former senator howard baker, my new chief of staff, possesses a breadth of legislative and foreign affairslls that's impossible to match. i am hopeful that his experience as minority and majority leader of the senate can help us forge a new partnership with the congress, especially on foreign and national security policies. i am genuinely honored that he has given up his own presidential aspirations to serve the country as my chief of staff. frank car luch ee, my new national security adviser is respected for his experience in government and trusted for his counsel. under him, the nsc staff is rebuilt with proper management and discipline. already, almost half the professional staff is comprised of new people. yesterday, i nominated william webster, a man of sterling reputation, to be director of the central intelligence agency. mr. webster has served as director of the fbi and as a u.s. district court judge. he understands the meaning of rule of law. so that his knowledge of national security matters can be available to me on a continuing basis, we will also appoint john tower to serve as

you have senator corker with a long history, bill frist, howard baker. so it was an opportunity for mitt romney which he didn't -- he didn't win. i think he does have a problem in the south. i think he has to prove that he can win in the south other than in the state of florida. >> let's say santorum wins. let's say hypothetically in alabama and mississippi, what does that mean for newt gingrich? >> i think he's basically out. if he can't take -- >> if he's out, where do those votes go? >> i think most will go to santorum. >> instead of romney? >> in texas they would go to santorum. i'm not sure in every state that's the case. maybe at that point, you know, if romney then wins some big states i think the momentum will return to him. but he's got to win this destiesively and not grind it out. and -- >> i think he'll crawl across the finish line. if i'm mitt romney i want to keep both newt gingrich and rick santorum in this race to divide conservative voters. i'm not sure i want a one-on-one with rick santorum at this particular point. you know, why not ke

>> by the way, you may forget, but you arranged for kate, my wife and i, to get married in the howard baker room. >> i -- [inaudible conversations] everything working well? >> well, we're still together. >> it is the most fabulous -- >> nothing like it. >> fabulous. anyway, good to see you, friend. thank you. >> it is true -- how are you? [inaudible conversations] are you still doing your stuff? >> i'm doing it, i'm get anything as much trouble as i can. >> who are you with now? >> i am freelancing, i'm working on my own book. >> what are you writing about, spooks? >> my dad. >> he's still living? >> no, he died at 100. so the last time i saw you was at church down the street. >> i was at st. john's. [inaudible conversations] ann is over there. oh! >> you're related to -- >> who is this man? >> i am in the presence of royalty. >> i know who it is, it's david -- >> ah! >> it's david brinkley come back from the dead. >> how much are they? >> i don't know, i didn't write it. i don't get any money. >> you didn't write it? >> no. >> what the hell are we doing here? >> don hardy. >> hello, don. >

i was here as howard baker's young assistant right out of law school. and he walked over and sat down next to him after what had been a fairly long speech, maybe 45 minutes. senator baker looked at his father-in-law and said, senator dirksen, how did i do? and senator dirksen said to his son-in-law, senator baker, howard, "maybe occasionally you should enjoy the luxury of an unexpressed thought." so senator baker, recalling that advice, i assume, asked that his remarks to be delivered that night at the end of a long ceremony be placed in the "congressional record" and i ask consent to do that. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. alexander: thank you, mr. president. i'd like to make a few remarks on the subject that we're debating here which is -- which is energy. last week, the majority leader said that he was disappointed that we were not moving to the ex-im bank and to postal reform and to cyber security, all of which he said are urgent national issues that the united states expect our senate to deal with. the republican leader said that on o

howard baker and bob dole, it was a remarkable moment. >> i'm going to plug my friend and evp christina her first marathon on saturday. >> see you back here tomorrow. coming up is chris jansing. bye-bye. [ degeneres ] what's more beautiful than a covergirl? two covergirls. that's right. get two miracles in one product. covergirl makeup... and olay advanced hydrating serum. it's new tone rehab 2-in-1 foundation. one pump... covers spots, lines... and wrinkles. and one bottle helps improve skin tone over time. that's what i was supposed to say now. well, no one can understand you. ♪ new tone rehab 2-in-1 foundation from [ babbling ] ...covergirl. that's what i'm talking about. see? what did you just say? i'm looking for some "beeza-beeza-vuza-vuza." and hello to "whoa, yum." use campbell's cream of chicken soup to make easy enchiladas, cheesy chicken & rice, and other chicken dishes that are oh...so...whoa. campbell's. it's amazing what soup can do. there's another way to minimize litter box odor: purina tidy cats. tidy cats premium line of litters now works harder to help neutralize odor

you have senator corker with a long history, bill frist, howard baker. was an opportunity for mitt romney which he didn't -- he didn't win. i think he does have a problem in the south. i think he has to prove that he can win in the south other than in the state of florida. >> let's say santorum wins. let's say hypothetically in alabama and mississippi, what does that mean for newt gingrich? >> i think he's basically out. if he can't take -- >> if he's out, where do those votes go? >> i think most will go to santorum. >> instead of romney? >> in texas they would go to santorum. i'm not sure in every state that's the case. maybe at that point, you know, if romney then wins some big states i think the momentum will return to him. but he's got to win this decisively and not just grind it out and -- >> i think he'll crawl across the finish line. if i'm mitt romney i want to keep both newt gingrich and rick santorum in this race to divide conservative voters. i'm not sure i want a one-on-one with rick santorum at this particular point. you know, why not keep t

a history of when push comes to shove among republicans of electing pretty moderate people and howard baker, you think back beginning there, both of our u.s. senators are certainly from the -- from the moderate wing of their party, and i think in the end, that goes well with voters. i think that may be enough to push romney over the top. >> another poll that was done though, had one in five voters in tennessee if i am -- if i am getting that right. >> uh-huh. >> believed that mormonism is a cult. i mean how does that affect square? i mean you -- how does that affect square? you end up. >> you know from your time in office, you take polls with a little grain of salt. these are not people answering questions to the f.b.i. or something if some polster calls on the phone. you have people who may be very opposed to the president who would, you know, yeah, he is a muslim or very concerned about romney for some reason that would throw those things out. polls are good for very large fact, you know, the big picture things. i don't think they are a very good way to get at the subtleties. i am a democ

you have senator corker with a long history, bill frist, howard baker. was an opportunity for mitt romney which he didn't -- he didn't win. i think he does have a problem in the south. i think he has to prove that he can win in the south other than in the state of florida. >> let's say santorum wins. let's say hypothetically in alabama and mississippi, what does that mean for newt gingrich? >> i think he's basically out. if he can't take -- >> if he's out, where do those votes go? >> i think most will go to santorum. >> instead of romney? >> in texas they would go to santorum. i'm not sure in every state that's the case. maybe at that point, you know, if romney then wins some big states i think the momentum will return to him. but he's got to win this decisively and not just grind it out and -- >> i think he'll crawl across the finish line. if i'm mitt romney i want to keep both newt gingrich and rick santorum in this race to divide conservative voters. i'm not sure i want a one-on-one with rick santorum at this particular point. you know, why not keep t

you have senator corker with a long history, bill frist, howard baker.as an opportunity for mitt romney which he didn't -- he didn't win. i think he does have a problem in the south. i think he has to prove that he can win in the south other than in the state of florida. >> let's say santorum wins. let's say hypothetically in alabama and mississippi, what does that mean for newt gingrich? >> i think he's basically out. if he can't take -- >> if he's out, where do those votes go? >> i think most will go to santorum. >> instead of romney? >> in texas they would go to santorum. i'm not sure in every state that's the case. maybe at that point, you know, if romney then wins some big states i think the momentum will return to him. but he's got to win this destiesively and not grind it out. and -- >> i think he'll crawl across the finish line. if i'm mitt romney i want to keep both newt gingrich and rick santorum in this race to divide conservative voters. i'm not sure i want a one-on-one with rick santorum at this particular point. you know, why not keep them

very moderate republicans at the state level, including our own governor now and dates back to howard baker, bill brock, lamar alexander, fred thompson and others. so he should do well there tonight and it has been said all along this evening, ohio and tennessee, fess able to secure both of those states and win both of those changes and you can see the end in sight. i would agree with the analysis this evening. >> harold, in terms of how to win tennessee, we have seen governor romney really lock up a lot of the for lack of a better term, establishment republican support. that has not been key to winning a lot of other states. a lot of place where you got the endorsement of governors and senators, doesn't translate in a win for the candidates this year. do you see a split between the electorate and establishment in the republican party in tennessee this year, are those establishment endorsements going to help him? >> i think the fact you have both gingrich and santorum still in the race helps romney without both in the race, meaning santorum and gingrich, romney would probably be at a disadv

knoxville, chattanooga moderate republicans, howard baker territory. lamar alexander territory. the sitting governor. you go west in tennessee and basically you're going south, south in terms of culture and politics until you get to the memphis suburbs where you have much more of a sub urban vote. in that central part of the state and the western part of the state you would think conservatives whether it's somebody like gingrich or rick santorum would do really well. >> ifill: but only two democrats. christina, how much are you watching that? are there other states you're also keeping an eye on? >> in tennessee the santorum vote felt very confident about that. he's been doing very well in the polls. those numbers are closing. >> ifill: as they were in ohio as well. >> exactly. also spending a lot of money on tennessee. cheaper to buy tv time there than it is in some of these other states. we're also looking at oklahoma where santorum had a big lead. you've got this very conservative state. john mccain won it in 2008. mike huckabee did very well there. they're targeting that. ron

night i attended a moment, a century of service ceremony, 100 years combined honoring bob dole and howard bakerrved as ronald reagan's last white house chief of staff. it was a bipartisan tribute for two amazing political leaders for their enormous contributions to compromise and civil discourse in congress, outside of congress. vice president joe biden led the celebration. >> i can say without fear of contradiction by the press, by any one who has served with you, by historians and i presume to speak for every man or woman you ever served with, that it was a great honor and a genuine privilege to serve with each of you, to learn from each of you. i know you wished i had learned more, bob, but to learn from each of you. and quite frankly, just simply to know you both. ♪ i'm michael bazinet, president of creative digital imaging of bangor, maine. we have customers all over the united states. we rely on the postal service for everything that we do. the eastern maine processing facility is vital to our operation and our success. if we lose this processing facility we could lose clientele because o

>> by the way, you may forget but you arranged for kate, my wife and i, to get married in the howard baker room -- >> i remember. >> yeah. well. >> so everything working well? >> well, we're still together. >> i mean -- [inaudible conversations] >> anyway, thank you so much. >> how are you? i'm getting in as much trouble as i can. >> who are you with now? >> i am freelancing, i'm working on my own book. >> what are you writing about, spooks? >> my dad. >> [inaudible] >> no, he died at 100. >> oh, that's a book. >> the last time i saw you you were in -- [inaudible conversations] >> and you were -- >> ann is over there. my god! you're related to the queen! >> my god! >> who is this man? >> i am in the presence of royalty. >> i know who it is, it's david -- >> ah! >> david brinkley, come back from the dead. >> i'm buying five books. how much are they? >> i don't know, i didn't write it. >> you didn't write it? what the hell are we doing here? >> there's the author. >> don hardy, i wrote the book. >> hello, don. [inaudible conversations] >> probably want to go to the brown palace and let me bu

reagan was going to run again and did and won the nomination but there were others out there, howard baker and bob dole. all of these names were bigger names >> it also would happen... says something about the relationship. you are the one who said to him it's time to get out. >> well, that's true and he will acknowledge that. >> rose: he does. >> rose: and without that he would not have been chosen vice president and... >> we don't know whether he would but i'm not sure he would have been. the reagan people romanced jerry ford. >> rose: that was a serious thing. why didn't it happen in the end? >> well, i wasn't party to that. i was a bush person. >> i understand that but you know the people who are participanted >> i think it didn't happen because ronald reagan said, hey, wait a minute, this doesn't makh president ford about it actually and saying you know mr. president we never understood that and i said i personally never understood what would we call you? we would call you hello mr. president vice president or mr. vice president president? how would we address you? he chuckled. >> ros

days, vice president joe biden spoke at an event last night to honor former senators bob dole and howard bakereech, biden recalled a day back in 1987 when president ray ga askeagan asked opinion who he should nominate to the supreme court. >> the president, god love him, called me down. i sat there in the chair i now sit in as vice president. president reagan, one of the most charming guys, pulled out these cards and he said, "joe, you tell me what you think the prospects of these people are." he said "tony kennedy." i said mr. president, i know he's a straight conservative but i think he passed. he said "you're for him then aren't you?" you remember that? i said no i didn't say that. we stood up, grabbed me under the arm, walked around the couches to the side door that's in the dining room there, opened the door, who was standing there but tony kennedy. he said "tony, joe's for you!" >> what a story. kennedy did make it past the senate vote, by the way and the vote of 97-0. biden had to be out sick that day but senate democrats generally supported the nomination including apparently biden. >>

the howard baker, lamar alexander tradition where mitt romney thinks a more moderate republican in the view of a lot of conservatives can win. if he can demonstrate strength in the south it becomes important for me. >> newt could split the vote. 33% could be a winning number for mitt romney. >> you have a big day today. go get it. david gregory and chuck todd. for complete coverage of the super tuesday results watch the nbc news decision 2012 special tonight at 10:00/9:00 central time and 8:00 p.m. on the west coast right here on nbc. by the way, president obama will hold his first news conference in more than three months this afternoon and nbc news will bring it to you live at 1:00 p.m. eastern time. now here's matt. >> thank you very much. now a remarkable story that emerged from the devastating tornadoes that ripped through the midwest and south. an indiana mother lost parts of her legs while laying on her children to keep them safe. nbc's tom costello is at the university of louisville hospital where she's recovering. good morning, tom. >> good morning. she's in fair condition. st

bipartisan center where my wife is the vice president tonight honors two founders bob dole and howard baker

tonight honors two founders bob dole and howard baker for a century of service. a great event for two great men. >> i like that. pressure is on. >> nfl one of the businesses most susceptible to group think. we'll see if winning is a big deal. will tim tebow get another job? not the best quarterback but he won. >> starting job. >> all right. "cnn newsroom" begins right now with carol costello. we'll see you back here tomorrow morning at 7:00 a.m. carol, good morning. >> good morning to all of you. i'm carol costello. here are stories we're watching in the "newsroom" right now. widespread delays for justice for trayvon martin. supporters rally. they want the man who killed the unarmed teenager arrested. >>> president obama leaves this hour to go on a four-state tour where he'll announce plans to speed up the permit for the southern half of the keystone oil pipeline. critics say he gave into pressure from rising gas prices. >>> mitt romney is in maryland today fresh off his decisive win in the illinois primary. halfway to the delegate finish line. >>> hundreds of fr

i was back in town for a big party for howard baker. they invited me. was a member of that group when i was in the senate. i carry that forward. there is a lot of wisdom in the senate, if they would be exercised to vote their conscience and not follow the party line. the reality is members are terrified by a primary challenge. senators like joe lieberman could not win a party in connecticut. i cannot win the republican primary, and that creates the gridlock. host: will you endorse president obama for election? guest: i will wait to see how the campaign evolves. i am now in a different position. host: will you wait until after the general election? guest: i think i will decide october 25. host: would you vote for a republican then? guest: absolutely. i will vote for the better man in my opinion. i will not be bound by party loyalty. host: you right in the book part of the reason you lost the primary and 2010 was president obama did not campaign for you as much as he had promised to do so, and democratic leadership in the senate. are you holding out the v

very moderate republicans at the state level, including our own governor now and dates back to howard bakerrock, lamar alexander, fred thompson and others. so he should do well there tonight and it has been said all along this evening, ohio and tennessee, fess able to secure both of those states and win both of those changes and you can see the end in sight. i would agree with the analysis this evening. >> harold, in terms of how to win tennessee, we have seen governor romney really lock up a lot of the for lack of a better term, establishment republican support. that has not been key to winning a lot of other states. a lot of place where you got the endorsement of governors and senators, doesn't translate in a win for the candidates this year. do you see a split between the electorate and establishment in the republican party in tennessee this year, are those establishment endorsements going to help him? >> i think the fact you have both gingrich and santorum still in the race helps romney without both in the race, meaning santorum and gingrich, romney would probably be at a disadvantage h