republican strategist steve schmidt worked on the bush-cheney 2004 campaign and ran the 2008 mccain campaign. steve is also an msnbc analyst. dana milbank is a politico columnist for the "washington post." gentlemen, i want you to consider this. let's start with the news breaking this afternoon. late this afternoon. on fox news, mitt romney said he would not be attending donald trump's circus debate later this month. let's listen to mitt. >> no, i'm not participating in that. we have two debates in december that i've agreed to participate in. the rest of the month is going to be spent campaigning, doing the political work you've got to do to get the support of people in iowa and new hampshire, south carolina, florida. so we'll be hitting the trail. i spoke with donald trump earlier today, indicated that we just can't make this debate. >> and what did he say? >> he understood my perspective and wished me well. >> well, there you go. let me go to steve schmidt for this active at least cajones on the part of mitt romney. i'm impressed by anybody that stands up to this guy. it's not exactly like

thank you, steve schmidt. thank you, dana milbank. >>> coming up, no matter who the republicans actually end up nominating, president obama is betting now on a campaign strategy of fairness. he wants the middle class in this country to get a fair shake. he wants wall street to play by the rules and he wants the wealthy to pay their fair share. all reasonable proposals. but can he put some bite behind this? you're watching "hardball," only on msnbc. impact wool exports from new zealand, textile production in spain, and the use of medical technology in the u.s.? at t. rowe price, we understand the connections of a complex, global economy. it's just one reason over 75% of our mutual funds beat their 10-year lipper average. t. rowe price. invest with confidence. request a prospectus or summary prospectus with investment information, risks, fees and expenses to read and consider carefully before investing. with investment information, risks, fees and expenses ♪ when your chain of supply goes from here to shanghai,

also msnbc analyst steve schmidt, former senior adviser to mccain/palin campaign, senior strategist in bush/cheney '04 campaign and managed schwarzenegger's 2006 re-election campaign. thank you for joining me on this night of serious breaking news. steve, christine o'donnell finally announced. >> we shouldn't be making it this easy for you. i think, you know, the serious side of it is that's a senate seat that republicans should hold. but for her nomination, mike castle would have been the republican united states senator from delaware. there's an important lesson, i think, for republicans out there, sharron angle in nevada, christine o'donnell in delaware. those are races we would have won, but for nominating people who are totally and utterly unqualified for the offices they were running for. >> jonathan capehart, when do you expect the first mitt romney arm around christine o'donnell photo op? >> probably in mitt romney's mind when he's president of the united states and she's on a rope line. that statement from mitt romney's campaign read just like a hostage note. i mean, he needs

joining me now is msnbc analyst steve schmidt.teve is the former senior adviser to the mccain/palin '08 presidential campaign and senior strategist in the bush/cheney '04 presidential campaign and managed governor arnold schwarzenegger's 2006 re-election campaign. steve, with herman cain out of the race, how long do you think it will take for polls to stabilize in the migration of voters from cain's support to wherever they're going? they seem to be heading possibly to gingrich more so than romney. >> i suspect what you're going to see, lawrence, is a consolidation of support to newt gingrich. he will continue to rise in the polls, but he'll level off at a point. one of the things in some of the surveys out of iowa, today, is that there's no awareness, for example, that he took millions of dollars from fannie mae and freddie mac. it's a story that just hasn't penetrated into the electorate yet. what i think will happen is that there's going to be a very rigorous period of discussion between the reality of newt gingrich's record an

let's go steve schmidt, first of all. it really looks like newt right now. >> he's the clear front-runner for the race as president. he has commanding leads, chris, nationally. he has them in iowa, he has them in south carolina, he has them in florida. but this is precipitating now the beginning of the part of the campaign where all of the niceties are dropped and the actual records and the dissonance between reality and rhetoric starts to get explored. you've seen that over the last 24 hours. >> if people like the profile of a really tough gladiator like newt, do they care how much scar tissue he has? >> i don't think they care how much scar tissue -- >> let's let steve finish. i'm sorry. let steve finish that thought, then jump in here, jennifer. steve, does it matter -- if you want a pit bull, does it matter whether the guy's got a few scratches on him? >> listen, i think he's a person of great talent. he's also a person of great flaws. i think for republicans, what's healthy is that we have a discussion about these ta

. >> joining me now is analyst steve schmidt. a senior strategist in the bush/cheney '04 presidential campaign. it seems that the republicans in the house now are endangering the brand of tax cutting in the republican party if they have met a tax cut. that gets 89 votes in senate but is not good enough for the house of representatives. >> the politics of this isn't great for house republicans because the democrats are clearly on the high ground of reasonableness here. and the proof point is all of the republican senators that voted for it. so when the criticism is coming from scott brown and it's coming from other republicans, it makes the work of chairwoman shultz pretty easy. it's not a great fight for republicans in the christmas season. >> and the congressional elections and senate elections are all about the marginal seats, the unsafe seats. most are in safe seats. the idaho senators have nothing to worry about. it's always going to be republican. but a massachusetts republican is not an easy place for a senator to hold on t

>> steve schmidt, you are not really with the whole program here on the science. the electromagnetic pulse is going to get you. steve spent time in iraq and he understands the nature of true threats and i can't believe he's minimizing the threat of the emp. a strange moment yesterday for newt gingrich to do his one iowa event besides this anti-abortion event he went to. this event where he talked about brain science. and it was a curious event. it was a curious thing for him to be talking about. he is -- i don't think a lot of io iowans are featured on the electromagnetic pulse or neuroscience but so much of this is priced into the stock with newt gingrich. people, he is especially committed republican activists know the field. he's not a stranger to these people. and the strangeness of newt gingrich is not new information for these people. they tend to overlook all of it to the extent that they support him and overlook all of it because he is the guy who was the architect of the greatest republican triumph in the past 20 years, taking over the house of representat

steve schmidt. i'll say "the national review" editorialized tonight, the white house seems winnable next year. we fear to nominate former speaker newt gipg ngrich, the front-runners in the polls, would be to blow this opportunity. so there's that. we'll be right back when i got my medicare card, i realized i needed an aarp... medicare supplement insurance card, too. medicare is one of the great things about turning 65, but it doesn't cover everything. in fact, it only pays up to 80% of your part b expenses. if you're already on or eligible for medicare, call now to find out how an aarp... medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company, helps cover some of the medical expenses... not paid by medicare part b. that can save you from paying up to thousands of dollars... out of your own pocket. these are the only medicare supplement insurance plans... exclusively endorsed by aarp. when you call now, you'll get this free information kit... with all you need to enroll. pu

joining me now to talk about all of this is steve schmidt. he's a former senior adviser and strategist to both the mccain and bush presidential campaigns, as well as msnbc political analyst and bob shrum. steve, here's my question, does anyone come back once they go into purgatory, politically speaking. i'm speaking about how michele bachmann had some mojo and then she faded. and herman cain had mojo and faded, and rick perry had it and faded it, but it seems like they never come back. if newt is truly fading now, is he done or do you think he comes back? >> i think if he's fading, i think it's a permanent condition. none of the candidates have come back, as you've pointed out. i think it will be interesting, if you look at the iowa caucuses over the last couple of election cycles, there's always been a lot of turbulence around them in the days proceeding. i wonder if you'll see rick santorum maybe make a move up here, one of the few candidates that really hasn't had a shot in the limelight yet. but if you look at this race, it seems to be sta

also former campaign manager steve schmidt will be here and "the washington post" eugene robinson. next politico's top stories of the morning. first, let's go to bill karins with a check on the forecast. >> mika, i fully agree with mark. joe is definitely the darth vader of the show. >> oh, no. >> not what i said. >> fully agree. >> i disagree. i think that's funny coming from you. >> and kept away and locked away. yes. you can find good in me i guess. good morning, everyone. we are looking at temperatures that are very chilly out there especially in northern new england. bundle the kids up and yourselves this morning. it's going to be another decent afternoon. if the wind is not blowing you should be okay. temperatures will be in the 40s. another dry day. there is no snow out there. d.c. should be around 51 degrees. southern missouri where we're getting a little light rain. st. louis umbrella weather along with kansas city. if anyone is joining us early this morning out in phoenix anywhere in california, especially southern california, rain for you, even thunderstorms now from oce

steve schmidt.nal review" editorialized tonight, the white house seems winnable next year. we fear to nominate former speaker newt gingrich, the front-runners in the polls, would be to blow this opportunity. so there's that. we'll be right back. that's why we created the share the love event. get a great deal on a new subaru and $250 goes to your choice of 5 charities. with your help, we can reach $20 million dollars by the end of this, our fourth year. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 you and your money deserve. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 at charles schwab, that means taking a close look at you tdd# 1-800-345-2550 as well as your portfolio. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 we ask the right questions, tdd# 1-800-345-2550 then we actually listen to the answers tdd# 1-800-345-2550 before giving you practical ideas you can act on. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 so talk to chuck online, on the phone, tdd# 1-800-345-2550 or come in and pull up a chair. i wish my patients could see what i see. ♪ that over time, having high cholesterol plus diabetes

steve schmidt.ght, "the white house seems winnable next year. we fear to nominate former speaker newt gingrich, the front-runner in the polls, would be to blow this opportunity." so there's that. we'll be right back. like many chefs today, i feel the best approach to food is to keep it whole for better nutrition. and that's what they do with great grains cereal. see the seam on the wheat grain? same as on the flake. because great grains steams and bakes the actual whole grain. now check out the other guy's flake. hello, no seam. because it's more processed. now, which do you suppose has better nutrition for you? mmm. great grains. the whole whole grain cereal. ♪ it's nice to see you ♪ in my bed ♪ ♪ there are diamonds in her eyes ♪ ♪ ♪ and they sparkle in the night ♪ ♪ when the moment comes alive [ male announcer ] this is your moment. this is zales, the diamond store. take up to an extra 15 percent off storewide now through sunday. ttd# 1-800-345-2550 let's talk about the typical financial consultat

. >> steve schmidt who managed john mccain's campaign says this about you.ars, a lot of people who should have known better have been come police it and kowtowing to a republican -- a diminished brand that appears unhealthy to millions of americans looking for an alternative. >> steve schmidt is a lightweight. a guy who did a horrible guy running john mccain's campaign. john mccain lost. he did a horrible job running it. i watch him on your show and i don't know how he gets on your show and i'm sure the ratings are very bad as he speaks. >> he's an msnbc contributor. >> he's a lightweight. total lightweight. >> he's a smart guy. >> i don't know if he's a smart guy. when i left because of the equal time provisions, i do a big show called the apprentice. when i leave, they have equal time provisions. when i left, i was number one on the polls. on "meet the press," trump is leading in the polls. i think i would have done extremely well had i run but unfortunately, you know, it's a very unfair thing. if you have a show, you can't run because of the equal time pr

featuring ed harris as senator john mccain, woody harrelson as mccain adviser, and "hardball" regular steve schmidtulien moore as sarah palin. take a look. >> we desperately need a game changing pick, and none of these middle-aged white guys are game changers. >> so find me a woman. >> sarah, sarah! >> i will be honored to accept your nomination for vice president of the united states. >> that's irresistible. the movie's going to debut in march. i can't wait. that's on the script, and i mean it, i can't wait. we'll be right back. uyjl6ns'4m4oxl,f3+ >>> we're back. now something we've done in the past couple of years. the tables get turned right now and i'm going to be grilled, well, somewhat, by, and i mean it, the great kathleen matthews, who anchored the news here in washington for a while, and then became, as she is now, a top executive for marriott international, and has travelled the world. i sit at home at night and she tells me about china and what's happening in the amazon and what's happening in the new st. petersburg in russia. and i'm here, you know, in washington, d.c., covering local p

joining me today, msnbc contributor jimmy williams, steve schmidt and msnbc political analyst and toppresidential campaign in 2008 and hugo lind gren is editor of "the new york times" magazine. joy ann reed. we're waiting for the president to announce his 18th we can't wait initiative from the white house and we'll bring

featuring ed harris as senator john mccain, woody harrelson as mccain adviser, and "hardball" regular steve schmidtin. take a look. >> we desperately need a game changing pick, and none of these middle-aged white guys are game changers. >> so find me a woman. >> sarah, sarah! >> i will be honored to accept your nomination for vice president of the united states. >> that's irresistible. the movie's going to debut in march. i can't wait. that's on the script, and i mean it, i can't wait. we'll be right back. ♪ you, you ain't alone ♪ and just let me be [ male announcer ] this is your moment. ♪ your ticket home ♪ [ male announcer ] this is zales, the diamond store. we asked total strangers to watch it for us. thank you so much, i appreciate it, i'll be right back. they didn't take a dime. how much in fees does your bank take to watch your money ? if your bank takes more money than a stranger, you need an ally. ally bank. no nonsense. just people sense. premier of the packed bag. you know organization is key... and so is having a trusted assistant. and you...rent from national. because only national let

featuring ed harris as senator john mccain, woody harrelson as mccain adviser, and "hardball" regular steve schmidtke a look. >> we desperately need a game changing pick, and none of these middle-aged white guys are game changers. >> so find me a woman. >> sarah, sarah! >> i will be honored to accept your nomination for vice president of the united states. >> that's irresistible. the movie's going to debut in march. i can't wait. that's on the script, and i mean it, i can't wait. we'll be right back. [ male announcer ] imagine facing the day with less chronic low back pain. imagine living your life with less chronic osteoarthritis pain. imagine you, with less pain. cymbalta can help. cymbalta is a non-narcotic treatment that's fda-approved to manage chronic musculoskeletal pain. one pill a day, every day, can help reduce this pain. tell your doctor right away if your mood worsens, you have unusual changes in mood or behavior or thoughts of suicide. antidepressants can increase these in children, teens, and young adults. cymbalta is not approved for children under 18. people taking maois or thiorida