>> but i will never ever ride the cain trains. you guys are crazy. >> we learned cain is on a book tour. okay. >> come on, people. >> when my villager can't run a 40 in less than 9.4 seconds, doesn't mean that -- i just know he's not going to win the olympics. >> just stop it. >> way too early. what time is it? >> it's "morning joe." stick around for the daily run down. brain freeze or pregnant pause. herman cain seems to struggle on the question about the president's decision over libya. plus, overnight police in new york clear out zuccotti park. a court order may let protesters right back in. and, nine months later anger over wisconsin's efforts to end

collective bargaining rights hasn't let up. the efforts to recall governor scott walker starts today. tuesday, november 19th, 2011. former penn state coach jerry sandusky's exclusive interview with nbc's bob costas. >> are you sexually attracted to young boys, to underage boys? >> am i sexually attracted to underage boys? >> yes. >> sexually attracted, i enjoy love people. i love to be around them, but no, i'm not sexually attracted to young boys. >> we'll have more on the costas interview of sandusky later but we begin with the first read of the morning and it's mc. already struggling to explain allegations of sexual harassment, now kain cain's campaign has a new challenge. the awkward, to be nice, way he handled a very basic question on

libya in an editorial meeting. it is a meeting his own campaign requested. >> so you agreed with president obama on libya or not? >> okay. libya. president obama supported the uprising, correct? president obama called for the removal of khaddafy. just want to make sure we're talking about the same thing before i say yes i agreed or no, i didn't agree. i do not agree with the way he handled it for the following reason. no. that's a different one.

i gotta go back. got all this stuff twirling around in my head. specifically what are you asking me did i agree or not agree with obama. >> that was awkward. a lot of stuff twirling around in his head. you mow, any time if you're being compared to rick perry if you're herman cain is not a good thing. his campaign said he was tired. he was collecting his thoughts. doesn't look like that to me. does this hurt herman cain. >> it does. but it also doesn't come as a surprise. on foreign policy matters he has always struggled. he didn't have a great showing

saturday. i remember the one back in may in south carolina where he started talking about afghanistan. i need rely on my experts and advisers on foreign policy matters. one thing we have seen with herman cain and with rick perry as well once the scrutiny really comes these folks are having a hard time dealing with that amount of scrutiny. >> i would add to your point that this is a pattern. we shouldn't be surprise preponderance of the evidence i remember watching david gregory interview herman cain in which it became pretty clear that he didn't really know all that much about what he was talking about. look, herman cain is herman cain. we know that. let's talk about someone who is rising as herman cain is falling. i can't believe i'm going to say the following name but newt gingrich. there was a cnn poll. this is remarkable. october versus november. in october newt gingrich was at 8%. today, he is at 22%.

almost tripled his support. not surprisingly. herman cain was 25 in october. down 11 points. there appears to be some energy and momentum about newt gingrich. >> there is also an iowa poll that has newt -- >> she does a des moines registered poll as well. >> right. has essentially tied in a four-way race in iowa. so there is is a momentum that newt gingrich is having right new. one thing that's really interesting, it was just six months ago when newt gingrich had tripped over his answer on the paul ryan medicare plan. >> calling it right we think social engineering. >> he got glittered. people ridiculed his greek trip. all of a sudden he's making a run at the top spot. >> remarkable. you and i talked about this both

on and off television. the volatility of the republican field. that cnn thing i was talking about in october. mitt romney 26, now 24. he's kind of stayed if place while donald trump, rick perry, herman cain, michele bachmann. what does it tell us. are they going to coaless behind one person or not. >> it really does show that he hasn't closed the deal with conservatives yet. he still might. we still have two months to go. i mean, gosh, we could santorum. >> absolutely. >> doesn't show that he has sold the deal. what he's hoping is once you get into iowa and new hampshire you have the michele bachmanns, the herman cain, all splitting their

vote and it takes them straight to the new mexinominate. >> author of first read, my first read in the morning, thank you for joining us. >> sure. >> a rare victory in congress monday where negotiators unvail a bipartisan to fund the government for one more month. but even that is likely to draw a fight, the kind that helps lower gallup's approval rating to just 13%. on track to be the worst year in terms of congressional ratings since the poll began back in 1974. carolina democratic senator michael bennett joins me now. senator, you are someone who was appointed to the seat. you were elected in 2010. you never held political office before. you come into this a little bit fresh. you have spoken out about the

dysfunctionalty of congress. tell us about it. >> well, i understand our rating and i think it's completely justified. out in the rest of the world if we're running a business or a local government for that matter, we'd actually be making some decisions here that are are critical for the american people. they know that the conversation we'll engage in is more about washington and more about scoring political points andless about them and i think that's reflected in the disapproval ratings. >> senator, i looked with humor, your office and i know you put out on the senate floor a chart that says what's more popular than congress including the idea of america moving toward communism. >> right. >> what can -- good old fidel castro ranking right below congress. >> i also said for the record i wasn't one of the 11% that thought we should move to a communist country. but the irs has a 40% approval

rating. >> right. >> we have a long way to go. >> the question i have is feels like congress -- well, we vice president stopped spending measure. people are at least talking in the super committee. they are now eight days away from their deadline. it's possible they snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. sit simply partisan ship? is there something more behind it? what explains -- you see these numbers just like your colleagues do. they know they are unpopular. what explains why we haven't seen anyone willing to move to that middle? >> you first of all mentioned these spending measures that we have now been basically running on for the last year. this town has in effect become the land of flickering lights where the standard for success is that somehow you kept the leagues on for another month when the rest of the world isn't waiting for us to figure out how

we're going to meaningfully participate in the 21st century economy which i think is at stake right fou. there is an awful lot of party sen ship here. they don't see themselves reflected in the politics of this town, republicans and democrats where they are trying to make decisions and move ahead with their lives and they wish their government would give them some sense of assurance that for example you mentioned the super committee. they were going to put our fiscal house in order in the immediate ya medium term. large part, washington can't seem to sit down at the table and reach a principle compromise. they have said to me for two years is they want to know that we are all in it together. they want it to be bipartisan because they don't believe any

party going a lone approach. you can see the recommendations made. the super committee would have some pretty good guide post it could be using to get to solutions. and senator, quickly, what is your read out on the super committee? are you optimistic that in the next eight days they will get something done or do you believe that we are not going to see a solution come out of that super committee by november 23rd. >> i have to be optimistic just to get out of bed in the morning and i wish them all the luck in the world over the next nine days. what i want them to know is there are a lot of people in the senate and also in the house that would support a grand bargain if only they could go home and say to the people that they represent that congress actually took the bull by the horns here and did the right thing and not necessarily the politically expaeedient thing.

i think would be surprised that in this case the right policy answers also might just be the very thing that would begin to lift the approval ratings out of basement. >> carolina democratic senator michael bennett, thanks for joining us. >> thanks, crust. some protesters ousted by police from new york's zuccotti park overnight are on the move at this hour. you're looking at live pictures of the occupy wall street mooumt moving through the streets of downtown new york. mayor bloomberg addressed the morning raid a few minutes ago. >> inaction was not an option. we could not wait for someone in the park to get killed or injure another first responder before acting. protesters have had two months to occupy the park with tents and sleeping bags. now they will have to occupy the space with the power of their arguments.

>> we have more with nbc's reporter. >> chris, early this morning, hundreds of police officers in riot gear moved in and told protesters they would have to temporarily move out of the park so it can be cleared. major bloomberg said they would be allowed back in this morning but once they came back into the park they would not be able to bring sleeping bags, at the present times and anything like that because that was a violation of the park's rules. they were initially told they would be allowed back this morning. but then a court order was issued prohibiting the city of enforcing rules that with respect in place before the protest started and those are the rules about tents, sleeping bags and the like. those were put into place after the occupy wall street was set up here. so the court order has now

banned the city from ep forcing those rules. the city is not allowing anybody back into this park until that hearing is done and they know what the situation will be moving forward. as you mentioned in your intro, the protesters are on the move. they gathered after they were disrupted this morning at foley square which is not that far away and they are now marching to a meeting point where they are going to gather and presumably figure out where to go from here. now, you remember about a month ago this whole herb shoe about cleaning the park was tz subject of a show down. ultimately the protesters won that because they stood their ground. the owners of the park said they with respect going to enforce that cleaning. the protesters took to cleaning themselves with brooms and buck wes of soap and water and scrubbing things and they were allowed to stay. last night the city went ahead and enforced that cleaning they said they were going to do

awhile back. that was the way they were able to get the protesters out of here. mayor bloomberg said people have a right to protest but he wants to make sure they have not set up a camp as they have done in the last two months. it is very upsetting to the residents here. chris. >> thank you for staying on top of late breaking and fast moving story. thank you. >> thanks. control of the senate hangs in the balance in 2012. can democrats hang onto their slim advantage? the math isn't pretty. plus, a new front in the battle for union rights. democrats are hitting the streets of wisconsin today in an every to recall the state's governor. but first, a look ahead at the president's schedule. honolulu to canberra australia. that sounds like a fun plate. you're watching "the daily

rundown" only on msnbc. smal l bu sinesses are the smal lifeblood of our communities. on november 26th you can make a huge impact by shopping small on small business saturday. one purchase. one purchase is all it takes. so, pick your favorite local business... and join the movement. i pledge to shop small at big top candy shop. allen's boots... at juno baby store. make the pledge to shop small. please. shop small on small business saturday. or a can of paint, you turned millions of votes, and hundreds of volunteer hours, into a real difference for over 100,000 people. what's next? tell us on facebook.

gives you the lowest plan premium in the country... so you can focus on what really matters. call humana at 1-800-808-4003.

while much of the focus of next year's election is rightly on the presidential race, the balance of pow in congress is on the line again as well. in the senate, 11 key races will help decide just who has the power on capitol held. joined by the executive director of the national republican committee and executive director of the democratic committee. i sense a theme. i know there are lots of senate rates we could talk about. but let's be honest. the race everyone is focussed on is warren and brown.

warren got in this race officially. the obama administration raised a lot of money very quickly and is now up with ads. yes, it is november of 2011. let's listen to a little bet of that. we'll come back and talk about it. >> for years i worked to egs pose how wall street and the beg banks are crushing middle class families. it just isn't right. i stood up to the big banks. i worked to hole them accountable. i led the fight for a new agency to protect consumers and we got it but washington is still rigged for the big guys and that's got to change. >> so this a very traditional biographical spot. they are essentially saying elizabeth warren sympathizes with occupy wall street and she's radical. this ad makes elizabeth warren seem pretty reasonableable.

>> the one part i think is most notable is she regretfully talked about how negative campaigning is entering into massachusetts politics and how she lements that. she didn't seem to be limiting those ads. when you contrast that to she says she is intellectual foundation for occupy wall street. they are destroying public parks all throughout the country. there's been sexual assaults in dallas, a gunshot in oakland. i think what we have here is a race that scott brown is trying to put together republicans, democrats, conservatives and independents and elizabeth warren is trying to be the last poster child. i don't think massachusetts is a liberal staet. >> this is an early starting cam pane. but she is a national figure in many ways and it seems like, and

tell me if i'm wrong. seems like what we're doing now is a fight for who is elizabeth warren. is she a radical extremist or a pop list with the story that she tells in the ad. you've met her. you've spent time with her. how do you win that battle? obviously you know that battle is coming. who is elizabeth warren? the ads are not the only part of it. what helps you win that to convince massachusetts voters that she isn't an extremist, that she is in fact one of them? >> you win the argument by telling the truth which is what i think elizabeth warren does. i think it's been really a sign of decembsperate. they pointed out that she raised

money despite the fact that scott brown raised 60% of his money from outside groups when he ran. then they tried to pope out she was out of touch with massachusetts when 11,000 people in massachusetts have made a contribution to elizabeth rar ren. she had 1,200 people, a presidential size crowd show up for a volunteer. if there is one person that know what is working class families are going through it is elizabeth warren. >> we can talk about elizabeth warren and scott brown for the entire show, but the one thing we agree on is this is going to be an expensive and relatively nasty race. >> i think it is going to be expensive. >> shouldn't say nasty. i want to talk about a couple other things. virginia, tim cain versus george allen. if it is not the marquee race it is one of them. the race is statistically tied.

you have two former governors. kaine, allen, a former senate. 45% to 44%. rob, is this going to be within a point the entire time. and how do you differentuate. both of these guys are very well known. how do you win a race where people know basically everything about both guys. >> there is going to be a close race, no doubt about it. there will be a lot of money spept he spent here. most recently kaine spent the last couple years campaigning for the president's agenda. last year's election was widely put aside. so, we feel good about where we are here. this is going to be a close election. >> guy, i want to ask you about this.

rob mentioned it. the president is targeting the state. it is the state he won for the first time since lyndon johnson was president. should tim kaine run with president obama. he was his democratic national committee chairman or should he run away from him given that president obama was less common. >> i would say the same thing that i would say to every democrat running for the senate. when you agree with the president on something say so. when you disagree with the president on something, say so. but at the end of the day, tim kaine and george allen are going to be about tim kaine and george allen. >> let me ask you both just a yes or in. can we see an obama/allen victory or a mitt romney tim kaine victory. is the presidential race going to determine who wins the senate race. >> i think george allen can win

under a variety of circumstances. >> i think around the country they can all run independent from the president. i think it's true in montana, ne me, virginia. >> thank you for joining us. love nothing better than a little senate talk in the morning. >> that is right. next, we will get a preview of the day on wall street in our daily run down. plus, can they kick governor scott walker out of office? they are going to try. the man at the penn state sexual abuse scandal admits he showered with young boys. former asis tan coach jerry sandusky speaks. last night's politics and pints triya. which early primary state has a record of picking the gop's presidential nominee in every race since 1980? you can tweet us at daily run down. the first correct will get joy of joys, a follow tuesday from

us. the answer and more is coming up on "the daily rundown." ♪ [ female announcer ] who'd have thought that the person you'd grow up to be -- how creative or confident or kind -- was shaped before you lost your first tooth? ♪ the first five years are forever. ♪ that's why pnc is devoting $250 million and ten more years

to helping families discover learning opportunities all around them. pnc. grow up great.

>> on wall street it is a tug of war. cnbc's becky quick has more. >> the dow down about 40 or0 points. early in the early hours of trading it looked like we were going to get hit pretty hard because of concerns out of europe. once again, in italy the 10-year bond is trading at a yield above 7%. that's where greece and where ireland had to go and get some help from the european union. so that's a huge concern.

we did get numbers this morning showing that things in america are looking better. shows that americans are still shopping. in fact retail sales were up 0.5%. it looks like we've been spending money on things like food, beverages. also electronics and appliances. that's helping staebilize. looks like we will probably be down about 40 points at least in the early hours. >> thanks, becky. "the daily rundown" will be back in 30 seconds.

back now with "the daily rundown." i'm filling in for the one and only chuck todd. here are some of the other stories making headlines today. former penn state asis tan coach jerry sandusky insists he is neinnocent of charges he sexually abused young boys. sandusky admitted some of the aspects of the indictment are true. >> could say that i have done some of those things. i have horsed around with kids. i have showered after workouts. i have hugged them. i have touched their leg without intent of sexual contact. so if you look at it that way, there are things that would be

accurate. >> meanwhile, nbc news has obtained an e-mail from the coach who allegedly witnessed one of the incidents. he told friends that he did the right thing, that he made sure the oi bus stabuse stopped. gabrielle giffords spoke to abc in her first public interview since a gunman shot her and killed six others. >> and when mark told you what happened. >> i cried. >> sad. >> sad. oh, sad. lot of people died. >> hurts your heart? >> yes. yes, yes, yes. >> this next story is especially for chuck. the democratic mayoral caucus there has ended in a tie.

not a virtual tie. a mathematical tie with 540 votes for each man. when asked for his plans for a rematch one candidate said he'd smartly make sure to bring one more supporter next time around. a revote. yes, they are going to do this thing again, is expected soon. admit night opponents of wisconsin governor scott walker kicked off a massive recall effort in response to his antiunion legislation. the governer is clearly concerned spending $300,000 on an ad campaign that began last night during green bay packers' gaem. >> i'm willing to improve our schools and protect our seniors. you know, wisconsin's best days are yet to come. it won't happen overnight but we are on our way. >> reed wilson is editor of chief and joins us to talk about wis consen and the recall effort. reed, let's start with the bay

seks. what do wisconsin voters in general need to get a recall of scott walker? >> they have only got a lemed time to get the signatures they need. they have 60 days to collect 540,000 valid signatures which is in reality means they probably have to get close to 700,000 signatures. going to be tough to do. talking about the thanksgiving holiday, the christmas holidays coming up. it's not going to be easy for democrats to do. making things more complicated, state law doesn't provide for contribution limits during a recall election. so scott walker can raise unlimited amounts of money. we saw democrats and republicans spend $44 million tonight senate recall this is summer. it's likely they are going to spend more in an effort to get scott walker out of office. >> i would mention to your point he already has $2.5 million in the bank to spend. given his ad campaign they are taking a very aggressive

campaign met crystal tact here. reid, another question about this. we saw and you mentioned the state senate recalls. democrats were trying to recall three republican state senators who voted for this collective bargaining bill. they got two. how does that affect the momentum, the excitement, the energy in the state just as you point out is a pretty high hurdle. >> it is. the recalls this summer were sort of a first step in trying to reenergize a labor movement that's really been sort of waning in influence over the last several decades. that was a positive first step for the labor movement. the election in ohio last week was another good step for them. but you're right, they didn't achieve that victory in wiscons wisconsin. this is multiples harder which makes you wonder how successful they are going to be. plus, all the money they are spending here is money the lay

sb boar is not going to be able to spend for president obama or any other democratic candidate. >> right. can they win it and is it worth the money. reid, thanks for joining us. >> thanks, chris. president obama is fond of pointing out that at the end of everyday he reads ten letters from the average american. >> every night i get e-mails and letters from folks all around the country. some of the stories are heart breaking and i meet folks at vfw halls and diners and men and women who tell me about having to close down a business that's been in their family for generations or people who are having to cross items off the grocery list so they can fill up the gas tapg. >> washington post writer and my colleague eli saslo spent sop time reading those letters and talking to president obama about them for his new book, ten letters, the stories americans

tell their president. eli, we've got the picture of it pip eve g , a copy of it. it is a fascinating book. this is the president's attempt to say i hear from average people. i worry about average people. i empathize with them. you have spent more time with these letters probably more than anyone. what do they tell us about the country and the president? >> a lot. these things have been a fixture of his presidency when he decided out of 20,000 letters the white house was getting, he wanted to see ten. at first i thought it was a good idea. now it is much more dear moron, there is heart break in there. there is ang eranger. it is a much harder mix. >> i always wonder about this. how are the ten? you said he gets thousands.

how are the ten picked. how much positive stuff does he hear. do we know how that works out? >> it requires an army. they decided to move it off site into sort of a secret office building downtown a few blocks away where everyday they have 1,500 volunteers, 100 full time. >> 1,500? >> yeah. they categorize it by topic. he's going to see two letters at the end of the day is about occupy wall street. they make sure he sees a mix of what's coming in. there is always one dear moron, dear jerk. there is usually one that is positive. >> you say it takes an army. do you have any sense either in the reporting for the book or afterward what his senior staff's attitude is toward this. good thing? bad thing. he famously fought to keep his

black perberry blackberry. what is the staff's attitude? >> i think it cuts both ways. now with the mail that comes in some of it is so heart breaking but some of the staff worry this is could be a fairly defeating thing to read. at the same time the president now has so few direct connections to the people he governs. the president told me this really is the one thing that he feels like is direct. these letters are like journal entries. >> i want to follow up on that, the direct contact. he mentioned broadly that he reads these letters. does he follow up with individuals ever and if so, what's the follow up? >> he does. some of these letters have frankly been transformative. he always writes back to a letter each night. one of the letters is from a cleaning woman in ohio whose letter as she was sort of fighting with leukemia with no health care the president sort of made they are icon for health

care. another is a four grader in kentucky who attends the worst school in the state and wrote him to tell him what her day was like. he went there to visit her. sometimes these exchanges are fascinating. >> eli saslow, washington post reporter/writer and also an awe there was. awesome cover. there's been a million books written by president obama. a really interesting way into who this guy is. thank you, eli. >> thanks for having me on. up next, herman cain hits the pause button while newt gingrich is on fast forward. do people still use vcrs anymore. the white house soup of the day. it is not just potato. it is load ped potato. apparently mc hammer likes loaded potato soup as well. you're watching the "the daily rundown" only on nbc.

what's bet? free gold ! we call that hertz gold plus rewards. you earn free days, free weeks and more fast. that's a plus. upgrade your ride. that's a plus. rewards with no blackout dates so you can redeem anytime. and it's easy to redeem your points online. already a gold member ? just select gold plus rewards in your profile and start rewarding yourself now. just go to hertzgoldplusrewards.com to join. hertz gold plus rewards. journey on. constipated? phillips' caplets use magnesium, an ingredient that works more naturally with your colon than stimulant laxatives, for effective relief of constipation without cramps. thanks. good morning, students. today we're gonna continue... to the flu. an accident... to asthma. a new heartbeat... to a heart condition. when you see your doctor, you don't face any medical issue alone. you do it together. at the american medical association,

we're committed to preserving that essential partnership between patients and their doctors. because when it comes to your health, you need someone you trust. the ama. protecting the relationship between patients and physicians. -three. -one. two. three. one. -two. -three. -one. -two. -three. [ male announcer ] with the bankamericard cash rewards credit card, earn 1% cash back everywhere, every time. 2% back on groceries. and 3% back on gas. automatically. no hoops to jump through. -it's as easy as...1. -two. -three. [ male announcer ] 1, 2, 3 percent cash back for the things you buy most. the bankamericard cash rewards card. apply online or at a bank of america near you. fantastic! [ man ] pro-gresso they fit! okay-y... okay??? i've been eating progresso and now my favorite old jeans...fit. okay is there a woman i can talk to? [ male announcer ] progresso. 40 soups 100 calories or less.

[ male announcer ] from our nation's networks... ♪ ...to our city streets... ♪ ...to skies around the world... ♪ ...northrop grumman's security solutions are invisibly at work, protecting people's lives... [ soldier ] move out! [ male announcer ] ...without their even knowing it. that's the value of performance. northrop grumman.

herman cain's campaign is dismissing the five awkward minutes he spent trying to answer a pretty basic question on libya saying it's frankly just a lot of stuff to know in a little bit of time. sure. something the candidate did repeat last night. >> i paused so i could gather my thoughts. it's really complementing that people are documenting my pauses. it was a pause. that's all it was. good grief. >> perry bacon is with the national post. chris jakola is president of the club for growth. congressman, i want to start with you. do you buy herman cain's argument that this was simply a

pregnant pause? >> either way he has to have a little bit more of a convincing response. all these candidates are going through the spotlight. which ones will survive. we're learning right new. cain i think is struggling. i think he is not surviving the glare of the spotlight now. looks like it will return to newt gingrich. we will see how he does. they have all had their turn. >> let me quickly follow up. what happened to rick perry in the debate last week, this moment with herman cain. does it reflect badly on the republican party? >> i don't think it matters. i think ultimately whoever the nominee is, they are going to coaless. their greatest asset is they are not obama. i think people are ready to get on with it. certainly the conservative republicans haven't decided who had they want. we can see that through the

polling and the lack of focus, but at the end they are going to coaless around whoever it is and we'll get on wit. >> casey, i want to -- nbc's andrew rafferty, because wisconsin is such a primary state -- not -- andrew rafferty asked him about the libya comment. here is what he said and then let's come back and talk about it. >> you think the libya kmcommen doesn't show you have an understanding? >> 9-9-9. >> last night andrew rafferty tweeted that out and then he had to tweet out again, i'm not what he said. obviously herman cain wants to talk about 9-9-9. how big a problem for herman cain. >> cain has been for the last

couple weeks facing these ha rasmera rasz. -- -- sexual harassment allegations. >> i think from cain's perspective he's gotten where he is by talking about 9-9-9. now we're seeing the actual glare on how we would treat a gop front runner. >> the congressman mentioned, at least a new aentiromney. appears to be everything old is the new thing. gingrich is the hot new thing. gingrich had 8 in october. november, gingrich had 22. what do you make of it? is this just the conservatives kind of moving person to person

or is there something specific to newt. >> i think he has shown a lot of content knowledge in the debates and he has not attacked his of points. you notice newt at the debeat on saturday was asked do you want to attack romney and he basically said no. i think that's smart. >> he has attacked the press a lot. usual lay good strategy. >> the question of is he the flavor of the month, it will come down to him. he is someone being known as undisciplined, not able to say the right thing. he's got the right views but can he maintain discipline and not make a bunch of errors and with stand the multiple marriages, flip flops on issues. >> we'll talk more about it. one thing i want to add to is one with a very long public record. first, trivia time.

this one came direct from last night's trivia night every second monday at cap lounge. yes, that was a quick plug. we primary state has had a record of picking the gop's presidential nominee in every race since 1980? the answer, south carolina, very interesting, circle your calendar, january 21st next year. we will be right back. you are watching "the daily rundown" t is only on msnbc. ♪ let's go ♪ ♪ cruise like a norwegian ♪ ♪ that's good morning, veggie style. hmmm [ male announcer ] for half the calories -- plus veggie nutrition. could've had a v8.

i don't think there's anybody else in the race, i don't mean this as an act of ego, i don't think there is anybody else in the race with the background, i have a ph.d. in european history, written 24 books, made seven documentary films, i passionately believe in this country. >> ah, newt. let bring back our panel, perry bacon, casey hunt and former indiana congressman. okay, that in some ways is newt being newt, which is appealing to a certain segment of the republican electorate without question but the issue, and

perry mentioned this before the break, newt has great gifts and great weaknesses. one of the weaknesses, he tends to stray off topic, tends to say things he shouldn't say, does he have the discipline to stay in this top tier of candidates? his personality is vaulted and missing? >> history is any guide, no we write white papers on the presidential candidates f we did a comprehensive one on newt gingrich it would be 87,000 pages long. >> who wouldn't want to read that? >> the glare comes to him, people reminded he supported cap and trade, medicare pd, individual mandate, many places in his career over 53 years. now, he believes in limited government but believes you have to have a smart government and he wants to be the smart guy to determine what's smart government and he will tell you that. smart got him to where he is because of his performance in the debates. we will see if smart can keep him where he is. that has yet to be determined. you have been traveling around the country, iowa, new hampshire

what do people say to you and tell that you they like about newt? >> one of the things they do like very much is the fact he talks very coherently about policy, comes across smart, they know him, comfortable with him in some ways but i think this particular race so far has flied his strengths in that the only time that most people have had a chance to see the candidates has been on a debate stage. >> very national campaign. >> that's perfect flat foplatfo gingrich. >> to that point, ski everybody this, does he have a real organization in new hampshire, a real organization in iowa. is it a few aides or anything beneath it? >> south carolina staffing up heavily, better, stronger there in some ways, who does, i guess, might you can the response, is that mitt romney does and the rest of them really don't. not clear to me that is going to be a huge barrier. >> shameless plugs, congressman? >> truly shameless, people want

to learn about champions of economic freedom, go to our website, club for growth.org. >> the more shameless the better. >> a shutout to my cuz unon the bishop o'connell varsity tennis team, playing number two, really doing well as sophomore. >> i like it? >> our website, the "washington post," about mitt romney, now trying to take every attack obama staff, says this shows that i'm the nominee. democrats are attacking. >> i want to shamelessly plug the guy we had on earlier, our colleague, a great book, check out his book about the letters that people send to president obama and what he does with them. and that, folks, is it for this edition of "the daily rundown." tomorrow on the show, we are going through a time warp. chuck joins us from the land down under where it will already be thursday, two shows for the price of one. coming up next on msnbc, it is

chris jansing and company, now with alex wagner at noon and 1 p.m., do not miss andrea mitchell reports. this is $100,000.

we asked total strangers to watch it for us. thank you so much, i appreciate it, i'll be right back. they didn't take a dime. how much in fees does your bank take to watch your money ? if your bank takes more money than a stranger, you need an ally. ally bank. no nonsense. just people sense.