two, marion berry did it a million times and got reelected. obama brags about his cocaine use in his book. no one cares about that. yes. this is a great mayor. the real state has been going through the roof. he's imposed free market liberation on this socialist country because he's a fat white guy we make fun about the one time he did crack. wasted. someone has a crack pipe you're going to be like well i am having trouble seeing. you know? i won't mind a sobering toke. >> is that what it is? >> it's better to drive after crack if you're really wasted. >> i agree. >> like a strong cup of coffee >> exactly. >> you were saying to me in the green room why all the hate about crack? then, you walk out. >> interestingly, you're the best thing that ever happened to anthony weiner? >> yes? >> rob ford. >> he was on the front page of every paper, embarrassing the naths, now, no one can remember anthony weiner happened because this actual mayor in canada captured our attention. >> yes. >> having sex via texting is much better when you're on crack. >> i'l

two, marion berry did it a million times, he got re-elected.brags about his cocaine use in his book. no one cares about that and, yes, this guy's a great mayor. the real estate in toronto has been going through the roof because he's imposed free market liberation on this totally socialist country. because he's a fat white guy and we make a big deal of it. i am actually having trouble seeing. let me take a sobering toke. >> it's actually better to drive after smoking crack. it's like a strong cup of coffee. >> i agree. >> you said to me in the greenroom, why all of the problem about hard crack. >> interestingly, you know the best thing that ever happened to an be though any weiner? >> what? >> rob ford. >> yes. >> it was in this past year that anthony weiner was on the front page of every paper and no one can remember him because there was a mayor in canada. >> having sex via texting is much better while on crack. >> thank you for that. >> i'll keep that in mind. >> focus. you're locked in. >> did this apology stand out for you? to me, this was

marion berry had been a three term mayor of washington d.c. when he came back he ran for city council. he could either run for an at-large council seat or he could run in his home base, which was where he originally nurtured his political ties back in the early 1970s. not coincidentally, that district is also the poorest ward in washington and the most overwhelmingly black. he believed and apparently wisely that he would find the most sympathetic audience for his return. and ended up going on to be elected mayor after that. that probably wouldn't have happened had he chosen to run for mayor in his first time back out. second case, alcee hastings probably made a mistake his first time back. he ran a statewide primary for secretary of state in florida. one of the reasons those difficult again, races i think pre-emanate here. florida statewide is about a 20% african-american date. democratic primary electorate tends to be between 25 and 29% african-american. in his first secretary of state his percentage pretty much trended -- pretty much was rig

marion berry was probably the most contrite. you might remember his famous line on being caught on videotape. he said, "the bitch set me up." he was actually more contrite than the other candidates we looked at, if that provide some context. [laughter] alluded to vaguely some mistakes he made. hastings said he never made any theakes at all even though house found convincing evidence andook $150,000 in bribes the democratic majority house of representatives voted 14-3 to impeach him, and he was convicted. that was kind of the levels of contrition and combativeness among the three i looked at. charisma and personal credibility very important. marion barry had 20 years of experience in the civil rights movement going back to nashville helping to organize lunch citizens. ofer the riots, he was one the leading figures in driving trucks, delivering food throughout southwest washington, d.c. he had a tremendous amount of credibility from community and civic work. that put him in good stead when it was time for his comeback. had a decen

but the best example is probably marion berry who has been censured by the d.c. si the council -- city council twice in the last three years, once for bribery and then a second time for also financially-related abuse of power. has talked continually about his struggles with alcohol and drugs. and comets getting elected -- continues getting elected and reelected. i think he's 78, 79 careers old. and the only election he ever lost was the one that he ran while he was literally like waiting to go to prison. [laughter] so, yeah, i think it's very possible. again, depending -- david that her, is that what you said your name was? you make a good point. we explain in our paper about oppositional cultures that are already very skeptical of either the media or, you know, the establishment generally speaking and how advantageous those contexts can be for scandalized candidates. >> we have some questions over on that side. >> charles franklin, marquette law school. i wanted to lay off david's point on the republican senatorial committee. chairman rebus is facing all -- prie

no, that was marion berry a decade ago.theme as unfair as it is, as our welcome gift to the new mayor. i hear he's a great guy. he's a good guy. why can't he fix the snow? >> he is. you have to go to working class neighborhoods. >> it is true. it is true. my streets there were much clearer than they are in manhattan. not even a close call. >> i came about 50 blocks through manhattan and every street was plowed. i'll stay with the joke and theme because it's fun but every street was plowed beautifully. >> other than that he's not doing well. >> other than that, seriously, this is a crisis of the fir order. >> crisis of confidence. >> takes me back to katrina. let's go to washington, d.c. and see if de blasio has cleared their streets down there. we have moderator of "meet the press" david gregory and also josh green. guys, very good to see you. washington is looking okay. >> joe, look at the snow that's accumulating on top of the buildings. who is responsible for that? lord. it's even more horrifying the snow accumulating on

. >> i spent five years in washington covering washing top's then mayor marion berry with that crackthis man, absolutely ridiculed with scandal. does he have a shot at reelection and using that backdrop, barry won again. >> yeah, mayor ford does have a shot. his approval rating is about 40%, not that much different than president obama's, we know that's not god, but not a deadly approval rating. in the polls, he is not leading in any of the hypothetical races against his potential challengers, but he's not, you know, getting trounced. he is not down and out. it's a 10 month campaign. there's a long way to go and yeah, he could win. >> there was anger that they believe that the prosecutors were trying to force the mayor out of office. is there an agenda that those who do not live in toronto don't know about concerning rob ford and the efforts to get him out of office? >> i would say no, but i think there is a sentiment here that the elites, you know, including possibly the police and downtowners who want to tax and spend, you know, don't like this guy who's trying to cut budgets and s