these individuals. it's everyone associated with penn state. that if they can show that by putting this under the rug, they chose the program, thomas. they chose to go forward and protect the football program and not go to the police. you've got a mighty civil suit indeed. they allowed an addlleged sexua predator to continue in his deeds which were evil beyond description for years. mighty sexual. >> this is there a mindset of too big to fail, almost like the catholic church where they moved them around. >> from parish to parish. >> off the campus and moved him to a satellite campus, still having access to bring kids to the sidelines.

when we talk about the fact that there are these criminal aspects that move forward, civilly is this something that they're going to have to go together in on, the victims, that is, to go against penn state or to go after whoever they would want to? but is it penn state? is that going to be the one that's going to be the main target, civilry speaking? >> yes, of course, because that's where the money is. and you can't look at this as just the work of individuals. if, in fact, the case is proven. because we know enough by now that when these actions were first discovered by this graduate student, had this graduate student saw in that locker room as virtually unspeakable, he reports it to paterno. paterno does theoretically the right thing. he reports it up to curley. and then there is just the thought, well, we'll get it handled. we'll just kind of keep him away. but no reports to the police. so yes, the deep pocket is penn state. and i'll tell you, thomas, you know, penn state is not only

going to face this as an institutional point of view, but it's also going to face the problem with money from its donors deciding that maybe they're not going to donate so much this year. >> rikki, real quickly, we had the republican from pennsylvania yesterday talking about willing to get the department of education involved. >> yes. >> they have signed on now to federally investigate. what implications come with that, if this does get raised in federal crimes -- charges, that is, are levelled? >> well, again, the more places that are going after individuals and going after the institution, the more that both the individual and the institution will have to pay. what has been done to these boys, if it is, in fact, proven is just as bad as what happened as i say with the catholic church, and we know what those settlements were like. they were enormous. >> rikki, great to have you here. we appreciate your insight. i know we'll have you back to talk more about it. i want to remind you to stay tuned for "soundoff" with melissa harris-perry.

she'll join me with her thoughts on the scandal in a little while. will governor rick perry's brain freeze at the presidential debate looked a little like this. >> agencies of government when i get there that are gone. commerce, education and the, uh -- what's the third one there? let's see. >> all right. so governor perry's camp says it was a stumble of style, not substance. we take a look at the substance next. we're talking the economy with jared bernstein, vice president biden's former chief economist. what's better than gold ? free gold !

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gu e hse pw. y w. gu e hse k s. the focus of last night's republican presidential debate on cnbc was the economy. and the candidates took aim at president obama to everything, from the deficit, bailouts to health care. joining me, former chief economist for vice president joe biden, jared bernstein, now an msnbc contributor. jared, nice to have you here today. i want to start with our nbc news/wall street journal poll showing 57% disapprove of obama's handling of the economy. and 73% saying that the country

is headed in the wrong direction. so how vulnerable is the president on the economy, especially with unemployment stuck, not moving the needle off 9%? >> i think those polls are te representative of a general sense the economy is clearly not where people, especially middle-class people, need and want it to be. and the president, whoever he is, is going to be associated with that. interesting poll results. however, if you talk to people about his jobs plan, and if you break it down and ask what do you think of the payroll tax cut holiday? what do you think of the extended unemployment benefits? the infrastructure? what do you think of keeping the teachers and the cops -- those things poll really in the strat oe sphe stratosphere, 60, 70%. that would truly move the needle on jobs. very different from what we heard last night from the stage in michigan. then i think he did better. >> they accuse the president of

class wear fare, dividing the country. jon huntsman said he wanted to be the president of the 1% and the 99%. chris christie campaigning last night for romney in new hampshire. take a listen to this. >> and so if you think that this guy over here has too big a piece of the pie and yours is too small, here's my solution if you're barack obama. es, i'll take some of that pie from that guy, of course i'll keep some for myself and the government, and then i'll pass whatever's left to the guy over here. so you get a little bit more. this is the most pessimistic view of our country that i've heard in 30 years. >> so that narrative, republicans, can they gain traction on that theme, jared? >> i don't think so. again, if you want to look at public pacific northwest, one of the things that polls most five reply is t favorably, taxes at the top of the scale seem pretty fair to people. and the reason for that is not this redistribution thing that

christie was talking about. it has to do with who's been doing well and who hasn't. and i'm not just talking about the great recession or the last few months. i'm talking about the last decade where the middle class was busy treading water, at best, and all of the growth went to those at the very top. and by the way, the president's agenda, to be clear, he's actually not talking about cutting -- taking taxes from somebody and giving them to somebody else. what he's talking about is paying for a jobs plan. and that's different. that resonates with people across the country for the most part. >> jared bernstein, former chief economist for vice president biden. jared, great to see you. thank you. >> thank you. so miss new york wants to use her bully pulpit, so to speak, to put an end to one of the biggest problems for kids these days. we'll bring you the details next on that one. plus, growing outrage over the penn state sex abuse case. melissa harris-perry sounds off next. lifeblood of our communities. on november 26th you can make a huge impact by shopping small on small business saturday.

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new tools are being proposed in the name of one of its most prominent and recent victims. jamie committed suicide after posting a video on youtube. well, his case has inspired lawmakers and anti-bullying advocates in new york to push for legislation that would stop the online cruelty that drove him to such a desperate place. leading this charge in the endeavor is new york democratic senator jeff kline of the bronx and miss new york, caitlin monty. it's great to have you both here. and caitlin, congratulations to you. >> thank you. >> these are big high heels you've got to fill. >> quite a big hair. >> this is fantastic that you've already come out of the gate with such a strong platform, and you've aligned yourself with a lawmaker like senate senator kline. why did you want this to be your platform? >> i picked bullying because i've experienced it. i think most people have. i have two siblings who grew up with disabilities. and watching them experience mistreatment from others based on misconceptions and fears, it

made me realize that there was something that needed to be done in terms of teaching people acceptance. then when you look at a generation that grew up with the internet and that's also growing up with reality tv and the glamorization of drama, we don't have the skills to have good things going on. >> state senator, this is very good work that's being done by you and colleagues in albany. explain to all of us the worries that you may have as legislation like this moves forward and potentially gets gutted. say like what we saw in michigan with the bill they were trying to put forth. we had on state senator witmer yesterday talking about the fact that it lost all of its teeth. >> michigan is bizarre, and i don't think it's really going to serve the purpose of fighting cyber bullying. my sledge lalegislation is very. once and for all we're going to make it a crime. i think we have to get serious and understand that we're in the digital age now. the school yard bully of yesteryear is now the cyber bully of the digital age.

we have to treat it as a crime. and my legislation would expand our stalking laws in new york state, make it a class "a" misdemeanor to cyber bully somebody. >> kaicaitlin, when we talk abo the fact that you bring up your own personal experience, does that mean you're casting a wider umbrella that lgtb youth but all people that would be bullied in all walks of life? we're talking the tall kid, the short kid, to the kid that might be perceived as being nerdy as opposed to the kid that might be seen as being a little slow. >> yeah, i think with the internet, it's been the great equalizer. now there are people bullying and wouldn't bully before. and i also don't want to isolate one group because i think everyone needs to see they have a role in making this better and improving this. i don't want anyone to think that whether you're lgbt or whether you are the popular kid on the soccer team, everyone has a part they can play in this. and i want to engage everyone. >> so how optimistic are you, senator klein, this will go through? >> i'm very optimistic, and

myself and caitlin have put together the first cyber bullying census. we want to show this is a serious problem in new york. and i think that's one of the things we'll need to build that grass-roots support to pass meaningful legislation to deal with it. >> it looks like you've got a powerful teammate in each other. congratulations on working together on this. congratulations for being miss new york. we expect great things from you. so we'll continue to watch. thanks for your tim. we appreciate it. stick around because melissa harris-perry will be here sounding off next. she is a college professor. the daughter of one, too. so what does she think about the sex abuse scandal, the child sex abuse scandal, that is rocking penn state? in america, we believe in a future that is better than today. since 1894, ameriprise financial has been working hard for their clients' futures. never taking a bailout. helping generations achieve dreams. buy homes.

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other headlines to update you on, they are back before british parliament, james

murdoch telling lawmakers he knew nothing of the phone hacking. he did however expres regret to one of the victims. >> for example, the information that i received around the taylor case was incomplete and it's also clear to me that in 2009, upon allegations arising at a newspaper about the taylor case, that the full extent of the knowledge within the business or the evidence within the business as well as with at the metropolitian police was not made clear. to me. and that's something i'm very sorry for. >> murdoch accused former employees of blind siding him, also, misleading parliament, but one lawmaker said quote, you must be the first mafia boss in history who didn't think he was running a criminal enterprise. a new report from reality track shows foreclosure activity

hit a seven-month high in october. nearly 80,000 homes received an initial default notice last month. that is a 10% spike from september. workers covering last month's earthquake in turkey are now trapped themselves after a 5.7 quake hit yesterday. two hotels collapsed and at least eight were killed. 29 others rescued. and western alaska dealing with a storm of quote epic proportions. the storm with hurricane force winds knocked out power, tore up roofs, blew out windows and chased away residents to higher ground. but the good news, the winds are dying down. no reports of injuries. the latest to fall for bankruptcy is now the largest filing for municipal bankruptcy in history. birmingham filed chapter 9 papers on wednesday. an attorney for the county said

the filing would not be avoided after a failed deal to refinance 3.1 billion in store bounds. melissa harris-perry joins me now to talk about the perspective she has being a daughter of a college professor, being a college professor herself, we wanted to see what she thinks about what's going on with penn state. i wanted to get your perspective on this and as it unfolds, i think the moral outrage a lot of people are forgetting is for the victims. >> one of the things we have to remember is that a college like penn state is an institution that people have put a great deal of trust and sense of identity in over the years. in that town and entire state. we are living in a moment right now where our trust in government, our trust in banking institutions, our trust in everything we typically have kind of thought of as being where our identities are is fading and crumbling and this penn state issue is another part of that. the sense that anything that you

trust and believe in and put your heart in is crumbling. >> when we look at what's going to come forth out of this, what is the larger conversation? when we talk about governments and bailouts, this looks like an institution that was too big to fail and they just didn't want to do the hard work and denied it. >> the key issue is there is a responsibility for these institutions to protect the communities they are a part of. >> all right, that's going to do it for me today. i'm sorry we were cut short on time. we'll get you back as soon as we can. i thank all of you for being with me this hour. see you back here tomorrow. you can follow me on twitter, but don't go anywhere. craig melvin is going to pick things up after this. everybody have their new at&t blackberry? it's 4g, so you can do more faster. so, kathryn, post more youtube videos of your baby acting adorable. baby. on it. matt, ignore me and keep updating your fantasy team. huh? jeff, play a game. turbo boost-ing now, sir. dennis, check in everywhere you go on foursquare. that's mayor dennis of the water cooler. you're the best. liz, rock out to pandora.

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