a nail-biter over sarah palin. >>> i'm joined live from washington by msnbc political analyst pat buchanantrategist peter fenn. i'm going to ask you one by one. peter, let me start with you, who's your most admired man? >> well, first chris i want you to know pat and i are really worried about the paparazzi as we come out of the studio. >> they're outside of the studio as we speak. >> they're just lined up. it's tough for us. but, listen, you asked me man or woman first? i'm sorry. >> i don't remember. man. let's start with the man. >> well, you know, i was going to joke and say tiger woods. but -- >> he made the list with 1%. but anyway -- >> he would have been a little higher last year would have been my guess. president obama i think is a logical choice. he is certainly my choice this year. the interesting thing is his numbers are pretty darn high. i think only john kennedy and george bush after 9/11 as presidents were higher. so it's been a tough year but he's gotten us through it and i think we got a better year to come. so i would put him at the top of my list. >> and a nobel prize t

>> i'm joined now live from washington by my boys, msnbc political analyst pat buchanan and democratictrategist peter fenn. hi, guys! >> hi, alex, how are you? >> good morning, alex. >> happy new year. nothing like rushing into the year on a pretty intense, full-speed note, right? pat, nothing gets people going like seeing the president swinging a golf club during a perceived time of national crisis, but isn't it a little inflammatory to use these images in the ad? >> i'm not sure it's in the proper order, frankly. but sure, it's inflammatory, but it's not the republican party, it's another group. the truth is, alex, the president's been hurt badly by this for a variety of reasons. one, it was the seemingly slow, nonchalant initial reaction to what happened out there and then when the president got angry about 12 days later and got exercised, he said i'm responsible, the buck stops here, but there's been no accountability. and the third problem is, you've got a number of these people -- apparently, the cia head and the head of the ctu, you know, the jack bauer of this operation -- he's

i'm joined by analyst pat buchanan and peter fenn. happy new year. >> happy new year, chris. >> is that fair, the criticism that the president was tone-deaf? >> no. the fact is you have to go out and make a statement if you're president of the united states with the facts. i think the administration coming out on sunday and saying the system worked is a legitimate criticism. the system clearly didn't work and the president, you know, on tuesday said just that. but i think -- you know, i think that the monday morning quarterbacking by conservative columnists is really not called for. what the american people want, chris, is they want less finger-pointing and more problem fixing. and that's exactly where i think this president is going right now. >> pat, going back to the decision -- and have yyou have n the middle these decisions before, you feel damned if you do and damned if you don't. the decision they made was based on the fact they didn't want to give al qaeda a pr win and they wanted to show would-be terrorists they were goinot g

we have msnbc political analyst pat buchanan and democratic strategist peter fenn. again, guys. >> hey, alex. >> good morning, alex. >> how do these retirements change the political landscape? i'll begin with you, pat. >> i think the dodd retirement from the race, if you will, enhances the democrats' chances of carrying connecticut. he was in very tough shape. he had come back a bit, but then he started slipping again. and i think they could have lost that seat up in connecticut. i think democrats are favored now. the dorgan thing is a real problem. i mean, dorgan is sort of a moderate democrat who is throwing in the towel, and that looks like a republican pickup there. and the second thing it does is it sends a message to the democratic senate caucus and to the democratic house caucus that, look, this could be a real bad year, fellas. if you're going to get out and you're going to have another career, now is the time to go before you get defeated and thrown out. >> hey, peter, do you agree with the potential republican pickup there with dorgan's retirement, and can

we had the experience with ross perot in the past, and pat buchanan, and third parties have been sortf spoilers in that sense. for right now, for my purposes, i'm working toward holding the republican party's feet to their own fire and bring it back. >> host: dan cleary tweet: which left of center columnists or bloggers do you read regularly, if any? >> guest: i read all of "the new york times" columnist online, and i provide a check and balance on them, and i will give you a specific example. there was a very incendiary column written by nicklaus kris krisstoff last year, and he used a poster boy -- a poster situation for the healthcare takeover, and he told the plight of a young oregon man sufficient -- suffering from a condition, a neurological problem. and he asserted that this young man was unable to get health insurance and unable to get any treatment from a doctor, and he railed against joe like -- joe lieberman in particular at the time who was against the health care plan, and he was accusing politicians who apposed socialized medicine for allowing patients to die. i found th

the one i like, particularly strident speech by pat buchanan, quote, probably sounded better in the originalrman. and one that is mildly off color but i don't know. arnold schwarzenegger looks like a condom stuffed with walrus. there you have it. a process of accumulation. the editors begin -- the first moment after the times herald went away she got this great job and editors flew down here, we like your work and she said i always liked fort worth. i am going to work there. they were a little cautious. would you mind sending us some of your work? faxing it to both of us so we can look at it before you send it to the copy desk, just want to check it out to take a look at it. her first column, the receptionist in the newsroom, molly ivins calling from austin saying i just want to let you know -- the editors who hired me -- they might want to check it out. i used the word below in my story. sorry for saying it. the editors, both of their lives flash before their lives and flashed back. they felt their jobs were in danger. they felt they made a horrible mistake. they fixed the language. molly i

and the one i like that they're particularly strident speech by pat buchanan quote, probably soundedetter in the original german. [laughter] and then the one that's mildly off-color, but i don't know. she described arnold schwarzenegger as looking like a sub one condom stuffed with walnuts area so there you have it. as a process of accumulation, the editors began my goodness, in her first moment after the times herald went away she got this great job at "the fort worth star-telegram." the editors for dominance of molly, we'd like your work and she said, i always liked for worth. i'll go to work there. and they said, they were still a little cautious. they said, you know, would you mind sending us some of your work, faxing it to both the bus so we can kind of take a look at it before you send it off to the copy desk work to be expedited in the paper. just want to check it out. just to take a look at it. so for her first column bear, the poor receptionist in the news or gets a phone call, it's molly ivins coined from texas after fort worth and she says that, hi hon, i just want to let

you know, we have experience with ross perot in the past and pat buchanan and third parties have alwayseen spoilers in that sense. but for right now for my purposes i am working toward holding the republican party speak to their own fire and working within the party to bring it back. >> host: dan and cleary tweet, which left of center columnist or bloggers to your read regularly if any? >> guest: i read all of "the new york times" columnist online and i read them to see what is on their radar screen and also to provide a check and balance on them and i'll give a specific example. there was a very incendiary, that was written by nicholas christophorous early last year and he used it as a poster board -- a poster boy posters situation for the healthcare takeover bell and he told the plight of one john broadbent there was apparently a yawn oregon man suffering from a condition called and he mingy on in cranial issue, a neurological problem. and he asserted that this young man was unable to get health insurance and unable to get any treatment from a doctor and he railed against joe lieberma