she was born in iowa, visited all 99 counties. unlike rick santorum that did not propel her to a second or third place finfinish. here is where things are standing today. michele bachmann is coming in a disappointing sixth place, and now considering dropping out. joining me, msnbc's ed schultz, host of "the ed show" with me in the studio and nbc political director and host of "the daily rundown," chuck todd. he's in new hampshire. and nbc's kelly o'donnell at bachmann event taking place in iowa. and i want to start with you, ed. bachmann is not coming out to address us saying she's reassessing the campaign, like perry, he only made that announcement, said he's going home. this is different when you have michele bachmann asking for press time at the top of the hour. >> well, it's the conversations that are being held behind the cameras that are important right now because of the anti-romney crowd is starting to galvanize. they're getting together, old

conservative corner getting together saying 75% of conservatives did not want mitt romney in iowa. and now is a chance for all of them to get together and mount the charge to get a good conservative candidate. right now, you know, the way the stars are lining up, rick santorum is at the right place at the right time. it would seem to me there's some conversations going on between the perry camp, the bachmann camp and heavyweight conservatives saying let's get together, newt gingrich alluded to this this morning, to make mitt romney's life pretty rough. and the obama team has got to be saying this is great. this is going move romney further to the right and make it harder on his resources and give them more of a chance to make their case. so, this is a good scenario for the obama camp but it's also an opportunity for the conservatives to make sure that they get out of mitt romney what they want if he is going to be the nominee. >> a lot of pundits talking yesterday saying no matter ghaps iowa it makes sense for everyone to continue on, most people

probably would continue on. however, now we're seeing the fact that here we are the day after it's narrowed down, eliminating rick perry and michele bachmann, not officially yet, but here we have this. so where would bachmann's weight go from here on out? >> it depends if she gets together with perry and gingrich. i think that this is a very poor showing by newt gingrich yesterday in iowa. i mean, newt gingrich has one of most, you know, spread out, most publicized names in all of american politics over the last 20 years and all he could do is 13% in iowa. he's got to realize, see the write on the wall as well. he's going to dry everything he can for the conservative right and i think that there's going to be a little fraternity getting together that's the anti-mitt romney crowd. >> we'll talk to chuck todd in a second. having audio issues and with him. kelly o'donnell's in iowa at bachmann event. set the tone for us about the crowd that's gathers and what

the expectations are. >> reporter: well, it really is striking because there is far more media here today than there was to cover her announcement night, her supposed victory last night. the kind of setting where people planned for that to be a big moment for michele bachmann. very different today. no members of the public here. the same room has been reworked. and is packed with reporters. people ask me, when i'm on the campaign trail, why do candidates not drop out on the night when a poor showing is obvious. and over and over again i am told by campaigns and advisers they need time to strategize, they need to time reach out to donors so it's a personal conversation, to donors and key supporters before the public knows. it's a way to get another piece of the news cycle because she was on very, very late last night. today she has a big story to tell. and it also allows someone like michele bachmann, who is a member of congress, to begin to remake her next part of her public life. she goes back to a job on capitol hill.

she will continue to be a vocal person in the tea party movement, in the anti-president obama movement. and she's got to set that stage today. and so last night, she gave a lot of remarks that were very much talking about the broader fight and suggesting that that is what needs to happen, kind of that coalescing that ed was talking about. today she gets to make that again. she's had a chance to sort of take it in, be with hermann family. she called of the candidates. she's been with hermann family. aides expect she'll take questions today. look at this as a relaunching and repackaging of michele bachmann after a poor showing in iowa. >> she's respected in the conservative circles. even though she didn't do very well in iowa, she's someone who has guts to get out and say what conservatives want to hear. so she plays a valuable role in that regard. and she also becomes this voice over the shoulder of the obama administration which, of course, conservatives love. so, where she didn't do well in

iowa doesn't mean she can't be effective as an operative against tobama administration. i think kelly's absolutely spot-on, you have to show respect to the people that have supported you all along, it's a process, part of the process and of course it's another opportunity to tell her story and where she wants to go. >> just crossing the a.p. wires that michele bachmann is ending her campaign, according to -- excuse me, according to bachmann advisors saying that the presidential hopeful will be announcing, coming up shortly, that this will be the time where she says that it will be over for her. our chuck todd is joining me from new hampshire. we had audio issues coming off the top of the show. michele bachmann was riding high once she won the ames straw poll. now her popularity obviously has gone down. now that we know she is officially ending her bid, we have to ask the question, is texas governor rick perry going to follow, since he, too, chanced his events in south carolina today. >> no, it does -- it does seem

as if that rick perry is getting advice from some of his texas aides that maybe it is time to pull the plug, maybe it's not worth going on and trying to move on. but they have not made a final decision on that front. as for michele bachmann, her campaign was doomed the day she won the iowa straw poll because rick perry, the other guy we were talking about, announced that same day, took away any chance she had of sort of getting some momentum out of there and any hope she had of becoming the national conservative alternative, the leading conservative. it went away then. she couldn't recover. she never figures out how to recover. it's interesting to see what she does next. does she run for re-election? the senate? what does she do next? does she instead try to start a national organization, become a leading national movement conservative? in her remarks, i have a feeling she'll at least start giving a few hints about what is the next

chapter for michele bachmann. >> where do you think, chuck that her followers are going to go? who do you think she will encourage them to follow behind? >> interesting in iowa, it's easy to say social conservatives fall behind rick santorum. i did run into a lot of republican women who were rooting for michele bachmann to do well based on wanting to see a woman do well in this presidential race. so i don't think you automatically assume that all of her vote, because ideologically she lines up bet, her support -- her positions line up better with rick santorum that she'll they'll go there. ooh think she had her share of fans rooting for her to break a glass ceiling on the republican side. you know we shouldn't let this statistic go unnoticed. the state of iowa has this just horrible track record when it comes to win women in politic. it's one of two states that has never sent a woman to congress,

never elected a woman to the u.s. senate, governor, and we've seen it dash the hopes of hillary clinton, dash the hopes of michele bachmann. it's one of those record, i'm sure that the state of iowa's not very proud of. >> explain to all of us, this is an overwhelming mandate for mitt romney, eight people separated him from rick santorum if four people had gone to rick santorum it would have been an all-out tie. eight people, just eight heads made the difference here. so explain why people rallied so heavily around rick santorum and where does he go from here, because he is the story coming out of iowa though mitt romney was the wish. >> that's right. but rick santorum won iowa. he won the mow men tumentum out. mitt romney's in the same position he was in four years ago. yes, you can say that. i think you've got to remember there's an organized movement social conservative wing of the iowa republican party and they

started to coalesce. i think if rick santorum had one more day he would have won by two points, had he had two more day he would have won by five points. he was starting to make the case to conservatives that were behind bachmann, behind rick perry and that's another 15 points he could have foengslily gathered there. the question's going to be will will there be a national coalescing? i don't know. i think the jury's still out because conservative lead have to make a decision, if they get behind santorum and lose, and romney's the nominee and becomes president, do they want to have that kind of relationship with mitt romney, an antagonistic one. i think you're going to see some hand wringing over the next few days about what to do because do you think santorum has what it takes to run the national campaign to win the nomination? >> ed, your thoughts? you've gone out to visit him. you have a different

perspective, because you were there to see him on the trail. >> i think they're going to say, okay if we resource rick santorum, how effective will he be? that calculus has got to be made. if he has near as much resource as mitt romney, can we get what we want out of the nominee? that's what the conservatives are trying to do. they're trying to get the best conservative they can, and if they can move romney, using santorum, they're going to do it. getting back to chuck's point about michele bachmann, she would be more than a formidable opponent for amy klobuchar in minnesota. the twin cities would probably go to amy klobuchar. outstate, southern minnesota, north western minnesota would go to michele bachmann. i mean, this would be a race. she's going to have a lot of people in minnesota that are going to want her to get into the united states senate. she would probably be the best candidate to go against cla klobuchar. that would be a heck of a fight.

maybe not as close as the coleman/franken race but pretty close. >> i'm getting two-minute warning we expect michele bachmann to be taking the podium here shortly. kelly, quickly, have you seen her in the building yet? as i understood it at the top of the hour i didn't think she was there just yet. >> reporter: right outside the doing, i've been attached to the camera talking to you, there's the pipe and drape of campaign world that allows a candidate to come in without being obviously seen. we know that some aides have been waiting for her. if we have the two-minute warning, i'm confident they wouldn't give that without her being in the building. i'm told her best friend from california is with her, all of her family. and that one of the things we will probably hear is what she likes about the other candidates, wanting to be respectful and wanting to remind people that in her word, she could take it to president obama something she said countless times on the campaign trail, referring to her titanium spine and one link is that rick santorum says the next days of the election will be about

health care, romney care, as they call it, and certainly michele bachmann said trying to defeat what she calls obama care is one of the top priorities of this election season. so there's an easy alliance to see on that issue between the two of them. and as ed pointed out, he can remain a vocal, prominent voice for these issues and can serve to try to coalesce part of the tea party interest, part of the christian conservative vote, to try to be the anti-romney voice. and at the same time again, building her own profile and trying to enhance her reputation among conservatives. i would not be surprises if we didn't see her out on the trail even without some kind of endorsement at some point, simply keep connecting with those supporters. there are some supporters now, since the word filtered out that she would be making this announcement. one of my colleagues said that the number of media in this room is easily triple what it was last night. she's regained a moment where she'll have the spotlight,

she'll be able to restate her message. she gets to do it in a new day, not in the dark of night when all of the attention was elsewhere last knight and to absorb that emotional blow of coming in sixth. she can be refreshed, come in take some questions, and aides tell us that she has reached out to all of the other candidates and that this is about michele bachmann really saying what she has been fighting for, and it has been, in her view, a fight that has made a difference with the iowa roots that she had and with expectations that she would have done well in south carolina. those are the positives she will try to focus on, despite the poor showing. and again, thank-yous to supporters can't be understated in a moment like this because those people pout putt money behind you, as volunteers put their sweat and exhaustion into it. candidates really do respect that. and they need it. and they want a chance to honor it and give it the proper

attention. so expect that kind of thing, too. the bus is just pulling up, i'm being told, by our colleague outside. two minutes might have been stretched a minute. the bus i've seen her on and spent time with her on is rolling up. it's hurry up and wait. when we talk about michele bachmann, to the casual observer, they're going to remember her for always talking about obama care. you could ask her, is that tie blue and she would say obama care has to go. >> she was the first one of the debates to say she would repeal what she calls obama care, she would go after the health care plan and the bill that has passed. so she's not going to get away from that. this is a key press conference because after she says her personal things, obvious will question is, where do you go with your support? she said she would never waiver. she's a staunch conservative and you can count on her, she's not going to change. so if that's the case, she has said that we can't settle for anything less than a conservative, i think it's going

to be very hard for her to go to mitt romney. i mean, she may not go to anybody today but it would seem, based on what she has said on the campaign the way she's campaigns and the way she's been consistent, how could she ever go to mitt romney when you have rick santorum and newt gingrich out there? that's the fascinating thing about this press conference coming up. do you think she would eventually throw her weight behind rick santorum or newt gingrich if he stays in it long enough? >> absolutely. she wants to be in the mix. look, she's young enough to be a player down the road, okay? if she takes a conservative misstep right now, she could really damage herself politically for years to come. she has to be that person that says, this is who i am, you can count on me, i've told you that before, i'm not waiver, i'm going with the staunch conservative, this is her opportunity in that regard. >> we'll continue to wait and look for michele bachmann to take the podium there. we have the confirmation from the a.p. wire saying that bachmann will be telling all of us that she ends her white house

bid today. we'll take a quick break. [ male announcer ] if you think tylenol is the pain reliever orthopedic doctors recommend most for arthritis pain, think again. and take aleve. it's the one doctors recommend most for arthritis pain... two pills can last all day. ♪

welcome back to msnbc, everybody. our breaking news this hour, looking at podium where we expect michele bachmann to come out any minute to announce that she is ending her bid for the presidential office. she came in sixth last night after the iowa caucuses. did say, before that, that she was going on to south carolina, had her plane tickets made. but in light of what took place last night, has canceled any future endeavors to south carolina and beyond. we have msnbc's ed schultz of "the ed show" on set with me, we have host of "the daily rundown," chuck todd joining us new hampshire and nbc's kelly o'donnell live from the bachmann event in iowa. ed, i'm going to ask you quickly, when it comes, and as we look at this live picture,

when it comes to the big story for michele bachmann, will it be that this is a woman that is going to stay in congress, is it a person that's going to change focus and maybe run for senate, or is it going to be a woman that's going to be a political force on the right in a different direction? >> i think she'll want to stay in office. i think she'll want to run again. i think she's going to want to be part of the mix, part of the conversation. i don't think she wants to go down the road of a sarah palin. she wants to be a lawmaker. she wants to be an elected official and she loves to run. and she's won some tough races in minnesota in the past. i don't see michele bachmann stepping out of the limelight at all when it comes to election politics. >> kelly o'donnell, you have breaking news when it comes to rick perry? >> reporter: i'm just seeing from our colleague kerry dan, a tweet under the name governor perry, the palmetto say, here we

come. this is the family of michele bachmann. who is fillering in now. children and loved ones coming up to the podium. and we understand that she has just stepped off the bus. again, this has been a tough time from the jubilation back in june where she had huge crowds and excitement of running. a long, hard slog. some good debate performances, some claims she would get facts wrong and she wasn't on point and now today a chance to reshape some of her public image, take to the next level, describe what she will do next. it's a very significant moment. you see her parent there's. i'm going to just pause for a moment as i believe she's walking in the room. >> we do see her right there about to take the steps and go up to the podium now. michele bachmann, to let us know what she wants to do with her future, after saying that she's not going to run for president any longer. >> once again, very proud to announce to you a good friend of mine and certainly great

husband, marcus, michele bachmann. >> thank you, brad. thank you so much. thank you, everyone, for being here. i appreciate it. my name is michele bachmann. trust to every american is the responsibility to watch out over our republic. look back to the time of the pilgrims to the time of william penn to the time of our founding fathers. all we have to do is look around because very clearly we are encompasses about with a great cloud of witnesses that bear witness to the sacrifices that were made to establish the united states and the precious principles of freedom that make it the greatest force for good that has ever been seen on the planet. every generation has served as the next stepping stone down the path of our liberty and every day i'm reminded of that conviction that we have to the principles of freedom of justice by a painting. it's a painting that hangs in the united states capitol.

it's made by howard chandler christie seen at signing of the constitution of thes. hangs in the east grand stairway of the united states capitol. every school child is familiar with this painting. but i've been privileged to see it on a regular basis doing my duties in congress. but never with the painting's poignant reminder more evident than on the evening of march 21, 2010, that was the evening that obama care was passed and staring out from the painting are the faces of the founders and in particular, the face of ben franklin who served as a constant reminder of the fragile republic that he and the founders gave to us. that day served as the inspiration for my run for the presidency of the united states because i believed firmly that what the congress had done and what president obama had done in passing obama care endangered

the very survival of the united states of america, our republic. because i knew that it was my obligation to ensure that president obama's program of socialized medicine was stopped before it became fully implemented. so my message has been the necessity for the complete repeal of obama care in this once in a lifetime campaign cycle for the presidency because obama care represents the largest expansion of entitlement spending in our country's history and it is now become the playground of left wing social engineering where the right will always lose every battle and the left already has been given the formula for passing their agenda. it must be stopped. and its repeal is more than just a cliche for me. it's essential to my core of conviction because obama care violates our fundamental liberties as americans, including for the first time in the history of our country

taxpayer-funded abortion. deeply troubled by the state of our country, i ran for the presidency foremost as an american citizen who believes in the foundation and in the greatness of our american principles and our principles derived their meaning from the founders' beliefs which were rooted in the immutable truths of the holy scripture, the bible. and while the congressman by title, a politician i never have been, nor will i ever hope to be because i am not motivated in this quest by vain glory or the promise of political power. i have served one singular purpose in washington, d.c., to lead an effort that was begun by the people of this country. i ran as the next stepping stone of passing on and protecting that torch of liberty. and that duty required taking on the charge of repealing both obama care and dodd/frank which mandated ensuring the election of 13 additional republican

senators to guarantee that legislation's demise. these words are a warning. the implementation of obama care will represent a turning point for our country in our economy. i worried what a future painting in christie's vain might detick, should obama care be placed into effect. would future generations ask of us, gathered here today, what did we do, what did we give, what did we sacrifice to ensure the survival of this incomparable republic? i ran because i realized 2012 is our last chance and our only chance to repeal obama care and dodd/frank, and and i knew how to get rid of both of them and i ran not only for me but i also ran to elect 13 more republican united states senators who had helped me to repeal that legislation.

i ran because i believed that since day one, barack obama's policies based on socialism are destructive to the very foundation of the repubic lick. and i ran because i wanted my children and all of the children of this country to live free and have even better opportunities than our parents gave to us. and i ran to secure the promise of our children's future and so i decided to stand up, stand up and fight for our freedom and stand up for the survival of the nation. and i will continue fighting to defeat the president's agenda of socialism. i'll continue to fight for you, for more liberty and less government to stop the overspending in washington, to keep our country free, safe and sovereign. and to fight against crony capitalism. fight to end excessive government regulation and a tax code that is absolutely unfair and is killing american competitiveness. i will fight to legalize american energy production.

i will fight for american families. i will fight to protect life from conception until natural death. to protect traditional marriage. and i'll fight to secure our borders. and i'll fight to protect religious liberty. i'll fight for this country and for the american people every day in the way that god allows me to. so i came here to this wonderful state of iowa where i was born and raised and that i've come to trust and love and i had just one message to tell you that i mean what i say and i say what i mean, and i've told you the truth that our country is in very serious trouble. and that this might be the last election to turn the nation around. before we go down the road to socialism, to a burden of debt too heavy for our children to bear, and i didn't tell you what the polls said that you wanted to hear, i didn't tell you what i knew to be false, i didn't try to spin you, i listened to the people of iowa and all across america, and they agree that

president obama and his socialist policies must be stopped. and i sought the nomination of the party of reagan, the party of lincoln, that believes in the strength and the goodness of the american people and that america is and does remain the greatest force for good that the world has ever known because we don't believe that government has the answers, the people do. the government should respect the rights and the opportunities of the people to whom we are accountable because we believe that government should do its job enumerated by the constitution, not our job. it should do it without spending more than what it takes in. last night the people of iowa spoke with a very clear voice. so i have decided to stand aside. and i believe that if we are going to repeal obama care, turn our country around and take back our country, we must do so united. and i believe that we must rally around the person that our

country and our party and our people select to be that standard bearer. but make no mistake, i'll continue to be a strong voice. i'll continue to stand and fight for the country and for the american people and for our freedom because mr. franklin and all of the founders, all of the men, all of the women, who have given their last, full measure of devotion in our military, our veterans, are watching us. they are expecting us to stand up and protect what they fought to give us. and so we owe it to them and to our posterity and to the god that we serve who created us, who gave us life and our very being, to keep our republic free. and i will be forever grateful to this state and its people for launching us on this path with our victory in the iowa straw poll. while i will not be continuing in this race for the presidency,

my faith in the lord god almighty, this country, and our republic is unshakable. and as i have traveled around this state and the country i've seen the very best in the country in our people. and i'll always believe in the greatness of them and in the greatness of the god that i serve. and of course, i'm deeply grateful to our entire campaign team here in iowa, in south carolina, and everywhere. i have no regrets, none whatsoever. we never compromised our principles and we can leave this race knowing that we ran it with utmost integrity. we made a very important contribution to this race. so i sincererily thank my wonderful husband of 33 years, marcus bachmann, my entire family, lucas, harrison, elisa, sophia, my mother, my stepfather, my beloved brothers, gary, paul, scott, david and george. i'm grateful to them, 23 foster

children. they along with the lord's provision of hincomparable faithfulness have been my strength in the campaign. i look forward to the next chapter in god's plan. he has one for each of us you know if we only cooperate with him he has always had something greater around the corner, far beyond what any of us have ever thought or imagined. i have been blessed to live a wonderful life. i am grateful to have been a part of the presidential campaign. and so i thank you. i say god bless you. and god bless the united states of america. >> thank you. >> there we have it. michele bachmann is out. deciding, after iowa, that she is not going to continue in her bid for the presidency of this country saying i have decided to stand aside, i will not be continuing in the race for our presidency. but also mentioning obama care some 1 thy1 times in that speec.

was&t. surprising she didn't say anything about the presidential run until ten minutes and talked mainly about obama care? i was striking my paper every time she mentioned it, 11 times. >> what she did on the stump in iowa. she was relentless on president obama, his agenda and the health care bill passed which most of country wants. most of the country wants universal health care. you can make the case that michele bachmann is disconnected from what the majority of americans want in this country. there are a lot of good things in that health care bill and i'm sure that the democrats are able to debate it easily. but this is her benchmark issue and it has been all along. she said today that this is the reason why she decided to run for president, because that law was passed. well the fight's on. and it's going to be played out in front of the american people. she didn't take any questions. maybe she'll take questions in a moment. she's doing all of the right things, thanking her family, her supporters, and she's walking away from the podium. i guess we're not going to find

out who she is going to support. that will be a press conference for another day, which she is very good at gaming the cameras and always has. >> no reason not to stretch this out, right? starred march 21, 2010 when decided obama care was not for her. >> a lot of strategy being plays out now behind closed doors, phone calls being made and she's calculated in her next move and what the best move will be for the conservative movement. she said that she would not waiver in her principles, you know, she says what she means, she mean what she says. that is a big statement. and so people are going to have to come to her for support. and she does have a following. it's just not very big in iowa. >> all right. ed schultz, thank you. we'll see you later tonight 8:00 p.m. back with much more on msnbc.ou troublwith a car insurance claim. [ dennis ] switch to allstate. their claim service is so good, now it's guaranteed. [ foreman ] so i can trust 'em. unlike randy. dollar for dollar, nobody

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last night the people of iowa spoke with a very clear voice.

and so i have decided to stand aside. i believe that we must rally around the person that our country and our party and our people select to be that standard bearer. >> there you have it congresswoman michele bachmann ending her run for the white house before leaving iowa today. bachmann had canceled her campaign trip through south carolina. now, her remaining supporters in new hampshire and the palm met toe state must turn to another candidate, possibly rick santorum or newt gingrich. it's a lot to try to figure out today. presidential candidate, newt gingrich, on the other hand, isn't going anywhere. he's taking the gloves off when it comes to leader mitt romney. promising new hampshire will be his alamo. today on msnbc's "the daily rundown," he contrasted himself as a seasoned political pro and romney as a liberal appeaser. >> just take the question of track records. i helped change washington twice, once with reagan in the '80s, once speaker of the

housework on a bipartisan way with bill clinton. both of them very large changes. governor romney, largely, explain what he couldn't get done in massachusetts because it was a democratic state dominated by liberals so he had to accommodate them. >> today, newt set the tone, though, with this. take a look. pull page ad in" the union leader" calling on the republican party to refocus on its goal of 2012, defeat of president obama. david, it's nice to have you here. up until his fourth-place finish in iowa, mr. gingrich blamed an avalanche of negativity and dishonesty in campaign ads against him saying they hampered him. take a look. >> newt has a ton of baggage, like the fact that gingrich was fined $300,000 for ethics violations or took $1.6 million from freddie mac just before it helped cause the economic meltdown. then there's the $37 million

gingrich took from health care and industry groups. on the issues, newt's been on all sides. he supports amnesty for millions of illegal immigrants. gingrich even teamed up with nancy pelosi and al gore on global warming. newt was a longtime supporter of a national health insurance mandate, the centerpiece of obama care. maybe that's why george will called gingrich the least conservative candidate. >> david, so that's an example of the ads that newt gingrich say hurt his chances in iowa, also hurt his chances elsewhere. and he said that he reserves the right to -- he doesn't want to go negative, as he has said openly and honestly. but he says he reserves right to be able to tell the truth, to tell the facts. explain to us, if an ad like that, where is the dishonesty? those are facts. >> go to "the washington post" in terms of looking through a variety of ads, "the washington post" gave throws ads four pinocchios, some of them, in the sense of there was a lot of

twisting of information intended to mislead people. and what newt is saying here is, look, as we move forward, you know, we're going to get to contrasting individual records. where did people stand in terms of the contract? where did people stand in terms of reagan's policies and how we move forward in terms of economic policies for the future who got things done? and he wants to set up a clear contrast here. look, i mean, ultimately, he took, what, $5 million worth of negative advertising and still managed to do better than john mccain did, who went on and won in 200 8. the most recent gallup poll, newt and mitt romney are even. obviously we're going to a new phase of the campaign and the speaker decided he's going to be aggressive about depefending hi record and what he did. >> i don't think people would fault him. but does gingrich look like a

sore loser if he continues to whine about nextive ads in the future? >> i don't think you're going to see him whining about negative ads. he's going to try to create clear choices so when people look at the two of them, and the rest of the candidates, as they look at candidates that people understand what is the choice in front of them in terms of policy and which direction do they think they would like to go? the speaker believes, given his focus in terms of what he did with the contract, balancing the budget before, and focused in terms of cutting taxes in the future, that he can present a positive choice that people can take. >> newt said that he couldn't win in iowa. so going into new hampshire he's praising he's aligning himself with rick santorum. explain, where does the strategy shift, as the campaign moves on to new hampshire and south carolina? >> well, first off, again, rick santorum and newt gingrich have worked together and they know each other and you know, there are some differences and there's a lot of agreement. but in terms of moving forward,

first off, new hampshire is mitt romney's home state, so that is certainly a dynamic. but that's where the next primary's going to occur. obviously there's this sequence of new hampshire, south carolina, florida, that's really going to shape what this race looks like. one thing that clearly emerged from yesterday that was alluded to before was that mitt romney's ceiling is still very much in place, maybe not new hampshire, but certainly in the other states. in 2008 he got slightly over 25% of the vote. in this particular time in the iowa caucuses, he got slightly under 25%. so he didn't match his last performance. so that suggests that there's a potential for a conservative candidate to sort of emerge here to challenge governor romney for the nomination as they move forward because he can't get over the 25% level. breaking news, rick perry is moving on to south carolina. all eyes on the palmetto state

which some describe as the super bowl of the gop nomination fight. why? in the latest polls newt gingrich had a commanding lead and rick santorum wasn't on the map. mitt romney wasn't seen as having a chance. that was then. this is now. last night could be a real game changer. south carolina republican congressman joe wilson joins me right now. sir, nice to have you on with me this morning. you originally, just to remind viewers, endorsed tim pawlenty for president. given last night's results are you ready to throw your support behind a new candidate? >> south carolina is the super bowl. the super bowl begins next wednesday. and i'm excited, thomas, that the people of the world will be able to see south carolina for ten days. our primary's on the 21st, saturday, and i'm excited that the candidates will be here. i'm very happy to hear that governor perry has decided to come. people are looking forward to seeing him in south carolina. >> sir, who do you think is going to be the person that walks out of south carolina the

victor? >> it's going to be whoever wins south carolina. i believe will be the nominee. so it's going to be exciting beginning next wednesday and i'm very pleased that the candidates will be here. i do want to point out that i am a big fan of michele bachmann. she is a wonderful member of congress. she's effective. i was actually looking forward to her and i know, i was in aiken last night, voters were looking forward to seeing her. but i wish her well in the future. and i hope she continues to serve in the house. >> ser, i want to confirm we are working on verifying the tweet receive from perry campaign saying he was moving on to south carolina. but he did cancel his events there today. what do you think that is indicating today? what do you think that message is going to be received on the other side there in the palmetto state? >> i regret -- you're telling me things i did not know because

indeed he was going to be in aiken, north augusta today, two of the strongest republican communities of transplants. that's the success of south carolina. we have huge percentage of persons who have moved to our state from the midwest to northeast. we're a come positive of america. i regret that he's not coming. >> since 1980, south carolina's been the predictor of who's going to take the nomination and go on. so in this case, is there someone that you're looking to see come into south carolina and then, after you see them in your state, willing to endorse? >> well i will be looking at candidates. i can't wait for them to address the issues that are very important to the people of our state and the most important issue is jobs. we sadly have a significant level of unemployment. the highest we've ever had. and we've had the obama administration make incredible efforts to destroy jobs in south carolina, at boeing in charleston, at aiken with the

river site in yard to yucca mountain. we need a change in the presidency. so people ush susuch as myself e looking at candidates. we're looking forward to a positive message to create jobs in south carolina. >> when we talk about what happened out of iowa in horseshoes and hand grenades close works out great and works out well for rick santorum. how do you think he's going to do in south carolina? >> he'll be a strong candidate. actually he has family at hilton head, dan and missy santorum. we're proud of them. a great focus for senator santorum. the bottom line, we can't wait for all of the candidates to come. people of south carolina have truly been looking forward to this. and you've pointed out, this is the super bowl. this is the state. this is the primary. with over 500,000 people likely participating. it's a huge turnout that does pick the nominee of the republican party. >> political junkies, get your

doritos ready. congressman joe wilson, thank you. nbc's david gregory will moderate the final presidential debate before tuesday's new hampshire primary. nbc news facebook debate airs sunday on nbc, special edition of "meet the press" and here on msnbc starts at 9:00 a.m. eastern. post debate analysis with chris matthews. you have a question for the candidates, logon to our facebook page to join the conversation. back with more after this. yoo-hoo. hello. it's water from the drinking fountain at the mall. [ male announcer ] great tasting tap water can come from any faucet anywhere. the brita bottle with the filter inside.

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welcome back, everybody. we are back with more breaking knew this coming to us from the white house. senior administration officials say that president obama will use a recess appointment to name this man, richard pordray as the head of the new consumer financial protection bureau. officials spoke on the condition of anonymity. republicans have strongly voiced their opposition to him, a former ohio attorney general. also breaking news from the perry campaign, nbc news has now confirmed he will be going on to south carolina. there was a lot of consternation over whether or not he was moving on to south carolina after saying he was leaving iowa to reassess his campaign. but now we do have the confirmation that he will be moving on to events there in south carolina. the other breaking news this hour, basically these coming at the same time from the campaign trail is that michele bachmann is leaving. she is closing out her presidential bid. jennifer donahue, a fellow at

the eisenhower institute and huffington post contributor and reid, i want to talk to you first. your reaction to seeing michele bachmann leave? that was expected now or do you think that she should have kept on going on? >> well, it's real hard to assume that you're going to win in iowa and then come in sixth and by the way, finish fifth in the county in which you were actually born in black hawk county, just three votes ahead of rick perry. not terribly unexpected that she would drop out. the real question is whether or not conservatives can rally around one candidate in south carolina and then propel that candidate into a one-on-one showoff with mitt romney in florida. which comes ten days after the south carolina primary with rick perry going to south carolina. that now becomes a lot more difficult because that conservative field going to be split. >> jennifer, i want to get you to give us an idea of rick perry and new hampshire. if we look at the polls when we talk about new hampshire looks like mitt romney will cruise to

victory and rick perry saying he'll stay in the race and go to south carolina. >> i don't think rick perry is much of factor in new hampshire. you have to look at santorum who has one of the best organizers in the state in mike bandeau. he orchestrated buchanan's win over bob dole. if he comes within eight or ten points of romney, romney has something to prove in south carolina. part of the reason that bachmann got out is to allow for someone like santorum to get traction. she has a future in the party, she wants to see the two conservative alternative -- the true conservative alternative emerge. today, that true conservative looks to be rick santorum. >> jennifer, i have said it before, almost counts in horseshoes and hand grenades and new hampshire is completely different when you think about the christian conservatives that came out of the wood work to vote for him, making him in this

narrow margin of mitt romney. just eight iowans separating the two. but when you get to new hampshire it's the second least religious state in the country. how's it going to play for him there? >> that it is, the second least religious state, but one thing to keep in mind is that new hampshire is 60% catholic. rick santorum is catholic and there's a big base of supporters he could drive into. the other factor is ron paul. ron paul has an immovable stock of people who will vote for him no matter what in new hampshire. that's going to give romney some trouble. so do i think romney is well positioned in new hampshire? yes, i do. but do i think santorum and paul can make this a three-man race continuing? i do believe so. >> all right. i want to thank you for your patience and insight today because i know you have been waiting to speak with me and i have been waiting to speak with you. a lot of moving parts this hour. thank you both for joining us. >> thanks, thomas.

that's going to do it for me today. thank you, i appreciate your team. see you back here tomorrow at 11 is clock 11:00. don't go anywhere, a lot to talk about in the next hour. now with alex wagner who's next. ! ♪ [ female announcer ] if whole grain isn't the first ingredient in your breakfast cereal, what is? now, in every box of general mills big g cereal, there's more whole grain than any other ingredient. that's why it's listed first on the side. from honey nut cheerios to cinnamon toast crunch to lucky charms, get more whole grain than any other ingredient... without question. just look for the white check. without question. hey, i'm really glad we took this last minute trip me too. you booked our room right? not yet, thanks for reminding me. wait, what? fret not ma'lady. i have the hotels.com app so we can get a great deal even at the last minute.

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73 cents. that's how much rick santorum is estimated to have spent on each caucus vote received in iowa. can he get a good bargain in new hampshire? it's wednesday, january 4, and this is "now." joining me today msnbc political analyst richard wolf, msnbc contributor megan mccain, from time magazine the assistant managing editor and the former press secretary for the obama administration who runs priorities usa action. night's flee-way finish came down to eight