that was how nikki haley presented their work to the public. but thanks to the tenacious bulldog reporting of the "charleston post and courier" and thanks to that state agency that did follow south carolina law and did release the requested records, unlike the governor herself, thanks to all of that we now know what governor haley was actually doing about health reform not in public but behind closed doors. on march 31st she instructed her spokesmen, "the whole point of this commission should be to figure out how to opt out and how to avoid a federal takeover, not," all caps, "not create a state exchange." so in public nikki haley is saying we're taking that million dollars in federal money to take a look at all the options. and in private she's saying, all caps, don't you dare look at all the options, i'll tell you which options you can look at. the charleston paper noted the discrepancy between governor nikki haley's public front and what she was doing behind closed doors. as you can see here, they noted it with the word "dictated" in the hea

south carolina governor nikki haley made the announcement on fox news this morning. >> what i want isne who is not part of the chaos that is washington. and what i wanted was someone who knew what it was like to turn broken companies around. someone who had proven results by improving a failed olympics that ended up being a great success story. and someone that knows what it's like to make a decision and lead not just make a vote. >> now, it's not a huge surprise that she chose to support romney. haley has endorsed romney before and he's endorsed her. but here's why it could be a little bit bigger of a deal. number one, she is the republican governor of south carolina. south carolina will be the first state in the south to hold a primary next month. after iowa and new hampshire. romney, of course, could use a bit of a boost there. the latest cnn poll shows newt leading by a big margin, 43% to 20% for romney. all right. that's one reason that it matters. second reason, governor haley was elected into office with the help of the tea party. and romney, as all our viewers are well aware,

to ask that state's governor nikki haley for some document. governor hallie is a republican, serving her first term. "the charleston post and courier" asked for records. governor hallie's office responded to the newspaper with stuff that the post and courier describes as irrelevant. they gave them some press releases, and some public schedules, but really not much. the charleston paper, though, also made the same request for the tame type of documents from another agency in south carolina's government. they also asked a different agency and that office did hand over a lot of information. they handed over information that governor hallie had withheld. that is how we know something that governor hallie wishes we didn't know. now that we know what it is that that other agency was willing to give up that the governor's office wasn't, we can see why her office was probably hoping that newspaper would never know this thing existed. this commission to convene the stakeholders and build trust and consensus. that was how nikki haley presented their wor

nikki haley, the thing about south carolina is there is a problem with her and gingrich.en that way since she ran in the primary, number one. number two, she is not -- if mitt romney -- i mean newt gingrich can win in iowa, i don't care how many nikki haley you have, romney will be bludgeoned in south carolina. >> dana: can i say something about mitt romney and the other candidates, he can't help how he looks. you make fun of him for ken doll looks. greg can't help it that he is this ken doll barbie man of mystery. >> greg: i've lived with this all my life. >> dana: you can't comment on obama's looks but we can make fun of romney? >> andrea: i think he looks like the president. that is one of the best thing he has going for him. but the problem is he is too stiff. they say he is like a used car salesman and answers don't come from the heart. >> greg: the ken doll is not about the looks but the functionality of the ken doll. fact he can't move -- if he gets the nomination it's against barack obama. it is like the cast of "america's next top model." good looking young men -

. >>> still "outfront," mitt romney picks up a big endorsement today, nikki haley. >>> and the s.e.c. files suit against the former ceos of fannie and freddie mac and mae, the u.s. government giving them a $100 billion in a form of a bailout. do we need them? >>> and nuclear material found in a passenger's luggage today going to tehran. we have the latest developments in tonight's installment. our no. really? [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus liquid gels fights your worst cold symptoms, plus it relieves your stuffy nose. [ deep breath ] thank you! that's the cold truth! thank you! fore! no matter what small business you are in, managing expenses seems to... get in the way. not anymore. ink, the small business card from chase introduces jot an on-the-go expense app made exclusively for ink customers. custom categorize your expenses anywhere. save time and get back to what you love. the latest innovation. only for ink customers. learn more at chase.com/ink [ male announcer ] you never know when a moment might turn into something more. and when it does men with erectile dysfunction ca

south carolina governor nikki haley made the announcement on fox news this morning. >> what i want iseone who is not part of the chaos that is washington. and what i wanted was someone who knew what it was like to turn broken companies around. someone who had proven results by improving a failed olympics that ended up being a great success story. and someone that knows what it's like to make a decision and lead not just make a vote. >> now, it's not a huge surprise that she chose to support romney. haley has endorsed romney before and he's endorsed her. but here's why it could be a little bit bigger of a deal. number one, she is the republican governor of south carolina. south carolina will be the first state in the south to hold a primary next month. after iowa and new hampshire. romney, of course, could use a bit of a boost there. the latest cnn poll shows newt leading by a big margin, 43% to 20% for romney. all right. that's one reason that it matters. second reason, governor haley was elected into office with the help of the tea party. and romney, as all our viewers are well aware

romney picked up the endorsement of south carolina governor nikki haley. and she is also here. she will tell you why she says governor romney is the republican candidate to beat president obam a. but first, here's governor mitt romney. >> governor, nice to see you, sir. >> thanks, greta. >> i see you brought some friends. >> i have a few friends near south carolina. very exciting. >> very excited to see you, especially with the news of the governor here in south carolina. >> big news. having nikki haley endorse my campaign sent a shock wave through the political circles here in south carolina. i am delighted. it's a piece of very good news this week. >> all of us have had our blackberries and iphones buzzing because earlier, you said something to the effect -- correct me if i am wrongue have gotten involved in government, you didn't know what medicaid is. do you want to explain that? >> i didn't know how the system works. back in the 1980s, itches working in a care consulting practice so i knew how medicaid and medicare exist. but the particulars and how much the state would se

so which brings me back to the nikki haley endorsement. it is, on one hand, payback. mitt romney one of the first presidentials to endorse her before she was the clear front-runner. he did it before it was cool to get behind nikki haley, before sarah palin did it and all of those things back during those primaries in 2010. but it now does raise expectations in that state that he did not do well in four years ago and nobody thinks he's going to do well in this time. >> well, i don't think we quite know how he's going to do in south carolina. >> that's true. >> does somebody get steam out of iowa, or do you have such a mixed result, a romney victory or a ron paul victory that doesn't catapult anybody who we would see as a serious contender for the nomination? you know, it certainly provides with him some important endorsement in south carolina, and it makes it more of a game there for him. and of course, their real prize, florida, the next state down the line. that's where the romney people really hope to go head on head with whoever the other finalist is and make it cl

i want to start with you, tony, nikki haley's endorsement, take a listen this coming from mitt romney today. >> what it comes down to is how do we get every person a job? how do we make sure our economy gets back on track in the only way to do that is go with someone that has done it not talked about it but actually done t. >> nikki haley giving that endorsement. how does this, tony, help him, romney, that is, and also, in your estimation, did romney stop the momentum that newt gingrich has last night? >> i think so. let's get to the momentum in a minute, because i think what's happening is people are taking a second look at newt gingrich, but as for the endorsement, it is very significant for the romney campaign. if you think about the, you negotiate sort of number one concern among republican voters is, you know, has -- is mitt romney consistently conservative enough for the primary voters, likely to go out in iowa, new hampshire and eventually south carolina and florida? having the good housekeeping seal of approval of, you know, the darling of the -- of conservatives and certainly

nikki haley endorsed mitt romney in 2008. mitt romney endorsed nikki haley for governor in 2010.e's repaying the favor now. in south carolina, nikki haley, her polls are down. some polls show president obama having a higher approval rating than nikki haley. in south carolina maybe, but 20 percentage points is pretty tough to close in on. >> i think he's totally right. that means little. what has to happen gingrich has to stay competitive in iowa and new hampshire. if he stays competitive, goes to south carolina, he can really get back in the game. >> it helps mitt romney in terms of his conservative credentials. that helps him more nationally. >> let me get this in. let me role this. newt gingrich trying to defend his zany self from the other night. >> i sometimes get accused of using language that's too strong. so i've been standing here editing. i'm very concerned about not appearing to be zany. >> good idea? does he have to hold on, edit himself the next few weeks? is he making a conscious effort to not say the wrong thing? >> not only that, he's funny. this is the newt gingri

governor nikki haley. governor, good to see you. do you have any horses in this race? >> hi, neil.ll, it's a great day in south carolina. >> noticing a pattern? it is not just a personal crusade that the governor is on there. she actually makes people in south carolina say that. by her order. seriously. >> whenever someone calls your ç department, we need to say, "it's a great day in south carolina, how can i help you?" every person. not just the main line. every single person that is called. "it's a great day in south carolina. how can i help you?" >> by order of the governor. today two south carolina legislators filed legislation saying, oh, please top it. saying that nobody should be forced to answer the phone with governor's mandating cheery greeting, quote, unless is really is a great day in south carolina. this has a trigger. no state agency can force its employees to answer its phone with it's a great day in south carolina as long as state unemployment is 5% or higher. it would also outlaw the greeting as long as all south carolinians do not have health insurance. and it's n

. >> mitt romney has never been that popular with conservatives but nikki haley has endorsed him. what does this say about the right of the party? >> haley is considered an icon of the tea party movement with the same time she is a governor -- but at the same time she is a governor. do they start to coalesce around mitt romney because they have decided he is the best candidate to face obama and he can't push off newt gingrich. many people have known him for a long time and many people don't think that he is a good general election candidate. >> is this all about electability? >> to win this nomination, you have to be conservative and electable. so far, the republican party has grudgingly admitted that may be romney is the electable candidate but they have been skeptical about whether he is conservative enough. they want to exhaust every possibility before they declare that romney is the candidate. >> even n beikki haley says that he is perfect. -- even nikki haley has said that he is not perfect but it is the best that they got. >> the obama camp is wondering if they could really

romney was campaigning with governor nikki haley. nbc's garrett hak is joining me.ling with romney. >> good morning, alex. >> tell me about the endorsement. >> this came out last night. haven't seen the candidate back on the trail since it happened. you got the blast from the campaign with the e-mail messages to reporter, twitter, make sure everybody saw it. as ann said, the paper has gotten it wrong before. they backed john mccain a distant third last time. you can't bring the newspaper and have it tout you up. they're pleased about it. but not over the moon just yet. >> the conservatives may criticize it because the des moines register is considered a more liberal leaning newspaper and they like mitt romney. it doesn't necessarily -- >> the romney campaign will twist it the other way and say you had this and a couple pages later, you had this bob dole endorse: it's a sober serious minded conservatives trying to pick a candidate against president obama. you're right. you can spin this either way you want. >> we saw him there with nikki haley who endorsed him in sou

earlier this week, romney won the backing of south carolina governor nikki haley as well. >>> just as americans get ready for the holiday travel, lot of bad weather in the forecast. jacqui jeras joins us now in the cnn weather center. did this not happen last year? it happened like after christmas, but bad weather swept through snarling travel plans. >> this is a concentrated storm but it's going to be major with multi impacts for a lot of people and talking about major snowfall accumulations, but the winds are going to be incredibly strong with this thing as well. blizzard watches have been posted in this bright green area. the greatest area of concern for travelers tomorrow, here's i-20, i-70 and i-40. it's within this square if you live in here, travel is going to be nearly impossible at times with whiteout conditions and over a foot of snow can be expected. this, you know, i'm -- on satellite and radar, doesn't look like a heck of a lot, does it? your average run-of-the-mill storm. as it heads eastward it's going to pick up intensity and picking up a lot more moisture. in the mean

we saw nikki haley. we saw -- >> dana: is she establishment?eric: no. >> andrea: look, she is a sitting governor. i would say yes, she is very, very credible. i think it's a huge sign; particularly, in south carolina. i do think it was interesting that people haven't started voting yet to see a president come out. although, him not endorsing perry 41 is not a surprise. they haven't had a real cozy relationship. you look and you've got yale and andover and harvard on one side with romney and bushes. texas a&m on the other side. >> dana: i think there is more to it than that. one of the things that bush said to "houston chronicle" i like perry but he doesn't seem to be going anywhere. he is not surging forward. bob, if you are george h.w. bush, affectionately called 41 as the 41st president. >> greg: is that why? >> dana: that's why. why would you give your endorsement to somebody who is not going to go forward? >> bob: i think andrea has a point here. greg doesn't have a point because he is hungover from last night. for the rest of us to partici

you, david. >>> and coming up, mitt romney scores an endorsement from south carolina's governor nikki haleyus up next, live, to explain her decision. plus, will haley's endorsement help romney boost his prospects in a state where he's trailing gingrich by double digits, or is it just raising expectations? mike murphy thinks it is. he joins me along with "washington post" columnist e.j. dionne. we'll also talk about the major moments in the campaign this week. it's all after a break. at bank of america, we're lending and investing in communities across the country, from helping to revitalize a neighborhood in brooklyn to financing industries that are creating jobs in boston or providing funding for the expansion of a local business serving a diverse seattle community and supporting training programs for tomorrow's workforce in los angeles. because the more we can do in local neighborhoods and communities, the more we can help make opportunity possible. with $2 subs -- get the regular 6" cold cut combo or meatball marinara. just $2 each! just 2 bucks! are you kidding me? there's no competitio

. >> and so this morning we'll talk to governor nikki haley in south carolina about why she's behind romney. >>> finally, the major moments on the campaign trail this weekend. what they mean, as voting is just around the corner. analysis from republican strategist mike murphy. and "washington post" columnist e.j. dionne. >>> good morning. the a.p. news alert last night at 11:31 eastern time, u.s. military says last american troops have left iraq, as war ends. and with that, a conclusion to the nine-year war in iraq, a mission costing nearly 4,500 american lives, and $800 billion. back home another congressional showdown. the senate has passed a short-term extension of the payroll tax cut, but the measure is now facing strong opposition from some rank and file republicans in the house, leaving final passage in doubt. that is where we begin this morning with our exclusive guest, the speaker of the house, john boehner. mr. spoker, welcome back. >> david. good to be here. >> so, what's going to happen? >> well, it's pretty clear that i, and our members, oppose the senate bill. it's only

some carolina governor nikki haley will formally endorse mitt romney later this morning. she has been one of the most saw after remaining republican endorsements. >>> last night mitt romney and the other gop candidates held a final debate before the january 3 caucuses in iowa. we will never live report on how the candidates tried to win over voters. >>> it's friday. a standoff led to tense moments in a falls church condominium complex. lazurite a man lives at the skyline plaza condominiums said something disturbing to a crisis counselor who been called police. the northern virginia community college campus was lockdown. residents were told to stay in place. they caught the man as he tried to escape. >>> 56 degrees on this friday. the end of glycolic. >> feels like a return until september. >>> still ahead trouble during. the latest on the search for missing voter. >>> metro riders will prepare for the w -dad, why are you getting that? -that's my cereal. is there a prize in there? oh, there's a prize, all right. is it a robot? no. is it a jet plane? nope. is it a dinosaur?