mr. pierre, doing business as computer service center? that's correct. >> you're suing your former employee ashley wellington for $2,915, the value of a dell computer that, according to you, the company gave her for work use and she's not returned to you. you're counterclaiming against him $1,500 for inconvenience of having your paycheck withheld and defamation of character. what happened here? >> basically, i run a small computer repair facility in quincy, massachusetts. >> how long have you had the company? >> five years. >> and how long had she been working for you before all of this happened? >> seven months. >> okay. and before the seven months, had everybody been okay? >> everything was okay, i would say, for about five months. >> then what happened? >> the last two months basically her performance deteriorated. she kept on calling in, in and out of work all the time, basically with the biggest frustration happening that we were having a hiring seminar to hire another technician. arnly basically her job was to call all of the job ca

pierre. >> all right, willard geist, if it's way too early, what time is it? >> "morning joe." stick around for "daily rundown" with mr. chuck todd. >>> has the race to become the official not romney candidate been won by newt gingrich, the former speaker? nabs a big endorsement. the publisher who made the call. >>> plus, what will your paycheck look like in january? some kind of compromise on extending that payroll tax cut that is set to expire at the end of this calendar year? both sides are digging in for yet another december fight. >>> for world history books, 2011 will be seen as the most consequential year in the arab world in decades. the fall of egypt's mubarak, of yemen's sali, we've seen gadhafi's downfall and libya form a new government and today, major new developments. democratic elections in egypt and the beginning of the end of the rashad regime in syria. this is "daily rundown." i'm chuck todd. happy to be back. let's get right to my first reads of the morning. just 36 days to iowa, yes time to measure in days not weeks. sprint to the caucuses and republican race to challenge mitt romney is in full swi

richard nixon talking about not debating pierre >> i happen to be of the opinion we need a debate in this country. i think you and hubert humphrey -- i think mr. hubert humphrey as having a great time debating himself. >> are prejudiced, mr. nixon. if you do not want to debate with the third-party candidate whose name shall not be mentioned, why don't you get your friends in the house of representatives to pass a special law permitting u.s. and mr. hubert humphrey to debate. >> if you ever looked at the membership on that committee? it is always amusing to be when people said, why don't i get the republicans to do something of a debate. let's remember that the senate is 2-1 democratic. the house is 3-2 democratic. anytime that hubert humphrey with his influence on his side wants a debate, i would think he would be able to get the democrats to pass it. i think that my power in terms of what i can get the republican members in the house to do is greatly overestimated. that is the problem as you know it. they are not opposing the debate. they are sitting with wallace getting 21% of the poll -- i am sorry. i should not have mentioned his name. wi