we will speak with the nation magazine's john nichols president of his new mandate for the next four years. all of that and more coming up. this is "democracy now!," democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. president obama return to the white house on wednesday hours after his convincing win over republican challenger mitt romney in the 2012 election. aides say obama has immediately turned to the so-called fiscal cliff of $700 billion in expiring tax cuts and automatic spending reductions set to take effect at the end of the year. under the terms of last year's debt deal, obama and senate democrats must agree on a deficit reduction package with house republicans or face automatic cuts that will likely contract the economy. on wednesday, both senate majority leader harry reid and house speaker john boehner pledged to negotiate in good faith. >> the american people want us to work together. republicans and democrats want us to work together. they want a balanced approach to everything, but especially the situation we have dealing with this huge deficit and taxes tha

let's turn to john nichols, washington correspondent for "the nation" magazine, and author of the book "uprising." john, great to have you with us tonight and great work last night in toledo, ohio. that had to be pretty emotional. all those workers knowing that they were going to get a successful conclusion. the obama campaign kept the romney campaign off balance for nearly the entire stretch of this campaign, or am i wrong on that? >> i think it is true, although, obviously, we had that first debate. and that was a point that was offplan, by any measure. because, remember, going into that first debate, everyone was talking about whether barack obama was going to close the deal that night. that he would, you know, sort of wipe mitt romney out. romney, in that first debate, brought himself up to credibility, and that's where the obama campaign really had to go into full force. and i have to emphasize, what i saw last night, as well as what i saw traveling around the country over the few weeks before the campaign, was the evidence of something very significant, when you talk about spendi

joining me now is john nichols, washington correspondent. author of the book "uprising." , good to have you with us tonight. by rejecting the state-run exchanges, are these republicans paving the way for universal health care? what's happening here? >> i sure hope they are paving the way for universal health care, it's a great idea. but the fact of the matter is they are harming their own states. states are different. they have different levels of commitment to health care. many states have built out their own systems. and governor walker, who spoke about this building of a house was exactly wrong. in most states, you have the outlines of a house. what the federal government gave states the opportunity to do was to outfit that house as they chose to use what they already have in place. instead these governors are choosing a one-size-fits-all solution that will be worse in some cases. they are turning money back to the federal government at a time when we are supposed to be broke. when we've got all these financial problems. these states that refuse to set up their own exch

joining me now is john nichols, washington correspondent. author of the book "uprising." od to have you with us tonight. by rejecting the state-run exchanges, are these republicans paving the way for universal health care? what's happening here? >> i sure hope they are paving the way for universal health care, it's a great idea. but the fact of the matter is they are harming their own states. states are different. they have different levels of commitment to health care. many states have built out their own systems. and governor walker, who spoke about this building of a house was exactly wrong. in most states, you have the outlines of a house. what the federal government gave states the opportunity to do was to outfit that house as they chose to use what they already have in place. instead these governors are choosing a one-size-fits-all solution that will be worse in some cases. they are turning money back to the federal government at a time when we are supposed to be broke. when we've got all these financial problems. these states that refuse to set up their own exchange

joining me now is john nichols, washington correspondent. john, good to have you with us tonight.the state-run exchanges, are these republicans paving the way for universal health care? >> i sure hope they are paving the way for universal health care, it's a great idea. but the fact of the matter is they are harming their own states. states are different. they have different levels of commitment to health care. many states have built out their own systems. and governor walker, who spoke about this building of a house was exactly wrong. in most states, you have the outlines of a house. what the federal government gave states the opportunity to do was to outfit that house as they chose to use what they already have in place. instead these governors are choosing a one-size-fits-all solution that will be worse in some cases. they are turning money back to the federal government at a time when we are supposed to be broke. these states that refuse to set up their own exchanges are turns tens of millions of dollars back to the federal government and doing it for only one reason and that'

it's a big wake-up call. >> ruth connif and john nichols, great to have you with us tonight. ksgiving. >>> coming up, john mccain and lindsey graham's libya conspiracy theories have been proven wrong every step of the way and they're not giving up. we'll try to straighten their points out when we come back on this crazy witch hunt. >>> and later, the 2012 election is over, which means some republicans are already looking for ways to block the vote in 2016. state senator nina turner of ohio joins know talk about john husted's latest scheme. stay tuned. >>> welcome back to "the ed show." thanks for watching tonight. the witch hunt against u.n. ambassador susan rice is falling apart. senators john mccain and lindsey graham have been accusing the obama administration of changing susan rice's talking points, following the benghazi incident. they claim links to al qaeda were left out for political purposes. but on tuesday, their conspiracy theory was blown out of the water. the spokeswoman for the director of national intelligence told cnn the white house wasn't involved in removing

john nichols has the story from the badger state. listen to my radio show on sirius xm radio channel 127 monday through friday, noon to 3:00 p.m. and follow me on twitter @edshow and like "the ed show" on facebook. >>> welcome back. when faced with disasters like hurricane sandy, americans, you know, we always find a way to lend a hand. we're used to taking a shirt off our back for our next door neighbor, aren't we? that's just the spirit of america. that's who we are. tonight we here at nbc universal tried to do our part with the hurricane sandy coming together telethon. the hour long special was hosted by "today" show's matt lauer. and included music from new jersey natives bruce springsteen, bon jovi, long island's billy joel, and staten island-born christina aguilera. coming together to benefit the american red cross and the relief efforts for victims of the storm. nothing controversial about that whatsoever, correct? >> why the timing? why is that today? half the state of new jersey doesn't have power and can't even watch the co

john nichols has the story from the badger state.n to my radio show on sirius xm radio channel 127 monday through friday, noon to 3:00 p.m. and follow me on twitter @edshow and like the ed show on facebook. s, 43 bottles of olay total effects many birthdays later, still looks amazing. thanks to the trusted performance of olay. that's the sound of car insurance companies these days. here a cheap, there a cheap, everywhere a cheap... you get it. so, what if instead of just a cheap choice, you could make a smart choice? like, esurance for example. they were born online and built to save people money from the beginning. it's what they've always done. not just something they cheap about. that's insurance for the modern world. esurance. now backed by allstate. click or call. is a thrilling, dual-flavored ride to mouth fun-town. but it's not like everyone is going to break into a karaoke jam session. ♪ this will literally probably never happen. >>> welcome back. when faced with disasters like hurricane sandy, americans, you know, we always

it's a big wake-up call. >> ruth connif and john nichols, great to have you with us tonight. ng up, john mccain and lindsey graham's libya conspiracy theories have been proven wrong every step of the way and they're not giving up. we'll try to straighten their points out when we come back on this crazy witch hunt. >>> and later, the 2012 election is over, which means some republicans are already looking for ways to block the vote in 2016. state senator nina turner of ohio joins know talk about john husted's latest scheme. stay tuned. [ female announcer ] over every holiday season your mouth has been snacking, gift stacking, nutcracking and yellowing. because if you're not whitening, you're yellowing. crest whitestrips remove over 10 years of stains, just in time for a white holiday. crest 3d white whitestrips. ♪ don't know what i'd do ♪ i'd have nothing to prove ♪ i'd have nothing to lose [ male announcer ] zales is the diamond store. take an extra 15 percent off storewide, friday until two p.m. with his wife, danielle, almost every weekend. derrell hasn't been able to visit h

it's a big wake-up call. >> ruth connif and john nichols, great to have you with us tonight. > coming up, john mccain and lindsey graham's libya conspiracy theories have been proven wrong every step of the way and they're not giving up. we'll try to straighten their points out when we come back on this crazy witch hunt. >>> and later, the 2012 election is over, which means some republicans are already looking for ways to block the vote in 2016. state senator nina turner of ohio joins know talk about john husted's latest scheme. stay tuned. p when you take a closer look... ...at the best schools in the world... ...you see they all have something very interesting in common. they have teachers... ...with a deeper knowledge of their subjects. as a result, their students achieve at a higher level. let's develop more stars in education. let's invest in our teachers... ...so they can inspire our students. let's solve this. (announcer) when subaru owners look in the mirror, they see more than themselves. so we celebrate our year-end with the "share the love" event. get a great deal on

dollar this gave them. >> john nichols, great to you have with us tonight. >> there's a lot more coming up in the next half hour of "the ed show." >> in my own personal experience, it was very important for me to elect young people and encourage people to come and when they come here to give them opportunity to serve. >> 2012 is the year of the woman in congress. tonight north dakota's first female senator heidi highcamp joins me exclues i. >> hons ka'. >> ohio republicans are already trying to defund planned parenthood. state senator. >> last time i was at a gas station of i would say two months ago zip rarely put gas in the chevy volt. >> i go to the gas station such a small amount that i forget some good honors cars. [ female announcer ] with swiffer dusters, a great clean doesn't have to take longer. i'm done. [ female announcer ] unlike sprays and dust rags, swiffer 360 dusters extender can clean hard to reach places in less time. swiffer. great clean in less time. or your money back. we might still be making mix tapes. find this. pause this. play this.

that's ridiculous. >> john nichols, great to have you with us tonight. thanks so much. there's a lot more coming up in the next half hour of "the ed show." stay right with us. >> in my own personal experience, it was very important for me to elect young women and encourage people to come. and when they come here, to give them opportunity to serve. >> 2012 is the year of the woman in congress. tonight, north dakota's first female senator heidi hitekamp joins me exclusively. >>> does barack obama now have a mandate? >> i don't think so, because they also re-elected the house republicans. >> the mandate deniers are living in a bubble. we'll lay out the facts. >>> and eight days after getting thumped at the polls, ohio republicans are already trying to defund planned parenthood. state senator nina turner is here tonight and she's standing up for women. . and you pick the price that works for you. great. whoa, whoa, jamie. watch where you point that thing. [ mocking ] "watch where you point that thing." you point yours, i point mine. okay, l-let's stay calm. [ all shouting ]

joy reed and john nichols, washington bureau chief for "the nation."are msnbc contributors, thank god. i mean it, joy. >> thank you. >>> i want to talk about this. you and i have jabbered band and forth for weeks. luckily ought that negative stuff seemed to have very little impact negatively. it may have inspired some people to get out and vote. i heard that from a number of people, including our reverend al sharpton. and people had a registration impulse or push. will we still see birthers, people in the congress saying this guy is not president? >> you know what, chris, we have talked a lot about this. i think unfortunately. obviously the intellectuals in the republican party can parse it, they realize they lost, they accept it. the people like steve schmidt that do this for a living, they even understand what the republican party's problem is, but you've been scouring right-wing web sites, not the crazy one, but looking at the comments and looking at the rank and file, the base reaction. i do sense that they're not going to get on board, they are no

whether it was a little postcard in a truck stop order judge john nichols or george oki or how many westernsw, have we seen that have these landscapes? >> it has a powerful drive. the official state nickname is land of enchantment. it carries a new age mysticism with it. and it is chloe and warm and fuzzy and obscures reality. ultimately, that is what "desert america" is about. how we imagine the desert or had has been imagined forest by the many desert imagery's that have been created for us. the stage upon which real estate is sold and hotels and staying at hotels and hotel packages and etc. how complicated the actual human geography of the places. there is an imagined place and there is the reality place. and so i will take you to northern new mexico. angela chose northern new mexico. she is from central new mexico, albuquerque. both of our families have issues with addiction. that was another point of encounter between us. she chose northern new mexico not to be right next door to her family, you know. but close enough so that we could visit often. also because it runs along highway 68.

these are people's lives. >> back with us at the table now john nichols my colleague at the "nation"should note one small technicality, right, which is they are -- jeep is going to do -- open a factory to produce jeeps in china for the chinese market. so, the point is that they are not moving jobs. there's not outsourcing, they are opening a new factory in china to produce jeeps for the chinese market and i should note this, this is something i learned going to china which is a fun and interesting fact, i think, chinese consumers love american cars. >> yep. >> love american cars. american cars have hugely high status in china and so american carmakers are very excited about the chinese market to make that point. john, what role is this alto question playing in the politics out there? you've been reporting in that region of the country for years. >> it's huge. i mean, it's giant, because the american auto industry when it got going, you know, they started in detroit, it's true. but then they kind of moved out in spokes down to toledo, over to lordstown, across the lake to kenosha, dow

john nichols, that impenetrable rejection front that you hear on the radio, you heard it from rush limbaugh, it could penetrate throughout most of the house republican caucus, talk about it. >> well, i think it's real, and i think we have to understand the republican party is divided between hacks and true believers. for the last couple years, the true believers have been in charge and the hacks have followed the true believers. the question is whether the hacks, led by karl rove, whether they seek to reassert themselves. i think in a sense the president has a responsibility here. he has to own his mandate. it's very important that we recognize this election didn't finish on tuesday night. they're still counting votes? washington state. every hour president obama adds about 100,000 more votes. sometimes tonight he will move over the line to a 3 million popular vote win, when florida is decided it's likely he will have 332 electoral votes. he will have won 26 states and the district of columbia, and he needs to talk about that. not in a pompous or bragging way, but to say, look, i won a big

joi reid of the grio is reporting for us tonight in orlando and john nichols is in toledo. o start with ohio which is closer to us right now. john, if you had to pick it right now without any bs attached, who would you say is going to win ohio tonight? >> obama. >> tell me why. >> i think that something remarkable happened in the last two weeks of the campaign. it's obviously obama would have won it anyway and it's still going to be close. i'm not going to pretend differently, but my sense is that when mitt romney suggested that the jeep plant in toledo, ohio, would soon close and move to china and then when he was called out on that and still they decided to go up with ads that made that suggestion, i think it had a huge impact particularly in this northwest corner of ohio. obviously romney -- >> how do you read that? where did you get that reading that that's bothered people? the vice president in our interview, he thinks that paid advertising can just smash through any kind of critical reporting. >> i don't know that's true in northwest ohio. the toledo blade has covered

here is a papa john's franchise owner, judy nichols, onnds frier thoughts. >> we have 51 full time equivalentse or two full time people over the 2013 year from the beginning to the end or we qualify as big business and that minimum $40,000 tax and $2,000 per head, we can't afford that. peace just pizza. i was so ready for growth. we were going to add 100 jobs this year with the new pizza restaurants and even some grocery stores. there is just no money for it. i cannot pay my staff and pay all these taxes. there is only so much blood you can get out of a turnip. everest rapt you eat at is impacted negatively by this law. >> steve: for so many small business owners, this law is counter intuitive to why they got into business. they got newies to get bigger. the guy with the appleby's, he's really quite large. he's got a lot of employees. he was on our program on friday and said this. >> capital always finds its most efficient use. its most efficient use is not adding to overhead. its most efficient use is expanding a company and hiring people. so they pay their own health care. without a job, yea