strategist ed rendell and ted devine on the president's re-election chances. >> public servants shouldn't get a better deal than taxpayers. >> gop warfare, republicans on the wrong side. scale as 76% of the americans say the economy is weighted against them. howard dean on the rise of the progressives, and getting to know them. >> it's like live free or die, victory or death. >> maybe a little too much. "politicsnation" starts right now. >>>. >> welcome to "politicsnation." i'm al sharpton. tonight's lead, herman cain speaks out. he held a live news conference to respond to sexual harassment allegations made by sharon bialek. >> i have never acted inappropriately with anyone, period. i saw ms. allred in that news conference for the very first time. i don't even know who this woman is. secondly, i didn't recognize the name at all. >> cain also said the scandal would not drive him from the race. >> as far as these accusations causing me to back off, and maybe withdraw from this presidential primary race, ain't going to happen. nine days ago, the media started to beat me up, covering anonymo

correspondent, former democratic pennsylvania governor ed rendell is now an msnbc political analyst. michael isikoff, what's the latest from happy valley? >> well, the latest in the wake of that report yesterday from "the patriot news" is that the lawyer for jerry sandusky confirms that at least one of those alleged new cases, one of those new cases involving alleged child abuse involves a family member of sandusky and a minor child. we cannot -- we're constrained by nbc news policy about saying too much more about that because we can't say anything that identifies a minor child, but this is coming from sandusky's own lawyer saying that his understanding is that the -- that at least one of those allegations comes from a family member of sandusky, and he also points -- he also is very emphatic that sandusky adamantly denies the allegation of child abuse. also another development just in the last few minutes. the lawyer for victim number

>> governor rendell, you're a great man. thanks for coming on. coming up, back to politics, is there everyone left standing who can challenge mitt romney for the republican nomination? this is a revolting development for conservatives in this country, a new cbs poll shows herman cain in the lead with romney tied with newt gingrich. years ago, what a revolting development. i'm out here in los angeles. i said tonight i'll be on bill maher's show tonight talking about my book, "jack kennedy: elusive hero" which i'm proud to say is number three now on "the new york times" and several other best-seller lists. fighting for the top. you're watching "hardball" only on msnbc. looking good! you lost some weight. you noticed! these clothes are too big, so i'm donating them. how'd you do it? eating right, whole grain. [ female announcer ] people who choose more whole grain tend to weigh less than those who don't. multigrain cheerios... five whole grains, 110 calories. combines great odor protection with a coco butter scent. amazing microcapsules absorb and n

progressive caucus, and ed rendell, former dnc chairman and current nbc news political analyst.ongresswoman, republicans love tax cuts, so they are going to extend the payroll tax cuts, right? i mean, am i missing something? >> isn't it remarkable how they seem reluctant when it comes to lowering taxes for the middle class, that they have some reservations, but i'm telling you. this is the barack obama that is the fighter. he is out there, and i dare them. i really do. i dare them to say no to extending those tax cuts. actually expanding the tax cuts, and you're right. $1,500 may not be a big dealç the 1% that the republicans are the guard dogs for, but it sure means a lot to ordinary americans, and it will mean a lot to our economy. >> now governor rendell, $1,500 means a lot to people that need money, especially now in this economy, and even 58%, look at this poll, 58% of republicans support the extension of payroll tax cuts. >> sure. >> but interestingly enough willard "mitt" romney can't seem to take a stand here. let me show you him being questioned about this. this is wil

this hour former pennsylvania governor, ed rendell. >>> hundreds of police are tearing out the protest camps in portland and oakland. >>> a preview over the huge controversy of alabama's immigration law. >>> good day, i'm andrea mitchell live in washington. what a difference a week makes. herman cain's poll numbers taking a huge hit in the wake of the sexual allegations, rick perry's campaign may be all but over. the new poll from cnn today said cain plunged from 25% to 14% in a month. and rick perry 12%. newt gingrich just barely behind mitt romney. >> i think we could have seen this coming a little bit. herman cain struggling. i know his poll numbers held strong for about a week and a half, but now we're seeing them come down in the wake of the sexual harassment allegations in a way that are not good. rick perry numbers also coming down a little bit after the debate. who picks up? who is left, really? michele bachmann has already had her run at things. i don't think we should be stunned by it, andrea, but i would say this is someone with a very long record in public life, this is som

ed rendell is the former governor of pennsylvania and now an msnbc political analyst. and patrick mcdonald was 12 years old when he was sexually abused by his scout master. he's now a member of an organization called rape, abuse, and incest national network. he's also a columnist for the daily beast. patrick, thank you so much for coming on tonight. we were talking beforehand, and i do salute you for your openness about this troubling situation in our lives today. tell about what you learned as a victim. >> well, i mean, certainly, that's a very broad question in terms of what i learned as a victim and what other victims experience. >> why don't people tell on each other? why don't adults do their job as grown-ups and report horrible criminal behavior by other adults? >> well, there are usually a couple reasons for that. number one is they suspect that things are going on and they're not willing to be wrong in terms of challenging an abuser and removing a child from that environment. and really, who cares if you're wrong, if you make a mistake in terms of protecting a

relax and enjoy the ride. >> ed rendell, are you relaxing and enjoying the ride? >> well, i love michael, and i think he's been a great analyst and i think he was a good chairman, but he couldn't be more wrong. i thought when you started playing that ad, andrea, at the end it was going to say, this is the type of dirty tricks that mitt romney played to president obama. because we took these out of context, they're not what mitt romney believes, but neither was it fair for mitt romney to quote the president talking about john mccain's campaign. look, people are sick and tired of business as usual. and they're not only sick and tired of how we're failing in washington and in our state capitals, but they're sick and tired of politics as usual. and doing what the romney campaign did to the president taking his words out of context when they knew he was talking about the mccain campaign and doing what this third party group did, nobody thinks mitt romney's in favor of raising taxes or that america is inunique, that's horrible stuff. and you know what it makes the voter

thank you. >> thanks, guys. >> governor rendell, you're a great man. thanks for coming on. >>> coming up, back to politics. is there anyone left standing that can challenge mitt romney for the republican nominee? this is a revolting development for the conservatives in this country. a new cbs poll shows herman cain in the lead with romney tied with newt gingrich. as william benning said years ago, what a revoltin' development. i'm out here talking about my new book, "jack kennedy: elusive hero" is number three on "new york times" best seller look, fighting for the top. you're watching "hardball," on msnbc. thank you, sir. thank you, ma'am. you're welcome. gate 40, ma'am ? straight over that way. thank you. you're welcome. would you like the window ? no, i'm fine. thank you, sir. there you go, sir. thank you, sir. have a great trip home. oh, thank you very much, ma'am. would you like some help ? yes. let me get that. have a nice night. thank you, ma'am. thank you, sir. no, thank you. >>> president obama's in san diego today. the president and first lady

ed rendell is the former governor of pennsylvania and now an msnbc political analyst. and patrick mcdonald was 12 years old when he was sexually abused by his scoutmaster. he's now a member of an organization called rape, abuse, and incest national network. he's also a columnist for the "daily beast." patrick, thank you so much for coming on tonight. we were talking beforehand, and i do salute you for your openness about this troubling situation in our lives today. tell about what you learned as a victim. >> well, i mean, certainly, that's a very broad question in terms of what i learned as a victim and what other victims experience. >> why don't people tell on each other? why don't adults do their job as grown-ups and report horrible criminal behavior by other adults? >> well, there are usually a couple reasons for that. number one is they suspect that things are going on and they're not willing to be wrong in terms of challenging an abuser and removing a child from that environment. and really, who cares if you're wrong, if you make a mistake in terms of protecting a

ed rendell and michael steele dr. >> a man dade by any other name is still a mandate. and the gymnastics makes mare are lieu look like a. >> i love you, man. >> let's face it, your team gives you a hot hand to deal with, michael. >> thank you, al. >> thank you. >>> ahead, president obama's approval is surging as he ramps up the fight for the middle class. and something republicans did today will add more fuel to that fight. >>> plus fighting for his political life. our first look at the wave of action against wisconsin governor's scott walker. it's not good for him. >>> the fight for civil rights is going on right now in america. the harshest immigration law in the world is creating chaos in alabama. we ask for justice. you're watching "politics nation" on msnbc. this new at&t 4g lte is fast. hey, two tickets just opened up on the 50. ...yup, about to go pick them up from will call. so 46 seconds ago. did you guys hear that chapman rolled his ankle? done. get out there. so 12 seconds ago. you guys know how to post videos to facebook? you guys know how to post videos to

ed rendell. a poll has -- newt gingrich by 15, rick perry by 16.by several polls, governor, the next flavor of the month. if they go in a straight line president obama is going up in the polls, up six points. so if you're going one by one from sarah palin to michele bachmann to rick perry, to cain, newt is next up. >> there's no question. look, rick, first of all herman cain would have been a whole lot better if he said on day one, i might have said some things that i didn't think were offensive, but maybe some of the women i worked with did, and if that's the case, i apologize. bhoom, over. >> i agree with you, by the way, ed. but you know -- just -- in the context of this, it wouldn't be the first time that some political adviser or some press secretary said don't lay out all the facts, because you're going to make it a bigger story. maybe it never happened. and yes, of course, in retrospect right now herman cain should have said here's what the allegations are, there's some confuse over whether he knew it or not, but to the extent he was clear a

he met them through the charity programs. >> governor rendell, i want to ask you a question about your successor. look, the msnbc audience knows you as the chief executive of the state. i need to remind everybody you were the district attorney of philadelphia. you were a very successful prosecutor, wand that in mind i want to show you a rudimentary timeline that we've created which draws attention to the fact that it was in january of 2009 that victim number one, as he's known to the grand jury report, then age 15, came forward. the report went from the clinton county d.a. to the center county d.a. and then was referred to the pennsylvania attorney general's office. tom corbett was the attorney general. "the patriot news" is reporting that for the first 15 months of the investigation there was only one state trooper assigned to this case, and it was not until november of this year, this month, that sandusky was finally arrested, and so many at home and across the country are now asking why the delay and were there sufficient resources committed by the attorney general's office to this

it's going to cost $300 billion. >> let's bring back governor rendell and mr. steele. democratic nominees have won the state in every election year since '92 but saw the profile of scranton in the "new york times" today, hillary clinton country, the working class whites. they quoted a teacher who voted for obama saying that if the right republican candidate came along, they'd vote for that person. what is president obama have to do to win these voters back, get them back urn the base? zooing he started with his speech on the jobs bill. i think he's been finding his voice for white working class voters in the sense of he's got to talk about economic fairness. he's got to talk about the disparities in the tax code where the richest companies in the world and the richest people in the world pay less in income tax, less percentage in income tax than working people do. he's got to talk about the fairness of that. he's goss to talk about what's happening with working class teachers and policemen and firemen being laid off. those are the things he's got to talk about. he has

i agree with governor rendell. mitt romney is the more formidable candidate, and i also think, that you know, there's still time for him to get -- to lay a glove on newt. these two men are flip and flop. i mean, newt gingrich flip-flops, you really might be able to lay them end to end and they will match romney's, and the thing that's particularly worrisome and should be really kind of horrifying to the base is that gingrich's flip flops and his positions. he was for an individual mandate. he was for universal private insurance. he was against the ryan plan. he was for freddie mac before he was against it. all of these things had something to do with who was paying him whereas mitt's changes seem to be about politics. voters will have to decide which is worse, but they are both pretty bad, so i think the more voters get to know about newt's financial baggage, the 37 million from the health care industry that went to his health think tank. you know, i think there's plenty for people to dislike about newt. i just won

. >>> now msnbc political analyst and former pennsylvania governor ed rendell joins us.ern part of the state, and i'm just thinking about this very simple thing, connection. hillary clinton could do it, bill clinton could do it. they seemed to come from middle class backgrounds, especially the former president. he never seemed like an elitist, never seemed like an ivy league guy even though he's a rhodes scholar. how do you get that from this president, that connection? >> i'm not sure you necessarily have to do that. fdr certainly came from a white-laced background and he connected, so i think the president can, and i think he's started the road back with these voters by what he's doing on the jobs bill. for instance, in scranton, chris, there are a lot of unemployed or guys who are working halftime construction workers. they are those white blue collar voters you're talking about. barack obama wants to put them to work with almost $100 billion of new infrastructure money. republicans don't, so i think he's got to keep pushing the message of jobs. he's got to keep pushi

. >> joining us is ed rendell.uld allow a client in a situation like this to do this interview with bob. what's your reaction to it? >> i don't think he gains very much i guess the lawyer is trying to influence the court of public opinion. if you read the indictment, lawrence. what he says is a joke. there were two janitors who claim and testified before the grand jury they witnessed him having ofrl sex on a young boy. it doesn't add up and make sense. i don't understand what the lawyer is doing, but i don't understand what mr. sandusky is doing. the point that bob made, penn state is a great university. it's more than a football program. it's one of the three or four best public universities in the country. and was there some sort of agreement to try to cover it up? it appears so, but that's what we will have to look at as the facts unfold. >> ed rendell, thank you for your invaluable perspective on this. and bob costas, thank you very much for your exclusive report on this. >> you are welcome, lawrence. the whole

let's talk about that with former pennsylvania governor and current msnbc analyst ed rendell.art with you. there are other problems with mitt romney in the latest poll. in a head-to-head matchup with gingrich, he trails ten points, also well behind republican men and self-described conservatives. is this cause for concern, especially this late in the game? >> well, sure, a little bit. but remember, you're talking national polls. and the most important thing in this season is state poll. hillary clinton led in all of the national polls all the way up to iowa, the iowa caucuses. she was way ahead in the national polls. so it's the state polls that are important. and in the state polls, particularly the early four or five, i think mitt romney is still doing pretty well. and the look, the question is will newt gingrich have the same fate as rick perry did, michele bachmann did and, of course, herman cain did? when people start examining him, his beliefs, his history, is he going to crater, too? the one thing we know about romney is he's not going to crater. he is a major-league ca

now it is not certain that russia's first ever formula one driver fatai petroff will be with lotus rendell next season the driver said to be replaced by room in a group home for the early circuits sessions this season's final race in brazil not great news for the wii board rocket g.p. to champion john will also get to ride instead of petrov stablemate and produce senna on the penultimate abu dhabi event the team of struggled this year with petrol spurred place finish on the opening day of the season in melbourne far and away their best result twenty seven will petroff finished eleventh this past weekend the indian grand prix the criticism from the stable for a quote on inspired performance is. there's a three way tie in the n.f.l. that a.f.c. west after kansas city peter divisional rival sunday go on monday night the fallen chargers on the victorious chiefs joined by oakland raiders atop that group the chiefs marcus l. firing and pass to jonathan baldwin for the game's first big score fellow rookie marcus gilchrist stay in tight on him but unable to stop the ball when touched on the charge

ed rendell, you were saying you can't script this thing. and now the republican campaigns are fighting each other on who's leaking this. and you've got haley coming out saying he's got to put everything on the table. it's just a mess. and we're going to read the news inning a second, but just more things -- he's got to clean this up fast. >> yeah. he's got to move quickly. but if anybody tried to write the history of this republican primary season, nobody would've believed it. and the only one who actually could've written it was barack obama. couldn't have been any better. >> oh, i know, his numbers keep getting better. and you were noting yesterday, barack obama's campaign team actually launched a negative ad against somebody. who was it? >> it was mitt romney, in a brutal ad. >> yeah. they're worried about him, aren't they? >> and if i'm mitt romney, i put an ad on saying why are the democrats attacking only one republican? mitt romney because they fear he can win. mitt romney's strongest card with the republican voters is i'm the one wh

. >> reporter: ed rendell served as governor of pennsylvania. >> he knows the challenge his office was facing. >> reporter: argues the blame doesn't stop at the state house. >> there's no question that everyone in this process to the penn state officials to my good friend joe paterno, everyone in this process didn't act swiftly enough, didn't act courageously enough. >> reporter: a courage this campus will need as they continue to work through the scandal. jay gray, news 4. >>> when news 4 at 4:00 continues, a thanksgiving emergency for lindsay lohan's father. what put him in the hospital. >>> a look at the centerpiece of the white house christmas decor as it arrives in washington. >>> it nearly up staged the royal wedding. how you can [ speaking french ] [ speaking french ] movie buffs! this film is tres bien, but the interest rate on your checking account is le pew. interest on your checking? earn more with new high yield free checking at capital one bank. your interest rate will be five times the national average. five times the interest! and free atms at any bank. show's over folks

southern portions of an rendell county and portions of prince george's and charles county still seeingwer activity. we'll see them for the next hour or so before they all move off the coast. you can see the whole storm pulling off the coast now. still seeing plane delays up there toward new york and boston. call ahead of time if those two destinations are in your future. 34 in gaithersburg. 33 in frederick. windchills tomorrow morning in the upper 20s to lower 30s for everybody. a cold start to our thanksgiving. but, wow, a gorgeous afternoon. expect temperatures around 57 degrees tomorrow and that will be with plenty of sunshine. a few of you will be around that 60 degree mark. we won't stop there. it's going to get warmer as they make their way into the end of the week and the first part of the weekend. >> thank you, doug. >>> in keeping with the season, dan has a nice story about a former football player. dan? >> so often professional athletes retire in their 30s, they have no idea what they want to do and by the time they figure it out, they are broke. a star line backer with the c

as ed rendell pointed out, the washingtons liked having their slaves, they even brought them up to fillo secession. no such provision exists, and neither does the possibility of this cowboy getting into the white house without a permission slip from the president, the real president. >>> herman cain, excuse me, you don't even read the newspapers. you don't even care enough to take a few minutes a day to know what's happening in our country, and you say you want to run it. newt, i have to hand it to you. imagine being mitt and see the latest poll that says republicans prefer you, you with all your baggage from previous marriages, a reprimand from the congress, and b

ed rendell is the former democratic governor of pennsylvania and msnbc analyst, and john feehery is acan strategist. gentlemen, i have to ask you. it used to be that the republicans were the daddy party, if you will, the ones we're going to take care of all the dangers facing the country. we're the experts on foreign policy. don't get in our way, democrats, and now it seems like they are just dicey on the subject. they don't seem to have any expert on foreign policy in the entire list of republicans running. >> it's true, chris. if i were an independent voter or a moderate republican, my head is spinning, and i'm thinking what in god's name is this party up to? is this the best they have got? but, again, what happens once there's a nominee is people focus not so much on republican and democrat, they focus on the republican nominee versus the president so they will have a time to recoup. what i think the big problem is, let's assume for a second, chris, put yourself in mitt romney's place. you're the nominee going into the convention, what do you do with these wackos at the convention?

as ed rendell pointed out, the washingtons liked having their slaves, they even brought them up to philadelphiarry, he threatened to have texas secede from the union, pointing to some provision to the texas annexation that allowed for it. no such provision exists and neither does the possibility of this cowboy getting into the white house without a pass issued under the authority of a real president. herman cain, excuse me. you don't even read the newspapers. you don't even care enough to take a few minutes a day to know what's happening in our country, and you say you want to run it. newt, i have to hand it to you. imagine the pain and self-doubt you must be inflicted on mitt romney. imagine being mitt and see the latest polls republicans prefer you with all your baggage from previous marriages, a reprimand from the congress and being driven from the