sexiest man. look at him now, still sexy. >> you knew that mug shot was coming. what kind of e-mails are we looking at? >> i should get working on the 2016 presidentialtebow's 2016 presidential campaign, geist as v.p.? >> a lot of people would vote for tim tebow for president, and i'd be glad to be sarah palin to his john mccain. i'm one handsome woman. i've got a tweet for you. he says i was doing homework but stopped when "way too early" came on because i actually learned something. that's right. turn on "way too early," tune in early and drop out kids. "morning joe" starts right now. the names of the following sound out, bauchmann, cain, perhaps ron paul will be the front-runner.

>> ron paul has no chance of being elected -- >> well, his poll numbers actually have been consistent, and -- >> he's got no chance. >> you've given everyone else a chance. and for god sakes, a woman who never entered the race, sarah palin got more heat from the media. >> if you get video of sarah palin or get a sound bite, bring that back to us, you can hold the ron paul stuff. >> the thought of covering him amuses me. >> yeah, you know what? we're not that smart. there are some interesting poll numbers about ron paul we'll be talking about. good morning, everybody. welcome to "morning joe." it is friday, willie. >> it is. at long last. >> yeah. yeah. november 18th, friday. deep breath, everybody. with us onset, msnbc and "time"

magazine political analyst mark haleprin, donny deutsch. a lot of people have been talking to me about the shoes. i switched them for tamlines. >> are people okay with it? is it a footwear fetish? >> mixed reviews, actually. some people very angry about it. >> why? >> they think it's -- and some want to see you insult me again so i c get more shoes. >> barnicle -- after mocking me for a years says where do i get ties like you wear? this will be happening at the 7:00 hour. also joining us, msnbc political analyst eugene robinson, so good to have you on the show. >> good to be here. >> it's very early. you start the show early. >> it is so early. i know. >> you have no idea, gene.

this hour is pretaped. >> don't we wish. let's start with these polls. we have a lot of newt gingrich news. i think the word hypocrisy plays perfectly to share with everybody. maybe you can explain it to me, maybe i'm skewed. we'll get there. but i want to talk about ron paul. a new national poll by the pew research center showing mitt romney and herman cain in a dead heat with 23% and 22% support. we'll be talking about herman cain and the interview he canceled. they're following by newt gingrich with 16%, ron paul and rick perry are tied for fourth with 8% support each. let's look at iowa, which i think we're about 50 days away. a new iowa state university poll shows herman cain leading the pack with 24.5%, and ron paul coming in second at 20.4%. mitt romney, rick perry round out the top four with 16.3% and

7.9% respectively. ron paul's success in iowa in this poll coupled with his strong standing in the latest bloomberg news poll has analysts taking note. iowa state university political science professor david peterson said this. he's more of a front-runner than i think he gets credit for. he probably underpolls, his supporters are younger, more likely to reply on a cell phone. he's probably going to perform better than his polling suggests. mark haleprin, do you agree? >> well, in terms of if it were a primary, probably. but remember, these are caucuses, so those young people who don't have land lines and who haven't been involved in politics before still have to turn out for the caucuses, which is a more complicated process than voting in a primary. the biggest question is what will mitt romney do about iowa? >> right. >> if he loses iowa to ron paul, i think he's perfectly fine. if he loses it to someone else, he's not. right now, the question is, does someone else like a rick perry or newt gingrich decide they

want to take on ron paul to stop him from winning iowa. today he could win iowa without question. >> fair to say when you look at these numbers and other polls, you see newt gingrich is doing quite well moving forward. >> in the last few weeks he has. the scrutiny, though, is starting. and it's limitless. every candidate who comes into president -- >> limitless. >> every candidate comes in, there are things you can look at and say this is going to be a question, that will be a question. every reporter in america with 1,000 monkeys and 1,000 key boards could start writing stories about newt gingrich based on what we already know and it would go right through the iowa caucus. >> it's waiting to be picked at. >> and he will say anything. he makes herman cain look like willie geist. >> right. >> what? >> i'm not sure what he meant by that. >> let's skate past that. i don't want to go there. but he has said everything in the course of his career. he's taken every position on every issue. so you can always, research is

like -- >> i'm sorry. >> is that what they have on those platters? >> you can get anything. but i would love to know what you think about -- i have a theory that these polls are more meaningless than any polls in the history of elections. basically, who do you -- you want the show to go on. i know it's this guy, now it's this guy. and you get a sense there's no legitimacy to these things that they don't mean anything, it's just i'm tired of this guy, let's bring the next up, i'm tired of this guy and i'm going to be interested to see how this translates to real votes. >> well, let's talk about the platter because he is surging in the polls, and it's worth looking into. politico is offering new insight on the time line of newt gingrich's consulting job with freddie mac. according to the site, his $30,000 a month payments continued up until september 2008. they stopped when the federal government was forced to take

over the lending giant during the housing crisis. now, the time is worth noting considering what the former speaker of the house said in september 2008 about then presidential candidate barack obama receiving contributions from fannie and freddie. take a listen. >> i think senator mccain should've turned and said, senator obama, are you prepared to give back all the money that freddie mac and fannie mae gave to you? are you prepared to fire your housing adviser who was paid $90 million over six years while helping ruin fannie mae? are you prepared to fire your adviser who was the former head of fannie mae, mr. johnson? are you prepared to disassociate yourself from chris dodd who was the highest recipient of money from fannie mae and who, by the way as you know, was also getting a below market loan from countrywide before they went broke. >> hypocrisy doesn't do it. >> he has said everything.

isn't it breathtaking? >> i'll say one thing, though, by the normal standards of elites, republicans, democrats, people in the media, gingrich couldn't possibly win because he said everything about everything. there have been many times herman cain, a million other examples where the elites just don't get quite where the voters are. so i don't know that gingrich has a good chance in the end to sustain. but for the short-term, i'm not sure all of these stories deflate him. >> that's the question. is he just the latest in this wagon wheel of candidates who circle up next to mitt romney and cycle back out. you say herman cain was not viewed well by the elites, he's starting to fall, as well. why is newt gingrich different? >> i don't think gingrich is different. and i think it's still the case that gingrich is the most likely to get mitt romney one-on-one, and the least likely to beat him one-on-one. >> last night, gingrich was on the defensive about all of this and said he was never a lobbyist. >> my interest in housing and

helping relatively poor americans to buy a house goes back a long way. i was approached to offer strategic advice. i do no lobbying of nip kind. i never have. i have never done lobbying of any kind. >> we can make all the jokes we want about herman cain. this guy's vulgar. this guy was getting a check of $150,000 a month as he's saying the things he said in the previous bite. i find an offensive human being. forget politics, am i crazy? >> that's coming from donny deutsch -- >> i like everybody. what does that mean? >> all right. i have that, i feel like i'm piling on. but -- >> you're barely keeping up with the torrent. >> you've just taken the egg roll, you haven't gone for the wantons or anything. >> here's a wanton for you. the washington post is reporting that a health care think tank that newt gingrich founded collected at least $37 million

since 2003 from major health care companies and interested groups. promotional materials for the group called center for health transformation offered some insurers health care firms access to newt gingrich and direct newt interaction. you can buy that -- >> something creepy about direct newt interaction. >> and the biggest funders were eligible to receive discount on products and workshops from other gingrich groups. gingrich left the health care think tank earlier this year to run for president. and the "post" asked the gingrich campaign for comment, they refer them to the think tank which says neither the center nor gingrich has engaged in formal lobbying. but aside from the lobbying questions, may be the positions this center advocated during gingrich's time there. the health center pushed for some policies that are central features of president obama's health care reform law, and opposed by most conservatives.

you know, do -- >> i recommend -- >> you got -- >> i recommend this. it's written in a brilliantly understated way. they lay out the facts, they don't attempt to point out the hypocrisies or inconsistencies or incredible amount of revenue. they just lay it all out. but i'll say it again, you could spend hours and hours on gingrich's financial empire or his statements when he was in congress or his ethical problems, it may not matter over the next month and a half. >> you know shl, watching way t early, your lead story, the president bringing jobs and creating international connections that could lead to job growth in this country. eugene, doesn't it bode well for obama to watch all this happening on the republican side while he looks busy at work? >> well, i think he's -- i think obama has won every debate so far, every republican debate so far. and he's hoping for more.

and, yeah, he gets to go around the country and push his jobs act and go around the world and show himself being presidential. and there is a contrast there. now, when we get down to one-on-one, we'll see who the other one is, but they've got to come up with a one. >> we talked about this the other day, i think what's brilliant about obama, you see him less on television. he was so overexposed, and now he's realizing every minute he's not on, and these guys are on, it's good for him. other than that, you have not seen him much, and i think that's smart. >> as we roll around in our left wing platter, should i move on to herman cain? i mean, he's sort of in the news, as well. i can just can report it. can i do that, haleprin? or is it not worth it? it's not done yet? >> no, this is important because someone -- >> in iowa? >> not as good as they would

need to be. only ron paul's been on television in iowa in advertising, newt gingrich hasn't, rick perry hasn't, and i think we need to wait until they put some on tv. >> he's not done. okay. well, he is facing some criticism in new hampshire because he skipped this interview with the union leader. that's a pretty influential newspaper in new hampshire. both the newspaper and cain are accusing each other of canceling the meeting after a dispute over whether or not the interview would be videotaped. and later -- take a listen. >> some people want to convict me in the court of public opinion. the people on the cain train, they don't get off because of that crap. who knows every detail of every country of every situation on the plan etd?

nobody. a leader is supposed to make sure we work on the right problem. we assign the right priority, surround yourself with good people, put together plans and lead! we've got plenty of experts. and a leader knows how to use those experts. we need a leader, not a reader. >> wow. >> forget the facts, forget history, just lead. no reading. >> you don't need to know about every country, but maybe about libya. >> libya and china. whether or not china has nuclear we weapons. >> good one to know about. >> i don't know we're nitpicks. >> are you on the cain train or off. if you're on the cain train, you don't care whether or not the president knows like the names of these countries. >> i just like -- >> where was that? where was that speech? do we know? >> new hampshire. >> and people were screaming.

>> ignorance! >> i think what's amazing is he literally says out loud proudly i'm a leader not a reader, it's stunning. stunning. >> i think johnny cochran wrote that one from the grave. >> wasn't it the simpson, that line was uttered by a character on the simpson's at some point. >> you're dialed into new hampshire, what did you hear about the union leader. >> he cut it back, it was supposed to be long, he cut it back to 20 minutes and at that point they said 20 minutes was unacceptable. who is cancelling at that point if one side offers 20? i will say now he's getting secret service protection, obviously that's for security purposes. but he runs way behind schedule, changes his schedule all the time. it's going to be interesting to see now that he's got the secret service whether he stays on schedule because they help with that. >> he's got to check amazon.com every couple of hours -- >> the secret service won't get that. >> president obama unveiling --

just for interesting parallel here as we take a look at the republicans, we are going to have jon huntsman on the show today. i'd love to hear from ron paul again. >> i still -- it's amazing how huntsman has not popped -- >> i'd love to have mitt romney back on the show and hear from the candidates that seem to not be selling books and have a grasp of the issues. president obama just one other headline to get to this morning and we touched on it earlier, unveiling a multibillion dollar trade deal in bali, providing boeing with a deal. selling hundreds of planes to indonesia. at a ceremony with company executives, the president touted the nearly $22 billion deal. >> this is an example of a win/win situation where the people of the region will be able to benefit from outstanding airlines and our workers back home are going to be able to

have job security and be able to produce an outstanding product made in america. >> there are also developments on the diplomatic front. the president kicked off the week by pressing china on its currency before announcing a new u.s. troop deployment in australia. now he's announcing stats to strengthen the american relationship with a long isolated country in the region. for the first time in 50 years. a u.s. secretary of state will visit burma. secretary clinton will head to the nation also known as myanmar next month. president obama says the trip follows recent reforms in the oppressive country's government. >> after years of darkness, we've seen flickers of progress in the last several weeks. we want to seize what could be a historic move for progress. if burma continues to travel down the road of democratic reform, it can forge a new relationship with the united states of america. >> all right. we've got a lot to talk about. your column looks at occupy wall

street. that's in the news, as well. we'll get to that. also coming up, presidential candidate jon huntsman will be here onset. also jeff bridges joins the table. up next, "politico's" top stories of the morning. also these -- it's got to be the coon skin cap in willie's weekend review. regis falling off the vespa has to be on there too. good morning, everyone. off to the great lakes through the northeast, a little bit of snow off of lake erie and ontario, but it's a winter tight morning out there. gloves and hats for the kids, maybe for yourselves. later this afternoon, it warms up nicely, the temperatures in the mid to upper 40s. today's the coldest of the next three. it's still a little chilly in the northern plains and get ready for a little snow.

tomorrow it'll shift up through areas of south dakota and minnesota. you notice that as we go into saturday's forecast, we begin to warm it up on the eastern sea board. still dry, no wet weather at all for the southern half of the country this weekend. and then by sunday, nice warmup on the eastern sea board. we will see some rain on sunday, though, in kentucky and tennessee. and you want to talk about beautiful shots, look at this sunrise. what a nice orange glow in the background there. that's new york city for you. you're watching "morning joe" brewed by starbucks. great prices. i just wish you could guarantee me they won't be beat. oh, actually... then i'd be like, you rule! and my kids would be like, you rule! i'd be like, yes, i do rule! ohh! that rules! oh, load up the sleigh; this is going to be a great christmas. yeah. ring dinga-ding, ring dinga-ding, ring, ring, ring me up. [ male announcer ] no need to wait with our christmas price guarantee. we're so confident in our prices

if you do find a lower one between now and christmas, we'll give you the difference on a walmart gift card. save money. live better. walmart. we'll give you the difference on a walmart gift card. [ stu ] yeah. it's electric. i don't think so. it's got a gas tank right here. electric tank, right over here. an electric tank? really, stu? is that what you pour the electricity in? it's actually both, guys. i can plug in and go 35 miles gas free, or i can fill up and go a whole lot farther. is that my burger? oh. i just got bun. i didn't even bite any burger.

22 past the hour. time now to take a look at the morning papers. we'll start with the "new york times." the head of the watchdog group said yesterday he wants to send a high-level mission to iran to investigate reports that scientists there had engaged in secret efforts to engage a nucle

nuclear weapon. meeting in vienna trying to form a resolution to reprimand iran and learn about the nuclear intentions. "the birmingham news" has an update on the story we talked about yesterday with steve krovt. he says hade will hold a hearin next month. bachus sent a letter to the publisher of "throw them all out." connecticut's waterbury republican says the embattled president of connecticut light and power has resigned. following the utility company's failures after an october 29th snowstorm. jeffrey butler became the face of public scrutiny when the company struggled for more than ten days to restore power to hundreds of thousands of customers. and failed to meet two self-imposed deadlines. >> in the "parade" sunday

magazine, the hollywood movie preview and gift guide. you and joe have a column on how thanksgiving is being celebrated in your families. >> let me show you this, willie, this is how we do it. hold that. >> oh, it's there. can you please explain what's happening? >> we explain that in the column. >> there's a horse in your dining room. >> yep, okay. >> was that in the '70s? >> one of many times. >> and now i'm going to pick this up. i've got to see what that means. look who's here in studio with us. just galloped in. jim vandehei's here, the executive editor of "politico" with the playbook. what brings you to town? >> we have meetings here in new york. i brought my wife, we ditched the kids, two days in new york. >> go see "cats," i hear it's a keeper. >> you are so -- you're like 1980s. that's what you are. now i get it.

your hay day was the '80s, wasn't it? >> it really was. it really was. >> we've seen the pictures. >> i don't want to talk about it. >> deadline next wednesday -- >> and it's over. >> they've got to get the thing to the cbo before that. you have in your report this morning that john boehner dropped by a d.c. fundraiser this week appearing "downtrodden and pessimistic." >> and rightly so. doesn't look like they'll be able to get a deal out of this committee. i don't think anyone really thought they could. they've had six months. they can't figure out $1.2 trillion in cuts over that time. the parties are so far apart on how you do this. how much should you cut taxes, how much should you cut domestic spending. should you tackle entitlements? there's no common ground on those issues. and i don't know it matters that much. if you look at how they set up the super committee, they still have a year to fix this mess. and i think that the markets and most sane people have already factored in that congress will

usually do the insane thing, so it's not going to have the profound ripple effect when we saw this over the debt ceiling. >> as you've covered this, who's less willing to move? because you hear it from both sides. republicans won't move on entitlements, on the democratic side, where should we place blame? >> both sides are to blame. and it all depends on what your perspective is. the parties have authentic disagreements, particularly in the house, it's not like this is political posturing, you're talking about two different parties of people who live in different worlds. one world thinks you should not ever raise any tax under any circumstance, the other things that you have to raise taxes and you should not touch spending. those are big philosophical differences that aren't easily settled by saying, hey, let's find compromise in the middle. the middle in politics is gone, it's been gutted. there aren't many northeast republican moderates. and if you look at the last election, how did democrats lose? they lost conservative democrats in rural districts and in the south.

it doesn't exist. people want a middle ground, we'll elect one. >> gene, this is so depressing for people watching from the outside. you created this group as an extreme measure. people would get in a room for six months and figure it out and looks like less than a week away, even they can't do it. >> i haven't been optimistic about this process from the beginning. but wouldn't the middle be -- you cut spending some and you raise taxes some, and then you're in the middle, right? and so that actually is the position that the democrats have been willing to go to for a long time. >> well, isn't it -- is there any good news here that even the republicans have gotten, i think it's $300 billion in tax? there is movement. i mean, that's the good news in this where there's such intractable positions, they haven't moved far enough, but the republicans for the first time have moved. >> i'll give you some good news, and it's not short-term good news, it's long-term good news. i think that politics often happens on an arc and that lasts a long time.

but i think there's an arc that's moving toward common ground on tax reform. not today, but two years from now. where you have -- you see both parties now gravitating towards a lower, flatter tax code and getting rid of a lot of the deductions and you now even have conservatives talking about a willingness to limit or eliminate some popular deductions, including the mortgage tax deduction for some people. that is movement, it's some movement, and it takes time to factor into the political system, but that's the direction we're going. and i think a lot of democrats would like to do the same thing on tax reform. they would like to see even the corporate rate lowered if it's lowered in a way you get rid of a lot of the deductions and breaks particularly for business. and i think that's a direction politics is headed in. but right now the system's too dysfunctional, the parties are too dug in to produce that outcome. >> this sounds to people watching today more of the same. can you give people today any hope. i think you gave glimmers of hope of down the road.

and we hear, it's an election year -- it's always an election year. when are we going to do this? >> i don't think in the short-term, and i don't think you can do it until there's massive change up top. either the president has to set the tone and stick at it for four years or the system becomes so dysfunctional that people go and get a third party candidate and shake things up in a radical way. look at what's happening here in new york with the occupy wall street movement, what's happening with the tea party. you have both of those groups. what's common is it's rage against the big machine, rage against government, rage against big business. people are ticked off and sick of people being dysfunctional. and they'll replace it with something. and right now the system as it's currently constructed cannot pr produce the compromise that everyone's talking about. >> stick around for sports, jim, if you can. want to get your take on tebow last night. did it again, single-digit completions again, winning the game with his legs, marching the

broncos 95 yards in the final moments against the jets. highlights from the thursday nighter. the other office devices? they don't get me. they're all like, "hey, brother, doesn't it bother you that no one notices you?" and i'm like, "doesn't it bother you you're not reliable?" and they say, "shut up!" and i'm like, "you shut up." in business, it's all about reliability. 'cause these guys aren't just hitting "print." they're hitting "dream." so that's what i do. i print dreams, baby. [whispering] big dreams.

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that's q, our music man. you got that picture again? that's q, a lot of people ask about the music on this show. there's the guy. q dressed up as ditka on halloween. looking good there, q. jets and broncos play the thursday nighter in denver. jets up 10-3, looking for plaxico burress. he steps in front, 26 yards, for a touchdown, little taunting on the way in. game tied at 10, took a three-point lead, so with less than six minutes left, tebow gets the ball with 95 yards to go on a second three, he takes it himself, 15 yards, first down, four plays later, rushing for nine and lower in the shoulder on jets defenders. drove his team down to the 20 and with just over a minute left in the game sees the blitz, gets to the outside, slips one tackle there, runs it in for your

game-winning touchdown and 95-yard drive by tim tebow. he only threw 9 for 20 for 104 yards in the game but won it there with his legs, tebow is now 4-1 as denver's starter. the broncos and jets are now both 5-5, bad loss for the jets there. after the game, tebow spoke about that winning drive and why he's so hated by some people in the media. >> what comes over you at five minutes to go? >> well, first and foremost, i've got to thank my lord and savior jesus christ and thank my teammates because those guys believed in me and stuck with me for 60 minutes. i'm extremely blessed. a great family that supports me, great teammates and a great coaching staff. that's what i'm focused on. >> do you feel it's your throwing motion, it's your faith? what is it that provokes hatred or disdain from journalists and

publicists? >> well, i'm not sure, but something i learned early in college was to not worry about what i can't control. and that's something i can't control. but what i can control is my attitude, my effort, and my focus every single day and that's what i'm trying to worry about. >> jim vandehei, it's not pretty. 11 completions over the last two games combined with two wins for tim tebow. the guy's a winner. >> what he goes out and says is so much different than the maniacs we deal with in sports every day. it'd be great to have more people like that talking about their team like he did. but the flip side of that is as a quarterback i'm a huge, huge skeptic that you cannot throw the ball and be a successful quarterback for long-term. they're able to beat the jets who have no offense and they're able to beat other bad teams, but i just don't buy you cannot be an nfl-quality thrower and be an nfl-quality quarterback. >> i think there's a quality,

there's a force that certain people have, i'm not referring to the faith thing that makes everybody else feel better. i think he psychologically lifts his team. and that you can't put points against. >> i think that lasts about half a season. i don't think it goes beyond that. they figure out how -- they figure out you're going to run and put a lot of big guys in front of you. >> explain to me, again, why he can't throw the ball? he may not have a deep threat, he can certainly throw -- >> they don't like his mechanics. they don't like the way he reads the defense. we had peter king in here from "sports illustrated" and says the management in denver don't believe he's the guy and now he's 4-1, and they might have to -- >> you have to have accuracy. i'll talk from my packers for a second. these quarterbacks are so amazing in their accuracy. top flight quarterbacks can throw a ball in about a 6-inch space 25 yards away. he never could, he never had to at florida, he can't as an nfl quarterback. and there's no amount of

changing your mechanics this late in your career that's going to change. >> i find it fascinated. this is a nice kid, talks about his faith versus some of the bad dudes we see. and this is just a nice kid. a guy who has given -- >> we're talking purely football. i think he's great -- >> the senator from the state of colorado, we'll talk about him a lot, don't worry, donny. >> he could win florida today if he ran for president. jim, great to have you around. >> thank you, vandehei. >> thanks. great to be here. >> up next, must-read opinion pages. jon huntsman here later and also jeff bridges. big show. be right back. capital one's new cash rewards card

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welcome back to "morning joe." time now for must-read opinion pages. but first, i'm going to update you on a story we couldn't get at the top of the hour, which is on occupy wall street. supporters of the occupy wall street movement say they have new momentum this morning after a day of wide scale demonstrations, protesters marked the two-month anniversary of the movement with what they called a national day of action across several major cities. in new york, at least 300 people were arrested during several clashes between police and demonstrators. police commissioner ray kelly says five protesters were charged with felony assault. in all, 17 people were hurt, including seven police officers. new york city mayor michael bloomberg offered his take on the day's events. >> occupy wall street had predicted on their website that tens of thousands of people would be participating in today's protests. but there have been far fewer and so far they have caused i think what can accurately be described as minimal disruptions

to our city. >> bloomberg says he supports the protesters' first amendment rights but has no plans for them to rebuild their tent city in zuccotti park. and you write about it in today's "washington post," eugene robinson. out of zuccotti park into the streets, in midtown manhattan, famously jaded new yorkers were eager to talk about occupy wall street. button holding people at random. i also found a lot of agreement with the protesters, even if not everyone had the same idea about just what the protesters were saying. the occupiers of zuccotti park swear they aren't going anywhere and they'll get back into the park one way or another. but they've done something more important. they've gotten into people's heads. i think that's a good point. i mean, i always hate to see anybody get hurt and obviously the mayor's got a job to do, the

police have a job to do and this is friction we hope doesn't bubble up into more. but you're talking about the concept. >> you know, it's vague, it's all over the map, you can't just stay in a park with tents forever. that wasn't really a plan. what interests me about these protests is that they've kind of put this question of fairness and inequality on the agenda in a way it wasn't before. and it's kind of made everybody talk about it. it's made republicans talk about it, as well as democrats. it's -- and i think that's potentially significant as we go forward. no matter what happens to this protest. these were never large protests. that's another interesting thing. this is not like vietnam when you had 300,000 people in washington saying, you know, end the war and you had to pay attention. these are small groups of people around the country and around the world who are raising something that i think it's time to raise. >> gene, but it's interesting, a

poll, 2/3 americans are against it. as every day goes by and the message does not get articulated and there is not a face behind the message and it does not -- the concept does not get clarified, doesn't it lose its credibility where all of a sudden it now seems this -- to me when it first started i was like, yeah, go, now it seems like just purposeless. >> well, i think if you're talking about, you know, occupy wall street specifically, it's not really an organization. but at this -- i think i'm talking more about an atmospheric change. and i think it becomes more difficult, for example, as the campaign goes on after people are out of the parks, after they've kind of gone home or whatever. i think we'll still be talking about some of these issues and then someone will articulate it in a way that makes policy sense.

>> but there is no issue. we talk about occupy wall street. if they just said simply one conceptual thought. as opposed to just fairness in the -- we all believe there should be fairness. but somebody, and i believe they need a spokesperson. >> yes. >> get an ex-wall streeter, somebody to put some flesh and blood and credibility behind this thing. and if i was branding them and i was doing a campaign, i'd say let's go get a spokesperson. >> haleprin, i want to ask you about that because my 15-year-old asked, what is occupy wall street? at dinner last night. and it did not take long to give her an answer. it's clear what they're angry about. >> but you need a solution. >> why is it so hard to bring a name and face to this movement? >> they've chosen not to have that. >> even more i'm seeing people like elizabeth warren and other people in the political fray who have been truly criticized for having anything to do with their message. it almost seems like it's --

>> they've not handled their brand well as donny suggested. >> there is that. >> as eugene suggested, putting on the table of the lack of income equality in this country is fantastic. just as the tea party putting on the table the government's too big was fantastic. it's up to politicians and people who maybe now will run for congress inspired by this to come up with the solutions. and it's up to the democratic party with which they're more aligned to figure out can you sell to the public this notion that it is both immoral and unworkable to have all this wealth concentrated in the hands of a few people. >> didn't tea partiers, didn't the tea party launch some political careers and bring some people into washington for better or for worse. >> and there's no sign they're doing that. >> exactly. that i think could be the key. >> if you want to be more specific, they're talking about the rigged game that is in washington, which is that our politicians serve the interests of wealthy people who give them money, of lobbyists of give them money and people who have

resources that most of us do not have to influence what happens in this country. >> you know, let's give it a little more time than two months and see if it does turn into something more like the tea party which, after all, is decentralized. but you know, suddenly people said, yeah, i'm part of the tea party over here and over there and they did run for congress. >> i think warren buffett should show up one day, a guy who talks about fairness. wouldn't that be fascinating? if buffett showed up at one of these movements and said, look, i'm obviously a capitalist and stand for everything that's great about capitalism, but i stand for fairness. can you imagine the credibility? mr. buffett, put your money where your mouth is, get on a plane, i think jetblue flies in from omaha. but somebody like that. and i would love to see that. >> he's commented on occupy wall street. and i was trying to get a sense of what his thoughts on the

message. >> or mama mia. >> no, you come to new york, you see "cats," get the cd. >> mama mia is better than cats. >> i've seen it four times. >> you have not. >> i promise. i swear -- >> i took my daughters. >> they stand up say, not you again. my daughter loves the show. and i'm very secure in saying that. say what you want out there, i don't know what it says about me. >> you're '80s. >> no. >> a lot of issues. >> and yet you're pushing "cats" on mr. buffett. >> i think it's a great city. and "cats --" >> hey, donny, i know a few other places they say that, as well, but we won't mention them. >> what? >> we'll be right back with willie's week in review.

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yeah, so last week we had a surprise party for our dear friend, lizzy. surprise! surprise! surprise! surprise! [ woman ] happy birthday! [ male announcer ] some parties need a bowl of queso. made from creamy velveeta and zesty rotel tomatoes and green chiles. it makes any get-together better.

is it time? >> it is time. >> we have one quick bullet point for donny deutsch, "cats" has been done since 2007. >> you can still experience because "cats" lives on. >> in three, two -- >> in the meantime, let's look at the top three stories of the week.

>> they came in dukes of hazard like dale jr. >> at number three. this guy. >> when he hooked up and shot four, that's when he came in -- >> carter johnson gave a local news station his iwitness account of the end of a high-speed police pursuit. >> he came in dukes of hazard, digging like dale jr. >> his dukes of hazard delivered in a coon skin cap made him an internet hero. there were calls for him to run for president. perhaps on a ticket with history's most famous eyewitness. >> hide your husbands, hide your wives, because they raping everybody out here. >> at number two -- secretary of state hillary clinton was posing for a photo-op in hawaii when a nearly nude dude sprinted past

carrying a blazing tiki torch. >> hope y'all captured that. >> with that reaction to the man who said he was merely doing his daily job of hustling around the hotel grounds lighting tiki torches, hillary clinton cemented her title of best laugh in national politics. >> senator clinton, what would your husband do -- >> and the number one story of the week -- less than a week after rick perry paused for station identification. >> i would do away with the education, the -- commerce -- and let's see, i can't. the third one, i can't. >> herman cain decided this week he wanted in on that action.

cain wondered afterward why all the fuss about his silent meditation on a question about libya. >> i don't understand why that pause created so much "controversy." i paused to gather my thoughts. >> reporter: with his numbers dipping and newt gingrich rising, cain tried to change the subject. going back to old reliable. >> you don't have a thorough understanding of foreign policy. >> 9-9-9. >> cain's crash and burn performance this week -- >> okay, libya -- >> is best characterized, perhaps, by a young man in a coon-skinned cap. >> he came in dukes of hazard digging in like dale jr. >> that applies to herman cain too. >> that's one of your best. great, willie. >> we're all joined together. >> donny, do you hear what i'm hearing as we go to break?

>> what's that? >> "memories" from cats, which, again, has been off broadway for 11 years. >> but it's been in our hearts. >> it stays with you. >> take this in. >> as we go to break, listen in joy we'll be right back with carl bernstein and mike barnicle. luck? i don't trade on luck. i trade on fundamentals. analysis. information. i trade on tradearchitect. this is web-based trading, re-visualized. streaming, real-time quotes. earnings analysis. probability analysis: that's what opportunity looks like. it's all visual. intuitive. and it's available free, wherever the web is. this is how trade strategies are built. tradearchitect. only from td ameritrade. welcome to better trade commission free for 60 days when you open an account. ♪ and just let me be

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he's not being given enough time as the other candidates during the republican televised debates. so today ron paul and his campaign machine, and buddy, what a machine this is. released a statement. >> in the last gop debate, ron paul was given a mere 89 seconds of air time. to ensure he's given equal time in the future, congressman paul will only debate while strapped to mitt romney in a swedish baby carrier. >> to veto every single bill that violates the tenth amendment, that would be the solution. >> ron paul, restore america now. >> that's pretty funny. top of the hour, welcome back to "morning joe." still with us onset, eugene robinson and donny deutsch joining the table. final showing up for work msnbc contributor mike barnicle. >> sorry. >> and also best-selling author carl bernstein. we'll have an update on the

situation at penn state. next hour, we have jon huntsman joining us. we'll start, though, with the latest national polls by the pew research center showing mitt romney and herman cain in a dead heat with 23% and 22% support. they're followed by the surging newt gingrich with 16%. ron paul and rick perry are both tied for fourth with 8% support each. anyone surprised by newt gingrich surging? >> well, of course not for two reasons. he's done well in debates and nowhere else to go at this point. >> i think it has to do with the field. and that this is a really undistinguished field in a great way and somebody with name recognition and a history like gingrich and credentials with the so-called republican base is going to come up with numbers, and now he's got to go past his record as a serial hypocrite. and whether he can do that, he might well be able to. we'll see in the primaries. >> right. we've been sort of picking apart the pieces of his history this

morning. because there are new reports out, "politico" this morning is offering new insight into the time line of his consulting job with freddie mac. according to the site, his $30,000 a month payments continued until september of 2008. that's pretty good fee, $30,000 a month. >> well, the real thing is the way the republicans went after the democrats on this same question. we've got a big problem in washington that he is a poster boy for. and there are democrats in the same ball game, which is just revolving door, which has produced a political oligarchy that we live in. we now have a political oligarchy in this country. >> carl's absolutely right. >> okay. well, then, the problem with the timing of this for gingrich is that the payments stopped when the federal government was forced to take over the lending giant during the housing crisis.

the timing is worth noting considering what newt gingrich said in september 2008 just about the same time about then presidential candidate barack obama receiving contributions from fannie and freddie. >> oh. >> i think senator mccain should've turned and said senator obama, are you prepared to give back all the money that freddie mac and fannie mae gave to you? are you prepared to fire your housing adviser who was paid $90 million over six years while helping ruin fannie mae? are you prepared to fire your adviser who was the former head of fannie mae, mr. johnson? are you prepared to disassociate yourself from chris dodd who was the highest recipient of money from fannie mae and who as you know was getting a below market loan from countrywide before they went broke. >> how does this happen? mike barnicle, please explain. >> well, as he was speaking in september of 2008, he had just cashed, clearly according to

"politico," his last check for $30,000 a month. as he was speaking he was cashing that check. and in light of his comments after that period of time when he indicated that barney frank and chris dodd both ought to be arrested for their relationship with fannie mae and freddie mac, then clearly the former speaker if he were to hue the straight line and stop being a hypocrite, he would today place himself under house arrest for a series of gross -- >> that was a cry for help in other words. please come arrest me, take me to jail. >> he's so badly in need of an intervention for someone to sit there -- >> gene, you guys have covered politicians for a long time. i know you're not psychologists. a guy like that who obviously understands he's an historian so he knows his own personal history -- >> does he not think it's going to come out? is he delusional? does he think he has an answer? when these absurd things we know

that are game-enders, what is the psychology? >> before we get to these guys who are experts on everything that's happened on capitol hill, i would tell you at a local level covering politics in and around massachusetts, it is stunning the number of people in public life when they're there for a long period of time think they are invisible. >> yeah. >> think they can do anything and say anything and -- >> does he not think -- >> well, i don't -- >> i'm curious in psychology. >> i think newt gingrich has acted so visibly that he has put forth this persona that clearly believes he can do anything. >> i'm just saying if i said to you a week before, newt, you've got this thing, let's put dodd in jail -- what would his response be? >> that doesn't matter. that's not -- he -- >> just so i can show up. >> it's common to politicians at that level, but newt has a particularly bad case of it.

i'm sorry, and he's -- he does think he's above it all and that he can do it and, you know, go left and then say, no, i went right and nobody will notice. >> let's look at the playing field and the rules of the game. this has become part of accepted political process. you say one thing, you do another. you get caught doing this, you come back, you go on the air, you say -- okay, i'm not going to do it again. newt gingrich said the other day, well, i guess we're going to have to look at a different way of doing things. >> this is basically, unless anybody here disagrees brazen arrogance. and making fun of the american people, basically mocking everything this country stands for and everything that pisses people off about this country. not only the arrogance, but the hypocrisy of that power, taking advantage of that power. so again, i are e pete, he's taking money at $30,000 a month at the very least, we're hearing

huge numbers. i want to replay the bit september 2008 talking about barack obama receiving contributions from fannie and freddie. replay it, alex. this is what newt gingrich said. >> i think senator mccain should've turned and said, senator obama, are you prepared to give back all the money that freddie mac and fannie mae gave to you? are you prepared to fire your housing adviser who was paid $90 billion over six years while helping ruin fannie mae? are you prepared to fire your adviser who was the former head of fannie mae, mr. johnson? are you prepared to disassociate yourself from chris dodd who was the highest recipient of money from fannie mae and who, as you know, was also getting a below-market loan from countrywide when they went broke. >> i'm going to play him last night defending himself. but first, let's go to the bloomberg debate and him talking about barney frank.

>> i think it's perfectly reasonable to be angry, but the fix was put in by the federal government. and if you want to put people in jail, i want to second what michelle said, you ought to start with barney frank and chris dodd and look at the politicians who created the environment, the politicians who profited from the environment, and the politicians who put this country in trouble. >> clearly not saying they aurgt ought to go to jail. >> well, look at he was close to freddie mac. all i'm saying is -- everybody in the media who wants to go after the business community ought to start by going after the politicians. >> this is pathological. >> last night he went to a safe place to defend himself. here he is on fox. >> my interest in housing and my interest in helping relatively poor americans is very real and goes back a long way.

i do no lobbying of any kind. i never have. that's an important point i want to make. i have never done lobbying of any kind. >> you know -- >> let me give you a great analogy, newt gingrich is kim kardashian. the american public will put up with flaws. they'll put up with a sex tape from her, with herman cain's nonsense, you can't mock your audience. kim kardashian's advertisers are jumping ship, her viewers are turned on her because you mocked me and this is what he's doing right now. he's the kim kardashian of american politics. >> i wish what donny is saying is true. he might not win and won't win the presidency, but he is getting away with mocking us. he is up on that field and being treated as a serious candidate by media and he shouldn't be. let's go back to the clinton -- talk about it being a serial hypocrite, let's go back to the clinton impeachment and what was

going on in newt gingrich's life at the same time he was trying to have the president of the united states impeached. this is really something that we live with every day, and it's not just newt gingrich. and we're partly at fault because we give these guys and women too, a pass when we put them on the air and we don't go straight to this stuff on off days before we get to this point. >> look at a couple of other things he says. he has said in the past few days, you know, $30,000 a month, that's a fairly standard fee for a former speaker of the house. >> historian. >> fairly reasonable. nothing unusual about that. and he's also said i've never done any lobbying as we heard in the clip. which, you know, that's ridiculous. the first is true, the second is completely false. most of the lobbyists in washington are not registered lobbyists. most of the people who do what we would consider lobbying, they are lawyers.

they are former members of congress, high-ranking bureaucrats who get paid essentially for the access they can provide for the knowledge they have. >> right. do you know that there's a group, a health care think tank that newt founded that would offer a service called access to newt gingrich and "direct newt interaction." i mean, seriously. >> you better use protection if you -- >> let me read the story because that's the funny part. "the post" is reporting this health care think tank that gingrich founded collected at least $37 million since 2003 from major health care companies and industry groups. promotional materials for the group called center for health transformation offered some insurers a biggest funders were eligible to receive discounts on workshops from other gingrich groups. gingrich left the think tank earlier this year to run for president. the post asked the campaign for

comment and they referred them to the think tank which said neither the center nor gingrich has engaged in any formal lobbying. but aside from the lobbying questions of particular importance to the campaign may be the positions this center advocated during gingrich's time there. pushed for some policies that are central features of president obama's health care reform law. and are opposed by most conservatives. >> and everything that gingrich did -- everything that gingrich railed against when he was in the house. he went the other way when he got paid to go the other way. >> it's about the money. >> it's about serial hypocrisy. >> when you listen to him repeatedly in all of these different clips, it's an interesting study into human nature. and only a psychologist could figure. it's a blend of arrogance, narcissism, ego, low self-esteem

because he's always parroting how he's the smartest person in the room and loves it when people say he's a history professor. he's really knowledgeable on the function of government as a historian. and at the bottom line, at the end of the day, you take all of those attributes and put them together and you have a clown show. that's what he's become. a clown show. and i would submit one of our guests later on, jon huntsman, has suffered as a result of our focus on gingrich and herman cain and people like that. >> that's the point. mika talked about he had a safe place on fox. these candidates who are clowns have a safe place on television. print press what remains of it does a pretty good job of bringing us up to date on the context of what they've done in their lives. they know they can go on to television, do the circuit in the morning, do the circuit in the evening. and what they then put up there is what we see on the air and

they keep going back. >> carl -- >> i welcome debates. >> i have more faith in the american public. and i'm going to say this about the polls. when people say 22% for herman cain, that means they want the show to continue. i think they know these people are clowns. but it's a good show. and i think in this media age we have to distinguish when they're voting for someone, are they voting them to elect them or wanting the reality show to continue. >> i'd say we're looking at a reality show about a broken company because our political system is not working. and the idea these are our candidates in one of the two major parties and that this goes on and in the other party sometimes too that we can't have an election with a field of great candidates. ask mike. he's seen this for -- >> i would love to hear from candidates on both sides. >> have you been surprised at the numbers the debates have drawn? >> "jersey shore" very similar.

5 million viewers. >> jersey shore. >> before we go to break, mike, you mock very often about my style. when the cameras stop rolling you say, hey, where did you get that tie? >> i did. >> you did, and here is one of those monochromatic ties. >> he just buys people. >> i'm a nice -- how about i like giving. >> how did you know? >> oh, look -- >> it goes with your shirt. >> guys and dolls. >> i've got to bring it back -- >> you could be on "cats." >> now the people say objectification of women, i'm a giver. >> what just happened? carl? >> don't ask me. >> bromance. >> i just talk about people from washington.

>> what's going on? >> can we do the next segment? >> carl, by the way, while you're in town, "cats." got to see it. coming up on "morning joe," oscar winner jeff bridges will be here in the studio. also this morning, republican presidential candidate jon huntsman. and just ahead we'll talk to the washington bureau chief about the president's trip to asia and the u.s. strategy to counter a rising china. but first, bill karins with a check on the forecast. >> what people really don't know is barnicle probably would've preferred the high-heeled shoes like you got. so -- sorry, mikey. with love from a distance. let's give you your forecast for the weekend. windchills up on the eastern sea board, this is going to be short-lived. we're going to warm up nicely through the weekend. we have a little bit of snow to talk about over the weekend. if you love skiing in jackson hole, wyoming, you're going to get some fresh powder over the next 24 hours. a little bit of snow through

south dakota and minnesota. minneapolis not a lot for you, little more to your north. looking at friday's headlines, chilly air in the east half of the country. we're warming it up in the middle of the country and the eastern sea board. there's no huge storms out there. but the west coast won't will too enjoyable. areas outside could see some snow flakes as we go through the weekend. 39 in seattle on saturday and sunday. we're not holding on to the cold air, at least not yet, east coast back up in the 50s and 60s on sunday. if you have plans in kentucky and tennessee, those are the wet spots. you're watching "morning joe" brewed by starbucks. nouncer ] just how many appliances

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with most of the world's nuclear power and some half of a humanity, asia will largely define whether the century ahead

will be marked by conflict or cooperation. needless suffering or human progress. as president, i have therefore made a deliberate and strategic decision. as a pacific nation, the united states will play a larger and long-term role in shaping this region and its future. >> welcome back to "morning joe." 22 past the hour, joining us now, the washington bureau chief for the "financial times," richard mcgregor, good day to have you on. the president making different moves abroad. some on jobs. the decision to send marines to australia. china's had a somewhat negative reaction to that. can you explain the decision and explain why china might be having a slight problem with this. what friction is being created here? >> think of the grand strategic narrative of our time, which is the rise of china and the decline, let's face it, relatively speaking of the u.s. and it's part of that.

china has been much more aggressive, much more powerful, much richer these days, much more aggressive in asia than it has been for 30, 40 years. and this is in response to that. it's an area that the u.s. can be active in, the people want the u.s. involved in. if you look at europe, for example, the u.s. is almost like a bystander in the present crisis. there's not much they can do. look at president obama in asia, he's putting troops in australia, making overtures to burma, attending the east asia summit for the first time as a u.s. president. it's exciting, it's dynamic. the u.s. is more involved than it's been for a decade. and that's -- and it's all about pushing back against china. >> i should mention you were also the financial times bureau chief in china, which gives you great insight into this. mike barnicle? >> we talk about china here and we've talked about china yesterday with richard haas from

the foreign relations committee. and yet there's a clear void when you watch some of the political debates in this country of people running for president to address this huge issue of china in that whole region of the world. so my question to you is we tend to focus so little on china, how much do they focus on us? >> well, i think the u.s. relationship was the most important foreign relationship for china. it's one that they in terms of foreign policy terms they're constantly thinking about. and i think they like an equal librium, right. the reason that china has been able to grow so strongly is because of a peaceful international order. and that's been underwritten by the united states. let me give you an example. the korean civil war's not over. japan and china have all sorts of tensions. that's kept in the bottle by the u.s. military in asia. look 10, 20 years down the track, china won't want the u.s. protecting the sea lanes around china anymore.

china won't want u.s. troops in japan, korea, australia, the philippin philippines, perhaps vietnam. so, you know, this is the start of a long, unfaulting long-term drama and competition between u.s. and china in asia. it's very exciting and, you know, holds great dangers, as well. >> is there a level of paranoia within the government and beijing toward the united states? if so, what does it have to do with? >> well, there's a level of paranoia in china. once again foreigners, westerners are trying to contain china, lock china in. look from a chinese perspective. as u.s. troops in korea, japan, vietnam of all countries is inviting the u.s. back in because they want to hedge against china. the philippines, which threw u.s. troops out about 10, 15 years ago also wants the u.s. back. you're actually going to have boots on the ground in australia, this is a western country inviting the u.s. in,

soliciting the american military. and it's a completely different dynamic from the rest of the world. and of course, the chinese see all this and they think, you know, my god this is going back to the old times. >> am ill right, though, at the same time the last time chinese boots were on the ground was korea. that they really have not sent troops in the last 50 years. >> they invaded vietnam. to teach the vietnamese a lesson. >> exactly. and, you know, again, that's an awful long time ago. >> yeah, yeah. that's right. the last big war that china fought was besides vietnam was korea. >> right. >> and that was essentially against the united states. >> your book, the party came out when? >> last year. >> last year. >> which doesn't make it any less relevant. >> no, it sounds incredibly relevant to the conversation today. especially as people are trying to understand our relationship with china. i think they misunderstand it to

an extent. can you explain and give us the premise of the book? >> well, the premise of the book is basically if the communist party still runs china and essentially using soviet hardware, and you forget when you go to china because it's dazzling. >> it's amazing. >> it doesn't tell you anything about the political system. what's fascinating now is that for the first time in 20 years next year, the u.s. election cycle and the chinese selection cycle are going to be alive for the first time in two decades. that'll be choosing a new leadership at the same time as america's electing a new president. and that makes both political systems, you know, stand back on their hind feet, look for a fence. they have to be more willing to lash out than they would otherwise. we see this in a presidential election year in the u.s. but china has domestic politics too. and this is a time if you prod china, people there can push back, as well. >> one of the biggest questions in american foreign policy for many years is how do we get

leverage over china to get the chinese to do the things we need them to do. economics, diplomacy, et cetera. where does president obama come out of this trip with more leverage? or does he? >> well, i think the fascinating thing about this trip is putting it at a presidential level, hillary clinton had already started this process is that the u.s. is more welcome in asia than it has been for years. essentially because of china, because they all want to hedge against china. and that gives you some leverage. in terms of, you know, how does the u.s. get china to do what it wants, that's very difficult. even when china was much less poor, much weaker, held less u.s. debt, they didn't bend over because in the chinese political system if you sort of fall at your feet in front of the americans, you're going to be booted out. >> given the fact that you literally have billions of people in this country, many of them living in rural areas, many of them poor, many of them with increasing access to the internet and things like that,

what's the potential, or if there is a potential for unrest within china? social unrest within china. people wanting more and saying let's go occupy the great wall? >> well, yeah, they occupied tiananmen square and that didn't work out too well. anywhere you go in china every day you'll see a protest, but they're kind of smart about how they handle it. they don't beat people and lock them all in jail. what they make sure doesn't happen is that one protest doesn't link up with the one around the corner. so they're all essentially isolated local incidents. >> and they've pulled the plug on the internet. they're the most draconian policies on use of the internet than any other major country in the world. lots of press organizations are trying to do something about it with little success. >> yeah, i mean -- they've got

400 million registered users. everybody's on the net, but when they want to shut it down, they can. for example, when there were riots two years ago, they took the internet offline for about five months. >> it's become a basic tool of policy, the use and abuse of the internet by the government. >> your book is called "the party," people ought to revisit it if they haven't seen it. actor jeff bridges joins us to talk about his efforts to stamp out childhood hunger. "morning joe" is back in a moment. great prices. i just wish you could guarantee me they won't be beat. oh, actually... then i'd be like, you rule! and my kids would be like, you rule! i'd be like, yes, i do rule! ohh! that rules! oh, load up the sleigh; this is going to be a great christmas. yeah. ring dinga-ding, ring dinga-ding, ring, ring, ring me up. [ male announcer ] no need to wait with our christmas price guarantee.

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there's some new details in the penn state child sex abuse scandal. officials at the second mile, jerry sandusky's children charity discovered several years of documents gone missing. "the times" is reporting that investigators are concerned those missing files may limit their ability to determine whether or not he used charity funds to recruit new victims. also at the center of the scandal, then graduate assistant mike mcqueary who witnessed he said sandusky allegedly sexually assaulting a young boy in 2002. he claims he went to police after seeing the incident, but police have disputed that claim this week. now it's been revealed mcqueary joined sandusky at an easter seals charity flag football game

just weeks after the reported incident. three months later mcqueary showed up to support sandusky's annual charity golf tournament. yesterday mcqueary spoke briefly with nbc news. >> i'm not going to go into detail about anything, but you know, i think it's obvious i tried to do the right thing. >> carl, you've been watching this closely. you've been talking about it for a couple of weeks. what are your thoughts? >> how similar this is to other things going at the same time. last thursday, i read the grand jury report at penn state. i read nixon's testimony before the grand jury. about 40 years ago, and i watched james murdoch testify before parliamentary committee and i was struck by the similar line between all three about people who will do anything for their own ends, their own institutional goals, with victims of all kinds, whether it's criminal, whether it is about undermining the

constitution of a country that all perspective is lost in the cover-up of these terrible, terrible things. by murdoch, by nixon, by the people at penn state. it is something that obviously is part of the human story. but when it gets to big casino like we've seen in these three instances where institutions that affect whole countries, whole states, and the lives of young people and the people we trust with leadership, the murdochs, the nixons, the people at penn state -- >> well, in this case the people that we trust with our children. >> well, exactly, but it's all of a piece. you hear in the nixon tapes, you never hear him say i want to do what's right for the country. just as at penn state, you never hear anybody in the grand jury reports saying i want to do what's right -- for the victims.

>> and different levels at different places. but in this case, willie, there are now more victims, which was inevitable. >> yeah. >> coming forward. and if someone's allowed to run free, a pedophile is allowed to run free, there will be many more. >> interesting to listen this week, these brief interview that mcqueary has given because he's come under a lot of heat for what he did and did not do. we don't know what he did. >> mcqueary, we had a small part of a grand jury report in there, and there are some indications that mcqueary -- look, we wouldn't have known anything. but we've got to find out more. mcqueary's not the guy with real power. the former president, he was at the top of the institution, paterno was at the top of the program, and that's what we didn't have, and that's what we deserve. >> all right. we'll be right back with jeff bridges. keep it right here on "morning joe." ♪

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there it is. awesome. that's so cool! yeah, that was awesome! [ cheering ] i wanna see that again. ♪ congress released a new spending bill last night that changes president obama's plans to make school lunches healthier. the new bill keeps french fries on the menu at school, it delays a requirement to boost whole grains, and it calls the tomato paste on pizzas a vegetable. >> so the one thing that you've all been able to sit down and agree upon is that pizza is a vegetable. clearly you are in the pocket of

big hot pocket. by the way, who even asked you to do that? >> the changes were requested by food companies that make frozen pizzas and by potato growers. >> ah, it's not democracy, it's digiorno. >> yeah, fantastic. if it wasn't so absolutely embarrassing, it would be funny. here with us now, academy award winning actor jeff bridges and bill shore, an organization with its no kid hungry campaign is seeking to stamp out childhood hunger in the u.s. by 2015. the organization, bill, is about a year old now. how is it going? >> well, it's about 25 years old, but the no kid hungry campaign. >> campaign. >> we launched a year ago. and i think being on this show, actually, and the other things jeff bridges did brought so much visibility do this that we made enormous progress. the most important thing to realize, of course, the kids are

suffering at a level in this country that's unprecedented with 46 million americans living below the poverty line and so many kids -- >> 1 in 5 kids. >> we've seen enormous progress. and a lot of bipartisan support. >> as sort of the front man of this, what have you seen, what have you learned, and what have you been able to do so far? has it been harder than you expected? >> yes. but, you know, i've been doing this for quite a while. i've done a bit of lobbying in d.c. usually when you get into the politics of this, it can get, you know, very complex. >> really? >> poverty is, you know, complex issue. but feeding a kid, everyone can agree on that. and rather than trying to raise more funds or change our programs, we're trying to get access to the kids who are eligible for these programs to have access. and that seems to be a huge problem. >> and that's putting in school, correct? >> well, you know, several things.

one of the things we've seen -- you talk about the progress. we had arkansas and colorado who are one of our 18 states that are on the no kid hungry campaign with us. they've nearly doubled the number of sites this summer where kids could get free summer meals, kids who were in need. and summer was -- that's a huge time for kids who are, you know, struggling with hunger because school, that's where most of these kids really get their nutrition when school's out, so is the food. that was a big step. >> do you think it's important to point out to people watching and people who are interested in this program that when we say food for kids, it's not that they go without food, any food at all, it's just that you can see them at bus stops at 7:00 in the morning, too many kids eating a milky way and an orange soda for breakfast rather than, you know, a good meal. >> right. and there's an opportunity through the schools to do programs that are so much more healthy for kids.

the amazing thing about this and the opportunity here is 20 million kids in this country get a free school lunch because of their income. all 20 million are eligible for a free school breakfast, only 9 million get it. only 3 million get it in the summertime because of the logistical issues. if you think of hunger and obesity and nutrition as opposite sides of the same coin. kids with school breakfast eat healthier, they tend not to, then, go to the seven-eleven and drink a supersized drink and chips and so forth. >> look at that number, 12.5 million children are obese. which is part of the problem, as well. and when you are trying to figure out how to get the food to these children, how difficult is it to try and navigate the system to make sure the food is healthy? >> well, there's -- that's a big part of it. share of strength is an organization that has chefs, and many are going into the school

districts taking over the operations to upgrade the quality of that. >> need that. >> there's so many kids not getting anything at all, they're resorting to what mike was talking about, buying high calorie, inexpensive food. these programs are key. and the other amazing part of it, they're authorized and appropriated. these are entitlement programs, but not the programs that drive our debt. they're small compared to social security and other things. so we have the money to do it. >> when you go out there, jeff, let's say you go up to washington. i mean this as a serious question, who is against giving children good food for lunch? i mean that. you laugh at the jon stewart clip. but are there people who say, no, no, we're sticking with the frozen pizza. i'm backed by the pizza industry. who's against this? >> well, what's so wonderful, i think, about the no kid hungry campaign is that it's a go around for the political thing. because hunger is so connected with poverty. and as i was saying, poverty,

when you start to deal with that, everybody has different opinions. but you're right. when you're talking about feeding kids, how can you -- what's -- it's a no-brainer. so it's exciting to see this progress, and people are responding well to the campaign. another thing i learned just recently was that governor martin o'malley of maryland was, you know, very instrumental in helping create a wonderful program called breakfast first. where part of the problem about this -- about the kids getting access to these problems is the stigma to being poor. and we were all kids. you know how kids can be pretty vicious and tease each other. and the kid would maybe not enroll in these programs just because he doesn't want to be identified as that, you know as that poor kid. so governor o'malley help create

this program where all the kids eat breakfast first thing they come to school. you don't go to the -- you're not identified as the kid who has got to go to the cafeteria because he can't afford -- >> good idea. >> you know, i -- you just can't help but to go toward washington with this and the story about pizza being deemed a vegetable and the food industry obviously having power over the situation here. because i clearly think it was republicans in congress fighting with the obama administration over proposal to make school lunches healthier. with all that you guys are doing, and i'm not saying it's easy work, but you're getting something done. this must seem ludicrous to you. >> well, i think it relates to the real issue here, and your question, as well, why is this so hard to do if we have the need and the resources, why aren't they connected? they're not only vulnerable, they don't make contributions, they don't have lobbyists, so the battle is so one-sided.

if you have an industry effort to, you know, restrict certain kinds of foods to the cafeteria, there's almost nobody fighting it on the other side. what we've been able to do, i think what jeff's visibility and commitment and just long-time activism on this issue has been able to do is to convince gov n governors and others there's an opportunity here to do something good that's not going to cost anything but get it on the radar screen. >> it's long-term. talking about the kid eating the milky way in the morning, that is setting the stage for a life that is going to be riddled with health care problems, potentially obesity, they develop a taste for the wrong foods, and then it becomes a downhill spiral from there. and then our health care system is impacted. it all starts literally with these children and the obesity problem that they face. and nobody seems to have the guts to face this down and really deal with it. the food industry clearly has way too much power. these companies lobbying congress, coca-cola's one of

them. that's interesting, i don't want my kids drinking coca-cola every day and pepsi and soda pop, and guess what? most kids do, and guess why show many children are obese. because they're drinking that. >> there was a report from the center for american progress th center of american progress that says the costs of hunger and particularly nutrition and obesity will cost american society $167 billion a year. >> that is correct. yeah. >> before the next joint session of congress jeff should go stand behind the podium and say, the dude abides. >> how can you say no to the dude? >> nobody does. >> thanks for being on the show. good luck with everything. coming up we'll be talking to republican presidential candidate jon huntsman. he'll join us here onset. up next regis says good-bye to letterman and attempts to ride off into the sunset. oh, gosh. >> oh, well. >> that's next on "morning joe."

is this a chevy volt? [ stu ] yeah. it's electric. i don't think so. it's got a gas tank right here. electric tank, right over here. an electric tank? really, stu? is that what you pour the electricity in? it's actually both, guys. i can plug in and go 35 miles gas free, or i can fill up and go a whole lot farther. is that my burger? oh. i just got bun. i didn't even bite any burger.

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the strength of a global financial leader. the heart of a one-to-one relationship. together for your future. ♪ together for your future. what are these guys doing? [ horn honks ] could you please not honk while this guy's telling me about his chevy volt? is that that new... is that the electric car? yeah. but it takes gas too. ask him how much he spends on gas. how much does he spend on gas? how much do you spend on gas? how much do i spend on gas? if i charge regularly, i fill up like once a month. he only has to fill up about once a month. [ woman ] wow. that's amazing.

it's kind of a sad day in television today. >> it's really -- >> the great regis.

his last day on "regis and kelly today". >> a great guy. >> a great person. so we showed you yesterday david letterman laying a kiss on regis. >> oh. >> a couple days ago on regis's show. he came on the show. got up early and went to say good-bye. last night regis returned the favor, came on dave's show. let's see how that went. >> right. >> what is it about you that people are drawn toward? >> excuse me. why are you drawn to me? >> look at him. he's closing in on me. and then suddenly, it was this! thank you very much! what are we talking about here? right on the lips! on the lips! wait a minute. you haven't heard what happened. kelly ripa said this out loud because she said, did i see a tongue? >> well look at this. cover of "newsweek" magazine, ladies and gentlemen, with his buddy jerry seinfeld.

>> i love you more than i love jerry. >> are you getting ready to kissingery? >> no i'm not. i'll never kissingery. i'm not going to kissingery. >> if i can get you to kiss seinfeld that's it. >> later regis gave him a going away gift. i think they may be -- >> oh, no. >> have you taken a couple test shots at this? >> no. i'm natural athlete. >> have you ever ridden one of these before? >> no. >> all right. be very careful. regis, are you ready, my friend? >> i'm on it. i'm ready to go. first time ever. >> for the love of god, be careful. thank you. god speed. regis -- there he goes. >> i made it! thank you for my birthday present! >> oh, my. >> it's all right. >> we've got one show left and we kill him. >> it's all right. >> just sick about this whole mess.

>> oh, my gosh. >> really? >> good night everybody. >> get your hand off my [ bleep ]. there we go. >> two of the greats. letterman and regis. >> with the helmet on. it's good. we haven't seen the last of regis. he'll be back. hope he has a good show today. he'll be missed. coming up next jon huntsman bets big on the state of new hampshire. we'll ask the president about his fight for the republican nomination. also, the meaning of marriage with best selling author and friend tim keller. and newt gingrich feeling the heat over his consulting job with freddie mac. more "morning joe" straight ahead. act my age?

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sound out. bachmann, perry, cain. perhaps ron paul will now get his shot as the media front runner. >> ron paul has no chance of being elected. >> well his poll numbers have been consistent not mercurial. >> he's got no chance. >> you're giving everyone else a chance. for god's sake. a woman who never entered the race, sarah palin, got more heat from the media. >> if you get video of sarah palin or a sound bite bring that back to us. you can hold the ron paul stuff.

>> the thought of covering him amuses me. >> good morning. it's 8:00 on the east coast as you take a live look at new york city. welcome back to "morning joe on this friday morning. back with us onset along with willie geist, mark halperin, donny deutsch, and eugene robinson. let's start with these polls. we have a lot of newt gingrich ne news. i think the word hypocrisy plays perfectly to share with everybody. maybe you can explain it. maybe i'm skewed. we'll get there but i want to talk about ron paul. let's look at these numbers. a new national poll by the pew research center showing mitt romney and herman cain in a dead heat with 23% and 22% support. we'll talk about herman cain as well and the interview he canceled. they're followed by the surging newt gingrich with 16%. ron paul and rick perry are both tied for fourth with 8% support each. let's look at iowa, which i

think we're about 50 days away. a new iowa state university poll shows herman cain leading the pack with 24.5% and ron paul coming in second at 20.4%. mitt romney, rick perry, round out the top four with 16.3%. and 7.9% respectively. ron paul's success in iowa in this poll coupled with a strong standing in the latest bloomberg news poll has analysts taking note. iowa state university political science professor dave peterson said, quote, this. he's more of a front runner than i think he gets credit for. i think he probably under polls, given what we know about polling his supporters are younger. his supporters are more likely to reply on a cell phone. he's probably going to perform better than his polling suggests. mark halperin, do you agree? >> well, in terms of if it were a primary, probably. remember these are caucuses and so the young people who don't have land lines and haven't been involved in politics before, still have to turn out for the caucuses, which is a more complicated process than just voting in a primary.

the biggest question in a republican presidential politics right now is what will mitt romney do about iowa? >> right. >> if he loses iowa to ron paul, i think he is perfectly fine. if he loses it to someone else he's not. right now the question is, is someone else like a rick perry or newt gingrich deciding they want to take on ron paul to try to stop him from winning iowa? today he could win iowa without question. >> fair to say when you look at these numbers and other polls that you can see newt gingrich is doing quite well moving forward in numbers. >> a snap shot of right now in the last few weeks he has. the scrutiny, though, is starting, and it's limitless. every candidate who comes into the presidential race -- >> there are things you can look at and say this is going to be a question, this is another question. every reporter in america with a thousand monkeys and a thousand key boards can start writing stories about newt gingrich just base on what we already know. it would go -- and he will say anything. he makes herman cain look like

willie geist. >> what? >> i really don't want to go there. >> he has said everything in the course of his career, taken every position on every issue. you can always -- >> you guys, i'm sorry. >> is that what they have on those platters? >> i'd love to know what both of you guys think about -- i have a theory that these polls are more meaningless than any polls in the history of elections. because it's basically, do you want the show to go on? okay. i know it was this guy now it's this guy. i don't -- you get a sense that there is almost no legitimacy, they don't mean anything. i'm tired of this guy. bring the next guy up. i'm interested to see how this translates to real votes. >> let's talk about the platter because he is surging in the polls and we're 50 days away from iowa, worth looking into.

politico is offering new insight on the timeline of newt gingrich's consulting job with freddie mac. according to the site, his $30,000 a month payments continued up until september of 2008. they stopped when the federal government was forced to take over the lending giant during the housing crisis. now, the time is worth noting considering what the former speaker of the house said in september of 2008 about then presidential candidate barack obama receiving contributions from fannie and freddie. take a listen. >> i think senator mccain should have turned and said, senator obama, are you prepared to give back all of the money that freddie mac and fannie mae gave to you? are you prepared to fire your housing adviser who was paid $90 million over six years while helping ruin fannie mae? are you prepared to fire your adviser the former head of fannie mae mr. johnson?

are you prepared to disassociate yourself from chris dodd who was the highest recipient of money from fannie mae and asou know was also getting a below market loan from countrywide before they went broke? >> hypocrisy doesn't do it. >> he has said everything. this is breathtaking. >> i'll say one thing. by the normal standards, gingrich couldn't possibly win because he said everything about everything. but in this cycle we've seen there have been many times herman cain, a million other examples where the elites just don't get quite where the voters are. i don't know that gingrich has a good chance in the end to sustain. in the short term all these stories deflate him. >> is he just the latest in the wagon wheel of candidates who circle up to mitt romney and then cycle out? you say herman cain was not viewed well by the elites. he is starting to fall himself. why is newt gingrich different? >> i don't think gingrich is different. i think it is still the case that gingrich is the most likely

to get mitt romney one-on-one and the least likely to beat him one-on-one because of all these problems. last night gingrich was on the defensive about all this and said he's never been a lobbyist. >> my interest in housing and my interest in helping relatively poor americans have a chance to buy a house is very real and goes back a long way. i was approached to offer strategic advice. i do no lobbying of any kind and never have. very important point. i have never done lobbying of any kind. >> we can make all the jokes we want about herman cain. he seems like a decent -- this guy is vulgar. this guy was getting a check for 150 a month -- $1.8 million as he is saying these things he said in the previous bite. this is just, i find it offensive. am i crazy? >> that's coming from donny deutsch. >> i like everybody. >> what about the $37 million his think tank collected? >> all right. i have that. i feel like i'm piling on.

>> you're barely keeping up with the torrent. >> you've just taken the egg roll. you haven't gone for the wontons or anything. >> here is a wonton. "the washington post" is reporting that a health care think tank that newt gingrich founded collected at least $37 million since 2003 from major health care companies and industry groups. promotional materials for the group called center for health transformation offered some insurers health care firms access to newt gingrich and direct newt interaction. you can find that -- >> direct newt interaction. those words. >> and the biggest funders were eligible to receive discounts on products and work shops from other gingrich groups. now, gingrich left the health care think tank earlier this year to run for president. and "the post" asked that gingrich campaign for comment. they referred them to the think tank which said neither the center nor gingrich has engaged in formal lobbying. but aside from the lobbying

questions, of particular importance to the campaign may be the positions this center advocated during gingrich's time there. the health center pushed for some policies that are central features of president obama's health care reform law and opposed by most conservatives. you know, do we -- i -- >> i recommend this -- >> you got to. >> this is written in a brilliantly under stated way. they just lay out the facts and don't attempt to point out any hypocrisy or inconsistency or incredible amount of revenue gingrich and his company made. they just lay it all out. i'll say again. you could spend hours and hours on gingrich and his financial empire or his statements when he was in congress or his ethical problems. it may not matter over the next month and a half. >> you know, the president abroad, bringing jobs, creating international connections that could lead to job growth in this country, eugene, doesn't it bode

well for obama to watch all of this happening on the republican side while he looks to be at work? >> i think obama has won every debate so far. every republican debate so far. he's hoping for more. and, yeah. he gets to go around the country and push his jobs act and go around the world and to show himself being presidential and there is a contrast there. now, when we get down to one-on-one we'll see who the other one is. they got to come up with a one. >> we talked about this the other day. i think what's been brilliant about what obama has been doing is you see him so much less on television. he was so over exposed and now is realizing every minute these guys are on and he's not -- so, i mean, this is obviously very presidential, when he's in the far east. other than that, you just haven't seen him much. i think it's very smart. >> okay. so as we roll around in our left wing pooh pooh platter should i move on to herman cain?

i mean, he is sort of in the news as well. i can just report it. can i do that, or is it just not worth it? is it done? >> no. it's good. >> it's not done yet? >> no. this is important. >> what are the chances in iowa? >> not as good as they would need to be. but, you know, only ron paul has been on television in iowa. newt gingrich hasn't. herman cain hasn't. i think we need to wait until they start putting some money on tv. >> okay. so there's a -- all right. well he is -- >> he's not done. >> okay. well, he is facing some criticism in new hampshire because he skipped this interview with the union leader. that's a pretty influential newspaper in new hampshire. both the newspaper and cain are accusing each other of canceling the meeting after a dispute over whether or not the interview would be videotaped. and later at an event, cain continued to defend himself from the controversy surrounding his campaign including his foreign policy credentials. take a listen.

>> some people want to lead me in the court of public opinion. the people on the cain train don't get off because of that crap. who knows every detail of every country of every situation on the planet? nobody. a leader is supposed to make sure we're working on the right problem. we assign the right priority. surround yourself with good people. put together plans and lead. we got plenty of experts and a leader that knows how to use those experts. we need a leader not a reader. >> wow. >> we got the facts. we got history. just lead. no reading. >> you know, you can't know every country but maybe libya. >> libya and china. whether china has nuclear weapons. >> china is a good one to know about. >> i don't know that we're nit picking on that. are we, gene? fair critiques or not? >> look. are you on the cain train or off?

i mean, because if you're on the cain train you don't care whether the president knows the names of these countries. >> i just like the -- >> where was that speech? do we know? >> new hampshire. >> and people were screaming. >> ignorance. ignorance. >> i think what's amazing is he literally says out loud proudly i'm a leader not a reader. it's stunning. stunning. >> i think johnnie cochran wrote that one from the grave. >> i think wasn't it the simpsons that line was uttered by a character on the simpsons at some point? >> what did you hear about the union leader situation? both sides are blaming the other for dropping the meeting. >> you know, he -- he cut it back. it was supposed to be a long board and he cut it back to 20 minutes and then they said 20 minutes was unacceptable so the question is who is canceling if one side offers 20? i will say, now that he's getting secret service protection obviously for security purposes but he runs way behind schedule, changes his schedule all the time. it's going to be interesting to

see now that he's got the secret service whether he stays on schedule because they help with that. >> he's got to check on line dot com to check his book. jon huntsman joins us onset up next. also this hour the meaning of marriage. tim keller takes us inside his new book. plus it's friday and time for willie's weekend in review. first let's get this over with. bill karins has the forecast. bill? >> ah, painless, mika. very painless at least today. good morning, everyone. let's take you through your weekend forecast. doesn't look too bad out there. east coast starting off with the very cold and chilly morning. we'll warm it up for you over the weekend. today is definitely the coldest day. the storm we'll be tracking is today in the pacific northwest some rain for san francisco, snow, montana and wyoming. by the time we get to saturday that snow will be heading to areas like south dakota and minnesota. notice the southern half of the country is just fine this weekend. by the time we get to sunday we really warm it up on the eastern seaboard with temperatures in the 50s and 60s.

even as far north as boston. so enjoy that. sunday doesn't look like too much travel problems. just a little rain in kentucky and tennessee. overall, thumbs up on a pretty nice weekend. st. louis, you should be gorgeous, too. you're watching "morning joe" brewed by starbucks. tif simyocidt as o® alna e d thi'ngcl plfo, alno d d thi'ngcl plfo, lencarue ♪ and just let me be [ male announcer ] this is your moment. ♪ your ticket home

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the president's failed. the economy's worse. >> the stock market's a wreck. we the next greece? >> our government's flabby, bloated, and weak. >> health care reform? toss it. >> got a job?

sure you'll have it next week? >> the world is literally collapsing, and no one has shown up we can trust as a conservative. >> who has a chance to win? >> not some phony who tells me one thing and you another. >> where's that guy? >> jon huntsman, our destiny pac is responsible for the content of this advertising. >> well, that was jon huntsman's super pac ad. now up in new hampshire. while he is lagging in the polls, he is the favorite of many to make a late charge in new hampshire and be the conservative challenger to mitt romney. last month "the wall street journal" declared his economic plan better than anything in the gop presidential field. and here is what part of that article says.

the heart of the plan lowers all tax rates on individuals and businesses. mr. huntsman would create three personal income tax rates -- 8%, 14%, and 23%, and pay for this in a revenue-neutral way by eliminating all the deductions and credits. this tracks with the proposals of the bipartisan bowles/simpson commission and others for a flatter, more efficient tax system. mr. huntsman's proposal is as impressive as any to date in the gop presidential field and certainly better than what we've seen from the front runners. perhaps mr. huntsman should be asked to give the republican response to the president. the two views of what makes an economy grow could not be more different. and then there's "forbes" magazine which asks, could jon huntsman's 15 minutes as gop front-runner be next? he's a staunch fiscal conservative. now that fiscal conservativism is in and neoconservativism is out, his views on our foreign wars will also work to his advantage. the president believes that we

can tax and spend and regulate our way to prosperity, huntsman said at a campaign stop in new hampshire recently. we cannot. we must compete our way to prosperity. and joining us now is the former republican governor of utah, former u.s. ambassador to china, and republican presidential candidate, jon huntsman. so there we go, mr. huntsman. "the wall street journal", "forbes" magazine, two conservative publications well known and respected talking about your economic policies and, yet, you can't seem to get any traction. what is going on? >> you've got to have a market moving event. i'm absolutely convinced. the fact that we're lower in the polls nationally doesn't mean a thing. new hampshire is where the action is going to be and i'm here to tell you right now it's going to be a two-person race. we celebrated our 101st public event the other night, house parties, vfw club, we are connecting with the people on the ground because of the very things that you cited there. they get the part that this nation has been downgraded under

this president. they get the part that we have high joblessness, highest in a very long time, and it's not getting better. they get the part about $15 trillion in debt. they get the part about afghanistan being an ongoing problem. they get the part about the other major problem in this country, which is trust. we have a trust deficit. i don't think a lot of people are focused on it. the people of this country have lost trust in the institutions of power -- congress, the executive branch, and wall street. >> governor, if you and i were having coffee together and i would say, from a substance point of view, from a credibility point of view, there is nobody better. interestingly enough, you said as far as the conservative box, you check it. and then we see these clowns at the debate and they are literally clowns and what gets the attention are the gaffes and the stupidity. i would say to you, turn the volume up. the only thing you're missing right now is, unfortunately, for lack of a better word, volume. create a stir. the substance is there.

right now you need to wrap it. unfortunately in this media world with some sizzle. that's what i would say to you. that is the only thing missing at this point. it's a shame but that's the game you have to play. >> do you disagree with that? >> donny deutsch. >> i'll take that. what you're saying is great. >> the substance is there and unfortunately in this media world we don't cover the planes that land on time. >> yeah. >> and to somehow stay on message and really call these guys out, and if somebody stood up and said, you know what? i'm embarrassed at some of these other people. >> but, donny, i'm not worried about them. i'm more worried about the job situation in this country. i want to know -- >> i'm trying to get him elected and i'm telling you that is the way to do it. >> when you walk through an airport it's a good assessment what's on people's minds. they'll come up and say thank you for putting forward credible ideas, for being somebody who speaks with a voice of sanity. thank you for being a person who can draw from vast experience in your background and being willing to run for president. thank you for not lighting your hair on fire on stage. you hear that from some people.

so yeah. up the volume. no question about that. you know what the bottom line is, donny? you've got to have a market moving event to transform things. new hampshire is going to be a market moving event. i have no doubt about that. you up end conventional wisdom in new hampshire the whole thing changes. it's always the way this thing plays out. so i say if you take your focus off new hampshire, if you take your focus off why you're in this race, it's jobs. it's our place in the world getting afghanistan right. it's trust. you forget about those themes you lose. >> jobs. what would you do differently? >> you know, this -- we have no confidence in where we're going. so how do you get people to hire again? how do you get companies to infuse capital expenditures into the market? they have to believe in their tomorrow. they don't believe in their tomorrow. this president has not created a framework that speaks to confidence. joblessness, downgrade, debt. i mean, it all speaks to lack of confidence. you've got to put forward policies that speak to confidence and there is nothing more powerful to my mind than fundamental tax reform. something that's big and bold.

as big as the challenges that we face. regulatory issues like obama care. that's got to go because that stands in the way of people's ability to predict their tomorrow. dodd/frank because it gives rise to too big to fail banks. we can't afford those as a country. and, third, we've got to have steps toward energy independence. we have to dismantle this distribution network that always favors one product and that's oil. if we want to have a multiplicity, a diverse set of options in terms of alternative fuel, we have to change the distribution network. how do i know? i grew up in a natural gas car when i was governor. i had no idea you could do that in a suburban. there was no infrastructure, no place to fill up. we started to change that in our state. if you use the bully pulpit as president a lot of this can be done in terms of infusing confidence back into the economy. >> there may have been a difference in an ideological approach but a lot of these things are what this president, our current administration

intended to do -- take on wall street and get off our dependence on foreign oil and work on developing a new future for this country. what do you think has gone wrong and what would you be doing right now? >> it's called leadership. i mean, you've got to realize when you're elected, either as governor or president, you've got two years in which to change the world. you've got the benefit of the doubt of the voting public. you've got congress that is pretty much going to give you the benefit of the doubt. you have two years and the door closes. that's the president's problem right now. he had two years. he didn't address the underlying economic problems. he gave us obama care. a $1 trillion bomb over ten years when we can least afford it. the door has closed. so it doesn't matter whether he goes to ohio, illinois, or california. or new hampshire next week. nobody is listening. nobody cares. so now they're looking to 2012 and saying what comes next? >> you served as ambassador to china under president obama. some would say that's a strike against you. >> well, to them i would say, i put country first. i was born in the navy.

i was raised with the ethic that you always put your country first. i say, yeah. this is an example of when you're called upon by your country to serve during a time of war, during a time of economic hardship, in a position that you know well where you can actually help your country to not do so i think would have been unpatriotic. and that is a philosophy that i will take to my grave. >> governor, first of all, you said free advice from donny. he builds for everything. so you're in trouble right out of the gate. i do want to ask about who you are and the way you're perceived. i think to a lot of people you're viewed as this moderate guy. you said you don't go around with your hair on fire. we all agree that's a good thing. but the truth of the matter is, you are a conservative guy. you're pro life. you're pro second amendment. you're for traditional marriage. you did support civil unions. you were elected in a very conservative state by a huge margin. why haven't you pushed that message more? we know you are fiscally conservative and socially conservative but you are viewed among primary voters as a guy

who is sort of in the middle of the road when the truth is you're not. >> here is the deal. step off the plane from china. people already discount you for having done that. at least some do. they slap a label on your forehead that then the media want to kind of perpetuate and they say, okay. maybe we won't give him consideration at this point. so, you know, they go on to the rest of the candidates. then sort of the return a lot of people are doing today. they say wait a minute. this guy was twice elected governor one of the most conservative states in america. the second time with almost 80% of the vote. let's look deeper into the record. you know, pro life, pro second amendment. pro growth. the largest tax cut in the history of the state. second voucher bill ever signed for education. health care reform without a mandate like you see in massachusetts and they say there is something here i think we can like. >> but is your campaign pushing that out far enough? i think to most the country you're seen as a middle of the road guy. >> we are pushing this, you know, when people focus on you, you have an opportunity to speak out, that is exactly what we're doing. and now kind of the field has been run through.

everybody gets their 15 minutes of fame. all i'm saying, willie, is i don't want 15 minutes of fame. i want sustainability. when the cameras are on us and the work that we have done in putting forward substantive policy positions, i want sustainability. whether it's foreign policy, economic policy, energy independence. we've talked about all of those. and when people begin to take a look they'll say, there's some depth there. there's some experience there. there's a world view based upon this guy having lived overseas four times. three times as a united states ambassador. a deep and intimate understanding of china, which is our most, i think, significant economic challenge and opportunity for as far as the eye can see into the 21st century. >> i want to get to the heart of why you left china to come back here and decided to run for president. do you believe that this president -- president obama has failed? >> he has failed us on the economic front. he has failed to provide leadership. so if you want to say, what do you have to do to write the relationship with china? or to get our position right in

the world? you've got to fix your home. our home here is broken. our core is crumbling. that's where he has fundamentally failed us. you look at afghanistan. why do we have a hundred thousand troops in afghanistan? nation building at a time when this nation so desperately needs to be built? i say he has not focused on the home front. he has not made the fundamental decisions or provided leadership that will provide the sense of confidence as we go forward so we are stuck. we're like a motorcycle stuck in neutral and we cannot kick it into first gear. i say you fail on the home front here, as it relates to leadership, and building that level of confidence that everybody is looking for. nothing else matters. because if you can't get beyond those two you're dead. >> mark halperin? >> we saw at the beginning of the segment an ad being run on your behalf in new hampshire and in boston on television. it's a big part of presidential politics is television ads presented in a wider way. a lot of the money for that ad comes from your father. most people who run for president don't have a father

who can spend that much money on television ads. how do you feel about the fact that if you are the nominee you'll have been helped by your father's personal wealth. >> i don't know where it's coming from nor should i know. they do in super pacs whatever they want to do. i'm grateful for the help. that's all i can say. i put some in to prime the pump and get the campaign going. an interesting thing happens. consistent with market realities you begin to move up in the polls in new hampshire as we're doing and fund raising goes up as we've seen 250%. as we perform we'll do just fine. i think the finances of the campaign will follow. >> you mentioned ad. can you explain the strategy behind you coming in in the motorcycle -- i tried to dissect that. it got a lot of attention. give me the thinking behind that. >> i didn't design it. >> but you had to sign off on it. >> i think it may have been designed around the fact that i'm a 40-year motorcycle rider and used to race motocross. there may have been some tie in there plus the beautiful red rock country of utah, a country i love and that i served in as

governor, there may have been something there. but, you know, do you have an opportunity now to provide people a second look or i think a real first look? because i think the first go around people didn't tune in and they didn't look deeply enough at what we had done or where we come from. do we have an opportunity now to do that? absolutely we do. so the weeks ahead for us i think are going to be critically important. >> president obama has made some moves recently pertaining to china, some which china is not too happy with especially the troops in australia. what do you think of the president's policy pertaining to china? how would you operate differently? >> one, we have to fix our core. because the chinese respect economic power. they know we're weak. they know we're down for the moment. they know this president doesn't have a lot of political fire power. they analyze these things very carefully. and that translates then into what you are able to get done at the negotiating table. if you want an effective

u.s./china relationship we've got to strengthen our core right here at home. second of all, let's realize that the chinese are lacking real confidence in themselves at this point. they have huge challenges on the home front. they have inflation. they have labor rates rising in the southern zone. they're staring down 8%, 9%, 10% gdp growth rates. they're staring down 6% growth rates. that results in higher unemployment, political instability and what does it mean for the united states? it means the dollar that always parks itself in china for investment and manufacturing purposes will be looking for an alternative. i say this country has a unique opening in terms of the international economy to win that investment here. if we're smart enough to address the competitiveness we can win that investment here at home and create jobs and expand. it is an opening and we

shouldn't miss it. to have a president who gets that part and understands the phase that china is about to enter as they have new leaders taking over next year, we have our elections. they have their new appointments next year. >> another question that really stumped one of the other republican candidates, what do you think of obama's policy and approach toward libya? take some time. if it's twisting around in your mind there. >> i will be painfully consistent on this one and that is libya is not a national security core issue for us. i didn't think so at the beginning. i don't think it today. those changes would have occurred as they have in tunisia, as they have in egypt. we have a major problem in the middle east and that's iran. that will be the transcendent issue of the decade. because of that, syria becomes a whole lot more relevant because of the ties there and the funneling of support to hamas and hezbollah. so let's begin to think in terms of the region and the truly important transcendent base.

i don't think it is iraq longer term. number one it's how prepared we are to compete in the 21st century as a country and that's economics and education. second of all, it will be the transcendent issue of iran. they're moving toward weaponization and will at some point over the next couple of years i think have a serious conversation with israel about what to do. then it will be can you live with a nuclear iran? and if the answer is yes, you're going to see proliferation problems in the region. you'll see saudi arabia probably acquire a weapon. same with turkey and probably egypt and that would be disastrous. >> so, governor, what further steps can and should the united states take with regard to iran? your fellow candidates have talked about leaving military options on the table. would you consider military action against iran? >> you have to keep all the options on the table. i think fundamentally, internally within the leadership in tehran they've decided to go

nuclear. i think they want the prestige that carries. they looked at north korea. they're nuclear. nobody touches them. they looked at libya. they gave up nukes in exchange for friendship. look where they are. so fundamentally they have made that decision i think. we can say well layer more sanctions on. we probably should squeeze as tightly as we can, go after the national bank of iran, go after the elites. go after those who are traveling in and out. see where that takes us but we're going to run into a problem because the chinese will say we're not so sure about that and the russians are going to say we don't know if we want to play ball with another round of sanctions. then we're left the united states doing what the united states should do and that is to say sit down with israel and say, this is a problem. we have to have a serious conversation about what we are willing to do in a region that, with iran occupying a nuclear weapon, could so change the dynamic it would provide long-term instability. and then say in that case, all options are on the table. >> all right. jon huntsman thank you very much

for being on the show this morning. >> donny, thanks for the advice. >> by the way, nice listening to a smart republican isn't it? >> donny. >> seriously. >> you just don't meet them. >> i'm not seeing them on stage. okay? >> you should go see "cats" this weekend. okay? thanks very much. good to see you. >> thank you, governor. >> we'll be right back with much more "morning joe." this new at&t 4g lte is fast. did you hear sam... ...got promoted to director? so 12 seconds ago. we should get him a present. thanks for the gift basket. you're welcome. you're welcome. did you see hr just sent out new... ...office rules? cause you're currently in violation of 6 of them. oh yeah, baby? ...and 7. did you guys hear that fred is leaving? so 30 seconds ago. [ noisemakers blow ] [ both ] we'll miss you! oh, facecake! there's some leftover cake. [ male announcer ] the new htc vivid. stay a step ahead with at&t 4g lte, with speeds up to 10x faster than 3g. ♪ with speeds up to 10x faster than 3g. smal l buith speeds up to 10x faster than 3g. sinesses are the smal lifeblood of our communities. on november 26th you can make a huge impact by shopping small

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♪ love and marriage love and marriage go together like a horse and carriage ♪ [ laughter ] >> nighty night. >> welcome back to "morning joe." that was a funny show. don't you think? here with us now the pastor from redeemer presbyterian church in new york city. reverend tim keller, who is the author of a new book "the meaning of marriage" facing the

complexities of commitment with the wisdom of god. i love it. thank very much for coming back in. nice to see you. >> great to be here. >> tell me why first of all, do you feel there is a need for this book? >> yeah. any marriage happy or unhappy is infinitely more interesting than any romance however passionate because marriage is not the involuntary result of fleeting emotion but the creation of time and will. and our culture has it exactly the opposite right now. romance is the ideal and marriage is boring or stifling and so the book is trying to get across his point. >> and the challenge you face within a relationship, is that something you feel people should embrace more? >> yes. >> are they running from it? >> yes. >> what is your worry? >> i mean, i think the older idea of marriage was you put your needs below the needs of the other person and the marriage. today the idea is marriage is

for the fulfillment of the individual, which means you're looking for a perfect soulmate, low maintenance, unselfish, unflawed, and if you -- you feel like if you have the perfect soulmate there won't be all the conflict. first of all, people are afraid to get married because you can't find anybody out there like that. secondly, once you do get married you walk faster because you're afraid -- well, i didn't get the right person. basically the older, more realistic idea that marriage is filled with conflict because two people have to fight it out and they stick together because of their vows is actually serving you better in the long run than the newer view of marriage as an easily terminated sexual contract for the fulfillment of the individuals. >> i'm struck by the title of the book. "the meaning of marriage" because there's ban lot of conversation over the last decade or so over what marriage means. some, the gentleman who was just here, governor huntsman, believes in traditional marriage between a man and a woman. it's been redefined of late. how do you define marriage? >> well, like i said, first of

all, the idea of marriage is not i don't think, it shouldn't be just for the fulfillment of the individual sit's a public trust for a building of community. i do think the best way to do that is between a man and a woman because what you're doing is you're bringing the complementary genders together. and i do think that creates more stability. on the other hand the book is actually just a, more of an exposition of the traditional view of christian marriage. >> but is there any evidence that it's more stable between a man and a woman or is there actually some evidence to the contrary? >> well, christian marriage says -- the genders both bring something to the table that completes the other gender, so in the long run, what christians say marriage should do can't be done between two people of the same gender. so i wasn't saying that the only reason it's important to bring the two genders together is just because it makes marriage more stable. it actually is more of an interlock that happens. on the one -- the genders clash and mesh. that is they knock the rough

edges off of each other in a way that makes them grow in character but they also mesh because they bring some complementary differences together. so basically the christian idea of marriage is something that goes beyond what the modern view is right now, which is really just simply i want to be fulfilled. >> how much of a threat do you view as our cultural impatience today to the institution of marriage in which, you know, for eons of time it was till death do us part and now it seems uniquely in this country it's till death do us part or until i see something better later this afternoon. >> auden said it's the creation of time and will. if you get into the marriage and almost immediately say this isn't the right person because it shouldn't be this hard, you're not giving it time. you're not giving it any will. yeah. i agree it's -- we're not seeing marriage as that anymore and so we are losing it. >> what are the leading cultural forces that are undermining the conception of marriage as you'd like to see it?

>> individualism, period, the idea, the need of my individual need is more important -- >> does that come from schools? popular culture? >> oh, i think culture, you know, culture is really complex. you can go back to the enlightenment and say, western -- the western enlightenment creates an individualism that nonwestern countries don't have but you can also look at modern technology. look at the internet. it creates -- it is very difficult to get people to sit still for a concert anymore because we're used to choosing the movements we want to hear and leaving for the movements we don't want to hear. so everything from technology to intellectual trends create this individualism and that doesn't fit with marriage very well. the very idea of it. >> your introduction says -- this is a book for married people. then there is a section in the secret of marriage chapter one, making men truly masculine. what is that going to be telling me? >> well, the old idea of masculinity was self-mastery. i quote an op-ed piece in the

"new york times" not too long ago that came against the narrative that really manly men don't fit with marriage because, you know, they, you know, don't want to settle down. the article said that traditionally a man was a person who could master himself. so he can't control his sexual urges, he really isn't a man. so part of becoming more masculine is willing to make a vow to a woman and stay with her long term. that's very masculine. >> all right. the book is the meaning of marriage. i really appreciate it. tim keller, thanks very much. good to have you back on the show. willie's "week in review" is next. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 let's talk about the personal attention

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but are delivered. from person to person. and, sometimes, even face to face. have a great day. you too. for some of the best ways to connect and protect... it's all in the mail. learn more at usps.com/mail. we have arrived. it is time for the top three stories of the week and really only one place to begin. >> they came in dukes of hazard

getting it, digging like that. like dale jr. >> at number three, this guy. >> when he hooked up and shot forward that's when he came and hit. >> carter johnson, panama city, florida this week gave a local news station his eyewitness account of the end of the high speed police pursuit. >> he came in dukes of hazard getting it, digging like that. like dale jr. >> reporter: his dukes of hazard dale jr. description delivered in a coon skin cap on a warm day in the florida panhandle made johnson an internet hero. there were calls for him to run for president. perhaps on a ticket with history's most famous eyewitness, antuan dodson. >> so y'all need your kids, husband -- >> at number two? secretary of state hillary clinton was posing for a photo op in hawaii when a nearly nude dude sprinted past carrying a blazing tiki torch.

>> that is perfect. >> i hope you all captured that. >> with that reaction to the man who said he was merely doing his daily job of hustling around the hotel grounds lighting tiki torches, secretary clinton cemented her title of best laugh in national politics. >> senator clinton what would your husband -- >> and the number one story of the week. >> got all this stuff twirling around in my head. >> less than a week after rick perry paused for station identification -- >> i would do away with the education, the commerce -- and let's see -- i can't. the third one i can't. >> herman cain decided this week he wanted in on that action. cain wondered afterward why all

the fuss about his extended period of reflection and silent meditation on a question about libya. >> i don't understand why that pause created so much, quote-unquote, controversy. i paused to gather my thoughts. >> with his numbers dipping and newt gingrich rising, cain tried to change the subject. going back to old reliable. >> you don't have a thorough understanding of foreign policy? >> 9-9-9. >> cain's crash-and-burn performance this week -- >> okay. libya. >> is best characterized perhaps by a young man in a coon skin cap. >> came in dukes of hazard digging it like that like dale jr. >> yahoo! >> carter johnson for president. a man we can all get behind. up next, what have we learned today? great prices. i just wish you could guarantee me

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time now to talk about what we learned. >> what did we learn? >> you can apologize for

everything that you've done to me this week a little later. willie, what did you learn? >> i learned a couple things. on donny's behalf "cats" hasn't been on broadway for 11 years but he is recommending it to folks. second of all i learned today is regis's last show. one of the great guys in our business. we wish regis all the best. >> can you imagine? >> i learned today, my oldest and bestest friend since first grade texted me after huntsman. it is insane huntsman is so normal and smart. >> i learned that newt gingrich is not impervious to your world class situation. >> i think that we, i don't know. did we go over the top today with him? >> no. >> no? >> absolutely not. the clown show. that's what i learned. further proof. a clown show. >> yeah. >> newt gingrich. >> and hypocrisy is hypocrisy. >> yeah. >> yeah. all right. that's it. have a great weekend everybody. willie? >> "morning joe" stick around for a special edition of "the