question, can pawlenty win iowa? tim?absolutely, and i'm very happy he began by going to iowa and attacking ethanol subsidies, especially because he used to favor them. that takes guts. his being from a border state is good. okay, michelle bachman could complicate it, but if the ethanol thing is a cue and he'll really battle the special interests like barack obama pretends do do, i think he can catch a lot of attention and win iowa. >> who is that lady? >> michelle bachman. >> the alpha female is. >> and she's too from minnesota and could -- >> born in iowa. >> born in waterloo, and she could tap into the evangelical base and tea party base better than they about. >> what about the problems she has, where places are located. >> oh, workplaces? -- [everyone talking at once] >> she had historical problems, said the founding fathers ended slavery. she's a very -- >> said something in maine and new hampshire that's not there? >> it was some r on -- for that. >> i think her sweetness and historical knowledge and history of the

people say pawlenty is the non-romney. if you can't take romney and not a tea party you have to go with pawlenty. >> i think the best line on romney is john stuart who said he likes -- looks like the guy that fired your dad and his career was firing people. >> say pawlenty is the second choice so he could be the tortoise in the race. chris: let's put it to the matthews meter. 12 regulars including joe, gloria and andrew which of the three romney, pawlenty or huntsman has the best appeal to beat barack obama? eight this blew owe of the saddle. eight say huntsman including three of you. overwhelmingly lun lly huntsman. i bet you know the least about him. >> that is why. what a statement. >> we didn't say he had the best chance of getting until nated but against obama. chris: let's go to palin. you love palin. some strange way you are fascinated by her, andrew. >> as i said many times she started running the day after 2008 election ended and there is no reason to believe she isn't running. chris: she took a smart break about

hudson has -- huntsman has charisma, which pawlenty and blacks. he is a moderate, liked by people like me, which is a problem. >> absolutely a problem. >> that is what will cost him, that he is moderate? >> "moderate." that is like democrats saying that if you support the ryan plan, we will kill you because you are moderate. there are parties of the right -- republicans are the party of the fight, democrats of the left. romney has a bigger issue, romney care. his front runner-ship will hinge on how he handles those attacks and a debate. if he shows he can answer it, he will win the nomination but if he cannot, it will be extremely difficult. >> mthe former speaker of the house, no one is talking about him. >> his campaign is over. he had the worst launch since the hindenburg. >> but he is still flying br. >> what about the tiffany's thing? >> it is like the john edwards hair cut. it says something about what people think, people's taste, character. this guy is supposed to be so for go and yet he is spending this money -- >> you mean to john edward

tim pawlenty is it the least acceptable to the greatest number. that is -- least unacceptable to the greatest number. that is what he has going for him now. he has fewer flaws and other presumed front-runners -- than the other presumed front- runners. you have to list jon huntsman and mitt romney in reverse order. >> mix santorum -- rick santorum pledged his campaign were his grandfather once worked. santorum, 2% among rank-and-file republicans, pawlenty, a 6%, palin 15, ron paul, 10%. what do those numbers tell you, evan? >> absolutely nothing. at this stage they are just about name recognition, completely meaningless numbers . >> that put a damper on your point. >> that is all right. palin is in a feature film, "the undefeated," premiering in iowa. what a coincidence. she is beginning a bus tour, going to ennew hampshire. nice way to see the country, by bus. >> she is a star in the republican party. whether she is going to run is another question. the republican party is rich in candidates. i don't know why people are so down. you have to contai

that gave tim pawlenty an opening. if sarah palin comes in, she will just take up so much space that it will be hard for him to get attention. for mitt romney, it sets up the possibility, if she is to become a candidate. and again, there's no clear evidence that this is a precursor to a campaign. we need to emphasize that. but this would set up a class i think battle between the establishment frontrunner and the insurgent tea party candidate, which would remind people of the divisions we've seen in the party and highlight those in a way almost no other candidate would be able to do. >> well, you know, dan, say it isn't for real. say that we don't know. and if it isn't, it can't help but remind us of donald trump and a little bit of how he drew so much attention without being a serious candidate but sucked a lot of air out of the news coverage, as she is doing now. can we see a new model of people who can use a bit of a toe in the water or faux presidential run at this early stage to get more attention for books, tv sho

i think a lot of them had a chance to be tim pawlenty before. most of them don't want romney to be the nominee. they had a chance to be for tim pawlenty. >> charlie: coming right to you in a second, tom. >> most of them passeded. i'm not sure now that he's going to be able to go to a large number. they say they can. i'm not sure he'll be able to go to a large number of those daniels' people and scoop them up. i think huntsman has the biggest potential. >> charlie: what's the impact of mitch daniels and how it shapes the field for the future? >> well, i think it narrows the field to three real contenders, all of woman we've been talking about here. and then everybody else. i think it also forces the bundlers of the bush family, thbush dynasty to 41 and 43 bundlers to make up their minds. i was talking with one of the more prominent fund-raisers for the 43 crowd last week who said we want to go with mitch but if mitch decides not to run, and i don't think he's going to run, i'm going for romney. maybe a little relucntly but i'll g with romney. i k

is governor pawlenty wrong? >> well, i think strength is good. but have you to have strength in doing the right things. i think secret military prisons, keeping people there for years and years without due process is not a characteristic of a republic that believes in freedom. it is just not the process. it is more typical of an authorityarian government to have secret prisons. so therefore, i don't think it serves our purpose. we have tried nearly 300 suspects in civilian courts and hundreds of them have been convicted and pult away. so why are we afraid of openness? why do we have to move in the direction of giving up the right of habias corpus, which some day will affect american citizens. we should treat people the way we think we might be treated under dire circumstances. and our dire circumstances are moving right along because we may have real trouble in this country, and we may be subject to the same type of treatment. so we do not need secret prisons nor do we need the torture that goes on in these secret military prisons. [cheers and ap

all eyes on tim pawlenty. one of the front-runners for the 2012 gop nomination.here's a look at his performance from earlier tonight. >> there's a group of individuals who are radical jihadists. we need to call them by name. they believe it is okay to kill people in the name of their religion. it is not all of islam. it is not all muslims. but there is a subgroup who believe it is okay. in fact, it is their plan and skin to -- and design to kill people. the people and mind sill at the time that killed 3,000 on september 11th, would have killed 300,000 or three million or 30 million. we need to do everything we can within our value systems and legal structures to make sure that doesn't happen. >> sean: joining me is former minnesota governor pawlenty. good to see you. how did it feel the first debate? >> it is grey. i appreciate fox news for doing it. important discussion. fox was first to have it. i was glad to be here to take the case to president obama. >> sean: this focus group an angry some of the other candidates weren't there. do you think there are legitim

former minnesota governor tim pawlenty made it official in des moines on monday.is announcement tour then wound through florida and ended up in new york where i caught up with him. what seriously do you need to do to raise your profile or will the system just take care of it by force of running? >> well, even now only about 50% of the republicans nationally even know my name. so we have to get the name i.d. out and then convert that, of course, to support. but if you're a serious candidate for president, that will happen naturally over time, but i like the fact that most of the other candidates are really well known and yet they don't really have a strong front running position and that gives us time and space to be able to advance our campaign. >> so, ladies and gentlemen, my husband, governor tim pawlenty. [ applause ] >> well, let's get right to the heart of the matter. medicare, you have said that if the paul ryan plan came across your desk as president, you would sign it. >> well, let me start by saying my campaign is based around the notion it's time for the

pawlenty, i think at this point, he's kind of where romney was. he benefits inch by inch by showing up for everything. when i talked to republican legislatures, they appreciated the presence of ron paul and johnson and cain. we can be dismissive about cain and wonder why republicans like him, but before the debate, republicans were saying watch out for him. after the debate, republicans were saying we were right about him. his answers were glib, but pawlenty and santorum don't excite people. i'm not sure if they ever will excite people. >> i think they had a nominee last time around that didn't excite anybody. >> that comes up here. that's a reason, yeah. >> ron paul actually talked about afghanistan and got a big reaction. let's listen to what he had to say. >> now that he's killed, boy it is a wonderful time for this country now to reassess it and get the troops out of afghanistan and end that war that hasn't helped us or anybody in the middle east. >> he actually got good applause for that kind of stuff. is that indication that ron paul fans ar

met ronnie did in his statement, so did tim pawlenty -- mr. romney did in his statement, asserted tim pawlenty. mrs. mayland did not, mr. gingrich did not, -- palin did not, mr. gingrich did not, a surprising to me,. huckabee. >> dick cheney did. >> the base of your party, you don't want to give credit to the president at any other time. no one would say that george bush cared about his daughters and wife if you care about fire- eating democrats. it is a certain maturity on the part of romney and pawlenty and daniels -- >> and the lack of character and a part of palin -- >> and newt? that is that, i am of the show -- off the show. [laughter] >> why are we still in afghanistan? >> this is the longest war in history. there is no end in sight. we are not even paying for the board. is on at the national credit card. -- it is on the national credit card. it adds $100 billion a year, $8 billion each month, to our debt. >> that is congressman jim mcgovern of massachusetts, a democrat, who along with republican walter jones of north carolina has spons

tim pawlenty, he seems all american, but if you heard his real middle name, tim hosni pawlenty, whathame. my buddy, our outstanding ambassador, jon huntsman is with us, now, there's something you might not know about jon. he didn't learn to speak chinese to go there. oh, no. he learned english to come here. and then there is a vicious rumor floating around that i think mitt romney, i heard he passed universal health care when he was governor of massachusetts. someone should get to the bottom of that. i know just the guy to do it, donald trump! who's here tonight. now, i know that he's taken some flak lately, but no one is happy, no one is prouder to put this birth certificate matter to rest than the donald. that's because he can finally get back to focusing on the issues that matter, like did we fake the moon landing? what really happened in roswell? and where are biggie and tupac? all kidding aside, obviously, we all know about your crudentials and breath of experience, for example, seriously, just recently, in an episode of "celebrity apprentice," at the steakhouse, the men's cooki

former minnesota governor tim pawlenty is in and former massachusetts governor mitt romney officiallyaunches his campaign next week. texas governor rick perry says he's mulling it over. >> i'm going to think about it. but i think about -- i think about a lot of things. >> reporter: tea party favorite michele bachmann and former governor jon huntsman are undeclared and making the rounds. palin is the wild card. >> her entry could mix it up to the point where it denies pawlenty a clear path to victory but i don't think she'll get in. i think the nominee will be pawlenty, romney or huntsman. >> reporter: palin's tour could be the clearest sign yet that she just might be considering a bid. kristen welker, nbc news, washington. >>> for more politics on the palin factor, we're joined by cnbc's chief washington correspondent john harwood. john, she's got us all talking which is probably part of what sarah palin is looking for. does this go beyond pr for a tv personality or are we watching a campaign for president? >> i think there's a good chance of preserving her voice and her brand. the fi

tim pawlenty had a great rollout, huntsman. they may be the ones.obama will be tough to beat. i disagree with part of alex's premise. you look at part of their message developing this week, what they did with the car industry. had the american people, had george bush not had the tamarity and barack obama not had the audacity to continue with that and talk and ensure the financial system did not collapse. it's hard to run on that, but these are realities. and when you look at the stock market over the last few years, he has a case and something to settle. at the end of the day, the talk about the medicare and social security cuts, as relevant as it may be, alex, david, ruth, you all know, no president wins by saying we are in a terrible position as a country, we have to cut and cut and cut. people want to hear growth. they want to hear how we're going to get back to where we are, and then you get to the message of cutting. the problems with the republicans arc rollouts in the last few days and weeks, is all they talk about are cuts and doom and gloom

it's official, tim pawlenty is running for president.that announcement on an internet video late sunday night, saying his campaign will be different, because he'll be telling the american people the truth. >> meantime, indiana governor mitch daniels turns down a gop bid because of family concerns. his wife didn't want him to run. daniels is the latest in a string of prominent republicans choosing not to. >> so what do you think? which republican has the best chance to beat president obama? e-mail us at cnn.com/am. you can give us a tweet @cnnam or tell us what you think on facebook, facebook.com/americanmorning. >>> meanwhile, new allegations against lance armstrong when it comes to doping. another former teammate coming out on "60 minutes," describing in pretty vivid detail what went on in the cycling world. we'll have more on that. >>> also, one state is now banning something called lazy cakes. these are relaxation brownies -- >> relaxation brownies! come on. >> we'll tell you why they were banned and what state, coming up next. how ca

but one of twhat if the media i about romney, pawlenty and huntsman? and is the media falling for the latest sarah palin tease? >>> the oprah era is coming to an end. the daytime queen goes out on top. we'll look at her legacy and the struggles at her new cable network. >>> being the producer of a fast-paced show like "morning joe" is plenty of pressure, but it was nothing compared to what happened when chris licht was hospitalized with a brain hemorrhage. he'll tell us what he learned when he almost died. >>> and cnn's done lemon on why he decides to reveal he is gay and whether that should affect how he's viewed as a journalist. i'm how shouard kurtz, and this "reliable sources." >>> mitch daniels is out. mike huckabee is out. donald trump is out. so the press have decided that they're like a sandlot team trying to play in the majors. pundits chatting. pretty amazing how we see into the future, isn't it? take a look. >> i think the daniels departure really opens up the space for paul ryan like nobody else. ryan's the one guy who has a rendezvous with

tim pawlenty is considering a run.you look up boring in the dictionary, that's more exciting than listening to tim pawlenty. tim pawlenty makes al gore look like rupal. mike huckabee is considering a run. mike huckabee said the president was raised in kenya, went to a muslim school and it has -- and he hates america. despite that, he still seems like a sweet person. he sounds less like a presidential candidate and more like my aunt. and then, of course, there's donald trump. donald trump has been saying he will run for president as a republican which is surprising since i just assumed he was running as a joke. donald trump often appears on fox which is ironic because a fox often appears on donald trump's head. the washington post and you can't finish your entree, don't worry, the fox will eat it. if i can, for a moment, talk about the birther issue, when did we get so suspicious about where people were born? a "usa today" poll said 38% of americans think the president was born in the u.s. in the very same poll, only 5%

i have a question for you right here, sir. >> oh, good. >> governor pawlenty, you like to say that in minnesota, you balanced the budget without raising taxes. but the national conference of state legislatures said that you used a lot of one-time fixes, such as taking $2 billion from the obama stimulus plan and borrowing billions from local school districts. the bottom line is that you left your state after your term as governor with a projected deficit of $6 billion, sir. >> chris, i was governor for the state of minnesota for 8 years, over four two-year budget cycles. every budget during my time as governor was balance and the last one of those two-year budgets ends this coming summer on june 30 and it will end up in the black. when they talk about the projected deficit in the next two years after that, it assumes a 25% or so increase in state spending. that's outrageous. if they live within their means, there would be no deficit at all. by the way, the democrats in minnesota wanted more spending. so this idea that there is a deficit and i left it in minnesota is not accurate. the t

[laughter] tim pawlenty is considering a run.look up his name in the dictionary, that is more exciting than listening to tim pawlenty. mike pukka be is considering a run. he once said the president was raised in kenya, what do muslim school and hates america - but beyond that, he sings like a sweet person. -- he looks like a sweet person. there is donald trump. he said he would run for president as a republican, which is surprising because i thought he would be running as a joke. [laughter] [applause] fought often appears on donald trott's head. -- fox often appears on donald trump's head. if you are at it was supposed table with them and you do not finish or on strike, do not worry. the fox will eat it. if i can for a moment talk about the berger issue -- we did we get so suspicious about where people were born? a poll last week said that 38% of americans say the president was that of the board in the u.s. in the very simple, only 5% more said donald trott was definitely born in the u.s. do americans alike think americans were b

tim pawlenty, he seems all american. but if you heard his real middle name, him hosenei pawlenty.t a shame. my buddy our outstanding ambassador john huntsman is with us. now, there is something you might not know about john. he didn't learn to speak chinese to go there. oh, no. he learned english to come here. and then there is a vicious rumor floating around that i think could really hurt mitt romney. i heard he passed universal healthcare when he was governor of massachusetts. someone should get to the bottom of that. and i know just the guy to do it, donald trump. let's hear it tonight -- [ applause ] >> now, i know that he has taken some flak lately but no one is happier, no one is prouder to put this birth certificate matter to rest than the donald. and that is because he can finally get back to focusing on the issues that matter like did we fake the moon landing. what really happened in roswell? and where are biggy and tupac? [ applause ] all kidding aside, obviously we all know about your credentials and breadth of experience. for example, seriously, just recently in an epi

so you know, we'll find out with tim pawlenty.one wild card for him is with mike huckabee not running, i think it encourages michelle batchman to run, the congresswoman from minnesota as well, who has a built-in constituency in iowa. for either her or sarah palin among social and cultural conservatives and religious conservatives who are very influential in the republican nominating process. and tim pawlenty has to do well. >> lehrer: in the iowa caw us -- caucuses. >> he has to do well. if one of them takes the oxygen out of the room, his campaign could suffer a real blow right at the beginning. >> lehrer: what about huntsman, any reading on him or is it too early? >> well, es-- we've talked about his core problem, that he worked for barack obama. he is the more moderate. >> lehrer: he said he's going to take that-- he doesn't see it that way. >> he doesn't, but i guarantee you a lot of republican primary voters will see it. especially when barack obama embraces him rhetorically at every opportunity. he's by far the most moderate

now pawlenty needs to do well in iowa.mney and that state is very much up for grabs. later this week congresswoman michele bachmann is going to test the waters there with a speech thursday night. and on friday, romney will make his first appearance in iowa since he announced his exploratory committee. erica? >> all right, jan crawford in washington this morning. thanks. >> and now for the very latest, let's go back over to jeff glor at the news desk with the latest on more headlines for us this morning. >> chris, good morning once again to meeting with ireland's prime minister and had a look at his own irish blood link. bill plante will explain that. he's traveling with the president this morning in dublin. good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you, jeff. well the president's here, because he's irish. well, only a little irish. but that doesn't matter. when american presidents come to the ancestral home to find roots for the most important people in the world. >> now what the president had to say here in ireland won't

gary johnson, herman cain, ceo of godfather's pizza, ron paul shared the stage with tim pawlenty. where were the others? >> they were ducking it and made a mistake, because fox news is important to nominating process. newt gingrich lost his scholarship box, and so was present form -- his scholarship at fox, and so did rick santorum. >> it was an underwhelming group of candidates there, probably enough to spur people like huckabee if that is the field. >> i am about to ask a crass political question, but i should know that the unemployment number has inched up to 9%, not necessarily bad because they have added jobs, but the crass political question is, does the capture of osama bin laden give barack obama pushed to reelection in 2012? >> i think you will wear off, because in our fast-paced culture, nothing lasts. he will get credit for it, but not enough to re-elect him. the economy will drown this outbreak it the economy goes sour, it will be in much bigger deal. >> i think evan is right, but there was this. republicans had been pushing that he was indecisive and cannot do anythin

with pawlenty set to announce on monday. but there are still some big question marks of who will end up in that republican field. >> first of all, i'm very concerned about the direction of the country. >> reporter: the midwestern, mr. nice, some call boring tim pawlenty will make it official monday. he wants to be president. the former minnesota governor was profiled in the latest edition of "time" magazine. >> he's a colorful guy. he's kind of a prankster. he's a little bit goofy. he's a championship foosball player. >> reporter: pawlenty has been flying under radar. republicans don't seem happy with the republican field. >> to some degree, his strategy is to be the last man standing. >> reporter: there's plenty to attack. mitt romney passed that health care system in massachusetts that looks a lot like the president's plan. >> i agree with mitt romney. >> reporter: newt gingrinch in the first week of his campaign, angered republicans by attacking his party's budget and medicare plan. and jon huntsman worked for president o

poor tim pawlenty, you're generous saying santorum could win.awlenty is arguably the only serious candidate there. he's going to be dragged into the muck. the smartest guys have sat it out. >> isn't it a warm up exercise for pawlenty and santorum? >> they want to gain some visibility. i think the smartest guy of all is mitch daniels. i saw him speak in washington today. he said i took a chance staying out. look what's happened here, it turned out there was no risk at all. he's looking better than he ever has and as well as whatever ghosts are out there that could still join. >> what can they say about president obama? surely osama bin laden will come up at some point in this debate. how are they going to play it. >> i've seen very little hesitation. i clocked in about 13 hours the bin laden piece, the era of national unity. that's gone already. i suspect they'll quickly move beyond the whole foreign policy thing and just have it be open season on obama. that's largely what's happened in the congress. the house of representatives didn't even have

. >>> former minnesota governor tim pawlenty is running for president. he made the announcement on the internet video released last night. >> my first campaign stop will be in iowa and that's where i'm going to begin a campaign that tells the american people the truth. >> pawlenty will be in iowa today. it's the first stop on the campaign trip that will also take him to florida, new hampshire, new york and then washington, d.c. that least a list of declared public candidates as tim pawlenty, carla marinucci, mitt romney, john huntsman and herman cain all trying to get the gop nomination. >>> san carlos city council member will discuss appointing anew mayor at the council meeting. omar ahmad died suddenly of a heart attack a couple of weeks ago. vice mayor andy klein took over on an interim basis and a day later was arrested for possibly driving under the influence. the mayor in san carlos is appointed by the city council. >>> gas price fell nearly a dime over the past two weeks. lundberg survey says the national average is $3 .97 per gallon. here in the

tim pawlenty and john,huntsman. how would each do it? romney would probably be as manager and job creator. here is romney's offense and obama's defense. >> i like president obama. but he doesn't have a clue how jobs are created. >> an economy that was shedding jobs every month now has seen over two million jobs created in the last 14. chris: former utah governor john huntsenman, his strongest argument is he could get bipartisan cooperation. here is his main theme and obama's defense. >> we have been divided for too long. the yelling, screaming and

three said john huntsman, two, one for mitt romney and one for pawlenty. you like huntsman. >> he was pro civil unions and worked fo' years for president obama as ambassador to china and said we have to have someone who can unify the country and i know about china better than anyone else who is stealing american jobs. i know how to get back and fix that problem. and put more jobs -- >> and back to china this week, $3.4 million house, that's a neighborhood you -- that's not a neighborhood you run for president from. >> huntsman's other weakness is he's been pro cap and trade. and that's a bit like obamacare for the republican base. this is another of those socialist issues, that can be a policy litmus test. and i think that if he decides to try and find some way to flip-flop his way out of cap and trade, or a civil union, that could be a character -- chris: who climbs to the top? >> if i said tim pawlenty can fix his flaws because his main one is he's so boring to anyone -- to everyone. set his coat on fire and he's in good shape. >> i think john huntsman.