i've always been very indebted to ron howard. and, you know, it's late, it's 1:30 in the morning, like tom wants to talk to a teenaged kid. he was 14. >> changed his life. >> changed his life. so sweet to cody. you never forget the people that are kind like that. >> back to cody finally texting you back. the weird thing with a lot of young kids and their parents or just people in general lately, nobody talks anymore because they're texting and they're facebooking and they figure they know what's going on, i saw the picture, i don't need to hear it, blah, blah, blah. i was thinking about that movie, what is it called again, "he's just not that into you." there's a scene where the drew barrymore character is walking through the grocery store and she's upset the guy hasn't called her back. >> nothing. >> the problems everyone is having with communication. take a look. >> it's not just texting. it's e-mail, voice mail, snail nail. >> that's regular mail. >> whatever. it's not working. i had this guy leave me a voice mail at work. i c

. >> ron howard had something to do with it? >> he did. creator also knew us and knew our background and our work and sort of -- it just works. it's just a blessing. >> how much is christina similar to you in the fact that you have three children of your own. >> i do. i like to have more fun. i like to have fun. i'm not saying she doesn't but i feel like there's a lot about christina we don't know yet and i think in season four, hopefully god willing we come back we'll learn a little bit more about her background. but my kids are always like why your crying all the time. you're always cracking jokes at home. >> how old are your real children? >> danny is 21 and leah is 7 and molly is six. >> that's upsetting on so many levels and you look 21. we liked you until you told us that. >> i was pregnant when you were -- we were pregnant together. >> yep. my son will be 22. >> i was like, you know what? she's doing it, i can do this too. i was in cleveland at the time, so i've never -- i tell very -- yeah. >> what were you doing in cleveland? >> i

. >> i would say they made him look like the guy that replaced ron howard on "happy days." >> i think the beatle thing is -- >> who was that? >> ted mcginley. he replaced the guy on "married with children." >> look how proud you are of yourself. >> speaking of newt, we will get another dig at newt, and this is from a rick santorum. >> grandiosity is never a problem with newt gingrich. he handle itself very, very well. >> remi, he says grandiosity is never a problem with newt as if that is an insult. america is gran di ose, your beauty is grandiose. what is wrong were being grand grandiose? >> then again i don't know what grandiose means. soes it mean annoying? >> what i really want to know is am i in your diary since i am grandiose? >> well, there are certain sketches of you in my diary. >> forget i asked. it is weak punches if that was what he intended to do. to call somebody who is running for the lead of the free world grandiose is not a negative comment. and perhaps it was for a lack of anything more significant. >> he could be his running mate. he softened his back and forthwith

i've always been very indebted to ron howard.ymore because they're texting and they're facebooking and they figure they know what's going on, i saw the picture, i don't need to hear it, blah, blah, blah. i was thinking about that movie, what is it called again, "he's just not that into you." there's a scene where the drew barrymore character is walking through the grocery store and she's upset the guy hasn't called her back. >> nothing. >> the problems everyone is having with communication. take a look. >> it's not just texting. it's e-mail, voice mail, snail nail. >> that's regular mail. >> whatever. it's not working. i had this guy leave me a voice mail at work. i called him at home. then he e-mailed me to my blackberry so i texted to his cell, and then he e-mailed me to my home account. and the whole thing just got out of control. and i miss the days where you had one phone number and one answering machine. and that one answering machine had one cassette tape. and that one cassette tape either had a message from guy or it didn

. >> and, remember, chris, you still have to howard's point, ron paul is out there.rs drop out. >> this came ain't over yet. when we return, let's finish with the reverend dr. martin luther king in his own words. you're watching "hardball." i go to e-trade and tap into the power of revolutionary mobile apps to trade wherever. whenever. life isn't fully experienced sitting idly by. neither is investing. [ birds chirping ] i've tried it. but nothing helped me beat my back pain. then i tried salonpas. it's powerful relief that works at the site of pain and lasts up to 12 hours. salonpas. my high school science teacher made me what i am today. our science teacher helped us build it. ♪ now i'm a geologist at chevron, and i get to help science teachers. it has four servo motors and a wireless microcontroller. over the last three years we've put nearly 100 million dollars into american education. that's thousands of kids learning to love science. ♪ isn't that cool? and that's pretty cool. ♪ >>> i'd like to finish tonight with this. it's powerful stuff. i'm going to read you

i think ron paul in the end will fall slightly short where they thought he was going to be. the second time that happened. >> howard that is a good point but i think is there a ron paul-specific dynamic, which is none of us are looking at ron paul and thinking because he came in third, he is going to drop out, ron paul, as i said before, got zero saves in 2008. he stayed in until june, even huckabee was gone by march. ron paul has a plan here and doesn't depend on him winning iowa. one thing important no-to-note here the rules are different here in the republican process and a lot more proportionally allocated delegate, a lot fewer states giving all their delegates to could ho comes in first, ron paul can potentially can accumulate delegates as long as he can stay in the race and he can mint money no pun intended sort of, and say there as long as he wants to and use those delegates whatever purpose he wants to use them for for and int continue to suspect whatever he wants to use them for is to spike mitt romney for anybody else. >> every vote -- >> now, rachel, the good news -- >> harder for him to get. this is the

ron paul. we're book with our panel of msnbc political analysts, howard fineman of "the huffington post," eugenele, former chairman of the national republican committee. let's play pundit now, pure pundit, without any attitude. which is just picking this thing. what do you see in the numbers, howard? >> what i see in the numbers is santorum coming on strong, ron paul having a lot of enthusiasm out there, and mitt romney trying to hang on, having allowed expectations to get a little bit out of hand here. now he needs a win. and i think it's going to be very close, down to the wire. but the two have the energy, the genuine energy and the genuine momentum are santorum and paul. >> gene? >> i see the santorum surge. i think he's peaking at the right time. the numbers also show that iz supporters are more likely -- say they're more likely to actually go out and caucus tomorrow than romney's do. >> yeah, 76% say they're actually going to -- and this is cold weather out here, like it is in a lot of places. windy too. very windy. does the bad weather affect iowans. >> this is nothing. this is warm. this

gary howard press secretary for the ron paul campaign and joins us this morning. ron paul is second in the polls and he is seen as this wild card and his rivals taking aim at his views on foreign policy. i want everyone to take a listen to this. >> is he more dangerous on iran than barack obama, in your view? >> in my view, yes, he is. i think he's to the left of barack obama. >> congressman paul would take every ship we have and bring it into port. he would abandon the seas to allow other countries to tell us what the rules are for transporting our goods. >> you can go with congressman paul, he's not electable at the end of the day, be real about it. >> the perception would be that he's outlandish, even scary in his views by some. is ron paul too extreme to win in iowa? >> well, i just say to those folks, the majority of american people agree with dr. paul on foreign policy. they don't want our troops to be stretched all over the globe. they don't want us to be playing policeman of the world. they want our troops to come home. i think dr. paul is right along with

romney in command of the race, but i also think that howard fineman, you know, asked the most important political question of the race. what is ron paul going to do looking ahead? will he leave the republican party? will he mount a third party challenge? howard thinks he will. i think he won't, because i think it destroys the future of his republican senator son. but this is the biggest and most important question when you give consideration to the general election ahead. and who knows the answer. >> and the dynamic in south carolina is going to be different. the unemployment rate in iowa is 5.7%. in new hampshire, it's 5.2%. in south carolina, unemployment, 9.9%. >> so if there's a market for populism -- >> that would be it. >> anti-mitt romney populism, going after his vulture capitalism, as they've been saying, that would be the place for it. >> and a company that was the victim of bain in south carolina, if they intend to pursue that. so south carolina can be very interesting. but i think, what the established order there from the governor, now demint, going where they're going, romney gets a little more strength than one wou

ron paul ruin it for the republicans? join me and john, andrea mitchell, howard feinman and malika for a great roundtable.s coming up on the "meet the press" debate, here's david gregory. david? >> thanks, chris. a special edition of "meet the press" live from new hampshire. this morning we are partnering with facebook and the new hampshire union leader for a special republican presidential candidate debate. just 48 hours before the nation's first primary. all six will be here live answering your questions from facebook as well as my questions. it's all coming up, a special edition of "meet the press" this morning. >> look forward to that. well, while the republican presidential candidates are debating, one is relaxing. >> kristin wig posed a as michele bachmann last night on saturday night live. she told seth meyers what she's looking forward to now that she's off the campaign trail. >> i'm looking forward to resting, to spending time at home, most of all to blinking for the first time since this all started. >> you haven't blinked since the campaign started? >> i have not. >> would you like to now. >> i

ron paul came in third, and newt gingrich was a distant but important fourth. howard, i think it was important that gingrich grabbed that fourth. he's still in the running, in the top four. not in the money, as you would say. >> yeah. >> but let me ask you about this. let's talk really big now. if you're the president in the white house, you're david plouffe, if you're axelrod, all the big thinkers, valerie jarrett and the rest of them and you're mitt romney, are you worried that you might be seeing the beginning of the end on the right? that they are beginning to realize that one of the two guys will probably be the counter to romney, that's either rick santorum or newt gingrich. one of the two will probably have to carry the banner. are they begin to coalesce that 75% that just doesn't like romney? >> the short answer is no. they are not coalescing just yet, and rick santorum has to prove here in new hampshire that he's a guy to coalesce around. if he hits a trough here and does poorly here, that will reinforce the notion that he was only the seventh and last tempor

. >> remember, chris, you still have to ron paul out, there don't think he will go away because others drop out. >> michael steel, howard fineman, thank you. we'll finish with the reverend dr. martin luther king in his own words. you're watching "hardball" on msnbc. ♪ he was a 21st century global nomad ♪ ♪ home was an airport lounge and an ipad ♪ ♪ made sure his credit score did not go bad ♪ ♪ with a free-credit-score-dot-com ♪ ♪ app that he had ♪ downloaded it in the himalayas ♪ ♪ while meditating like a true playa ♪ ♪ now when he's surfing down in chile'a ♪ ♪ he can see when his score is in danger ♪ ♪ if you're a mobile type on the go ♪ ♪ i suggest you take a tip from my bro ♪ ♪ and download the app that lets you know ♪ ♪ at free-credit-score-dot-com now let's go. ♪ vo: offer applies with enrollment in freecreditscore.com™. >>> i like to finish with this, powerful stuff i'll read you words of dr. martin luther king's letter from the birmingham city jail. i believe the words carry universal power but bring alive the spirit of the man we honor today. "for years now i heard the word wait, this wait meant never, we have w

ron, thanks. investigators say they are checking surveillance cameras to see if any of the crimes were caught on tape. we'll have more on this story on eyewitness news at 5:00 and 6:00. >>> howard county police say they tracked down a woman connected to a home filled with dead animals. they say the woman, whose name has not been released, had more than 40 pet carcasses inside her columbia town house, half in a freezer. four animals were found alive inside. they confirmed the woman once worked with an animal rescue group. so far, she has not been charged yet. >>> state senator ronald young will next week propose a state animal abuse registry where convicted abusers photos and addresses will be listed online for 10 years for pet breeders to see. >>> a man charged in the hit and run of a state trooper. police say 30-year-old matthew wood hit the state trooper when the trooper was conducting a traffic stop on i-83 northbound. it happened early sunday morning. the trooper did survive and is recovering. wood has a history of alleged offenses, including speeding and drunk driving. >>> a long-time part of the inner harbor may soon be gone. the city plans so have the carousel near the s

. >> remember, chris, you still have to ron paul out, there don't think he will go away because others drop out. >> michael steel, howard. we'll finish with the reverend dr. martin luther king in his own words. you're watching "hardball" on msnbc. you never take an upgrade for granted. and you rent from national. because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle. and go. you can even take a full-size or above. and still pay the mid-size price. i deserve this. [ male announcer ] you do, business pro. you do. go national. go like a pro. you walk into a conventional mattress store, it's really not about you. they say, "well, if you want a firm bed you can lie on one of those, if you want a soft bed you can lie on one of those." we provide the exact individualization that your body needs. welcome to the sleep number year-end closeout event. not just ordinary beds on sale, but the bed that can change your life on sale. the sleep number bed. it calibrates precisely to your body and your comfort zone. now you can feel what happens as we raise your sleep number setting and allow the bed to contour to your individual sh

howard's exactly right. gingrich is great when he's making a dramatic point. but when he gets attack ordinary has to really explain his positions, i think he gets into some trouble. so i think rone most relaxed, most entertaining guy up there this evening. >> well, you've got nothing to lose. the ron paul is in that wonderful position of nothing to lose. >> also, there's body language, right? the spacing's different now, there's more room on the stage, they're further apart, they're more tense. i think howard's right, they're getting tired. but, absolutely, romney has to keep hitting gingrich, every single time. truth meter, fact meter, whatever you want to call it, he's got to keep undermining that gingrich grandiosity and figure out a way to trip him up at some point. >> msnbc political analyst howard fineman and brown university professor wendy shiller, thank you both very much for joining me tonight. chris matthews is going to join us next. he's at the debate location tonight too. we'll hear from him. ne. spark miles gives me the most rewards of any small business credit card. the spark card earns double miles... so we really had to up our game. with spark, the boss earns d

howard may have a different view. >> we'll go right now for a second to ron paul headquarters because ron paul is addressing his supporters. >> -- recognize my wife. her picture is on that cookbook. anybody see that cookbook? [ applause ] well, thank you very much. what a delightful crowd. sometimes say, boy, that was a good speech. no, that was a good crowd. that makes all the difference in the world. you know, we talk about it and a.j. mentioned one of three ticks out which is obviously true and one of two that can actually run a national campaign and raise the money. but there is nobody else that have people like you working hard and enthusiastic and believe in something. [ applause ] that is all the difference in the world. and before i continue with any more comments i do want to bring at least step forward three of our chairmen, you met already, a.j. striker and david fisher would step forward as well as drew ivers who has been the chairman on the central committee and have led the charge all throughout iowa. [ applause ] but all i can think about in tough campaigns and all the hard work is the work you people do. i

ron paul will be on the ballot march 6. tonight another plea of guilty in the corruption case that already brought down former d.c. council member, harry thomas. this time it's marshall banks. a howard university professor and founder of a youth organization. according to court documents, thomas steered $400,000 through banks nonprofit. more than 300,000 was kicked back to thomas for personal gain. that money was supposed to be used for a baseball program for kids. >>> we have o 9news now update for you. the protest group occupy d.c. says it's not going anywhere. as we reported last night, the mayor called on the national park service to move the demonstrators from mcpherson square to the encampment. the reasons, public health conditions. tonight occupy d.c. says it won't cave in to what it calls the mayor's political posturing but it will work with the city. topper. >> the arctic air is here. the winds thankfully diminished somewhat. here's your wakeup weather. temperatures are going to be in the 20s. generally clear skies, 8:00, 24 to 30 and by 10:00, 20 to 34. still breezy in the morning. not windy tomorrow morning, but breezy. we will come back and tell you if the arctic air las

ron paul. let's go back to chris matthews who's in des moines. >> well, that's fascinating. i'm back with the huffington post howard fineman and "the washington post" eugene robinson. you have news about one of the other tier candidates. >> i think as the numbers are beginning to trickle in i think reality is beginning to dawn on some of the candidates and one of them may be michele bachmann who put such a big effort in here, could not get the full backing, the evangelical pastors in part because of her gender her staffers are saying privately. they don't want to sound like they're complaining. >> some of them said so publicly. she is now about to be told by her inner circle that she should call it quits. and that conversation my understanding has not quite taken place yet but is about to. she is supposed to go to south carolina tomorrow. she may or may not go but i think there is a very -- i just know her top people are telling her or getting ready to tell her that it's time for her to drop out. >> do you think she might endorse santorum? >> i think she'll wait on whatever she does. >> if she changes, pulls out. >

if ron paul could win in iowa tonight, there's virtually no chance he would be the nominee. howardyone suspended belief and plays along, end quote. iowa officials believe the state deserves the billing because the citizens throw tough questions at the candidates, but iowa is much wyatt wheater than the other states and in no way vemables the rest of the country. as for today, it's yet to be seen how much iowa will matter if at all. if romney wins tonight in iowa and goes on to win in new hampshire next week, he could wrap the deal up pretty quickly. never the less, it gives an early indication of who has a good organization, who can raise match up and get an audience to listen to what they have to say and it gives the news media something to talk about. it's probably safe to say that folks like michele bachmann, jon huntsman and rick perry may want to rethink their whole effort here. it's not a question of if those folks drop out, just a question of when. iowa con serve to narrow the field and tell the rest of the country what they don't want. here's the question. what do the iowa