krystal, does this really mean anything to any of the voters today? we know that the bar has been lowered in society and when it comes to acceptability about someone's personal life, when it comes to serving in a public office, but at this point and juncture in this heated campaign, do you think this will have an impact on either candidate? >> well, let me start by saying this is far from my biggest concern about newt gingrich, but we've kind of seen this play before in the republican primary, and i think the response to gingrich and his interview from his ex-wife is going to be very similar with what happened with herman cain, there was a rallying of the conservative base. there was a very loud defense of herman cain from the right. there was very little erosion in his poll numbers, particularly among men. meanwhile, women sort of quietly drifted away from him. so i think we'll see a similar thing, a loud reaction, a loud defense of him, a lot of blaming of the media, and women sort of quietly looking for another alternative. >> his ex-wife says it's

also analyst richard wolffe and democratic strategist krystal ball.g, richard, what happens to the republican challenger? aren't they kind of hoping on bad news economically? a lot of good stuff is out there right now. >> could be a little bit. especially if you built your entire premise of your candidacy on beating obama on the economy, and that's the position of mitt romney. you know, if you're rick santorum, maybe there's something else you can go for, manufacturing critique, you can go after the social values, but for romney, the whole premise is i understand about the economy, this guy's never even seen the working economy. so, you know, the economy turning around doesn't just affect the underlying numbers, it's the fundamental premise. think back to the election, by the time he got to the general election, it wasn't iraq, people didn't care about iraq, they cared about the economy. so if the story changes over time, which it surely will, not just because politics never stays the same, but because the economy doesn't either. if this story changes

. >> krystal ball, e.j. dionne and ari melber of the nation magazine on the chaos in carolina. >>> jim demint goes rogue with his white house pick and lands in "psycho talk." and so far, mitt romney has stayed under the radar on the issue of race. tonight that's all over. mitt romney and his mormon faith are being called on the carpet. good to have you with us tonight, folks, thanks for watching. ultraconservatives are not buying mitt romney's claim of being a job creator. last night, sarah palin defended attacks on romney. >> governor romney has claimed to have created 100,000 jobs at bain. and people are wanting to know, is there proof of that claim, and was it u.s. jobs created for united states citizens. >> it's that old reporter coming out in sarah palin, so much for sports. newt gingrich isn't stepping on the brakes either. watch this testy exchange he had with the kids on fox and friends this morning. >> there are a series of cases that don't look right, i'm saying for a guy to run for president, use

kris taul ystal krystal? >> he's feeling confident.f you look at the optics of that, rick santorum looks like he has the win. he looks like he backs mitt romney into the corner. so they have the optic of rick santorum taking it to mitt romney. >> not much tonight, if anything, on evangelical christians and the power of their vote, unless i missed pit ron paul wants zero percent income tax. he wants to keep all the military bases just bring them home, but he doesn't know how to pay for it. this is one i thought was very entertaining. >> well, we should have the lowest tax that we've ever had, and up until 1913, it was zero percent. what's so bad about that? >> laura flanders, is that in this hemisphere? >> no, it's not in this hemisphere, but it was interesting to hear the silence around a lot of what ron paul had to say this in the south carolina crowd. kind of surprising given the particularly youthful support he's had in some of the other debates. here you could hear it. it was like a pindrop silence when he talked about about some o

krystal ball and e.j. dionne join me. romney may be ahead of his polls but his favorability ratings are in the dumps. stay with us, we're right back. e left behind by some mop. why you... nobody's taken a shine to me in a long time. phooey. i don't need anybody...but you! ♪ i believe in miracles [ male announcer ] swiffer attracts dirt. used mops can push muddy water around. swiffer wetjet's new, upgraded solution helps prevent streaks and residue to reveal more shine than a mop or your money back. you're a fresh swiffersnapper! >>> coming up down to the wire in florida the latest from the campaign trial next with e.j. dionne and krystal ball. eva longoria calls out mitt romney p for opposing the dream act. we'll talk how the immigration stance could hurt them in the swing states. >>> when the president spoke about economic fairness at the state of the union republicans say it was all talk. now democrats are proposing the buffet rule in the senate. i'll ask robert reich if it's a good idea and if it will happen. share you

krystal ball and e.j. dionne join me. romney may be ahead of his polls but his favorability ratings are in the dumps. stay with us, we're right back. e left behind by some mop. why you... nobody's taken a shine to me in a long time. phooey. i don't need anybody...but you! ♪ i believe in miracles [ male announcer ] swiffer attracts dirt. used mops can push muddy water around. swiffer wetjet's new, upgraded solution helps prevent streaks and residue to reveal more shine than a mop or your money back. you're a fresh swiffersnapper! >> my name is jane and i've got osteoporosis. but i'm an on-the-go woman; i've been active all my life. that's why i'm excited about reclast. it's the once-a-year i.v. osteoporosis treatment. reclast helps to restrengthen my bones to help make them resistant to fracture. and with reclast, well, no other osteoporosis treatment is approved to help protect in more places-- hips, spine, even other bones. >> announcer: you should not take reclast if you're on zometa, have low blood calcium or kidney pr

krystal ball and e.j. dionne join me. romney may be ahead of his polls but his favorability ratings are in the dumps. stay with us, we're right back. >>> coming up down to the wire in florida the latest from the campaign trial next with e.j. dionne and krystal ball. eva longoria calls out mitt romney p for opposing the dream act. we'll talk how the immigration stance could hurt them in the swing states. >>> when the president spoke about economic fairness at the state of the union republicans say it was all talk. now democrats are proposing the buffet rule in the senate. i'll ask robert reich if it's a good idea and if it will happen. share your thoughts on twitter #edshow. we're right back. >>> in the long run, the republican party is not going to nominate the founder of romney-care, a liberal republican who is pro abortion, pro gun control and pro tax increase, it ain't gonna happen. >> welcome back to "the ed show," that was newt gingrich throwing the kitchen sink at mitt romney, despite his last minute attempt to go n

krystal ball and e.j. dionne join me. romney may be ahead of his polls but his favorability ratings are in the dumps. stay with us, we're right back. [ 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 protects you like allstate. [ female announcer ] new and improved swiffer dusters with dust lock adhesive can clean virtually every surface in your home. ♪ its thousands of fluffy fibers pick up dust here, there, pretty much everywhere. and swiffer dusters traps 3 times more dust than a feather duster. and locks it away. ♪ swiffer cleans better or your money back. ♪ get around swiffer cleans better or your money back. the best approach to food is to keep it whole for better nutrition. that's what they do with great grains cereal. they steam and bake the actual whole grain while the other guy's flake is more processed. mmm. great grains. the whole whole grain cereal. >>> coming up down to the wire in florida the latest fro

. >> ari melber and krystal ball will explain. >>> mitt romney is getting attacked by enemies. newt gingrich will release his own tax returns tomorrow and says romney should do the same. >> we can confirm i pay 31% rate, and although let me be clear, the 21st century contract with america has an optional 15% flat rate for every american. so my goal is not --. >> not just mitt romney? >> my goal is not to raise mitt romney, it's everybody pay mitt romney's rate. i won't criticize romney, shouldn't we all have the option of a flat tax at the same rate he was paying? >> mitt romney stands to gain a lot from his tax policies. citizens for tax justice broke down the tax proposals of president obama and mitt romney. under the president's plan, romney would be taxed at 24%. but wait a minute, under his own plan, he would be taxed at less than 15%. good deal, huh? chris christie tried to run interference for him. he may have done more damage. >> the way i conducted myself i released all my tax return during the campaign, went back a number of years and released them and release them ev

let's bring back krystal ball, e.j. dionne and melber. what's going to happen now? >> for the last six months, the republican race has been pretty funny in moments without colbert. i can only imagine what will happen now. maybe huntsman will promise to put him on the ticket. they'll still be running behind gingrich and santorum. >> rick perry does not seem to be backing off. there was even some talk about an alliance between romney and perry at one time, because they're both governors from the republican governor's association, he's just as or more aggressive than newt gingrich, and he just won't give up. >> you know, i've been trying to figure perry out. it is worth remembering that he was once a democrat. and it sounds like he's got old -- great old texas populous tapes from back in the 70s and 80s. i was thinking that molly ivans, that great populous columnist from texas must be smiling up there in the people's paradise. but i think that perry figures he's got to bring romney down. i have the only -- i think romney's going to win south carolina. it's very hard to

just a final question to you krystal.ink of newt going into attack mode on mitt romney's wealth? i thought it was the democrat who is was guilty of class warfare. >> no one is better aattack politics than newt gingrich i have to think the president is sitting back and smiling. the because it's coming from a republican and not just newt gingrich, it's coming from other republicans as well, it makes it all the more damaging and helps people understand there's a difference between capitalism, which we all support and the sort of taking and extraction that mitt romney and his type have been doing in this country. >> thanks so much for joining s us. >>> next, it reads like a romance novel. newt and the gipper. stay with us. >> he says i don't want to go back to the reagan-bush years. i was an independent then. he won't tell you that now because he's counting on us not having youtube. that's how much he thinks we're stupds. the message we aren't that stupid and you aren't that cleaver. ughter was checking up on me. i wasn't eat

steve hayes, bill krystal, welcome back juan williams. you heard the governor there.t it's a battle for fourth. what about his statement that he fights on? >> the only way it makes any sense, brett, if he sees there is an opportunity for him specifically in south carolina. if disappointing performance in iowa, i think it will be more pronounced in new hampshire. governor perry plang on his southern roots as governor of texas and he believes the heart of the republican party is in the south. he can definitely get a better result from all the money he has in his pocket. as we noted earlier, we spent a lot of money in iowa. >> at one point in the interview of this campaign in the past tense. i think this is a man feels he made his case, bad luck. didn't catch on. >> megyn: why is it? santorum does have a fall as we've seen with the other gop candidates, a lot of guys don't believe ron paul is a serious candidate, why would somebody like governor perry, i came in fifth so it's done for me? >> well, i think we overdo this rise and fall. voters in this state have looked at

. >> james, krystal talks about the money spent there. how about the fact he has a better organization helping as we go beyond this into march? >> well, that's tremendously important 0. once we get out of florida we're not going to be having all of these debates which newt gingrich has relied upon to help boost his popularity. now it will be about organization, about money. mitt romney spent a lot of money, he will raise more money. that's not going to be a problem for him. a month of an open field for mitt romney to run ads, spend money, win caucuses and states before you get to march. it will be very tough for newt gingrich to come back in march and retake the lead again. >> yeah, and even if he can hang on through february where there are this continued schedule of one-off primaries, and then to march and super tuesday and i don't think that gingrich has the organization to compete in more than one state at once so that's when it really comes to organizational skills and, again, to money. >> jim, let me ask you a question. one of the f

then there's florida's krystal ball effect, it mimics the general election's voter.rich and 39% evangelical and born-again christians according to the last exit polls. here's what to watch, insiders talk about florida's midsection and the i-4 corridor, the area around tampa and orlando is the road to almost half of florida's ballots. there's duval county, as well, they've picked the nominee some 80% of the time. romney is to do well in the south where it's more moderate, gingrich doing better in the more conservative north. first, preparation for tonight's nbc debate. calm now, expect the opposite. romney honing new attack muscles and gingrich wanting to say thank you, brian williams. brian doesn't want that, chris. >> thank you so much. always good to see you, richard. >>> more on the obama strategy coming up, but really, who didn't gasp a little when we heard over the weekend joe paterno had died so soon after his forced resignation. we expect to learn more about funeral arrangements. nbc's ron allen is live in state college, pennsylvania, ron, good morning. >> rep

ari mel burn, krystal ball. >> it's easy to be tough when you're punching up.nd he can go at them with facts and criticism. newt gingrich has a big, soft underbelly. it was punctured last night. that was a political speech, dylan. >> your thoughts. >> what's dramatic is there was a few debates. monday mitt was good. he showed up wanting a fight as well. but his lines were rehearsed. he laid them all out at the beginning and that was it. thursday he came out ready to rumble. i kept waiting for gingrich to get his momentum. his righteous indignation and it never happened. he blew it. this week he just blew it. there's no other way to put it. his entire campaign has been decht upon the debates. he was caught flat floated from the beginning. >> the race has been so topsy-turvy. there's probably several chapters to go. they are still not ready to get married to romney. they are getting engaged, but they are a reluctant bride being dragged down the aisle calling their old boyfriend, are you still interested in me? as a person in the media, i really wanted to be newt

. >> her name was krystal robinson.e i did, i looked horrible. i looked like a home wrecker. >> crystal told the prosecutor she met bob duke at the green river mini-mart. crystal was just 13 years old then. bob, she said, came on to her. >> it was so flattering an older man would have any kind of interest in a girl so young. >> they started hanging out together. well, actually drinking and making out together, she says, even though bob had already been married three years and she was just entering her teens. he took her for rides on his four-wheeler. lots of times they went out into the country. >> i hadn't been out there since i was little, so i had a lot of experience on the roads and everything and knew where i was at. >> she knew exactly where they were when bob drove up lost dog road to the very cliff he told police he had never once been to before liana and eric fell to their deaths. >> he had taken me to that very cliff at least 20 times. >> bob always claimed he arrived at this point on the cliff by accident, he

ari melber, krystal ball, and rob cox. do you like when you call the republicans horny toads?i did get a kick -- >> but i call the democrats equally horrible things. it's a comparable art. you were in this jobs conversation. i'm trying to illustrate to people whether it's the edp gauge or the gdp gauge, the metrics are outdated and we should improve them. you've brought a gauge where we can pretend gdp is this and inflation is that and see what we might do. it's like a present. >> show and tell. >> maybe grandpa, the psychic -- >> right, dylan. we put together a calculator. this isn't our -- >> we, reuters? >> we, reuters, breaking views, my colleague, richard biels, a real whiz kid. he used a yale university professor, he's got a formula that says you can predict the winner of a presidential race, using a couple of simple economic variables. we simplified that even further. so what you can do is enter in basically three things. you can enter in gdp growth. that's personal income, but we use gdp growth per capita, and you can look at it whether it's 2%, 3%, 5%, at 2.5%, it's t

the town sits in a krystal clear sea that is a maritime reserve, its economy totally reliant on tourismure postcard harbor has been taken over by a flotilla of rescue boats. the bustling seaside is dominated by a giant barge loaded with equipment to remove 500,000 gallons of fuel from the crippled linerment anti-pollution bombs are in place and the search for the missing goes on. the tragedy and a potential disaster encapsulated in one indelible image. ♪ at last >> osgood: ahead, remembering etta james. >> osgood: it happened this week, the loss of the singer known as the mate remark of blues. etta james died of complications of leukemia friday morning at the age of 73. ♪ at last >> osgood: etta james didn't just sing the blues. she lived them. ♪ my love has come along >> osgood: she was born jane etta hawkins to a 14-year-old mother who told her that her father was the famous pool hall shark minnesota fats. a gospel singer in her church choir, jane etta was discovered singing on the street at the age of 15 by a band leader and talent scout johnny otis who as it happens also died this w

i would disagree with krystal a little bit. mitt romney is almost robotic.perfectly. to me, this humanized him a little bit. it seemed like a normal thing to do. it was a lot of money it sounds like. it was mover a human thing to do for mitt romney. it may help him a little bit in that sense. >> wesley, how do you think south carolina voters will read this? >> listen, i agree with perry. he has always come across as slick, robotic, a little untrustworthy. he is so good look and well-spoken. anything that he does that shows a gaffe here and there, it makes him look more human. that's great for south carolina voters. that's the problem he had last time. there was something about him you couldn't trust. >> is that something you had trouble with -- hang on a second, wesley. you worked for him four years ago. you used the word slick there. is that something you -- >> last time i'm telling you, it was like selling ribeyes to a vegetarian. it was very, very difficult. northeastern governors, flipflops, obama care. it all came together to have this kind of uh, i don