ari melber, karen finney, and professor michael eric die sorn. >>> who better than someone who testified in front of congress to sway congress on the fiscal cliff? stay with us. [ female announcer ] a classic meatloaf recipe from stouffer's starts with ground beef, unions, and peppers baked in a ketchup glaze with savory gravy and mashed russet potatoes. what makes stouffer's meatloaf best of all? that moment you enjoy it at home. stouffer's. let's fix dinner. ari melber, karen finney, and professor michael eric dyson, until i had the shingles. i have never encountered such a burning sensation... it was like a red rash. like somebody had set a bag of hot charcoal on my neck. stay with us. it's something you never want to encounter. for more of the inside story, visit shinglesinfo.com i've got a nice long life ahead. big plans. so when i found out medicare doesn't pay all my medical expenses, i got a medicare supplement insurance plan. [ male announcer ] if you're eligible for medicare, you may know it only covers about 80% of your part b medical

james peterson, ari melber, and lili gil valetta. dr.eterson, can you explain to me the problem here. if it was a republican president and democratic governor, they presumably would have acted in exactly the same way in the face of a storm. what's the problem? >> i don't know. i mean, should we pat them on the back for doing their jobs? i mean, that's essentially what the governor and the president are doing here. >> have you got rupert murdoch condemning him? >> i'm not sure we should be paying any attention to rupert murdoch at all. let me say this, they're doing a great job in a disastrous moment and that's why they get the platform they have. people forget that this great optics for governor christie who is a blue state. this is a time of dire need, people still don't have power right now. we should not be playing politics here. murdoch's comments are completely out of place. >> why do conservatives, ari, insists that his kind words may swing the election. why are they doing that? >> i think they have a couple of problems. number one

james peterson, ari melber, and lili gil valetta. dr. can you explain to me the problem here. if it was a republican president and democratic governor, they presumably would have acted in exactly the same way in the face of a storm. what's the problem? >> i don't know. i mean, should we pat them on the back for doing their jobs? i mean, that's essentially what the governor and the president are doing here. >> have you got rupert murdoch condemning him? >> i'm not sure we should be paying any attention to rupert murdoch at all. let me say this, they're doing a great job in a disastrous moment and that's why they get the platform they have. people forget that this great optics for governor christie who is a blue state. this is a time of dire need, people still don't have power right now. we should not be playing politics here. murdoch's comments are completely out of place. >> why do conservatives, ari, insists that his kind words may swing the election. why are they doing that? >> i think they have a couple of problems. number one is they

ari melber is an msnbc contributor and correspondent for the nation.on is political editor for the grio and an msnbc contributor. and peter suitorman, editor at reason magazine. the president yesterday said we're meeting what seems a new republican leadership. let's take a listen. >> to show our seriousness, we've put revenue on the table. as long as it's accompanied by significant spending cuts. >> we're prepared to put revenue on the table, provided we fix the real problem. >> ari, are we seeing the beginning of a new era of bipartisanship here? >> no. i don't think we are. there are two problems here from the sound you played, which i think is the right point to focus on. they said revenue, not necessarily taxes. we know, everyone who follows politics understands the current sticking point on the tax plan is whether you want to deal with all the goodies that millionaires get or not. the president has said that's a red line. the republicans are gestures some more towards it, but not really giving in yet. and that may be a legislative strategy that th

msnbc contributor ari melber is a columnist for "the nation." d in washington msnbc contributor jared bernstein, a senior fellow and former economist for vice president joe biden. ari, if i can start with you, let's set aside for the moment the racism and the contempt for his fellow americans. don't these kind of views ethically disqualify someone for the highest office in the land? i mean, e dee amin had a warmer attitude toward his electorate and he is said to have eaten some of them. >> i didn't expect the cannibalism right out of the gate. i agree with your premise, what kind of view not only of government but of society is this? you go out and ask the people who have fema helping them respond to the hurricane, you ask them if they're getting gifts? you know, you ask people who look to our cops and our firefighters and our soldiers and our teachers -- >> many of whom's life savings have been invested in properties and have lost everything through no fault of their own. >> right. you ask them what we do as a society, as a nation, or, yes, as a

. >> msnbc's krystal ball and ari melber. a republican strategist had the best take away. and he says, if you are a voter and you look at the republican party and the first thing you see is republican leaders dumping all over the guy they spent two years telling us should be the leader of the country, that doesn't make you feel better about the republican party. >> it's a fair point that e he makes there. it is amazing how quickly as soon as they had anything possible to seize upon, how quickly they threw mitt romney under the bus. but there's a danger here because there was starting to ab real conversation among conservatives about policy changes. now it seems like the default position is we ran a terrible candidate so we lost. so that's the danger here. but it's incredible how quickly they have run away from this guy should be the leader of the free world to this guy is the worst person ever, i can't believe what idiotic things he's saying. >> i think in some ways, it's cathartic for republicans to run over the legacy. but to krystal's point, does the american public see

joining me here in democracy plaza is ari melber, correspondent for "the nation" and dana milbank, a for "the washington post." thank you for being here. i think it was arthur mill mother said in the politics of a democracy, the shortest distance between two points is often a crooked line. how crooked has romney's campaign been and what effect has that had on the voters? >> i'll tell you, i think spinning is pretty common in politics. >> i'm talking about lying. >> well, if this were a national race and we were talking about some of the general spinning it wouldn't look necessarily all that different from some other misleading campaigns. the problem for mitt romney starts with the lies in ohio. i think if we're talking about politics and what actually hurt him and what is going to potentially derail his candidacy tonight given what we know about how crucial ohio is, it was lying to the people in that state about their jobs, about jeeps, about how these cars are produced and after being called on it, he doubled down and he lied to them again. i think that really soured whatever he mig

at my table is ari melber, msnbc contributor. norry tan dan, kate dawson and david rodi, a reuters columnist and contributor for the atlantic. thank you all for being here. >> i want to start with you. the article, the piece you wrote was about the inequalities that have been revealed in the con te context of sandy. >> i am one of the privileged new yorkers. there has always been divisions in the city but this storm brought them out more vividly than ever. i was able to go to a hotel. i was in a mandatory evacuation area. i went to this hotel. if you had wealth, you could shelter in a nice place i had. if you had a steady job, you didn't have to work. all around the hotel were restaurant workers that had no choice and stayed. there was a restaurant serving food two to three hours before landfall, maids in the hotel, a garage attendant, hadn't been able to reach his sister. i said, where did you spend the storm? he said he slept in his car. >> those images from staten island, particularly the stairs to nowhere, it is an iconic ima

let's turn to crystal ball, co-host of the cycle and ari melber. do you think in a maybe the american people and democrats, i think the democrats want to do something about this. is there any way to shame republican leadership into doing this, crystal? >> well, probably not, though i think if the american people get upset enough about any issue and make any issue hot enough, you can make a change. i would point to our home state of virginia. republicans took over the state senate, they held the house of delegates, trying to push through this extreme legislation, and eventually they went too far, mandating transadvantagible probes. people in virginia got upset, even though ropes controlled every level of government, they still had to pull back that bill. so anything is possible, but i think the big thing here is it's very unusual and it's very bad idea to have partisan officials in charge of elections at all. >> how do we fix this? is this going to take a federal law? the president said we need to fix this. you're not going to fix it on a state leve

. >>> coming up, we'll find out about ari melber and guess who's coming to dinner?t romney's last chance to get into the white house is coming up. [ male announcer ] we all make bad decisions. like say, gas station sushi. cheap is good. and sushi, good. but cheap sushi, not so good. it's like that super-low rate on not enough car insurance. pretty sketchy. ♪ and then there are the good decisions. like esurance. their coverage counselor tool helps you choose the right coverage for you at a great price. [ stomach growls ] without feeling queasy. that's insurance for the modern world. esurance. now backed by allstate. click or call. >>> what could they have to talk about? maybe they can reminisce about their days at harvard law school where the president was president of the law review and mitt romney wasn't. mitt romney's trip to the white house tomorrow where barack obama is president and mitt romney isn't. that's coming up with jonathan capehart and richard wolffe and the supreme court comes down on the side of the people and against bad cops. that's coming up. new

. >>> coming up, we'll find out about ari melber and guess who's coming to dinner?itt romney's last chance to get into the white house is coming up. >>> what could they have to talk about? maybe they can reminisce about their days at harvard law coschl where the president was president of the law review and mitt romney wasn't. mitt romney's trip to the white house tomorrow where barack obama is president and mitt romney isn't. that's coming up with jonathan capehart and richard wolffe and the supreme court comes down on the side of the people and against bad cops. that's coming up. you know how painful heartburn can be. for fast, long lasting relief, use doctor recommended gaviscon®. only gaviscon® forms a protective barrier that helps block stomach acid from splashing up- relieving the pain quickly. try fast, long lasting gaviscon®. >>> in the weeks ahead, i also look forward to sitting down with governor romney talking about where we can work together to move this country together. >> that was president obama being characteristically magnanimous so the president w

. >> ari melber, today's "new york post" column. barack obama is one of the greatest politicians of all time. >> it's sort of the mirror image of the point krystal is making. which is to focus on the personality of mitt romney and then to try and say that this victory is limited to the political genius of david axelrod as you showed bill o'reilly saying, or that barack obama is a good politician, which he is, but i think there's something more fundamental that happened yet yesterday. i think we came out of a period of american history where government was seriously discredited often for good reason for failures on foreign policy, regulating the financial markets and we had a president who came in and often in unpopular ways at first, basically said government has an important role to play in all of these markets, the insurance market, the car market, small business, tax reform and he went and did that when it was unpopular. and by the end of the race, we had a substantive debate about it. and what we see here i think is an endorseme

but ari melber is filling in. ari, i have one question for you, alley sheedy, are you a "st.s fire" fan or "breakfast club." >> i'll go with "breakfast club." does that count? >> we'll take that. >>> up ahead, we're going to take a look at the important legal and intelligence questions that are regarding the investigation that did bring down former cia chief david petraeus. we will also report on the new allegations that are swirling around this case. then, we are going to do a timeline and talk to author wes moore, pulitzer prize-winning reporter, david woods, salon's joan walsh, msnbc's robert traynham, and "the new york times's" nicholas kons skoir. >>> and some republicans say tax hikes might be necessary to prevent automatic spending cuts at the end of this year. could cooperation be back in style in washington? and finally, adapt or die. we will look at how the gop is adjusting to a new normal after their political bubble burst. all that when "now" starts in three minutes. ♪ constipated? yeah. mm. some laxatives like dulcolax can cause cramps. but phillips' caplets don'

krystal ball and ari melber, thank you both for joining me tonight. >> thanks, alex. >>> who is where and why? former dnc chairman howard dean joins me. and the clinton effect on the 2012 race. the best friend a democrat can have this year. that's coming up next. [ jack ] after lauren broke up with me, i went to the citi private pass page and decided to be...not boring. that's how i met marilyn... giada... really good. yes! [ jack ] ...and alicia. ♪ this girl is on fire [ male announcer ] use any citi® card to get the benefits of private pass. more concerts. more events. more experiences. [ jack ] hey, who's boring now? [ male announcer ] get more access with a citi card. [ crowd cheering, mouse clicks ] the capability of a pathfinder with the comfort of a sedan and create a next-gen s.u.v. with best-in-class fuel economy of 26 miles per gallon, highway, and best-in-class passenger roominess? yeah, that would be cool. introducing the all-new nissan pathfinder. it's our most innovative pathfinder ever. nissan. innovation that excites. ♪ >>> the last hours of the ground game. former dnc

joining me now, msnbc's joy reed and ari melber. stop being the stupid party. that's a tall order now for the republicans, isn't it? >> yeah. bobby jindal, i guess he has coherent advice. i am not sure if you look at his stance, teaching creationism in public schools, not sure he is going to help them in his own state, and it's interesting that paul ryan sort of made these assertions that we didn't really lose, we actually won because the house of representatives, he made a good point. look at florida. all of the republicans in swing districts, people who were the most associated with paul ryan's ideas, people like allen west, for instance, lost. they lost in those swing districts because those guys, especially west, who really championed paul ryan's ideas, went to bat for them, did town halls, contentious town halls defending the ryan budget he voted for twice. well, he lost. >> ari, it is not as if the president had a great economy to run on. what he had to run on is if you elect me, this is what i'm in favor of, this is what i will do, and he got to say this

msnbc contributor ari melber of "the nation" frank bruni of "the new york times" and msnbc contributormer dnc communications director karen finney. the election is around the corner, but millions of americans are still reeling from the devastating impact of hurricane sandy. at least 94 people have been confirmed dead and more than 3 million homes and businesses are powerless. in

i'm ari melber in for alex wagner. joining me today the editor in chief the always busy ben smith, heather mcghee, richard wolffe, from "the washington post" msnbc contributor jonathan capehart. secretary of state hillary clinton is on the ground in the middle east. yesterday, president obama released clinton from their joint asia trip and sent her to jerusalem for an urgent meeting with ben ja man netanyahu. this morning clinton flew from jerusalem to the west bank to meet with mahmoud abbas, president of the palestinian authority, before returning to jerusalem with additional talks with netanyahu. secretary clinton is in cairo where she met with president mohamed morsi of egypt who's mediating the discussions. as secretary clinton carries the official white house message there is new attention being paid to the president's strategic options in the region. "the washington post" writes president obama's decision to send his top diplomat on an emergency middle east peace making mission tuesday marked an administration s

steve israel and raul grivalva, dennis reid, power panel joy ann reid, ary melber.alex wagner is coming your way. >> u.n. ambassador susan rice goes to washington and runs into a whole lot of trouble with the republican opposition. does the gop's inquisition have to do with anything other than her potential cabinet nomination? we will ask richard rolf david corn and joy reid. president obama takes his plan to the people. the white house launches a new campaign to promote middle-class tax cuts, but are we closer to or further from the fiscal cliff? economist justin woolfers weighs in, jose diaz-balart on whether republican heard the wake-up call on immigration reform. there was a lot on the ballot this year but is the drug war over? we will ask knorr new york m-- new york magazine's benjamin wallace-wells about weed's new world order when "now" starts in 180 seconds. folks who save hundreds of dollars switching to geico sure are happy. how happy, ronny? happier than gallagher at a farmers' market. get happy. get geico. chances are, you're not made of money, so don't

for more on this issue i'm delighted to welcome ari melber, a lawyer and correspondent for "the nationmagazine and karen finney, a columnist for the hill and an msnbc political analyst. karen, in virginia the election officials are caught warning residents about anonymous callers who are saying things over the phone that are intimidating. in florida similar tactics targeting black and hispanic voters but there are also deceitful actions at actual polling stations. >> absolutely. there have been reports in colorado and also earlier in nevada of people also tearing up voter registration forms if you didn't register republican. you also have people coming up to individuals who are trying to do early vote asking them for their i.d. even though they have no right to ask them for their i.d. there have been reports of people filming people going in and out of polling locations. we have heard some stories about both during the voting reg strak process and we're hearing it's going to happen again on election day of intentionally starting fights, intentionally creating a ruckus so if you get the

i'm ari melber in for alex wagner. joining me today, msnbc contributor, robert traynham, joan walsh of salon.com, author of "the other wes moore," retired army captain, wes moore, and nicholas kons skoir of "the new york times." david petraeus resigned as cia director on friday after reports of an extramarital affair and a host of questions remain about the investigation that toppled one of the country's top national security officials. lawmakers in both parties say the fbi failed in its duty to report on the secretive investigation earlier in the process. now, before we get into the debate, here are some of the key allegations and facts about this unusual investigation. first, several months ago, government officials tell nbc news that fbi investigators responded to a complaint about anonymous e-mails sent to jill kelly, a 37-year-old volunteer liaison to mcdill air force base in tampa. kelly and her husband were friends with petraeus and his wife. the fbi began by investigating whether those e-mails constituted haras