and president william howard taft was famously, if not improbably, light on his feet. >> when we seehter moments, it's almost like a window to the person as opposed to the image too often presented. >> reporter: not too be outdone or outsung, mitt romney struck a patriotic tune recently at a campaign stop in florida. ♪ for amber waves of grain >> reporter: there is no question the president's political advisors are trying to make the most of these moments. they already put last night's clip on the web. you can get this as a ring tone ♪ i'm so in love with you >> reporter: after the president sang al green at the apollo, his numbers shot up. al green's numbers, that is. sales of his single skyrocketed. but spontaneous moments can give a president or candidate the kind of wall-to-wall good will coverage money can't buy. and to think they get it for a song. savannah guthrie, nbc news, new york. >>> that's our broadcast on a wednesday night. thanks for being here with us. i'm brian williams. we'll look for you back here tomorrow night. "rock center" tonight. good night. -- captions by vi

he reported to the secretary of war who was william howard taft. >> host: george washington goebbelsas the president of the canal zone? >> guest: yes. he had tremendous authority. like it said about himself, he was a benevolent dictator. it was a very paternalistic system. he was admired by many in the canal zone because he did run things very efficiently. it was a very orderly zone. he got the canal built faster than many thought it could be done. he prided himself on being a fatherly figure to the zone of workers. he would meet sunday morning with anyone who wished to meet with him from the lowliest washerwoman to a wheat supervisor and foreman but his authority, as fatherly as he might be his authority was complete. one observer said we all like the chief engineer but we know not to disagree with him or criticize him. if we do disagree with him we get deported real fast. >> host: what would you say was the level of labor unrest in the building of the canal? i am thinking about the auto strikes of the 30s, founding of the uaw. anything of that level? >> not really. it was an orderl

and during the 1912 campaign what he would engage the incumbent president, william howard taft in the first presidential primary campaign, roosevelt defended a full throated, pure democracy, as he called it. an easier method to amend the constitution. and the opportunity for the people to recall all public officials. including the president. as bill schambra has pointed out, the stand of taft and -- combined with ruthless steam roller machine politics, deprived t.r. of the republican nomination. and most likely a third term in the white house during which he might have enacted his constitutional program. but roosevelt's third party crusade for the right of the people to be the ultimate makers of their constitution, as he put it, aroused considerable enthusiasm. he won nearly 30% of the vote. and it is echoed throughout the 20th and 21st century. most of the aspirations that underlay that program have been firmly rooted in custom. an unwritten law that presidents derive their authority directly from the people. directly from public opinion. and i would argue -- i'll let jim make this a

they haven't seen this much february snow since william howard taft was president 100 years ago. in the mountains it's worse. some areas have gotten more than four feet. >> that system is barreling east blanketing the snowy planes, they may be used to snowy winters in nebraska but as we learn from our affiliate. so much so fast is exceptional. >> nine inches of wet, heavy snow. main problem, downed branches blocking some interceptions and taking power lines with it. cutting service to 10,000 customers. >> all of this is making driving difficult and dangerous around des moines. >> here the roads are slick which caused drivers to have a lot of minor accidents but the big concern is when temperatures drop tonight, all of the slush on these roads could turn into black ice. >> down in dallas, it's not snow but hail that's making an impact. p yeah, this is definitely -- there's probably some golf balls in this. >> reporter: here in the south temperatures a lot warmer, as that system head this way, we're not anticipating any snow but we are expecting severe thunderstorms and plenty of r

kind of william howard taft approach i guess in some way his goal because he comes off it's not true he comes off as a regular guy he had a regular guy but he comes off as one he plays one on t.v. very well plus he doesn't carry with him of the baggage that a santorum comes with him of trying to run for pope christie would be able to actually run for president and that would be much more acceptable to the average american plus i should note that paul singer who's the number one donor to the republican party and it's behind mitt his son wants to marry a guy and so he's not going to be too crazy about backing candidates who are against gay marriage so that's that's that's very interesting and but christie is just about to veto gay marriage in the state of new jersey. as we speak well he's about to yeah you know that's why i asked to hesitate because he knows who his money comes from but on the other hand yes to survive in the republican party it's a tough call for these guys in the end though i think singur will go follow his money rather than his then his heart and remember when i say

continue freely that we will not have characters quite like teddy roosevelt, road row wilson, william howard taft and eugene. but i think it is as important asy candidate -- i just came back from iowa yesterday. and what really strikes me is that president obama and his opponents agree on the definition of the campaign. every campaign people always say, this is the most important election in our history. actually, this time the candidates are really talking about a fundamental argument over the direction that our country is going to take. it is my view -- and this is the last reason why i think kansas was the right choice for a venue -- is that we have effectively been governed under a long consensus since the progressive era. that long consensus saw a balance between public and private, saw a major role for the federal government in both regulating the capitalist economy to make it work, and to ensure greater fairness. even while reagan did not overturn this consensus. you know, that great line about bogner's music that it's better than it sounds? ronald reagan governed more progressively than h

that was to vindicate william howard taft. you know, tom tried to do it, and he couldn't make it. i thought i had a serious chance. maybe the history overwhelmed me. >> we may never see your likes again. we don't know what that means. studies done by the american mustache institute say men with facial hair are better looking than others. it is hard to argue with the numbers because i am fairly certain they are made up. >> i just learned a new word mustachio d. >> they don't have that in canada? >> you have moose. >> they eat moose. >> should women get a tax break? >> according to a report that i just made up, they spend a crap load on grooming. >> the only fallout is my blowout is tax deductible. >> bill, you couldn't grow a mustache no matter how hard you tried, yet you have seven nipples. are you sad? >> i am amazed you turned that into a question. kudos to you. >> i can grow a mustache. it looks like a super glued pubic hair on my face. i was going to grow one and join these guys, but during the commercial break i had my first first -- nicorette. they don't exist well together.

william howard taft tipped the scales at 345 pounds.bill clinton was considered overweight at his peak with a

william howard taft tipped the scales at 345 pounds. he had a special white house bathtub. nley, zachary taylor and teddy roosevelt. even bill clinton was considered overweight at his peak with a bmi of 28.3. so if size matters, maybe it makes a politician more, not less presidential. and maybe, just maybe chris christie is getting in shape for

william howard taft tipped the scales at 345 pounds. he had a special white house bathtub. iam mckinley, zachary taylor and teddy roosevelt.

william howard taft tipped the scales at 345 pounds.as considered overweight at his peak with a bmi of 28.3. so size matters, maybe it makes a politician more, not less presidential. and maybe, just maybe

william howard taft tipped the scales at 345 pounds. even bill

we can now get the messages from the william howard taft white house.t may not be all positive in terms of getting data in the future. anyone who studied the president can tell you there is so much data there. we will muddle through now and we will muddle -- muddle through in 100 years. host: our guest is leo ribuffo presidential historian. anything you want to add about presidential -- about unemployment numbers? it will be important in the coming days. guest: if the european crisis is dramatically worse and unemployment rose above the level it was when it came into office -- if it is substantially below, he can continue to make his case that he did not drive the bus into the ditch to use his phrase. and he is improving things as fast as he politically can. but if unemployment really spikes up, he will have a long struggle. one of the analogies you always see is the roosevelt administration. franklin roosevelt. the 1938 midterm elections. there was a move for the balanced budget, cutting in spending. unemployment went up to 40% to 18 -- 14% to 18%. it