joining us to talk about it is mark murray, nbc news deputy political collector. stalemate seems like the right word. i feel like if you had a word to define congress in 2011, it would be stalemate, or partisanship gridlock. pick your word. this is brinksmanship. political chicken, who turns the wheel first? >> usually the side that's actually behind. and right now, you have to see that republicans are the ones that are in a corner. chris, it actually started earlier in the week when republican senator scott brown and dean heller said we don't support what the house republicans are doing. >> dean heller served in the house, he knows of what he speaks. >> you have the deafening silence from senate majority mitch mcconnell. that he's not said anything says a lot. and lastly "the wall street journal" editorial page saying look, house republicans, it's time to wave the white flag. it shows the politics aren't behind the republicans right now. you don't know how it's going to play out. but at least opticswise, prwise, the republicans are ott a disadvantage. >> couldn't

mark murray joins me now. i was saying, before we came on, this is second verse, same as the first. we've been here for the last 24 to 48 hours which is essentially the house says we're not doing it the senate says we're not doing it. and certainly feels like house republicans are on an island at the moment. you're got senator republicans, democrats united in congress, the "wall street journal" editorial page saying this is not a good strategy and they need to change it. how can they -- is there a way out of the corner they've backed themselves into? >> that's the question we don't have an answer to now. yes, democrats hold a political and pr advantage now. talk to any republican outside the house gop, john boehner, eric cantor, they think this is a mistake for house republicans but how do you go? so the easiest thing for the house republicans to do is pass that senate legislation that passed by an 89-10 vote and say we're going to extend it for two months and let's go back to the drawing board, talk about a year-long extension get our things but the question is, can they really do

nbc's political director mark murray joins us to talk about the retail side of the campaign. good morning. >> good morning, chris. >> is it clear who has the best organization? >> yes, by all indications, it's ron paul. i attended an event he held at iowa state, so a lot of college students. more than 1,000 people showed up to a ron paul speech, very impressive for this point in the iowa caucus stage. however it's important to know that the organization that ron paul has doesn't compared to what we saw in 2008 with either hillary clinton, barack obama, john edwards, even mitt romney on the republican side, so ron paul is the best this cycle, but it doesn't compare to 2008. >> here's what mike huckabee had to say about this over the weekend. let me play it. >> i would probably say that mitt romney will end up winning it, today. now, i think, again, ron paul, because of his organization could, and that's where mitt is really at a disadvantage. he doesn't have the devote. if the weather is good, mitt romney is in better shape. if the weather is bad and it's real tough to get out

. >> let's bring in mark murray.he campaign in iowa, we've seen and heard over the past day or so, it's getting increasingly nasty. newt gingrich promised to stay positive seems to be getting more and more negative by the day. >> it's the physics of politics, when you see yourself in a corner, your numbers are starting to slip, you end up going negative. newt gingrich has had this distinction where negativity for him is talking about the facts that he says if it is fact based, it really isn't growing negative. craig, you are right. we have six days to go before the iowa caucuses, this is the final sprint. and that would bed time which the knives would be out on all corners. we've seen romney going after gingri gingrich, gingrich go after paul. it's become a rumble in the hawkeye state. >> ron paul has launched a new ad? iowa as well. let's take a look at a 35 second ad. take a look. >> consistent, incorruptible, guided by faith and principle. ron paul, the one we've been looking for. >> clearly not so vailed attacks

mark murray is the deputy political director and joins me here.ng on all of these issues but immigration is really a troubling one for the republicans because they were on all sides of it. in the general election, we've seen all of the republican candidates really brandish their officials, some talked about building a wall on mexico and they are against comprehensive immigration reform. newt gingrich had a more moderate position wanted to have immigration reform for people who have been here for 25 years or more. weç saw rick perry about in ste tuition for children of illegal immigrants but for the most part they had a system where they want to layout their anti-illegal immigration credentials which could hurt them in a general election. >> where the hispanic vote is increasingly significant fact of life. and since the george w. bush days, it has really gone down in its support for republican candidates. >> the exit polls in 2004, george w. bush got more than 40% of the latino vote. john mccain got 31, 32% four years ago. remember john mccain was

mark murray is nbc's deputy political director and joins me here in washington. ing on the program. >> thanks, luke. >> so, mark, the morning after, this seems like it was first victory all year for the -- for house democrats and really president obama. >> luke it was a victory for them. and this was something that was obviously set up back in september when president obama turned from deficit reduction and austerity to talking about jobs. and the good news for republicans in this fight is, yes, this is a defeat, but it was a black eye that might last only for four or five days, particularly if today's vote goes as anyone assumes it will. the problem for republicans and the good news for democrats is this all sets up into really the big battle for 2012. we're talking abo ing abouing a inequality, which party is the better deliverer for the middle class. that could set up a narrative that the democrats are the ones looking for a payroll tax for middle class americans and republicans weren't. and that is the potential danger for the republican party. >> mark, charle

joining me now is nbc director mark murray. thanks for joining us and we have kristen welker in the briefing room. let me start with you, kristen. i will get analysis from mark. the tone of the president that was a surprise moment with him walking in expressing frustration. what are we hearing at the white house? >> that's right. president obama certainly frustrated when he made that surprise appearance here in the briefing room. he called on all leaders to come back and resolve this. he called out speaker boehner by name, say pg come back and resolve this issue. basically said that the bill that was passed by the senate on friday is the most viable option to get an extension of this payroll pax cut passed and also say look, we all agree that we wanted to see this payroll tax cut extended for a year. both couldn't agree how to pay for that. what they could come to the table on this was two-month extension of the tax cut. we are hearing behind the scenes that president obama essentially is trying to ramp up the pressure on house

and in the current economic climate, even employees like mark murray can be vulnerable. in january 2009, microsoft staff learned that 5,000 of them would lose their jobs, and the company's legendary health coverage and all it implies. murray was not one them. >> how do people do this if they don't have health insurance? i mean, we... we were incredibly lucky. i really believe that if it wasn't for the support that we got through our health insurance that we wouldn't have, you know, a baby boy right now. >> narrator: microsoft is, in effect, pooling the risks of any major medical costs among its 55,000 employees, many of who are young and healthy. but outside the microsoft campus, things can be very different, especially for smaller businesses. drew altman heads kaiser family foundation, one of america's top health policy think tanks. in addition to studying insurance, they have to find it for their 120 employees, like any other smaller business. they faced a real challenge when one of their staff also had a million-dollar pregnancy. >> we offer our employees two choices o

let bring in and say good morning to innocence deputy political director mark murray.e broken down the numbers for us, the numbers comes to total spending by presidential advertisers by state. well really deseeing the big money going into the hawkeye state. candidates respect taking the caucuses lightly when it comes to the innocence. explain that to us. >> iowa is the first contest it should be no surprise most of the tv advertisement has been occurring there. more than $11 million so far, according to ad tracking sources for nbc news. so, that's lot of money, but as you mentioned, what has been very fascinating is the pro-romney super pac restore our future, running $3 million worth of tv advertisements in iowa alone. thomas that is a huge sum for a state the size of iowa. and it is having at least anecdotally an impact on newt gingrich's campaign that doesn't really have the funds to compete and defend itself against that barrage of tv ads. >> let's get that graphic back up there, mark, a big spender has been rick perry, the rick perry super pac, make us great again

mark murray, you were struck.thing that surprised you the most was that gingrich description among his strengths, proven track record, knows how the system works, negotiator. pretty good stuff. >> there was a lot of passion for newt in the group and that really did strike me. as peter observed he wore on really well as the evening progressed during the focus group. another thing peter handed out all the different opo on romney, perry, newt gingrich, and the stuff about newt gingrich whether his marriages or some of his flip-flops or even his past work for freddie mac, didn't concern the focus group as much as romney's negatives, his own flip-flops, so that was really striking. >> you know, on the weaknesses the morals and marriages, that was the two things that didn't pop up. and what always struck me about gingrich and we are all hesitant to say this is the final one but there is a time when you can have so many negatives and be so well known and the warts so obvious it is baked in the cake and it is not like you

mark murray is nbc news deputy political director. he flew up here.been wondering about ben nelson for a while. nebraska obviously not friendly territory for democrats. do we know anything about who democrats will try to slot in next? >> well, chris, we do know this, that a former nebraska democratic senator bob kerrey is considering a run. you mention the word difficult. it was going to be very difficult for democrats to hold on to this seat had ben nelson actually stayed and run for re-election. it's going to be difficult for them to still be able to win it, probably even harder. but if they can get someone like bob kerrey, at least it makes it competitive for them. that would be -- >> a known name. >> right. that would be a huge recruit. if they're not able to get bob kerrey, this is something you almost kind of give to the republicans. >> one thing -- two things i would say with bob kerrey. one, we always talk about him, in 2008 when there was an open seat, they floated it and he didn't run. number two, he lives in new york city. he's the presiden

anthony, appreciate that, rounding it out, let's bring in deputy political director mark murray watchingom d.c. mark, what do you make of this? the campaign manager and kent sorenson announcing he is now supporting ron paul. what do you make of this? >> it was a big blow to the bachmann campaign.ç he closely identified with bachmann's efforts and to have ron paul take him was a blow. one thing worth noting, part of sorenson's explanation is someone needs to beat mitt romney and ron paul when you look at the time cnn poll, she the person best poised to do that. you see that a lot of conservatives in the contest whether it's michele bachmann, newt gingrich, rick santorum and rick perry seem to be dividing up the conservative vote which is allowing mitt romney to win with just about 25% of the vote as peter mentioned earlier. that was the percentage he won in 2008 and according to the poll, he could come out on top with 25% when 25% four years ago got him second place. >> santorum, is he spiking or moving up at the right time. he has new ads closer to the caucus date. there is electability

here's mark murray. mark, good morning. >> good morning, chris. >> big news.n south carolina say? >> it says the newt surge is continuing. it's the freshest sign yet that the newt momentum is pushing ahead, chris. gingrich has almost a 2-to-1 lead over mitt romney in the state. the winner of the south carolina primary since 1980 has gone on to win the republican nomination. >> let's talk about the other big news, mitt romney going to add to his endorsements today. seems like we get, what, three or four or five press releases on that every day. but this one's coming from arizona. >> it is coming from arizona. and he's going to get the endorsement from former vice president dan quayle. it's yet another sign that the establishment in the republican party is starting to rally around mitt romney. the question for mitt romney with a month to go before iowa, is that establishment enough? >> and let's check the battleground state of pennsylvania. that's very key for president obama. >> absolutely, chris. there was a reason why president obama was in scranton, pennsylv

. >> mark murray, thank you as always for your insight. good to see you.idates crisscross iowa, john huntsman concentrated on new hampshire, saying something about both faces sure to raise a few eyebrows. listen. >> one of the reasons i'm here in new hampshire, in iowa there is activity and they pick had thes here in new hampshire. >> well. huntsman annual made one appearance in iowa to date and the poll puts him dead last and statements like that won't help him with 1% of collectedç vote. huntsman in is in number in new hampshire with 9% of likely voters there. >> the number of americans seeking unemployment benefits rose, the first in nearly a month. the numbers just out show benefits were up 15,000, up to 381,000, but that is still below the all-important 400,000 mark associated with improvement and strong hiring. a mixed report on the housing market. the number of americans who signed contracts for new homes was up to the highest in 19 months, however a growing number of buyers are cancelling contracts last minute tempering the one bit of good news. h

. >>> i'm mark murray. >>> and this is first read's take on the week that was. the biggest political story the stand off over the payroll tax cut between democrats and republicans. right now it seems that democrat haves the political advantage, but no one knows how this story will play out. >> maybe the biggest emerging story of this presidential election is this proromney superpac that looks like it's pushing him over the edge in some other states outside of iowa, but doing a lot of his dirty work in iowa. >> newt gingrich has chained about the negative from his ads. it brought this response from mitt romney saying if you can't take the heat from this kitchen, you might not be able to withstand obama's hell's kitchen. it's getting hot in here. >> let's hope they don't take off their clothes. we have a new front runner in iowa. ron . >>> you're watching news 4 today. >>> remember when your teachers warned you that you're going to pay one day for having that bad penmanship. this may be that punishment. this facility in salt lake city is where mail mysteries go. t

joined by nbc news director mark murray.all, let's start with what it means for democrats in the senate. >> just on paper, it will be harder for democrats to hold on to. it will be a tough and tough poll numbers that they were contending with. it becomes an easier pick up opportunity for them and of course a democrat can get a slam dunk recruit and person whose name is mention side former nebraska senator bob kerry. he would fit the bill and it could be a competitive race. you have battle royals that would occur in missouri. you end up having clair mchask il in a fight for her life. this all depends on control of the senate. republicans need to pick it up and if president obama does not win in 2012, they need to win if he does. this is all about looking down the list and seeing who will end up controlling the senate in 2012. if republicans have an easy slam dunk opportunity in nebraska. it makes it easier for them to focus on. >> is senator nelson not running because he thought he was going to lose? >> i think there is part

. >>> i'm mark murray. this is first read's take on the week that was. this week started out with newt gingrich, the former house speaker surging in the polls. we saw it in florida. we saw it in south carolina. we even saw it in our own national nbc "the wall street journal" poll then a funny thing happened. >> it sure did. all of a sudden we found newt gingrich on the defensive in iowa. evidence showing he might be slipping in the polls perhaps. we also saw him on the defensive in thursday's debate. he's getting pulmoeed on air by mitt romney, ron paul and he doesn't have enough money to defend himself. this thing is up in the air. >> it is anyone's game. we haven't mentioned ron paul, michele bachmann, they all have michele [ monica ]they all have i'm away on a movie shoot and it hasn't been going exactly as planned. cut. cut! [ monica ] i thought we'd be on location for 3 days -- it's been 3 weeks. so i had to pick up some more things. good thing i've got the citi simplicity card. i don't get hit with a fee if i'm late with a payment... which is good

mark murray will join me live.s, stephen colbert explains how close he was having his name on the south carolina gop primary. adam lambert is in jail or landed himself in jail after a fight with his boyfriend. we have the details. we're kind of a quiet couple. yes. but lately we've been using k-y® intense™. it stimulates arousal so the big moment is... (announcer) k-y® brand intense™ - intensifies female satisfaction. it's like having portable navigation. a bluetooth connection. a stolen vehicle locator. roadside assistance. and something that could help save your life - automatic help in a crash. it's the technology of five devices in one hard-working mirror. because life happens while you drive. this holiday, give someone you love an onstar fmv mirror for only 199. visit onstar.com for retailers. >> here's what the "news nation" is following now on the trail. why newt gingrich is spending so much time in virginia. why mitt romney is not planning on releasing his tax returns. bank of america agrees to pay hundreds

joining me now, mark murray.l of us, why is ron paul doing so well and could emerge as an unlikely winner there? >> campaigns are actually mattering. ron pal is the one person in addition to rick perry who's been on the air advertising both positive ads and also negative ads. he also has an organization. i was just out in iowa last week and i went to an event. college students at iowa state in ames, he packed more than 1,000 students into an auditorium to give a speech talking about the fed and his foreign policy views. but it's something that when i was traveling, newt gingrich, there was excitement around him. mitt romney. but the ron paul situation is real. he's somebody to watch in iowa and maybe beyond. >> there's the other potential sleeper candidate, jon huntsman. explain. >> jon huntsman, there's a brand-new suffolk poll that showed him in double digits and, again, campaign matters. jon huntsman moved his entire operation to new hampshire. also a super pac supporting him has run more than $1 million worth

mark murray, deputy political director for nbc news and expecting father. congratulations, my friend. have a merry christmas. >>> for more, i'm joined by mark halperin, editor at large at "time" magazine and senior analyst at msnbc. >> happy holidays. >> likewise. you just did a wonderful interview with mitt romney. and i want to talk a little bit about him and the issue of the payroll tax cut extension, the pol tiitics of payroll. he said, quote, if you're a candidate for president and not prepared to talk about the hottest issue right now that affects every single american, there's a concept called leadership and people sometimes think i'm too aggressive. but at least i lead. can gingrich score points against romney in places like iowa, new hampshire, south carolina by saying, look, mitt romney doesn't want to put his opinion forward at least i can actually perpetuate my opinion. mitt romney is refusing to lead. will that stick? >> i think it's a matter of pure politics romney did the right thing for himself. it wasn't just a small fracture within the repu

. >> mark murray joins us here in new york today to break down the ground game. new york, my friend. >> thank you, chris. >> let's start in new hampshire. there's a new poll out there. >> there is. ron paul was campaigning in the state of new hampshire. this new poll shows him at 8%. mitt romney in the big lead. there's been buzz that ron paul has movement going on in iowa. it hasn't yet translated into new hampshire. but he's certainly one to keep on watching in that state. >> north carolina isn't an early state but it is an important one for the president. >> yesterday he gave his iraq speech at ft. bragg. it's a presidential battleground state. it's one the obama teams want to be able to have a path to 270 electoral votes. >> and south carolina where mitt romney has an uphill battle with conservatives and evangelicals. >> he's also at that 23%. our recent nbc/marist poll, south carolina had him at that 23%, 25%. one thing worth noting, he's starting to go up on television. we just got word in south carolina. watch out there. >> iowa, iowa, iowa. 19 days and co

mark murray, appreciate it. >>> since herman cain suspended his campaign, the candidates are scrambling to grab his supporters. cain may announce he's endorsing gingrich today. joining me now is andrew rafferty, covering the cain campaign and jennifer jacobs joins us, chief political writer for the des moines register. andrew, i'll start with you. what are you hearing about the possibility that cain is going to endorse newt gingrich and also is there a revised public schedule now after this weekend's announcement, at least this week, in lieu of what's supposed to take place? >> reporter: good morning thomas. what we're hearing is the herman cain endorsement of newt gingrich seems a matter of when as opposed to if. he's going to oklahoma city tonight. he'll have an event there where there were reports that he would use that to, in fact, endorse newt gingrich. those close to cain say that's not necessarily the case. no one is denying the fact that this could happen. they are denying that it could happen today. now, anyone who has covered herman cain knows it's very common to hear mixed si

mark murray, thank you. >> thanks, alex. >> we invite you to watch our next hour.ry johnson. >>> now, the biggest money headlines generating the most buzz this morning, snail mail redefined. amazon's pay to play, and feel good shopping. let's go to vera gibbons. >> how are these going to affect us? >> going to give new meaning to snail mail, alex. the post office lost over $5 billion and they are trying to stave off bankruptcy. next year, as a result, as part of the plan, proposal, they are going to close 252 processing plants and in the process eliminate 28,000 postal jobs. no more overnight first-class delivery. there is talk about eliminating saturday delivery. if ever there was a time to consider paying your bills online, now may be the time to consider doing so. >> you make a good point. what about amazon, peak speaking of paying online, they are going to pay their shoppers? >> they are trying to sell their comparison app. you use the app when you go into the stores, you scan the bar codes and when you share the price information with amazon, you are entitled

murray was fired last week. >>> the nba season looked like it may not happen got started exhibition style. mark jackson's team hosting sacramento and one of just two preseason games, the newly acquired dominic mcguire finds uto for an easy two and monte ellis spotting seth curry and he drains the 3 on the way to a 22-point game and monte to mcguire after the king had cut into the lead. and then monte doing it on the scoring drive and the warriers 107 to 96 and they will play the kings one more time before starting up on christmas night. >>> well it was a long weekend for the northern california schools in the state high school football playoffs until the final game of the night when de lasalle won the championship and salvaged some nor cal respect and it didn't take the spartans long to get on the scoreboard against west lake and on the very first drive valley to a 7-0 lead and the spartans make it look easy after this and 14-0 and bart houston hit hitchens and he turns it into a 37-yard score and a 21-0 lead and when the warriers were threatening to score the spore stanes had an answer, mop it

marks merry christmas. >> steve: next time a tank top. >> murray christmas to you. >> clayton: coming up on the show, he signedryland governor now helping mitt romney's campaign? he's here next. >> steve: and all the other reindeer used to laugh and call him names. one psychologist says we should stop showing kids rudolph, the movie. is it really turning children into bullies? your e-mail on the topic pouring in. we'll share them shortly. i was taking a multivitamin... but my needs changed... i wanted support for my heart... and now i get it from centrum specialist heart. new centrum specialist vision... helps keep my eyes healthy. centrum specialist energy... helps me keep up with them. centrum specialist prenatal... supports my child's growth and development. new centrum specialt is a complete multivitamin that gives me all the benefits of centrum. plus additional support... [ all ] for what's important to me. [ male announcer ] new centrum specialist helps make nutrition possible. okay... uhh. the bad news, it's probably totaled. the good news is, you don't have to pay your deducble. with vanishing deductib