>> dana: george h.w. bush friend's with romney's father. >> bob: they were in congress together. >> andrea: 41 campaigned with perry. he also cult an ad -- >> dana: he helped perry get elected to where he is now. what happened last year when n the governor's race, as i understand it, perry had initially indicated he was not going to run. senator kay bailey hutchison decided to run for that. a big primary and 41 came out in support of her. >> eric: you know more than anyone at the table, is it rumored bad blood between bushes and romney? >> dana: i think it's more at a staff level than the principal level. >> bob: it got ugly for a while. the staff level. >> dana: but do you really think, if you were george h.w. bush do you think giving perry his endorsement would help perry? >> eric: of course. >> andrea: i think they don't want to waste their endorsement; particularly, somebody as well regarded as 41 and the republican party. they want to go with winners and see united g.o.p. >> dana: i think there is a lot t

it's big in new hampshire. 1988, a lot of people remember george h.w. bush. he came in third place behind bob dole and robertson. he's hoping to do the same for romney. romney sat down with mark halperin, who asked the former massachusetts governor about david axelrod's theory that campaigns are like an mri of the so soul. >> i'm not sure we fully understood who barack obama was before he became the president of the united states. i think we are still learning that. i also think a campaign is an mri of the economy and the incumbent. the president will try to kill our nominee, brutalize them, destroy their life and record. what he can't hide, despite all the money, he can't hide his record and the fact he's been president at a time americans suffered and he hasn't turned the economy around. >> mark halperin is going to join us on set at the top of the hour and talk about his interview with mitt romney. >> you are going to have to change for that. >>> ron paul's surge in the iowa polls. his support continues to rise drawing huge crowds. he addressed the skeptic

security adviser to president gerald ford and was, would become the national security adviser to george h.w. bush. he took an interest in my career, and when president george h.w. bush was elected, he took me with him to be the white house soviet specialist. and i was fortunate to be the white house soviet specialist at the end of the cold war and it, frankly, doesn't get much better than that. [laughter] but the second lesson is, find people who are interested in you and in your career who can help to guide you and open up opportunities. we sometimes say i want to get there on my own. nobody gets there absolutely on their own. there are always mentors. and there's another important lesson. sometimes we say you have to have role models and mentors who look like you. well, if i'd been waiting for a black woman soviet specialist mentor -- [laughter] i would still be waiting. [laughter] so your mentors, your role models can come in any color, shape or size, just find somebody who really cares about you and cares about your career. and the final part of that story is that when in 1990 mikhail gorbach

been the smartest move politically. >>> mitt romney gets an endorsement from former president george h.w. bushsh had packed rick perry but now says perry has lost momentum. >>> looking now at today's weather. more ferocious santa ana winds in southern california. and snow wraps up from albuquerque to el paso. scattered thunderstorms in florida. and lingering snow in northern new england. >>> and finally this half hour, a story about the true spirit of this season. it's all about a pair of siblings in south florida. >> a younger brother has given his older sister the gift of life. arie haight from our west palm beach affiliate reports. >> reporter: kristy carlson is ten years older than her little brother. but they've always been close. >> i was always her little shadow growing up. >> reporter: but neither noticed that kristy was sick. she was always tired. but just thought that was normal. then, in june, she noticed her feet were swollen. >> that kind of scared me. i went to the doctor. they did the bloodwork. the next day, they said go to the e.r. >> reporter: it turns out, kristy's kidneys h

just a couple of weeks ago, mitt romney ended up sitting down with george h.w. bush. re photographed into it was an event that george h.w. bush has not had with the other candidates. more importantly, this is yet another sign of how the establishment is all rallying to mitt romney's side. we have a prominent senator and members of congress, but mitt romney is racking up the endorsements and the latest one is h.w. bush. the establishment is on romney's side, but in 2010 it didn't always get its way in the primaries. >> part of the statement said i think romney is the best choice. i like perry, but he doesn't team to be going anywhere. you can talk about the perry line but he said romney was not a bomb thrower. that's a part of the story line that the establishment and others against newt gingrich want to keep in the minds of people in iowa. >> right. make no mistake it was a shot at newt gingrich and it is clearly how the establishment is lining up with mitt romney. they believe that newt gingrich is a bomb thrower and can't be trusted given his days as speaker during t

security adviser to president gerald ford and would become the national security advise 'er to george h.w. bush. he took an interest in my career, and when president wish george w. bush was elected he took me with him to be the white house soviet specialist, and i was the specialist at the end of the colored war, -- cold war, ad doesn't get much better than that. and the second lesson is find people who are interested in your career who can guide you and open up opportunities. we sometimes say i want to get there on my own. nobody gets there absolutely on your own there are always mentors, and there's another important lesson. sometimes we say you have to have role models and meantors who look like you. if had been waiting for a black woman soviet specialist mentor i would still be waiting. so your mentors, your role models can come in any shape, color, size, just find somebody who really cares about you and carolina about your career. the final part of the story is that when in 1990, -- the cobbs came the white house and we were sitting together on the lawn of the white house, getting ready to

security adviseyear to president gerald ford and would become the national security adviser to george h.w. bush. he took an interest in my career, and when president george h.w. bush was elected, he took me with him to be the white house soviet specialist, and i was fortunate to be the white house soviet specialist at the end of the cold war. and the second lesson is fine someone who is interested in your and your career and guide you. people say they want to get there on their own. nobody gets there absolutely on their own. there's always mentors. sometimes we say you have to heal role molds and mentors who look like you i had been wait fog are black woman soviet specialist mentor, i would still be waiting. so your mentors and role models can come in any color, shape, size. just find somebody who really cares about you and cares about your career. the final part of that story is that when, in 1990, mikhail gorbachev came to the white house, and we were sitting together in the lawn of the white house in marine one, the presidential helicopter, getting ready to take off. just me, gorbachev and h

in 1998 they picked bob dole over george h.w. bush and mr. t onto become the b8 republican nominee and win the presidency. iowa's track record at the picking the nominee is at best spotty. joining me now is steve kornacki, news editor. we pay a lot of attention to the election. we must. it's our duty. it's the first. i want to look at a caucusgoer and the kind of questions they are getting now.ç here is someone who will be at the caucus asking newt gingrich a question about president obama. >> according to the constitution, those that are running for office must be a citizen of the united states. why is mr. obama not have to prove his citizenship as he's going to all these other countries besides leading our country? let me answer this. i thought you were going to ask if donald trump had citizenship. >> no. no chance. no chance. >> all i can report is the state of hawaii has certified that he was born there. this is one of the issues where, it's a fact. he is the president of the united states. on a factual level, citizenship is an issue. he

and george h.w. bushing his support behind mitt romney but there's a bigger get from someone in the bush family. who is it? former bush press secretary dana perino is here with that answer coming up. dad, why are you getting that? is there a prize in there? oh, there's a prize, all right. [ male announcer ] inside every box of cheerios are those great-tting little o's made from carefully selected oats that can help lower cholester. is it a superhero? kinda. ♪ >> welcome back. the department of justice blocking a south carolina law that would require people to show photo i.d. in order to vote. they claim the law discriminates against minorities but the critics say the doj's decision is motivated solely by politics. for a fair and balanced debate this morning, we're joined by boris epstein, a republican strategist and a former federal prosecutor that sides with the department of justice. kendall, how is this discrimination requiring a simple photo i.d. to vote? >> well, it's actually sort of a statistical a

endorsement today that the romney campaign is touting, george h.w. bush he supports governor romney's deal. >> that is the expected establishment stamp of approval for romney. better to have it probably than not but i don't think it will get conservatives on board who romney needs. the interesting thing about the poll with respect to ron paul if you look deeper in the poll, the issue that they care about, they care about the job and economy and debt and deficit. size and scope of the federal government. number one thing they said they wanted in a presidential candidate someone to take a strong stance. it's not hard to see that ron paul is leading the poll. he has been talking about the issues and one taking the strong stance. >> bret: about ron paul, our producer traveling with the campaign noticed a different media approach. a little bit more strict with his engagements with the medi media. he walked out of an interview or he was asked about the newsletters in his past. that had controversial remarks about race. what about ron paul, start of the scrutiny

george h.w. bushd not like him, and they knew him, and the whole pat robertson and jerry falwell running for president. at the end of the day primary voters said we're voting for president, the leader of the free country, let's go with george h.w. bush. >> anybody who doesn't think of barbara bush was pro-choice is out of their mind. look at that family. they look pro-choice. maybe it's a class statement, but -- please clear the aisles. thank you both. up next, who are the most admired men and women in americç today and which republican presidential candidates make that list? that's ahead in the sideshow. you're watching "hardball," only on msnbc. [ female announcer ] we are taking ultra downy with silktouch to the streets. which shirt feels more expensive? oooh, ooh la la. 'm feeling their muscles. yup, yup. that one. that one's softer. [ female announcer ] actually, it's the same t-shirt. really? [ female announcer ] but this one was washed in downy. that's why it was softer. it has a real soft velv

reps for the former president george h.w. bush says they say it's not an official endorsement. sounds like one. president bush telling the houston chronicle, quote, i think romney is the best choice for us. i like perry but he doesn't seem to be going anywhere. and on the former house speaker newt gingrich the former president says simply i'm not his biggest advocate. meantime a new gallup poll is not as polarizing as gingrich. romney's negative rating among democrats is 12% a lot better than the former speaker's at 37%. with now less than two weeks before the iowa caucus. most of the republican field is stumping across the state trying to secure last any minute votes. both romney and gingrich decided to skip the hawkeye state today. live in our d.c. newsroom. so, james what will bush 41 support actually mean in iowa and maybe beyond? >> jon, ultimately it could mean very little. the former massachusetts governor is already well-positioned in establishment g.o.p. circles. not from the likes of the bushes but tea party and evangelical republicans that romney's campaign knees to

i missed a time cue with george h.w. bush and stopped him in the middle of an answer. and when i finally was corrected, i said, oh, i'm sorry, mr. vice president, go ahead, and he said, i forgot what i was saying. [laughter] and i wanted to fall through the floor on that one. there are, but other than that, a few technical things like that, there is no particular -- maybe i've put them out of my mind. but there are no particular times that i feel truly embarrassed and my face reddens when i think back on that, oh, my god, i blew -- because i've been always driven by the idea, the central idea here that i don't want to do anything that effects the outcome of a debate, much less the presidency of the united states. because the moderator shouldn't be that involved. moderator should be invisible. and i think for the most part i have succeeded in being mostly invisible. >> host: do you prefer -- well, you've done both singular moderator and panel moderator. >> guest: right. >> host: what are the strengths and weaknesses of each? >> guest: well, the weakness of the panel mod

romney received what could be an important boost of support from the nation's 41st president, george h.w. bush. he believed romney is the best chand for the white house calling him mature and reasonable, not a bomb thrower. bush told the paper he likes texas governor, rick perry, he's not surging forward. bush's comments were not a formal endorsement, they give an important boost to the romney campaign two weeks before the iowa caucuses. >>> to overseas where a crackdown by syria's government continues without let up. human rights activists say at least six people were killed in fresh attacks by government forces yesterday. amateur video shows black smoke and flames and one syrian city after alleged shelling by the president's forces. arab league delegates arrived in syria thursday ahead of monitors who want to assess whether the government is complying to peace initiatives. there are reports coming in saying quote, terrorists, unquote, attacked security in damascus. state tv is describing it as a double suicide car bombing. a number of civilians have been killed. >>> here is your first look a

romney has received what could be an important boost of support from the nation's 41st president, george h.w. bush. the former president told the newspaper he believes romney is the best candidate for the white house calling him, quote, mature and reasonable, not a bomb-thrower. bush, a texas resident, told the paper while he likes rival candidate and texas governor rick perry, he says he's, quote, not surging forward. while bush's comments were not a formal endorsement, they still give an important boost to the romney campaign less than two weeks before the iowa caucuses. >>> overseas where a deadly crackdown by syria's government has continued without let up, despite the arrival of arab league delegates. human rights activists say at least six people were killed in fresh attacks by government forces yesterday. amateur video shows black smoke and flames in one syrian city after alleged shelling by president al assad's forces. arab league arrived thursday ahead of monitors to assess whether the government is complying with a peace initiative. reports coming in from state-controlled syrian tv this

romney has received what could be an important boost of support from the nation's 41st president, george h.w. bush. the former president told the newspaper he believes romney is the best candidate for the white house calling him, quote, mature and reasonable, not a bomb-thrower. bush, a texas resident, told the paper while he likes rival candidate and texas governor rick perry, he says he's, quote, not surging forward. while bush's comments were not a formal endorsement, they still give an important boost to the romney campaign less than two weeks before the iowa caucuses. >>> overseas, reports from state-controll eled syria tv sa there have been activists have struck with a car bomb and a number of civilians have been killed. the this is the first attack since the start of new president bashar alas aheal-asaad. monitors want to assess whether the government is complying with the peace initiative. >>> a look at other stories making news early today in america. police have tracked down a group of vandals all thanks to youtube. the video posted by the culprit show the crew of young criminals ransack

romney has received what could be an important boost of support from the nation's 41st president, george h.w. bush. the former president told the newspaper he believes romney is the best candidate for the white house calling him, quote, mature and reasonable, not a bomb-thrower. bush, a texas resident, told the paper while he likes rival candidate and texas governor rick perry, he says he's, quote, not surging forward. while bush's comments were not a formal endorsement, they still give an important boost to the romney campaign less than two weeks before the iowa caucuses. >>> overseas where a deadly crackdown by syria's government has continued without let up, despite the arrival of arab league delegates. human rights activists say at least six people were killed in fresh attacks by government forces yesterday. amateur video shows black smoke and flames in one syrian city after alleged shelling by president al assad's forces. arab league arrived thursday ahead of monitors to assess whether the government is complying with a peace initiative. reports coming in from state-controlled syrian tv this

george h.w. bush, a lot of comfort difficulties did not like and the pat robertson and jerry falwell running for president. at the end of the day primary voters said we're voting for president, the leader of the free country, let's go with george h.w. bush. >> anybody who doesn't think of barbara bush was pro-choice is out of their mind. please clear the aisles. thank you both. up next, who are the most admired men and women in america today and which republican presidential candidates make that list? that's ahead in the sideshow. you're watching "hardball," only on msnbc. cuban ca jun raw seafood pizza parlor french fondue tex-mex fro-yo tapas puck chinese takeout taco truck free range chicken pancake stack baked alaska 5% cash back. right now, get 5% cash back at restaurants. it pays to discover. premier of the packed bag. you know organization is key... and so is having a trusted assistant. and you...rent from national. because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle...and go. you can ev

george h.w. bush lot of social conservatives did not like him, and they knew him, and the whole pat robertson and jerry falwell running for president. at the end of the day primary voters said we're voting for president, the leader of the free country, let's go with george h.w. bush. >> anybody who doesn't think of barbara bush was pro-choice is out of their mind. look at that family. they look pro-choice. maybe it's a class statement, but -- please clear the aisles. thank you both. up next, who are the most admired men and women in america today and which republican presidential candidates make that list? that's ahead in the sideshow. you're watching "hardball," only on msnbc. ♪ [ male announcer ] how could a luminous protein in jellyfish, impact life expectancy in the u.s., real estate in hong kong, and the optics industry in germany? at t. rowe price, we understand the connections of a complex, global economy. it's just one reason over 75% of our mutual funds beat their 10-year lipper average. t. r

gingrich lied to president george h.w. bush's face back in 1990. and quote, i am ready to tell that story around the united states, says mr. simpson. that was all just today. in republicans versus newt gingrich and adds to a laundry list of newt gingrich in the recent days. charles krauthammer writing, quote, gingrich is possessed of an unbounded need of grand display that's led him to unconservative places even he is at a loss to explain. he's untamed by self-discipline. karl rove writing in "the wall street journal" yesterday, quote, when a man of his self-confidence begins to feel on top of the world, bad things often happen. oh, but wait, there's more. >> gingrich is an amazingly efficient candidacy and embodies almost everything disagreeable about modern washington. he's the classic rental politician. he denounces the ryan budget as right wing social engineering. he sits down to talk about climate change and cap and trade with nancy pelosi and others. the list goes on. he was -- but, on top of all this, there's the absurd rhetorical grandiosit

he was vice president under president george h.w. bush from 1989 to 1993. >>> a third poll of iowa republican voters puts newt gingrich at the top of the list. 33% in the abc-"washington post" survey named gingrich as the likely vote. >>> former illinois governor rod blagojevich sentencing hearing is happening now in chicago. blagojevich was convicted on 18 counts of corruption for trying to sell a senate seat vacated by barack obama in illinois. prosecutors are asking for 15 to 20 years in prison. blagojevich is expected to testify in his own behalf today. he will likely be sentenced tomorrow. >>> that will be interesting. >> yeah. >>> all right. coming up, forget hair of the dog. we have the pill that promises to remedy hangovers. >> and another reason to get off the couch. how sitting too long can make your bum a little bigger. >>> no reason to sit inside today. beautiful sunny skies but it's still cold around the bay area. i'll tell you how long this sunshine is going to last coming up. ,, ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, >>> took a little 9:00 str

a sort of endorsement from former president george h.w. bush. >> i must admit, this is much more important to me personally than politically. >> reporter: bush told "the houston chronicle" he thinks romney is mature and reasonable. not a bomb-thrower. sounds like a dig at newt gingrich. though, bush denied that. as for newt, he's wishing all of iowa a merry christmas on the airwaves. >> from our family to yours. merry christmas and happy new year. >> reporter: he was putting coal in mitt romney's stocking. >> when you get down to a choice between massachusetts moderate and conservative. we have a good chance of winning it. >> reporter: all of the candidates will be with their families on christmas. what can their spouses expect under the tree? ron paul told us he didn't want to tip his hand too much. but he almost always gets his wife jewelry. no surprise. the guy does love his gold. >> only gold and silver can be legal tender. >> reporter: as for rick perry. we know who is in charge in his house. >> my wife and i have a deal. she picks her chr

this is when george h.w. bush appointed bob ambassador of the soviet union at a critical time when it was trembling. bob landed there in the middle of the? when yeltsin was rallying people he went over there and he came back around christmas time and was ambassador to russia. he said i think i'm the only fellow who has been fired as ambassador from 12 countries. so the uncle bob -- i did not know that uncle bob had flown into a coup. i just know he got me a cake from a seven earth day. so i began writing this book at the columbia journalism school. i took a book class with sam freedman. and i think we're bob wielded the most power and where he made one of his biggest marks in history was in keeping the democratic party together from 1972 to 1976. i was in the party was torn apart starting in 1968 after the debacle of the 1968 chicago convention and the assassination of jfk and martin luther king and the party was splintering over vietnam in a number of issues. and he came in and really help the party together, fir

>> in this country on the gop campaign trail today mitt romney picked up an endorsement from george h.w. bush, 41, who called the former massachusetts governor the best choice for the republican nomination. >>> and in iowa and in some other early primary states, as the air war continued today, more attention is now being paid to those super pacs. it was a supreme court decision last year that paved the way for them. and they are having a big impact on spending and what the voters are seeing right now. we get more tonight from our national investigative correspondent michael isikoff. >> reporter: the ads are hard-hitting, slamming newt gingrich for scandal. >> newt gingrich was fined $300,000 for ethics violations. >> reporter: and being damaged goods. >> newt has more baggage than the airlines. >> reporter: mitt romney said he has nothing to do with the ads. they are part of a $3 million ad blitz in iowa bank-rolled by romney backers through an independent super pac called restore our future. how independent is it? here's romney earlier this week. >> i'm not allowed to communicate with a supe

former president george h.w. bush, bush 41, telling "the houston chronicle" he thinks romney is the best person for president because of his stability and experience and he is not a quote, bomb thrower. romney thanked the former president for his support in a phone call. >> another endorsement today. president george herbert walker bush said he supported me today. [applause] and he didn't use the word endorsement. he used the word support and he is supporting my effort and i appreciate that. actually more on a personal basis perhaps even than a political basis. i respect him enormously as an american hero. for his service and in the world war but losses as an american patriot. gregg: so what does the bush, sort of endorsement mean for the race? our political panel will weigh in on that. julie: just months after an either cake destroyed the city of christchurch, new zealand, another quake rattles the area and more nerves on that. gregg: major windstorm toppling trees, damaging homes just ahead of the holiday weekend. w

he was treasury undersecretary during the administration of president george h.w. bush in the early 1990s. also coming from the obama administration-- a new fee to health insurance plans. the $1 per person fee goes into effect next year to pay for research into which drugs, tests and treatments are most effective. it was mandated by last year's health care overhaul. but the treasury department says it will likely be another year before the funds are actually collected. this is the time of year that people make new year's resolutions. tonight's commentator says he's not among those wishing for a new spirit of bipartisanship in washington. he's todd buchholz, author of "rush: why you need and love the rat race." >> remember that book, "all i really need to know i learned in kindergarten"? shouldn't democrats and republicans learn to get along? stop the bickering? let moderates take charge? wouldn't it be nice? no. sometimes, a country must take a hard turn, follow a strong leader in a clear direction, not toward some muddled middle. the u.s. is careening towards bankruptc

former president george h.w. bush tells his hometown newspaper, the "houston chronicle" tells people that he does support romney. he said, quote, i think romney is the best choice for us. i like rick perry, but he doesn't seem to be going anywhere. he's not surging forward. >>> rival newt gingrich is looking for a big iowa finish. gingrich said he would be happy to come in third or fourth in iowa. this came a day after a poll showed congressman ron paul in the lead in iowa. iowa caucuses are on the 3rd of january. >>> gingrich was also in virginia trying to collect enough signatures to make it on the primary ballot here, and it appears to have worked. republican leaders in the state tell "the washington post" gingrich, romney, perry, and paul turned in thousands of signatures by yesterday's deadline. the other candidates did not qualify to make the march 6th primary ballot. >>> 4:37 is our time right now. we have rain out there right now around the region. >>> ahead on "news 4 today," best buy is playing the role of b