john avalon had it exactly right. when just about a week or ten days ago, mitt romney was running in trade. that's where the betting occurs on who will get the nomination. and he was seen as a 70% chance of winning the nomination. maybe 69%. today he's less than 50. or newt gingrich is surging. is mitt romney still the man to beat? i think yes. but for the first time he has a serious rival on his hands. if newt gingrich can go through the process that's coming, and he knows that, and emerge on january 1 as a standing rival, romney could be in trouble. the real question is what does he do for his campaign to give him momentum? >> alex caselanos, i want to get your view. let me ask you a quote about mitt romney. quoting rocky anderson saying quote, romney in a word is human. he's much funnier than he comes across. that's for sure. >> and when you meet him, as i did years ago, last campaign i worked for him, he's this wonderful, genuine guy. and then you see him on tv, and he looks so perfect, and we think perfection is

john avalon had it exactly right.just about a week or ten days ago, mitt romney was running in trade. that's where the betting occurs on who will get the nomination. and he was seen as a 70% chance of winning the nomination. maybe 69%. today he's less than 50. or newt gingrich is surging. is mitt romney still the man to beat? i think yes. but for the first time he has a serious rival on his hands. if newt gingrich can go through the process that's coming, and he knows that, and emerge on january 1 as a standing rival, romney could be in trouble. the real question is what does he do for his campaign to give him momentum? >> alex caselanos, i want to get your view. let me ask you a quote about mitt romney. quoting rocky anderson saying quote, romney in a word is human. he's much funnier than he comes across. that's for sure. >> and when you meet him, as i did years ago, last campaign i worked for him, he's this wonderful, genuine guy. and then you see him on tv, and he looks so perfect, and we think perfection is false,

john avalon has the power rankings and then inside the personal life of mitt romney. what you didn't know. >>> i'll go to the front lines in dubai. an exclusive preview in just a moment. >>> jon corzine, the former cmf of mf global to testify next week. the committee is looking into the collapse of mmf global, which filed for bankruptcy on october 31st. the biggest financial failure in america since lehman brothers. investigators are still trying to find up to $1.2 billion that has been missing from the brokerage's customer accounts. jon corzine the former ceo of goldman sachs. brings us to our number tonight, seven. that's how many of board of directors resigned after louis freeh was reported as the trustee in charge of overseaing the liquidation. he has been a busy man. heading the internal investigation into the penn state child sex abuse scandal. >>> it's been a crazy week in politics. john avalon is here and will give us the biggest rankings of the week. how does it fall? >> here's what it is, erin. it's getting cold outside, but politics is heating up. tonight w

united states. >>> time now for our political play of the day with none other than the one and only john avalon is back. john? >> our political play of the day tonight is the excessive celebration penalty. now last night we showed you how newt gingrich is soaring in polls across the country. a new poll out tonight in florida shows that is a real trend with substance behind it. newtgingrich, 50%, compared to 19% compared to mitt romney. is all this success going to newt's heads. there are some sound it may be, take a listen to this sound from a fox interview where he predicts he has the nomination and slices the field in an unusual way. >> whereas i would have thought originally it would have been mitt and not mitt. i think it may turn out to be newt and not newt. >> well this newt-centric universe brought to find a play from the jets/bills stevie johnson catching a football, doing a dance there. plaxico burress got a penalty for excessive celebration fined $10,000 reportedly. a cost to this premature behavior. the more newt shoots from the lip, the more he runs the risk of reminding people why

united states. >>> time now for our political play of the day with none other than the one and only john avalons back. john? >> our political play of the day tonight is the excessive celebration penalty. now last night we showed you how newt gingrich is soaring in polls across the country. a new poll out tonight in florida shows that is a real trend with substance behind it. newtgingrich, 50%, compared to 19% compared to mitt romney. is all this success going to newt's heads. there are some sound it may be, take a listen to this sound from a fox interview where he predicts he has the nomination and slices the field in an unusual way. >> whereas i would have thought originally it would have been mitt and not mitt. i think it may turn out to be newt and not newt. >> well this newt-centric universe brought to find a play from the jets/bills stevie johnson catching a football, doing a dance there. plaxico burress got a penalty for excessive celebration fined $10,000 reportedly. a cost to this premature behavior. the more newt shoots from the lip, the more he runs the risk of reminding people why th

which brings us to the political play of the day, and that means it brings us to john avalon. >> that's right, erin. today's political play of the day is blocked. the filibusters are flying in washington, d.c. you might remember earlier this year, president obama wanted to nominate elizabeth warren to head the newly created consumer financial protection bureau. now republicans said that nomination would be d.o.a. so she went home to massachusetts to run for senate against scott brown and president obama put forward richard cordray. by all accounts, respected former attorney general from ohio. for what it's worth, a five-time "jeopardy!" winner. and somebody working in the agency right now. today as you said his nomination went up to the capital and he was blocked. he got 53 votes, but not enough to clear the 60-vote hurdle needed to break a filibuster the republicans put forward. here's the thing, it's not that he's considered too extreme, incompetent or doesn't understand the agency. it's that republicans said they don't want the position to exist unless serious reforms are made to the

which brings us to the political play of the day, and that means it brings us to john avalon. >> that's right, erin. today's political play of the day is blocked. the filibusters are flying in washington, d.c. you might remember earlier this year, president obama wanted to nominate elizabeth warren to head the newly created consumer financial protection bureau. now republicans said that nomination would be d.o.a. so she went home to massachusetts to run for senate against scott brown and president obama put forward richard cordray. by all accounts, respected former attorney general from ohio. for what it's worth, a five-time "jeopardy!" winner. and somebody working in the agency right now. today as you said his nomination went up to the capital and he was blocked. he got 53 votes, but not enough to clear the 60-vote hurdle needed to break a filibuster the republicans put forward. here's the thing, it's not that he's considered too extreme, incompetent or doesn't understand the agency. it's that republicans said they don't want the position to exist unless serious reforms are made to the

thanks to john avalon. >>> well, the russian prime minister called arizona senator john mccain crazy today. it was a war of words between the two intensified. the verbal sparring had to do with the death of moammar gadhafi, drones, and putin. drones, as in the ones u.s. defense secretary leon panetta says were involved in the former leader's death. so putin was asked about a prediction that mccain supposedly made online about the prime minister meeting the same fate as gadhafi. well, putin did not think highly of mccain's comments. >> reporter: mr. mccain is known to have fought in vietnam. i think he has enough blood of innocent vichbl civilians on his hand, and he can probably no longer live without these horrible, disgusting scenes, where televisions are showing gadhafi being killed, covered in blood. is that democracy? >> but as it turns out, the senator's twitter posts were links to news stories suggesting that russia might be facing its own "arab spring," because some leaders who lost power in the arab spring ended up in saudi arabia. gadhafi's execution-style death was unique

thanks to john avalon. >>> well, the russian prime minister called arizona senator john mccain crazy war of words between the two intensified. the verbal sparring had to do with the death of moammar gadhafi, drones, and putin. drones, as in the ones u.s. defense secretary leon panetta says were involved in the former leader's death. so putin was asked about a prediction that mccain supposedly made online about the prime minister meeting the same fate as gadhafi. well, putin did not think highly of mccain's comments. >> reporter: mr. mccain is known to have fought in vietnam. i think he has enough blood of innocent vichcivilians on his h and he can probably no longer live without these horrible, disgusting scenes, where televisions are showing gadhafi being killed, covered in blood. is that democracy? >> but as it turns out, the senator's twitter posts were links to news stories suggesting that russia might be facing its own "arab spring," because some leaders who lost power in the arab spring ended up in saudi arabia. gadhafi's execution-style death was unique for now. and tonight, m

thank you very much, john avalon. i was hoping this would be with a different conversation tonight. >>> still "outfront," presidential candidate mitt romney picks up a big endorsement tonight, south carolina governor nikki haley. will her, yes, matter? move the needle in the palmetto state. >>> and the s.e.c. files suit against the former ceos of fannie and freddie, mac and mae. the u.s. government is giving them $100 billion in the form of a bailout right now. do we need them? >>> and nuclear material found in an airline passenger's luggage today going to tehran. we have the latest developments in tonight's installment. i'm good about washing my face. but sometimes i wonder... what's left behind? [ female announcer ] purifying facial cleanser from neutrogena® naturals. removes 99% of dirt and toxins without dyes, parabens or harsh sulfates. so skin feels pure and healthy. [ female announcer ] from neutrogena® naturals. so i used my citi thank you card to pick up some accessories. a new belt. some nylons. and what gir

thank you very much, john avalon. i was hoping this would be with a different conversation tonight. >>> still "outfront," presidential candidate mitt romney picks up a big endorsement tonight, south carolina governor nikki haley. will her, yes, matter? move the needle in the palmetto state. >>> and the s.e.c. files suit against the former ceos of fannie and freddie, mac and mae. the u.s. government is giving them $100 billion in the form of a bailout right now. do we need them? >>> and nuclear material found in an airline passenger's luggage today going to tehran. we have the latest developments in tonight's installment. that's a little harder to find. but here's what i know -- td ameritrade doesn't manage mutual funds... or underwrite stocks and bonds. or even publish their own research. so, guidance from td ameritrade isn't about their priorities. it's about mine. straightforward guidance. that's what makes td ameritrade different. ♪ [ male announcer ] trade commission-free for 60 days. plus get up to $600 when you

i want to bring in john avalon, senior columnist for "news week" and "the daily beast." gentlemen, is someone lying here? john avalon, i'll begin with you because you're sitting right here. why would the poll camp pay? is there any sense in that. >> what michele bachmann has set up is a he said/she said. the tie-breaking vote is her political director in iowa said, look, i'm sticking with michelic bahman, but ken sorenson is telling the truth he was not offered money and he was summarily dismissed. michele bachmann has a trueing telling problem. >> there's a pinocchio potential here and someone is not telling the trueing. >> do you think the senator is a big enough player to be bought? >> if true, this is a story. it violates state law. it also takes a little bit of the lid off the way iowa operates and a lot of people have been under a lot of payrolls and money really matters. you cited that that survey of the preference of anti-newt gingrich ads and newt gingrich ran into a wall of negative advertisement and sponsored by mitt romney's financial advantage. money really

i want to bring in john avalon, senior columnist for "newsweek" and "the daily beast." gentlemen, is someone lying here? john avalon, i'll begin with you because you're sitting right here. why would the poll camp pay? is there any sense in that. >> what michele bachmann has set up is a he said/she said. the tie-breaking vote is her political director in iowa said, look, i'm sticking with michelic -- michelle bachmann, but kent sorenson is telling the truth he was not offered money and he was summarily dismissed. michelle bachmann has a truth telling problem. >> there's a pinocchio potential here and someone is not telling the truth. >> do you think the senator is a big enough player to be bought? >> if true, this is a story. it violates state law. it also takes a little bit of the lid off the way iowa operates and a lot of people have been under a lot of payrolls and money really matters. you cited that that survey of the preference of anti-newt gingrich ads and newt gingrich ran into a wall of negative advertisement and sponsored by mitt romney's financial advantage. m

let's fwli john avalon, former president bush spech writer, president and founder of american majoritywere oh, now you all went new jersey on me and everything. so he had a sense of humor about it. what do you think about chris christie? can you turn this around for mitt romney. he was socially liberal. the tea party loves chris christie because he's conservative when it comes to final matters. >> what we're seeing is romney campaign pivoting. but still has credibility across the board by deploying chris christie to iowa right now, they're going to double down play in iowa. they're running ads as well. but it shosz the power of a strong endorsement, someone that might be more popular in the candidate themselves in really trying to take off the day. >> do you think he can turn it around? >> i will say it's a good move for the romney campaign. chris christie is definitely popular with a lot of tea partiers. but as we've seen, mitt can't get past the 25% ceiling. is chris christie going to make it a better sale? >> is this a sign, david, of real desperation though for mitt romney and sinc

let's bring in john avalon, former president bush speechwriter, president and founder of american majoritybelieve what his exact words were oh, now you all went new jersey on me and everything. so he had a sense of humor about it. what do you think about chris christie? can you turn this around for mitt romney? he was socially liberal, right? the tea party loves chris christie because he's conservative when it comes to final matters. can he win them over? >> that's right. what we're seeing now is romney campaign pivoting. putting forward the big of the gun, someone who is comfortable with conflict and can speak to the base but has credibility across the board. by deploying chris christie to iowa right now, they're going to double down play in iowa. they're running ads as well. it shows the power of a strong endorsement, someone that might be more popular in the candidate themselves in really trying to take offense. >> do you think he can turn it around for mitt? >> i don't know. i will say it's a good move for the romney campaign. chris christie is definitely popular with a lot of tea part

that really upset john avalon who is sitting over there and you should have seen him in the meeting todayand also with us is democratic strategies and national editor of govote.com, and the coauthor grand new party, how conservatives can win the working class and save the american dream. john avlon, take it away. >> this is hypocrisy watch 101. mitt romney, he's on the charm offensive. he is on letterman and everywhere and we can all agree that politics ain't beanbag, but for a guy to talk about how distasteful super pacs are, they are dropping millions of dollars in negative ads against his primary rival in iowa, come on. this is what drives people crazy about politics. >> this ad. >> yes. and newt gingrich is unilaterally disarmed here. the idea that the candidates are powerless over the pac, and yes, there is to be no contact with the pac, and they set the tone, for this guy to be above the fray but while they are dropping millions of dollars a day to drop bombs on newt gingrich, come on. >> the whole idea, on both sides of the isle, it works leak this, that the president didn't have a

that really upset john avalon who is sitting over there and you should have seen him in the meeting todayand also with us is democratic strategies and national editor of govote.com, and the coauthor grand new party, how conservatives can win the working class and save the american dream. john avlon, take it away. >> this is hypocrisy watch 101. mitt romney, he's on the charm offensive. he is on letterman and everywhere and we can all agree that politics ain't beanbag, but for a guy to talk about how distasteful super pacs are, they are dropping millions of dollars in negative ads against his primary rival in iowa, come on. this is what drives people crazy about politics. >> this ad. >> yes. and newt gingrich is unilaterally disarmed here. the idea that the candidates are powerless over the pac, and yes, there is to be no contact with the pac, and they set the tone, for this guy to be above the fray but while they are dropping millions of dollars a day to drop bombs on newt gingrich, come on. >> the whole idea, on both sides of the isle, it works leak this, that the president didn't have a

let's bring in john avalon, former president bush speechwriter, president and founder of american majority exact words were oh, now you all went new jersey on me and everything. so he had a sense of humor about it. what do you think about chris christie? can you turn this around for mitt romney? he was socially liberal, right? the tea party loves chris christie because he's conservative when it comes to final matters. can he win them over? >> that's right. what we're seeing now is romney campaign pivoting. putting forward the big of the gun, someone who is comfortable with conflict and can speak to the base but has credibility across the board. by deploying chris christie to iowa right now, they're going to double down play in iowa. they're running ads as well. it shows the power of a strong endorsement, someone that might be more popular in the candidate themselves in really trying to take offense. >> do you think he can turn it around for mitt? >> i don't know. i will say it's a good move for the romney campaign. chris christie is definitely popular with a lot of tea partiers. but as we'

. >>> time now for the political play with none other than our own john avalon. >> >> how are you, erin? the political play of the day is the inevitability fail. this idea that mitt romney's campaign has been the inevitable nominee took a major ding this week. romney has gotten a lot of bad news. horses are spooked and you can see that in an interview he did last night. let's take a look. >> brett, i don't know how many hundred times i've said this too. this is an unusual interview. all right. let's do it again. absolutely. what we did in massachusetts was right for massachusetts. you're wrong, brett. no, no. bret, new york the tape out there -- continue to read the tape. >> the normally unflappable mitt romney was rattled last night and there's good reason for it. let take a look at some of the polls in key states. first of all, iowa, newt gingrich up 27 to mitt romney's 20. he said he'd play there two weeks ago might be regretting that decision. new hampshire, this has been mitt romney's stronghold. after union leader support, he's to 27 to newt 31. now south c

. >>> time now for the political play with none other than our own john avalon. john. >> >> how are you, erin? the political play of the day is the inevitability fail. this idea that mitt romney's campaign has been the inevitable nominee took a major ding this week. romney has gotten a lot of bad news. horses are spooked and you can see that in an interview he did last night. let's take a look. >> brett, i don't know how many hundred times i've said this too. this is an unusual interview. all right. let's do it again. absolutely. what we did in massachusetts was right for massachusetts. you're wrong, brett. no, no. bret, new york the tape out there -- continue to read the tape. >> the normally unflappable mitt romney was rattled last night and there's good reason for it. let take a look at some of the polls in key states. first of all, iowa, newt gingrich up 27 to mitt romney's 20. he said he'd play there two weeks ago might be regretting that decision. new hampshire, this has been mitt romney's stronghold. after union leader support, he's to 27 to newt 31. now so

. >> all right, let's bring in democratic strategist jamaal simmons and john avalon. ident have very successfully taken this issue of fairness, certain people are not carrying their share of the load. but then republicans come in and say that millionaires should have cuts in all these benefits. they get zero credit at all for pointing the finger at the wealthy. >> that should be the basis for a bipartisan agreement, that's giving a little bit. but right now we're heading into campaign season, that's the problem. this was a major speech today by the white house where they unveiled the terms of debate for 2012 as we see it. you heard the president say a lot about fairness. the most fascinating thing is that he gave the speech where teddy roosevelt gave his speech in 1910. what you see here is president obama trying to wrap his political agenda in the legacy of tr, a progressive republican. a fascinating move. it was a fascinating speech. >> what did you make of the speech today? >> i thought the speech was very good at laying out the broad contours of how america has bot

let's go to john avalon and rich gaylon as well. he's a republican strategist. kiki, i feel bad for you. what have you got to contribute to this discussion? iowa is the hottest place for a democrat the last time around. john made a point -- i'm going to put it to you first, kiki, but john made a point where he said that the conservatives in iowa self-select in many cases in their participation in these caucuses and has an extra dose of conservative. so santorum with a good showing here really bears very little relationship to the country. >> yeah. it's interesting. there are three or four things i would tell people to pay attention to over the next few days. the first is that i had the benefit of working for president richard gephart whereas a democrat he won the iowa caucuses. the other thing that's interesting to pay attention to is you don't hear a conversation about new participants the way that you did for barack obama in 2008. are there a lot of new people that are going to flood those church basements and school cafeterias? at the company where i work, th