with us today "the huffington post" howard fineman, a.p.'s kimberly dosier and "the washington post's" david ignaceous. first up, the attacks on september 11, first attacks on america since pearl harbor, were unimaginable. before that terrible day. now it's hard to imagine how much different, more confident, safer feeling, more complacent our country would be today if it weren't for that still-awesome set of attacks on september 11. we might not have gone to war in afghanistan and iraq. >> on my orders, the united states military has begun strikes against the al qaeda terrorist training camps and military installations of the taliban regime in afghanistan. >> american and coalition forces are in the early stages of military operations to disarm iraq, to free its people and to defend the world from grave danger. chris: the toll of those two wars until now. more than 6,000 americans killed. another 220,000 civilians killed in both wars. more than 100,000 americans wounded, many left with life-changing injuries. a huge share of our national deb

from this segment, political analyst howard fineman and the "huffington post," sam stein. thank you for joining me. coming up next, the republican strategist will join us. we'll look at more of the debate performances. coffee doesn't have vitamins... unless you want it to. new splenda® essentials™ no calorie sweetener with b vitamins, the first and only one to help support a healthy metabolism. three smart new ways to sweeten. same great taste. new splenda® essentials™. [ male announcer ] when a moment suddenly turns romantic, men with erectile dysfunction can be more confident in their ability to be ready with cialis for daily use. even if it doesn't happen every day, you can be ready anytime the moment's right, because you take a clinically proven low-dose tablet every day. [ man ] tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medications and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sexual activity. don't take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, as this may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. [ man ] do not drink alcohol in excess with cialis. side ef

from this segment, political analyst howard fineman and the "huffington post," sam stein. thank you for joining me. coming up next, the republican strategist will join us. we'll look at more of the debate performances. ♪ when your chain of supply ♪ goes from here to shanghai, that's logistics. ♪ ♪ chips from here, boards from there ♪ ♪ track it all through the air, that's logistics. ♪ ♪ clearing customs like that ♪ hurry up no time flat that's logistics. ♪ ♪ all new technology ups brings to me, ♪ ♪ that's logistics. ♪ >>> we're back with a special edition of the last word. the republican debate in florida has just ended. let's listen to the front-runners, rick perry and mitt romney exchange thoughts on social security. >> those people that are on social security today, those people that are approaching social security, they don't have anything in the world to worry about. we have made a solemn oath to the people of this country that that social security program in place today will be there for them. now, it's not the first time that mitt has been wrong some issues before.

, the intense editorial director for the aol "huffington post" media group and msnbc analyst, howard fineman howard, we are watching rick perry trying to dig his way out of the social security hole he dug for himself. i said after the nbc debate last week you cannot possibly win the presidency campaigning on the demonization of social security. how is he doing? he didn't want to bring up ponzi scheme. he wasn't going to use those words. romney stuffed it on to him. at a certain point, the best he could with ponzi scheme this time around was to say, hey, i wasn't the first one to call it a ponzi scheme. how's he doing? >> well, not that great. and you can't -- you're right. i don't think you can win the presidency that way. that doesn't mean you can't win the republican nomination that way. the problem that he's got, that rick perry has conceptually, if you call something unconstitutional and illegal, by definition you don't want to fix it. how do you fix something that's unconstitutional and illegal? he has a conceptual and rhetorical problem. the other candidates let romney handle that one.

joining me now are howard fineman, "the huffington post" editorial director and msnbc analyst and chris hayes, editor in large of "the nation." chris' new show launches next weekend, next saturday morning. thank you both for joining me tonight. howard, in the excerpt of the president speaking today, the line that got applause was, "i'm an eternal optimist, i'm an optimistic person." it wasn't any of the policy points, and he certainly has proven himself politically to be the great eternal optimist, possibly of any recent memory of washington, but that is, it seems, what the focus group is referring to. that does seem to be what appeals to people, and that's -- isn't that why that applause was spontaneous in that moment? >> yeah, i think so, also given the surround last night, given the dismal economic numbers, given the problems in the united states and europe, given the unemployment rate, given the president's own low job approval numbers, coming into the lion's den so to speak, into congress in a joint session and deliver what i thought and wrote on "the huffington post" was arguably

. >> joining me now, editorial director for aol, "huffington post" and msnbc analyst howard fineman. howard, thanks for joining me tonight. >> hey, lawrence. >> howard, you at "the huffington post" have done this fascinaing poll of what you call the 160 republican power outsiders. you've gotten their attitudes about these potential nominees. tell us about that. >> well, in iowa, new hampshire and south carolina, the big three, first three primary caucus states, we are having our patch.com local editors and reporters go out and talk to dozens and dozens and dozens of local influential republicans in those states. elected officials. party leaders. businesspeople and so on. so we have close to 200 of them we talk to every week. and to try to get a real ground-level feel, nobody else is trying to do something this extensive because we have 26 of these local patch sites in these three states. and this week we asked them about rick perry and mitt romney. what we found was rick perry plummeting like a stone among the grassroots people, the sort of local influentials in those three states. th

from the reagan library, the site of tomorrow's republican presidential debate, msnbc analyst howard fineman, and from washington, author of "revival, the struggle for survival inside the obama white house," msnbc analyst richard wolffe, thank you both for joining me tonight. howard, with the debate tomorrow night, these presidential polling numbers coming out today will surely inform some of the lines of attack that the republican candidates will be using. what does the white house have to do now in dealing with these approval numbers that something real's happening here. >> i don't think there's any question about it, lawrence, and from having talked to democrats both in the obama camp and outside of it, i think it's clear that one thing the president has to do politically, aside from whatever he says in his jobs speech, is begin to make the case that the republicans are just not the alternative, that they are too scary an alternative, that they, in fact, represent what's wrong with life in washington, d.c. more than he does, and in the piece i published in the "the huffington post" today,

joining me now are howard fineman, "the huffington post" editorial director and msnbc analyst and chris hayes, editor in large of "the nation." chris' new show launches next weekend, next saturday morning. thank you both for joining me tonight. howard, in the excerpt of the president speaking today, the line that got applause was, "i'm an eternal optimist, i'm an optimistic person." it wasn't any of the policy points, and he certainly has proven himself politically to be the great eternal optimist, possibly of any recent memory of washington, but that is, it seems, what the focus group is referring to. that does seem to be what appeals to people, and that's -- isn't that why that applause was spontaneous in that moment? >> yeah, i think so, also given the surround last night, given the dismal economic numbers, given the problems in the united states and europe, given the unemployment rate, given the president's own low job approval numbers, coming into the lion's den so to speak, into congress in a joint session and deliver what i thought and wrote on "the huffington post" was arguably

joining me now, msnbc political analyst howard fineman, senior political editor of "the huffington post." thanks for joining me tonight, howard. >> hey, lawrence. >> howard, this is big news out of my home state of massachusetts. an incumbent is not supposed to poll like that. it's within a statistical tie. and because we're matching the same survey of three months ago, you're seeing movement in that same polling methodology, very, very much in elizabeth warren's favor. this is a very fast start for her. >> i don't think there's any doubt about it. in talking to republicans today, they didn't really dispute the poll. they said, you know, she's had a lot of attention, a lot of publicity. and i think democrats are very, very pleased with the launch, with the fact that she did a listening tour first. that she made her announcement in a good way. that she worked very hard going to tea stops early in the morning and working her way through the day with media appearances and so on. she's more of a natural at it than i think people thought she might have been. >> you know, when we saw ted kenn

thank god we've got the right people here, especially howard fineman, his title has got longer and more impressive, and chris slcillizza. howard, up front, who does the president and his smartest brainiacs would think would be easier to take on come next novemb november? mitt romney or rick perry? >> the white house itself is in radio silence. i talked to the pollsters and advisers outside who are advising the white house and i got them to admit. >> they hate to tell you, don't they? >> they do. the bottom line, they think perry is the more beatable one. >> because? >> because in focus groups that they did off the president's speech, they think that the hot rhetoric of perry and the sort of let's change all the ideology rhetoric of perry is not where the voters are at, the mainstream voters are at. >> saying bernie madoff was behind the new deal? >> yeah. they want practical policies to work, and romney, however bore i ing he may be is closer in terms of being a guy who could get practical results as opposed to starting an ideological fight. at least, that's what i take from the interpr

. >> joining me now, editorial director for aol, huffington post, msnbc political analyst howard fineman. thanks for joining me tonight, howard. >> hi, lawrence. >> howard, i'm confused by dick durbin's statement. he's saying we're not going to get 100% of the democrats in the united states senate but if we democrats have to pass it we will. they need 60 votes to pass it in the senate. they're nowhere close if they don't have all the democrats. >> yep. that was less than a ringing endorsement from one of the president's closest allies. and you know you're in a bad situation on the democratic side where you have mitch mcconnell giving you lobbying advice on how best you ought to operate things. i think having spoken to some people on the hill who know about that meeting that while david plouffe and gene sperling, the two people who came up and briefed, you know, made the best case they could, you know, it was not -- it was not a happy -- it was not a happy meeting for the reasons that you said. there are conservative democrats in the senate who don't want to support it because of -- they

let's bring in editorial director for aol, huffington post, msnbc, howard fineman. >> i'm glad we haveside. we used to call him bullet during the campaign. >> we've got someone who can guide me through republican politics. i need a guide. howard, on social security, for the obama campaign, is it helpful to them to watch mitt romney basically complaining in effect, tonally anyway, as a defender of social security against rick perry? will that help mitt romney going into a general election against president obama, make it more difficult for the democratic campaign to say that this republican candidate is a threat to social security? >> well, i think mitt romney has to hope that. i'm not sure that the obama campaign would agree with that. in fact, i know they won't. i think for right now president obama can use all the help he can get in defending the idea of the usefulness of government. and to the extent that it's kind of two against one here, meaning president obama and mitt romney against rick perry, that helps barack obama. but if mitt romney were to get the nomination, you can be su

thank you, howard fineman. coming up, rick perry's leading the republican field, but does he appeal to the suburban and centrist voters republicans will need to beat president obama? big question, is this guy just too far over? some people are sure he is. you're watching "hardball," only on msnbc. [ kristy ] my mom is well...weird. she won't eat eggs without hot sauce. she has kind of funny looking toes. she's always touching my hair. and she does this dancing finger thing. [ male announcer ] with advanced technology from ge, now doctors can diagnose diseases like breast cancer on a cellular level. so that women, like kristy's mom, can get personalized treatment that's as unique as she is. [ kristy ] she's definitely not like other moms. yeah, my mom is pretty weird. ♪ executor of efficiency. you can spot an amateur from a mile away... while going shoeless and metal-free in seconds. and you...rent from national. because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle...and go. you can even take a full-size o

howard fineman's "the huffington post" media group editorial director and michael steele's the former chairman of the republican national committee. both are msnbc political analysts. gentleman, let's take a look in a surprising victory, herman cain walked away with the win at the florida straw vote this weekend. that was a poll down there, 3,500 people with delegates, he had 37% to perry's 15, romney's 14. small potatoes for the so-called frontrunners. this way this is being judged by everybody, michael steele, is that the republican activists, who show up at these things are not thrilled with either romney, who has never thrilled them, or perry who seems to be faltering as a performer. >> well, i think that's part of it. there is truth to that. the other part of it, and i talked to a number of people who were there, they really responded to the candidate, in this case, it was cain, who spent time with them, who actually stuck around and participated in the events that weekend. that went a long way, surprisingly enough. and that's how these straw poll events tend to be. florida's no

thank you, howard fineman. coming up, rick perry's leading the republican field, but does he appeal to the suburban and centrist voters republicans will need to beat president obama? big question, is this guy just too far over? some people are sure he is. you're watching "hardball," only on msnbc. [ mendes ] you know when something's bad -- but you do it anyway? pantene said, "breakage and split ends?" [ female announcer ] try pantene breakage to strength. the pro-v system helps prevent then repair split ends. zero fear of breakage, 100% more strength. pantene. it's real milk full of calcium and vitamin d. and tastes simply delicious. for those of us with lactose intolerance... lactaid® milk. the original 100% lactose-free milk. >>> welcome back to "hardball." >>> welcome back to "hardball." barack obama's had luck on his side when it's come to his opponents. when he ran for the u.s. senate, he ran against alan keyes. many republicans worry that obama might get lucky again next time if they nominate rick perry.

thank you howard fineman, thank you, joan walsh. coming up, president obama finds his populist voice. we've been talking about it, and his progressive base is very happy. my blogger friends who e-mail all the time love what he's doing, but not former clinton pollster mark pern. it's not surprising, but bobby shrum was going after him here hammering him and going after him hard. mark penn coming on in a minute to defend himself to say the president is wrong to go left, if you will, on this issue. you're watching "hardball," only on msnbc. [ male announcer ] you are a business pro. your core competency is...competency. and you...rent from national. because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle...and go. you can even take a full-size or above, and still pay the mid-size price. i'm getting an upgrade. [ male announcer ] as you wish, business pro. as you wish. go national. go like a pro. now through january earn a free day with every two rentals. find out more at nationalcar.com. >>> well, sarah palin told a home crowd, if y

howard fineman of everything, especially the huffington post, and us, and peggy noonan who is the real reason i read "the wall street journal" religiously and tribally every saturday morning. you write the best column of any newspaper. >> thank you. >> remember, brian williams, john harris will moderate the republican debate coming up here right down at the reagan library tonight 8:00 eastern. you have to watch on msnbc tonight. can't watch it anywhere else. watch it here. enjoy it. stick aroundo through it. then join us tomorrow night for the president's big jobs speech also on msnbc 7:00 p.m. eastern, well before the nfl opener. coming up by the way with his big job approval at a new low. so it's a big night for the president. what's happened to president obama is what we'll talk about coming back in a second. can he recapture the hope and change he talked about in his campaign? that's the big question tomorrow night. you're watching "hardball" from the ronald reagan presidential library where the republican candidates debate tonight only on msnbc. ♪ ♪♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] unlike so

thank you, howard fineman. thank you, susan page. >>> coming up, michele bachmann, now a little entertainment is coming up here. she's under attack for suggesting a vaccine can cause mental retardation. if you're feeling blue right now as a democrat or progressive, stay tuned for a few minutes. you're about to get some comic relief. this is the latest example of a republican fighting science. this is the party of the planet of the apes. they don't like human history or science. you're watching "hardball" only on msnbc. ♪ [ doug ] i got to figure this out. i want to focus on innovation. but my data is doubling. my servers are maxed out. i need to think about something else when i run. [ male announcer ] with efficient i.t. solutions from dell, doug can shift up to 50% of his company's technology spend from operating costs to innovation. so his company runs better, and so does doug. dell. the power to do more. so his company runs better, and so does doug. ooh, the price sure doesn't. i'm tired of shopping around.

howard fineman, kimberly, david. that's the show. thank you for watching.hi, everybody. welcome to "the wall street journal report." i'm maria bartiromo, today reporting from the new york stock exchange for the tenth anniversary of 9/11. president obama's jobs plan. ben bernanke's recipe for the economy. i'll talk to one othe smartest guys in the room about what might work and where we go next. >>> we'll remember 9/11 and look ahead. i'll talk to the two key players from that dark and difficult time. my conversation with rudy giuliani andormer new york stock exchangeeo dick grasso. >>> what we learned and how wall street and america have changed since that fateful day. "the wall street journal report" begins right now. >> this is america's number one financial news program, "the wall street journal report." now maria bartiromo. >> here is a look at what is making news as we head into a new week on wall street. president obama unveiled his long-awaited plan to create jobs in an address to the country this week. the $447 billion package of tax cuts and new sp

howard fineman is a political analyst. huffington post media editorial direccor. joan walsh is editor at large for salon.com. you are both treasured editors as you both must know. today president obama told the general assembly that united states, our country, would not support the palestinian bid to create a state through the u.n. opposing something many of the kun trits allies in the arab world strongly support. let's watch our president. >> peace will not come through statement and resolutions at the united nationes. if it were that easy, it would have been done by now. >> he also used his 47-minute address to defend a body and we know this, hostile to israel. let's listen. >> america's commitment to israel's security is unshakeable. our friendship with israel is deep and enduring. israel, a small country of less than 8 million people, look out at any world where leaders of much larger nations threaten to wipe it off the map. the jewish people carry the burden of centuries of exile and persecution and fresh memories of knowing that 6 million people were killed

we start tonight with howard fineman, msnbc political analyst and joan walsh of salon.com, editor at large. i want to start with the big crying story that hasn't quite been told. if they are so horny for christie, if they are going crazy about this often overlooked character from jersey, now they are in love with a guy they don't actually know, but they know he's car safetyic, doesn't that tell you they are crying in their sleep, that these people, you know, can't get no satisfaction. they hate the list they have been given. they keep looking for somebody to relieve them of the boredom of running with romney, the frightening possibilities of rick perry and whoever else they get stuck w.they don't like their list. >> well, i think you have that right, chris, and all the polls show it. mitt romney is not beloved, even by people who are supporting him for now. rick perry had a huge run-up, but is running down just about as fast as he ran up. the republicans think they have a great opportunity, and talking to people around chris christie, you know, they have told others if he were intere

thank you, howard fineman, my good friend. he went to colgate, it's a hell of a school. thank you, chris cillizza for joining us. i read you all the time. you're right, bachmann had the worst week. coming up, have the neocons learned their lesson? we'll see. as sure as the turning of 9 earth, here comes dick cheney, the one member of the bush administration who ain't giving up. he was for attacking syria in 2007. but he was all alone. and even john mccain now says america isn't going to war in the middle east again. has the republican party moved on? are we hearing a lot about, you know, foreign adventurism has got to end. what a change in the clock. you're watching "hardball" only on msnbc. [ female announcer ] secret scent expressions combines great odor protection with a lavender scent. amazing microcapsules absorb and neutralize odor releasing scent anytime you need it. all day long. secret scent expressions deodorant/antiperspirant. also in body splashes. where'd ya go? there you are. there you go. [ female announcer ] you always went for the tall, dark, handsome ty

howard fineman, also an msnbc lit cal analyst. mike hall prin, coauthor of "the game change."bob shrum, sitting back there where nothing is going on, at 30 rock in new york. around the table, i'm staying out of it, rick perry, for the first time, this guy who made his name in silent pictures because we don't know what he talks like, is going to speak tonight. what should he sound like when it's all over tonight? describe that voice. >> one word, president. he's got to show that he is not just the good i go on paper be, not just a guy wh has run texas, which he has as governor for ten years but he can plausably and actually be president of the united states. it is a big debut we have had a situation quite like this before. some i go goes to the head of the polls without having spoken to the people, that's what he's got to do. >> peggy? >> benign, adult wab sophisticated, accomplished and people watching get the sense, oh, i could watch him for few years and it would not make me throw up in my mouth. very bottom line. >> channel select as voters. >> presidents are in your face a

thank you, howard fineman. thank you, susan page. >>> coming up, michele bachmann, now a little entertainment is coming up here. she's under attack for suggesting a vaccine can cause mental retardation. if you're feeling blue right now as a democrat or progressive, stay tuned for a few minutes. you're about to get some comic relief. this is the latest example of a republican fighting science. this is the party of the planet of the apes. they don't like human history or science. you're watching "hardball" only on msnbc. ♪ [ male announcer ] when a moment suddenly turns romantic, men with erectile dysfunction can be more confident in their ability to be ready with cialis for daily use. even if it doesn't happen every day, you can be ready anytime the moment's right, because you take a clinically proven low-dose tablet every day. [ man ] tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medications and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sexual activity. don't take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pa

thank you, howard fineman, my good friend. he went to colgate, it's a hell of a school. thank you, chris cillizza for joining us. i read you all the time. you're right, bachmann had the worst week. coming up, have the neocons learned their lesson? we'll see. as sure as the turning of 9 earth, here comes dick cheney, the one member of the bush administration who ain't giving up. he was for attacking syria in 2007. but he was all alone. and even john mccain now says america isn't going to war in the middle east again. has the republican party moved on? are we hearing a lot about, you know, foreign adventurism has got to end. what a change in the clock. you're watching "hardball" only on msnbc. confidence, with depend in color. now available in gray. looks and fits like underwear. same great protection. depend. good morning. great day. >>> well, mitt romney, talk about excitement, has picked up the endorsement of former rival tim pawlenty. two little puddles of water coming together. not exactly a splash. the former minnesota governor dropped out of the race last month afte

thank you, howard fineman. thank you, susan page. >>> coming up, michele bachmann, now a little entertainment is coming up here. she's under attack for suggesting a vaccine can cause mental retardation. if you're feeling blue right now as a democrat or progressive, stay tuned for a few minutes. you're about to get some comic relief. this is the latest example of a republican fighting science. this is the party of the planet of the apes. they don't like human history or science. you're watching "hardball" only on msnbc. [ oswald ] there's a lot of discussion going on about the development of natural gas, whether it can be done safely and responsibly. at exxonmobil we know the answer is yes. when we design any well, the groundwater's protected by multiple layers of steel and cement. most wells are over a mile and a half deep so there's a tremendous amount of protective rock between the fracking operation and the groundwater. natural gas is critical to our future. at exxonmobil we recognize the challenges and how

i find myself between mark knoller and howard fineman. the best company i have kept in my career.i hope i do justice to the panel. it is a pleasure to be with you. it has been a very good day. our hope to amplify some of the themes we heard from others today and maybe add a bit as well. what you see here is the cover of the original did you edition which goes back a quarter century dealing with a fiscal crisis in the states and the federal government was out of money. funny how famous repeat themselves. governing took the journalistic take on what was going on in state and local government. it covered innovation in government before innovation in government was cool. coverage was and remains sophisticated but stems from a simple premise which is person in a place with a problem and what the community was going to do. i would like to rethink that to say a person or place and possum because in this particular story the possum was both the problem and open up a truly engaged solution from the community. when all of this began dated from the arrival of the commodity internet in the 90

let me turn it over to howard fineman. [applause] >> for me this is the beginning of a period of atonement in my religion. the first thing ninety-two do is apologize to peter cherukuri for not answering his letter all those years ago. is this mike on? i am really sorry. i really missed a bet because if you play your cards right you will be running the company some day and then you can refuse to answer my letter to you. i was supposed to be speaking at lunchtime. i apologize to all of you that i wasn't here because when peter asked if i would do this i didn't look at my calendar and didn't realize it was the first day of the high holidays in the jewish calendar. it has only been on the calendar for 3,600 years. seventh day of the seventh month. while peter was frantically calling me asking where i was i was at that moment asking god for forgiveness. so i ask peter as well and i know i am speaking before you all for happy hour in georgetown so i will try to be brief and succinct. not 140 characters worth but brief and succin