fr des moines, kay henderson of radio iowa, and john harris of politico. i am pleased to have all of them here as we are on the eve of this extraordinary start to the 2012 political season. i begin with kay. tell me what it is... what's the moment, kay, on the ground. how do you size up where we are at this moment? >> well, if i could take a snapshot, it might be a photo finish. it appears romney, paul and santorum are aiming for one of those here in iowa. you have romney out there sort of claiming the mantle of front-ruer. you have santorum claiming the huckabee mantle from 2008. and you have ron paul's supporters on the phonesrying to turn their people out. >> rose: and who do you think has the best possibility of turning out? >> well, it's hard to tell, it doesn't appear in santorum will be able to coalesce the entire huckabee coalition from last time around which leads y to believe that romney, who's been building a cam campaign here for six years might turn out to be the caucus victor. but it turns out who the persuadeable people are. there was a "des

thank you john harris and glen johnson.rewell to michele bachmann, one of the first casualties of this campaign. when i inspect homes, i can't be in an allergy fog. so i get claritin clear for strong, non-drowsy relief of all my allergies like dust mold pets and pollen. looks good. thanks. i live claritin clear. >>> back to "hardball." now for the side show. last laugh. michele bachmann finished sixth in the iowa caucuses last week. it meant the end to her presidential bid. well, "saturday night live" marked the occasion with his farewell to bachmann's time in the gop race. let's watch. >> you haven't blinked since this campaign started? >> i have not. >> would you like to now? >> i would love to. oh, those babies were dry. do you mind if i shut them again for a second, seth? >> yeah, sure. of course. >> you don't mind? >> no. ♪ this is how we do it it's like my eyes are eating a peppermint patty. simply to the iowa voters, i want to say thank you. i so enjoyed my time with you and in turn i hope you enjoy a future that wil

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thank you john harris and glen johnson.os. >>> up next, saturday night live bids farewell to michele bachmann, one of the first casualties of this campaign. it's the little things in life that make me smile. spending the day with my niece. i don't use super poligrip for hold because my dentures fit well. before those little pieces would get in between my dentures and my gum and it was uncomfortable. even well-fitting dentures let in food particles. super poligrip is zinc free. with just a few dabs, it's clinically proven to seal out more food particles so you're more comfortable and confident while you eat. so it's not about keeping my dentures in, it's about keeping the food particles out. [ charlie ] try zinc free super poligrip. you walk into a conventional mattress store, it's really not about you. they say, "well, if you want a firm bed you can lie on one of those, if you want a soft bed you can lie on one of those." we provide the exact individualization that your body needs. welcome to the sleep number year-end close

. >> ranch owner john harris issued statements saying they are clearly terrorist group intent on stopping american agriculture from producing the world's safest food supply. harris said he is confident that they will be brought to justice and meantime the fbi is assisting the fresno county sheriff. >> hundreds of jobs will be up for grabs this week and one bay area city because target needs about 200 people for its new store. the company will hold the three- day job fairs starting thursday at its new york location. the new fremont store is slated to open in march. >> tonight two men are behind bars accused of opening fire on paragliders and daily city. police arrested two people today. the men fired at people paragliders outmuscle rock from the nearby balcony. luckily no one was hurt. >>> now they have blunted any measure aimed at cracking down on tobacco. >>> supervisor keith serious as that would have overlapped with current laws against smoking pot. accounted loss, dot mac account is locked smoking in and around apartment complexes. >>> hugh jackson learned this morning that he would n

and politico's john harris. first up, mitt romney is on the march and could wrap it up next week in south carolina. in his 40% victory up in new hampshire he urged his rivals to cut out their chorus of criticism. >> we've seen some desperate republicans join forces with him. this is such a mistake for our party. chris: impressed by the romney roll, those who once were romney detractors from john mccain to rush limbaugh, have appealed to romney's tormentors to please stop helping the democrats. the newt pack. got an idea for you guys. recut your ads on romney. and your tag line is i am barack obama, and i approved this message. chris: but those opponents have little to lose by their attack ads. and in fact, hope to gain by somehow exploding romney's lead or at a minimum ending their own races strong. but could it be the -- this moment is a big opportunity for romney? presidents win because of character, the big test for romney in the next week, can he show character? can he use south carolina -- to recover from h

michael isikoff is a national reporter and john harris is the editor in chief of politico.ichael isikoff, this is going the message out of iowa. the power of these third party or super pacs, where you don't put the candidate's name on it, don't put the contributors' name on it, the money is unlimited, and you can destroy your opponent if you have enough rich friends, legal, right? >> right. this is the message of this campaign. two figures really leap out after seeing those ads. $2.8 million, nearly $3 million. that was how much was spent on tv ads by restore our future, the super pac. $1.5 million, that was spent by the romney campaign. so the super pac, the romney super pac, spends nearly twice as much as the actual presidential campaign of the candidate himself. so that tells you a lot about the direction of this campaign, the roll of these super pacs, how they are going to be the dominant force in this presidential election. >> of course, the great irony is the people on the right, like gingrich, basically supported that court decision. they thought it was free speech,

downie: john harris and jim van dye. smith: right. downie: and they, and they do a good job. uh, and but as i say, as a busines let me dangerously dip a toe into, uh, into the discussion of nonprofit journalism, acknowledging my own conflict of interest here. downie: yes. smith: because i run such an organization, but you have been an early advocate. downie: yes. smith: . for a nonprofit model, and i wondered if you would just talk about that in the abstract. downie: right. smith: why do you think nonprofit news has a place on this landscape? downie: right. well, first of all because the for profit news organizations have been squeezed so much. smith: yeah. downie: so they are getting smaller. we've been fortunate at the post that while we've gotten smaller we're still quite large compared to much of the country. but you'll see downie: not able to cover the state house, uh, in many cases the state house press corps are shrinking, uh, in, in, and washington press corps. smith: yep. downie: there, there is no washington bureau for an arizona news organization, except for cronki

. >> reporter: this ranch owner john harris said, of the group claiming responsibility, quote, they are clearly a terrorist group intent on stopping american agriculture from producing the world's safest food supply. harris said he is confident they will be brought to justice meantime the fbi now assisting the fresno county sheriff in the investigation. len ramirez, cbs 5. >>> in novato a $15,000 reward is being offered to catch a serial arsonist in that city. at least 55 fires have been intentionally set since saturday. however, there were no new reports of any damage overnight. the fires were all set in open spaces and so far, only a fence and pg&e pole have been damaged. >>> tonight the city of san francisco will have to make a big decision about a jack-in- the-box restaurant. it's the same restaurant where police say an early-morning fight led to the hit-and-run of a firefighter. joe vazquez on why the restaurant may have to tell its customers, you don't have to go home, but you can't stay here. >> reporter: they have been 24 hours but 6:0now on room 400 city hall, the entertainment

john harris is politico's editor in chief. he joins me and richard wolffe is an nbc political analyst as well as contributor. so, gentlemen, it's good to have you with me. john, i want to start with you. this isn't our first time watching one of these things go down in terms of the primary, so i think certain people are going to have whiplash seeing the fact huntsman is coming out so strongly already for mitt romney, but explain how you think he came to this. it's one thing to drop out and another to throw your support behind somebody right way wa. >> i think he dropped out because he recognized there was no constituency for him. probably difficult because ipg if he squints and looks forward, he feels in his heart there would be a general election constituency for him. these people are human and it's hard work. in addition to being very expensive. it's really hard work physically and psychically o to campaign with no prospect of succeeding. as far as romney, there is for somebody who is projecting themselves as above politics a

. >> john harris, politico briefing.ll be following all it tonight. >> we'll be glued to it tonight. >>> up next, president obama's iowa strategy with democratic chair debbie wasserman schultz. only three republicans have won the iowa caucus and gone on to win the party's nomination since 1976? the answers, gerald ford, bob dole and george w. bush. why do we have aflac... 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 net ♪ even helps pay deductibles, so cover your back, get... ♪ a-a-a-a-a-a-a-aflac! [ male announcer ] help protect your family at aflac.com. [ beatboxing ] but last year my daughter was checking up on me. i wasn't eating well. she's a dietitian, and she suggested i try boost complete nutritional drink to help get the nutrition i was missing. now i drink it every day and i love the great

he's twice won the pulitzer prize for harry chairman and john on this. out of the relative neglect that they had received compared to the president's that preceded and succeeded. after all, john adams is president between church rushing 10 and thomas jefferson. harry truman between you and clint roosevelt and. all are accounted figures, and history at a new icon who humanized history. and he is also celebrated the human stories behind great event that the building of the panama canal, the brooklyn bridge and also a historic tragedies like the johnstown flood. david mccullough is our season chronicler. his latest book is the greater journey, americans in paris. the 19th century story of americans turning back across the atlantic to discover the science, the art and learning of the old world, even at a time when other americans were churning physically to this specifics to discover national resources, national beauty of challenges of the american frontier. america was opening up a new world physically in the west while in reaching itself culturally and int

political campaigns mostly to republicans like gingrich, gush and sharon angle and donated to john kerry and harryd. as for the donation to gingrich's pack, they said addleson hopes it will help his friend do well in the primary. las vegas, nevada. >> thank you. are you a baseball fan? can you put together a group of friends with a billion dollars? billion with a b. if so, you can join the frenzy to buy the los angeles dodgers. some of the big names already bidding. >>> one of baseball's most strd franchises is up for sale pitching to become the new owners. . >> the dodgers are crowded and los angeles is buzzing. >> it's impossible to explain. it's a valued franchise. it and the yankees are the two most famous in sport in america. >> the former cnn host said he's a player in the big group that includings dennis gilbert. there is a powerful magic johnson-led team and steve garvey leads another club and joe torre and rick caruso who masterminded the popular grove shopping center. former and much loved owner peter o mally is back in the skmunt then from billionaire boy's clubs and mark cuban and the

he twice won the plitzer prize for listing harry truman and john adams, lifting them out of the relative neglect they received compared to the presidents that preceded and succeeded. after john adam was was between washington and all of these are iconic figures, but he's created new icons, new narratives who humanized history, and more than that, he's also celebrated the human stories behind great events like the building of the panama canal, the brooklyn bridge, and also historic tragedies like the johnstown flood. the latest book is "the greater journey: americans in paris," the 19th century story of americans going across the atlantic to learn about the old world even at a time when other americans were journeying physically through the pacific to discover the natural resources, challenges, and beauty of the new frontier. they enriched themselves culturally and intellectually and the great city of light in the journey eastward across the sea. ladies and gentlemen, david mccullough came into my office two days after the first national book festival to say how important it was to contin

harry thomas jr. last night he resigned from council of and said he will plead guilty to two federal crimes today. john gonzalez has more. >> after months of denying wrongdoing, council member rice harry thomas plans to enter guilty pleas this morning to stealing $350,000 in government funds and filing false tax returns. >> it has been a rough day. very disappointing day. disappointed to learn the charges against councilman thomas. >> a sentiment shared by his colleagues and constituents >> . a bad example for people in those positions to do things like that. >> thomas issued a statement apologizing for its actions. >> "tomorrow morning i will plead guilty to committing two federal crimes. i am resigning my position as a member of the council immediately. i made very serious mistakes and exhibited inadequate and flawed judgment. i am truly sorry." >> the democrats stole guns between 2007 and 2009 using the money for his own personal use money intended for youth sports programs. the mayor, who urged harry thomas to step down, also issued a statement. "those who violate the public trust must be held acco

an interesting nine days ahead of us. >> harris: you bet. john roberts, thank you very much.rida campaign stop earlier today at worldwide christian center in pompano beach and reportedly gave a faith-based sermon and making news tonight because the palm beach post newspaper is reporting the head pastor there, reverend doesh your does not he can win mitt romney because in his words, americans won't vote for a mormon president. >> and the candidates went to speak the parishioner of the church, not the pastor. >> a fox weather alert on a thunderstorm system, bringing with it possible twisters, and boy, are we already headed into that season? it seems early. meteorologist maria molina live in the fox weather center for us. >> hi, harris, that's right. not totally unheard of to get severe weather this time of the year, but it's unusual and especially the situation that we have going on right now and we actually have a tornado watch that's been issued out and including member fills. and it's not just any type of tornado watch, but a particularly dangerous situation and what that me

he has donated to john kerry, ted kennedy and harry reid.says he hopes it will help his friend do well in the primary. >>> are you a baseball fan? can you put together a group of friends with a billion dollars? if so you can join the bidding frenzy to buy the los angeles dodgers. we'll tell you some of the big names already bidding next. and so is having a trusted assistant. 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. here we are... [ male announcer ] and there you go, business pro. there you go. go national. go like a pro. but it's not always easy. at regions, we have the tools and expertise to really help you find your balance. like the freedom to access and monitor your accounts anytime, anywhere with online and mobile banking. real guidance and solutions from a regions personal savings and debt review. plus, at regions, you'll get the award-winning service people are talking about. it's financial control - well,

harry thomas jr. stepped down from the d.c. council for ward 5. >> johnz joins us with what is next for a city in scandal. good morning. >> good morning. what is next is that it could cost the city $300000 to replace councilman harry thomas, the now former councilman who resigned last night. in a few hours he faces two felony charges accused of embezzling and stealing $350,000 in city funds, money designated for youth programs allegedly used for personal use, such as an suv, motorcycle, and expensive trips. last night thomas resigned and release a statement apologizing and taking full accountability. council chairman kwame brown calls this a dark day in the district. the mayor, who urged thomas to resign earlier this week also released a statement saying the "to those who violate the public trust must be held accountable." thomas will be in federal court just after 11:00 this morning facing up to 13 years in prison. reporting live, john gonzalez abc 7 news. >>> looking at the day ahead, a -- the woman who grew her granddaughter to her death at tysons corn

now two other countries are looking for possible evidence against harry burkeheart. >>> senator johnps moment on the campaign trail. >>> we'll tell you more about the morning commute and the bay weather. >>> welcome back to the ktvu channel 2 morning news. i want to take you live to new york. the big board. dow jones down 80 points to 12, 337. that is surprising because we did have some good news on the jobs front. the unemployment rate down 200,000 new jobs created. but couple of stops best buy in this morning with a drop in december same store sales. pretty big month for best buy too. >>> 6:54. orange county homeless men are being encouraged to sleep in shelters or in groups to help protect them from a serial killer. anaheim police released these images. this shows the moments before someone stabbed 53-year-old james to his death. he was sleeping at a shopping center on december 20th. since then two other men have been killed as they slept. police believe the killer is driving a white toyota corolla. you see it right there at the top left of your screen. >>> the investigation of th

this looks like harry truman, chris: welcome back from new hampshire. john, "tell me something i don't know." >> a lot of people have forecast that rick santorum could have a high ceiling here in new hampshire because of the pat buchanan analogy. chris: and he won here in 19 the -- 19 6, did pat. >> there are not as many blue-collar voters as there were back when pats was winning and i think that holds rick santorum back. >> but the rise since iowa has hurt john huntsman as the roll any alternative. it will be all over if he does not do substantially better. >> the big takeaway for democrats outs of iowa is they feel like that romney, in going so far to the right in immigration, could mean that in a general if it's romney, they could get 75% of the latino vote. obama got about 6% last time and that could be the difference in the election. chris: does this push the case on mark rubio? >> it does but it is difficult to sell his stance on immigration. >> romney went to the rights on immigration to destroy newt and that may hurts him in the general. african-amer

[applause] justice david souter, john paul stevens, harry blackmun, william brennan have two things inceived as being liberally biased and they were appointed by republican presidents. how to make sure we are not surprised again with supreme court nominations in the gingrich administration? >> that is a good question. i want to broaden it to talk about how we rebalance the judiciary. there is a 50-page paper the stars of the declaration of independence, the constitution, the federalist papers. it goes to jefferson, jackson, lincoln, franklin delano roosevelt. it outlines the administration to rebalance the courts as they get out. if i'm nominated by you, i do believe it your primary will be the key, if i'm nominated by the republican party and i become but president, i will point constitutional judges who believe in american history, who believe that we are endowed by our creators. they believe that the constitution is a contract and their jobs are limited to interpreting the law, not rewriting it. i would seek people like that. you cannot just rely on that. if you look at the history

. >> harris: at one point, john el we for the broncos says he might not play tim tebow. >> he might notere. >> good to be here. >> harris: and on this day in 2009, there was a miracle on the hudson. many of us who live along that river couldn't believe our eyes. u.s. airways flight 59 had taken off from laguardia in new york. during the initial climb, a bird strike disabled the engine. when the crew, led by captain chesley sully sullenberger realized they wouldn't be able to make it to the airfield. they decided to land in the hudson. remember that picture? all people making it out alive.

. >> harry johns, we know it's an important issue which is why we gave it some sometime.for much more, visit alz.org. >>> nancy pelosi laughs at the thought of newt gingrich as president. >> that will never happen. >> why? >> he's not going to be president of the united states. that's not going to happen. >>> does pelosi know something that we don't know or are some people writing off gingrich a little too soon. that is "fair game" and it's next. >>> but, first, let's test your knowledge of the state of the union with a political junkie question. who was the first president to have his state of the union address broadcast over the internet? tweet me @randikayecnn and i'll let you know after the break. elf to the site of your tough pain. it's proven to relieve pain twice as fast as before. bayer advanced aspirin. when i got my medicare card, i realized i needed an aarp... medicare supplement insurance card, too. medicare is one of the great things about turning 65, but it doesn't cover everything. in fact, it only pays up to 80% of your part b expenses. if you're already o

summer's debt ceiling debacle where he not only angered the republican speaker john boehner but the democratic leader in the senate harry reid and, scott, there were signs of trouble just two months ago when daly was stripped of his day to day management of the west wing. >> pelley: norah, thanks very much. the f.b.i. said today it had broken up a homegrown terror plot. the target was uz tampa, florida. bob orr tells us about the man who's under arrest. >> reporter: he preaches radical islam on the internet under the name abdul samia. last spring he was arrested for fighting during a street protest near his tampa area home. but prosecutors say sami osmakac was more than an instigateor. they described a controversy born u.s. citizen as a one-man terror cell bent on extracting revenge for muslims. most most is now charged with plotting to attack nightclubs and other crowded tampa locations with explosives, grenades and grenades and an a.k.-47 assault rifle. robert o'neill is the u.s. attorney in tampa. >> an explosive pack in a car bomb which he believes he is going to utilize against americans, that makes it a crime. cri

harry thomas jr.'s response to federal judge john baits. thomas sentenced may 3rd and could get four years in prison. then at the u.s. attorney's office and after months offal solid investigation, it was prosecutor's turn to display thomas's greed. and characterize how he stole money intend ford city children's programs. >> the victim its the whole of the district of columbia. including its youth. almost immediately, almost immediately upon taking office, he made a decision that he was going to systematically steal fund. >> thomas signed ape letter resigning from d.c. council. a special election likely held in may to fill the vacant ward 5 seat. with thomas' probe over, attention turns to the two other high profile criminal investigations. one into the mayor's 2010 campaign and possible illegal use of campaign fund. and the separate criminal probe into kwame brown's, 2008, council campaign spending. >> people are really concerned. now we are looking forward to two possibly elected officials under a similar cloud of doubt. >> the mayor and t

. >> prince georges county police have charged linwood johns with the murder of lenny harris. >> the motive in the murder is robbery. we have recovers what we believe to be the murder weapon. >> reporter: police would not say what led them to johnson, but the arrest comes just five days after investigators got an anonymous tip that the body was in a well on old fort road in washington. harris' remains were found at the bottom of the well. the medical examiner confirmed sunday that the remains belong to lenny harris. the suspect has admitted to the crime p. >> mr. linwood johnson gave a full written and verbal confession to detectives just a few hours ago. >> reporter: harris was last scene september 21st at an alexandria rec center. his phone was found on the wilson bridge. police previously released this surveillance photo of a man using harris' credit card at an atm. police would not say if that's the same man in custody. but they did say lenny harris knew his killer. >> regarding the relationship between the person who's been charged with our murder so far, we're prepared to say t

that was harry thomas junior's response to federal judge john bates who recited the thomas crimes. thomas will be sentenced may 3rd and could get four years in prison. then at the u.s. attorney's office and after months of silent investigation, it was prosecutors' turn to display thomas' greed and characterize how he stole money intended for still children's programs. >> the victim is the whole of the district of columbia, including its youth. >> almost immediately -- almost immediately upon taking office, he made a decision that he was going to systemically steal funds. >> reporter: thomas also signed a letter resigning from the d.c. council. a special election will likely be held in may to fill the vacant ward five seat. with the probe over, attention turns to the other two high profile criminal investigations. one into mayor vin vent gray's 2010 campaign and possible illegal use of campaign funds. and a separate criminal probe into brown's spending and fundraising. >> i think people are really concerned. now we're look at two other elected officials. >> mayor gray and chairman b