i'm michael smerconish, in for chris matthews. leading off tonight, the battle of a lame-duck congress.

he's in hong kong but taped this question for chris matthews before he left. >> chris, cable news channels have not had ratings success putting news shows on in prime time. you're very good at opinion. you're very good at the show that you do, but why do you think cable news channels have so much trouble doing news in prime time? >> well, i think, to answer frank's question, i think by a certain time of the night, people have the basic facts. i sort of think around--i'm on at 5:00 east coast time, and 5:00, they have picked up pieces throughout the day of the story that broke that afternoon, and i'm always--we're always worried that we'll miss that 4:00 story at 5:00. and so they know the story, they know the headline, and they may want to know some attitude about it or what the argument's about or why is this important or so what? answer the "so what" question. so they don't really need to have it taught to them again. now, there's still a big market for nightly news and world news and the evening news. there are some people that don't know what's going on all day or they want it produced

>> this is "the chris matthews show." >> ask not what your country can do for you. >> tear down this wall. >> i can hear you. >> the time for change has come. chris: the search for a challenger begins. how will the republicans pick their champion? hot to his cool, stingy to his spend thrift? manager to his messiah? l wilit bea zealous christian conservative? a true crusader in the culture wars? the gang's all here. is this the too good to skip? the chance to battle obama bring in palin, romney, huckabee, gingrich, barber, thune, danpels, nce, paw lnty and even santorum? how big of jamboree is this going to be? and finally pin the tail on the donkey. armed with subpoena power, republican darrell issa is kicking the house oversight committee into overdrive. he's promising seven hearings a week. every week. will he target government waste or just the white house? i'm chris matthews. welcome to the show. with us today, the huffington post howard fineman. cnn's gloria borger and nbc's kelly o'donnell and " the chicago tribune's" clarence page. first up, president obama returns to washingto

>> this is "the chris matthews show." >> ask not what your country can do for you. >> tear down this wall. >> i can hear you. >> the time for change has come. chris: the search for a challenger begins. how will the republicans pick their champion? hot to his cool, stingy to his spend thrift? manager to his messiah? l wilit bea zealous christian conservative? a true crusader in the culture wars? the gang's all here. is this the too good to skip? the chance to battle obama bring in palin romney huckabee, gingrich barber, thune, danpels, nce, paw lnty and even santorum? how big of jamboree is this going to be? and finally pin the tail on the donkey. armed with subpoena power republican darrell issa is kicking the house oversight committee into overdrive. he's promising seven hearings a week. every week. will he target government waste or just the white house? i'm chris matthews. welcome to the show. with us today, the huffington post howard fineman. cnn's gloria borger and nbc's kelly o'donnell and " the chicago tribune's" clarence page. first up, president obama returns to washington an

>> this is "the chris matthews show." [captioning made possible by nbc universal] >> double jeopardy? could the democrats lose the the senate? history says they will. every time the house of representatives has flipped since world war ii, the senate's flipped too. copying clinton? the republicans are cheering for veto. side find common cause? greatest election ever. 50 years ago richard nixon beat kennedy. let's live the excitement. >> with us today john heilemann, his best seller, "game change" is just back in paper back. norah o'donnell. helene cooper from the "new york howard fineman. senate should the w because every time house has flipped since world well. the senate has as to make it happen republicans need to pick up 10 seats from the democrats in the senate. we see four likely g.o.p. indiana, arkansas, north dakota and wisconsin. all four are widely expected to go republican this time with democrats losing those four seats. mitch mcconnell's already counting four out of the 10 for a majority. he holding -- he is h

>> this is the "chris matthews show. >> ask not what your country can do for you. >> tear down this wall. >> i can hear you. >> the time for change has come. chris: don't go changing. if obama isn't bill, should he try to be? if he's not harry, should he give them hell? should he try to please us or just be who he is? most important, should he change course if he believes in this one? i am what i am. george w. bush's new book shows bush's personality driving everything. what's obama's personality tell us about where he's heading, what he's likely to do, if he's likely to change? and finally, cause for war. president bush's new book insists he was right to fight the iraq war because it prevented another 9/11. is this an argument he can win? hi, i'm chris matthews. welcome to the show. with us today "the washington posts" bob woodward, author of "obama's wars. bbc's katty kay. nbc's andrea mitchell. and "time" magazine's joe klein. first up, president obama called it a shellacking. several times this week he tried to show he got message. here he was wednesday -- >> i ran for this office to

"hardball" starts right now with michael smierconish filling in for chris matthews. we'll see you monday. >>> the president is getting it from all sides. let's play "hardball." >>> good evening. i'm michael smerconish. in for chris matthews. leading off tonight, getting it from the left as well as the right. senate democrats are fighting mad at president obama. they blame him for losing the message war. here's what they want him to do. lose that bipartisan talk. put on the boxing gloves and cast republicans as the party we beholden into the special interests. sherrod brown will be here to offer his advice on how the president can regain the upper hand. >>> plus, it's a cloak and dagger story set in cyberspace. a malicious sophisticated computer worm that infected a computer worm that infected iran's operating systems was likely an attack to sabotage the country's nuclear program. and all signs point to israel. this just may be the new way to take out iran's nuclear facilities. and let me get this straight. republicans won't extend unemployment benefits for people str

>> this is the "chris matthews show." >> ask not w your country can do for you -- >> i can hear you. >> the time for change has come. >> is she serious? sarah palin's is the republican front-runner. is she the genuine article? could she get vot?ers wouldche srahek t books? bottom line, is she willing to do what is is necessary to be a real presidential candidate? when will the 'oybs club meet? will they kiss good-bye what what lookso be a solid target of the white house? is there a scheme to keep terrorists off planes? john heilemann, author, of game change, now in paperback. anne kornblut reihan salam and norah o'donnell. this week sarah palin in in primary states. it is time to make the decision, no, or -- go oar no go. can she broaden her appeal. this is the most popular republican in the polls. could she beat barack obama. today he would beat her 48-40 although he would be edged out by other republicans. republicans are -- independents are not favorable to her. second question, could she get the thick skin all professionalals need? could she stop responding to every criticism? wi

. >> there is no possibility i would ever go to a debate and have olbermann or chris matthews asking questions. i watched the debate a couple years ago. it was an embarrassment. they were so relentlessly hostile and so left wing that every question they asked of the republicans was designed to embarrass and divide the republicans. >> who is they, newt? chris matthews and i have never moderated a debate together and i have never moderated any republican debates at all and, also, newt, i was never in the beetles. i didn't host the oscars that

based on most of the polling, myself and -- where is chris matthews? i saw him somewhere. they don't like the media. the unemployment problem is about to get worse in the media. not just us. they don't like elected politicians much. they don't care much for anybody in this backyard last i checked. our objective is to keep our jobs. starting with my own. how do we do that? i got my job by yelling at everybody. but i don't think i can keep my job by yelling at anybody from this point forward about anything. seems to be a lousy way to solve a problem. in the context of arianna being here and what her book represents and if you had a chance to look at it, she is very gracious in that she doesn't ask everyone to read her book, just the last 30 pages. there's a reason for that. a lot of this book goes to a lot of problems in this country and the problems we have structurally and culturally. heard point is the last 30 pages speak to the solutions that need to be pursued. i will start with myself. instead of looking at those that i view as the problem, i look in the mirror and loo

"hardball" is up next with chris matthews back from vacation. >>> what's worse? palin or the pat down? let's play "hardball." >>> good evening. i'm chris matthews back in washington. can she see the white house from her house? a new poll's got her leading the republican pack for 2012. do we take that seriously? all the outward signs are that sarah palin's running for president. is there any indication this former half term government is giving five minutes a day to thinking, reading, to try to get into the people who wouldn't claim for a second they're ready to lead this country. any way, she knows how to sell the question, she knows how to milk what she calls the lame stream press and says she can beat obama. can obama beat her? you can bet he thinks he can. plus, can we cut the cheap shots over the new tsa screenings? tell me how to keep the killers off the planes because that's a huger question. it's going to be a problem when one gets by and blows up the plane. how do you think the israelis have prevented terrorism over there. >>> also, will president obama p

i'm chris matthews in washington. >>> leading off tonight, bushed. ambassador joseph wilson blew the whistle on the bogus intel the bush people used to push the war with iraq. a new movie, "fair game", tells the story of what happened to him and his wife, valerie, directly thereafter. is that what you get when you stand up for truth against the white house operatives, neocons and political hacks who beat the drum for war with iraq? our top guest tonight, joe wilson himself, to talk about the former president who's out there now defending his war in his self-described sickening feeling when he learned that those nuclear weapons did not exist, the ones he swore were there, the ones he used to sell the war. >>> also aboard tonight and right up front, mike isakoff reports that bush didn't so much as burp when he heard those weren't there. >>> and will there be a democratic mutiny? the fight over who's in charge of the house, tonight. >>> there's also a leadership fight be among republicans, some of whom want to replace michael steele and find someone els

"hardball" with chris matthews starts right now. we will see you tomorrow night. >>> tomorrow's election day, at least for nancy pelosi. let's play some "hardball." >>> good evening. i'm michael smerconish in for chris matthews, who's in rome for the ceremony, elevating washington bishop whirl to cardinal. >>> leading off tonight, challenges in the house. you can add charlie rangel to the list of embarrassments on nancy pelosi's plate. the new york congressman was found guilty on 11 counts and now awaits punishment. pelosi may have held on to her job, but is still facing down challenges from blue dogs and liberals. on the republican side, at least 39 new house members are tea partiers and they're not shy about making their voices heard. we'll talk to two of the incoming freshman, a democrat and tea party republican. here is a sign of tea party power. at least 27 republican senators have agreed to ban earmarks, including minority leader mitch mcconnell who secured 113 million in pork projects for his state last year. and hofar can a

the chris matthews show is next followed by "meet the press."ee what they're working on. >>> good morning, washington. coming up at 10:00 on "the chris matthews show" with barack obama near his lowest pop leyriularipy see it as a real prize. they're deciding go or no go. someone who fills a vd ft by obama or will the winner be someone from the conservative far right? the priry in iowa and south carolina really play that wing and our experts predict the finalist. plus, this week the new chair of the house republican investigations committee said he plans 280 hearings. will he subpoena those like bill clinton and rahm emanuel? and how will the white house and hn boehner get along with all these investigations going on? join me and howard fineman, kelly o'donnell, clarence pai and gloria borger for a great roundtable discussion. now for a look at what's coming up on "meet the press" here is david gregory. david? >>> thanks, chris. good morning, kimberly and aaron. coming up, the politics of the economy at home and abroad. the president returns to t

the warning from a european mayor who looks startlingly like chris matthews.d turn into an arrest. >>> it was guns drawn when these poor kids tried to run through traffic in a major tunnel because they were late for a tv performance. all of which makes james thurbert's story of a philosophy seemed quiet by contrast. the continuation of a friend of the earth ahead on "countdown." really? that's great. yeah. plus, it includes scheduled carefree maintenance. huh. light's green. there you go. oh, you need a pen. i had one here just a second ago. who would take my pen?? [ male announcer ] it's amazing what you can do with a pen. sign then drive is back. for a limited time get any 2011 volkswagen for practically just your signature. inch it was merely a matter of time before an ineffective, unnecessarily expensive and invasive security measure would reach critical mass, lawsuits, legislative action and complaints from travelers. our fourth story with the tas's porno scanner or junk groper security option, we are there. with the added bonus of a protest which could a

"hardball with chris matthews" starts now. we'll see you tomorrow night. >> meet the new boss, same as the old boss, let's play "hardball." >>> good evening. i'm michael in for chris matthews and leading off tonight, no change. house democrats took a historic hit on election day. independents abandoned them, moderate blue dogs crushed. republicans readying to take control. how do the democrats show they heard. how do they prove willing to change. keeping the same leadership that presided over their defeat. nancy pelosi and her top lieutenants hold on to their jobs despite challenges. tonight we'll talk to one of those leaders who keeping his job and a moderate democrat who has been a pelosi critic. consenator-elect richard blumenthal one of the few who beat back the republican tide. i'll ask thim what he's going to do to help his party regain voter confidence and fix the economy. can you believe republicans actually rebuffed president obama's white house invite for tomorrow. will this play into the president's hands. also, mor

chris matthews and i have never moderated a debate together and

. >> welcome back, i'm chris matthews. should we throw out the constitution? everything going to hell or what? join us tonight is the woman at the center of this controversy, the secretary of state in florida, katherine harris. >> hello, chris. thanks for having me. >> many people have accused you of being a part of the republican party. >> chris, i am a public servant. i serve the people of florida and will abide by their directives and guidelines. bush won. >> i'm sorry? >> george bush won. we won. i helped him win and he's the president and when he's president he's going to make me an ambassador. >> aren't you worried of the florida supreme court? >> the florida supreme court can chomp on it, i'm getting out of this backwater state. all i have to do is practice smiling for my ambassador job. what do you think of this? >> good god! >> that was great. and when we return, a huge week for one newly engaged couple. why did they wait so long? [captioning made possible by nbc universal] k.acelcome b it was a thrilling week f theor tu fure king and queens and billi

"hardball" with chris matthews starts right now. we'll see you tomorrow night from minneapolis. >>> traveling man. let's play "hardball." >>> good evening, i'm chris matthews in washington. leading off tonight, where in the world is barack obama? last friday the same week the president lost control of congress, he left the country for asia. first from india. then from indonesia, we got pictures of him and the first lady dancing with the local people. it was all in traditional costume, all very festive. the question today, is this any way to treat an american elect orate, an angry elect orate to hold a press conferencea, anounce no new changes and leave town the same they that speaker pelosi says that she's staying? what's the message here? that the message of the voter lies in the inbox at the white house? we'll get to it when we get time. we'll get to it when we get back into the country, okay. he had the g-20 meeting, but that was tomorrow. why did he have to leave last friday? a full week ahead of that meeting. >>> and once more,

in for chris matthews. leading off tonight, trial and error.president obama pledged early on to close guantanamo and try some of the most infamous terror smts like khalid shaikh mohammed in civilian court but his plan was dealt a serious setback yesterday when the first gitmo detainee tried in federal court was acquitted on all but 1 of 285 charges relate to the neep98 african embassy bombings. and now republicans say that this verdict failed the test and they're urging the president to abandon civil trials for gitmo terrorists. democrats say the prosecution still won the case, the defendant will do serious time and this was a victory for the rule of law. >>> our top story tonight, the terrorist trial turned political football. >>> plus, remember all that heat the obama administration took for bailing out general motors. how critics derisively called the company government motors. well, today, gm's stock raised as much as $23 billion in what could be the biggest initial public offering in history. so can the president now turn this into a win f

"hardball" with chris matthews starts right now. see you monday night in new york right back on "the ed show." have a great weekend. >>> rush limbaugh's pirate radio. let's play "hardball." >>> good evening. i'm chris matthews. in washington, leading off tonight, road kill. rush limbaugh has committed another hit and run. if you caught him on the radio yesterday you heard him once more use race as a crowd pleaser. deriding nancy pelosi and james clyburn saying the democrats are racist. clyburn is getting bumped down from the leadership to the job of pelosi's driver. driving miss nancy, he calls it. question for the country. will all this stuff rush has to throw at the democrats, the bad economy and all of it why does he keep going back to race? plus, the threat from the left. if president obama accepts tax cuts for the rich and the deficit commission's recommendations, will he face a challenger for renomination? will the progressives mount a candidate against him? and a new poll shows the president's dropped an average of 18 points.

i'm michael smerconish, in for chris matthews. leading off tonight, the battle of a lame-duck congress. the first showdown after the democrats' midterm drubbing started today. republicans and democrats are staking out their position on the bush tax cuts and here's the big question. will president obama and his party cave to republican demands to extend tax relief for the rich? or will they try to push the republicans back on their heels and make them defend giving more money to millionaires and billionaires while our deficit grows. that's our top story tonight. >>> plus, sarah palin's highly anticipated reality show debuted last night. we'll decode all her messages. and get it whether "sarah palin's alaska" could lead to sarah palin's white house. >>> and we'll talk to the man who beat christine o'donnell, delaware senator chris coons is making "hardball" one of his first stops after being sworn in late this afternoon. >>> also, what's more important? airport security or privacy? consumer and privacy rights advocates say those ful

based on most of the polling, myself and where is chris matthews? i saw him out there somewhere?we're all about to catch fire. they don't like the media, so the unemployment problem is about to get worse in the media. it's not just us though. they don't like the politicians that much either, and in fact, they don't care for anybody in this backyard last i checked. so our objective tonight is to keep our jobs starting with my own, but how do we do that? well, i got my job by yelling at everybody, maybe people in this room, but i don't think i'll be able to keep my job from yelling at anymore from this point forward. in fact yelling to anybody about anything seems a lousy way to solve a problem. in the context of arianna being here and she's gracious in not everybody to read her book, she asks you read the last 30 pages the book, and there's a reason for that because while a lot of this book goes to the problems in the country and the problems we have structurally and culturally, arianna's point, and i agree with her that the 30 pages speak to the solutions that need to be pursued

i'm michael in for chris matthews.ight, getting it from the left as well as the right. senate democrats are mad at president obama, they plame him for losing the message war. here is what they want him to do. lose all that bipartisan talk, put on the boxing gloves and cast republicans as the party beholding to special interests. ohio senator sharon brown will be here to offer his advice on how the president can regain the upper hand. >>> plus, a militiaus, so fist cased krooip cyber worm was designed to sabotage the country's nuclear program. all signs point to israel. this may be the new way to take out iran's nuclear facilities. >>> arepublicans are pushing fo tax cuts for the rich and won't sign for new unemployment benefits. >>> president obama is meeting with leaders in portugal to map out the way forward. he previously set july 11 as the start of the draw down, but today, vice president biden called 2014 the drop dead day. let's start with democrats unhappy with president obama. is he become ago lightning rod for

in for chris matthews. leading off tonight, getting it from the left as well as the right. senate democrats are fighting mad at president obama. they blame him for losing the message war and worry he's a liability for the party. here's what they want him to do. lose that bipartisan talk. put on the boxing gloves and cast republicans as the party we beholden into the special interests. sherrod brown will be here to offer his advice on how the president can regain the upper hand. >>> plus, it's a cloak and dagger story set in cyberspace. a malicious sophisticated computer worm that infected iran's operating systems was likely an attack to sabotage the country's nuclear program. and all signs point to israel. this just may be the new way to take out iran's nuclear facilities. and let me get this straight. republicans won't extend unemployment benefits for people struggling to find work, but they're pushing for tax cuts for the rich. can democrats call them out? >>> also, when will our troops leave afghanistan? president obama is meeting with nato leaders in portugal to map out

let's play "hardball." >>> good evening, i'm chris matthews in washington. leading off tonight, change we can believe in. so here's a question for democrats, progressives and moderates and both, what do you do to show the voters that you pay attention that you're listening that you believe in what you've done but know you can do better? how do you get better politically as well as get the policy right, you know, the policy that will put americans back to work and in time to save your party? nancy pelosi laid out her defense today and said the avalanche of democratic defeats was simply a reflection of the unemployment rate. it wasn't her fault. it was the economy's fault. not all democrats see it that way. 15 members of the house of representatives have questioned the current leadership team and it's our top story tonight. how do the democrats beef up after a bad fall? how do they build up to win it all back in 2012, including the public's confidence in them? we'll get to the hard geography of it, too, how president obama can win with back the faith of those

chris matthews, "hardball" is next. >>> where to begin? from controversial tax cuts to don't ask, don't tell, politically charged issues grip washington. >>> take action. what some airports are doing now in response to traveler outrage over invasive pat-downs. >>> and a star is born. new york's rockefeller center christmas tree is unveiled with 35 days until christmas. >>> good morning, everyone, i'm lynn berry. those stories and more straight ahead. this is "first look" on msnbc. >>> we begin this morning with a bitter battle. as the clock ticks down on the outgoing leadership in the house, the fight over compromise on key votes is definitely heating up. nbc's tracie potts joins us from washington with the latest on capitol hill along with details on president obama's latest transatlantic trip. good morning. >> reporter: lynn, good morning. the president's leaving it all behind, at least for two days. he's headed off to europe. left just before midnight for a couple of days of meetings with nato and the european union. trying to reashower

i'm chris matthews. in washington, leading off tonight, road kill. rush limbaugh has committed another hit and run. if you caught him on the radio yesterday you heard him once more use race as a crowd pleaser. deriding nancy pelosi and james clyburn saying the democrats are racist. clyburn is getting bumped down from the leadership to the job of pelosi's driver. driving miss nancy, he calls it. question for the country. with all the stuff rush has to throw at the democrats, the bad economy and all of it, why does he keep going back to race? plus, the threat from the left. if president obama accepts tax cuts for the rich and the deficit commission's recommendations, will he face a challenger for renomination? will the progressives mount a candidate against him? and a new poll shows the president's dropped an average of 18 points. in a half dozen states he carried in 2008. we'll take a look at how tough 2012 could be for him. >>> also, november 22nd will mark the 47th anniversary of the assassination of president kennedy. everyone at that time remember

. : there's no possibility that i would ever go to debate and have chris matthews asking questions. i watched the debate and it was an embarrassment because they were so hostile and so left wing that every question they asked of the republicans was designed to embarrass and divide, and every question they asked the democrats was designed to look good. host: would you do it with a moderator? guest: with a time keeper. lincoln and douglas debated seven times for three hours and they had a time keeper. that's all they had. and i would feel very comfortable, i'm not saying if -- if we got to that point. people like mitch daniels, sara palin, mike huckabee, governor romney, i would feel very comfortable having an agreement to behave like adults and observe the time, and just figure out what the topics ought to be and actually have a dialogue not a debate. how are we going to solve our country's problems? and i would be glad to do it at the reagan libebri but without the kind of micky mouse questions asked by hostile news media. >> host: if you're a candidate would you participate? guest:

or chris matthews he seemed outraged wounded by being branded as part of the problem and he took a few swipes at the student rallies biggest cheerleader arianna huffington. would likely find glass and put it on all the things that are working in this country just because it would you want to get close to it was very hard it was no accident on the highway one is not a good night's sleep i mean this is you can make. fun of what you're proposing because if you're just. you know he really seemed like he was trying to keep it together there's best responsible but clearly chris was upset well it's now been over forty eight hours since the rally and there's been article after article written about whether or not it was a good thing whether or not it served any real purpose other than to the unite liberals and their superiority over the right but the clear loser here was m s n b c who was portrayed as an equivalent to fox and for that they were not pleased you know what maybe you guys should actually listen to what jon stewart said and sort of cry about it maybe you should realize why i think

. >>> coming up on "hardball," chris matthews talking to kent conrad about the tough choices ahead foreconomy. but first, defining leadership at a time when america needs it more than ever. what makes our president a success or failure as leaders? what are the defining characteristics and defining moments? no problem. is there gas in it? yeah, um, you got plenty. and the oil? oil is good to go. tires? all four tires. full of air. now only if i could get the keys... i could start it for you too. ok, now your just showing off. the onstar mylink app. safely connecting you in ways you never thought possible. live on. [ male announcer ] when you have plaque psoriasis, you see patches on your skin's surface. but let's look at the condition's inner workings. psoriasis involves an overactive immune system. this leads to an overproduction of skin cells that rise to the surface, build up, and cause plaques. this understanding has led to treatments that help manage plaque psoriasis closer to where it starts. learn more at insidepsoriasis.com. and talk to your doctor about psoriasis. ♪ >>> what re

. >>> coming up on "hardball," chris matthews is back and will have more on sarah palin's presidentialut first, why our views of marriage and parenthood have a disconnect. how can you not believe in marriage, but believe in having lots of kids? keli goff with the "daily rant." . . campbell's.® it's amazing what soup can do.™ whoa! that achy cold needs alka-seltzer plus! it rushes multiple cold fighters, plus a powerful pain reliever, wherever you need it! [ both ] ♪ oh what a relief it is! i graduated from west point, then i did a tour of duty in iraq. when i was transitioning from active duty, i went to a military officer hiring conference. it was kind of like speed dating. there were 12 companies that i was pre-matched with, but walmart turned out to be the best for me. sam walton was in the military, and he understood the importance of developing your people. it's an honor to be in a position of leadership at walmart. i'm captain tracey lloyd, and i work at walmart. ♪ >>> new numbers about love and marriage and what it means for kids in the baby carriage. >> in 1974, sib l sheppard

. >> also attending the premiere, chris matthews and andrea mitchell who are featured in the film. >>new video feature on metromix.com helping you look your best and save money. >> hey guys, coming to you from the ikea metromix lounge. hard at work -- >> we have he can won metro manufacture mix's home page, cat will help you find free stuff, beauty services, restaurant and fashion discounts. check out rachel's localize the look blog with weather she takes hot looks and tells are you to find it for less in the area. start saving in style today, visit d.c..metromix.com. >>> hold the presses, breaking news, heidi montag and spencer pratt say it's the real deal. >> why should anyone belief anything at this point that you have to say? >> heidi montag is spencer pratt do something they've never done before, tell the truth. and entertainment tonight has the exclusive new interview with reality tv's most controversial couple as they prepare to renew wedding vows. >> is this just another publicity stunt? >> no, this finally is the real deal. >> back in july, heidi filed for divorce, but they h

in 2008 she said the crazy thing to chris matthews about the investigation of the un-americanness.he managed to turn what should have been a safe election into a hotly contested one. her opponent at the time raised a million dollars over the internet in a short time. she narrowly survived that. since then she's only gotten stronger. partly because of the weird media complex that is the fox news republican party symbiosis. you have a cluster of figures that are both politicians and media figures. michele bachmann is the only sitting representative who's in that universe. >> the news from the senate in this day of weirdness from the tea party, mr. demint says he has the support of ten senators. among them is rand paul. over the weekend in the wall street journal they wrote paul will fight for kentucky's share of earmarks and federal pork as long as it is doled out transparently. the poll people say that's not what he meant but is rand paul already selling out? is he? >> i love this story. >> me, too. >> from the beginning it was clear. there was always a narrative about the class of

i'm michael smerconish in for chris matthews who's in rome.leading off tonight, challenges in the house. you can add charlie rangel to the list of embarrassments on nancy pelosi's plate. the new york xhang was found guilty on 11 counts and now awaits punishment. pelosi may have held on to her job, but is still facing down challenges from blue dogs and liberals. on the republican side, at least 39 new house members, they're not shy about making their voices heard. we'll talk to two of the incoming freshman. a democrat and tea party republican. at least 27 republican senators have agreed to ban earmarks including minority leader mitch mcconnell who secured 113 million in pork projects for his state last year. and how far can a presidential library go in shaping the legacy of george w. bush? will a record that includes katrina and wall street's collapse be overshah doughed. among those celebrating, dick cheney. also, lisa murkowski took her best shot against sarah palin. now that the alaska senator leads joe miller, she said palin lacks quote lea

coming up on "hardball," chris matthews talks about bush's version of history with joe wilson, the mane iraq md controversy, but first, the twinkie diet. we'll talk to the professor who lost 20 pounds after eating junk food for two months straight. we're back after this. [ female announcer ] humana and walmart are teaming up to bring you a low-price medicare prescription drug plan that has the lowest national premium in the country of only $14.80 per month. so you can focus on the things that really matter. go to walmart.com for details. >>> the twinkie diet, most of us think that a healthy, nutritionous diet is key to losing weight, but might not be the case. a professor lost 27 pounds, lowered his body mass index and his so-called bad cholesterol on a diet consisting mainly of twinkies and other snack foods. professor, how does this work? >> by taking in fewer calories than i expend. >> the argument is whether or not the cal l ree comes from organic, free range or most vacuous sugary carb in the world, a calorie is a calorie? >> basically. it's a class project. we get into those more

. >> michael will again fill in for chris matthews on "hardball."e's been doing a great job this week here on msnbc. >> thank you. >> should all airport security be privatized? even though they still have to follow tsa guidelines. text one for yes, two for no. message and data rates apply. we will read your responses later in the show. >>> and the associated press says more than 10,000 ground zero workers have settled lawsuits against new york city for $625 million. the suits stem from the exposure to toxic dust at the world trade center site. that means an end to moegs litigation over the city's failure to provide protective equipment. and president obama is in lisbon now for a two-day nato summit where he's nationi imaking the an exit strategy from afghanistan. chuck todd is in lisbon with the president. he's got a lot on his plate. obviously, as i mentioned, afghanistan and the b continued support from nato allies. >> that's right. in 35 hours two of the biggest foreign policy tests he faces as president, both short term and long term are on the

mi michael fills in for chris matthews own hardball at 5:00 and 7:00 on msnbc. >>> tsa is under a lotew airport security screenings. i'm going to talk with a blogger who said the technique in her words are sexual molestation. >>> plus, he will soon be the father of the groom, but right now he's the man who will be king. brian williams will join me to talk about his exclusive interview with prince charles. [ thinking ] i know -- i'm going to invent a tool where people can enter the terms of the refinance offer they got from their mortgage guy, and know instantly if they're getting bamboozled. and i will start after lunch...tomorrow. don't just think about it. introducing lendingtree's free "look before you lock" tool. enter the terms of your existing loan offer to instantly find out how it compares to other offers, areas you may be overpaying, and even negotiation points to help you get a better deal. only at lendingtree. [trumpet playing "reveille" throughout] let's support the small business owners getting our economy booming with the first ever small business saturday. on november 2

michael smerconish will fill in chris matthews on "hardball" tonight. you, michael. >> thank you. >>> coming up, cindy mccain stands by her husband's position on don't ask, don't tell, one day after publicly protesting the military policy. then jessica simpson is ready to walk down the aisle. she's announcing it just two weeks after her ex-husband says he's engaged. we've got the scoop an all these engagements. not that long ago, many families were priced out of an overheated housing market. but the times have changed. get the facts at remax.com. it's a great place to see all the listings in thousands of cities and towns. with lots of houses to chose from and down-to-earth prices the dream of owning a home seems more attainable than ever. find out what an experienced re/max agent can do for you. nobody sells more real estate than re/max. visit remax.com today. >>> welcome back to "news nation." a deadly scene in shanghai. fire sweeps through ha high-rise apartment building killing dozens o of people. >>> plus a british couple awake to the first full day