frankly left for dead a few months ago now leads. he is the beneficiary of all of this and the first republican to hit 40%, but then in a head-to-head matchup, gingrich show shows the general election problem when he is trounced by obama doing slightly better than ron paul. you can see that romney is the strongest candidate there. i am joined by msnbc contributor and pulitzer prize winning journalist chris hunter, and charles blow. and you have a president with approval rating up to 46%, but he beats every candidate head-to-head, and karen, what is going en? >> we like an episode of "big brother" and expect the unexpected, because i don't understand what is going on to be honest with you, but the president has helped himself in many ways. first of all the unemployment rate went down slightly and we can argue the numbers, and he has been out on the campaign trail trumpeting the message and on "60 minutes" and leading into this and coupled with the fact

that the the republicans as we shown have a horrible field of candidates, it is looking good for president obama. >> well, the democrats believe that the longer the primary fight goes on the better for them. and let the republicans beat each other up, and in the meantime, we will build our organization in the primary states. are they right? >> well, long primaries are always good for other guy, but what is really kind of interesting that is happening now is that the republicans are kind of ren derg themselvpickin apart, because they have to go from the guy who will say or do anything for a vote, mitt romney, and the guy without a heart which is newt gingrich, and the guy who will do anything for a buck. so you have a parrot and an angry bird. that is the choice. >> well -- well, i don't quite agree with that. the choice is clear for many republicans who call themselves conservatives that it is newt gingrich, but the problem is

that he cannot beat obama. >> absolutely not. one of the favorite gospel songs is as you know "he looked past my sins and saw the best in me" and they are -- >> are we going to church today? >> we are going to church, because they are look past his sins in just seeing the best in him. he is not consistently conservative, and if they were just going for the conservative credentials, you would be looking at michele bachmann or santorum, but you would not be looking at newt gingrich. >> and fern you are standi ing next to chris, i am looking like a dark skinned person, and i am just saying he looks conservative next to mitt romney. >> anybody looks consistently conservative next to mitt romney, because he is all over the map. but that is not the point. it is like anti-mitts all over the place like whack a mole, because anybody next to mitt seems more conservative. >> that is what has the headline

in the washington post saying that the obama campaign cease reason for optimism and they quote a republican strategist saying that they feel that there is a psychological boost for all of this for the obama team, and they were downtrodden and they thought that we a long-shot at best for re-election and thought they have an opening. >> as long as they have $1 billion in the coffers, that is not true. and this one whack a mole is going to keep his head up. he has cracked the 40% mark and this is the guy and we know the issues and nobody here who doesn't know that newt gingrich is flawed, and they are willing to like i said overlook that, because they want a conservative candidate and the talk show hosts are saying that they hate mitt romney and they cannot stand him, and newt gingrich is a beneficiary. >> what talk show hosts are you talking about? >> ones here of course. >> and glenn beck came out and said that newt gingrich is the only candidate he could never

vote for and you have every one of the talking heads on talk radio who hate newt gingrich, and it is not mitt romney. >> but they hate mitt romney more. >> and this -- who? >> ann colter. >> ann colter has endorsed mitt romney, and how can you say that. >> and with her nose held, and she has killed him in the past. >> i don't think that you guys are going to agree about everything this morning and it would be level, and -- >> we love each other. >> interesting stuff though. karen and charles, thank you to both of you. msnbc's richard lui is looking at some of the dramatic shifts in the 2012 republican horse race. good morning to you. >> tough act tole to low, chris. but, yes, we will look at the elephant race and seeing it whiplash again. let me show you the numbers from just a month ago. at that time, romney was squeaking ahead with 28%, and herman cain at 27% with a tea party support, gingrich hovering at 13% as he had for months.

you saw paul at the behind there with 10%. however, then, what changes? herman cain suspends, and everything he had, the 27%, and that is what newt gingrich reaps in this situation. because when cain is gone, he is able to surge ahead to the highest numbers that we have seen so far, and that is at 40%, and now we have a mitt romney in the late same numbers in december and he falls back to 23, and paul a tick back at 9%, and the big news here is a 17% difference between the two right now. here is what is eye-popling fpi you. look at the scenario here if we look at the three candidates here alone and what happens is that the surge by newt gingrich goes further to where he now has a 53% number which is staggering. chris, romney's saving grace in

this, he polls the best against president obama head-to-head which is something difficult to leverage in the primary. >> thank you, richard. it is fascinating the numbers be. if you are the other republicans, how do you take down the other republicans? this ad popped into my box an hour together. >> together, we can do this. >> well, let's guess who that is from? jeff burkowits who did research for many candidates. >> what do you make of an ad like that? >> well, now that we have the super pacs to fire away, you will see more of the ads for the next year. >> all right. so you are in a room, and you are poring over pages and pages and maybe hundreds of thousands off pages and maybe the same

stuff that nancy pelosi is looking at from investigators years ago all about newt gingrich and tell me what go os nn the room, and how do you decide what to use and what is the conversation like. >> sure. well, first of all, you tend to lose the eyesight because you are poring over all of the documents as you can see from my glasses. but you look for the hidden nuggets in the files and you look through all of the reports, and there is going to be one or two sections to look for. >> and something that people have not heard before. >> actually, absolutely, yes, things that people have not heard before and things that go to the template to explain who the candidate is. if you are mitt romney and trying to explain that newt gingrich is unreliable leader, you are look for things that show that he is unreliable. if you are the rnc and getting ready for barack obama, you are try ing to find things like solyndra where they are giving loans to the people who are political supporters and those

lines are costing the taxpayers lots of money. so -- >> there are a couple of attacks that mitt romney is using, so let me play a couple of more clip clips. >> gingrich has spent the last 30 years in washington and if you think that the background in washington and working to connect various people to washington leaders and being in government affairs is what we need in washington, he is the guy. >> i'm not a bomb thrower, rhetorically or literally. >> i wonder if that kind of stuff works or really what you are looking for if you want to make a splash and want to change minds at this stage, you need people like you sitting in that room looking for that bombshell. >> sure. you know what i have found and what i have to tell the clients is that you are probably not going to find the silver bullet, because those come along one in a thousand times, but you are looking for patterns and trends and data points that build upon each other, and so, for example, when we were looking at john kerry in 2004, we were looking

for examples of flip-flops and we found tons of them, and so we built that case over time, using those different data points. you are not usually going to find some big silver bullet, but what is interesting is that new york magazine had a piece earlier in the week that there is a kid who likes to watch the c-span video archives online and more and more people will find video that never existed in places that you could not get your hands on and you will see more of the bombshells coming from the variety of directions and not just from the opposing campaign campaigns. >> yeah, they have posted it and it is viral. so, let's say that in the treasure trove or maybe not a treasure trove, but all of that documentation, and all of the tapes and you find something, at that point does the conversation become do we give it to the candidate? do we give it to the campaign? do we have somebody else leak it? >> that is always the conversation that you have the goods, what do you do with it, and you want to, you know, do you give it to the reporters or

do you put it into an ad, or do you, you know, send out a press release? it is always a calculation that you have the make, and obviously, if you can get a third party to do, the presentation of what you found, it is better and more credible than if you are just going to release it from the campaign yourself, because voters aren't stupid, and they look at who is the source. that is part of the, you know, part of the message and how it is taken and who is telling me this new information and that is how they will process it. jeff berkowitz, fascinating stuff and thank you for taking the time to talk to us. >> thanks for having me. question for the drivers out there, would you give up driving and texting hand's free or not, and the ntsb is asking for a complete ban. ray lahood will join me in a moment. could you survive in the car

wicar without a cell phone, hand's free or not? two officials are scheduled for a day in court friday. tim curley and gary schultz are accused of failing to report criminal acts against jerry sandusky, and this morning, sandusky's attorney dispelled any ruer mores of a plea bargain. >> there has not been any talk of a plea bargain in this case. any sort of plea bargain would involve a life sentence for jerry san ddusky and given the fact that he is 67, and he has maintained his innocent. >> 11 alleged witnesses were standing ready to testify yesterday at the hearing. he is accuse of 67 counts of child abuse. we will talk to thomas roberts at the top of the next hour right here on msnbc. [ male announcer ] wouldn't it be cool

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apparently, donald trump thinks he may be needed to beat barack obama and that is why he says he is bowing out of moderating the news max debate, because if he did it, he would have to agree not to make a run for the presidency come june. >> the republican party does not want me running as an independent. so, they have made this debate pretty impossible ale though it could be an interesting chat, but because of the fact that the republicans are upset and because of the fact that i refuse to give up the possibility of running as an independent candidate, i have decided to cancel the debate. meantime, newt gingrich let

a staff go who said that god would reject mitt romney, because he is a mormon. and he also called mormons a cult. he made the comments before he was hired at the gingrich campaign and he has only been on the job for a week in iowa. >> i'm not a witch. i am nothing i have heard. i am you -- >> we will use any excuse to bring back that ad and christine o'donnell has lost her bid for senate, but she is backing mitt romney, because she says he can turn the economy around and promise to appeal obama care. and in the congressional christmas santa, senator schumer got a carved donkey, and then clean coal, does this look mineral to you for joe manchin. and then a buffalo wings bar from the anchor bar courtesy of chuck schumer.

stop the politics. stop the games. stand up for the people. >> where is the shared sacrifice? where is the shared responsibility? >> fired up democrats on the floor of the house before lawmakers voteded to extend the payroll tax cut at least on the house side, but that bill also requires the obama administration to approve the keystone pipeline within 60 days. i'm joined now by congresswoman gwen moore who is a democrat from wisconsin. good rn mong. -- good morning. you were fired up, because you called the bill a sham piece of legislation and accused the republicans of talking out of both sides of their neck. what does that neen? >> it is an old expression when you talk out of both sides of your mouth. so for example they named the bill the tax cut for middle-class americansers and the job creation act of 2011.

well, yeah. they do cut the payroll tax for 60 million americans, but at a tremendous cost. and the question of whether or not it creates jobs is certainly debatable. for example, you know, middle-class americans get this payroll tax cut, but it undermines so many provisions of the affordable health care act. it cuts out $21 billion of medicare benefits from hospitals. it in fact undermines some of the premiums and the tax credits within medicare so that there are at least 170 seniors, not rich seniors by the way, chris, who won't get benefits under medicare and on and on. >> how do you get this dope then? obviously, hates to go to the senate, and we heard this morning from the leader over there, and that is not going to happen, and anyway the president said that if the pipeline is a

part of it, he is going to veto it. >> absolutely. >> would you risk letting the payroll tax expire? >> well, we are depending on the president to do what he has said. there is an omnibus budget bill that has to pass by the end of the year to keep the government run, and i think that the strategy for the republicans is to get that thing passed, and then jet out of here, but the president has said he will not sign the omnibus without them dealing with the payroll tax cut. you mentioned earlier, chris, they are holding so many things hostage. they believe they have perfected the hostage taking, and they are going to demand that the president sign the keystone pipeline deal which is very controversial from the legal perspective and environmental perspective and they want to nullify the environmental protections and the clean air and water provisions in order to pass this payroll tax cut for middle-class americans. and these are just sort of

non-starters. so i think that this is a time when it is really important for the american public to have a president who's on their side. he has said he will stand in the gap, and i think that is very significant. another thing, chris, i don't want to -- >> well, let me ask you about what is going on in washington right now, because there is a lot of people at home trying to figure out the budgets to spend for christmas and watching what is going on in washington, and more intractability, and the possibility of a shutdown and i'm looking at the new nbc news/wall street poll and i had to dig into it and build a trench to find a poll about the economy, because people are disgusted with you folks as they have ever been. >> i wish the american people would disaggregate these numbers and separate the sheep from the goat. i'm a member of congress and a democrat and i'm determined to get this payroll tax cut done, and to extend unemployment

benefits without doing for example what the republicans have suggested and require people to do drug tests, and get a drug test in order to get their unemployment benefits. and been found unconstitutional numbers of times and requiring them to have a g.e.d. to qualify for the unemployment benefits, and that is absurd given the fact that poor women in particular would be adversely impacted by this. i mean, if you are on welfare and you lose your job for no reason or no fault of your own, getting a ged is not even a benefit that you can receive under tanif, so that the cool trick here is that you will be able to use your own unemployment benefits, but you are required to use them to get a ged. >> congresswoman gwen moore, you are still fired up from yesterday. >> they are talking out of both sides of their neck, and both

sides of their mouth, and the american people need to find out who is op their side. >> thank you, congresswoman. >> attorney eric holder is take on the contentious voter i.d. fight headon. the attorney general is saying that the justice department will aggressively review the new voting laws that some say disenfranchise the minority. >> the most recent census data indicated that texas has gained more than 4 million new residents and the vast majority of whom are hispanic, and this growth allows four new congressional states, but the state has allowed for four new seats. >> and the government requires state-ish shoed photo i.d.s instead of bank statements or social security cards and they say it avoids fraud and opponents say it opposes voter relief.

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. >> any minute president obama and the first lady will go to

fort bragg, north carolina, and talk to the the troops and end the war in iraq. mike viqueira is there, and this is something very important to the president and something he promised to do in the election campaign. >> yes. it certainly is. you won't see any mission accomplished banners, but you will see the president and the first lady here accompanying the president, chris, more or less thanking the troops and paying tribute to the troops. we all know the statistics that more than 1 million servicemen and women have served in iraq in the course of the last nine years and some 4,500 servicemen and women have lost their lives there including here deployed from fort bragg with 102 servicemen and women. the president is going to be here to thank them and pay tribute and talk about the sacrifices not only that they have made as individuals, but the families have made over the course of the years and the folks on their second and third and fourth deployment to iraq.

there are political of tones to where he goes particularly to north carolina, a swing state, where fort bragg is located. the president was greeted with a newspaper, and open letter from mitt romney talking about the high unemployment rate in north carolina of 10.4%, but among the returning veterans at 11% and detractors when we talked about nuri maliki at the white house where he said that u.s. personnel will be left in iraq, and diplomatic personnel, and there is criticism for the president not coming to the status of agreement to leave forces in iraq to deal with the inevitable security concerns. but the president will be wheels up from andrews to washington and arriving in fort bragg sometime later this morning. >> mike viqueira, thank you so much. do you remember when the government got involved making the car seat belts mandatory? well, they are at it again, and this time a possible ban on cell phones for all drivers. transportation secretary ray

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. >> welcome back to "jansing & company," i'm meteorologist mike seidel from the weather channel in atlanta. the weather today, the only spot on the planet this the lower 48 in the midwest, heavy rain moving through chicago and very gusty winds 25 to 30 miles per hour, and delays an hour on arrival to o'hare, and they may increase throughout the afternoon. it is so warm that a little snow around rhine lander, and that is it for the storm. the water coming out of the gulf and the rain heading to the midwest to the northeast later today and tonight. look at the temperatures. again, that is the story. so far this fall and december, we have had very little cold air. it is 46 in new york, and 70 in atlanta this afternoon, and near 70 in dallas, but as the front moves east, it will take the rain into the big cities, and there could be delays in the airports in new york tomorrow, and again tomorrow, chris, it is going to be warm are from the gulf coast into the northeast

and turning colder in time for the shopping weekend and dry weather for most of the areas coast to coast. back to you. >> thank you, mike. here is a look at the stories that people are looking at. orlando police are not letting up in the search for missing mother michelle parker. even though the cell phone was found underwater, they have gotten leads from it. her fiance, dale parker, jr., is the only suspect in the disappearance. and google is to donate $11.5 million for groups fighting modern day slavery. believed to be the largest corporate grant to rescue people forced to work or provide sex against their will. aaa projecting 92 million americans will travel in the year-end holiday season which is up 1.5% from last year. 84 million people flplanning to drive, but air travel is down nearly 10%. if you are one of the millions taking to the roads over the holidays, listen up,

the, ntsb has touched off a firestorm calling for a ban of all personal electronic devices behind the wheel nationwide which includes hand's free cell phone. deaths from distracted drivers are on the rise and more than 3,000 last year alone. many states including the district of columbia ban texting and nine states including washington, d.c. ban handheld cell phone. we are joined by transportation secretary ra lahood, and you had to know that people would go crazy saying that they cannot talk even on a hand's free cell phone. state the case. >> well, i have been on the campaign for three years. my message is everybody needs to have personal responsibility. everybody has a cell phone and texting device and people think they can use them any time any place and anywhere and you cannot drive safely if you have a cell phone or texting device in their hand. take personal responsibility and put them away, and there is no text message or phone call that

is so important that it cannot wait until you get to the destinati destination. put them in the glove compartme compartment, and you will drive safer, and over the last three years we have used the bully pull lpit to persuade states to pass laws and we have gone from 8 states to 30 state, and if people want to drive safety they need to put the device in the glove compartment. >> let me tell you the argument, if you have one of the built-in bluetooth systems, so you are pushing a button or using a voice-activated system to make a call or pick up a call, that is far better than what people have been doing for years, taking the burger out of the bag or eating french fries while they are driving and the women with the mascara driving to work, and would this include all hands free even the ones built into the car? >> well, chris, this recommendation came from the ntsb which is a separate independent agency from the d.o.t. and my campaign is take

personal responsibility and drive safely, and both hands on the wheel, and both eyes on the road. the real epidemic in america is that everybody has a cell phone and everybody has a texting device and people think they can use them while they are driving and that is very dangerous behavior. personal responsibility, put it in the glove compartment. the epidemic is not about -- and a lot of people don't have bluetooth, and lot of people don't have gps, and they can't afford it, but they have a cell phone and texting device which they believe they can use any time any place anywhere including in the car, which is very dangerous behavior. >> you know the other argument which is that this is big brother, and government going too far. >> well, chris, look it. our initiative at d.o.t. is to save lives. that is what we are in the business of doing, and safety is the number one priority, and there is no higher safety goal than for people to take personal responsibility and put the textsing device and the cell phone in the glove compartment,

because there is no call that is important and if you do that, you will drive safely. we will save a lot of lives. >> there has been a sea change on the seat belts and drinking and driving, and it took a long ti time, and do you see this really happening? >> yes, i do, chris, because the friends in law enforcement get it. when they see the people with the cell phone up to the ears, they write them a ticket in the states where they have laws to do that. that is it will take, good laws and good enforcement, and most importantly, people taking personal responsibility for the safety behind the wheel, and the other people in the car and the other people on the roadways. >> transportation secretary ray lahood, it is good to see you. >> thank you, chris. can you believe it, there is a chance that the government could shutdown again? there is a bunch of bills to fund the government all tied up in the fight over the payroll tax cut and no schedule to vote on them. the government could shut down friday, and there was a big back and forth about it this morning. >> this is becoming a familiar scene on capitol hill.

as time ticks down to the wire, the house has sent the senate another bill that won't pass. >> our friends across the aisle have no plan and some might suggest no desire to pass a payroll tax cut extension, the president's top priority. >> joining me now is the host of the "ed show" right here on msnbc, ed schultz, it is good to see you. >> chris, good to be with you this morning. >> i watch your show, so you were not surprised about the msnbc poll when people were asked about congress performance and below average is 33%, so right there, with those who say one of the worst, it is over 70%. >> people are sick of the gridlock and i hear it out on the road all of the time and no give and take and it is gut-check time for the democrats. they have the majority in the senate and they have to hold to line on the radical things that

the house side is doing with the republicans. and not give in. i think that the democrats this time might just have to walk from this one and blame it on the republicans. it is political theater, but this is what it has come to. they simply do not want to allow this democratic leadership in the senate to have anything that might be viewed as a victory for the people. that is where the republicans are right now. >> and so are you suggesting that the democrats have to be willing to walk away from it? >> yes, and all of the lawmakers the extension of the bush tax cuts is totally unacceptable and off of the table. why do we have to cut a deal with anybody to make our economy better? that is where most of the democrats are right now. the payroll tax cut has worked and we have added 1.5 million jobs since it has gone into effect, and the democrats can't understand why the republicans don't want to add jobs. why does there have to be some deal-cutting on this? >> well, the republican argument is they don't understand, they say, why the democrats wouldn't want to add something that we know is going to definitely be a

job creator and which frankly, even though it is held off, it will be eventually approved any way and of course talking about the pipeline. >> well, the pipeline is a nonstarter for the democrats as well, because there are environmental concerns. once you allow that pipeline to be built across american soil, it opens up a whole pandora's box of the whole environmental issues that the democrats are trying to protect from the environment, the everglades, anwar, and all they want is to study the environmental impact that it could have on the econo economy. the fact is that we have plenty of oil coming out of the dakotas and the montanas with the shale found up there, and things are better when it comes to energy in this country, but here again the republicans are saying that this is shovel-ready jobs. they want to do this, but don't want to do the stimulus. so, i just really believe that

the democrats are at a point where the american people are with them in all of the polling out, there the income inequality and taxing the wealthy to pay more and going along with the middle-class tax cuts and the payroll tax cuts is where the country is. >> would the american people stand for the government shutdown, because tied to it is a trillion in omnibus bills. >> well, shutdown, you get folks going home with an earful and they will pay a political price, and come to the senses. we never shut down the government under bush, but it is failure at all costs for obama, and if they want to play the card in 2012, they will lose the house and the senate. >> ed schultz, i love it when you come on the program. >> thank you. >> and of course, "the ed show" airs week nights at 8:00 p.m. ea eastern, and it is must-see. well, the postal service has lost $14 billion last year, but they have agreed to delay the closing of thousands of post

offices, and mandy drury is here about what is moving your money. how much money here, mandy? >> well, it is a few weeks, but it is enough to keep open 3,700 local post offices, and hopefully these weeks will give congress more time next year to pass more legislation to give it more authority and liquidity to stave off bankruptcy for the postal service. you know that the postal service is expected to fold on friday on a $5.5 billion payment to the treasury, so they do need to do something and fast. >> meantime, microsoft co-founder paul allen, what is he going to do with the money? he is getting into the space race. >> yes, he is leading an effort to build the largest plane to launch cargo and astronauts into space. the aircraft would have wings longer than a football field. yes, a football field, to carry a rocket high into the a atmosphere and then to drop it avoiding therefore the need for a launch pad and also to avoid

the huge expense of rocket fuel. now, they are joining heads with other big tech big wigs with deep pockets from the silicon valley who grew up on "star trek" chris, and therefore they want to fill the void that has been created with the retirement of nasa's space shuttle. good luck to them. >> thank you, mandy drury. >> you are welcome. if you are married, you may soon be in the miminority, and new poll from the pew i.n.s. toout said that marriage has dropped 9% from 2009 to 2010 alone. what is going on? well, researchers say it could be the economy or a cultural shift. elieve coughs, sneezing, aches, fevers. tylenol: and i relieve nasal congestion. nyquil (stuffy): overachiever. anncr vo: tylenol cold multi-symptom nighttime relieves nasal congestion... nyquil cold & flu doesn't. this was the gulf's best tourism season in years. all because so many people wanted to visit us...

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hi, everybody. good morning, i'm thomas roberts and in the next hour of coverage, the president's remarks at fort bragg about the u.s. troops withdrawal from iraq. and jerry sandusky's attorney joe amendola, and are

they gunning for a plea agreement? and new numbers on the marriage institution and how people feel about getting married. and have you heard of fake pot? why the nation's drug czar wants you to pay attention. that is next. chris? >> the annual pick has been announced for person of the year, and someone who for better or worse has done the most to impact our lives, and this year's win sner is "the protester." the managing editor joining us now from "time" magazine. >> well, we try to pick something that has looked at the year that has the passed a and the year going forward. in the past year, we have had protests in countries that total 3 billion people, which is a lot of the world. we have seen the arab spring, protests throughout europe in london, and in occupy wall street here, and now what is happening in russia, so it is a story with legs. >> in is something that causes a

lot of conversation. i had to laugh that dave weigle tweeted this to the selection, sorry, folks, time can define random groups of people as a person. >> well, we like to have fun with the category, but the truth is that when we thought about how to pick an individual, we realize that this is a global movement, and year that democracy and democratic protest was globalized, so this composite image of 26 different people is appropriate for the editi edition. >> and there are other folks who you put on the short list and the list of two through five. i might have gone with admiral mccraven who led the team that took out osama bin laden. was there a lot of arguing for him? >> there is a lot of arguing. we have had several meetings with lots of loud voices, and that is why he was a runner-up, but when you think of the story that defined this year, it was the protesters. it is an economic story, political story, and about the

shrinking middle-class, and that is why we chose that group. >> there was also kate middleton who was number five on this short list. i guess because well, the wedding was great and made a lot of people feel good when there was not a lot to feel good about, but beyond that -- >> well, absolutely. what is not to like about a royal wedding, but she defines a new kind of celebrity, and a subtle kind of celebrity and new approach to being royal, and we thought she was worthy of the short list. >> seriously, ho do people influence you on this, because if you had asked me, you know, i would have been giving you a hard time about it. >> well, we get a lot of input, and we have voter polls, and even within the magazine, there is a lot of fighting. so in tenhe end it is not democratic process. >> you do online poll? >> yes. >> who won? >> the president of turkey. >> i thought that is a diverse group of reading. >> the turks are good at

mobilizing. >> well, fascinating stuff. the "person of the year" issue is online today and hits newsstands friday. "time" magazine assisting managing editor, we thank you. >> thank you for having me. despite divorcing mr. kutcher, she has kept demi kutcher. and this tweet, changing my mime name is not a top priority in my life. why does it bother so many of you? should it matter? ♪ changes my doctor told me calcium

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good morning and welcome to "morning joe" at 6:00 a.m. on the east coast. the award season beginning and taylor's diamond and lost dog found. down to the wire. lindsay lohan missed the flight home from hawaii but vows to make a hearing in los angeles, and she did not make it to a planned taping of "ellen" and

she on track to wrap up the community service in a morgue by march. and lindsay lohan is nominated for a screen actor's gild award. the bridesmaids, and the help, and the decescendentdescendentse war begin. and liz taylor's diamond sold for nearly $9 million. more of her art, clothing and memorabilia will be auctioned later this week. a dog lost for eight years is back home. petunia recently found in california 2700 miles away from her home in virginia. animal control workers were able to find her, thanks to a microchip. hmm. not the normal house pet, a baby seal found crashing on the couch of a new zealand home. it crossed a road and entered through a pet door and climbed up the stairs in the living room, and it was caught and

released back in the wild. it looks comfortable there, frankly. and the most bizarre christmas card of the year. the mayor of san juan puerto rico posing with the leopard biting the neck of an antelope, and it is a is, may christmas illuminate your dreams. [ buzzer ] >> i don't -- i don't like take a bite out of christmas. i don't know. that wraps up this hour of "jansing & company." i'm chris jansing. thomas roberts is up next. i will see you back here tomorrow. when you have tough pain, do you want fast relief? try bayer advanced aspirin. it has microparticles so it enters the bloodstream fast and rushes relief to the site of your tough pain. it's proven to relieve pain twice as fast as before. bayer advanced aspirin. it's 4g, so you can do more faster. so, kathryn, post more youtube videos of your baby acting adorable. baby. on it. matt, ignore me and keep updating your fantasy team.

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jerry sandusky's attorney speaks. was the move to waive the disgraced penn state's coach's hearing a bait and switch to prevent the accusers from testifying? and why does sandusky fumble questions about whether he is attracted to boys? my cap did and extensive interview with sandusky's

attorney coming up, and i will speak with the attorneys of alleged victim four. and newt's electability problem. a new poll has him soaring against mitt romney, against president obama, it is no contest. is newt the wrong choice for the gop? the ntsb wants to ban all cell phone use while driving e vep with handheld devices. is this too much government intervepgs or a much -- interve or a much needed move to improve safety. and a new survey about marriage shows that americans think that marriage is passe, and instead of couples getting hitched, they are opting to shack-up. we will have those eye-opening results with you today. i'm thomas roberts, and glad to have you with us today. and the christmas show down over the payroll tax cut.

the gop passed their version last night including the keystone pipeline, and the democrats say it is a nonstarter. the ball is in harry reid. >> my house colleagues, democrats and republicans have heard all and more than they have ever wanted to hear about why this senate can't do this and why the senate can't do that. we well, guess what? it is time for the united states senate to act. the president says that the american people can't wait, well, guess what, they can't wait. and then there's the secretary of state said, well, you know, this keystone issue in this bill create creates an arbitrary deadline. the only thing that is arbitrary about the deadline is the senate passing it. >> and luke russert joins us to explain this, and tell us about the showdown and the politics in play right now? >>