good morning, i'm chris cillizza, in for chuck todd. we begin with president obama in france for the g-20 summit, where leaders are grappling with the greek debt crisis, trying to keep it from spreading across europe and possibly to the united states. chuck todd is traveling with the president, and he joins me now live from cannes. chuck, the summit focused on greece and the european debt crisis, what does the president do while he's over there? >> reporter: well, mr. fix, first of all, it's a rainy and windy cannes, although the rain has let up a little bit. about half of his day is already over. the summit just started formally, but before the summit began, the president had one-on-one meetings with french president sarkozy and angela merkel and with the french president he sort of laid the groundwork about what it is that has to get done at this g-20. here's what he said -- >> the most important aspect of our task over the next two days is to resolve the financial crisis here in europe. president sarkozy has shown extraordinary leade

msnbc contributor and managing editor of post politics.com, chris cillizza joins us with the daily fix, a year out. we've looked at the polls. what we're seeing now is that republican voters have mitt romney and herman cain basically tied with newt gingrich a close third and rick perry is the news falling way behind. >> let me first say i'm very excited because i love election days. and so we have an election day. we're 12 months away. we're actually about 60 days away from the iowa caucuses on january 3rd. to your point, this race is still incredibly slow to develop. it looks like we have a top tier at the moment that is mitt romney. that's no news. he's been in the top tier throughout. and herman cain. you know, i think the herman cain, the allegations, the press conference, sharon bialek coming out yesterday with her allegations have overshadowed another huge story line which is rick perry is nowhere. this is a guy who in august was at 38% in the 2012 hypothetical matchup. he's at 10%. that's the same territory as ron paul, below newt gingrich. can rick perry come back? he's got the

let's go to chris cillizza. i love the word "we." we is always used when you're not doing well in a campaign. it's "i" if you win. she clearly could benefit a couple points here. let me get back to this. i want you guys to look at these numbers. if you look at the numbers right now, it's clear that in all the polls both nationally and in the key races in iowa and new hampshire, maybe not so much in new hampshire, this guy cain has about 15 to 16 points, in just every one of these polls, guys. we're looking here at the national average there, about 15. that's a big chunk of change to throw to somebody. if you just throw that over in iowa or nationally and you just throw that 15 over to gingrich, or say you throw 10 of it or 12 of it over, he gets, chris, a big chunk of a lead on mr. romney. >> chris, i think one of the things that's been overlooked as we've gone through this litany of conservative alternatives that have risen and fallen is that mitt romney's greatest strength/biggest weakness is that in every single national republica

. >> msnbc contributor and managing editor of post politics.com chris cillizza. i don't think you would forget that fight. it was a memorable fight. >> the ear biting. >> the other point here is we should point out she did not come forward. it was that she had been told they already had all these details from some tipster. that is after a lot of harassment of her family and herself. that's when she came forward. can cain recover from this? >> i don't think he can. it's the totality of it all. it's the totality that herman cain is asking us to believe it's either four or five women, i believe four women have come forward alleging sexual harassment against him, and no ginger white alleging an affair. the totality of it, the weight of that, five people all alleging this? all of whom are lying 100% lying flat out? it's just hard to believe and a little implausible. >>> newt gingrich is the likely inheritor of cain supporters, how dangerous is it what "the washington post" started laying out earlier, as much as a hundred million according to the post, but tens of mill

. >> chris cillizza, today, we saw a vivid attack, basically, on the morality, basically, the moralitysically, the character of herman cain. this wasn't a question of inappropriate behavior, this is terrible behavior, in any circumstance, on any planet. and it looked like the worst kind of case of sexual harassment, using your power to get sex from somebody. horrendous, vivid, graphic description, we've never seen before from an actual human being who seems like a regular human being to me. >> and you know, chris, the woman, sharon bialek said, i'm here to put a name and a face to this. and i thought to myself, politically, that's troublesome if you're herman cain. because to your point, what we've had is a series of anonymous women who are resistant or don't want to come forward, for whatever reasons. confidential agreements, they want to protect their privacy. it's easier to turn this into a case of the media, the republican establishment, whoever you want to blame, rick perry playing political gotcha if you're herman cain, if there isn't a face. if there isn't video. if there isn't

thank you, chuck todd and thank you, chris cillizza.oman who spent two hours on a plane sitting next to mitt romney. can you stand the excitement? she said she came -- he came off as out of touch, even wooden, you're surprising me so much. i can't wait to meet this eyewitness. this is "hardball," only on msnbc. total access - to everything. from idea to research to trade. including financials, indicators and real-time streaming quotes. whether you check your investments every day or every minute, our app can take them from thought to trade. at scottrade, seven-dollar trades are just the start. try our powerful mobile app. it's another reason more investors are saying... i'm with scottrade. >>> voters go to the polls tomorrow and there are a couple of big statewide races we'll be watching. in ohio, voters will decide whether to keep or repeal a law that limits collective bargaining among public employees. in mississippi, there's that controversial measure we've mentioned to define a fettrtilid egg as a person, which has fired up activist

and that's a very crucial case to make as the election approaches. >> chris cillizza? > well, i think joan is largely right, that this is the place where barack obama has been the strongest. you know, coming into this presidency, chris, the biggest question was is this a guy who can stand up on the world stage and lead? remember, that was john mccain's entire campaign was premised around the idea that barack obama didn't have the experience to govern in a difficult world. now, he's had lots of struggles domestic policy-wise, but foreign policy-wise, he's had lots of successes, and i think hillary clinton's involvement in those successes does not go unnoticed. she's a huge figure, both domestically and internationally, chris. i mean, anywhere she goes, she's probably the second most famous politician in the world behind the guy she works for. so she draws attention, and she's credible. and people take her seriously when she speaks and when she advocates. >> she's always well prepared. here's more from secretary of state clinton in her interview with david gregory on "mee

. >>> i'm chris cillizza. coming up on "andrea mitchell reports" 80,000 jobs added in october.ack on track. we'll break down the numbers with labor secretary hilda solis. >>> plus as the deadline looms for the supercommittee, we'll talk with anti-tax activist grover norquist. >>> and who had the worst week in washington? we'll see you in 15 minutes on "andrea mitchell reports." >> looking forward to that. >>> not just europe that the president is having trouble with but the middle east as well. the old u.s. playbook of supporting whomever could maintain power, went out with arab spring. the question is, how should the world's lone superpower deal with a people newly empowered? joining us to talk about it, aman. good to have you with us on this friday afternoon. we were talking about the role in the united states in the middle east earlier. you said in the past that every time that the u.s. does something that wins arab approval, they turn right around and they blow it. what are some examples? >> well, i mean, the most recent one obviously was the vote that took place on monday

chris cillizza has the daily fix and also with us, cnbc's chief washington correspondent, john harwood, who co moderated the debate in michigan. first to you, john. you were there in the chair and you had a hostile audience. it was hard to follow up on the herman cain business, but let's talk about rick perry first. what was going through your mind? you sowned kind of shocked and some were sympathetic as perry grasped for the right words. >> i'm a human level, i'm sympathetic for him as someone who makes his living in front of a television camera as you do. i know it's happened to me, but of course, he's running for president. in the moment. it was confusing at first because he tried and then mitt romney offered the epa and he said, oh, yeah, the epa. so i had to clarify, is that the third agency and he said no, and when i asked him again, can you name it and he went through his notes and couldn't do it, it was painful and obviously something that was going to be very damaging to a candidate who needs new momentum and had been laboring under the idea that he might not be up to a nation

chris cillizza for the daily fix. chuck todd and maria bartiromo, host of closing bell will be co-moder ating the debate. the premise, your money, your vote, it is an economic debate. it becomes unavoidable things come up. you could argue workplace issues. sexual harassment has in the last 20 years since clarence thomas, anita hill controversy has become a major issue for corporations and for employees and their bosses. >> for sure. i think the charges also sort of speak to leadership, speak to character, integrity, and the american people do want to hear and see his body language as far as how he responds. no doubt about it, the debate tonight is certainly focused largely, largely, on the economic issues that i think that the american people want answers and solutions to. >> and have we seen, chuck, in the latest polling and in the battle ground matchups, michigan which has not gone democratic in a presidential election year -- >> probably since '88. >> not gone republican since '88 when george herbert walker bush wa

msnbc contributor and managing editor of post-politics.com chris cillizza joins us with the daily fix. hey, chris. >> hey, andrea. >> this is not going well. had a couple of appearances today. cancelled a news conference and just brushed right out of there, and as you saw what happened outside in the hallway there. >> yeah. i mean, i think he's in the middle of a media maelstom and is trying to fight his way out, not as you point out, andrea, that successfully. look, we've talked about this for a couple of days now. until he has a story that's consistent and is backed up by what is publicly available or what will become publicly available, it seems to me he's going to be in the same place which is going to try to change the subject, and it's not a changeable subject at the moment. this is a guy who is either number one or number two in national polling as well as polling in state like iowa and new hampshire to have obviously a lot of say over who the nominee is going to be, and when there is something like this, questions, let's just say questions in his background during his time at

msnbc contributor chris cillizza joins us with our daily fix. let's take a look at these numbers just out. what we see now is a majority of republican voters say that this should not concern them. does he get by? >> i think some of this -- and i'm working on a piece about this because i find it fascinating because i think, i will say ithought when we heard about this and the way herman cain handled it the last week, other women saying that -- alleging that he had harassed them it seemed to me this was headed in a pretty obvious direction if you look at the way history of these things have played out. i will say, though, his staying power among republicans. they did a poll found similar to the numbers in the nbc/"wall street journal" poll. lots of republicans say this is not a big deal. it's not a serious issue. i think some of that is because right now we're still in kind of a he said/she said. you know, with cain trying to finesse it. let's see what else comes out, if anything else comes out. if it does, i think those numbers could go south on

joan walsh is editor at large for salon.com, chris cillizza is managing editor.te clinton, they announced the death of her mother, dorothy rodham at the age of 92. what a life she's had. i've had a mixed history of my political views of hillary clinton and the role she played in the last campaign. i didn't like her position on the war in iraq and i let it be known they preferred barack obama on that key issue to me. but i am overwhelmed, as i've been before, by her behavior. occasionally, she just floors me with her statements. like she did during the campaign at the end when she endorsed him so magnanimously. again, on david gregory's program, "meet the press," we'll show you another clip in a moment. but your view? she seems to be coming not just an appointee of the president, but a true ally. >> oh, i think she very much is a true ally, chris, and i think she's probably enraged that this president can't get a bit of credit from these republican opponents when it comes to the realm of foreign policy. i mean, that is where he has truly shined, with her help, bee

thank you, howard fineman and chris cillizza. we'll have the president's statement on the super committee coming up at 5:45. >>> coming up, think mitt romney is a flip-flopper? well, he is, of course. wait until you catch this one. newt gingrich is explaining why he changed his positions on just about everything from health care to global warming to t.a.r.p. and big shocker, every one of this has changes are to the currently popular conservative primary voter and caucus voter opinion. big surprise, newt. you're catching on. you're watching "hardball," only on msnbc. ess pro. premier of the packed bag. you know organization is key... and so is having a trusted assistant. and you...rent from national. because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle...and go. you can even take a full-size or above and still pay the mid-size price. here we are... [ male announcer ] and there you go, business pro. there you go. go national. go like a pro. >>> one of the critical battleground states for the presidential race will be the stat

chris cillizza was on with andrea mitchell and he believes someone might take that opening. >> i think it is a danger to do it if you're one of the guys that is not named mitt romney. because right now, cain's supporters seem to be as defiant as cain himself is on this. if it looks like you're siding with the political elite or if you're a cain supporter and you believe it this combination of the media and political elite out to get him and you pounce on that as a fellow republican, it is one of those things that you could get punished by these supporters. but at the same time, when you're rick perry and you're a night gingrich, you're trying make this leap into the first tier and be the next not mitt romney to take on mitt romney, you need cain supporters. a delicate balance. it could turn into one of these political suicide deals. he went after bachmann and they both went down. it hurt him and then it helped somebody he will. >> so are the candidates concerned, if you will, the air will be sucked out of the room by this herman cain sexual harassment allegations and they will not be a

we'll go through last night's debate with john harwood and chris cillizza.there be more charges or victims to come forward? and stocks on the rebound today after wednesday's big plunge. the latest on the european debt crisis and its impact on u.s. markets. i'd race down that hill without a helmet. i took some steep risks in my teens. i'd never ride without one now. and since my doctor prescribed lipitor, i won't go without it for my high cholesterol and my risk of heart attack. why kid myself? diet and exercise weren't lowering my cholesterol enough. now i'm eating healthier, exercising more, taking lipitor. numbers don't lie. my cholesterol's stayed down. lipitor is fda approved to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke in patients who have heart disease or risk factors for heart disease. it's backed by over 19 years of research. [ female announcer ] lipitor is not for everyone, including people with liver problems and women who are nursing, pregnant or may become pregnant. you need simple blood tests to check for liver problems. tell your doctor if you

. >>> good day, i'm chris cillizza, remember when the most scrutinized part of the cain campaign was the tax plan? 9-9-9 may seem like a walk in the party compared to what he's facing today. mark murray is here with the daily fix. mark, i feel like that intro took 30 seconds and something may have changed. >> this has turned into a blame game where they are saying this is coming from the rick perry and his camp. and the perry campaign is pushing back against that idea. certainly people are pointing fingers at one another. another development that came out, the associated press reported there was a third woman considering a complaint against cain while the national restaurant. nbc news has not confirmed that part but there is a third woman that the ap ended up introducing and then you have the situation where you have herman cain went on ginny thomas on an interview, basically said, look, washington, d.c., always guilty before being proven innocent. >> what is remarkable and i want to play the blame game, it went from the media's fault and now rick perry's fault. mark block, now famou

i think it was chris cillizza who mentioned earlier that no dirtier word out there than the word of beingyeah. and it is interesting to watch. speaker gingrich has been very careful not to use the word lobbyist and to say that he was a strategic adviser. i would say the bottom line, more likely than not, is the big question is, are american voters going to look at this and whether he uses the term strategic adviser or lobbyistful are voters going to look at this and say this is what we cannot stand about washington. the whole notion of the revolving door and members of congress and former members of congress, not having to abide by the same rules the rest of the american public does. >> let me change topic. there was a really hot moment on morning joe with chris matthews. he was talking about the gop field. it might be grasping at things you need if you're going to run for president. their team talks about over the past few months, republican candidates have provided a treasure trove of material for john stewart and saturday night live from their gaffes to the flip-flops and i'm not just

. >> okay, chris cillizza, we'll talk to you later. will herman cain's troubles help his republican rivals in charlie cook writes about that in "the national journal," and chuck todd is nbc news chief white house correspondent, political director and host of "the daily rundown." chuck, first to you. you've been talking to a lot of people involved in this today. where does herman cain's campaign come down? >> reporter: well, i think it depends on whether he has to change any part or evolve his explanation again. as we noted and you noted with chris -- >> the problem is, will they stick by him if something else comes out? it's always the something nellis these scandals, we all know, that ends up taking a candidate apart. >> charlie, they're claiming, mark block is claiming at least that they had their best fund-raising day yesterday because the supporters were rallying around him when he was under attack. >> yes. we heard him at an event for the national journal this morning saying they raised $250,000 -- >> we have no way to check that

"the washington post's" chris cillizza said the debate's losers were rick perry and rick perry. so bad we named him twice. and those were some of the kinder comments. to his credit, perry is owning up to his mistake and trying to make light of it. but is there any way he can overcome it? so could it be time for newt? so far donald trump, tim pawlenty, michele bachmann, and rick perry have all auditioned and been rejected for the role of the anti-romney. if herman cain can't overcome or otherwise survive these sexual harassment allegations, is it possible that newt could be the man? he's a mean one, mr. gingrich, but he may be the only game left. >>> the even bigger story that everyone is talking about is the sexual abuse scandal, and that's a very tasteful phrase for what's alleged here, at penn state university. and the ousting of joe paterno. now the question is, how could so many adults who knew what was happening allow this to go on? and why do so many students at penn state still support paterno? >>> and nixon before the grand jury. 11 months after he resigned the american

well, if you're confused, you're not alone but manager editor of post politics.com chris cillizza, help us avoid confusion. >> i'll try. >> a few identity changes along the way. >> i mean, look. you rightly point out, andrea, everyone is trying to clammer for a hybrid title, one is anti-romney because the recognition is that mitt romney is likely to be one of the last two people standing in the republican nomination fight. they are trying to be the anti-romney but also the outsider. everyone knows who watches politics that that's what the primary voter is clammering for, someone not part of the system. i do think this story about freddie mac is damaging potentially for newt gingrich, not just because of the money involved and that's significant but also because it reminds people or maybe it tells people for the first time, this is someone who is very much a creature of washington. i thought newt's response saying well, it shows that i know how washington works was not the right kind of response that voters who want and outsiders are going to hear. we'll see if he can pass the test. to m