wield the same influence in global economic forms as it once did when i asked business insiders gregory white next talks of cuts are back on the table as the government is looking for ways to fight its growing deficit but there's one area that's been able to dodge the cuts time and time again defense spending so i'll ask dr ivan eland if the u.s. will continue to turn a blind eye to our bloated military budgets then it's no secret that many look at socialism as if it were a scarlet letter that carries a negative stigma in the u.s. but many countries in latin america are on board as one student activist why he thinks socialism is seeing a resurgence twenty years after the fall of the berlin wall and we're going to ask you do people need either big god or big government to stay in control i'm going to speak with the reasons michael moore to hand about whether fiscal conservatism and social conservatism have to coexist and since it's friday we're going to treat you to some laughs so we can have the scoop on all the crazy stories making headlines this week from an s.t.d. test you can take on your

days will certainly be keeping our eye on what's going on over the next twenty four hours there gregory white thanks for your input editor of the american based news website business insider. and it's the latest twist in the summer's big spy scandal a russian newspaper says it discovered the identity of the man who exposed eleven russian agents working in the united states the coma son daily claims it was a form of foreign intelligence service employee but so far there's been no official comment about that. reports. community newspaper claims to have held its own investigation and the see that almost should've baku off an officer of the russian foreign intelligence service was a double agent it was him responsible for blowing the cover on his colleagues in the united states last summer which resulted basically in the biggest spy scandal between moscow and washington since the cold war era the newspaper says that before this scandal erupted paula should walk off was offered a promotion by russian authorities which she rejected possibly because he had to take a lie detector test which could hav

white house. >> and yet, david gregory, moderator of "meet the press." as we go through tonight what i think will emerge as a topic of conversation is -- how long does its last? how fraught is the path from the good news of tonight, for this bu new political movement and the path to actual governing? >> it's going to be difficult. look at the exit poll and look what voters are saying. they are incredibly worried about the economy over the next year. tremendous anxiety about that, on voters' minds. and a lot of frustration with both parties in terms of how congress is working. to pick up on what savannah is saying the president is not on the ballot but this is a referendum. the disapproval rate of the president in west virginia, 69%. how did manchin win in west virginia? he went on television and literally, shot with a gun, the cap and trade bill. this was running away from the president and his agenda and, of course, manchin is governor, we remember, as governor was popular with west virginiaians. an unsettled mood out there. >> might have been the most

full agenda when there is still such a reservoir of distrust between the white house and republicans. >> all right. david gregory. thanks. now here's carl. >> we are learning more about the alleged terror plot in oregon and the suspect who authorities say wanted to detonate a car bomb at a crowded christmas tree lighting ceremony. jim foreman joins us this morning from portland. jim, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, carl. we are learning more about mohamed mohamud including an incident with a classmate who claims mohamud told him he, quote, hates americans. it was taken seriously enough that school counselors had to get involved. but no one we have talked with could imagine mohamud being involved with some kind of bomb plot. portland's pioneer courthouse square is alive with the sounds of the holidays and full of shoppers. it was here federal prosecutors allege mohamed osman mohamud wanted to detonate his car bomb during the christmas tree lighting ceremony. the mayor offered high praise for law enforcement. >> this individual was going to try to carry out mass destruction in portland. i'm pleased that t

white house correspondent. thanks as always. >>> one more note. one man in the news, david axelrod will be among david gregory's guest sunday morning on "meet the press." >>> we go to the west coast in san diego where there are 4,500 people tonight very happy to be on dry land. that carnival cruise liner that became a dead in the water nightmare voyage is now safely tied up at the dock and the passengers are talking. you can say that again. hey, miguel, good evening. >> reporter: good evening. after a fire in the generator room, the "splendor" was afloat without power for three days. now they're all back on shore and they're relieved to share their stories. pulled by tug boats, escorted by coast guard cutters, it made san diego harbor at sun rise after three days adrift in the pacific. passengers raised their arms in victory as family and spectators welcomed them home. on land, they shared stories and home video of a dream vacation sunk at sea. the harlans were celebrating their anniversary with their children when they smelled smoke. >> we all went outside and saw black smoke coming out and sounded the alarm.

let's bring in david gregory for more on the future of start, which was the big focus at the white housetoday. let's talk about what the president did. all of former secretaries of state and defense they could muster, jim baker was there, madeleine albright, trying to point out that this should be bipartisan. and the fact that every republican push from reagan to bush 1 to bush 3, should push a russian arms agreement. >> the substance of that, this is a part of the outreach to reset the relationship and bring down nuclear stock piles and put inspection regimes in place in order to do that. the stagecraft is more interesting saying this is a bipartisan. foreign policy is an area where we should cooperate and to call the bluff here, what are you prepared to do? are you going to get things done? why would you block something like start treaty, you look overtly political or tactical. those are the screws they are trying to put to jon kyl of arizona. >> let's watch. >> this is not a democratic concept. this is not a republican concept. this is a concept of american national security that has

gregory's guests on tomorrow's "meet the press." >>> one other political headline night in chicago, rahm emanuel who recently quit his job as whitese chief of staff made it official today. hes a candidate for mayor of that city. the election is in february. >>> the largest november snowfall in two decades moved through minnesota today, dumping nely a foot o snow in parts of the twin cities and catching a lot of people by surprise. we get more tonight on the first big snowsto of the season from minneapol the weather channel in minneapolis. >> reporter: this storm is the first of the season. it also came somewhat unexpectedli. yesterday temperatures here were in t 60s. today there's a foot of snow. taking the midwest from fall to winter overnight. the snowstorm took many residents by surprise. >> when they said snow, they didn't say blizzard. >> very wet, windy. >> slippery. >> reporter: after an unusually warm fall with record-breaking october temperatures, and in november daytime highs in the 60s, nine inches of snow fell in northwest minneapolis and along the minnesota-iowa border, up to 14 inches of snow. >> this is not actuall

white house. thanks for joining us. really appreciate it. >> on "meet the press." david gregory sits down with senator john mccain. i wonder if he'll ask him about cindy mccain. check your local listings. next the russians announce their intent to assassinate a spy who decided to work with the united states. will they try to kill him here? >>> but maybe the jokers in the clowns are actually in the middle. are centrists actually the real problem in politics? we does why so-called centrists might be hurting the country. the most powerful half ton crew in america has a powertrain backed for 100,000 miles. that's forty thousand more than ford. chevy silverado. the most dependable, longest-lasting full- size pickup on the road. use your all-star edition discount for... a total value of six thousand dollars on a 2011 silverado. see your local chevrolet dealer. having the right real estate agent on your side is more important than ever. at remax.com, you can find the experts you need, whether you're trying to sell of hoping to buy. nobody sells more real estate than re/max. visit remax.com today. >>> a russian spy accuse

gregory joins us with a preview. >> good morning, sarah. >> president obama returns to the white house.to the congress. different message from the president? >> it is not clear what the president will do to shore up -- i mean, there is a reservoir of distrust between the president and this white house. namely, the president. they want to talk about the debt, the deficit, cutting government spending. it is not clear where the painful choices would be agreed to. president obama would like to address the don't-ask/don't-tell position of the military. he comes back to a full plate, but not a lot has changed except the expectation he will change a little bit. >> and he also pledged to slash the budget and bring the deficit down. alan greenspan will be one of your guests. what insight do you expect to hear from him. >> i think bell get a broader economic outlook from him and get a sense of where the jobs are and where the housing market is. he's been part of this slashed deficit. one of the things i expect him to say is an across-the-board program to cut the deficit is what is necessary, that

. >>> chuck todd is nbc's political director and chief white house correspondent, david gregory is moderator of "meet the press". >> we talked about surprises at this stage of the campaign, will the only surprise tomorrow be if the republicans don't get that net 39 seats they need in the house to take control? >> i think that's right. let's look at the numbers, democrats are playing an away game on republican turf. look at what the democrats hold 49 districts that john mccain carried. they only need 39 to win, they could do it if they just win seats that john mccain carried. this has been a nationalized election on health care and on cap and trade. 51 democrats sit in districts that president kerry, president obama kerry voted for these things. you put that together and we're looking at 100 democratic districts and that's why you hear some republicans saying i would be more surprised if we didn't win 60 than if we came up short. >> if you come up with 50 on the republican side, you've got a 23-seat majority. you can do the math, it just goes down. what does that mean for their legislative ag

white house. we're live in washington. joining us now, moderator of "meet the press," david gregory.ng with the president in porlt gal, political director and co-host of "the daily rundown" chuck todd. >> david gregory, we were talking about george w. bush on leno last night. it's been something to see. got a standing ovation coming out, part of his pat-down skit beforehand. you covered this guy. what's it been like? >> for me it's so interesting having been there through every moment of his presidency to hear his reflections, to read his reflections in the book and hear him. you made the observation a minute ago, i think it's been effective as somebody who has stepped away from the spotlight, very much wanting to get out of the spotlight and stay out of the spotlight. there are those who say, look, he has an obligation to play a constructive role in tamping down some of the excesses within his own party. but he's made a determined decision to say, look, i'm not going to be that guy. he hasn't criticized obama. seeing him on ""the tonight show"," in 20000, there was a poll ha showed

leader mitch mcconnell and the democratic leaders over to the white house to begin their new relationship. >> chuck, thanks so much. david gregory is moderator of "meet the press." good morning to you. >> good morning. >> this was a big defeated. this was a real shellacking, but when you watched the press conference yesterday, were you surprised by the president's tone? i mean, he seemed emotionally defeated. >> i was really struck by the extent to which the president seemed to be struggling with all of this and openly struggling with the fact that he doesn't feel he's able to connect with the american people. i mean, can you imagine two years ago the history and the emotion with which he came into office that now he feels that he struggles to avoid being removed from the american people. this is very difficult for any politician, and certainly for a president. i think he showed humility yesterday, but i think supporters might also ask where was the fight? he is still in control here. he's got the veto pen, and yet yesterday he seemed quite chastened. >> he took responsibility for the loss, and savannah guthrie asked this questi