joining me now, joe watkins, msnbc political reporter and analyst. already texting "a" on that and goldie taylor, managing editor of the goldie taylor project. great to have both of you with us tonight. joe, let me ask you first. where's the reaction? one congressional member who happens to be a tea partyer says he's a distraction, he ought to step aside. where's the party of family values on this? why can't they put an end to the political misery? >> this is not really a party issue. you have a candidate running for the presidency who happens to be republican. the matter is up to him to decide, make a decision whether or not his candidacy is so damaged he can't continue on. i mean, whether he is innocent or guilty of these charges is a matter for others to decide. he certainly said he's innocent and the women who are accusing him who have to be considered, of course, because if it's true, it's hurtful. if they're right, obviously that's a big problem for herman cain. when you a candidate for the presidency, this is not what you want to be talking ab

we have erin mcpike, joe watkins, former aide to president george h.w. bush. and goldie taylor, host of the "goldie taylor project." goldie, you heard your colleague here on the panel, joe watkins saying that he was talking in a very political sense earlier about what this may come down to and the money that's out there and what may be something that would inspire herman cain to continue, because he's got potentially some red on the books that he wants to bring back into the black so he wouldn't end the presidential candidacy owing money. but that said, it's been suggested it comes down to the discussion with his wife of 43 years. so do you think herman cain woke up today and knew exactly what he was going to do? >> i think he did. but anybody who believes that herman cain either relied on his wife or his donors to tell him whether or not he should be in the race doesn't know herman cain very well. he keeps his very own counsel. while he may have conversations with his wife and donors and his staff, herman cain is a man who makes his own decisions, and that is

. >> governor joe watkins and richard wolf, thank you for your time. i want to update on the breaking news. democratic senator ben nelson of nebraska will announce plans to retire later today. nelson will be holding a press conference in his home state this afternoon. the two-term democrat was a top republican target in 2012. a high ranking aide said bob kerry is now considering a run with nelson's seat open. right now, rain and snow making itself way across the eastern part of the country. this is the skene in indianapolis. the snow is already starring to fall. holiday travelers depending on where they are headed or coming from, they may butt heads with the stormy weather. we turn to carl parker. who needs to be worried most? >> there is a lot of rain in the northeast. a severe weather threat as well and no on the back side. it's all going to be gone by early tomorrow. let's take a look at the broad picture. most of the country is in good shape. we have a lot of clear skies in the plains and the southwest and in the south as the storm moves away. ther

let's talk it over with tara dowdel and nbc political analyst joe watkins. possible for him to move to super tuesday and he could recover some of this damage given what's happened. >> if he wins in iowa that gives him a lot of momentum because right now he's tied for second in new hampshire, but if he wins in iowa, that gives him a lot of juice for new hampshire and south carolina and florida to come. >> tara, how important is the the obama election team to present and to watch what is happening. to challenge a mitt romney vote, what is happening? >> i think it's a very important day for president obama to stay active as well. president obama, the most important thing right now is he has to be showing the american public that he is there fighting for them, do you mean, put your ears on the ground as you watch the votes go by? >> i think a public perspective and private perspective, he needs to see if they're falling and his campaign team neat -- wins thank. and that's the fund-raising sugar knot that moved him through the election with romney. >> romney has

back now with erin pike, joe watkins, joanne reed. news poll, and a commanding lead in new hampshire. so what are you thinking? do you think he wishes he might have answered that question differently? >> oh, no. i think mitt romney is having a good time right now out of the campaign trail. nobody expected him to do well in iowa. he was expected to do maybe third or even fourth. but right now he's leading in the polls and has a very good chance to win iowa. if he wins iowa and new hampshire, he's in great position. >> you don't think this will affect him? >> not at all. >> do you think his opponents take this response and run with it? you can see the attack ads spoofing his yes and no answer. >> if you are mitt romney and you are a reputation for being a flip-flopper, the only answer that you can never, ever give is yes and no. not smart, mitt. this plays right into the idea that he has no core. he can't even answer a kid's question, yes or no. >> erin, do you think romney lives to regret this exchange? >> no. i was actually at that eve

erin mcpike, joe watkins and goldie taylor. we're going to be right back. on back more as we await herman cain's announcement. congratulations. congratulations. congratulations. today, the city of charlotte can use verizon technology to inspire businesses to conserve energy and monitor costs. making communities greener... congratulations. ... and buildings as valuable to the bottom line... whoa ! ... as the people inside them. congratulations. because when you add verizon to your company, ♪ discover something new... verizon. so i used my citi thank you card to pick up some accessories. a new belt. some nylons. and what girl wouldn't need new shoes? we talked about getting a diamond. but with all the thank you points i've been earning... ♪ ...i flew us to the rock i really had in mind. ♪ [ male announcer ] the citi thank you card. earn points you can use for travel on any airline, with no blackout dates. nice, huh? yeah. you know what else is nice is all the savings you can get on cruze and traverse over there. oh! that's my beard. [ chuckles ] it's amazing.

jen sachi and joe watkins join us. great to see you both this morning.nd forth between newt gingrich and mitt romney has been brewing all week. do you think gingrich is right? is he looking more and more like he's the secured gop nominee? >> well, he is actually. he is getting stronger and stronger. if you look at the recent polling data, not only is he winning with big numbers in iowa. he's doing very, very well in new hampshire, which is a state that mitt romney should dominate and should win. he's also winning in south carolina and winning with big numbers in florida. so he's got a real growing base of support. and newt gingrich is no newcomer to this. he's got a few of the experience that few of the other candidates have as speaker of the house. >> he'd like to say he's not a creature of washington, d.c. but he certainly knows his way around d.c. and how to keep himself alive and kicking. he's been described as being combustible, the bigger his ego gets. this comment yesterday is sparking outrage on the left. take a look. >> really poor children in r

and you give me cash unless it's illegal. >> i'm joined by erin, reporter for clear politics and joe watkinsoe, tell me why newt gingrich singled out poor kids. you know, does that really seem fair and he did not think that would be something that people are sensitive to and say, why are you going after them? >> well, he singled out poor kids because he knows for america to be as great as it can be, it has to change what happens to poor kids and in this neighborhood, whether they are poor white kids or poor neighborhoods. as somebody who has worked with poor people for a long time, it's right on target. too often there's not an example of somebody going to work and somebody with a work ethic. newt gingrich as president will change that. i like the fact that he's tackling the tough issues and talking about how to change it. >> you know what, goldie inappropriate ter jekted there with a wow. i know her voice. taking control of an ownership of their own schools, where do you think he's going with all of this? >> you know, i appreciate that reverend watkins has worked with poor people but i've b

erin mcpike, joy ann reid and joe watkins.ow 8%, they are in great shape. it fell below to 8.6 last friday but it could be going back up again sometime early next year. we'll see if he can do it. he didn't really sound optimistic in that interview. it depends. >> well, among things that we're considering in that 8.6 drop from 9 was the fact that 300,000 people said, i'm done, i can't even continue looking for work and there's a lot of part-time retail hires. but you're take on this, joy ann, in terms of what threshold the president needs to get to? >> i think it's entirely psychological that we need to be under 9%. i think the president being at 8.6 is going to be good psychology for the voters but i don't think there's a tit for tat. >> if the unemployment rate drops below 8%, which would be good for all americans, or do you think they would listen to mitch mcconnell, which would be to defeat the president? >> the gop would like to win back the presidency but i think they also agree that it would be great to get that unemploy