. ♪ >> on the show tonight, obama opens his playbook, huckabee gets stacked, and mitt romney runs like girl. but first, chris christie fumbles. chris christie of the garden states comes in not first, not second, not third, not even fourth or fifth, he comes in sixth place in likely republican caucusers. for christie, it is bad, and it gets badder, as he has an unfavorable rating of 54%. and it gets badder-er-er, he said this in london on monday. this is about getting your kids vaccinated. >> it is more important what you think as a parent than what you think as a public official. it depends on what the vaccine is what the disease type is, and all the rest, i did not say to give people the option, i am just considering parental concern. >> he walked back a little bit but how did he get on this side in the vaccine discussion? >> the guy is now acting like a politician, that is an answer where he is trying to split the difference between what science says, ignoring what the medical profession says, and what a group of know-nothing anti-science people believe, and he is trying to have it b

. >> mike huckabee performs twice as well as chris christie does in our iowa poll.ut wait, he has something provocative to say. not how he squares his religious belief, that how he looks at his gay friends. >> i don't shut people out of my circle or out of my life because of my view i don't break alcohol, but gosh maybe some of my friends do. i don't use profanity, but believe me, a lot of my friends are due. some of my friends like classical music and ballet and opera, but believe me it is not my cup of tea. >> talk about a social gaffe for my cut of the -- gaffe for mike huckabee, calling homosexuality a livestock, it is that he would win or a lose lose -- a lifestyle, isn't that a thin or a lose lose? >> q i think he thinks that he could win in blue states or purple states, but i think a lot of people will of react to this like a dog whistle, he is going to offend a lot of people with this. >> it is not a win lose, it is a draw lose. >> that is not an option. >> we have a crowded field with angelic -- fat all -- evangelicals, and he still has this gaffe. >> he ne

i think huckabee already said on the record that he's never used. >> never denied peyote.ituation like that, do you go to huckabee and say you really have to tell us all the facts? >> a lot of these questions like pot and other types of drugs, you probably already had some kind of conversation with the candidate. if you have not for whatever reason, you go to the candidate and say we have one chance to answer this the right way. >> ever worked for a candidate that took peyote? >> not for my knowledge. >> drop in the candidate first year you it is mrs. clinton. we are at a fundraiser. finally, it is caught on tape. there is a secret recording from a fundraiser where you hear a voice that sounds like hillary clinton saying expeltiveletive the people of new hampshire. a suggest it was doctored. c onto south carolina. or d. >> we know it has worked in the past. it is a play on the romney meets obama in 2008 situation. you knowledge that you should something you should not have said and move on. >> this is jeb bush professor bush. the iowa state fair and the weapon is family br

i don't think wins will matter with the exception of huckabee and santorum ? in iowa. ? >> i think i can imagine a scenario where those guys get that delegate accumulation strategy. a guy like huckabee needs to win iowa so he can get money. >> unless you have a super pac were people are writing you $50 million check. there are a lot of primaries. there is the new hampshire primary. the rush limbaugh primary. then, there is this -- >> governor palin, welcome. >> how much do you think lorne michaels would pay me if i ran for president in 2016. >> i don't think there is a number too big. >> what if i chose donald trump as my running mate? >> you are teasing us. that is not nice. >> jerry seinfeld is right. that is not nice. john, of all the republicans who are going to run in 2016 who has a chance to win the popular primary? >> one of the things we noted in the past is that past presidents, barack obama, george bush, they could all do monday night football, saturday night live. there is not a single republican -- a guy like rick perry showed he could do letterman. the bar i

what does huckabee, he is not after a muslim vote. he doesn't want muslim support and he doesn't want to give them respect. >> when you talk to activists in iowa about why they like huckabee, a lot of it is he talks about their issues but he seems like a nice guy. >> isn't that term for that smarmy? >> what he is doing now is not being the nice guy. >> another republican i do respect, in 2008, in his race against president obama, john mccain showed some class when a audience member wrongly criticized the president. >> i can't trust obama. i have read about him and he is -- he is an arab. he is not -- >> no in. >> no, ma'am. he is a decent, family-man. a citizen, that i just happen to have disagreements with on fundamental issues and that's what this campaign is all about. he is not. thank you. >> that is a godly moment. an american moment. >> i think it was great. i think it was great. in the interest -- >> and he was fighting from behind at that point. >> he was behind and he was conducting an act of statesmanship there knowing where

governor huckabee leading in that poll.carolina and new hampshire he's among the top in the field there. so as the governor has always said back in 2008 this is the marathon not a sprint. so this is a great place to start off. the key is to keep the momentum going this time next year. >> so is it safe to assume that he's going to participate in the iowa straw poll? some republicans were thinking not because they don't think it shows much and why waste your resources there. >> well, as we said he hasn't made a decision what he's going to do in terms of running for president and the strategy moving forward once that decision is made will be revealed at that point. but he can certainly safely say he will be spending a lot of time in iowa. he connects with them. they appreciate his views and values and know that he understands what it takes to put food on the table and gas in the tank. so he will be spending a lot of time in iowa and other states. >> let's talk a little bit more about iowa and the straw poll. this is from the d

it is also a weak spot for mike huckabee among republican primary voters. so how much of this stepping into foreign policy was about exposing or going toward the weaknesses of the other candidates. >> bush is trying to signal to donors and to activists that though he doesn't have too much international experience he comes to this race as an unapologetic hawk. so it comes from the bush lineage on foreign policy. he's sending a message that though there is some pockets of the gop that are war weary, he's not going to be cowed by them and will stand by his traditional position. >> we have the latest poll out, a national poll of the republican candidates with mike huckabee at the top at 16%. jeb bush at 14%, rand paul 10%.

knowles and some thought mike huckabee went to too far.ike huckabee, as he gets ready to launch a presidential campaign, is taking his cultural warrior thing a bit too far. >> if he played beyoncÉ lyrics for the iowa caucuses, they might think he has a point, but where he has gone too far is seeming to criticize the obama' s' parenting. the mike huckabee spokesperson said that they are exemplary parents, which he has done but on the other hand, he has also been very critical to them listening to the lyrics, so i think he has to stay away from criticizing the obama's or the clintons or anyone for their parenting. >> that does point to something that is mike huckabee, like some of these other guys, it shows their calibration is a little bit off. he went a little too far. he will have to dial it back. >> all right, coming up. to vaccinate or not to vaccinate. the answer row, from dr. ben carson who tells us what he thinks, after this. ♪ >> our guest is an author and a potential candidate, and he has a new book out. dr. ben carson author carso

what exactly did governor huckabee tell you?lly read him that very quote from his book and my question out of that was about the fact that also in the book he said that people would probably be surprised to know that he has friends that are gay that have been in his home and to square that in his book that says very clearly, his religious beliefs are such that he does not condone not just gay marriage but homosexuality in marriage. this is his answer. >> this is not just a political issue. it is a biblical issue. and as a biblical issue, unless i get a new version of the scriptures it's really not my place to say, okay i'm just going to evolve. it's like asking somebody who is jewish to start serving bacon-wrapped shrimp in their deli. i don't shut people out of my circle or out of my life because they have a different point of view. i don't drink alcohol but, gosh a lot of my friends, maybe most of them do. you know i don't use profanity but, believe me i've got a lot of friends who do. i'd like to think that there's room in am

mike huckabee is at 13% in third place.d huckabee who is also a former fox news host stirred up emotions with a statement when he was asked about same-sex marriage. he was on cnn with our own dana baisch on "state of the union" he referred to it as a lifestyle and also made they comparisons. >> people can be my friends who have lifestyles that are not necessarily my lifestyles. i don't shut people out of my circle our out of my life because they have a different point of view. i don't drink alcohol, but gosh a lot of my friends, maybe most of them do. i don't use profanity, but believe me i've got a lot of friends who do. some people really like classical music and ballet and opera, it's not my cup of tea. i'd like to think there's room in american for people who have different points of view without screaming, shouting and wanting to shut their businesses down. >> let's bring in our political strategist anna navarrein anavarreonavarro, and gloria borger. he won the way caucuses back in 2008 obviously has a strong following

>> reporter: we have mike huckabee on the show today.year today from the tai that voters go to their caucuses in iowa. we'll see what mike huckabee has to say about how he's going to do it again. he's making no secret in how he's very interested in making his run at it. john mccain and, you know, he's actually already endorsed. it's not anybody who's even made that list in iowa, it's his best friend, lindsey graham, who put his toe in the water because he thinks graham is the best on national security and also could kind of give them that mavericky kind of infusion that mccain himself did in 2000 when it comes to the debates and telling it like it is. >> it's time to start using the word mavericky again. >> reporter: never use that enough, victor. >> thank you so much, dana. >>> keep it here for "state of the union" with dana bash starts at the top of the hour. 9:00 a.m. eastern right here on cnn. quick break. we'll be right back. listening to intriguing sounds when i drift off into my dreams. others might? ♪ they take us to worlds full

>> for huckabee, mike huckabee rick santorum, ben carson, it's a must-win. if they can't win in iowa, they're not going to win anywhere. clearly mike huckabee has the best shot right now. strong numbers, strong favorability. he won seven years ago. but the whole ballgame for him is iowa. >> shaping up where people are going to not -- other states aren't challenging iowa and new hampshire and they're going to be important, but let me question this notion of the must-win. what if you had a strategy of doing well, but then thinking down the road a little bit, with the superpac or otherwise and saying, i'm going to pick up delegates in iowa and new hampshire and go to the national press and say, i'm in a delegate game. is it possible not to skip iowa and new hampshire, but to be someone and say, i'm going to pick up delegates in the southern primary and after that i'm going to be in the game? >> let me tell you why i think that doesn't work. especially for someone like huckabee. because when you don't compete, someone else does and someone else wins. and that pe

that is a pretty strong statement by mike huckabee. he vowed to leave the republican party if. establishment leaders do not hold fast on their opposition to gay marriage. he was asked how he could. >> you do right about it being opposed to gay marriage, and the biblical backings of being heterosexual. how do you square that religious conviction with being open to having gay friends. >> people can be my friends that are lifestyles that are not my lifestyle. i don't drink alcohol, but most of my friends do. you know i don't use profanity, but believe me i have a lot of friends who do unless i can get a new version of the scriptures, it's not my place to say okay, i'm just going to evolve. it is like asking someone who is jewish to serve bacon wrapped shrimp in their stores. jonathan and sabrina and david, david what can you say on this -- >> i order shrimp in delis. again, being gay is a lifestyle, a choice -- >> so is it a person that believes in nature not nurture. >> he says he is not evolving and he is a little bit. >> sarcasm in the morning here. >> we compared homosexuality

>> huckabee's certainly a threat for the right side of things. i was just on the campaign trail with governor huckabee in iowa. he's still a retail political talent. this is someone who came out of nowhere in 2007 and 2008. if you are ted cruz or rand paul, you're paying attention to what huckabee's saying. and is jeb bush listening? he knows that huckabee did okay, but is it worth the time and resources to make a play for that state. >> going back to jeb bush, as we will, since he seems to be the center of gravity in that side of the party. the good news for him is at this point, you know, chris christie is looking more and more unlikely. i'd bet him against him for a long time. i've expected christie to be basically the rudy giuliani of this campaign. is his attention now going to be aimed at how do i stop the scott walker surge? >> i think potentially he still does have to pay attention to chris christie. one of the things that robert and i both realize as philadelphia fans is that chris christie likes a good fight. he likes to make it persona

. >> huckabee. raf laugh. >> he's on a book tour. (cheers and applause) >> jon: so what has ted nugent a favorite bass player and author of god gravy goba ghoul and lady ga gab, what has he been saying. >> in a business meeting that you might have in the south or in the midwest there in iowa you would not have people who would just throw the f bomb and use gratuitous profanity in a professional setting. in new york not only do the men do it, but the women do it. as we would say in the south that's just trashy. >> jon: what the? what the? you know what kind of [bleep] [bleep] is this? women in the south-- (cheers and applause) >> jon: a southern lady is a profession of class never even learn such [bleep] foulness. no. the worst thing a southern businesswoman might say is fudge. and then she would probably offer you a plate of fudge. (laughter) oh wait, unless wait i'm sorry. is the "n" word a curse or is that more just a tradition. is that-- but i'm loving huckabee's i'm just a shocked southern version of buddy the elf in new york. al

huckabee walker bush and rand paul.ounced in december and jumped the gun nobody was in it. he was able to consume support in the decemberle poll. uh now that mike huckabee left his fox show indicated interest in doing this walker had the boom after the iowa speech. we see folks engaging and you see the field spread out. >> you look at the numbers, john. your analysis? >> number one, david is right. there is no clear front runner. you have jeb bush as the establishment front runner. keep that lower case. he's raising money. when huckabee left the fox show he put out a book, cannotgot a lot of attention in the blogosphere and conservative groups. some of the outlets attacked him for legal status for citizenship and i immigration and common core immigration. under attack a little bit. mike huckabee at a time conservatives have been losing on issues like same-sex marriage promised to stand with him on the issues. this is a result of media coverage. >> we can study and study them. that's what uh you do. but look at the gover

could mike huckabee's beyonce obsession be backfiring?mer fox news host was very vocal in his criticism of beyonce, calling her music mental poison. now in a new poll of likely iowa republican caucus-goers it shows 61% think he went too far, when he questioned the president and the first lady to letting their daughters listen to beyonce. carolyn, is the culture war more complicated than he thought? >> i think that mike huckabee is more simplistic than we all thought. absolutely. i think it says a lot when as a republican and you're appealing to an iowa base that they are siding with beyonce over you. talk about -- >> iowa voters and republicans voters are certainly an example, yet they are siding with beyonce on this. >> yes, music transcends any political party. when huckabee went after beyonce, a pop icon he messed up. this is the same guy who sang a ted nugent song so he is not the type of person that people want to follow. he has almost sunk himself, i believe. >> what is the instruction here for other politicians? there a lesson? is

huckabee got the most of it.rperforming what i thought. i thought he'd do better in this poll. he won eight years ago. but the big question now is, can anyone keep even close pace on fund-raising? with jeb bush. and can anyone establish themselves as romney? he tied in the caucuses last night. can walker be that person there. >>> still ahead on "morning joe," much more on the super bowl ads that everyone is still talking about this morning. we'll get to more of that. i didn't understand some of them. >> some were wonderful. >> what was the guy mixing? >> you didn't get the happy -- >> what was that? >> people loving your dad. i think mika has daddy issues. >> no. everybody make men look soft make sure you remember their fathers. there was a weird overall messaging there that they needed badly. >> maybe you should call your daughter. >> you know how he shows love hello, mika good job. >> bill has the forecast. >> this forecast joe, in new york city has been tricky all weekend long. now we're watching freezing rain

joining me now is former governor mike huckabee. governor thanks for being here. >> delighted to be here michael. thank you. >> you're off to israel. >> yes. >> will you see prime minister bibi netanyahu? >> that's the intention. i normally do when i go. i was there three times last year and saw him all three times. i've known him a long time. we're friends and i've known him both in and out of government. he's a remarkable person. i think of him as sort of a churchill among chamberlains to be honest with you. he's a great leader and very thoughtful insightful leader. >> to the extent he'll say governor i know there's this debate playing out in the united states advise me should i keep my date with congress you would say what? >> i would say go ahead and do it because congress has every right to invite whoever they wish and they've invited him to come and speak. i think his message is an important message. he will give an update on where things stand with iran. i don't think there's anybody who is closer to that than he is. i unders

governor huckabee, thank you for coming on. we'll get to iowa in a second. i want to play a tv moment that everybody is talking about. fox's megan kelly had you on her show to explain that when you sparked controversy talking about trashy new york women you didn't mean your former colleagues at fox. then she said this. >> we are not only swearing, we're drinking, we're smoking, we're having pre-marital sex, with birth control, before we go to work. and, sometimes on a bus with a bunch of men. >> i love that. >> i just don't want to hear that. i don't want to hear that. >> sorry. that's just reality, gov. >> governor i want to tell you that here at cnn, the women are not smoking, drinking having premarital sex, in fact no sex before work no cursing. so welcome back to cnn. >> thank you, dana. by the way, you know, i think what i should have told megan was, my gosh, megan, i've only been gone three weeks and the place has just gone to the dogs. >> they need you there. >> it was a funny moment. yeah, no, it was funny. you know, i was in on the joke as was megan

the author of this column doesn't like mike huckabee, rand paul and new new jersey chris christie. that is what he wrote the secrets, the meals the concerts, the parties with celebrityies, he is a man striving to live out the fantasy of a teenage boy. 53% of new jerseyians have an unfavorable view of christy. >> compared to what he said about huckabee and paul, that was flattering. >> it's on point it's showing stylistic problems with the candidates. it's not going to the heart of their candidacy it's talking about christy his style, he is trying to to be a man of the people, but yet poneying up to king abdullah and bruce springsteen and jerry jones let's not talk about that and mike huckabee was making major gaffe talking about homosexuality and placing it, framing it as a vice which he believes you're not going to win an election on the national level. >> it's a long way off. they haven't had debates yet. christie has had a bad month or so, people are not talking about him the way they were. the european trip was a disaster for him. he got involved in the vaccine issue. he needs

mike huckabee goes through the same thing.er candidates who are identified as social conservatives, the press tries to reinforce this mantra even if you don't talk about it. >> a lightning round here. immigration. what's your stance? >> we need to secure the borders first. what the house is doing is absolutely right on this front. what the president did was unconstitutional. what has to be walked back. if the president has the authority to unilaterally change a law of congress then we have a dictator, not a president. >> the biggest threat you think today? >> there has been a a meltdown in the middle east that many of us for years have been suggesting what happened if we do not confront the fundamental issue, which is the cancer within islam. if islam does not clean up its own house, then it's going to be the world that's going to suffer. and islam will suffer. i'm not calling on a holy war. i'm asking that we are accurate with the people of the country and the world as to the nature of this the threat and the reason the threa

both governor huckabee and i outsold the top three books by a huge margin.covers about 80% of books each week so it would be impossible for the "new york times" top three books to have outsold huckabee and me. the times will not say how they figure out which books are best sellers. kind of like mcdonald's big mac. they have a secret sauce or something. but the times clearly favors books from liberal authors so they should not call their list a best-seller situation because it is not. "the factor" tip of the day. and that is it for us tonight. please check out the fox news factor website which is different from billoreilly.com. also spout off about "the factor" from anywhere in the world. o'reilly@foxnews.com. name and town, name and town, name and town if you wish to opine. word of the day do not be malevolent when writing to "the factor." tomorrow, big show. we've got susan rice's speech on the strategy to defeat islamic terrorism. wonder if she says the words islamic terrorism. taking your bets now. again, thanks for watching us tonight. ms. megyn is next.

. >> mike huckabee appears to have an obsession with pork products.ring marriage equality to bacon. i will explain coming up next. >> u.s. stocks closing sharply higher on encouraging news from the euro zone and stronger oil prices. dow fell more than 120 points. the market ending in the green. the dow up 196 points. the s&p gained 25 and the nasdaq climbing 41. that's it from cnbc. flo: hey, big guy. i heard you lost a close one today. look, jamie, maybe we weren't the lowest rate this time. but when you show people their progressive direct rate and our competitors' rates you can't win them all. the important part is, you helped them save. thanks, flo. okay, let's go get you an ice cream cone, champ. with sprinkles? sprinkles are for winners. i understand. ring ring! progresso! i can't believe i'm eating bacon and rich creamy cheese before my sister's wedding well it's only 100 calories, so you'll be ready for that dress uh-huh... you don't love the dress? i love my sister... 40 flavors. 100 calories or less. >>> i don't shut people out of my circle

governor huckabee governor bush governor walker and senator rand paul. think what you are seeing with huckabee brooke is since that time he announced on fox he was leaving his show. he launched a book tour. very popular in conservative media outlets. he dominated headlines with the right audiencement we see the numbers jump up. i think we'll see lots of folks in the top slot as the year goes forward. >> let's talk about potential other folks. other than the three governors and the senator, what names are you watching for? >> oh my goodness. the list is so long. i think you could field a football team with the with the list of names mentioned. obviously i'm watch withing for marco rubio, my state senator number one with. i want to know if he'll run for re-election or not. also because 's from florida. he has an overlapping circle of donors and supporters with jeb bush. also ted cruz senator lindsey graham carly fiorina, ben carson. folks that you may have never heard of and folks you have heard about a lot. >> david, i want to talk about the dems because

mike huckabee might be in a group. >> president obama drop by and gave a pep talk. >> i'm telling you democrats, we should never worry about fighting for these issues. they are not only right, the american people stand beside us on most of those issues. looking backward is not the answer. we have to look forward. all of us as americans. democrats, we have to be the party that recognizes and response to what americans really faced in the 21st century economy. >> no hillary clinton at that meeting, but the chair woman of the party, debi wasserman, was there. she offered to switch her position on medical marijuana. the story is "outrageous." who cares? seriously. what role does the dnc play right now given that hillary clinton did not go to the meeting. >> the answer is a lot fewer people care then used to care. a large part of the reason is that guy we just talking. over the last six years there has not been a president we can think of that has cared less about the party apparatus and structure than barack obama. he has done almost nothing to strengthen the dnc. it has been -- left it a

in iowa, huckabee, bush walker. only guys in double digits. new hampshire bush walker hall and christie. south carolina, lindsey graham, bush, walker, huckabee and carson. in all, there were seven different republican candidates who got double digits from the reports we saw there. interestingly enough if you sort of give their standings and do a points system, here is the four leaders in total. jeb bush and scott walker got double digit support in all three states. huckabee and paul. you could argue that might end up being the final four. in the democratic side hillary clinton leads the pack and she leads big. 68 69 65%. she's going away the democratic field. let me bring you to the desk. kathleen parker, those four, one thing i grabbed from this, there is no one front-runner but i think we know what the top tier is. the top tier is bush and walker. >> absolutely. i was actually surprised to see jeb bush doing as well as he is. he's starting from scratch there. the thing that i think is interesting is huckabee's place in that top four because

god, guns, grady and grits, by mike huckabee.e will continue to look at the list with ann, on the democrats line. caller: hello? can you hear me. ? host: we can. caller: i was calling in to talk about this isis problem. it would not have been created if those people had -- if they are not going to iraq. they're getting tired of other people running their country. when we had the civil war here, people overseas did not come over here to invade us and interfere. one more thing. we have a war here that they are not recognizing. gang wars. people are dying here every day and our people are not saying anything about it. senators, both democrat and republican, are not saying anything. people getting killed here every day. host: another viewer saying does isis have a navy? if you're just listening, we're focusing on the president expecting to ask congress about the use of military force after the events of 2001. some in congress things a different battle with a different enemy. robert is joining us from billings, montana, republican lin

. >>> coming up mike huckabee's footloose past.e turned his old opposition to dancing into a new attack on the president. >>> and the so-called chief of stuff. reggie love was by the president's side for five years. tonight he tells all from the president's trash talk to a jay-z encounter at the white house. stay with us. why do i cook? because i make the best chicken noodle soup. because i make the best chicken noodle soup. because i make the best chicken noodle soup. for every way you make chicken noodle soup, make it delicious with swanson®. know that chasing performance can mean lower returns and fewer choices in retirement. know that proper allocation could help increase returns so you can enjoy that second home sooner. know the right financial planning can help you save for college and retirement. know where you stand with pnc total insight. a new investing and banking experience with personalized guidance and online tools. visit a branch, call or go online today. toenail fungus? don't hide it... tackle it with new fda-approv

mike huckabee jeb bush scott walker, they are really within the margin of airerror.paul quite a bit behind. huckabee has strength in iowa he may not have in the other states. >> i think that's right. it will be difficult for somebody like mike huckabee or ben carson both of whom are showing strength in iowa to do beyond the first state there. i think one of the things reflected in the polls is the importance of name recognition, right? we'll see that a lot in these early polls where the presumed front-runner will be the front-runner because the campaign really hasn't taken much shape yet and that's why you see jeb bush at the top in a place like new hampshire. he is a formidable front-runner of course but there's so much that needs to happen. >> and of course jeb bush has been sort of piling it up in the money primary but he's considered to have considerable strength because of the bush name there. scott walker also in new hampshire and rand paul new hampshire has independent libertarian streak and chris christie just from being a northeast republican. >> we know it'