i'm larry kudlow. this is "the kudlow report." buried deep in the obama budget is a massive $350 billion tax hike on business. that's right. it also includes $150 billion on offshore profits, another tax. these would be the biggest corporate tax hikes in the history of the earth. now, standing by to join us this evening, house budget chairman paul ryan. he's going to tell us how to stop all this and how to save america. but we begin tonight with some breaking news on another big tax story. this time we go back to the social security payroll tax holiday. we welcome back luke russert who joins us from capitol hill. i hear breaking news, the payroll tax holiday is moving forward, making progress in the conference. what can you tell me? >> that's right indeed, larry. the payroll tax holiday, there seems to be tentative agreement to extend that for the rest of the year. it will cost $100 billion to the national deficit. it will not be paid for. also within that bill there's a plan to attach unemployment insurance, as well as the medica

i'm larry kudlow. this is "the kudlow report" sizzle story number one, is obama to blame for rising gasoline prices? did you know that retail gas price has gone up 93% since the president took office. that's right. down in florida, prices approaching $6 a gallon. we'll debate obama culpability. story number two, the tale of two tax cuts. president obama unveils corporate tax reform, taking the rate from 35% to 28%. by the way, the first marginal tax rate cut in his presidency, but it slams corporate profits earned overseas. meanwhile, mitt romney unveils his 20% solution. take a listen. >> i'm going to lower rates across the board for all americans by 20%. all right? >> all right. the big question. can romney sell it in tonight's debate and win in michigan? in a moment, an exclusive interview with the architect of the plan. mitt romney's senior economic adviser, glen hubbard, dean of the columbia business school. we begin with the president's own corporate tax reform plan, and we go to cnbc's amon jave

i'm larry kudlow and this is "the kudlow report." it's the midnight hour for mitt, if he wins he rolls to the nomination, but if he loses it could be devastating. santorum's culture war versus mitt's check plan. that seems to be the dividing line. we'll have extensive coverage throughout the evening. sizzle number two, the market melts up as the dow finally passes 13,000 and investor jimmy rogers joins our market panel and plus we have an exclusive interview with house leader eric cantor on his new job's bill that president obama may be endorsing. first up, it's just under an hour before polls close in michigan, arizona later. cnbc's john harwood joins us live from detroit. good evening, john? >> reporter: larry, there are some polls that will be open until 9:00 in michigan, as well so we'll have to wait a bit for those results, but we already know this is a very, very close race in michigan. pretty high stakes for the norm nation. my take is that mitt romney wins michigan in arizona he'll be the nominee, and i think he'll be the nom

i'm larry kudlow. this is "the kudlow report." that's right, folks. my lead story tonight is an exclusive interview with congressman ron paul. he's still very much a factor in the republican race. and the sizzle story today is the shocking charge that ron paul has an alliance with mitt romney that could lead to his son, senator rand paul, being installed as the romney vice president. take a listen to all this. >> joining us exclusively now is texas republican congressman and presidential candidate ron paul. dr. paul, welcome back to the show, as always, sir. and let me begin with this. >> thank you. >> rick santorum was whining this morning on the laura ingraham radio show. he's whining that you are attacking him too much and you never attack mitt romney, and he's accusing you of having an alliance with mitt romney. what's your reaction? i thought this would be a great spot for to you respond to this santorum business. >> well, if everybody -- if anybody would check the record very carefully, you know,

i'm larry kudlow. remember the famous line, it's the economy, stupid.ront-page headline of "the new york times" today says americans are getting more bullish on president obama as the economy improves. is it possible the economy's good enough to actually reelect him? let's talk. our dynamic duo. cnbc contributor robert reich and author of "aftershock" steve moore author of "return to prosperity." brother rice, let me start with with this finding. only 44% approve of mr. obama's handling on the economy. however, back in december, it was only 28% and january, 33%, and now 44%. so i guess progress and direction is everything. what's your thought? >> i think direction is a lot, larry. i think it is unlikely that unemployment is going to be below 8% by election day, but americans clearly are feeling more optimistic and with that optimism goes a more favorable view of president obama. i might add that as long as the republican primary continues and contenders keep on heaping negative ads on each other, the likelihood of another president obama turn is increas

cnbc's larry kudlow will be here onset. >> love kudlow.e need to debate. >> we've got the president of on council of foreign relations richard haass and peter gammons. up next, politico's top stories of the morning. but first, bill karins with a check on the forecast. bill? >> keeping with the theme, it's okay to strip some layers off today because temperatures are soaring. we're looking at april-like temps in february out there today. it's going to be unusually warm in almost all of the country. right now already in the 50s and 60s in the deep south. really the only cold spot in the northern plains. we have a storm system located north of wisconsin, it's pumping the warm air up from the south. there's no large snow pack in place. so just like in april when the warm air comes north wards, there's nothing to stop it. that's why we'll see temperatures in the 60s in the philadelphia, d.c., mid-50s around hartford, new york city, chance of showers in northern new england. and check out the heat from denver to dallas. dallas in the mid-70s toda

i'm larry kudlow. this is "the kudlow report." that's right, folks. our sizzle story tonight and our major theme, the big jobs numbers. 243,000 non-farm payrolls. get this, 847,000 small business household employment. incredible number. all summing to an improving 8.3% unemployment rate. with this game-changing jobs number the stock market meltup we've been talking about should continue. and the game changer should spark an end to the fed's crazy zero interest rate policy. and the big jobs gain may also be a game changer for the presidential race, boosting president obama's chances. and let's get right to our top story because this is more fun than i've had in ages. today's game-changing jobs number. let's go right to former labor secretary and cnbc contributor robert reich. he's the author of "aftershock." and we welcome back former republican presidential hopeful herman cain. he's endorsed newt gingrich for president. herman cain, right to you. happy days are here again. america and finally recoverin

i'm larry kudlow. this is "the kudlow report." sizzle story number one, make or break in michigan. polls show it's too close to call, but mitt romney needs a w, as in a big win in tomorrow's primary. if he gets an l, all hell could break loose in this race. and sizzle story number two, koran rage in afghanistan. should the united states get out faster? and then is putt tin's power crumbling in russia? they're demonstrating. they're trying to assassinate him. and he is holding a phony election next week. distinguished four-star general barry mccaffrey will guide us through the flash points. and finally, transcanada will build a major part of the keystone. transcan joins us for a first ever interview on cnbc. >>> first up, it's a standoff in michigan. the latest numbers from rasmussen are right in the margin. romney, 38. santorum, 36. it looks like rick santorum's culture war versus mitt romney's tax and economic program. so who is going to walk away with the win in this very critical republican primary?

i'm larry kudlow.o conservatives convened in washington today, day one of the annual c pacmeeting. do they have a candidate with that platform? joining us now with all of the latest on the cpac event, cnbc contributor, robert costa of the national review. do the grassroots conservatives at cpac see a candidate that has those conservative principles? >> they're waiting to see, larry. >> it's a very interesting day at cpac. you heard from senator marco rubio, and we're hearing from senator paul ryan. he's speaking right now. conservatives like the healthy primary fight and they want to go longer and the real message is unity. they will have to right the nominee and they want to hear ideological choice and not just make a referendum on president obama. >> and regarding not just a referendum, the events of the past year, after the tea party election, not that great. the debt ceiling wasn't that good. there's no balanced budget. obama care is waging war on religious freedom and there is no tax reform they'r

kudlow report." i'm joe kernen in nor larry who is out sick tonight, and, yes, i'm in a completely different seat andompletely different set. that's the kind of stuff we can do here on "the kudlow report." >>> the santorum surge shows no signs ever slowing down. in the polling average, santorum 37, against a bailout, too. romney, 29. and now rick's closing the gap in arizona. the latest arizona numbers show mitt's early february lead dramatically cut had been 24 points back on february 1st. now down to just 8. both states primaries only 11 days away. cnbc contributor robert kostis joins us now after speaking to rick santorum with the latest from the front-runner. good evening, robert. not really time to call santorum a front-runner. is it? >> it could be. rick santorum is an unabashed social conservative. at the michigan primary approaches he told me his real challenge right now is to convince conservatives he's not only one of them, but an economic conservative. he wants to focus on fiscal issues. especially as a controversy over foster, continues to be a firestorm. >> so feared. used to be a guest

good evening, i'm larry kudlow. this is t"the kudlow report." today would have marked ronald reagan's 101st birthday. he was my hero, my mentor, and he knew how to grow the economy. however, our sizzle story tonight is morning in america, halftime in america. it may have been the best ad in last night's super bowl. watched by 111 million people. but it may have been the most controversial ad. >> showing us it can be done. and what's true about them is true about all of us. it's halftime, america. and our second is about to begin. >> all right. so it's clint eastwood, and a vowed republican and liberty aaron who voted for john mccain and always voted for republican presidential candidates. he told the "l.a. times" last year he is opposed to bailing out banks and auto companies, but why did he seem like he was shilling for obama's bailout? or maybe it was just a larger statement that america is coming back in a kind of clint eastwood, rugged, conservative, cowboy, patriotic way? in a moment, we're going to debate the actual bailout with our dynami

i'm larry kudlow. this is "the kudlow report." look, sizzle story number one tonight, did president obama really grant religious institutions a true insurance waiver to avoid compromising their beliefs? it looks like we saw a mere accounting change. somebody's got to pay for these mandates. that's the problem. we'll debate it. sizzle story number two, back to stocks. they stall over greece. late-breaking news. a cabinet deal is on. the point is this week's mighty sell-off looks like a buying opportunity on the road to 14,000. and also, who won cpac? was it mitt? rick? newt? speaking of mitt, i'll give him and anyone else who wants to listen a bold tax reform plan they need before the evening is over. it's open for all to borrow. did the president obama mid-course correction on contraception really change a problem for the catholic bishops and others? or was it just an accounting change? are religious institutions still responsible for the cost of a mandated insurance package? all right. let's talk. we're going to have a rematch. i

>> the bull market momentum is getting stronger and stronger, i'm larry kudlow and this is the "the kudlow report," the president will reveal his budget on monday, from what we have been told, it's again an act of war against successful businesses and business men, no real reform. ben bernanke said that tax hikes will damage recovery prospects and we have a key election interview. i'll talk with mayor rudy giuliani and ask who he will endorse and upward stock momentum is getting stronger. year to date, it's the cyclicals that are leading the way in a stronger economy. president obama is set to release his budget on monday, from what has been leaked, it seems like the same tax the rich plan. no reform. can't they do better? let's talk, we have cnbc contributor john bernstein, he is chief economist to joe biden and tax the rich, ben bernanke said no to it today, can't your team produce better? >> first of all, what bernanke is talking about is not what is in the budget. he is saying, and i agree with him, if you follow current law and all the bush tax cuts sunset and the amt grips people in

dan square off on the bernanke inflation record. >>> welcome back, to "the kudlow report" i'm larry kudlow, are ben bernanke's critic wrong about inflation? they have been saying that all the pump rhyming will breed inflation and bernanke defenders, especially in a big article today, say no, there's no inflation, i'll ask at the top, what about millton freedman's theory. too much moneying chasing too many goods. we bring in dan, chief global strategist, btig. okay, dan, the 12 month cpi is 10%. let's go over the six-year term for bernanke, the inflation rate is 2.4, the long run looks good, the short run not so good. are you worried? >> there's clearly developments that suggest that there's things to be aware of. the economy appears to be improving. certainly on that front, those of us who were defenders of the federal reserve have to be careful, but let's be clear, the reserve has printed a trillion dollars as you have talked about and as you noted the cpi is 3%. >> that is not chopped liver, and that's the thing. 3% is the overall cpi. the energy component is plus 6.6% and the food compo

here he is with larry kudlow. >> i'm not looking to single out some group of people and say let's raise taxes. >> keep the carry. >> if it's actually a capital investment and it's fairly priced at the time people invest in it and then it rises in value as a capital gain, then you treat it as a capital gain. if you turn it into ordinary income or bonus, then it's not. >> yes. keep the carried interest, but no, not if it's ordinary income. governor romney, can you help me? we've asked the governor to come "outfront" because we want to hear more about his plans. the "outfront" strike team thinks hooe got the best in the republican field when it comes to an economic plan, but we hope the governor can take a stand on "outfront" when it comes to carried interest because this issue is not going away. david frum, gloria borger and michael, thanks to all of you for being with us. david frum, let me start with you. this is tough. this is a loophole, fair and standard in his industry, that almost nobody really defends. michael bloomberg's come out against it. a lot of people. he has to take a posi

here he is with larry kudlow. >> i'm not looking to single out some group of people and say let's raise taxes. >> keep the carry. >> if it's actually a capital investment and it's fairly priced at the time people invest in it and then it rises in value as a capital gain, then you treat it as a capital gain. if you turn it into ordinary income or bonus, then it's not. >> yes. keep the carried interest, but no, not if it's ordinary income. governor romney, can you help me? we've asked the governor to come "outfront" because we want to hear more about his plans. the "outfront" strike team thinks hooe got the best in the republican field when it comes to an economic plan, but we hope the governor can take a stand on "outfront" when it comes to carried interest because this issue is not going away. david frum, gloria borger and michael, thanks to all of you for being with us. david frum, let me start with you. this is tough. this is a loophole, fair and standard in his industry, that almost nobody really defends. michael bloomberg's come out against it. a lot of people. he has to take a posi

i'm larry kudlow. this is "the kudlow report." the president unveils a class warfare and a tax the rich budget. layer on layer of tax hikes are piled on successful investors, banks, corporations, oil and gas all of which could slam down the economy. the bush tax cut, they'll be gone. 30%, the minimum tax for success and american? that will be added. virtually no spending restraint and no major entitlement reform. we're going broke and no one seems to want to do much about it, but maybe, just maybe, senator pat toomey can tell me what the risk fiscal path will be and he joins me live in just a few moments. then there's sizzle story number two. italy, spain and portugal downgraded by moody's, but a greek bailout deal does boost stocks. the dow climbed 73 points on our long march toward 14,000, strength of the better economy. that's my card. first up tonight, cnbc's eamon javers joins me with the details. >> good evening, larry. the obama administration is saying now is not the time for austerity as the president unveiled his $3. bil

i'm larry kudlow. let's do some stock market work now. joining me is david malpass, former reagan treasury official, and ken heebner. i have been channelling and rechannelling your market melt-up. now i get to give due credit. in brief, tell me why you're such a big optimist? >> hi, larry, i began changing in november, and it's because europe stepped back from the brink. you know they were a big risk, something very bad might have happened, but the ecb has now stepped in and i think that's a plus. and then on the u.s. side, we do have growth coming back. you see it in the auto sales for january. and that may be enough given the amounts of cash on the sideline in the pent up demand to give us a real recovery in 2012. >> ken heebner, do you agree? and i want to add, jobless claims fell today. ism manufacturing very strong yesterday. ken, are we in a market melt-up? >> the ingredients are all there. particularly the acceleration in the economy. car sales at 14.1 is the highest since the spring of '08. and the home building industry, which ha

answers. >>> welcome back to the kudlow report i'm larry kudlow.ay in detroit, surging rick santorum laid out his presidential plan for the economy. robert costa joins us now with the full report. robert, how was the santorum story? >> reporter: nothing new, larry but interesting santorum emphasized his blue collar values, upbringing in western pennsylvania and tied his own personal narrative to economic agen agenda, how he will eliminate corporate tax on manufacturers and make america more competitive. >> let me ask you, i was reading he did tackle entitlements, sounded like paul ryan, paul ryan wants to hear them all sound like. did he communicate that, that he has a broad base plan, not just a narrow plan? >> he did hint at it. was not the key part of the speech but he sounded like paul ryan. talking to republican operatives, the message was santorum may not speak in the same tile, he may not be mitt romney when it comes to detailed on entitlements but has the same core message. >> how did the business crowd listening to him react to the blue co

i'm larry kudlow. this is "the kudlow report." sizzle story number one tonight, and it's a fwood one. have high energy prices turned mr. obama into a republican? now, as prices climb past $108, president obama fought back today against his critics. here he is mocking republicans on drill, drill, drill. take a listen to this cut from the president today. >> they're already dusting off their three-point claim for $2 gas. i'll save you the suspense. step one is to drill and step two is to drill, and then step three is to keep drilling. >> all right. very clever. very cute. wait a minute. i read the speech carefully, and the very next line tells me that oil spikes last year and now have actually taken the president into republican territory. that's right. you heard me. listen to this cut. >> in we're going to avoid being at the mercy of these world events, we've fwot to have a sustained, all of the above strategy that envelopes every available source of american energy. yes, oil and gas, but also wind and solar and nuclear and biofuel

i'm larry kudlow. please stay with us. [ male announcer ] let's level the playing field.e the privileged investing tools of wall street and make them simple, intuitive, and available to all. distill all that data. make information instinctual, visual. introducing trade architect, td ameritrade's empowering web-based trading platform. take control of your portfolio today. trade commission-free for 60 days, and we'll throw in up $600 when you open an account. i have to be a tree in the school play. good. you like trees. well, i like climbing them, but i've never been one. good point. ( captain ) this is your captain speaking. annie gets to be the princess. oh... but she has to kiss a boy. and he's dressed up like a big green frog ! ewww. ( announcer ) fly without putting your life on pause. be yourself nonstop. american airlines. >> back to our distinguished panel. ed rogers, bob strum, this one's made for you. i have a thought experiment. consider that you are newt gingrich. it's a wonderful thought, and consider that you are determined to continue to run no matter how big

good evening, i'm larry kudlow. this is "the kudlow report." sizzle story number one. that's right, folks. the so-called 30% buffett tax on millionaires which the obama democrats are aiming right at mitt romney's capital gains, it's nothing more than doubling the 15% cap gains tax. and by the way, cap gains itself is a double tax on corporate profits. and if you raise the combined tax to 55%, that would pose enormous damage to the economy. sizzle story number two, good economic news around the globe helped our stocks climb 84 points. and i wonder, are we heading for a stock market melt-up? that's right, a melt-up. and topic number three tonight, the day after mitt romney's bone-crushing victory over newt gingrich, now the front-runner has a controversy over poor people, and we'll tackle it. by the way, we're going have a quick report on the facebook ipo. one thousand millionaires could be created overnight. wow. let's get right to our top sizzle story of the day and the continued class warfare coming from obama democrats. senate democrats moved ahead with their so-call

as i was joking last night with larry kudlow, this guy probably thinks hayek is a field goal kicker for new england patriots. he just doesn't get it. >> all right. really quick, jon meacham. >> just to go to a hero of joe's, a winning vocabulary for romney would be closer to eisenhower in the beginning of the greater middle class where you did have a government role, but the emphasis was on growth and jobs and a standard of living that rose at a level that the world really never knew. >> we're going to be talking about that with your charts a little later, steve rattner. >>> we are talking so closely about looking -- putting the microscope on the choice of picking a president, and this next story which we're going to get to to round out the block really highlights why this is such an important choice. there are growing signs that israel is considering a military strike against iran's nuclear program even as the u.s. presses for more time to let economic sanctions to take hold. just this morning, iran vowed it would not back down to international pressure. american officials are concerne

other people, larry kudlow, others, i won't mention any names, they'll point to the counterfactual andf you see romney's approval ratings start going up, on intrade, his electability going up, you can say the stock market is anticipating next year. >> and i agree with that. >> yeah. good, all right. ken, we agree with a lot of things. i was going to give i some grief about saying romney belongs on the top of a wedding cake. because you said that in the notes. and reagan, reagan was a handsome, guy, too, that they thought was sort of superficial and not authentic. >> joe, you're not old enough -- >> i am old enough, i remember. ken, thank you. >>> comments, questions about anything you see here on "squawk," email us. i wish people thought of me on top of a wedding cake. i'd like that good-looking. >> the perfect groom. >> the portly -- i look like -- at cnbc.com you can follow us on twitter my job is to find the next big sound. they sound awesome tonight. and when i do find it, i share it with the world. you landed the u.s. tour ? done. this is fantastic ! music is my life and i want to

spencer bachus talked to larry kudlow after the original allegations came out. >> i buy non-financialnutes" called and said you short a g stock and you bought etfs in the financial sector i said i don't think that's right. let me get back to you. i can't imagine doing that. it actually scared me. >> reporter: since the news of this congressional ethics investigation broke, we've got a written statement from congressman bachus saying he respects the ethics process. he looks forward to a full exoneration, that he's followed the rules governing congress but neel kashkari who served in the bush treasury department at the time when the treasury department went to congress and asked for immediate action on t.a.r.p. because of the threat to the financial system, expressed some alarm today at the prospect any member of congress would have been trading on those briefings. here's neel kashkari. >> we had republicans, democrats, the house and the senate getting full view of what we were thinking about, what data we were getting from the banks and so it's shocking to me to think that any member o