e.j. dion dionne. "real clear politics" erin mcpint and "ring of fire" radio host mike papantonio join us tonight. we've tallied up the votes. tonight we'll count down the top "psycho talkers" of the year. >>> and my special thank you to those who made 2011 such a special year and that includes you, the viewer. >>> great to have you with us tonight, folks. thanks for watching. there are less than 100 hours before the first votes are cast in the iowa caucuses. it's a mad dash to the finish line for the republican candidates. a new nbc news marist poll has mitt romney out in front with 23%. ron paul slipping a little bit in second at 21%. and rick santorum continuing his rise with 15%. newt gingrich has plummeted. last month he led the poll by eight points. now he's in fifth place with 13% and is hoping to get some kind of momentum back. republican show frank luntz tried to help gingrich today when he set him up with a sentimental question about his deceased mother. >> my whole emphasis on b

e.j.?> what i wamuc taken by the vatican's pontifical commission on peace and justice's critique of the economy that made you wonder is pope benedict going to show up at one of these encampments of occupy wall street? because it was a very tough critique of capitalism. it didn't say get rid of the market system, but it raised a series of moral questions and i'd like to think and this has happened in other traditions as well, i'd like to think that we can have, at the end of this downturn and serious moral conversation about how you create and just and competitive economic system. >> kevin, what do you, what do you see? >> i was really struck by the sale of the crystal cathedral in southern california. you had this institution that went bankrupt and i think it's a microcosm of sort of the shifts that are going on in the american relig -- >> and it was a symbol of -- >> protestatestant dominance, y. and it's symbolic of the shifts that are going on in the american religious landscape where wh

he joins me along with "washington post" columnist e.j. dionne. "washington post" columnist e.j. dionne. we'll also talk about the major for a hot dog cart. my mother said, "well, maybe we ought to buy this hot dog cart and set it up someplace." so my parents went to bank of america. they met with the branch manager and they said, "look, we've got this little hot dog cart, and it's on a really good corner. let's see if we can buy the property." and the branch manager said, "all right, i will take a chance with the two of you." and we've been loyal to bank of america for the last 71 years. >>> joining me now, the republican governor of south carolina, nikki haley. welcome to "meet the press," governor. >> good morning, david. it's great to be with you. >> thank you so much. we have talked about your endorsement this week of mitt romney. you've endorsed him for the presidency, which he was certainly -- he welcomed warmly. and when you spoke about it on fox news, you said the following -- >> you put all these candidates together, and you've got one perfect candidate. but you're neve

e.j. listed some of the criticism from republicans. carl rove even saying yesterday on fox, one way out might be to let the president leave town and take a vote on it and let it pass saying that the democrats basically have abdicated their obligation to govern. what do you think? what are some of the solutions? >> that's a solution rooted in spin, and you're hearing a lot of spin from the house republicans, the spin they've settled on for the moment is we've passed the bill already. but nobody's buying it, and the real reason is nobody's buying it is it's the first time you've got senate republicans who basically all of whom went on the record saying they support this compromise openly taking shots at the house right now. so the house looks more marginal than ever. it looks like everybody in washington has come to an agreement except the tea party controlled house republicans. these guys in the house calling the shots and taking down the image of the party. >> and speaker boehner -- go ahead, e.j. >> i think the solution such as it is

e.j. dionne, steve karnaki, thank you both for your time. a good weekend. >> you too, reverend. >>> ahead, we'll go inside the gop race to ask, can newt take all the punches that are being thrown at him and still survive? >>> and the recall effort against scott walker is on fire, but now is the time to step up the fight. the big money's pouring in. but it could stop us. that's next. [ male announcer ] if you're intrigued by the hand-selected wood trim... the 38 1/2 inches of legroom... and the reclinable, heated napa leather seats inside the jeep grand cherokee, just wait until we tell you about the heated and ventilated front seats. ♪ ♪ >>> i told you last night about the saying if you might, you might lose, but if you don't fight, you're guaranteed to lose. well, the time is now to keep fighting in wisconsin. last night i shared the great news with you after marching, plo testing and rallies, the fights for rights is working. in just a month, it thousands have signed recall petition. but walk ir's -- since the recall effort began, their mo

let's turn now to columnist for "the washington post," e.j. well as republican strategist and columnist for "time" magazine, mike murphy. welcome to you both. whew, big exhale. that was a lot to discuss and a lot to chew on. mike murphy, the major moment of the week still is about gingrich versus romney. and that tell a tell, still a two person race? >> very much so. with some ron paul support in iowa. you know, we're finally, thank goodness, getting away from all the polls, the barney poll, this poll, that poll. people are actually going to vote pretty soon. or at least in iowa they're going to caucus. all we really know now because it's very turbulent. these votes can swing. in a republican primary in the last two weeks a lot can happen, we know people showing up with real strength are gingrich, which is a surprise. i didn't see that one coming. you've got to give newt a little credit. romney, who has always been kind of the establishment, there first or second guy almost in every poll, and this ron paul surge which i think has a ceiling on

and e.j. dion of the "washington post" on the lasting damage this cave causes for republicans. >> i don't think it's unusual. i do think prior presidents would have done the same thing. >> mitt romney gets busted taking another new position regarding the president's decision to kill osama bin laden. democratic strategist bob schrum is here with the latest. >> i think that the president should play much more of a lead role rather than going shopping for his dog. >> john mccain, eric cantor, sarah palin, and fox news are howling about obama's dog. they're all going in the zone. and racial remarks come back to haunt the latest gop front-runner. are. >> but you did read them. >> not all the time. on occasion, yes. >> dr. james peterson on the controversy ron paul wishes would just go away. >> good to have you with us tonight, folks. thanks for watching. the tea party's mission to destroy this presidency and the economy, well, it's failed for now. they're still on the move. tonight, john boehner bu

. >> tonight e.j. dionne on the republican circular firing squad. >>> plus newt gingrich thinks poor kids have no work ethic. he's teaming up with the donald to put them to work. >> we're going to pick ten, young wonderful children and going to make them aprenti. >> ari melber and dr. peterson are here. >>> the pizza man is officially cooked. >> i'm suspending my presidential campaign. >> we'll show you the cain campaign in 99 seconds. >>> and the republican vision of america is on full display in moorhead, minnesota. >> it's just to bust the union and the working class. there's no excuse with the record profits. >> tonight the workers of the american crystal sugar plant are on "the ed show" fighting corporate greed. >>> good to have you with us tonight, folks. donald trump wants to be the king maker if he can't be the king.

he joins me along with "washington post" columnist e.j. dionne. "washington post" columnist e.j.ll also talk about the major for a hot dog cart. my mother said, "well, maybe we ought to buy this hot dog cart and set it up someplace." so my parents went to bank of america. they met with the branch manager and they said, "look, we've got this little hot dog cart, and it's on a really good corner. let's see if we can buy the property." and the branch manager said, "all right, i will take a chance with the two of you." and we've been loyal to bank of america for the last 71 years. >>> joining me now, the republican governor of south carolina, nikki haley. welcome to "meet the press," governor. >> good morning, david. it's great to be with you. >> thank you so much. we have talked about your endorsement this week of mitt romney. you've endorsed him for the presidency, which he was certainly -- he welcomed warmly. and when you spoke about it on fox news, you said the following -- >> you put all these candidates together, and you've got one perfect candidate. but you're never going to h

e.j., is this proper?ink you'll hear the name of osama bin laden come up a lot in this campaign. if you look at the polls f. barack obama's strongest numbers are on his foreign policies. americans wanted the war in iraq to end several years ago. they are not. they're in favor of a withdrawal from afghanistan that he has started. they want to go faster. i think the republicans really do sound like they are from about five, six, seven years ago. the rhetoric they're using now may still appeal in a republican primary, but it's just not where the country is at all right now. >> crystal, why is ron paul surging in the polls in iowa? he got quite a bit of response tonight when he talked about, you know, not having international intervention and not being so anxious to get into all these wars. this is in the middle of the country, and ron paul is being cheered tremendously by iowans tonight. what did you make of that is is that why he's surging in. >> actually i think the reason he's surging is he's someone, whet

e.j., the heat is on ron paul. the republican candidates never thought they would actually have to take serious questions about if ron paul is the nominee. >> no, you know, and it's true. i am up here in new hampshire and i used to be last week, i was in iowa. and in both states, republicans are talking about ron paul along with romney as having the biggest organizations and certainly a real shot at winning iowa, and if not a shot at winning new hampshire, a real shot at coming in second. they are petried of ron paul. newt gingrich has especially good reason to be worried because you know, strong showings liking that from ron paul could knock him right out of the race. >> e.j., if you're in new hampshire i'm sure there is interest there about ron paul's views of raw milk. i think we have some tape of him talking about that. let's listen to that. >> isn't it sort of strange that we live in a country today where if you choose to buy raw milk, you're inhibited by the federal government to buy and drink raw milk. i mea

iowa's his last chance. >> e.j. dionne, as always, thank you for your insights. >> it's good to be with you. >> thanks. >>> now, a young man from iowa has the honor of being the most viewed political video of the year. and in his case, being on the list is, in fact, an honor. we'll analyze the good, the bad and the ugly from 2011 with "the onion." >>> and sarah palin and fox news are now attacking president obama over his family's holiday card. i so wish i were kidding, but i'm not. vacation, so i used my citi thank you card to pick up some accessories. a new belt. some nylons. and what girl wouldn't need new shoes? we talked about getting a diamond. but with all the thank you points i've been earning... ♪ ...i flew us to the rock i really had in mind. ♪ [ male announcer ] the citi thank you card. earn points you can use for travel on any airline, with no blackout dates. my high school science teacher made me what i am today. our science teacher helped us build it. ♪ now i'm a geologist at chevron, and i get to help

e.j.ionne, also a senior fellow at the brookings institution and msnbc contributor. e.j., good to see you. thank you for being here. >> good to see you. i'm still drawing the lines among all the people. >> livingston, like gingrich goes. livingston steps in. livingston has to step down. livingston's seat goes to david vitter. look at where all the guys are now. i think, why do i bother talking about scandals? this stuff rolls off these guys. they just get reincarnated. >> it's true. there's a lot of forgiveness here. there are a lot of people with personal relations. i know livingston's friendly with people i like. so, therefore, you get to know him in another context and say, that was so long ago. and, but, you know, i think what's really interesting about newt is i got to know newt back in 1986. and newt when he's not in power, when he doesn't have a lot of power, is a really interesting guy. you'd love to talk to him. i talked to somebody who was quite close to him once. he said when ne

iowa's his last chance. >> e.j.always, thank you for your insights. >> it's good to be with you. >> thanks. >>> now, a young man from iowa has the honor of being the most viewed political video of the year. and in his case, being on the list is, in fact, an honor. we'll analyze the good, the bad and the ugly from 2011 with "the onion." >>> and sarah palin and fox news are now attacking president obama over his family's holiday card. i so wish i were kidding, but i'm not. o0 c1 2 o0 hey guys, what can i get for you? i'd like a decaf 360 calories please. i'll have a triple iced 410 calories please. you know what... i'll have this instead. [ female announcer ] swap one thing a day for a yoplait light at around 100 calories. it will add up to amazing. [ male announcer ] you never know when a moment might turn into something more. and when it does men with erectile dysfunction can be more confident in their ability to be ready with cialis for daily use. cialis for daily use is a clinically proven low-dose tablet you take

e.j.s us. >> good to see you. >> let me play what some of the other candidates have to say about the debate. >> i was happy to sit on the sidelines and not do it. but when the guys ahead in the poll says he's going to be there, i'm not going to let that stage to him. >> i like donald trump. he's a lot of fun. i've met him many times and he's a wonderful guy. i think newt gingrich is the only one who's accepted the invitation for that -- >> will you? >> we're still in the process of looking at it. >> is this like a reality show 2012 style? what's going on here, e.j.? >> this is one of the strangest races i have ever seen. i think the maverick conservative writer david frum writing in "new york" magazine had it write, the conservatism which was one a serious intellectual movement is in danger of become a niche market, the same niche occupied by fox news and the conservative radio hosts. i've been trying to think back because it's such an odd campaign for historical comparisons. one is just o

sttte enator e.j.lling forrher to resigg after a fox 45 -3&pinvestigative report reveals - pweetheart deals and lucrative conttacts for private consultantssthat may have skirted state law..4:47:22 "this all heppens on the secretary's watch, she needs to go"14:44:2514:46:16"i think it's time for secretary swaim-staaeyyto step aside" monee shuffled betweee projects in order toohide cost overrunn and avoid the bidding process - like this job to improve ourr ighway -3 nottfication system thatt turned into an investigation intoothe operatinn hours of fast food resturrants. mismanagement that was also cited in this recent report from the state auditors, whiih found the agency could not prooide any basis ffr awarding millions in inspection contrrcts.14:47:17 -3 "ttey created a sluuh ffnd they spent n whateevr they wanted and with whomever they wanted.14:47:22 the governor's office issued a ssatement expressing full sspport for & swaim taleyydespite the call taxpayer's mooey and psend it - anywaa ou wann"jr fo

that's turned to ennis nbc political analyst, richard wolfe, e.j. dionne, senior fellow at the brookings institution, and crystal ball. we have a lot to talk about. great to have all of you here. newt gingrich obviously was the target tonight because he is the front runner. i thought probably the best person who got him tonight was michelle bachman, probably the most aggressive on newt gingrich was michelle bachman. in this exchange about his alleged career as a lobbyist, here it is. >> we know that he cashed paychecks from three. that is the best evidence you can have third over $1.6 million. frankly, i am shocked listening to the former speaker of the house because he is defending the continuing practice of freddie mac and fannie mae. there is a big difference between a credit union and freddie mac and fannie mae. they were the epicenter of the financial meltdown. i was trying to see these entities put into bankruptcy because they need to go away. when the speaker had his hand out and was taking $1.6 million to influence senior republicans to keep