as i wrote, "jack kennedy would be the one making other politicians do his bidding. this would be wooing some or play hardball with the ones he couldn't woo. bob, if you look at how kennedy dealt with ross barnett in mississippi. george wallace in alabama, he kicked their butts. he brought in the federal troops and taught them a lesson and integrated the schools, >> one of the very big differences is that jack kennedy never was a law professor. barack obama has been a law professor and it shows. he is a professional deliberator and he knows how to, on this side and on that side and he chooses and lives in the center lane. >> jack kennedy had been to war in p.t. 109. that? one defining experience? chris: you were in the navy. >> yes. kennedy's experience in your book shows vividly, and this is something he shares with obama. obama doesn't like war and kennedy didn't like war. much of their time governing was making sure that we either get out of wars or avoid the catastrophic war. so that's something that is shared. i think when i talked to obama, i found that he, look

jack kennedy played "hardball." he sent bobby in the back room to do it, to beat up these governors who were giving him a hard time. it's amazing how he did it with mike desal and david lawrence and people like pat brown. governor taas. they came out of that room endorsing him. he had a strong brother who was willing to do the tough work, the ruthless work. and jack kept his hands clean. but he got the job done. in that case, here was lawrence. jack kennedy had won the democratic primary in pennsylvania that spring, 70 plus percent. he had walked away in a write-in campaign. pennsylvania wanted him, the democrats -- and here's old david lawrence, the first catholic governor, nervous about a fellow catholic being a candidate, and he's holding back. acting like jack hadn't won the primary. jack walked up on the stage and told those delegates, if you don't give this nomination to me because i'm catholic, this is democratic party is finished and you guys are finished. lawrence goes off the stage practically finished and

my book "jack kennedy elusive

>> senator, i served with jack kennedy. i knew jack kennedy. jack kennedy was a friend of mine. senator, you're no crack kennedy. >>> a live picture at 5:46 in the morning of the united states capitol. let's get a check of your weather from bill karins. >> have you ever been in a dust storm? >> i can't say as i have, no. >> my dad lives out in phoenix and they're interesting. and when they look like this, this is a little more than interesting. this is dangerous. this is i-10 yesterday in arizona. these thunderstorms blew through and they didn't have a lot of rain, but they did have gusty winds. visibility goes down to almost nothing as you can see and that's the chaos that ensues. they've cleared it up now, but it's been pretty nasty out there. and all the bad weather is out west now through arizona, new mexico dealing with showers and thunderstorms this morning, but everyone in the east, will is your reward for all the misery we went through there in september with irene and all the wet weather and it was muggy and the mosquitos were as big and as many as they've ever been. now

he said, i brought jack kennedy back alive. i wanted to do, what i'm asking you to do, help me do it. you can order a copy of "jack kennedy, elusive hero."

. >> i served with jack kennedy. i met jack kennedy. jack kennedy was a friend of mine. senator, you're no jack kennedy. >> if you don't try to compare george bush to harry truman, i won't compare you to jack kennedy. >> george bush taking credit for the berlin wall coming down is like the rooster taking credit for the sunrise. >> a few days ago senator clinton tried to spend $1 million on the woodstock concert museum. now, my friends, i wasn't there. i'm sure it was a cultural and pharmaceutical event. >> rudy giuliani, there are only things he makes in a sentence, a noun, a verb and 9/11. there's nothing else. >> we couldn't resist. there's something about going back in history and al gore looking so darn young. if you hear a particularly good one-liner let us been it. facebook, or twitter #outfront, cnn. they might expand the side of the bailout fund. this is a big story for the united states of america and we have details in the out front 5. we are over 30 minutes until tonight's big debate. i'm very excited. it's nice, hot, steamy here and time for good fights in la

jack kennedy was a friend of mine, and your note back -- jack kennedy.e dispute about whether that was a prepared line. what is yours? >> well, it's out of the way to me. unfortunately i was not able to talk to lloyd bentsen. by the time i got around to it. in public statements that he made to reporters after the debate when he was asked whether or not that was a boy purblind he said, no, no, no. it just came to me. however, some of the folks around bentsen letter said, well, we have heard him say this before. in other words, we have heard quayle say something about john f. kennedy before. about the experience. that was a point that quayle had more experience in congress and then government and john f. kennedy did when he was elected president. so they were ready for this. i think we just have to leave it to hear again to different use of what happened. >> talk a little bit about the negotiations that go into -- and i no you're not a part of them, but you clearly know about them. the candid it's just don't show up at the podium and get ready to debate. i

remember how they leveled jack quail with jack kennedy. you're no jack kennedy.nd we can't leave out the ronald reagan classic from 1980, ask yourself are you better off now than you were four years ago. it was great stuff. but where did it all go? eight gop presidential debates so far, and none of these guys can whip up a good political zincer. apparently not. and it may not matter if they could with so many debates and so many hour of air time. zincer, zappers, one liners, candidates have to defend their idea, imagine that. and rise or fall in the polls based on their ability to do so. just ask this guy. even better news, people are tuning in for this. last night's debate had five and a half million viewers and the networks have taken notice. in '08 they scheduled three republican debates. this time around there are 22 of them. now some say it's just because these debates are reminding voters of, i don't know, a competition on reality tv. sort of survivor for politicians. let's be real. who cares why it is. more americans are watching, listening, wanting new an

it's a big book and answers the question jack kennedy himself said was the reason why we read biographiesanswer the question, what was he like? an old friend of president kennedy just called me and left a phone message, and said, after reading the book, it brought jack kennedy back to life. i love it. you could order the book on amazon.com right now. >>> we're back. there is no doubt the occupy wall street protests have ignited support around the country. it turns out a majority of americans agree with their belief. what is it about the movement that's drawing growing numbers of americans and what exactly are the protesters looking for? well, matt cooper is managing editor of "national journal daily" and michelle goldberg reports for "newsweek" and "the daily beast." michelle and matt, look at these numbers. i saw them in "the new york times" yesterday. they blew me away. charles blow ran through some of the numbers and it's just amazing. look at this number here. 86% of the american people say the wall street people and lobbyists have too much influence in america's national capital in w

it's a big book and answers the question jack kennedy himself says we read biographies, to answer the what was he like? an old friend of president kennedy just called me and left a phone message, and said, after reading the book, it brought jack kennedy back to life. my mother froze everything. i was 18 years old before i had my first fresh bun. the invention that i came up with is the hot dog ez bun steamer. steam is the key to a great hot dog. i knew it was going to be a success. the invention was so simple that i knew i needed to protect it. my name is chris schutte and i got my patent, trademark and llc on legalzoom. [ shapiro ] we created legalzoom to help people start their business and launch their dreams. go to legalzoom today and make your business dream a reality. at legalzoom.com we put the law on your side. aflac... and major medical? major medical, boyyyy! [ beatboxing ] ♪ i help pay the doctor ♪ ain't that enough for you? ♪ there are things major medical doesn't do. aflac! pays cash so we don't have to fret. [ together ] ♪ something families should get ♪ ♪ like a safety

it's a big book and answers the question jack kennedy himself said was the reason why we read biographies what was he like? an old friend of president kennedy just called me and left a phone message, and said, after reading the book, it brought jack kennedy back to life. i love it. you could order the book on amazon.com right now. look, every day we're using more and more energy. the world needs more energy. where's it going to come from? ♪ that's why right here, in australia, chevron is building one of the biggest natural gas projects in the world. enough power for a city the size of singapore for 50 years. what's it going to do to the planet? natural gas is the cleanest conventional fuel there is. we've got to be smart about this. it's a smart way to go. ♪ hello, progresso. it fits! fantastic! [ woman 2] ring ring progresso. they fit! awesome thank you ring, ring [ man ] pro-gresso they fit! okay-y... okay??? you don't understand. i've been eating progresso because there's... 40 flavors 100 calories or less and now my favorite old jeans...fit. okay is there a woman i can talk to? [ male

he said, i brought jack kennedy back alive. that's what i wanted to do, what i'm asking you to do, help me do it. you can order a copy notice of "jack kennedy, elusive hero." i'm asking you to order one now and discover what i've discovered, how we once had a hero for a president, with much to teach our current one. that's "hardball" for now. thanks for being with us. "politics nation" with al sharpton starts right now. >> rick perry decides to win ugly. >> let's see your grades and your birth certificate. >> he reaches deep into the republican dark arts playbook to attack the president. >> it's fun. >> it's really not. who is having the real laugh this week? ♪ i am america >> you guessed it. >> love y'all. >> as the gop field goes up in smoke, president obama fights the republican phony class warfare line. >> republicans and congress who fought us tooth and nail to protect the status quo. >> tonight bob shrum and michael steele on who is really fighting for the middle class. congresswoman karen bass on the myth of obama's shri

chris, he'll be thinking about the great example of how to deal with this successfully which is jack kennedy in 1960 and, not to flatter our host too much, but the best account i've read of is in your new book about j.f.k. you ought to share with all, how did j.f.k. do it? how did he resolve this? chris: he basically said that the issue before the voter is not what kind of a church i like, it's what kind of a country i want to live in and he focused on entirely on tolerance and not on -- he did not go into defending transsubstanckiation or exorcism or all the exotica every religion has. i think romney's problem is that you have a whole group of southern people who have probably never voted for a mormon who do openly say so in polling they've got a problem with it. they don't treat it like racial prejudice. they're not christian and then they get into the discussion of theology which we should not get into. >> many well known evangelical leaders on a national level have said, i'm fine with this. they're really just the leaders and we also know from the last couple of elections, three or four

. >>> let me finish tonight with jack kennedy and how he could never figure out texas, even at the end. >>> we start with the latest flip-flop from mitt romney. susan page is the washington bureau chief for "usa today," and steve kornacki, welcome back, steve kornacki! he's with salon.com, seriously, i mean it. here's the latest flip-flop from romney. you think you've heard it all. he was asked yesterday what his position is on man-made global warming. let's listen to his typical mitt romney response, a flip-flop. >> i don't speak for the scientific community, of course, but i believe the world's getting warmer. i can't prove that, but i believe, based on what i read, that the world is getting warmer. and number two, i believe that humans contribute to that. i don't know how much our contribution is to that, because i know there's been periods of greater heat and warmth in the past, but i believe that we contribute to that. and so i think it's important for us to reduce our emissions of pollutants and greenhouse gases that may well be significant contributors to the climate change and

. >>> let me finish tonight with jack kennedy and how he could never figure out texas, even at the end. >>> we start with the latest flip-flop from mitt romney. susan page is the washington bureau chief for "usa today," and steve kornacki, welcome back, steve kornacki! i haven't seen you in a while. he's with salon.com, seriously, i mean it. here's the latest flip-flop from romney. he was asked this summer what his position was on manmade global warming. let's listen to his response. >> i don't speak for the scientific community, of course, but i believe the world's getting warmer. i can't prove that, but i believe, based on what i read, that the world is getting warmer. and number two, i believe that humans contribute to that. i don't know how much our contribution is to that, because i know there's been periods of greater heat and warmth in the past, but i believe that we contribute to that. and so i think it's important for us to reduce our emissions of pollutants and greenhouse gases that may well be significant contributors to the climate change and the global warming that you're

and now elizabeth warren -- >> well, at least scott brown showed pictures of jack kennedy -- i'm sorry of martha coakley, who had never been a candidate. alex wagner, your thoughts about this? you come from a long pedigree of political people here. your thought -- >> no one's taking their clothes off to go through college, though. >> exactly. >> let's go back to the sheer politics which we do better here than naked pictures. this question -- >> that's arguable. >> would you say this is the closest race, it looks like, on paper? is scott brown in as much trouble as being within the margin of error against an absolute newcomer? >> absolute, chris. and his favorability rating was sky-high just months ago. look, you combine with what's happening on wall street, the feeling of anger and frustration and that the middle class has unduly born the brunt of this economic recession, with the fighting that elizabeth warren has done, and her record in washington, fighting the banks and fighting to some extent the government, she is the candidate right now. >> so she could be the gutsy joan of arc u

king's code name was jack kennedy. birmingham became johannesburg . nonviolent action was called a baptismal service. >> the racist element in the police department would create a crisis or confrontation, and so we knew that we wouldn't be in birmingham long before that would happen. >> dr. king was arrested for marching without a permit. and for his defiance, solitary confinement. a diary he kept while in jail in georgia a year earlier reveals how his thoughts would turn to his family. >> god blessed me with a great and wonderful life. i have never adjusted to bringing my children up under these inexplicable conditions. >> by 1963, dr. king had been arrested several times. >> nobody with any sense likes to go to jail. but if he puts you in jail, you go in that jail and transform it from a dungeon of shame to a haven of freedom and unity. >> despite his own words, the same diary shows king found incarceration draining. >> jail is almost like being dead while one still lives. it is bare existence, cold, cruel, degenerating. >> in his solitary confineme

faith and is it going to dictate how he is as a public servant into the mix here as they did with jack kennedyand i think it's a valid one to raise with mit rom romney. in my view, you take the man who has lived his life and his public life. there is nothing that he has done on tour, in his public life, because he's a mormon. the fact that he's a good family man, five children, 16 grandchildren, if that comes out of the mormon faith, people are going to say, hey, that crowd is okay. >> and if he should be the nominee of the republican party, i hope folks will, for once and for all, put any questions to raise about barack obama's faith. he's a family man, two beautiful daughters, he's very committed to raising them right. >> and if barack obama says, i am a believing christian, you take him at his word. >> he has. >> don't you put this all on me, if i were mitt romney. i think it's the republicans that -- it's not my fault. don't blame me for it. >> you're right in the middle of it, alex. >> darn it. that's what this job does. >> thank you, you two. >>> meanwhile, at the top of the hour, we'll

jack kennedy, elusive hero. you can get it in stores november 1st or pre-order now on amazon.com. that's "hardball" for now. thanks for being with us. "the last word with lawrence o'donnell" start the right now. >>> herman cain is on the fence. >> we'll have a real fence. electrified on top. it can kill you. mea culpa, mea culpa. >> after he told david gregory and others it was a joke. >> he's changed his mind again. >> electrified with a sign on the other side that says it can kill you. that's a joke. >> it didn't sound like a joke. >> i don't apologize for using a combination of a fence and it might be electrified. >> are you serious? >> it sounded serious at first then it was a joke. >> he's taking both sides of the fence. >> 20 feet how with barbed wire. >> that's a joke. that's not a serious -- >> i think we're splitting hairs here. i apologize if it offended anyone. >> it's dehumanizing. >> with staunch anti-immigration sheriff joe arpaio. >> self-proclaimed toughest sheriff in the world. >> i have an electric fence. it doesn't kill people. >> this is no laughing matter, the

>> nixon used to be a specialist, he would go up when the cameras were on and go up to jack kennedy and his finger and say, you were really good in that ohio setting out there. you really did a good job, and kennedy would say, what are you doing here, getting a picture taken. thank you, alex wagner, ron reagan. >>> up next, how much longer can republicans talk about illegal immigration before they alienate all latino voters in this country, and they probably will decide a close election. that's ahead. this is "hardball," only on msnbc. >>> well, that standoff between the new hampshire and the nevada people may be coming to an end. after two days of negotiations with the republican national committee in las vegas, nevada's republicans are holding a vote this saturday that will likely move the state's caucus date to february 4th. nevada had ruffled new hampshire's feathers by setting its caucus date for january 14th. new hampshire was threatening to move its first in the nation primary into december of this year. we'll be right back. [ female announcer ] secret scent expressions combines

jack kennedy, elusive hero. you can get it in stores november 1st or pre-order now on amazon.com. that's "hardball" for now. thanks for being wit with al sharpton starts right now. >>> hey, republicans. you thought one was hard to hand. how about the double team. >> i'm not the democratic president or the republican president. i'm the president. >> people say we're campaigning. we sure as heck are campaigning. we're campaigning to change this environment. >> they are talking about jobs. just keep attacking the bus, guys. >> the president is riding around on a bus. >> i've never seen an uglier bus. >> $1 million american made canadian bus. >> most americans wouldn't the jobs bill we're pushing for. senator rob menendez on republicans getting desperate. from occupy wall street to occupy everywhere. but the right still doesn't get it. >> it's not -- >> dividing our nation. >> michael moore on the power and possibility of thunder from the left. plus, the chairman, ed rendell and michael steele on the gop debate in vegas. here's a question. can what happens in vegas stay in vegas for g

jack kennedy, look at him when he took the role of white house you would not be impressed with his economiche greatest presidents this country's ever seen. i think we're playing way too much on whether the person has the specific skills necessary. herman cain is perfectly well qualified to be president of the united states, as are all of the other candidates, to be very honest. they fit very well into a presidential structure. >> arthur laffer, appreciate your insights. >>> next, tonight's truth about how the iraq war was sold to the american people. that's good morning, veggie style. hmmm [ male announcer ] for half the calories -- plus veggie nutrition. could've had a v8. plus veggie nutrition. so if i didn't know better i'd say you're having some sort of big tire sale. yes we are. yeah. how many tires does ford buy every year? over 3 million. you say you can beat any advertised price on tires? correct. anywhere? yes. like this price? yes. riously? yes what about this one? i'll beat it. this one? s we will. right, i only have one more question for you...this one? (laughing) yeah. get $100

. >> you know, i've been spending a lot of time on this jack kennedy story for the book i've done, and i just have to tell you that he tried to discriminate, distinguish between those who had legitimate concerns about his roman catholicism, about the fact this is largely a protestant country, and possible questions of loyalty to the united states and loyalty to rome. and he thought there were some people like that and had to disabuse of that. and that he would quit if it came to a conflict. is there any concern about the actual power of the mormon church that might be in conflict with the conservative philosophy of the republican party? i can't think -- they always seem -- and you know this better. there doesn't seem to be any agreement on the issues of life and same-sex. >> i go back to ronald reagan's chief political strategist and pollster was an outstanding mormon, and we spent a lot of time with reagan going around to mormon events. it's an extraordinary religion. i don't understand all the nuances of it, but that doesn't matter. they're good people and they basically take care of

jack kennedy wanted to cut taxes in order to stimulate the economy and reduce the jobless rate. business opposed him. in fact, there's a poll taken a year before that that showed 88% of business opposed kennedy. yes, today you hear a lot of republican candidates raving about kennedy's tax cut proposals, saying how he had it exactly right. but back when he was president, businesspeople were out there opposing his push for a tax cut. so president obama, you're in good company. history shows that despite all good business sense sometimes people let their politics get in the way of their own success. president obama's out there offering them a tax break. that if it were being offered by a republican president the big corporations would be leaping and gobbling this happy meal like the porpoises at sea-world. and that's "hardball" for now. thanks for being with us. "the last word with lawrence o'donnell" starts right now. >>> is herman cain for real? he's here.