here in washington, bob walker, form you are u.s.gressman who is advising the gingrich campaign. je mank, thank you for being here. >> nice to be with you. >> if only because the calendar is closing in on them and because the race still appears to be pretty fluid, it was quite the debate last night. the consensus seems to be, reading some of the analysis, that newt gingrich held his own and did very well and that mitt romney made a huge mistake. so i want to start out just by playing for our viewers something that happened last night in the debate between rick perry and mitt romney. >> i'm just saying, you are for individual mandates, my friend. >> you know what? you've raised that before, rick. and you're simply wrong. >> it was true then. and it's true now. >> no, rick. i'll tell you what. 10,000 bucks? $10,000 bet? >> i'm not in the betting business -- >> oh, okay. okay. >> governor sununu, first to you. this is widely being interpreted as yet another example of mitt romney not totally being in touch with the american people. the

. >> former pennsylvania congressman bob walker is a gingrich adviser. he served as deputy whip while gingrich was the republican whip in the early '90s, and i believe he replaced dick cheney as whip? >> he replaced dick cheney when cheney became secretary of defense, newt became the whip. >> you managed that campaign? >> i was one of the people that helped newt get to the whip job and then i was chairman of the republican leadership when he was the speaker. >> all right. you are somebody we don't see often these days. and that is a former member of congress coming out so vocally, so public for speaker gingrich. why are a number of your former colleagues and current colleagues, why aren't we seeing more of them come out in support of the speaker? >> i think a number of them are supportive of the speaker. and i guess our people are staying positive and not saying controversial things and so thereby not getting air time. but there are a lot of former colleagues and present members of the house who are, in fact, supporting speaker gingrich and i think we wi

former pennsylvania congressman bob walker is supporting the former speaker's presidential run, and he joins us now on the phone from pennsylvania. congressman walker, that was gail gitcho, romney's communications director. she offered the following critique of speaker gingrich. washington insider. these are her words, not mine. washington insider, unreliable conservative. and that he shilled for nancy pelosi's global warming plan. what say you to any or all? go ahead. congressman. >> excuse me? >> i'm sorry. go ahead. >> no, all of which is ridiculous. the fact is that newt has been a part of the washington scene for a long period of time, but he's always been regarded as the guy who is challenging the washington establishment. and there's a long history of the washington establishment being very unhappy with newt gingrich and what he was doing because he does in fact present a conservative point of view. as to being an unreliable conservative, newt has been a conservative leader for years. he formed the conservative opportunity society back in 1983. we were the ones who went out and

we still are waiting to see any of the former members other than bob walker who halls always been thedefense and endorse him. >> i don't think that's going to happen. those of us that serve with newt and lived through that history have great concerns over what happened at that time. right? he helped to elect a republican congress. he also helped to re-elect a democratic president through a lot of his actions. and so i think there is some serious concerns in the republican party that he could help to re-elect another democrat president. i was just thinking, i know this is a stupid line, but men are not going to go to bars anymore, they're going to hang out at emergency rooms to hit on all the overworked nurses. >> susan? susan, do him a favor, endorse him. be generous. go ahead and endorse newt. >> i'm sorry. that was just too funny. >> thank you for joining us from the west coast. thank you very much bob and susan. and on a serious note, we have lost a major figure in literature, in writing, in journalism. he had a slashing witt, a piercing intelligence and the intellectual head. the

bob walker, thank you. >> we'll have you back a lot. we need apologists for newt. >> i don't apologize for him. i support him. >> i accept that. up next, the iraq war veteran booed by the republicans at that republican debate for being gay basically. captain steve hill joins us after the break. this is "hardball," only on msnbc. ♪ [ male announcer ] a simple gesture can spark romance anytime. and when it does, men with erectile dysfunction can be more confident in their ability to be ready with cialis for daily use. cialis for daily use is a clinically proven low-dose tablet you take every day so you can be ready anytime the moment's right, even if it's not every day. [ man ] tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medications and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sexual activity. don't take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, as this may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. [ man ] do not drink alcohol in excess with cialis. side effects may include headache, upset stomach, delayed backache or muscle ach

going to talk to two surrogates, former new hampshire governor john sununu and former congressman bob walkerh romney and newt gingrich and try to get at what really is right now the titanic battle, and it is between those two men. >> candy crowley, always good to see you. coming your way it about 15 minutes. i will see you again. "state of the union" right here. >>> alec baldwin tweeted all about how he was kicked off an american airlines plane. a day later, he shut down his twitter account. but he certainly had more to say and he said it last night on saturday night. stay with us. progresso. it fits! fantastic! [ man ] pro-gresso they fit! okay-y... okay??? i've been eating progresso and now my favorite old jeans...fit. okay is there a woman i can talk to? [ male announcer ] progresso. 40 soups 100 calories or less. [ male announcer ] a simple gesture can spark romance anytime. and when it does, men with erectile dysfunction can be more confident in their ability to be ready with cialis for daily use. cialis for daily use is a clinically proven low-dose tablet you take every day so you can

bob walker, thank you. >> we'll have you back a lot. apologists for newt. >> i don't apologize for him. i support him. >> i accept that. up next, the iraq war veteran booed by the republicans at that republican debate for being gay basically. captain steve hill joins us after the break. this is "hardball," only on msnbc. top v neck 3 piece suit dance wear bolo snakeskin boots sequin costume under things stiletto heels skinny jeans houndstooth snuggie pork pie hat oshkosh socks 5% cash back. right now get 5% cash back at department stores. it pays to discover. >>> well, mark your calendars. house speaker john boehner has invited president obama to deliver his state of the union address before a joint session of congress, and the date of the state of the union will be tuesday, january 24th. we'll be right back. ♪ [ male announcer ] how could a luminous protein in jellyfish, impact life expectancy in the u.s., real estate in hong kong, and the optics industry in germany? at t. rowe price, we understand the connections of a complex, global

bob walker, thank you. >> we'll have you back a lot.need apologists for newt. >> i don't apologize for him. i support him. >> i accept that. up next, the iraq war veteran booed by the republicans at that republican debate for being gay basically. captain steve hill joins us after the break. this is "hardball," only on msnbc. >>> well, mark your calendars. house speaker john boehner has invited president obama to deliver his state of the union address before a joint session of congress, and the date of the state of the union will be tuesday, january 24th. we'll be right back. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 let's talk about fees. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 there are atm fees. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 account service fees. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 and the most dreaded fees of all, hidden fees. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 at charles schwab, you won't pay fees on top of fees. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 no monthly account service fees. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 no hidden fees. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 and we rebate every atm fee. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 so talk to chuck tdd# 1-800-345-2550 because w

. >>> former congressman marty russo and bob walker thank you. >>> 7:42 a.m., thank you gentlemen. annie yu this morning cooking up a great holiday gift idea we will check with her after the break. holiday greetings from more of our members stationed overseas. >>> hi i am master sergeant jen duggan presently deployed to kirk stan i would like to wish my husband and daughter happy holidays i miss you and love you. bye  >>> it is the most wonderful time of the morning steve. >> hello. >>> time to add a couple more of your ornaments to the fox 5 christmas tree. this was sent in from a viewer in wheaton with a note that says, happy holidays to everyone especially my mom, and the rest of my family. >> all right and check this beauty out here, this 3 dimensional star ornament was hand made by 8-year-old ricky bruno thank you forgetting involved and sending in your handiwork we appropriate it. great ornaments we have this morning. >> once it is decked out with your ornaments we will donate the tree to a worthy group here in the dc region. >> thank you alison. >

my good friend bob walker told me a long time ago, he said, marty, watch it, we're going to be comingte, when we get close to iowa, we're going to start making a move. bob was right. now is the time to peak. >> now is the time to peak. let me ask you, chris, when you served in the house of delegates, you served as chairman of the house cost- cutting caucus, a bipartisan group, imagine that, that works hard to find cost saving measures in government. so now we're looking at this payroll tax and we're looking at sort of a congress that's been deadlocked and in a fight with a lot of battling right now, seems not a lot of things are getting through. how hopeful are you that the votes on the hill will -- the folks on the hill will get something passed and that will satisfy the american people such as it is? actually, some action maybe and maybe that would satisfy the american people somehow. >> i think they'll get something done before christmas, i think everyone is committed getting something done. you can't go home empty handed during christmastime and have the narrative saying we didn't

this reminds me of when they asked bob dole when he ran against george herbert walker bush. stop whining about my record." it brought back that dole could be mean and angry. but in this case, gingrich handled it well and got away with it in two sentences saying mitt, you are a wimp, not stepping up to it. face me man-to-man or get off the stage. but the damage done to gingrich in the last two weeks is incalculable. i talk to people in iowa and they tell me you can't turn on a television show and not see a blast at gingrich. by the way, a piece of mail that is going to hit in iowa monday morning that is devastating on gingrich. >> greg: the new phone book? >> bob: no. it's your love letter to him. >> andrea: gingrich doesn't place well in iowa, that is tough for him. >> bob: money will dry up for people. santorum is moving on. we talk politics, santorum is -- >> andrea: third in the poll. >> bob: in this poll. >> kimberly: iowa surprise. >> bob: every time you have someone sneaking in, he may come in third and live again to go to new hampshire and south carolina. but the pers

walker's got huge donations. more than half of the money has come from out of state, and his biggest donor is bob perry, the texasire behind the john kerry swiftboat ads. you remember him. he's given walker $250,000. there's definitely going to be more big money to come. don't forget governor walker got money from the koch brothers pac last year. they're one step clouder to victory, but we know the big money will keep coming. we've got to fight, and we will. ♪ it's nice to see you [ male announcer ] this is your moment. ♪ this is zales, the diamond store. take up to an extra 15 percent off storewide now through sunday. how about the beat of a healthy heart? campbell's healthy request soup is delicious, and earned this heart, for being heart healthy. ♪ feel the beat? it's amazing what soup can do. ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] everyone deserves the gift of a pain free holiday. ♪ this season, discover aleve. all day pain relief with just two pills. >>> welcome back. a funny thing happened to willard mid romney in the final countdown before the iowa caucuses. the target fell off his back. until now, willard's been the focu

bob dole and pat robertson beat my candidate in 1988, george herbert walker bush. reagan was forced to put bush on the ticket and the rest is history. iowa has a checkered history, it has a history of being iowa and carefully vetting candidates that make sense to it and it does clarify a lot of positions. there have been plenty of candidates who have lost iowa or won iowa, whatever the case the opposite that, did not impact the future of the nomination. >> that is completely true. it may continue to be fluid for i think quite some time. thank you both very much indeed. >>> coming up, america is obsessed with superstar tim tebow. i'll talk to the man who wrote the book on him when we come back. what is that? it's you! it's me? alright emma, i know it's not your favorite but it's time for your medicine, okay? you ready? one, two, three. [ both ] ♪ emma, emma bo-bemma ♪ banana-fana-fo-femma ♪ fee-fi-fo-femma ♪ em-ma very good sweety, how do you feel? good. yeah? you did a really good job, okay? [ female announcer ] to nurses everywhere, thank you, from johnson & johns

walker bush to get the nomination. >> dana: ron paul, good win iowa. >> bob: a stretch. >> dana: we want to let them fight in break.e'll come back to you and talk to donald trump and what he is up to. he is hosting a debate. meeting candidates today. or is he promoting the donald? we bring you up to speed. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> bob: that is definitely queen. [ laughter ] we talked about newt, but some people say newt is his own worst enemy. here is what i'm talking about. >> really poor children in really poor neighborhoods have no habits of working. have nobody around them who works so they literally have no habit of showing up on monday. no habit of staying all day. no habit of i do this and you give me cash, unless it's illegal. >> bob: this is the kind of thing in a general election would be devastating for newt. in the republican primary caucus system, that is not far off from what both republicans think? so, my guess is it's not going to hurt him much. it's not very well advised. particularly about the comment unless they do it illegally. a very smart amount of the kids are making money selling drugs. spend time in the

bob dole and pat robertson beat my candidate in 1988, george herbert walker bush.eagan was forced to put bush on the ticket and the rest is history. iowa has a checkered history, it has a history of being iowa and carefully vetting candidates that make sense to it and it does clarify a lot of positions. there have been plenty of candidates who have lost iowa or won iowa, whatever the case the opposite that, did not impact the future of the nomination. >> that is completely true. it may continue to be fluid for i think quite some time. thank you both very much indeed. >>> coming up, america is obsessed with superstar tim tebow. i'll talk to the man who wrote the book on him when we come back. i had a heart problem. i was told to begin my aspirin regimen. i just didn't listen until i almost lost my life. my doctor's again ordered me to take aspirin. and i do. [ male announcer ] be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. [ mike ] listen to the doctor. take it seriously. gives you a 50 percent annual bonus. so you earn 50 percent more cash. if

bob dole and pat robertson beat my candidate in 1988, george herbert walker bush. reagan was forced to put bush on the ticket and the rest is history. iowa has a checkered history, it has a history of being iowa and carefully vetting candidates that make sense to it and it does clarify a lot of positions. there have been plenty of candidates who have lost iowa or won iowa, whatever the case the opposite that, did not impact the future of the nomination. >> that is completely true. it may continue to be fluid for i think quite some time. thank you both very much indeed. >>> coming up, america is obsessed with superstar tim tebow. i'll talk to the man who wrote the book on him when we come back. you found it. wow. nice place. yeah. [ chuckles ] the family thinks i'm out shipping these. smooth move. you used priority mail flat rate boxes. if it fits, it ships for a low, flat rate. paid for postage online and arranged a free pickup. and i'm gonna track them online, too. nice. between those boxes and this place, i'm totally staying sane this year. do i smell snickerdood

. >> well, bob, let me go back to what she said as the first governor, mr. walkering joe" this morning after i was. he was asked about if he could go back to the beginning of the year. let me show you what he said. >> i would have spent more time explaining the rationale for what we're dough. collective bargaining is not a right, it's an expensive entitlement. >> i mean, he really thinks it would have been more palpable to explain to people why -- we just didn't understand? >> well, what he did, he pretty muchç showed the agenda for th year. his pal tron of so many republicans, particularly those of the far right, and i would put him in that category, they are virulently -- and they want to kill what remains of the union movement. a lot of that has base in government employees, so you've seen this kind of effort to put a knife in the heart of what remains of labor. the patrons, the republicans are the old i gashes, i like to call them, they want a stratified society we have now with no regard for the middle class. they are acting as the puppets of the people who a

bob dole won the nomination. in 1988, dole won iowa, but george herbert walker bush won the nomination. 1980, it was george herbertes but reagan won the nomination. so iowa by this count, joy ann, 2 for 5. what do you make of it? >> bill clinton didn't win the iowa caucuses in 1992 either. so i don't think that that's necessarily the reason that iowa is starting to look like an anachronistic choice to be the first. i think what erin said is more important. this is a very unrepresentative group of voters. and it's also a form of voting that is not representative of the rest of the country. so i think, particularly in the republican party, however, it's a chance for the evangelical wing of the party to be heard, because they are just so dominant. and, again, is that going to help them with independents going forward? would the person who can win that group of voters be the most electable? probably not. >> erin, i'm glad that joy-ann brought it up, because this year it seems like the evangelical community has not coalesced around a single candidate. >> they can't. but, you know, some of the candidates are trying real

bob softlifts on saturday night. normal people embrace this, but academics are not normal people. take instructor thomas walker the drive where he said, "aren't girzzs paid enough to buy what they need and even what they want? what are the troops doing for us? nothing. but against us, they are doing a lot, creating anti-american terrorists in the countries they occupy." oh, yes, there is that "occup "occupy" verb again. why the word comes from tenureed self-absorbs twits who consider nose ring an achievement and academics are full on clowns? is it because carnivals no longer hire. it could say that jerk wrote the letter to impress the naive coeds but maybe he needs a real education. how about everyone watching this show now who has a loved one in the military, send him a christmas card. care of iowa state university. it's in ames, iowa. zip code is 50011. include a photo of that loved one inside. add a note explaining what they are doing for us. not to much is care package but a why you should care package. >> andrea: i don't know if we can recover from that. >> greg: want to go to break then? >> bob: can i ge

bob softlifts on saturday night. normal people embrace this, but academics are not normal people. take instructor thomas walker he said, "aren't girzzs paid enough to buy what they need and even what they want? what are the troops doing for us? nothing. but against us, they are doing a lot, creating anti-american terrorists in the countries they occupy." oh, yes, there is that "occup "occupy" verb again. why the word comes from tenureed self-absorbs twits who consider nose ring an achievement and academics are full on clowns? is it because carnivals no longer hire. it could say that jerk wrote the letter to impress the naive coeds but maybe he needs a real education. how about everyone watching this show now who has a loved one in the military, send him a christmas card. care of iowa state university. it's in ames, iowa. zip code is 50011. include a photo of that loved one inside. add a note explaining what they are doing for us. not to much is care package but a why you should care package. >> andrea: i don't know if we can recover from that. >> greg: want to go to break then? >> bob: can i get out of here re