s.e. kup "new york daily news" columnist is back for more and nbc analyst richard wolfe. thank you all for joining me. >> thank you. >> so the "washington post" has finally started posting a countdown clock to when the supercommittee has to make a decision. >> the suspense is killing me. >> we know that they need to reach a deal by monday which is when the congressional budget -- that's a deadline for the congressional budget office to score this thing. are we going to have a disaster on our hands come monday? >> we're not going to have a disaster, no. we're not going to have a deal but not not a disaster. democrats are not going to accept a renewing of the bush tax cuts which republicans want to have. in return democrats won't take that in return for cuts to medicare and social security. so i don't think they're going to get a deal. but it's not like we're going to bust through the debt ceiling, have a government shutdown. we're going to show people we can't really govern ourselves right now. we're not so good at the governing.

>> we have not done an adequate enough job at that already? >> but we're not going to have a market meltdown. the market is pricing in -- but in terms of the last time around we had a downgrade, we had all sorts of crisis with s & p. >> the washington monument almost closed. >> precisely. we're not going to have that again. >> so the assumption is it's going to be some sort of can kicking down the road. >> yes. and if they fail to get a deal you've got that sequester that would kick in that would cut money from the pentagon and from social programs. >> defense cuts. >> but it doesn't come until 2000123. that's a year for congress to figure a way to get out of that. they could do that easily in a year. >> the curious coincidence of this is the bush tax cuts expire at the end of 2012 so not actually happens until 2013 which means the deadline isn't next week. the deadline is further away. it's the lame duck session. and like all good writers or maybe fifth graders, which i've

been called in my time, the only way to get things done is right on the edge of a deadline in the lame duck session they're all going to be able to blame the old guys, right? so the new congress can say, nothing to do with us even if they're the same people or it's the president elect whoever that is. >> it's precipice politics over and over again. i got to ask, republicans are saying, look. the president as we know is not in the country and that there has been some criticism about that that he should be showing leadership on this. should he be in the country? should he be involved in this? and then i guess my second question is, why didn't he take the opportunity in december when he sort of had it once the simpson bowles commission came out with their recommendations and he was talking about the bush tax cuts at the end of 2010? >> well, i think he partly is not here because he made his effort at big deal with john boehner and that didn't work. and i think he cease political down side to this and not a lot of political up side. i think what you'll see is republicans now are starting to

do it calling on obama to come in and play a role in this. i think that's basically because they know it's not going to work and they want to blame him for being part of the problem. so that's why you see them saying where's obama? and he figured pretty much get out of the country. i've tried to make a big deal. i can't make a big deal. i need to do this trip to asia pacific region talk about growth of the economy, other things i can work on. but you're going to have republicans blaming obama for not being around. >> amy is it a good strategy? >> same strategy everyone has been using. it's all theater. and i think the thing that more important to me than who is up, who's down with this is what is fundamentally revealed here is that this isn't even a democracy. the super committee? no amendment? no filibuster? like who invented that as representative democracy? not only that, but the whole kind of manifestation of who's up, who's down, is really not even for the benefit of the people who didn't have a say in the billions of dollars going to -- not to the military, not

to our hard-working military men and women, not to rehabilitating them, but to halliburton, to boeing, to g.e., to ray these oo -- raytheon and that nobody voted for. what i see is the voices of the people are not being represented. >> if we could do like a 30,000 foot view on this just for a minute, i think you're rice. this is precipice politics. but i think that's exactly what was voted for in 2010. when people went to the voting booths in 2010, they pulled the lever for a stop. stop with the quick opaque back room politics. let's bring it to the brink of -- that's not what they wanted. but if we have to go to the table three and four times with a bill or c.r. to reach some agreement, if we have to take our time, if we have to reach a potential government shutdown, people want to see the process. they're not getting that with the super committee. but the precipice politics is

sort of allowing voters in on the dialogue. it should be really hard to spend billions of dollars. it should be difficult, not easy. >> well, it's not difficult enough because that's not -- that money is not going to be spent on the people's agenda right or left. it's going to be spend on -- we all know that democrats are beholden to their special interests, the republicans are beholden to their special interests. because of citizens united, what the people watching this theater want is not evenly -- they can't even get to the table to represent their own agenda. >> if this is what the voters wanted, how come congress has single digit approval? >> exactly. thank you very much. absolutely. it doesn't look good. it's not pretty. it's not effective. [ overlapping speakers ] >> how can you justify it? how do you justify theater like this? how does it serve people? >> when boehner came in in 2010 and proim promised 160 billion this spending cuts and then only came out with 38 billion in

spending cuts, i think a lot of republicans and especially tea party republicans were disappointed. but that was probably twice as much as they were going to get if this theater you call it precipice politics hadn't come about. it's small changes but people want to see the process. >> i think they want to participate in the process. they don't just want to watch from the sidelines. that's why new york city was practically brought to a standstill in certain neighborhoods yesterday. >> that was really effective. >> we will be talking about that. but folks, in all honesty, there have been big grand bargains on the table and parties have walked away from them. there is a sense in congress, there are folks that want to do business that will come to the middle that will talk about entitlement reform and revenue increases, but they don't feel like they can. >> we're not run by the people in the middle right now. we're run by the people on the fringes. >> that is exactly right. >> the problem what we need i think is a clarifying election. we keep saying we need this clarifying election. we really do need it. congress does not feel like it has the political authority at this point to make the decision are we going to be a country

that keeps entitlements as they are, pays for retirement as it is and raises taxes on some people or lower taxes on everybody, let the retirement age go up. whether the decisions we're going to make about these big important programs and issues on taxation. we've had back and forth elections. we need an election where one partier of other gets a mandate to see this is how we're going to do it. >> the good news voters will be debating all of this. this is all going to get kicked down to the end of 2012. we'll be debating about the bush tax cuts and about the spending things. the problem is that there was a mandate for this president. and he got zero republican support. you can have a mandate in this country and have no leverage in congress whatsoever. >> by the way, when john boehner -- [ overlapping speakers ] >> wait a second. john boehner when he came in in 2010 he didn't promise 60 billion in cuts, he promised jobs. that was his promise.

[ overlapping speakers ] >> that's what it was all about. they have not talked about jobs. >> they brought jobs plans to the table. they've been completely ignored. >> republican jobs plan. and there are postcards floating around the halls of congress right now. it's largely repealing regulation. >> exactly right. >> and cutting taxes. there is much more to discuss on this topic. one thing i do want to touch upon is the idea that in some far corner of congress there is a great bipartisan group of congressional folks if not leaders who are meeting in an informal breakfast club to talk about issues. there's an article about it in today's -- >> that is nice. >> sound like a good movie title. >> as much as we are seeing this sort of congress bottoming out in terms of partisanship and an inability to get things done, i think inevitably there has to be a swing upwards. and perhaps this little breakfast club is a sign of what may come. >> i like the optimism. >> we'll return with much more to say.

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>> we're frustrated. we're angry. they can't just go about business as usual. >> go out and get a job. >> we need good jobs, not cuts. >> we want to send a message to the 1% that 99% aren't going to take it anymore. >> we want to stimulate these economy. we want people out of our parks and our city. to fight isn't the wrong place. >> it's the day after occupy wall street's day of action. did anything happen? and was it a success? >> i don't think it was a terribly big success. i mean, the numbers weren't that big in the morning, i don't think. they got bigger in the evening when there were a lot of labor union people involved for the

march across the brooklyn bridge. i'm all for protesting, i'm all for the message of economic inequality which is a serious issue. i do think they need to move beyond the camp outs and a lot of the sort of rough housing with police. not that police aren't to blame for some of that stuff. but there needs to be the next step. what's our agenda. are we going to organize for the election, get out the vote, try elect candidates? what are we going to do. i think people are getting tired of the camping out and constant whining. when "the daily show" starts making fun of you you have a problem. >> i know. i would quote that famous aphorism,first they ignore you, then they make fun of you, then they fight you, then you win. >> what's the next move, though? >> i agree with you. they have got to start talking effectively to the media which is one reason i was down at zuccotti park. i'm not an occupy member i'm just a citizen that believes in the first amendment.

i think -- i was down in the rain teaching them media skills in zuccotti park a couple of days ago. and i learned a lot. and the reason i think that it is wrong to write them off and certainly wrong to cast them as rabble rousers is they're starting to take very seriously the message that even though it's a process that they need to not only sharpen their message to the media, get out there and deal with the media effectively, constructively, but also to organize as a voting block, register voters, and be occupy voters. bloomberg's got to see them and mayors across the country as their constituency who know how to say, play hard ball politics and say, you know what? give us back our first amendment free speech rights, talk to us or else you're going to lose the next election. >> let me stop you. >> you want to stop me right there? >> i do. i'm all for protests and first amendment rights. this is such a strawman really important ruling in 1994, clark versus community. protesters in the national mall

wanted to pitch tents to protest homelessness. the supreme court ruled you have many means of protesting that do not involve pitching a tent for a week in the national mall. we're not infringing on your free speech rights. furthermore, doing that puts such a strain on our resources, our manpower and our money to take care of you, to maintain you. and that is exactly where occupy is now. they've reached this tipping point where yesterday commuters and small business owners couldn't get to work because occupiers were blocking subway entrances. you had the brooklyn bridge. [ overlapping speakers ] >> no reporting about that. i found they were reporting very carefully. >> there's story after story after story. we can't read the "new york post"? we can't read these -- please. >> it's not always as well sourced. >> you guys inconvenienced the entire world economy. >> thank you. >> look. they're a protest movement. they're always going to be a protest movement. i think their message is really clear, actually. it's not going to go away. >> i will tell you.

[ overlapping speakers ] >> let's shut down small businesses. [ overlapping speakers ] >> some of the top issues. people start talk over me. number one what i got when i put this question out to the occupies across the country legislate away citizens united. regulate wall street. no more fraud behind the scenes. number three roll back the patriot act so that things like our rights of free assembly are fair. no one speaks for the group. i don't speak for the group. they don't speak for each other. but i asked them to name three things at the top of their list. other things came up. jobs bills. they want to work. no flashing -- the support for the most vulnerable for the elderly, for children, all kinds of things came up. but these surface again. they're about cleaning up the system. >> why is this the first time? >> i can tell you that too unfortunately. they don't have media training. and so that's not their fault. >> poor okay fires without their media training. >> well also if you go to their web site there is a contact

information for the press. if you want to get them on here you can call them and they'll send someone. it's not that difficult. it's not rocket science. >> naomi, to be fair, i think some of these demands are much more tied to congress than they are necessarily wall street. i think one of the concerns is -- >> regulate wall street? you think that all the people who are -- >> you're talking about sending nypd after a $3.6 million investment from chase to nypd to beat these people up want that regulation to be successful? >> what? no, no. what i'm saying is if you're talking about regulatory infrastructure, if you're talking about jobs bills -- >> they have to organize to pressure congress. of course they do. >> exactly. i guess the question is, is this movement going to be able to take -- the physicality i think has very much defined the movement. they need to take the next step and become -- they have to have principles, they have to have some sort of policy recommendations and designated spokespeople. >> i agree with you. >> the argument shouldn't be whether they can sleep in a park at night. that's not the argument.

>> that's not the argument anymore. discussing the inconvenience of commuting, it's moot. >> i totally agree with you on all of this. i've been making this case every single day the way that i can and networking with these people again as a citizen, not a member of them but because i believe citizens should be empowered to raise and speak effectively. >> we agree with you. what now? they're putting us all at risk p by taking up all of our police forces. >> what's putting us at risk is taking away or right to free assembly. >> no one's telling them they can't protest. >> some of the images of violence against peace. ways standing on a sidewalk peacefully and i was arrested. >> have you seen the demonstrations in the park and sexual assaults? >> i was arrested obeying the law that i had established. [ overlapping speakers ] >> that would be a drain on the 30 rockefeller center security complex. so we will be moving on with more incisive and animated conversation when we come back.

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mitt romney has a mini controversy to deal with. the issue hard drives and missing e-mails. the boston globe reports members of his campaign bought their hard drives when he left office as governor of massachusetts. that's making life difficult for opposition researchers who want to view staff correspondence from when he was in office. romney's camp says this is legal. all right, guys. >> this is the biggest controversy that mitt romney winds up having i think he's going to be okay. >> hard drives. >> well, first of all, should they turn over the contents? are the calls to be answered? but also and in a broader sense, what does it say about mitt romney the candidate? the guy has clearly had a game

plan since in in utero. >> it's a tightly controlled campaign. they want to control their message and the information. if you can limit the opportunity for your opponents to do opposition research you'd like to do that. in this instance it probably sounds like to make sure people don't think he's hiding something. i'd just turn it over. what is this stuff going to show in i assume there's nothing horribly terrible in there. he's a pretty milk toast guy. hasn't done a lot of terribly exciting things. >> at worst. >> that's exactly the point. i think there are people out here, conservatives who are going to be like finally this guy is showing a glimpse of shrewd politicking, right? beyond the milk toast kind of leave -- >> leave it to beaver. >> not that we always kind of have to lock horns but -- >> yeah, you do. >> but i can't believe you're not horrified by the trickle down effect of -- >> horrified, naomi, really? horrified? >> let's let her finish her sentence. >> okay. >> we used to have laws about government transparency and the

request was one of them. there's been a trickle down effect since the bush administration where he started using state secrets provision to keep a lot of really bad stuff hidden. neutral stuff but bad stuff. 10,000 e-mails disappeared, having to do withholding people abusively in guantanemo for instance. and after that people became more and more comfortable, including obama, using exactly the same justifications to keep a legitimate -- [ overlapping speakers ] >> it's amazing naomi is able to pivot from mitt romney's hard drives to guantanemo. >> i'm not horrified. >> our next hot topic, herman cain wrote in his memoir that if he were elected president he would want his secret service code name to be corn bread. well, he is not president but he does have secret service protection. his camp's request for it was approved the same day he said. this let's listen. >> who knows every detail of every country of every situation on the planet?

nobody. we need a leader, not a reader. >> amazing. >> will herman cain be able to protect herman cain from herman cain? >> he didn't think about how he'd answer the abortion question but he thought about if elected president here's how i want to be identified. >> because his next food business is actually corn bread. so it all comes together in the marketplace. there's no question that he's great at marketing. but there has to be some there there. it's one thing not to know how to say corn bread in cuban. but really he has to be able to -- >> or spanish. >> he has to be able to say i can at least take a decision as commander-in-chief. he doesn't even come close to finding the bar, never mind getting over it. you cannot just say let other people know this stuff. uzbekistan is a long way away. you have to know the front pages of the newspaper. >> every day you wake up there's a new herman cain gap, there's a

new i don't know what to say about libya, there's a new i don't know that china's had nuclear weapons since the 1960s. and i think it's run out the string. and i think there's a certain as you say there's a bar you have to cross. he hasn't crossed it. in terms of the secret service detail, that's about keeping the press at bay. that's not a good precedence. >> oh, really? what makes you say that? >> because the reporters have been trying to ask him a lot of followup sque kwes about foreign policy issues and been pushed aside by his press aides. now they say they need secret service to avoid having these confrontations with reporters. >> and yet herman cain remains on top in the polls. >> not for long. >> after the break, what makes an effective political ad? we will take a look at the latest from gop, their candidates, their ads, and whether anybody's buying what they're selling. what's better than gold ?

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>> you did support an individual mandate. >> sure. >> that's what i'm saying. we got that idea from you and the heritage foundation. >> i don't line up 100% with the nra. >> commerce, education and the -- oops. >> republican candidates are ramping up their attack ads, but not all of them are aiming at same target. which campaigns are landing blows, and which are wasting their money? we just saw michele bachmann's ad. she's apparently doing president obama's work for him, basically throwing a handful napalm on the field in general. does this help her or hurt the rest of the field? >> it hurts the rest of the field. this is a classic example of a candidate who has left the field of the relevant, flailing -- >> i thought you were going to say planet earth. >> we can argue about that. but she's nowhere in the polls. she's not going to get the nomination. and as your last act do you really want to go out and slash and burn everybody else in the

field? i think it's a mistake. i don't think it helps her campaign particularly or her long term future in the party. people will remember ad like this. >> don't you think it's reassuring to her base if she's thinking ahead to the future? >> yes. but i think her base -- she's obviously not gathered that base together in this campaign that. base has gone to herman cain, it's flirting with newt gingrich now. maybe if she wants a talk show this will help her in that regard. if she wants to write a book about how all the republicans are idiots maybe she can do that. i don't think it's good politics long term. >> why would she want a talk show? this is a woman with ten years of public service. she's got a law degree. >> stay in congress. i don't mean to denigrate her. >> she's running for president. people create attack ads all over the place. this is directly attacking the rest of the field. >> clearly she doesn't want to be anyone's vice-president. >> exactly. are you saying that you -- so you're saying that damage is it's not collateral damage. >> well, look. again, she's not looking to make

friends within the field. and maybe this is her strategy. she recognizes that the polls have been split among three of four guys rotating up and down for the past few months. the field is unsettled. maybe she realizes this is the opportunity just before the primaries to go after some of these guys and take them down a notch. >> or a hail mary pass. >> in a way i think it's sort of gutsy. >> losing with dignity is so 2008. slash and burn. the problem is, who was that ad for? i have no idea. who are these people? they are still undefined. you can define everyone else but you've got to say something about yourself. i have no idea -- i do have an idea who michele bachmann is but not from that ad. >> let's move on to mitt romney the presumed frontrunner. he's talking november 7th and 2012 in dramatic fashion. let's roll his latest ad. >> ask yourself, will you make a difference? will you help turn the country

around and believe in america again? you have less than a year. the future is in your hands. >> my favorite part of that is he's talking about you'll have a choice to make on november 7th, 2012 presuming he's on the ballot. >> that's a strategy. what he should do is look to the general election and pass these guys in the flavor of the month stuff. this is going to be his campaign. obama's failed with the economy, we've got 9% unemployment. things are scary. do you want more of this or do you want a guy who's got business experience, who's going to cut taxes, reduce regulation. he is running that general election message now. >> that doesn't show any of that. >> but it's the first step in a process of rolling out the romney candidacy which will be you don't want. this here's what you have. >> the dark tunnel of inhe itabiliinhe itability? >> he has plenty of time in the future to say what his alternative. >> do you think he's striking that reaganesque note? >> it's not morning in america.

it's nighttime in america. >> if that's how you scare people, an empty campaign room? really? you need to get out more. that is so bankrupt of ideas. there are plenty of things you can scare people with. shuttered factory, people trying to find work, whatever it is. but really? that's the scariest thing? i'm confused by how spooky that's supposed to be. it's kind of boring. >> i thought it was really boring. it almost put me to sleep. >> which may be the most succinct expression of the romney campaign. >> so boring it almost put me to sleep. >> bush at this point the first time around was so successful by not saying much of anything and not making any mistakes and being a jegenial vacuum. >> another catch friday. rick perry also has an ad that goes after president obama that made some waves this week. let's check that out. >> we've been a little bit lazy i think over the last couple of decades. >> do you believe that? that's what our president thinks wrong with america? that americans are lazy? that's pathetic.

it's time to clean house in washington. >> was that r.e. melberg or rick perry? >> rick perry. the dnc took issue with the ad and hit back with their own response this week. let's look at that. >> i mean this ad drives me nuts. because the fact is he did not say the american people -- the dnc is right here. he did not go and say the american people are a lazy people. he said in the context of a trade mission. >> exactly what he said. >> ridiculous. you're absurd. >> he said we've been lazy about promoting imports overseas. you can't lie. you have to come up with the actual fact. >> he's taking it out of context but he's jumping on it and he should.

>> the context is we have not been as aggressive as we should in promoting america as a brand abroad and in selling our products abroad. that is true. we have not done that. maybe he shouldn't use the word lazy because somebody is going to take it out of context. >> of course they are. >> i think reasonable people could look at that transcript and say what you're saying is total nonsense, okay? that ad is an outrageous lie? it's a brilliant ad, though. and it's a brilliant ad because the perry ad because you get a sense of who that guy is. now, maybe he's the kind of guy who would make an outrageous lie like that. but he says it with confidence. he says is in an immediate way. you have a sense of him with his barrel chest. he's projecting some kind of leadership. >> i think it's the best message from perry. >> based on a lie and fabrication but that's who he is. at least you know who he is. >> let's set the record straight the it's taken out of context. it's not a lie. he's not lying. >> the context is all that matters here. >> he is not lying. >> president obama did not call the american people lazy.

>> he has in the past -- he's jumping on this moment. >> you can't defend this. you're in a completely undefendable position. >> anyone would do this on the other side. >> okay. [ overlapping speakers ] >> how can you stand to endorse something that insults the intelligence of the american people and tries to deceive them from the left or the right? >> it's not a deception taking on president obama's words and giving them a context. the question is of obama's three years. >> it doesn't match the reality of what -- you could say the same thing about a democrat taking a republican's comments out of context and twisting them. >> the question is regardless of whether how veracity, the accuracy, how does it play for rick perry? does this help him? and does the truth even matter? >> it helps him a lot. >> it doesn't really matter because he's not going to be the nominee, either. you think he's going to be the nominee? >> i think he still has a -- >> but he's not raising any money now because everybody jumped off the bandwagon when he couldn't name the third

government department. the guy has not also like herman cain met that basic bar for competence of a president. the american people care about that. as much as they like a swagger, a guy from texas that's plain spoken, they like a guy who has a clue and he doesn't have one. >> speaking of guys who have clues who also don't have much support in the polls let's go to the newest jon huntsman ad. >> literally collapsing and no one has shown up that we can trust as a conservative. >> who actually has a chance to win. >> i'm not some phony who tells me one thing and you another. >> where's that guy? >> who is that guy? >> who is that guy? >> those ads are so depressing. >> that is definitely a depressing ad. not least among the reasons because they end it with who is that guy? why haven't we heard that guy? is that a good ad for jon huntsman? >> the most troubling thing about that ad is they've run out of enough money to light both sides of their face. why is it so so to spooky? there was a classic ad in the 70s where they were trying to

sell detergent and the clothes were so dirty and disgusting that no one wanted to buy the detergent. that's what that ad is. it's so horrible, do you want to be associated with anything? even if he's the guy to clean it up. it's so dirty, i just don't think -- >> nobody really knows who your and then you say at the end why don't we know about this guy? well, because you haven't broken through. >> and putting it front and center. >> terrible mistake. >> we shall see. when we come back we'll take a look at what just happened. next on "now." ♪ ♪ let's go ♪ ♪

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coming up next, first it was

fredd freddiemac. plus barney frank never at a loss for words on gingrich's consulting for a number of industry groups. plus we'll talk with deputy mayor howard wolfson about how the city is handling uninvited guests. we'll see you in 15 minutes here on "andrea mitchell reports". today caps off the end of our first week of "now" and we are debuting a knew feature. every friday we'll take a look at the highlights and some of the low lights of the past seven days. >> a lot of stuff twirling around in my head. >> at the end of every week we're forced to ask ourselves, what just happened? >> i've got to go back and see. >> the republican race for president continued to be a vast force of mystery in the universe. untethered to the laws of fis c of physics. are when newt gingrich's campaign was just a glittering

pie in the sky? >> but newt knew. newt always knew. >> if you're going to become the frontrunner to be president of the united states, you had better expect a very thorough, meticulous effort to take you apart. >> newt gingrich on the move politically is as dangerous as a wounded wolverine. >> but did newt really know? >> is it 1.6 million figure correct? >> i don't know. we're going back to check. >> sound like a whole lot more than just being a historian. >> i was speaker of the house and strategic adviser. >> as newt's lucrative career as a historian made headlines, a figure from the shadows emerged. >> he will cut through this clutter like a hot knife through butter. >> jon huntsman. >> why haven't we heard of this guy? >> now we need some people. we need a little groundswell. >> and a little money. >> there are no magic beans that you can toss in the ground and suddenly a bunch of money grows on trees. >> i don't care what the rest of

the country thinks or feels. that's not important. do i care about what the people of new hampshire feel. because this is important. >> and so it became clear. jon huntsman is running to be the president of new hampshire. meanwhile, rick perry continued to believe in the power of three. presenting his restructuring plan for the government. >> uproot, tear down and rebuild. >> a continuation of his triple play hits of the past. >> cut, balance, and grow. >> football, hunting, barbecue. >> and the frontrunner -- >> nope, that's a different one. >> or rather herman cain showed that when you have problems in english -- >> okay, libya. >> just try saying it in spanish. or maybe in german? >> nine-nine-nine. >> if none of it works just stop trying. >> we need a leader, not a reader. >> the week that was.

panel, in your opinion, who was the big winner and who was the big loser this week? >> mitt romney is the winner because he's none of these people doing crazy things. and newt's a winner, too, in a sense that he's now sort of the flavor of the month and on top. i don't know if you guys saw this "politico" story. it was an incredible interview with him where he basically was asked do you think you're going to last? can you take this thing and parlay it into the nomination? he said maybe if people tend to like me, if i don't do anything crazy, if i don't alienate anybody again. it's possible. he was incredibly self-reflective of his chances and realize he doesn't always wear well with people an may not this time around. >> we're learning even today and yesterday about his ties to the healthcare industry. i mean, the more that comes out about newt the less his candidacy in turn it seems viable. richard? >> newt is the big loser this week. because he's peak too soon. it is only mid november. you want to actually peak sort of late december because in two weeks' time he'll be done. and going the way he is it may

even not be two weeks. so i'm going to say actually herman cain did pretty well. he's come up with a new catch phrase, put on t-shirts, got all this stuff twirling around in my head. that's a priceless line. >> merch sales along could flip this candidacy. >> we've got to talk about herman cain. because every week -- every week there's a new poll out. and then there's a sort of public disavowal of the poll because that poll apparently didn't reflect the comments he made on libya or it doesn't reflect the sexual harassment allegations. but then there are more polls out. and never does this guy ever seem to sync. >> why don't we believe the poll numbers? let's face it. people haven't voted yet so all of this stuff is totally premature. people saying it's definitely mitt romney. but poll after poll after poll puts cain in a really strong position. that's real. the voters in these primaries are saying they're looking for someone like cain. and it happens to be herman cain. so look at florida, look at those early states.

if you are romney and everyone says the expectation is you're the winner and you're still coming in number two, number three, you're in trouble. >> i also think people underestimate the degree to which the republican electorate does not trust the media, does not believe a lot of these stories, thinks he's being unfairly pilloried. no one knows foreign policy. >> don't you think some of his statements have been incredibly if not i spoirnl just brazen insofar as he's saying i don't need to know any foreign policy. >> ridiculous and absurd. but i also think the republican electorate at this point still believes he is a straight talker and somebody who's not from the traditional political background. they like that and they don't see anybody else in there who is that. >> don't you think it's politically savvy to tap into the saep, the populism, the every day kind of e those but also be smart? >> that also is a very important

addendum. >> i think herman cain will be the first to admit he's not politically savvy. he sees that as a plus, as a boons. but when you're not politically savvy maybe you come off as authentic a check in the positive category. but in the negative category you're going to make mistakes. >> i think what's odd is that there's been so much resistance on the part of the mainstream media to take seriously his candidacy, not that i would be thrilled to live in an america with him as president. but i think part of that is psychological, which is we've got a black man as president and possibly a black challenger, african-american challenger. and that's big for america to kind of accept. >> don't you think digging around in his past is proof that they are in fact taking his candidacy seriously? >> unfortunately black men in power have always had people dig around in their past. >> john mccain was -- >> where are his accusers who were here throughout the media a

week or two ago? something that really worries me, it goes back to my eternal theme these days is he threatened them with legal action for telling their stories. he didn't say let's see what happens in court or i dispute this, i will stand and say these women are lying. he didn't say that. he got his lawyers out on them. >> wouldn't you get lawyers? >> i think if i was innocent i would proclaim my innocence. and i would certainly try to fight this hard in the court of public opinion. >> you wouldn't run out to gloria allred then. he's running for president. he's being accused of something. >> you don't understand. he didn't get lawyers to defend him from their allegations. he got lawyers to threaten and intimidate them with a pre-emptive strike. >> and now herman cain is apparently campaigning secret service to prevent more people from talking to him. and he will be on "letterman" tonight. so we have more to look forward to. i have to leave it at that, my fabulous panel. sailing us through the weekend.

thank you. >> congrats on your first week. >> is there cake? >> there will be cake and champagne. we'll march across the brooklyn bridge. thank you for your time. we will be back up next with my post script on this morning's news about burma and why it strikes particularly close to the heart and my heart. ♪ ♪ if i should fall from grace with god ♪ ♪ where no doctor can relieve me ♪ ♪ if i'm buried 'neath the sod ♪ but the angels won't receive me ♪

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. and now onto my post script. earlier today, on the other side of the globe, president obama announced that he had seen flickers of progress in the isolated southeast asian country of burma, also known as myanmar. as a result, secretary of state clinton will visit burma next month to engage in historic, high-level talks with the new burmese government, an effort to steer the country back on a path

of prosperity and ultimately democracy. for the last five decades burma has been one of the most repressed countries on earth, a place of broad and unceasing human rights violations where countless incents have been jailed, slaughtered and otherwise disappeared. and so for the people of burma and those of us in their exiled families, the announcement of progress, however dim and however flickering, offers something far more powerful than just optimism. it offers us hope that soon, sooner than anyone thought, really, burma may return to humanity, and that dignity of an entire nation may one day be restored. that does it for us. i will be back on monday. in the meantime, get more of the show on facebook.com/now with alex. "andrea mitchell reports "is new mexico. >> thanks so much, alex. have a great weekend. up next right here, cain ruffles feathers in new hampshire. and newt faces more questions about his business dealings.

we'll cover all of that with "washington post's" chris alissa and hard ball's chris matthews. plus hillary clinton's historic visit to myanmar and what she says about the crackdown in syria. and why did the fd pull a popular drug treatment for breast cancer? we're following all of that, the latest right here next on "andrea mitchell reports". 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. the world needs more energy. where's it going to come from? ♪ that's why right here, in australia, chevron is building

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we're following all of that, the . work smarter. not harder. i depend on myself the one person i do trust to take charge of my financial future. [ bell dinging ] to take charge of my financial 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. right now on "andrea mitchell reports," candidate cain. he stiffed the editorial board of new hampshire's most important newspaper but somehow found time to pretape "david letterman" show for tonight. >> you dial 9-9-9 you get a free pizza. come on. what are we talking about? >> nut inc. it wasn't only freddie mac. he also made millions from the healthcare industry. a turning point for occupy wall street. we'll talk to new york city's depp mayor about the day of destruction and what comes next. and history is