big boost. mitt romney picks up two endorsements. one the most coveted in iowa. how does this help him or is it still anyone's gain? >> house speaker john boehner speaking about opposing the bill that extends payroll tax cuts. plus, the momentous event. the last u.s. soldiers roll out of iraq. a live report from the border. good morning frn. welcome to "weekends with alex witt." we begin with politic as mitt romney is scoring a major endorsement in iowa with a little more than two weeks to go. in today's paper, the des moines register editorial board says "sobriety, wisdom and judgment. those are the quality mitt romney looks for in a leader. those are the calls romney has

demonstrated in his career in business, public service and the government. those qualities helped the former massachusetts governor stand out as the most qualified republican candidate competing in iowa caucuses." joining me is the editor of the des moines register. rick. >> good morning from des moines iowa. >> i'm well. what is it that ultimately that led that he had forrial board to enforce mitt romney. what did -- >> i will tell you it's more than a one-time meeting with the editorial board, alec. we have a unique and incredible perspective in iowa with the register. being able to follow the candidates for more than a year. looking at their positions, their views, their platforms and their visions for the united states. in our case with governor romney, we've been seeing him and watching him for five years or so. what we've seen this time around is a more mature, articulate politician and visionary who has got a really good grasp of the

pressing issues in the country and iowa, and looking long-term in terms of economic development, job creation and turning around this economy. really critical issues that are confronting not only our state but the country. doing it in a way, we think, coming from the republican field that will ultimately yield a little bit more bipartisan collaboration and some cooperation in washington. >> any just specific nugget you can offer me, rick, in terms of that maturity. you did not endorse him four years ago. he has not necessarily been a big businessman this last four years. you talk about his economic perspective. he's been pretty much running campaigns and getting geared up for this election. where do you see that maturity? >> it's a different field than four years ago. rom mi is a different candidate also. he's much more articulate about how his experience, what he did, rescuing the 2002 olympics in salt lake city.

that stands out from the crowd this time around. i think that he looked closely at his personal experiences from the ceo perspective coming from the private sector and lots of pressing issues in front of us here in iowa as well as the rest of the country. but it's that notion of how do we turn this economy around, how do we get people back to work, how do we allay the concerns of folks worried about foreclosures, furloughs to keeping their children in college and holding on to the family farm and other issues confronting us. on all those points, when we looked at the candidates and spent quality time with them, we thought he could bring together a solid economic policy and also have the willingness to be able to try to fix a washington that you know as well as what we've reported here in des moines is clearly broken. >> yeah. rick, you didn't shy away from the accusations of him being a flipflopper. how did you weigh that in the decision? >> i don't think you could walk away from that at all, alex. i think that certainly the other candidates have made that an issue.

the governor himself has confronted that himself. let's be real. every politician at every stage of his career takes a close look at the issues and adjusts their perspectives. governor romney switched from an independent to a moderate republican and liberal to a conservative. we talk to him about the different issues. particularly on abortion. you know what, i've changed my position on some areas, i've made mistakes in how i've communicated it. it was refreshing for us to have a politician to have the governor who acknowledged that positions that i have today might be different than what i had a short time ago. four years ago, eight years ago. whatever it might be. i've made mistakes in how i communicated that. this is how i feel today. i think the honesty was a breath of fresh air for us. >> what's interesting, rick, positions from iowans, we're on the fifth front-runner in in state according to the polls. how do you see this race ending in iowa in. >> you know what, ask me in 16

days. it's going to be a dog fight. here's what i can tell you. iowans are incredibly independent. they're incredibly smart. they embrace this incredible responsibility they have in terms of being able to vet these candidates, to do more than kick the tires, to know the issues and to really embrace their responsibilities as it relates to just good guardians of democracy and civics here in iowa. we've got a lot of time, surprisingly, for 16 days out. we've got two candidates that are on barnstorming bus tours of iowa. we're going to see more of the candidates here, certainly seen an incredible surge in electronic advertising as well as in broadcast and print. it will be interesting to see what unfolds. i will tell you that no candidate is going to take it all lightly. they're putting everything that they possibly can into it. we'll see you in a little bit more than two weeks. >> from the des moines register, rick green, thank you so much. have a good one. >> you bet, alex. you too. the growing war of words

between two gop presidential candidates now as a third candidate weighing in. this started friday night when ron paula period on the tonight show with jay leno and asked his opinion of michele bachmann. >> michele bachmann? >> she doesn't like muslims. she hates muslims. she hates them. she wants to go get them. >> okay. that's not good. >> now, michele bachmann responded to those comments on the campaign trail saturday. >> last night ron paul has said that i hate muslims on the jay leno show. he said it more than once and what i want to say in response to that is that i don't hate muslims. i love the american people. >> mitt romney was asked about paul's comments while campaigning in south carolina yesterday. here's what romney said. >> the comments you described are obviously not appropriate in a setting like this. i don't think they describe the,

accurately describe the views of either michele bachmann or rick santorum. >> straight off that endorsement from governor nikki haley in south carolina, romney took aim at newt gingrich. he pointed to his role with freddie mac and how much he collected in consulting fees. >> i think he said he got $300,000 from freddie mac to work as an historian. we found out it's $1.6 million and he worked as a spokesman in providing support for freddie mac. i think as tea partiers, concentrate on that. they say this isn't really the guy representing our views. >> a voter asked rick perry if he would make herman cain the secretary of defense. cain said he would like to hold that position. perry responded it's too early to decide on a cabinet. he did say this about cain. >> he has all the characteristics of the type of people that i'll bring forward.

>> on the campaign trail today, rick perry, michele bachmann, rick santorum will make several stops across iowa. jon huntsman has town halls planned in new hampshire. from there to washington now. a major new fight in congress over the payroll tax agreement the senate approved yesterday. house members are furious with the bill and when it's their turn to vote tomorrow, sparks could fly. >> i and our members oppose the senate bill. it's only for two months. i mean, the president said we shouldn't go on vacation until we get our work done and frankly, house republicans agree. >> well, let's go to nbc's mike viqueira at the white house for us. >> held hello. >> what does this mean? are we on the brink of having a tax hike and having this fall through? >> reporter: conceivably. the deal struck between republicans we should point off on the top mitch mcconnell and all but seven that voted for that bill, that compromise and

the president and senate democrats who still of course, have the majority there, not going to pass muster in the house of representatives and the speaker of the house, john boehner, stating that in no uncertain terms this morning on "meet the press." yes we heard about the conference call republicans had yesterday. many were upset, disappointed that the extension in the payroll tax cut was a temporary fix. they wanted more reforms to the unemployment insurance program before it gets extended. they have a number of problems with the fundamentals of the tax code they want to see addressed as well. it is not going anywhere in the house of representatives. so the president is not going to join the first family in hawaii for his annual vacation. it appears, the way john boehner is speaking, they could be here after christmas could congress and the president and the white house an auld their attendant staff trying to work out the details. somewhat of a surprise considering all the event of yesterday, alex, when we saw the president in the briefing room after that 89-10 vote in the senate approving that deal.

>> i'd say so. the president said he hoped this would go forward without much drama. he was talking about in february where it gets reconsidered going through the rest of the year. i mean, little did he know he would be talking about this in 48 hours. what is it specifically that the house republicans don't like in the senate bill? >> reporter: it's the fact that it's a temporary increase. we all know what we're talking about here. a cut in the payroll taxes. the taxes go to fund social security. everybody pace 6 continue to -- over the past year, because of a deal worked out with the president and mitch mcconnell, we've been paying 4.2%. the president and house republican leaders and senate republican leaders have said yes, we want to extend that. they haven't been able to agree on how you pay for that loss of revenue in the social security trust fund. there's also -- they're upset, house republicans, over the fundamental issues in the tax code. they want reform to the unemployment insurance program as well, alec. >> mike viqueira, many thanks

for that. the presidency and race. former virginia governor douglas wilder will be our guest. could it be that former president bill clinton has been better for african-americans than president obama? we'll have that interview for you in about ten minutes. the gates are closed and the last american troops are officially gone from iraq marking the end of america's involvement in a controversial, nearly nine year long war. the final military convoy rolled over the border into kuwait hours ago. richard engel has about there for all of it. >> thank you very much. it is now evening and the troops are settling in here. a lot of them have been living on mre's. these are backaged meals as the chow halls were closed down. bases handed over to iraqis. behind me, you can see the last american vehicle to leave iraq. here in kuwait it is basically a giant weapons and vehicle and troop depot as these troops are

processing out of the country. the u.s. military really only has one mission left. that is to get all of in equipment and all of these troops home for the holidays. this war began here in kuwait nearly nine years ago. this is where it is ending. it was a dignified end to a problematic war. the long convoy of m raps rolled in, in an organized line. this time, all the armor wasn't necessary. the troops left iraq without firing a shot. >> it felt like a sense of relief because you know you're not -- no longer in the danger zone and you can kind of relax, kick back and just enjoy the ride here. >> these are the last 480 american soldiers to serve in iraq following more than a million before them. >> this is my other battle sergeant. >> their journey began 12 hours earlier, 200 miles north in

southern iraq. with just one drive left to do, they seemed excited. happy. puffing cigars, barbecuing. tossing footballs and triple checking vehicles. no one wanted to break down. not on this trip. >> most of these troops were only teenagers when the iraq war began. but many of them were called to serve here time after time. but in a few hours, they'll all be gone ending a chapter for iraq, for the troops and america. [ honking ] >> after dark, they set out 110 vehicles protected from above by 45 aircraft. >> had a chance to jump in and march 2003. now i'm honored to close out the war here december of 2011. >> the troops settled in for a

long, dark ride. a slow one cruising speed 35 miles an hour. >> going home. >> feel good? >> yes. yes, real good. >> the significance of this moment was now becoming clear. >> it's just about another 50 miles to go on this the final road march, the end of the iraq war is closing in with every mile. then lights in the distance, the kuwaiti border. by sunrise, they had all crossed over. the gate to iraq was shut. and america's war in iraq 4500 lives later was over. the troops that were in this last vehicle, the last vehicle of the last convoy were from the first cavalry division based at fort hood, texas. they were driving this vehicle selected to be at the end of the convoy because they were serving

a medivac function in case something had gone wrong. they would have been called in to provide assistance. but nothing on this final march out of iraq did go wrong. it all went smoothly, alex. >> i got chills as i saw the video you provided of the gating shut and locked. that's quite something. thank you very much. we'll see you again in the next hour. race in america and why the comparisons between president obama and president clinton continue. we'll be speaking with former virginia governor, douglas wilder. newt gingrich and his challenge in iowa. is it possible that his lead is narrowing or disappearing? plus, flipping out. the story behind a chevy and a nailbiter of a stunt here on weeken "weekends with alex witt." are we going to show the whole thing? i don't know. when i was nineteen. i was a commissioned officer at twenty-three. i was an avionics... tactical telecommunications... squad leader. i think the hardest transition as you get further into the military is... you know it's going to end one day. chase hired me to be a personal banker.

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a new opinion piece compares bill clinton and barack obama asking which president has the better for the african-american community. it's been more than 13 years since writer tony morrison famously called bill clinton the country's first black president. former governor douglas wilder now writes "by birth and life experience, clinton cannot lay claim to the title of first black president as morrison knighted him. obama need to work harder to make it less obvious. deserves it more than the 44th president does. i'm joined by douglas wilder. who wrote this piece. he's the former democratic governor of virginia and the first african-american to be elected governor in the united states. welcome back to the program. good to see you. good morning. >> alec, always good to be with you. good morning to you. >> i want to hear a bit more, sir, about why you say the president should look closer at the clinton template. >> first of all, strongly

disagreed with that notion that my friend tony morrison made and the observations she made in 1998. if you look back, you see that bill clinton had five secretaries in his cabinet of color. five. then you had a director of the management and budget. then you also had the, what we call the drug czar. of those seven positions, these people have budgets, they were able to hire and to bring in people to stay in state government for long after the president is gone. now, we haven't seen that with reference to this president. we've had vacancies on the supreme court and this is where the access for civil rights has been stressed for so many years, thor good marshall spent his life fighting for it and eventually on the court. convincing other people on the court with a sensitivity to that

view. i don't believe with all the talent that clarence thomas brings that he brings that view of the african-american community. he's the first told you that. the president is confronted with that. the real question is when is he going to show that it makes a difference for him to have been there. i also pointed out, alex, that we know that in four years, president obama will no longer be there anyway. the real question is what will have been that legacy for people of color and minorities to have built upon to say, boy, we were glad to have had the chance to have this president. i've strongly supported him. i support him now. i want this president to recognize that we're political as well as anyone else. the real question is what's in it for us in. >> indeed. you write that people are pulling you aside asking you privately, why the president standing in the african-american community has softened.

what are the whispers, the concerns that you're hearing specifically? >> well, they're saying that we know he inherited a tough ship. we know that the finances were not there. when you look to appointments, when you look to the need, when you look to the reason to speak to people and they -- they've been critical of the -- telling the congressional black caucuses, quit whining. that's okay. that's fine. but when you -- when people see everybody else getting their share, when they see the banks and the bailouts and the corporations, they see the waste and the greed, whether it's fannie may or freddie mac or whomever, they're saying when is that going to be us? where is that commitment to building our schools, building our infrastructure, rebuilding our cities. at least let us believe you're there and take the stand to -- more importantly, who is around

the president advising him to the extent of recognizing what all americans are looking for, not just some. >> now, once president obama was elected, we all talked about this post racial america. isn't that, though, the ultimate achievement of president barack obama? president clinton, he never had to overcame racism to be elected. how can you give him the nod as being the first black president? >> that is not achieved. there is no post racial environment. all you've got to do is look at the people who are railing against a president now. every conceivable thing that he does is wrong they're saying. anybody but obama. look on your program this morning. you had the des moines register who four years ago, no, they couldn't touch mitt romney. today, hey, he's okay. guess what? he's fine.

this is what you're going to find in the battle box. >> governor, don't you think with regard to the race in america, right now the clamors against barack obama, it's more about the economy. when people say what has he done or what's happening, the economy is what it is. it's not because he has -- he carries a different skin tone. i mean, isn't that really what the ke question is all about. >> that might be. but the real question is, when he is gone, then are these arguments going to disappear, dissipate? will there be people on the courts still fighting for the unfinished agenda in america? will it be that we would have said, oh, we finally got an african-american president and that's it? no. it didn't happen when you finally got an african-american governor. in virginia you still had to fight. you still had to be there. you still had to, as the emblem and the slogan on the supreme court building says, eternal

vigilance is the price of liberty and freedom in this country. that's what we've got to do. that's why we can never rest. that's why this president has got to know that we're not going to be satisfied with slogans. we're not going to be satisfied with the thing that, well, it's all over. it is not all over. the fight is eternal. >> former virginia governor douglas wilder. thanks for joining us. >> thank you so much, alex. always. michele bachmann launching fresh attacks on newt gingrich. you'll hear what she said this morning on "meet the press." how a new phone number can change your life. you're watching "weekends with alex witt." ouncer ] who fills their holidays with sawdust? ♪ with quarter-inch holes and blueprints for the coming year? those of us with doers on our lists.

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back to the race for iowa. newt gingrich says his rival's

attacks are taking a toll on his campaign. he held a conference with likely iowa caucus-goers to head off the barrage of criticism coming his way. he campaigned in iowa this past week. he'll be back there tomorrow. he's taking the weekend off from the trail. he's pacing himself he says. mitt romney gained two key endorsement from the des moines register and from gop heavyweight bob dole. i'm joined by anne kornblut. >> good morning. >> things don't appear to be going his way there just most recently. is it possible his lead it about to narrow or disappear? >> i think as the race reaches actual voting day, january 3rd, it does tend to tighten. it wouldn't be surprising if in the final des moines register poll or any other numbers that we see there is some kind of tightening. obviously, an endorsement, any endorsement would matter. these are two fairly big endorsements. the des moines register having a lot more of an impact than bob

dole's at this point. iowa is quirky. they don't like being told who to vote for. the register has not always picked the winner. there is a potential for it to backfire. >> gingrich is being attacked by by ads. it totals more than $3.2 million. that's nearly 14 times as much as gingrich has spent and romney is not the only candidate who is going after gingrich. this is what the airwaves look like right now in iowa. check this out. >> newt has a ton of baggage. like the fact that gingrich was fined $300,000 for ethics violations or took money from freddie mac. $6 million. some of it just before the housing market collapsed. >> 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 serial hypocrisy. >> how much can the campaign sustain these negative attacks? >> merry christmas, right? i pity the voters, people who live in iowa at this point. they're going to sustain them for another couple of weeks until the caucuses are held. this is completely expected. this is what happens when you are the front-runner. i have to suspect that newt gingrich knew this would come and in some ways is cherishing. the question is what kind of toll they take. it's no surprise. >> is in a challenge at this point for the white house which doesn't have a clear candidate or the timing is okay? >> i think the white house is doing just fine. they're happy to see republicans bating each other up the way they are. i think they would be pleased with newt gingrich or mitt romney as the nominee at this point. not to mention the other potential candidates. they have their own ground game in iowa. i think they're doing okay. >> anne kornblut doing okay for us. we'll see you later. thank you. earlier this morning, michele bachmann appeared on meet the press going after her

rival, newt gingrich. on thursday night, gingrich spoke to a bachmann in a tone that some have said is sexist. >> you think sexism motivates him? your words were i am a serious contender for the presidency. >> well, what he said sounded very condescending and it sounded like he was talking down to me as though i was one of his students. i'm not one of his students. as i said, i am a serious candidate for the presidency. if he a disagrees with my assertion, he needs to make that claim and put it on the table. the fact is about him taking $1.6 million for his work on behalf of continuing freddie mac. >> the res of that interview, you can watch meet the press here on msnbc at 2 p.m. can your car do this? look at this. mtv reality and skateboarding rod deer peck, he performed a kick flip in a brand new 2012 chevrolet sonic. he made that jump over a giant

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and it protects these other areas dentists check most. crest pro-health clinical gum protection. because healthy smiles are built on healthy gums. life opens up when you do. the endorsement of mitt romney may be a break by the former pass mass governor. the newspaper praised romney as the best candidate to lead in the january 3rd caucuses. romney was campaigning with governor nikki haley. nbc's garrett hak is joining me. he's been traveling with romney. >> good morning, alex. >> tell me about the endorsement. >> this came out last night. haven't seen the candidate back on the trail since it happened. you got the blast from the campaign with the e-mail messages to reporter, twitter, make sure everybody saw it. as ann said, the paper has gotten it wrong before. they backed john mccain a distant third last time. you can't bring the newspaper

and have it tout you up. they're pleased about it. but not over the moon just yet. >> the conservatives may criticize it because the des moines register is considered a more liberal leaning newspaper and they like mitt romney. it doesn't necessarily -- >> the romney campaign will twist it the other way and say you had this and a couple pages later, you had this bob dole endorse: it's a sober serious minded conservatives trying to pick a candidate against president obama. you're right. you can spin this either way you want. >> we saw him there with nikki haley who endorsed him in south carolina. the 2008 campaign saw him coming in fourth in the primary there. what's he doing differently in the state this time. >> the calendar was different in 2008. last time romney focused on florida. this time around he's been there a lot more, he's been there more than iowa by my count. he had made a big speech there at the citadel. he unveiled the foreign policy pogs.

there were crowds at the trip larger than any other state. he's sort of playing mora gres civil there. they see a window there, a narrow one. there is an opportunity for him in south carolina. >> garrett, going to be on the road momentarily. you're barely here to chill out. that's all. thank so much. fresh off of snagging a des moines register's endorsement in iowa, mitt romney made an appearance on the sunday talk show circuit since launching his current campaign. >> we are prepared if we go on for month and months, we'll have the resources to carry a campaign. to each of the states that will decide who gets delegates and who becomes the nominee. >> so is this former front-runner who is currently trailing newt gingrich on the polls on the verge of a comebackment joining me former democratic governor of pennsylvania ed rendell and gop's strategist and assistant to georgew bush. ron christy. hello guys. good to see you. >> good morning, alex.

the point i was making with garrett here, gingrich's campaign immediately responded to the endorsement with this statement. "mitt romney put a stamp on him, dmr certified liberal. we appreciate the newspaper having us in to make our case." how much stock do republicans put in this endorsement? >> i think it's a big deal x alex. it's a big deal for governor romney that the paper explicitly decided mott to endorse him. he's the one in the best position to bring the economy back on track, is a good sign for the former governor of massachusetts. rather than looking statesman-like, gingrich looks like he's snieping and looks unpresidential in my view. >> governor rendell, was the register doing romney a disservice by pointing out that he "has tended to adapt some positions to different times and places" in essence flipflopping? is this a curse in disguise.

is it handing the current former opponents the president included, some ammunition? >> i don't think that the newspaper pointed out anything that people don't know about governor romney changing pogs. i think it helps a little bit at the margin. i think bob dole's which was discounted by an earlier guest is more important. if i'm a republican voter and i'm knot a total -- i'm thinking who do the serious people in my party think not only can be president of the united states but can win in the fall. for bob dole to weigh in, i think that's a big deal. >> i want to read what was said there. we'll be talking about this later in the show too. a number of my friends are candidates seeking the gop nomination. but the time has come for us to decide who among them can defeat barack obama in 2012. i've made my decision. i believe our best hope lies in governor mitt romney. which brings up the question that i always am fascinated by. during a primary season as

opposed to a general election is when voters go to the polls, do they vote their conscience or do they vote whom they think can actually win in what do you think, ed? >> i think it's both. some vote their conscience, period. they're getting their votes essentially off their chest. but there are serious republicans who want too win and i think they're going to tend back to governor romney. in 2004, democrats voted essentially for john kerry because we thought ironically because of his war record, he have the best candidate we could put against president bush. people did make that distinction. they took that into their cal clags when they voted. i think some voters absolutely do. >> ron, we played a clip of romney making that sunday talk show appearance in this election cycle. do you think this signals a change in his press strategy. he's been more available to the traveling press the last couple of weeks. what do you make of that? >> i think you're right, alex.

if you look at mitt romney he's been the invisible man. you haven't seen him out making very many media availabilities. he's recalibrated his schedule. i think that's very important. particularly heading into iowa, new hampshire and south carolina. the press corps follow these candidate day in, day out. they want to get to know the folks. it could potentially lead to better, more favorably written stories and pieces television. >> this is way too short. we'll make it up to you. thanks, guys. >> thanks, alex. dragon tattoo fans, get ready for what you've been waiting for. office politics, doris kerns goodwin on how her passion for baseball helped turn who are into a historian. ♪ i think i'm falling

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book series. the girl with the dragon tattoo. it hits theaters in the u.s. on tuesday. take a pick. >> can i call you elizabeth? i want you to help me catch a killer of women. got absolutely no idea how they're connected to the death of a 16-year-old girl. don't you need to look over these? >> i read it. >> let's get more on the top films this holiday season from amy palmer. good morning, aim incompetent. >> good morning, alex. steve larson died of a heart attack before the movie series took off. what do you think it is about this series that has had just such the scuttlebutt, the twitter, the discussion about it, the fans? what is it? >> i think there's a lot of mystery surrounding the author. i think people are compelled about how did this happen, how did he die and not see it's a multidimensional national best seller. the reality is it's a compelling story. these characters speak to people. that's why it's so popular.

>> okay. there is a perennial family favorite, matt damon out there with "we bought a zoo." we're going to watch a clip of that together. here it is. >> you have no idea what we've been doing here. we used to have three times the staff. they all quit. i'm 28. i never go out. i had to move back in with my mother. no one gets paid, ben. we need somebody who can take charge of this place or else we and all these animals are gone. >> how does it look? >> great family film. comes out december 23rd. cameron crow directed this. matt damon is a dad who buys a farm for his kids. it's a great family film. i think everyone will enjoy it. it's rated pg. it's a departure for matt damon but it works. he really talked about how much he loved working with cameron crowe and it shows in his performance. >> you're thinking must-see? >> definitely. >> on my list. the other one that has a lot of buzz. war horse. >> of course. that's an absolute must-see.

this is a throwback to the way hollywood used to do films. the cinematography. there are no explosions and special effects. this is really just a compelling story about a boy and his horse. it really speaks to generations, the family can go see it. you can take your kids, your grandparents. this, i think, is going to be one of the epic films in hollywood. even if you look at that footage there, it really is so beautiful. it makes you reminisce about the days of hollywood before everything was blowing up. >> yeah, right. even those who produce the trailers, they've done a great job. i start crying in the theaters. it's very compelling. >> it's very touching. mission impossible, the next installment. what's that look like? >> that's going to be a huge hit. they're saying that tom cruise is like he was in the f. irs one. which is the most popular of the series. he did all of his own stunts in this film. >> hang on. take a quick peek here. show a clip. we have to have part of tom cruise. here it is. >> absolutely.

>> jump. oh, god. jump. jump! >> okay. >> yeah. >> that's not even the clip that i'm talking about. >> that one when he's jumping out of the building. >> that is the world's tallest building in dubai. >> he did that. >> he did it. you can see on you-tube behind the scenes foot anl doing these stunts. i'm thinking this is the most famous successful movie star in the world. why is he doing this? that's tom cruise. he's always pushing the envelope. i think that's why this movie is going to do so well. >> i think it's a must-see. >> you've given us good ones. amy palmer, lots to watch over the holidays. looking at wall street, we'll get a handful of readings on the housing market including new home sales, home builder sentiment and mortgage applications. we'll get the final reading on the second quarter gdp expected to show the economy grew at a modest pace at 2% over the

summer. one week before christmas, shoppers will continue to hit the maums. the national retail federation predicting $469 billion will be spent this holiday season.

the war in iraq is over. the last american troops left overnight driving into kuwait after almost nine years, 4500 americans killed, 10,000 iraqi soldiers and 100,000 civilians died. this morning we look ahead to the war's lasting legacy and the political arena. joining me from washington is michael tomaski of the daily beast. >> good morning. >> i love the way you started this article here and you made the call, what are we going to be 8 and two and two. you talk about the win/loss/tie

column of wars. >> we haven't won it. haven't necessarily lost it, i guess. some of the statistics you rattled off as you were introducing me, the deaths of americans and iraqis. some of statistics you didn't rattle off shall the cost, the continuing cost that will keep on costing us money going forward. all of these prices are at least at this point the american people think the prices were too high to pay. poll after poll shows that. >> here we are today celebrating the shutting of the gate between iraq and kuwait and the safe passage of the last of these, i guess medivac units that had been there just in case. but you note in your daily beast piece the other day that no one is audacious enough to call iraq a victory. why is that? >> well, the reasons that we just discussed. and the polls that i just mentioned. >> even those who have been supporters and justified being there throughout the years, that they wouldn't at this point say, we've done it, let's declare

victory? you think everybody is circumspect right now? >> i think a few people will say it's a win. a few people are trying to. anybody who is trying to get votes is not going to say this is a win because that's too unpopular and risky a position. >> how did the republicans -- how do they handle this war going through the 2012 political campaign? >> you know, in this political campaign, i think it's going to be a little bit tricky for them. provided iraq doesn't ploe up into a major catastrophe in the next 11 months, then i think the war is a good issue for barack obama, right? it stands to reason. he got the troops out of there when he said he would get them out of there. once he got them out of there, i'm speaking hypothetically now, iraq stabilized, it didn't go nut. that's a win for obama. it's tough for republicans to get any political capital out of that, i think. >> michael, you readily admit in your story that you were against

this war. if it were up to people like you, saddam hussein would still be in power. you add it did not seem worth it. what in your mind would have made it worth it? >> a war of shorter duration, a war that was prosecuted better. a war planned better. a war in which rumsfeld and cheney and bush listened to the experts who were telling them that it was going to take 300,000 to 400,000 people instead of firing those people. you know i'm talking about eric con sec i, right? >> a war in which we weren't lied to repeatedly. about wmd, which didn't exist. about nuclear capability, which didn't exist. if the war had been framed as a war of liberation for an oppressed people and if they had been honest with us from the very beginning about what we were doing there, maybe that would have been a defensible war. maybe. that's also a debate. but maybe would have been defensible. as it was sold to us,

indefensible. >> michael, it's a great read on the daily beast. thank you so much for joining us. >> my pleasure. you can get more about the pullout including an article about haunted homecomings in this issue of newsweek magazine. mitt romney two big endorsement, how important are they and how much weight will they carry in iowa? cell phone to the stars. the story behind the ultimate wrong number. the mighty turducken. nature's majestic beast.

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is it the calm before a capitol hill storm? house republicans ready for a fight over that payroll tax cut extension. we have a live report coming up. also ahead, getting the nod. new endorsements for mitt romney. how important are they really? it's over and out. an historic day in iraq. u.s. forces leave to en the war. ha is left behind? office politics. how dialing for dollars is

widening washington's gaping political divide. hollywood hotline. hollywood dream. a man gets a new cell phone and celebrities start contacting him. what's the connection there? good morning everyone. welcome to weekends with alex witt. it's 11 o'clock on the east coast. mitt romney is scoring a major endorsement from the des moines register. he appeared a short time ago on one of the sunday talk shows and wasted no time going after president obama on the economy. >> he was not the reason that the economy hit bottom and then begins to recover. we have gone through recessions before. he made this one worse. he made the recovery more tepid. his pol tis have hurt, not helped. joining me is editor in chief for the national journals hotline reid willis. >> good morning. >> do we have a better sense of the race that we did, than we did a day or two ago? i am curious, what we have here is a split endorsement with the union leader in new hampshire endorsing gingrich and the

register endorsing romney. in 2008, both papers endorsed skr john mccain. the. >> the des moines rentalster doesn't have a great track record of picking the winner of the caucuses. they have picked the nominee a couple of times. but they haven't done that in the democratic or republican field since georgew bush in 2000. >> the union leader is a more conservative paper. republicans read it before the primary. that carries a lot of weight forever newt gingrich. that helped while he was surging at the moment. that's not to say mitt romney isn't doing well. in fact, we're seeing right now newt gingrich in sort of slow escalator down towards the bottom. he shot up like a rocket, now on the escalator down. >> we have bob dole endorsing romney in an ad this morning in the des moines rentalster. how much of an impact does this endorsement have and is it a snub against dole's former partner in congress?

>> no. i don't think so. i don't think bob dole is going to sway a lot of republican voters. this is sort of the endorsement game, mitt romney has been rolling out a lot of prominent endorsements lately. some more important than others. nikki haley, the governor in south carolina probably cares a lot of weight in that primary. christine o'donnell, the former senate candidate in delaware, whose most famous ad declared she wasn't a witch. bob dole more in the later camp than the former. >> you talked about thinking that you think -- seeing gingrich's support plummeting the next couple of weeks. why is that? >> we've seen this throughout the race. we see somebody shoot up like a rocket and then their polls begin to decline because voters don't like them as the anti-romney voter. this happened to michele bachmann, it happened to rick perry, herman cain, they all had moment in the sun and then ended up fading away. what we're seeing right now in the public polls is starting to mirror what folks were seeing in

private polls about a week ago newt gingrich sort of, his numbers were soft. his numbers were just as soft as everybody else's. people like the idea of an anti-romney. had they took a closer look at newt gingrich, he wasn't the right candidate. maybe because of his personal baggage or because of his actions when he was in congress. whatever it happened to be, his support is now erode. we're starting to see that in public polls just like in private polls last week. >> okay. reid wilson, thanks for weighing in as always. >> thanks, alex. let's go to washington where the payroll tax bill is being talked about. 24 hours ago, the senate passed that bill. 89-10. then the president came out, thanking congress for reaching an agreement but the house still has to vote tomorrow. it's becoming clear this is not a done deal. >> i and our members oppose the senate bill. it's only for two months. the president said we shouldn't go on vacation until we get our

work done. frankly, house republicans agree. >> mike viqueira is at the white house for us. here's the bottom line. >> another good morning to you. we've been through this kind of thing too many times. do you think american's taxes are about to go up. >> you would think we would have learned our lesson. there's a lot more at stake, you're right, than whether john boehner and president obama and the rest of congress and the staff goes on vacation this holiday season. what's at stake here is a thousand dollars in taxes next year for the average american family of four. working family of four. we're talking about that payroll tax cut. it's already in effect. it cuts those payroll taxes that fund social security by 2%. they want to extend it into next year. they thought there was a deal. the senate voted yesterday. the vote was 89-10. this was a deal, alex, that had the senate republican leader and one of his rank and file high fiving in the hall. it's not good enough for house

republicans. they're upset as we heard john boehner say today that the extension only lasts two month. they want to see other reform. it's clear, i'm told now, by sources on the house side on the republican side this could get upwards of 300 nay votes when it comes to a vote tomorrow. so this is far from a done deal. we're essentially back to the brink. >> do you think there's a good shot we'll be working on this the week after? >> one thing that is consistent, we should know better than to try to predict, especially lately. everything is so out of whack and conventional wisdom has gone out the window. one thing that's always held true, when you start to smell the jet fumes across the river at national airport, congress sort of gets that incentive that gleam in their eye. we thought it kicked in this year. i guess we should have known better, alex. we'll be here in congress and the president will be dealing with this over the course of the next several days. >> keeping them further delayed from getting him to his family in hawaii. thanks, mike viqueira. >> you can see skron boehner's

full interview at 2 p.m. eastern. at least 50 occupy wall street protesters were arrested they tried to form a new encampment in a vacant lot owned by a church. police quickly cleared the area. church officials asked demonstrators not to use the area saying it wasn't fit for an encampment. after nearly nine years, the war in iraq is over. hours ago, the last u.s. military convoy rolled into neighboring kuwait. richard engel got a rare look at the region. good evening your time. it's been emotional this last couple days, hasn't it, richard? >> reporter: it has been a moment of closure for the million or so troops that deployed to this country. but right now, i can say that the spirits of the soldiers are very high. they are packing out their equipment. you can see some troops behind me. they are from the california army reserves.

they are responsible for processing the 100 or so vehicles that are currently on this lot alone and there are many other lots just like it. the only mission right now left of the iraq war, the war which is now over, no troops left in iraq, but the only mission now is to get all this equipment, all the personnel home. what the troops are doing now, some of the ones that came out of iraq today, they are cleaning up and resting, they're getting the first hot meal that they have had in many weeks because as these bases were closing down, one of the first things that they did was close the dining facilities. so right now, it is a moment of closure. but also one of excitement and anticipation as they head home for the holidays. >> richard, all the things you're talking about, you've been tweaking a number of pictures. pictures of the bases that are now empty. keys left behind by the troops. i mean, talk to me about what

you're seeing here as we look at the keys on the wall just hanging there. >> those were pictures i took as we were waiting to leave iraq, waiting for this final convoy to depart and come into kuwait. and this had been an american base and now it was packed up, all the sensitive equipment had been taken away. but the furniture, the keys, the odd items, karaoke machine that was there were just left behind. it wasn't considered worth it to pack up this kind of equipment and bring it all the way back to the you state. but it did give a feeling of emptiness that i felt, as if someone had left their house, taken away their most important possessions, their family photographs and the things that were important to them and left behind all of the rest. what also is significant is that base, it was called cob adder.

it was the last base to be transferred to iraqi authority. as soon as u.s. troops left the area, it became known as the iman -- the shiite islam which i think is also quite significant to see the transformation that iraq is going through right now. >> all of these points you make significant. do me a favor and give a high five to all the fellow californians behind you there. >> they send their regards from california. >> there you go. >> thank you so much. richard, good to see you. former zek president has died. the dissident playwright turned -- he became his country's first democrat cli elected president. he led the nonviolent velvet revolution and became a hero of the struggle that ended the cold war. he oversaw the country's peaceful 1993 breakup into the

czech republican. he is dead at the age of 75. still ahead, a horrific crime caught on tape. a new development in the pursuit of the monster who did it. today's office politics. a story that we're showed. it's a war of words. michele bachmann and ron paul straight from the lips. the latest salvos ahead on "weekends with alex witt." [ male announcer ] cranberry juice? wake up!

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a battle of words this weekend among three presidential candidates. it began friday when ron paul made a visit to the tonight show with jay leno. he was asked of his opinion of bachmann. she responded yesterday on the

trail. >> michele bachmann? >> she doesn't like muslims. she hates muslims. she wants to go get them. >> wow. that's not good. >> last night, ron paul has said that i hate muslims on the jay leno show. he said it more than once. what i want to see in response to that is that i don't hate muslims. i love the american people. >> mitt romney was asked about ron paul's comments during a campaign stop with south carolina governor nikki haley. here's what he said. >> the comments you've described are obviously not appropriate in a setting like this. i don't think they describe the, accurately skree describe the views of michele bachmann or sick rowe rick santorum. hundreds showed up for the event. the elephant character on the right side of your screen included.

>> thank you everyone. thank you. santa! i feel so good. >> the christmas spirit is on the campaign trail. michele bachmann getting a special visit from santa. here's where the candidate are today. rick perry, michele bachmann, rick santorum are crisscrossing iowa. jon huntsman has town halls planned in new hampshire and mitt romney stops by the late show with david letterman. this just in, jon huntsman scored an endorsement from the king sentinel. just announcing the endorsement on its website. back to iowa now. mitt romney's new endorsement from the des moines register. but whether that wins romney new supporters remains to be seen. his rival, newt gingrich appeared on face the nation and reacted to the endorsement. >> i'm actually delighted because the manchester union leader, which is a reliably conservative newspaper endorsed me. the des moines did not.

i think that indicates who the conservative in this race is. >> joining me from davenport, iowa, steve grubbs. steve, good morning. >> good morning, alex. >> what do you make of what newt gingrich was saying earlier on cbs. that he thinks this endorsement by the des moines register will not appeal to the conservative base there? >> well, i think in iowa, it may finally be time for a romney surge after all this time. not because of the des moines register editorial or endorsement, because frankly, among republicans, they don't carry a lot of weight. but a lot of republicans are finally coming to the conclusion that romney may be the candidate who can best peat tbeat the pre in the fall. as i go to cocktail parties, christmas parties, whatever the case may be, that's sort of the buzz that's started occurring this week. largely, i think due to the shear volume of negative mail

and tv coming to iowa, going after newt gingrich. >> so you think that bob dole's endorsement, that spells out good reasoning there, that endorsement that's in the des moines register today? >> well, i think so. i used to work for senator dole. i was a state co-chair in '96. so i know him pretty well. i don't think that -- even though i think his reasoning is sound, i don't think senator dole's endorsement makes a difference either. they will make their mind up independent of endorsements. >> when you said that you thought newt could survive and win this thing in iowa if he survived this next week, because of all these negative mailings now and the negative bombardment on television, you think that's unlikely in. >> well, what i said is that if he can survive and the anecdotal evidence in some of the polls that i'm seeing show that he's at least dropped to second.

perhaps third. but look, all you have to do to get out of iowa is finish in the top three. those are the three tickets to new hampshire and then south carolina. so i think newt gets one of the three tickets, i think romney gets one of the three tickets and then the last ticket will be either ron paul, maybe michele bachmann. >> those polls you're citing there, those are internal gop polls? >> well, some of them are internal. we're starting to see some numbers from some of the other news outlets as well that show weakening with newt gingrich. >> steve, you're currently on the line, right? >> that's correct. >> who are you going to support? >> well, i don't know who i'm going to support. i may not -- it may be a last minute decision. but what i do know is that in iowa, we have this great opportunity to have an outside say in picking the next president. my hope is that all republicans, more than just the 100,000 that typically show up, will avail

themselves of this opportunity even though it may be a cold and very wintry night. iowans should take advantage of it. >> steve grubbs, good to speak with you. thank you so much. well, kindness in pueblo, colorado. look what was found in a kettle, four gold wedding rings. worth $900. they were once the donor's mother's ring given in her memory. [ female announcer ] have you met your skin twin?

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a couple from cleveland found themselves rubbing elbows with the rich and famous. how did they end up there? because of a screw-up over a cell phone number. joining me live from los angeles is that hot couple and his girlfriend. good to see you. >> good morning, alex. >> here's the deal. i'm from l.a. so i know. when people head to hollywood,

they work pretty hard to find the fame. in this case it has come to you. give us the brief synopsis of what happened. >> it's crazy. when we moved back here from ohio in january, i went to the sprint store. i wanted the 301 area. i didn't want the ohio number anymore because i'm in town. the next day i started getting text messages. one said i saw your stuff on tmz. what a bummer. i'm like tmz. whose number did i get? i call the guy back and he lets me know it's a very famous comedian actor in town. for the first month, i was inundated with mi unusual shah call. saw you at the twins game or the celtics game. not shortly thereafter, things turned for us. >> liesza, i want to hear about paris hilton's party. you got to go to her party. >> when i showed up, everybody is in evening gowns. they look perfect. they're all models or just

gorgeous people. i showed up in jeans and sneakers to the party. she was very cordial. she's very, very nice. >> it was interesting how we got invited to that. we were just going to dinner. i got a text message. by the way, if you haven't mentioned, the nachlt actor is nick swa ard sen. i get a text message saying nick, it's my birthday, i want you to come. love paris. this is a month after the number. i figure i'm entitled to a party. so we texted him back. hey yeah, love to come, but put bob gray and liza foster on the list. half hour later, she texted back the address. we headed to the hollywood hills past security. >> the parking guy who looked at your guy. some minivan. he's going, i don't think you're legit, right? >> yeah. i mean, he really gave us the once over, the twice over and the third over.

he was mortified. yeah, you're on the list. he couldn't believe it. we jump out of the car, we toss him the keys and said park it. >> that's cool. >> you're going to write about this. this is a screen play waiting to be written. are you on this? >> oh, i've been on it since the day it happened. in fact, the treatment is going around town here. there's been people interested in it. they think everyone that's heard the story has thought it's been great. we see all the comments from your show and other shows and everybody is like, give niece guys their own sitcom. i can't wait to see their movie. i want to thank everybody for those nice words. it's picking up some steam. >> i just like to say, i'd probably rather see you in a reality show than paris. that's just me. i hope liza is cast in the film. i know she's done some acting. such a great story. merry christmas with that. that's fun. >> thanks guys. thanks. on the national mall in washington, a whole bunch of posers made a scene. they showed up yesterday dressed

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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. a developing story we're following this morning. right now in new york city, police are questioning a man about the fiery murder of a woman who was deliberately burned to death inside a brooklyn elevator. this is a very disturbing story. the horrifying and methodical attack happened on saturday night. it was caught on surveillance video. nbc's michelle franzen is covering the story for us. good day to you. what do we know about this man and is he a suspect. >> new york police released that photo that you just showed from a video that captured that attack on camera as it played

out. they were hoping to catch the suspect, but evidently overnight someone walked into the police station and identified themselves as the man who was responsible for dousing a woman inside the elevator with some sort of accelerant and then setting her ablaze in that elevator. they're questioning that man at this hour. they're not -- they have not filed any charges but police say that they are questioning him in regards to that attack. this woman was in her 60s and she was inside the elevator of her apartment building carrying a sack of groceries. when her elevator doors opened up, the man was waiting for her according to police and started dousing her with some type of accelerant. and then set her ablaze with some molotov style cocktail. closing the doors captured all on camera. very brutal, brutal attack. >> it really is so incredibly sickening. it has all of us reacting with horror here in the newsroom. is there any discussion about a possible motive or what the

relationship may have been between these two people? >> well, police say that they believe the man knew this woman. so what they're trying to figure out now through questioning is exactly what that relationship might have have been and of course, no motive at this time that we know of. of what would cause anyone to do this to another person. >> we're also told that he may have had some burns on his hands and face as well? >> yeah. when he walked in to the police station, they said the man was smelling of gasoline or some type of sort of accelerant. and that he had actually implicated himself and made statements that implicated himself in that attack. but, again, all this questioning just starting to take place. police as well trying to put it together. but as you can see, they have a good picture to identify that suspect. certainly, the horrific video of this attack which lasted about a minute. >> absolutely chilling.

michelle franzen, thank you so much for the update. we'll get more on the endorsement in iowa from mitt romney. the des moines register placing bets on mitt romney. what does this mean for him on the ground in the hawkeye state? we're joined by alex mo on this. >> hello. let's get to how the other candidates are reacting o this. the romney rivals to this endorsement. >> well, all the candidates that are in iowa, are reacting a little bit different to the big endorsement that came out on-line last night. michele bachmann congratulated mitt romney on his endorsement. but added that she disagrees with their calculation regarding her candidacy. and speaker newt gingrich spokesman said mitt romney, put a stamp on him. dmr, certified liberal. the newspaper, though, said that mitt romney was the best candidate to be endorsed this year, saying that rebuilding the economy is the nation's top priority and romney makes the

best case among the republicans that he could do that. newt gingrich himself actually rebutted that a little bit this morning on an early sunday show saying that mitt romney goss endorsed by a liberal paper and he got the backing of the manchester leader in new hampshire. some of the candidates are congratulating romney. >> what about the buzz on the ground? how much of a game changer is this out there? >> we'll have to see. endorsements don't typically have that much affect in iowa. john mccain won the endorsement in 2008 and then went on to lose the caucus to mike huckabee. although he did grab the nomination eventually. one republican strategist and iowa caucus veteran told me that this endorsement doesn't really mean anything. iowans aren't that happy. at least the republicans one with the des moines register. their debate got canceled this

month. this could propel romney to get momentum. >> many thanks weighing in alex moe. appreciate that. in my interview with the pulitzer prize winning author. she's on a biography of teddy roosevelt. i asked her where our political climate ranks throughout history. >> we hear about the partisanship and all the epic levels of this right now. nothing is getting accomplished, nothing moves forward and there seems to be true animosity from one side to the other. do you think there's another time in history where we have it at this decibel level? >> certainly, if you look back at the 1850s when congressmen and senators are carrying revolvers on to the senate floor and hitting each other over the head with such damage that one senator was out for two years. but in the last 40 or 50 years, however, i've not seen it as bad as it is now. i think what happened is it's

got a lot to do with campaign finance. because these cache terharacter for dollars and go home -- it used to be they stayed in washington on the weekends, they would play poker together, form friendships across party lines. their wives stayed in washington. as a result, you had relationships that built. nowadays, they go home on thursdays, they barely come back on tuesdays. they hardly know each other across party lines. there seems to be little sense of desire for accomplishment. >> interesting. with regard to all the inwred credible things in this house, you have the pen with which president johnson signed the voting rights act? >> yeah. there's a great picture of president johnson and my husband and he has given him the actual pen or one of the pens that he signed the voting rights act in 1965. because my husband wrote the famous speech that johnson delivered to a joint session of congress that helped to produce that voting rights act.

i think it's my husband's proudest moment. >> he wrote that speech in a day didn't he? >> in a day. it drives me crazy. i couldn't do that. it's one of the great speeches in the 20th century. >> the other picture when they're gathered around and watching the apollo liftoff on this little tv. >> they're inside the office and jfk is there, my husband is there and arthur slessinger and they're looking at a black and white television, a tiny little screen watching alan shepherd go up in space. >> you're work og on your book with teddy roosevelt. what's the most surprising thing and the thing you like best about this man that you're living with now? >> just like with lincoln, where there were 14,000 books written by lincoln, so i had to come up with an angle that would be different. so i wrote about this cabinet group, the team of rivals that surrounded him. so too, there have been so many great books about teddy roosevelt that i had to come up with a somewhat different story.

i'm writing about the broken friendship between taft and his roosevelt. it's more deep than i had known this friendship. they had been great friends in their 30s in washington together. teddy then makes him his secretary of war, actually runs his campaign after teddy gives up after a term and a half. and then in the end, teddy wants to be president again. so after taft has been president for four years, he comes back and runs against him in 1912. it breaks their friendship, devastating to taft. the incredible thing is, we're talking about 2012, 100 years ago before this campaign when the republican party splits in two. on the one hand, you have the conservative part of the party being run by taft who get the nomination. teddy then takes his group out and runs a progressive campaign, the bull moose party. they split the republican vote and the democratic woodrow wilson wins. there was a huge fisher in the republican party then much like on the opposite side today, tea

party and moderate. if a third party candidate goes out there, you might have a repeat of 2012 and 1912 again. >> what have you yet to do with your life that you haven't already? >> the only thing i would really still love to do is be an owner of the red sox. >> yes. what you're wearing today is actually your roots, dodger blue. >> that's true. the dodgers were my first love. there's no question about that. my father taught me how to keep score when i was six years old. it's where i learned history from. in some ways he would come home at night and recount the history of the game of learning how to keep score. he made me feel i was telling him a fabulous story. makes you think something magic about history to keep your father's attention. i love to tell a story. i think that's the best history. if you can get a story told, people will care about the characters, care about the context of the time. if i can do that and make people feel that lincoln's come alive again and a story is being told, that now teddy and taft are coming alive, then you feel like

you've done something pretty great. >> i can tell-all of you that those of us in doris' home, we were captivated by the stories she told. the reflections of the past and lessons for the future. you can watch the rest of my interviews on msnbc.com. in just a moment, mitt romney says he's the perfect tea party candidate. say what? how is that? we'll talk about that on "weekends with alex witt." i was in south korea. i was in germany. i was in iraq. i think the hardest transition as you get further into the military is... you know it's going to end one day. and that's why i'm doing the job i'm doing now at chase, helping them hire veterans through the 100,000 jobs mission. because chase understands if you want an organization that's going to grow, that has a basis in ethics, and get the engine running again in america... why wouldn't you want to hire the veteran? chase is proud to help 100,000 veterans find jobs at home.

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we'll take a closer look at recent opinion pieces on what his presidency means for african-americans. iowa, it's anyone's game. and where is the tea party? i'm joined now by washington post reporter anne kornblut, mo he will think. spokesman for hillary clinton campaigns and robert trayn ham. we'll talk tea party first. even though it was number three. it was an ideology with so much support. mitt romney picked up support from nikki haley. in fact, here he is at an event with her. let's listen. >> i think that on the issues of the day and the experience that i would bring to the white house that i end up pretty well with tea partiers. >> robter, mitt romney, isn't that a stretch? >> i'm not sure it is. here is the reason why. let's look at what the tea party

is about. it's about fiscal issues and conservatism on the court. not an arm of gay rights or abortion. when you take a look at mitt romney's position, the one thing that he's been consistent on throughout his life, one life that is, is on fiscal economic issues, being for smaller government, lower taxes, being for a more libertarian type of government as it relates to how your relationship is or the lack thereafter from a tax. i don't think that's a stretch. >> ann, doesn't the tea party have a candidate in michele bachmann? why isn't the tea party rallying around her? even her own caucus won't be standing with herment. >> it's not a monolith. there's no one leader. there are factions that embraced michele bachmann, others who have not. you see that with what mitt romney is doing. what's interesting to me is that this statement is something that could easily come back to haunt mitt romney in a general election.

moe and other democrats have saved that sound bite and will be replaying it if he's the nominee because, of course, obama campaign and the white house at times portrayed the tea party as very extreme. it may work for him in the short term, he may regret it in the long-term. >> ann, while i agree there's not been a monolithic tea party leader, michele bachmann has been the sort of go-to girl, wouldn't you agree? >> absolutely. but i don't think -- yes. i actually agree with you and a little bit less with robert about hit mittmitt romney's cla. there's no one tea party. the fact that nikki haley decided this was a smart political move not only for the political party and mitt romney is not representative of the whole tea party. >> mo, do the democrats think the tea party activists will be a force in 2012 and then a year ago might you have answered differently? >> i think the one thing that's been very clear, in the last

year, the american public's perception of the tea party has just taken a huge nosedive in poll after poll both nationally as well as in the key battleground state. you see the tea party's approval rating just tanking. so yeah, ann is right. democrats all across the country are looking forward to running against the tea party. these guys are seen as a huge part of the problem in washington. when you ask people what one of the large he's impediments are to economic recovery, it is the intransigence and dysfunction that we're seeing in washing fon and a lot of people point at the tea party for helping to create that. if you're a presidential candidate running around saying, yeah, i'm a tea partier, that sends up a lot of red flags to voters. i'm going to switch gears turning to an opinion piece written by douglas wilder with whom i spoke this morning. first african-american governor to be elected in the u.s. his piece is called obama or clinton, better for blacks?

here's some of what he said earlier with me. here we go. >> if you look back, you see that bill clinton had five secretaries in his cabinet of color. five. then you had a director of the management and budget, then you also had the what we call the drug czar. of those seven positions, these people have budgets, they were able to hire and to bring in people to stay in state government for long after the president is gone. >> mo, we haven't seen that with president obama. what's your reaction to that? >> i got all the respect in the world for governor wilder. but i think dictating a president's legacy purely based on the number of appointments that they've made is probably doing a little bit of a disservice. both president clinton and president obama have done a huge amount to help the african-american community. on economic issues, on fiscal issues, on social issues. they've been out there fighting

for the community. and one of the things i think president obama did that was historic with his election was actually transcending and showing that actually you can be fighting for these issues not as a black president or a white president but as a president of all people. so i daisagree a little bit wit the governor's premise. >> what about your reaction, robert? >>let put this in context. president obama it's a complicated relationship that he has with the african-american people and the american people because of his background with race. also what's interesting about what governor wilder said, yeah, i mean, having a diverse staff is very important, there's no question about it. but i also think the connectivity that bill clinton had with the african-american group of individuals in the 1990s, you really can't light a candle to that. because it was so sneak and so special and what's interesting, when you juxtapose that with the relationship that president

obama has, it's more stilted and academic. i think maxine waters, charlie rang he will, i think a lot of people would probably say that in the affirmative. yes, more stilted and problematic. i think a lot of people would say that in the affirmative. yes, he is african-american and yes he is black, and yes they are very proud of him, but in terms of the relationship that he has with grassroots people, say the ncaa pc and so forth, it's a bit complicated. >> how is the enthusiasm. >> there is no way they could ever surpass what it was last time. it was new and historic and in a different way the last time, and they are paying close attention to the african-american vote, make no doubt about it. they have their organizers who are very focused on this.

that said, they would dispute the notion he has not done as much for african-americans. and in all across his minorities, he has had women, and -- >> don't move. we will have this on the other side, what does bob dole see in mitt romney that many don't. [ female announcer ] instantly smooth wrinkles with a shot? wait a second...

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snichltd back now, looking at the ground game in iowa. and the des moines registry was filled with good news, and bob dole is throwing his support behind mitt romney, too. welcome back. ann, how much weight do these

endorsements carry? >> some, and they do have the potential to backfire. the mainstream media is not popular, so it could carry the weight but won't seal the deal. >> and is bob dole's endorsement of romney a snub against gingrich? >> yes, it was an open secret that bob dole was more moderate than newt gingrich, and they butted heads, and dole did not want a government shutdown, and gingrich pushed that handle a little bit. but to your earlier question, i am not sure it has a lot of weight. bob dole was on the ticket in 1996, and fast-forward today, it probably has some weight with some people, but not enough to seal the deal. >> he is endorsing mitt romney because he thinks he has the best chance of beating barack obama. is he approaching this from a

practical level, robert? >> yes, no question about it. it's obvious that mitt romney is the strongest republican candidate in the general election, but he is a weak primary person, and a lot of people know that and obviously bob dole has been around the block to say that. >> romney has the endorsements in iowa and gingrich wins in the polls, and perry spends the most money, and it's not clear who the president should be focusing on? >> it's a great opportunity to deliver the positive message while the republicans are duking it out. i don't think it helps romney much. romney has been stuck between 20 and 25% in all the polls ever since his campaign began. these are not going to help him get over the hump. >> i want to throw up your must-read articles of the day. mo and ann, you chose the

"washington post," about the iraq. interesting read. >> and "the new york times," it's all about ron paul and it's his game to lose, basically. stay with us. and i'm gonna track them online, too. nice. between those boxes and this place, i'm totally staying sane this year. do i smell snickerdoodles? maybe. [ timer dings ] got to go. priority mail flat rate shipping at usps.com. a simpler way to ship. but my nose is still runny. [ male announcer ] truth is, dayquil doesn't treat that. really? [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus fights your worst cold symptoms, plus it relieves your runny nose. [ deep breath] awesome. [ male announcer ] yes, it is. that's the cold truth! woohoo! whoa. haircolor is a chore no more! you gotta come see what's new. c'mon!

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