do you think they will challenge him for the democratic nomination? i do believe the president should be held accountable. when you say something and you don't do what you said, it's fair to raise those issues. >> do you think he will be reelected? >> i think there is a reasonable chance that he will be reelected because i think while people are not enthusiastic about president obama, they look at right wing republicans and they are strong defense with the wealthiest people and the largest corporations and the willingness to make devastating cuts on the need of working people. he may do just fine. a lot of this thinks the liberal base asked noplace else to go. even though they are upset and disappointed, they will be with him in november. >> let me say this with all due respect. the media keeps talking about the games here. that's all interesting, but back home, the polls that i get, are they going to cut my social security. are they going to cut medicare. i'm on food stamps. am i going to get food stamps and what about the ability to go to college? t

that's like from a democratic nominating race. that's not the way republicans do things. but he's come a very long way in a very short period of time. he's reshuffled the race, and potentially set up the prospect of a two-person race between mitt romney and depending on how things go, himself. that's a maybe. we're going to find out. perry's testing the notion here that he can plant a flag and take votes from the three big parts of the republican party. now, the economic conservatives who are worried about the state of the economy, the tea party republicans, who are a little more libertarian, and religious and social conservatives. he speaks directly. his h message that is two or three weeks old speaks directly to each on of those. he talks about being the jobs generator, a state with relatively low unemployment. he talks about ben bernanke a great deal. he said it would be trees nouse, and he launched his campaign in houston, at a prayer service, in which 30,000 people attended the sunday before he actually got in. so whether he can weave these three threads into a quilt

he's got a shot at the democratic nomination, but i don't think the republican one. >> michael, steve makes a good point here. is huntsman by seeming to be, to my eyes, at least, the most reasonable candidate among the republican nominees, has he disqualified himself by that? >> look, he has no other choice at this point. he's just, you know, one of the problems here is that he set out promising to run a positive campaign and saying you don't have to run other people down when you run for president. i think what he found pretty quickly was that was the only way he could get attention, and now the only way anyone is noticing him is through his negative comments about the other candidates. everyone knew john mccain when he ran for president in 2000, he didn't have to introduce himself. huntsman has this trap where first of all, people don't have a good sense where he is. now they are learning about him and see him sniping at other republican candidates, so, you know, i think it is a little bit of desperation. has he disqualified himself, there are moderate voters in the republican party

do you think anyone is going to emerge and challenge him for the democratic nomination? no idea, but i do believe the president should be held accountable. when you say something in a campaign and you don't do what you said you would do, i think it's fair to raise those issues. >> even elected democrats, to say nothing of the base, say they are disgusted and disappointed by the deal the president just signed after being pushed into it by the republicans. the question is the democrats message to the base here, sorry, guys, swallow it and get over it or are democrats going to have to make it up to their base somehow? joining us now, melissa harris-perry, professor of political science at tulane university, msnbc contributor, and an amazing guest host last week while i was away. thank you so much for doing such a great job. >> much rather be sitting here right now. >> well, you're welcome back any time you want, vacation for me, everything would be wonderful. we saw representatives there from the progressive caucus, black caucus, bernie sanders, jan schakowsky, the liberals

be -- hillary clinton supporters who never really thought that barack obama should get the democratic nomination to begin with. they were fiercely loyal to hillary clinton. i don't think a serious democrat is going to challenge the president for the democratic party nomination. >> you don't? >> caller: i think it's a little late in the game for that. certainly not hillary clinton. if that was going to happen, she would have resigned a long time ago. those who are dreaming about hillary clinton deciding to challenge president obama for the nomination, they're dreaming. that's not going to happen. whether there could be marginal democrat out there who might say i'm going to challenge him, it's a little late for a serious opponent to get traction. but the president is obviously going out there, he's starting to campaign, raising a lot of money already. he'll have a huge financial advantage over any of the republicans. he'll also have the advantage of being the incumbent president of the united states which is a significant advantage. having said that, if the economy is still in very anemic, jobs re

anyone seriously thinking on the democratic side of challenging the president for the democratic presidential nomination the way ted kennedy challenged an incumbent democrat back in 1980, jimmy carter. >> no, but i was having a conversation with several prominent democrats, including our contributor, donna brazile recently, who said they were hearing rumblings that some liberals said let's find somebody to fund a third party liberal candidacy to stand up and say obama's not tough enough. is that going to happen? i don't think so. but the depth of the sour grapes and raw feelings, again, the challenge for any incumbent is very different. i believe and most democrats believe the challenge for this incumbent democrat, because he ran as an aspirational, transformational hope candidacy, did inspire some new voters to come to the process. if they somehow feel they were let down, it's harder to get them to come out to fight, not just to vote, but to volunteer and to come to the office and to do all the little things the obama campaign did masterfully in putting together a great campaign. if they're off their g

his defeat was unthinkable, to great worry and anxiety and concern on the part of democrats, helping republicans nominate somebody who is manifestly -- hoping republicans nominate somebody who is manifestly unelectable. that is a terrible position politically, depending on your opponent to make a mistake. >> they are out scouring the nation trying to bring people into the process -- >> energizing the base that has soured on them. here is what could affect obama. assume the house of representatives remained in republicans' hands, and that they strengthen their hands in the senate -- i am not saying take the senate, but strengthen their hands. what difference will obama make in the next four years? that question will cause, i think, some democrats to say "maybe i can improve that scenario." you think of the way obama handles this republican house and republican-influence senate, what makes you think he will do any better? >> that is a great question. what difference would an obama victory make? >> it would prevent counterrevolution. 1/6 of the american economy, that is where a lot of republicans worry. yes

hilly i don't understand why she doesn't resign her position now and challenge him for the democratic nomination elected republican or democrat would have had a problem. i think the economy was in really poor shape. nothing was going to fix that overnight. i don't think hillary could have done any better. mccain would have been much, much worse. james writes, i voted for obama, but i'm having a little bit of buyer's remorse. as a democrat i'm still waiting for obama to do something democratic. i don't understand why he's following republican ideas like the bush tax cuts that we know will do nothing to help the country. if obama's going to lose the next election, i wish he would at least lose it on democratic principles. i don't believe hillary would have backed down so easily to the republicans. and stacy in dacula, georgia, jack, 18 million of us were not wrong. it would have been much better to have had the pants suit rather than the empty suit. if you want to read more on this, you go to my blog, cnn.com/caffertyfile or through our post on "the situation room's" facebook page. wolf? >> i love

people are saying just as hillary clinton and barack obama had a long drawn out battle for the democratic nominationmilar situation between these two, one was a former and a current governor. >> you could. that could happen. you are very experienced in politics, wolf. that can have two effects. a lot of resources can be chewed up. barack obama has a billion dollar campaign he made. it's a better candidate for the general election. what we want is good and able candidates to sharpen each other and put the best person forward. there is a lot of excitement about perry. we will know a lot in the next two or days. >> we will. he will number south carolina and new hampshire and iowa. three random states i should say. >> random, yeah. >> bill, thanks very much for joining us. thank you a different kind of tattoo. this can man tor your heart, brain activity and a lot more. we have details of an amazing medical advance. you want to see this. hey can i play with the toys ? sure, but let me get a little information first. for broccoli, say one. for toys, say two. toys ! the system can't process your response a

this saturday, hear president johnson talk with everett dirksen and vice president democratic my -- nominate hubert humphrey about vietnam, the paris peace talks, and a presidential race. >> i am trying to do a job. i will do it. if i get these at 4:00 this afternoon, i will get it done hell or high water. >> listen in the washington, d.c. area at 90.1 or online @ cspan radey of.org. in this interview yesterday at that newseum in washington, john pistol said intelligence is the best tool in the fight against terrorism. this is 35 minutes. >> i am susan bennett and we are partnering with gannett and "usatoday" two planes were crashed into the world trade center in new york city and another into the e ntagon and the fourth plan crashed in shanks bill, pennsylvania. more than 3000 people died that day and our lives changed forever. we want to focus today on one aspect of the change that has impacted millions of americans. that is the way that we travel, by car, by rail, by boat, and most importantly, by air. we will talk today about the security we have come to live with, what has worked and no

democrats choice for nomination right now, 70% of the democrats want barack obama to be their choice he nomination. 28% another democrat. but back in august -- back in june, excuse me, 81% said it should be barack obama. he's gone down 11 points. how worrisome should that number be for democrats? >> well, this is the summer of his discontent. i think democrats ought to take this very seriously. i'm not allowed to talk to the obama campaign. i advise one of those pacs supporting president obama. we have to be independent. i know those men and women reasonably well from years past. the only way to run is run scared. when your approval rating is 41%, you better run scared. now calm down, that's about where bill clinton was, about where ronald reagan was at this stage of their presidency. i wouldn't panic, but they better take it seriously. they need to take the fight to the republicans. put the plan out there and contrast it with the republican plan which would -- rick perry said, do away with social security and medicare. he thinks they're unconstitutional. i would put the perry record,

nomination. democrats are already busy trying to paint him as the second coming of george w. bush. our own carl cameron asked governor perry earlier today if that was a fair comparison. >> they are not all carbon copies in texas. and, you know, i tell people i say one of the quick ways you can tell the difference is, you know, is he is a jail graduate and i'm a texas a&m graduate. the texas graduate of the united states, which state they are from doesn't matter. what matters is what's in their heart and their mind. what's in my heart and my mind is we're going to get america working again. >> laura: joining us now from the grounds of the iowa state fair. i was standing exactly where you are standing now. fox news chief political correspondent carl cameron. carl, i can't believe i didn't see you yesterday riding the tilt awhirl. you everywhere missing all the fun interviewing presidential candidates. >> up in waterloo where rick perry and michele bachmann and mitt romney had an event yesterday afternoon. he brought a big throng with him no doubt about it. >> laura: tell us what happ

research center says 59% of rank-and-file democrats are not eager to see another democrat challenge obama for the nomination, thanks for being here. >> thank you for having me. democrats are saying by almost 60% they want to see obama back in office. who are the voices of discontent you're talking about? >> i think that people who vote democratic and consider themselves liberal are going to vote for the democratic nominee, most of them. there's also a lesser turnout if there's less enthusiasm. but what i've been hearing, is that many people are muttering to themselves, you know -- >> what are they saying exactly? >> first that hillary would have been a better president. i think there's a perception that obama has not been tough enough, he's not asserted himself as a leader enough, and he's not voiced the case for his policies effectively enough, and that he really didn't understand the implaquable hostility of the republican party, which has said it wants to see him fail. >> we saw the numbers 59% they want to see the president back in office. they don't want obama to have a challenger in 2012. who exactly

as you know, no democrat's come forward and chjed president obama for the democratic presidential nomination >> your next update from the best political team on television is just an hour away. >>> a new hour starts with an anguished plea from the secretary of transportation. ray lahood wants congress to get moving. >> that's why i'm here. i'm calling them back. come back to washington, leave your vacations, just for a couple of hours, come back, congress. help your friends and neighbors get back to work. >> if you thought all was well after washington steered clear of default, think again. the standstill lahood is so livid about is the failure of congress. faa employees are working unpaid and millions of dollars in taxes aren't being collected at least until labor day. all the while fears of another recession are driving stocks into historic slumps. the dow seemed to be on track, but started heading upward in the last few minutes. allysiso alison kos sick at the york stock exchange. >> reporter: it is coming back a bit. after the white house said a few moments ago it does not expect the eco

research poll that shows democrats frankly don't want obama to be challenged by another democrat for the 2012 nominations aren't as unhappy as we think they are. >> and some didn't mind this debt deal. you know, there's a pattern here, right? that things get rocky for the president, pundits pounce, the president basically ignores them and continues on his way and plays the long game. that again is i think what's happening here. the president is not going to sort of start throwing the red meat around that a number of liberals want him to throw around, because he feels like he's winning the game quietly in the long game. the president was clear he had moved numbers on issues like do you think revenue should be a part of this final deal? should we be focusing on jobs more than deficit? the american people are more on the president's side than they were before. even though the last week no doubt has been a difficult one for the president, the without is not as panicked as some on the left and the pun debt class are. >>> michael shearer, thanks so much. >>> today's tweet of the day comes from andy borowitz.

. >> what do the democrats think about the perry nomination. you said that would be your dream ticket. >> it might be a dream or a nightmare. >> you think obama would win. >> i love when he say great economic story. look at texas, all of the jobs are low income and low level jobs and largely, they are benefiting from people. >> no one wants. we have unemployment because people don't want those jobs and people are having extended unemployment insurance. they do in some cases. but the point is, i think it is mississippi and texas have created the most low income jobs. ron paul one of the candidates had something to say about his esteemed colleague. >> he's part of the status quo. i don't know of a view that he has that is different than the previous administration's and his record doesn't show him as a stand out as being a conservative. he was chairman for al gore one time not too many years ago. i don't think that will ht us. >> i don't know where he is doing that. you go in the booth and got your phototaken. >> it is outside of the venue in the

walter mondale when he got the nomination was viewed as a strong candidate on behalf of the democratsindsight it turned out not to be his time, not to be his place. but george bush when he got the nomination in 1988, was probably viewed by some as a weak nominee and he ended up pounding mike dukakis. whoever wins that nomination is going to be a formidable candidate for barack obama especially when barack obama has the weight of 9% unemployment and a downgrade of the united states debt on his shoulders. there's nothing he can do about that over the next year. >> great to see you again. >> thanks. great to be here. >>> and the game goes on for tennessee's pat summit. college basketball's winningest coach next on "andrea mitchell reports." i've already had like four babies. i'm the smartest raccoon i know. and if you got your home insurance where you got your fifteen-minute car insurance, you could be paying for this yourself. [ laughs ] so get allstate, you could save money and be better protected from mayhem like me. [ dennis ] dollar for dollar nobody protects you from mayhem like al

the democrats controlling the senate nominally, republicans with strong control of the house.o you blame the president for trying to find something that he thinks can get past the house? >> he needs to lead. and he needs to say this is what will solve the problem. not just hit it around the edges a little bit here and there knowing if it does get passed that it's not going to solve the problem. look, if he takes that approach, he lets the tea party people and the congress control the agenda. he wasn't elected for that. he was elected to lead. we have a jobs crisis. he should be leading that. we're sporting him on that. we're supporting anybody that will go out and say here's what's necessary to create jobs. and those people, those politicians that should be ashamed of themselves. >> we're hearing some hinns of some things he may call for. some of which have to do with tax credits to corporations that make hires. are you comfortable with that? >> it all depends on the package. there's probably no single stroke that's going to do this, but it's the scale as well. what we're sayi

he's trying to keep democratic control of supreme court nominations, all sorts of presidential thingsr the next four years going forward. that's not something people should think why is he spending time on reelection? >> absolutely not. it's a legitimate priority, but most important number going into 2012 is the unemployment number and there's absolutely no prospect at the moment that would make us believe the unemployment number is going to be below 9%. now, that is really the greatest fear for the white house. and, of course, mitt romney again and again is talking about the failure of the president to produce jobs, and he doesn't have to tell us how he would have done it, he just has to point out to that failure and when the president again and again talks about -- i went through and looked since 2009 how many times he has said jobs priority number one, the sustained focus of this administration, the relentless focus of this administration, we are pivoting to jobs, nobody believes it anymore. >> uh-huh. arianna huffington of "the huffington post." thank you for two things, thank you

should another democrat perhaps challenge president obama for the nomination, and if so, who?o to cnn.com/cafferty file to comment on my blog or as increasing numbers are doing, you can go to our post on the situation room's facebook page and talk this. >> people love that page. jack, thanks very much. new confirmation that the obama justice department is investigating standard & poor's, the same agency that recently downgraded america's credit rating. allan chernoff has been working the story for us. what are you finding out? >> the fact is that these investigations have been underway well before s&p's recent downgrade of the united states. sources confirmed to cnn that the department of justice and the secures and exchange commission have been digging in to the inner workings of the nation's largest credit agency standard & poor's and moody's, focusing on their failure to fail to assess the risk of mortgage securities. s&p and moody's are targets of federal investigations into more ganlg securities that went shower during the financial crisis. according to sources familiar w

, now we think of bill clinton as the master politician, i remember when he got the nomination in 1992, every democrat in america thought he was a goner, but the economy was so bad and now we've got bill clinton as we now know him, so i think there's something there keeping them out, but if you're the republican party, you don't have any options. you're sitting near labor where you got economic conditions from a political standpoint should be encouraging everybody and the best you can do is say there's a member of the house, paul ryan and second-year governor of new jersey and sarah palin floating around and that's all you got on the sidelines. they don't have a deep bench, partly because the 2006-2008 elections went so wrong. >> you just scared me to death when you told the clinton story in that way, because this notion of someone who we thought couldn't win, maybe particularly say a southerner with a kind of folksy way all of a sudden is able to win in a tough economy makes me that more desirous of a strong candidate on the republican side. >> i look at rick perry and say this guy can't win a genera

does actually have some predictive value of how you're going to do in the overall nominating process if you are a democrat, but if you are a republican, it really doesn't matter. that means the straw poll, that means the caucuses, that means iowa. one of the reasons for that, well, while iowa democrats seem to be kind of like the rest of democrats across the country, iowa republicans seem to not at all be like the rest of republicans across the country. all that their stated iowa preferences tell you is what their stated iowa preferences are. and they like folks like pat robertson and phil gramm and this year, michele bachmann, they also like people who pay for their votes and feed them and provide good entertainment. don't tell the people who make magazine covers or book the sunday shows about this, but iowa, iowa is largely irrelevant to republican presidential politics. we know who the democratic nominee is going to be, the whole contest this year is about who the republican nominee is going to be, and for that question and context, iowa doesn't matter almost at all. which makes it both sad that tim pa

if you go back to 1980, there were a lot of democrats who were hoping that the republicans nominated ld reagan. and we've seen that in early elections, as well. so it's tough to war game these things in terms of who would be easier for the democrat to beat. >> what do you make of the michele bachmann phenomenon? she really has lit a fire here in iowa. >> well, she's going to be formidable in iowa. and i would expect that she'll win the straw poll today. if she doesn't, it's -- it might sthaug she has some organizational problems because she's got the enthusiasm going in iowa. whether that translates to the rest of the country or not, very questionable. i think perry's entrance into the race hurts bachmann because there are a lot of republicans, very conservative republicans, who also want a winner and don't see bachmann as being able to beat barack obama as easily as rick perry could. >> jonathan alter, great to see you. thank you very much for joining us. >> thank. >> see you later. >>> straight ahead, her polls are the gold standard in iowa. ann selzer will show us how things might

. >> this poll finds 27% of democrats would like to see their party nominate a candidate other than theommander-in-chief. the political correspondent, he has great glasses. whether they will come around to support owing bo ma is an open question. >> well, more important i wonder what the same one may think of baby's first roar. >> i don't care. tom, should obama just step aside and let someone else run it in its place? like the delightful chap ryan secrist? >> or that other guy. who was the guy in the rock band and hosts shows. he is like ryan secrist? i will go with hi. >> brett michaels? >> yes. >> i'm going with him of the. >> i don't know why presidents don't -- it is expected you will get two sterms. -- terms. why not step aside? why not run against the incumbent every time? >> we know for a fact that whether or not obama loses he is doing two terms. he is only 50. if he loses this time he is coming back in four years. or eight years. and the older he gets the more distinguished he looks which means he is more likely to win, don't you think? >> you equate winning the election with

she has been a member of the democratic national committee since 1980. she haseked the nominationast four -- she has seconded the nomination of at least four nominees. headed the caucus. yet this vitriol from her is par for the course. she is talking about hell she has been making taxpayers' lives hell for decades. this woman is trying to get the gander up of the black community to distract from her own long ethical problems. remember, we still haven't had that long delayed ethics trial the house ethics committee three years since they started the investigation, into her cronyism of color, with regard to helping this minority-owned bank in l.a. that her husband had a stock investment interest in. and these questions seem to bounce off of her like bullets on teflon. >> sean: what do you make of the criticism -- she is also going after the administration. she said you give us politicians -- you give us per m, we want go after the president. what do you make of that? >> i think -- i think she is pandering to unemployed, dissatisfied people. again i think it is a distraction technique

it's unlikely that the republican-led house as well as the senate that nominally is led by the democratst, as you know, mitch mcconnell has great power with the filibuster and other weapons to slow the president's agenda. too hard to pass these things. >> juan: very quickly though, what about lowering the corporate tax rates, personal tax rate? why aren't we talking about lowering the tax rates at this point, doing something in exchange like getting rid of the deductions, closing loopholes but lowering tax rates? wouldn't that help to stimulate the economy? >> it could. and, you know, to hear jay carney tell it. he spoke a lot about that this week, that's why the president was sitting down with speaker john boehner. the republican leader, to try to have that grand bargain of much more deficit reduction. about $4 trillion. >> juan: very quickly ed, isn't that possible if that's the one area where you can get republicans and democrats to make a deal right now? >> i think that it's something that will be discussed in that special committee that is going to be created for congress as the fol

vote this year, could republican senator dale schultz become a democratic ally in the wisconsin state senate even if republicans nominally hold on tonight? with all eyes on the alberta darling race. joining us for the second time tonight is wisconsin state senator john erpenbach, who you may recall is one of the 14 democrats in the state senate who left the state earlier this year in an attempt to halt passage of the union-stripping bill. senator erpenbach, thank you for joining us again, sir. >> thank you, rachel. >> the best democrats could do is to go 3-3 tonight, three wins and three losses. right now we do not know what has happened, what the final result is going to be in the alberta darling race. do you have any further information for us about what we have to expect there about when things will come in and what we should look for? >> well, we've been told now by waukesha county that we won't know for at least an hour what the results are in waukesha county. which is simply ridiculous. they have the same voting machines everybody else does. and it's coming down to waukesha county yet again here in the state of wis

. >> this could end up being like a nomination like we had in the democratic side in 1976.ou remember when jimmy carter won in iowa. and really dragged the fight throughout the summer with people like jerry brown. we don't really see those type of campaigns anymore. most of the campaigns are like the republican one was four years ago. john mccain won florida, then he won new york, connecticut, and a couple of other large states, winner take all. it was over. really over by february. this really could drag out into the summer. what's going to be so fascinate being that is i suspect you're going to see two tightly controlled campaigns from mitt romney and from rick perry. these are people that will are not going to be going on your show very much. one of the top fox hosts was complaining in ames earlier this week that it's impossible to get mitt romney for an interview, as well. so if they have to fight for three, four, five, six months into 2012, it's going to be fascinating to see just how tightly they can control their message because that's obviously what these guys are g

democrat from connecticut. that is a problem if you are running for the republican nomination. >> his knowledge of china was helpful to him given recent demographics. >> thank you very much. >> i am with the national journalism center internship program. >> excellent. >> i see a growing influence of libertarians and the republican party and they have a problem with lincoln. how do you think we should address libertarians in regard to lincoln or just in general? >> they are an important element of contemporary conservatism. one of buckley's last books referred to himself as a libertarian journalist in the title. in terms of practical politics you really need all three legs of the conservative school. you need economic libertarians as a more free-market -- national security hawks. another thing i find heartening about the tea party is the hawkish foreign policies made an exception but libertarian and surge 0 -- social conservatism have emerged. i am sure there are pro-choice tea party ears. i never met one. all the major tea party candidates have been pro-life. if you tilt too far in the libertarian direction and ign

democrat in connecticut. i think that's hauntsman's base and that's a big problem if you're running for the republican nominationought his knowledge of china was helpful to him given the recent democrat graphics. >> thank you very much. >> my name is joe shaver, i'm with the national journalism center internship program. >> excellent. >> i see a growing influence of libertarians in the republican party and i know that many libertarians have a problem with lincoln. how do you think that we should address libertarians in regard to lincoln or just in general? >> well, they're an important element of contemporary conservatism. buckley, one of his last books, last collections, referred to himself as a libertarian journalist in the title. so i think in terms of practical politics, though, you really need all three legs of the conservative stool. you need the economic, libertarian. -- libertarianism, free market orientation and security hawks. one thing i've found heart vening about the tea party, the -- hawkish foreign policy may be an exception but the sorble conservatism and fiscal ideas are strong. there may be a p

able to sort of face off with the chairman of the senate finance committee who is a democrat, who has also been nominated. so it looks like they're pretty well placed and evenly matched as it goes right now, suzanne. >> a fair fight, i suppose. we expect there might be a little bit of fighting going on, but they're going to try to come up with some sort of bipartisan solution. joe, thank you for presenting the news for us. and we'll get back with more details as it develops. >>> there are some lawmakers spending their summer vacation getting an earful from their constituents. at a town hall meeting, john mccain, he was taken to task for a comment that referred to tea party members as hobbits. he was also told that congress needs to work together to deal with this mess. >> -- because the ideology, i want to see you working together. that means democrats, republicans, that means tea party, hobbits as you may call them -- and all these other people. >> does that mean that you think we should agree to raise taxes? >> yes. >> okay. >> i got it. >> i said that if anyone misunderstood what was reported by the m

. >> andrew: the democrats in this town would never let him get the nomination. stuff and -- i see am serious. >> kimberly: called a wand. >> bob: alec baldwin? i could give a -- >> you wouldn't support him. >> bob: let him be an actor. >> kimberly: do we have a picture that's cute and charming we made. look at this. see now, compare this. >> bob: i haven't seen it in 40 years. >> kimberly: all photoshopped but compare it to michele bachmann on the cover of "newsweek." democrat and her. >> dana: speaking about this today you realize that the military used to be your path to politics now it seems to be hollywood. i think that is a little disturbing. >> kimberly: or investment banking. what else is disturbing is madoff and his pants. where in the world are madoff's pants, greg? >> greg: not in my apartment, kimberly. i'll tell you that. >> bob: you can find them on ebay -- >> kimberly: search warrant. basically, this is the bet. they had a big auction. auction all this stuff off. fancy designer duds. someone went to buy all of his pants. hey, where are they? a guy

it's good for the democrats if the republicans nominate one of these candidates far to the right becauseter. >> eugene robinson, thanks for being with us. jacob weisberg, your piece in the new issue of "vogue." >>> coming up next the white house sends joe biden on an overseas trip. show you how he spends his time. watching "morning joe" brewed by starbucks. [ whistle blows ] oh! [ baby crying ] ben harper: ♪ what started as a whisper every day, millions of people choose to do the right thing. ♪ slowly turned into a scream ♪ there's an insurance company that does that, too. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy? everyone has been waiting for -- the dodge durango versus the ford explorer. two titans of the s.u.v. world. which has the strength? which has the power? which has the ability to... oh, geez. [ screeching ] the s.u.v. is back. right now, get $2,000 cash allowance or 0% apr financing on the 2011 dodge durango. >> back by popular demand. some of you have seen this already. some of you haven't. vice president joe biden spending the day yesterday in mongolia. ma

it's not like democrats are jumping up and down either. 28% of democrats would rather see a candidate other than president obama nominated. a record high or low for him. there have been calls for hillary clinton to run in 2012. it makes you wonder, is there anyone out there who could inspire the entire country, anybody who would want to be president when the economy is in the toilet, and two wars continue to drag on. so the talk back question today, why isn't america more excited about its presidential contenders. facebook.com/americanmorning. i'll read your comments later this hour. >> i wonder if it's a reflection of the people in the field or a reflection of the times we live in? no matter what you're not going to be satisfied because the problems are so insurmountable. >> who in his right mind would run in 2012 with things the way they are in the country. lot of tough hurdles to jump over. >> like buying stocks at the bottom, things so bad, run in 2012 and get elected ha ded -- to get better, right? >> isn't that what we thought. >> ahead on "american morning," the rape charges against dominique strauss-kahn made hea