Transcripts For MSNBC Morning Joe 20110120

while it's easy to focus on our differences of culture and perspective, let us never forget the values that our people share, a reverence for family, the belief that with education and hard work and with sacrifice, the future is when we make it. and most of all, the desire to give our children a better life. >> all right, good morning. welcome to "morning joe." it is thursday, january 30th -- 20th. a live picture of times square with us on set. msnbc political analyst, nyu professor and former democratic congressman from tennessee, harold ford jr. so many positions. and the founder and editor in chief of "the huffington post," arianna huffington. and also in washington, msnbc political analyst pat buchanan. >> along with willie geist here. >> morning. >> willie, i was driving in coming down 5th avenue and looking over central park. a beautiful full moon. it was gorgeous. >> right. >> chuck todd's going to be here. we're going to be asking how new york moonlight is affecting the president. new nbc news/"wall street journal" polls out. got it all covered. >> unbelievable. >> chuck is here in new york. >> chuck's here? >> he's going to lose it when the jets win the super bowl. nobody hates the jets as much as chuck todd. >> deep-seeded jealousy. >> let's go through the polls. interesting day today, historic day. half a century ago, john f. kennedy was inaugurated, delivered that historic speech. we'll be talking to an author about that. 30 years ago reagan inaugurated on this day. ten years ago george w. bush. and this is officially the half-way point for barack obama's presidency. and we have given him report cards. we're going to be getting to that in a minute but let's first see what the american people's report card is on this second anniversary. >> that usual sli what matters. a new nbc news/"wall street journal" poll shows president obama is riding a surge of public support heading into next week's state of the union address. a majority of americans -- 53. % -- now approve of the way the president is doing his job, an eight-point jump from december. 74% now say they approve of how obama handled the tucson tragedy. when asked about their outlook for the next five years, 53% of americans say they expect their situation to get better. 22% say predict it will stay the same and just 21% believe it will get worse. plus, 55% believe the president will strike the right balance when he deals with republicans in congress. the same number predict republicans will be too inflexible in dealing with the president. however, challenges still remain, particularly on the health care front where 46% oppose repealing the law, and 45% favor repeal. and the majority of americans, 56%, still believe the country is headed in the wrong direction. the poll also weighs in on potential 2012 presidential contenders with mitt romney leading the pack, followed by mike huckabee, sarah palin and newt gingrich. >> a lot of great news for the president. i think it was interesting -- all the people say -- go amen. >> are we sear zbres. >> the "wall street journal" this morning was analyzing this. they said -- they quoted a pollstpol pollster who said there is always this sort of response after tragedies. but the president had already started to go up in the ap poll, in the gallup poll. we talked about it here, he's not being rewarded for how he handled tucson, he's being rewarded for that lame duck period where he got republicans to strike a deal with him. >> well, in this particular poll he's being rewarded for tucson because this poll was conducted between the 13th and the 17th. >> right. i'm just saying the numbers had already started to go up. >> right, but this particular surge, the eight-point surge. i think it is so much about tucson and some of the numbers about optimism. this country is fundamentally so optimistic, the minute it gets any little chance of coming together and feeling better, it grabs it. >> you're saying these numbers are overly optimistic. >> oh, absolutely. i don't think this is sustainable unless the economy improves, unless jobs improve. the key number is the wrong track number. 56% still think the country's on the wrong track. >> that said, pat buchanan, a 53% approval rating this week, 50% approval rating last week. there's 19% real unemployment. when you talk about 19% real unemployment, you're getting closer to depression numbers. those are staggering numbers, are they not. >> they really are. and quite frankly, they underscore your point, joe, that obama is very strong. to have numbers, whether it was 48% or 53%, those are excellent numbers when you've got an economy in the situation it is. i tend to agree with you that obama's comeback began when he basically brushed aside pelosi and reed, said let's end this stalemate, let's cut the deal with republicans. he did. he got a lot done in that deal, then he moved on to one thing after another and i think americans said, hey, government's beginning to work under obama. >> yeah, i think so. harold, you lo at 53%. that's a good number when unemployment's down to 6%, 7%. >> it is. >> so i guess the question is, as the economy turns around -- most of us i think believe things are getting better, his numbers are going to prove. >> you and i know, the better people feel about their situation, better people feel about going forward, the more likely it is politicians or those up for re-election will be re-elected. this president has a new advisor. after the election his new advisors called the american people. when you grade my grades for the president are achs based on this last two-month surge as anything else. the op-ed yesterday in the "wall street journal," yesterday and the day before -- the days are running over for me -- regarding regulatory reform and calling on agencies to look at those things that are redundant, those things that hurt the economy, fda and epa, fcc, broadband internet so critical, technology evolving at such a fast rate. these are the kinds of things that will help sustain and help grow the economy. >> we have a lot to get through this. let's try to get a couple more stories in here. the republican-controlled house has voted to repeal the health care law. president obama signed last year. in yesterday's 245-189 vote, every republican along with three democrats voted to overturn the law but with democrats in control of the senate, the vote is largely symbolic. meanwhile, a democratic tennessee congressman is under fire for comparing republican attacks on the health care overhaul to nazi propaganda advanced by joseph gobles who was the minister of propaganda for the nazis. >> they say it is a government takeover of health care. a big lie. just like gerbles. he said it enough, you repeat the lie, you repeat the lie, you repeat the lie and eventually people believe it. like blood libel. that's the same kind of thing. the germans said enough about the jews and the people believed it and you had the holocaust. >> yeah. >> good god. >> congressman cohen who is jewish says he has no intention of apologizing and that his speech is being taken out of context. you know, you've called out members of your party. you've done it, you've done it, you've done it. democrats should do the same. i'm just saying. i thought we were done with that. >> are we done with this? >> after tucson to compare a political party to a nazi war criminal, then overtones of the holocaust, i just wonder, is the left going to go as crazy about this as they did about some of the things the right said? >> i certainly hope they do. a nazi comparison like in this context or in most contexts is bad anyway, but especially in light of the conversation we just had had. was he on another planet for the last two weeks? >> where has he been? it is so dangerous. >> to see a united states congressman say something like that, it doesn't show nuanced thought. that's a little bit depressing. this is a guy who took your seat. what kind of guy is he, harold? >> look, i know steve. i can imagine he just got passionate about the issue. he should apolapologize, i woul agree with you. it's got no place -- >> it is reprehensible. can you call it out, harold, can you say it is reprehensible to use that type of welcome? >> it is wrong and reprehensible. we democrats, we take on republicans when they make these kind of comments. we have a responsibility. steve is a decent guy. he should apologize and i hope his colleagues in the congress -- >> what's going through his mind, arianna? we've gone through this as a country since tucson. >> i completely agree with hald, hellpoliticians, republicans, democrats, just retire the nazi metaphors? period! >> yes! >> it's like the nazis were the nazis, and there's nobody else. jon stewart made that point. unless you're hitler or charlie chaplin playing hitler, all these metaphors are irrelevant. >> we'll get to more of that later. pat buchanan, it is really stunning that he would say such a thing a week and a half, two weeks after tucson, when, as you and i had our discussion several weeks ago, saying it's time to put away this type of rhetoric. we are in a new era and it's just reprehensible. so do you think -- ima just wondering. do you think frank rich, a guy that we like, do you think they'll call this type of language out? >> i don't know. but it is reprehensible, no doubt about it. that is harold's district. you know, steve cohen himself has had some rough campaigns, joe, down there in that western district of tennessee. he's been compared to a kla klansman. that's why it is such a price to get a terrible beating like that out of him. i think he should step up and say i went too far, i'm too passionate about this thing and i apologize. >> not the way to get on tv. it doesn't help the conversation. >> a brief consensus on "morning joe." >> we'll break that consensus. let's go to the report cards. the two-year report cards. >> joe gave us homework. i'm serious. >> in two years for this president, and everyone on this set has given him a report card, who should we start with? >> well, let me start because i was the toughest on the grading curve. all of you, a series of great inflation like you've never seen. here's my roar card. the economy i gave him a c-minus. he certainly ignored jobs for a long time but he did some things right at the beginning that kept us from going over a cliff. foreign policy, b-plus. bipartisan , c-minus. leadership, d. potential -- a. i think he had a horrible first two years but i think he's going to turn it around. yours was by far the most entertaining. have you seen this? it's funny. it is not strange, chris. it is funny. >> see how we fit this in the card. >> here's mika's report card. >> incomplete on the economy but hopeful. incomplete on foreign policy. especially nancy pelosi. >> bipartisanship is easily distracted by other classmates. leadership? a pleasure to have in class. seriously, mika. and potential -- a-plus. >> absolutely. i have half my family running in and out of there, i'm in no position to be grading. >> i'm surprising you gave him a b-plus on foreign policy. economy, c. foreign policy i gave him a c. potential, i think a lot of us agree he's got an opportunity to do good things over the next two years. c for foreign policy, joe. we talked about afghanistan and disappointment that we haven't really seen an end of the road, in fact a ramping up there. i was surprised by the grade you gave him. >> i'm offended by his afghanistan policy. that being said he's been responsible in other areas, he's kept it in the middle of the road but i really expect great progress in iraq and afghanistan. i don't mean pulling the troops out over the next two years. it's an "f" if we still have 100,000 troops in afghanistan in two years. >> that's why gave him a "c" there, wait and see. >> i gave him -- >> i knew you were going to do this. this is pathetic! he stumbled through two years. >> you're making me tired, harold. >> the last two months you have to grade on the entire two years. if you grade a football game -- let me finish my point. if you are grading a football game in the first quarter and a half or first quarter and three-quarters, the team stinks but the last four minutes of the second quarter they score a touchdown or field goal, you got to give hem credit. cars, the economy, banks, he got us -- >> a b for economy? >> a-minus. i gave him a-minus. not an a-plus. he has to sustain what he does. if he does that, i agree with you. >> i wish i had your class at nyu. >> arianna. let's talk about your grades now. >> economy. economy. c-minus. no question. economy is big his failure. jobs, foreclosures. we're expecting another 2 million foreclosures, just to remind you. foreign policy, i give him a b-minus, purely on afghanistan. we all agree on that. bipartisanship, give him an "a." what are you talking about? could he have been anymore bipartisan? >> oh, my lord! i haven't talked to republicans for two years. that's what he has done. leadership. >> there was like a force field put up. >> john boehner has shut down every inry tags for a state dinner, et cetera, et cetera. >> boehner fell on that part. but he didn't talk to republicans for two years. >> that's not just true. don't get that myth out there. that's just not true. >> i repeat it, an "a." leadership, that's the more disappointing. he has extraordinary potential for leadership and he has not fulfilled it. i give him a c-plus for leadership but an "a" for potential. he needs to tap into that leadership he demonstrated in tucson. but actually turn it into action, not just words. >> i think actually that we all agree, whether we think he had a bad first two years or not, everybody's giving him an "a" for potential. pat buchanan, now the teacher. when they draw his class, they flinch in the beginning of the semester. pat, let's walk through your grades. >> my grades look very itch like yours, joe. almost exact. but i'm still shocked, professor harold ford puts this guy on the dean's list. astonishing. let's see. economy, look, it is a "c." it didn't work. let's face it. foreign policy, gave him a b-plus. the reset with russia is po important and i think did a good thing there. he's failing in the middle east. bipartisanship again a c. he went with pelosi and reed. leadership a c. he didn't show anything. but on potential i do agree the guy's got great potential so i give him an a-minus. i'm right there with willie. >> you are. you are. i think we've all decided we want harold ford jr. as our professor. >> definitely. >> he grades on the left. >> that's what really makes the difference for you, harold. >> i like business. i like jobs. i think when you create jobs, business people got to feel good. >> harold, you may like jobs but you love obama. >> amen. >> i wouldn't go that far. coming up -- senator joe lieberman joins us. congressman ron paul. a "new york times" columnist, thomas friedman. we have so much to talk about. >> the political playbook as well, buy former president bill clinton is coming under fire from some of his long-time supporters. but first, let's go to bill kari karins. >> what kind of grade would i get? let's not go there. >> harold? >> i want harold grading me. >> bill, i give you an a-minus, bud. you know me. >> i give you an a-plus. thumbs up. >> let's talk about this snowstorm coming. you can grade me after it is over with. we are watching cold conditions out there. today is a calm day, no problems this morning. tomorrow morning at the rush hour is going to be a mess. snow will be flying from philly to new york to hartford to boston. we're talking a mini snowstorm. not a significant event but the timing starting overnight into the early morning will make your morning commute tomorrow at this time a little slippery. st. louis picked up six inches last night, now the snow is spreading toi ining to indianap cincinnati and louisville. most areas getting two to four inches. even some of our southern friends get some snow today, memphis, nashville and little rock could get up to an inch. we'll have updates throughout the morning on our little mini storm. you're watching "morning joe" brewed by starbucks. [ male announcer ] in the event of a collision, the smartest thing you could do is cut the fuel supply... ♪ ...unlock the doors, and turn on the hazard lights. or better yet, get a car that automatically does it for you. ♪ ♪ ♪ when it comes to investing, no one person has all the answers. so td ameritrade doesn't give me just one person. questions about retirement? i talk to their retirement account specialists. bonds? grab the phone. fixed-income specialist. td ameritrade knows investors sometimes need real, live help. not just one broker... a whole team there to help... to help me decide what's right for me. people with answers at td ameritrade. get up to $500 when you open an account. and more. if you replace 3 tablespoons of sugar a day with splenda® you'll save 100 calories a day. that could help you lose up to 10 pounds in a year. that's how splenda® is sweet...and more. reluctantly crouched at the starting line. engines pumping and thumping in time. the green light flashes. >> detroit may have to close down half of their public schools. can you imagine? half of their public schools. classroom size. that means we'll go from 32 students for one teacher to 62. >> yes, it will double from 32 to 62. and then how will the children learn math? >> time now to take a look at morning papers. "miami herald." at least four people have filed human rights abuse claims in haitian courts against jean-claude baby doc duvalier. officials for the former dictator say the statute of limitations has run out. >> the university of california is warning that tens of thousands of qualified students won't be accepted over the next decade simply because the school won't have the money to educate them. it comes as deep budget cuts force the premier public university to become more exclusive. >> "new york times." walmart takes a health turn. the nation's largest retailer is expected to announce a five-year plan to make thousands of its packaged foods lower in unhealthy salts, fats and sugars. thank you, walmart. >> moving along here. >> other companies take a look at that and follow suit. cake's number one? we're listening to cake right now. but they're number one. really? that's not bad. he sold fewer cds and downloads that any predecessor since 1991 since willie geist did the remake of "color me bad." >> you're not going to hear references like that anywhere else. with us now, politico's patrick gracavin with a look ate politico playbook. >> good morning. >> we talked about president clinton visiting chicago to stump for rahm emanuel in the race for mayor down there. carol mosely braun calling out president clinton for coming into the city, even bringing up the name monica lewinsky. >> she obviously has a good reason to do this. she's trailing rahm emanuel in the polls, pretty seriously. i don't think most chicago analysts would give her a good chance of beating rahm in that race. in response to bill clinton coming in and campaigning for rahm, she's had really harsh words to say, saying in fact bill clinton is betraying the african-american and latino community in that city saying this was a community that really supported him during the worst of his times, as you said, during the monica lewinsky scandal. and that by coming in and not supporting her and instead supporting rahm emanuel, he's betraying them, saying really he's just parachuting in as an outsider to support another outsider. this is a sort of ugly turn as we head into the final stretch. not surprising, she's probably doing whatever she can to drum up support in the african-american community. but i think that from rahm emanuel's position as a leader, he's probably safe for now. >> he says to come in on a day after martin luther king's birthday to insert himself in a race where half of the population is after can ameriri and latino is being disloyal. >> he's got a 15% to 20% lead over carol mosely braun. he's sort of survived every possible road block he might encounter. i don't think that the label of him being an outsirder has stuc as much as people like carol mosely braun. barring anything catastrophic, i think he will be chicago's next mayor. >> pat, you sent out a twitter feed. i didn't get a chance to read it last night, something like you're a cat lover and "get over it." what's that all about? >> funny or die, the sarcastic video site has an article up by another cat lover. joe, i think that the men who love cat contingency is very strong and it is going to win in 2011. i think you dog lovers are in for a sore disappointment. >> i don't think so. speaking of 1980s and early '90s, references as "bill" the cat. that's the only cat i loved. >> i got to fight the good fight. you're probably right. i'm never going to win this one but i'm sticking with my cats. >> okay. >> you get an a-minus. pat buchanan, you trust a man that has more than two cats? >> i've always had one cat, joe. >> really? a one-cat household. >> that's right. >> there it is. coming up, why president obama could make history if his hometown chicago bears make it to the super bowl. up next, the cockpit recording from one pilot who called an audible -- >> it's a sports reference called an audible in the air for his passengers. new york jets were flying on the plane and he called an audible. that's a football reference. >> thank you. teach me more. >> yeah, we got 200 people looking at it. host: does it take two to tango? ♪ ♪ anncr: geico. 15 minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance. i was living on welfare and supporting a family of four. after i got the job at walmart, things started changing immediately. then i wrote a letter to the food stamp office. "thank you very much, i don't need your help any more." you know now, i can actually say i bought my home. i knew that the more i dedicated... the harder i worked, the more it was going to benefit my family. this my son, mario and he now works at walmart. i believe mario is following in my footsteps. my name is noemi, and i work at walmart. ♪ live look from the top of the rock, new york city. welcome back to "morning joe." gabrielle giffords' recovery is progressing so well with, she's expected to be transferred to a houston area rehab center as early as tomorrow. that's according to a statement released by her office yesterday. in yet another significant milestone, a hospital spokeswoman says giffords was able to stand on her feet with assistance from medical staff yesterday and look out the window at the mountains outside her hospital room. meanwhile, a federal grand jury in tucson has indicted jared loughner for attempting to kill giffords and two of her aides. notably absent from yesterday's indictment were any charges relating to the two federal officials who were killed that day. judge john roll and giffords' staffer gabe zimmerman. justice department officials say they fully intend to seek an indictment on those counts but want more time to build their case, one that will almost certainly result in seeking the death penalty for loughner. >> did you see that judge roll was actually killed shielding another person, saving their life. an elderly woman. >> trying to get under a table. >> a woman had been shot and he threw imself-on top of her. >> well that's why, you know, all this debate now around gun restrictions is so key. because everybody can see that we had the laws in place if we did, it would not allow him to have the kind of capacity to have as many bullets. i mean a very simple fact -- 33 shots. you know, many more lives could have been saved. >> that law was on the books before 2004. "the washington post" reported yesterday that it said janet reno's justice department was opposed to a law that would have actually allowed people to find out that he had not been accepted by the military. because of a drug problem. and it seems that we have -- >> a kind of no-brainer. >> i'm not really sure. >> did you see the interview? even dick cheney said he's often contemplating the possibility that we might tuallying ine pos that we might actually bring back the 2003 law which would have restricted that kind of capacity. >> of course, people like dick cheney that grow, you know, up in the west that are hunters. and i don't think anybody there -- i think i've said, i had 100% rating with the nra. i would just like somebody to tell me why any american needs to fire off 30 bullets in 15 seconds. why? there is no good reason. there is no good reason why unless you're going out to hunt people. >> and here is why i gave the president a "c" in leadership. because it is amazing that he and robert gibbs and everybody in the white house is feeling around this issue. >> a lot of gun owners and hunters out there don't think a guy needs to be able to fire off over 30 bullets in 15 seconds. just think. just think of the difference it would have made if he didn't have the extended -- it's ridiculous. >> and not to minimize that point, but the lord is in the blessing business. this woman's going to a rehabilitation center. she's up and moving around. everybody's lifting her up in prayer. this is an unbelievable thing for the giffords family. mark kelly and all of them, you remain in all of our prayers. >> again let's remember the judge's family. there are a lot of heroes. a lot of heroes. >> time now for sports, willie. >> let's do a little sports here. this weekend the bears play the packers in the nfc title game. we all know president obama's a big chicago fan. remember back in 2006 during espn's monday night football, then-senator obama slipped on a bears cap and guaranteed that his team was going to go all the way. and they didn't. but yesterday during a press event at the oval office, one reporter asked the president if he'd go to the super bowl in dallas on february 6th. president obama respond -- if the bears win, i'm going. no doubt. records show that no sitting president has ever attended a super bowl. >> except pat buchanan, one president did call a play in a super bowl with disastrous results. >> that's what george allen said that nixon called that play where his kicker tried to pass the ball and went for a touchdown the other way. >> who's nixon? >> pat, did you write that one, too? was that in the buchanan speech? >> nixon was a sports fanatic. he really was. i can remember back in '68 just -- i thought we were going to lose the election. i go into this republican, he's watching the oregon ducks football on that saturday and i'm trying to tell him about the polls dplp that polls. >> that's an image you don't get anywhere. i love that. pat, write your memoirs. please. >> the front cover of yesterday's "new york post" had the headline "jet fly by." the players and coaches asked the captain to get them as close as allowed to the empire state building lit up in green and white to celebrate the win. we got the audio exchange between the captain and news tower. >> i've had an unusual request, if it's green and white, these guys actually want us to get as we can to see it. >> we will work on that. >> thank you. >> again, some jets fans over in newark. >> they might get another one on the trip home from pittsburgh. kim clijsters, last year's u.s. open tennis champion, cruises to a win at the australian open yesterday. the most exciting part of the match came after they were done playing. clijsters called out in front of the entire stadium interviewer todd woodridge for a text message he sent to one of her fellow players in which he speculated that, by his sight, clijsters looked pregnant. what? >> finally, i was told there was a text message that you wrote about me in sydney. >> what did i say? >> you thought i was pregnant? >> oh, she did not! well, i guess we got to ask, are you? >> no, i'm not. let me say what was written in the message. first of all, it said she looks really grumpy and her [ bleep ] are bigger. >> oh, my goodness! >> boy, she called him out! >> kim clijsters is the woman who is a great player, stepped away for the game for a couple years to raise a child, had the baby, then came back and won the u.s. open. >> soon after having a baby. my daughters and i watched her play and talked to her after and my daughters just are absolutely in love with her. she's a great example. that was cool. call them out. wow, up next, andrea mitchell takes us inside the white house state dinner. are there signs of progress in the delicate relationship between the u.s. and china? we'll talk about it next on "morning joe." i like to make my own investment decisions. excuse me, what is that? oh, i'm a fidelity customer. okay, but what does it do? well, it gets me the tools and research i need to help me make informed decisions. with fidelity, i can invest in stocks, bonds, all at a great price. wow. yeah, wow. ♪ [ male announcer ] fidelity investments. turn here. that's why there's lubriderm® daily moisture. it contains the same nutrients naturally found in healthy skin. skin absorbs it better and it lasts for 24 hours. later gator. lubriderm. your moisture matched. you said at one point joking around you wanted to poison nancy pelosi, you wanted to beat congressman charlie rangel to death with a shovel. in the spirit of this book, do you regret that stuff now? >> anything i said in jokes, no. ask jon stewart. >> you don't have to tell mayor dit vieee y meredith vieira to . you, my friend, and i. hold on. i thought we were changing that title. i would like you to be on our show by which i mean appear on my show so you can get some things off your chest. you can -- no, no, that's not what i want you -- we'll get to know each other on my new segme segment. >> oh, wow! >> okay. >> wow. >> let's go to chris. what was that? >> it was funny. >> oh, okay. >> to chris, we're here for chris' amusement. >> he's still at a syracuse from ternt. > . joining us from washington, nbc news chief foreign affairs correspondent and host of msnbc's "andrea mitchell reports," and that mitchell. >> tell us about the state dinner last night. >> well, everybody's talking about michelle obama's dress. >> that's funny, we're not. >> help us. tell us about the dress. >> harold gave it an a-plus-plus-plus. >> everybody really like the dress. pat in particular loved the dress. the obamas really went all out. this was the first state dinner done by the new team in the first lady's office and it went off flawlessly. by all accounts it was an extraordinarily warm and engaging, very glamorous evening. all americans, in terms of the menu and the style. there was no news in the toasts. i know that's what you would most be interested in, joe and mika. but other than the fact that the two pandas, the two giant pandas are going to stay in washington, that they extended an agreement in addition to the $45 billion in business deals and everything else that was done at the summit. they actually are going to have the pandas for another five years in washington. they did invite kenneth roth from human rights -- the human rights committee so they invited a human rights activist to the summit. he took it as a sign that they do want to put more pressure on president hu. though there's been a lot of criticism that the language on human rights was far too mute pd. >> talk about how these two leaders interacted. you can see when the president visited russia early in his term, vladimir putin, was hard for vooalid here putin to hide s contempt. he used body language to do that. that relationship has improved. what about last night in this dinner? what are people reading into the way these two guys interacted? >> i think this is a very, very strong attempt by the administration to engage with president hu and president hu paid tribute to that in the toast saying in the last two years in particular, u.s. and chinese relations had taken great steps forward. president obama actually probably upset -- >> what a good looking couple. we have to stop, the brzezinskis are coming in. >> i was going to comment next on the fact that foreign policy advisors from past administrations. there you see the brzezinskis and of course zig brzezinski. jimmy carter was there and bill clinton. you had three presidents welcoming the chinese leader. the other thing i was going to say is one of the reasons why there is so much tension with putin is that the white house has made a deliberate attempt to warm things up with medvedev which may have been the wrong bet because putin is still calling most of the shots there. but in terms of china, this is hu's last state visit. he didn't have one under george bush. the last state visit for a chinese leader was 1997 with bill clinton. hu is leaving office in 2012. he has much less power than past chinese leaders even though he's head of the party and president of china. the power there is much more diffuse. a lot of concerns that the military is more powerful when bob gates was there last week, president hu didn't even know that a stealth fighter jet had been tested. >> andrea, let me ask you, it -- obviously you're talking about michelle obama's dress and pandas. there wasn't a lot of news out of there. but domestically politically, one story that i take away from it is -- and that a lot of people should take away from it -- that john boehner decided to not show up. i think it was a terrible mistake. i'm just wondering, can you think in all of your years covering washington, is there a historical president where a speaker of a house or a majority leader refused to come to a state dinner that was this important? >> not that i can think of. i went back and saw pictures of newt gingrich. he was techdefinitely at the la state dinner for a chinese state leader in 1997. there you have the analogy of a republican speaker who's been a rival or adversary with a democratic president, bill clinton. it is hard to recall. we should point out that harry reid stayed in nevada and mitch mcconnell stayed in kentucky. his wife, elaine chao, came, former labor secretary. she brought her dad, i believe. but the fact is the republican and democratic senate leader to get boehner off the hook, they say they'll meet with him today but it really was a snub. chinese protocol is such and sensitivities that you know that it was felt. the big news out of this meeting wag not the dinner but really was the business relationship that they tried to forge the talks over a piracy of software and a little playing field. and human rights. >> thank you so much. greatly appreciated, andrea. andrea just brought up something. i wonder if the snub -- we've been thinking it is a snub toward barack obama. wonder if it was a snub towards the chinese government. a lot of conservatives are angered by the human rights record. religion religious persecution. >> that would have been a legitimate snub. but the news was made this morning when china officially surged past japan in terms of economic growth. it is now officially the second biggest economy in the world. that's really the big news. >> news you can't use is straight ahead. >> ( baby crying ) >> grandfather: our first grandson. >> father: he sees you. >> ( "imagine" by john lennon playing ) >> ( laughing softly ) >> ( woman speaking korean ) >> ( child speaking korean ) >> ( children chattering ) >> dwight d. eisenhower: in the goodness of time, all peoples will come to live together in a peace guaranteed... >> john lennon: ♪ you may say ♪ i'm a dreamer ♪ but i'm not the only one >> ( blowing whistle ) >> ♪ i hope someday... >> good night, baby. >> ♪ ...you'll join us ♪ and the world ♪ will be as one >> woman: together, we are the human network. cisco. ♪ [ male announcer ] not all steel is created equal. not all manufacturing processes are created equal. not all engineering standards are created equal. which is why not all luxury vehicles are created equal. the hard way means never taking short cuts. the hard way is how lexus inspires absolute confidence. see what it takes at lexus.com/thehardway. the hard way is how lexus inspires absolute confidence. can a trading site help make you a sharper trader? mine can. td ameritrade can. they've got trading specialists i can call for help. and paper trading. free practice trading that helps me hone my technique. complex options. and free tutorials. online or in person. can a trading site really make a difference? if it can't, why are you trading there? number one in online equity trades: td ameritrade. trade commission-free for 30 days, plus get up to $500 when you open an account. it's time. just tell us. >> time for some "news you can't use." andrea touched on the state dinner last night. this is the trivia part of our show. we got your jackie chan was there. interesting revelation from what harold ford, a big fan of the "rush hour" movies. the villain in the first "rush hour" movie in which jackie chan stars was named jun tao. harold ford making this a better show this morning with insights like that. barbara streisand was there, herbie hancock, vera wang. let's hear from some of the luminaries. >> it was a galaxy of stars last night. >> including ambassador huntsman. let's not forget. he intimated to "newsweek" that he might run in the republican primary. our ambassador that beijing. >> that's useful. we're talking about things that aren't useful. okay. let's take it down a notch. >> take it down a couple notches. >> i'm just put it out there and you can interpret what you think it says about the state of our union. snooki broke the news yesterday that she officially is a "new york times" best-selling author. number 24 on the list. the upcoming list that will be out later this week, her novel "a shore thing" which is a fictionalized telling of her summer on the jersey sure with j. wow. here's how the news came out over a snooki tweet last night. "omg, i'm a "new york times" best-selling author. thank you so much to my fans, family and everyone who made this possible. love you all!" >> i think i speak for many of the "new york times" best selling authors sitting around this table, i think our brand has been cheapened. >> i don't know. i don't know. >> congratulations, snooks. you deserve it. no? >> here's what you do. you never hate. just give her props. >> we're not calling her names. >> he read the book. >> we have an e-mail about harold. you seem to be a nerd. >> what is it, chris? >> 2:15 friday afternoon. harold ford was that kid up front who raised his hand furiously and reminded the teacher she reminded to assign homework for the weekend. >> i wish that was me. i'd have gotten into a better school. still ahead, senator joe lieberman, congressman ron paul and "the daily beast" tina brown. all next on "morning joe." (jennifer garner) there's a lot of beautiful makeup out there to cover up flaws and make skin look pretty but there's one that's so clever, it makes your skin look better even after you take it off. neutrogena healthy skin liquid makeup. 98% of women saw improvement in their skin's natural texture, tone, or clarity. does your makeup do that? neutrogena® cosmetics recommended most by dermatologists. ♪ one for the money, and a-two for the show ♪ i like it. i do too. ♪ even if i'm poor ♪ i ain't chasing nothing ♪ you're gonna have to catch me ♪ ♪ and if you want to dance ♪ you're gonna have to pay a fee ♪ ♪ i'm the bomb and about to blow up ♪ ♪ yeah, i'm the bomb ♪ and about to blow up ♪ yeah ♪ whoa-oh-oh-oh-oh ♪ whoa-oh-oh-oh-oh ♪ everybody, sing it now ♪ whoa-oh-oh-oh-oh ♪ whoa-oh-oh-oh-oh ♪ everybody, sing it now there have been basically three formations of the argument by the republicans. first, they start by making stuff up. you kind of have to wonder if any of them actually read the bill. 130,000 new agencies. not true. new irs agents. not true. death panels. not true. members aren't covered. not true. no tort reform in it. not true. you know, i want to just advise people watching at home, playing that now-popular drinking game of "you take a shot whenever the republicans say something that's not true," please assign a designated driver. this is going to be a long afternoon. >> so a step up from nazi germany. top of the hour. welcome back to "morning joe." look at that shot of new york city. >> whenever there is a beautiful shot of new york city, that means only one thing, nbc news' chuck todd is here to talk about the n"the new york times"/abc news/"wall street journal" poll. >> harold ford, arianna huffingt huffington, pat buchanan and ron paul also joins the conversation this morning. with us at the table, editor of the daily beast and "newsweek," tina brown. great to have you all here. where do we begin? state dinner or "wall street journal" polls? >> let's go to ron paul first. ron, it is always good to talk to you. >> thank you. good to be with you. >> we've got news nbc news/"wall street journal" poll numbers that show that barack obama's numbers have gone up a good bit. i'm wondering, is it possible that he could use this popularity to strike a deal to actually bring down the debt? >> it's always possible. you know, politicians are politicians, and when the handwriting's on the wall, sometimes they change their ways. so it seems like he is bending in that direction. but, you know, the job is overwhelming. to really cut spending is not going to be easy for anybody. but at least the rhetoric is changing and hopefully some good will come from it. but i'll wait an see what the results are a year from now. >> since you've always been honest, one of the few people that has always been honest about our party's inability to control the debt, you've seen the new congress that's come in. does it seem like these republicans get it more than the bush era republicans that we need to cut our debt? >> well, the dynamics are completely different. you know, as well as i do, that when you have a republican president that's pushing big programs, then the leadership in the house and senate, if it is republican, they have to carry his water, it is completely different. now when obama is president, he ann 's an easier target. i think the house especially will stand up and they'll have a much better record because it's sort of a partisan thing this time. but i think deep down in their hearts they're not about to do the repealing of not obama care but repealing most of the programs i find not technically part of the -- supposed to be part of the federal government. so no, that's not going to happen. the momentum is too great for any significant cuts to occur. >> arianna, that is one of the things that is so disappointing that -- i always said this during the bush era. why is it that we can stand up to bill clinton on big spending but we couldn't stand up to our own president? and as ron said, his conclusion is my conclusion, and anybody that's been there, that when the same party runs washington, it is like a club. everybody's scratching everybody's back an it is costing taxpayers billions of dollars. >> well, and right now we have some congressional oversight beginning to be exercised over our spending in afghanistan. congressman paul, we're spending $2.8 billion a week. isn't that place where we can see some immediate spending cuts instead of continuing to pursue what is clearly an unnecessary and unwinnable war? >> well, you and i may agree on it, but, you know, the progressives that are on the democratic side and the conservatives on the republican side have no intention on cutting any of that. they're not serious about cutting that. see, this had is where i think you should have compromise. i'm not much in the business of compromising. i like coalitions. but this is where we should compromise. the people who like this militarism oth ught to compromi with the people who like welfarism. that would be a true compromise. but otherwise, if one side argues well we have to cut the military, no, we have to cut welfare, we'll never get any place. but i do think it is easier to cut overseas spending. politically speaking, i think i can make the case that we should bring our troops home, change our foreign policy, quit these ridiculous wars. we would be safer and richer for it and that's my argument. i think i could actually sell that politically easier than saying, oh, okay, let's cut medical care for the elderly. that doesn't make any sense to me. >> tina brown, politically speaking, doesn't president obama have the room to do this right now given the dynamics in washington, his approval rating right now, an eight-point jump from december and the events of the past six to eight weeks with the tax cuts and appealing to republicans. where is his base going to go anyway? >> i agree. i think obama now has really got a chance to do stuff he wants do and just make them all look small. he's somehow the republicans have set themselves up to be -- it's like they're behind the curve. i mean it's very interesting to see them. first of all, they rode a curve in that last election. now they feel completely behind the curve and i feel obama has kind of surged ahead. somehow everything about what they've been doing in the last few days -- i think the health care thing, they make themselves look ridiculous. that ship has sailed. i think that the american people know that that ship has sailed and it just looks futile. boehner not attending the dinner made himself small. it is like all of these imagery things i think they're losing that battle. >> pat buchanan, i had argued a couple of days ago -- maybe it is just wishful thinking on my part -- if barack obama would embrace the debt commission's entire recommendation, he of course would have democrats angry with him, but more importantly for himself politically, he would find the middle ground and republicans, most republicans, other than people like ron paul, who would agree that we need to actually make serious cuts -- i think republican leadership would be tongue-tied. they wouldn't know what to do and obama would have the middle and i think he would be in an unassailable political position. is that a possibility? >> it's remote, i think, joe. i mean is it going to be done? i don't think so. for this reason. republicans won't go along with the tax hikes. they can't go home and do that. and the democrats are not going to cut medicare and medicaid and social security. so let me ask ron paul this. ron, if the republicans and the interventionists are going to keep the war policy going, and the democrats in the senate are not going to cut medicare, medicaid, social security, we're going to have the third straight $1.4 billion or $1.5 billion deficit. how long do we go forward with these kinds of deficits before you have some international crash? >> well, i think we're on the verge of it. actually, the national debt goes up faster than the deficit so we'we were at $1.7 billion last year. the timing is unpredictable, as most of us should realize. but the inevitability of this will lead to the crisis. i argued this was setting the stage for many years, maybe decades that we had embarked on this. this should bring us all together. i mean all spectrums, if they care about their country, we ought to be talking about it. i have worked with the progressives and i can get a lot of them to agree that deficits aren't that good. they might want to balance the budget differently, but they know deficits are bad. and i think that, you know, the foundation has been totally eroded out of the monetary system. it's the worst conditions this world has ever seen because it's based on a fiat standard which is worldwide and because of the internationalization and the -- and the communications we have today. it is worldwide, it is a worldwide bubble with these fiat currencies. very, very vulnerable and one day it is going to break loose and maybe it could be next week, next month, or next year, but it will come and people have to realize that. so when people say, oh, we can't cut this and we can't cut that, what if they knew that if in a year from now there would be nothing functioning because the dollar doesn't work. that is much, much worse. >> we've been talking, ron's been talking about this for a very long time. i've been talking about it for 15 years. nobody's been paying attention. but the fact is now, arianna, you look at a country of your birth, greece, it happened there. portugal. ireland. this morning, spain is scrambling. this morning. to line up bail-out money. so they don't face an economic collapse. it's happening across europe. it could happen here. >> there is no way we can make significant cuts without growing the economy. that's really the problem. i agree with tina that the republicans sound completely behind the curve. but they have won the battle. when it comes to which is the greatest priority, reducing the deficit, or reducing the long-term unemployment with 27 million people out of work or underemployed. that's really the big division right now in the country. and obama is siding more with the deficit hawks than with those who thinks that the jobs crisis is more significant. >> but what's wrong, tina, with saying, all right, we're spending, like ron said, so much money. we're spending a couple billion dollars a week in afghanistan. and another billion in iraq. every single week. and social security, medicare, the numbers just don't add up. what's wrong with getting a plan that doesn't slash spending in the next two years but does long-term -- >> it is amazing spend really isn't coming up with obama. maybe he isn't in as strong a position if he would. maybe believes in these wars at this point. i've come to feel stephen carter in his new book talks about how obama is really prosecuting these wars with more ferocity at this point than george w. bush. he's done the surge in afghanistan. he has really shown himself to be something of a hawk when it comes to the wars. >> how depressing, ron paul. it seems that there is no difference between republicans and democrats when it comes to these wars. in fact, barack obama's tripled the number of troops in afghanistan and republicans are pushing him to commit even loenk. we've been there forever and a decade, ron. >> and this is the bad part of bipartisanship. foreign policy is always bipartisan and you know, give obama his due because he didn't deny that he wanted to fight in afghanistan. that's the good war. that's the long war. and he did state that in the campaign. but he has no intention of leaving. we have no intention of leaving iraq until we totally go broke and we have to leave like the soviets did. our empire will end for financial reasons. but it is total chaos there. there is no stability in iraq. i mean today there's an -- think a "new york times," the last christians are about to leave there. as bad as it was before, this is the first time in the history of christiandom that christians had to leave iraq. it is horrible and there's no peace there and afghanistan is getting worse. the war's spreading into pakistan and there's more than just obama. there's somebody that designates what foreign policy is all about, regardless of the party. so whether it is the federal reserve and monetary policy, whether it's the foreign policy or the welfare spending, there's way too much bipartisanship because philosophically, both parties endorse these positions and now there's nobody capable of backing off. that's why we're going to have the bankruptcy before we come to our senses. >> pat buchanan. >> the bush doctrine has been a complete disaster for the united states. we've intervened, in iraq, and now in afghanistan, going nation building. the whole area despises and detests the united states. every time they have a free election, people that don't like america tend to win. now you have this thing going down in tunisia, joe. i think the united states is on the verge of really -- because of our policies, because of the basic bush policies, an the tilt of those policies, i think we're in real danger just being thrown out of that region of the world. >> it is disastrous. not only militarily, diplomatically, but financially. it is disastrous and the most staggering thing is that, while both parties conspire to keep us in afghanistan for another decade, and this is what we've been warning about for some time on this show, america sleeps. >> we're not really even as a nation discussing it anymore. the subject of afghanistan is sort of off the table. >> in the meantime, china is spending billions of dollars mining afghanistan's precious mineral reserves. while we're spending hundreds of billions of dollars prosecuting an unwinnable war. who do you think is going to be the winner? >> and, while we have been pursuing these wars over the past decade, while we have been sending young men and women to foreign lands to die, china has been using that decade to gain strategic alliances in latin america, and africa, across the globe. we are -- every day we stay in afghanistan, every day, ford, that we stay in iraq, is a day that we damage america's future. it is not a close call. >> we have to now reconvene and have that conversation. >> representative ron paul, very good do see you again. thank you very much. >> you're welcome. good to be with you. coming up, now that he's not running for re-election, what does senator joe lieberman think about becoming defense secretary? interesting thought. we'll ask him about that after the break. and later, we're going to bring in thomas friedman who was at last night's state dinner. plus, nbc news's chuck todd looking at new nbc news/"wall street journal" polils. good morning, everyone. overnight, kansas city picked up seven inches of snow. st. louis about six. that's not heading from the northeast or mid-atlantic today. more tonight into early tomorrow morning. maybe pittsburgh some light snow can develop by the end of the day. as far as total snowfall goes, this is not a blockbuster event but three to six inches is definitely possible in new england. mid-atlantic from philly to new york, talking more like one to three. the snow is currently falling now, indianapolis, cincinnati, louisville, lexington. eventually columbus, into pittsburgh. as far as the snow accumulations in the ohio valley, more like one to three inches along the ohio river, but at most three to five areas in the high terrain of west virginia. you're watching "morning joe," brewed by starbucks. winter can be beautiful. [ female announcer ] and now, winter skin can be too. discover relief from dry, uncomfortable skin with skin relief moisturizing lotion. only aveeno has an active naturals triple oat and shea butter formula that soothes, nourishes and restores moisture. women saw improvement in all five symptoms of winter skin in just one day. beauty you can see and feel. that's being comfortable in your own skin. aveeno skin relief. and now get dermatologist recommended relief from severely dry skin with eczema therapy. new from aveeno. discover the power of active naturals new from aveeno. when it comes to investing, no one person has all the answers. so td ameritrade doesn't give me just one person. questions about retirement? i talk to their retirement account specialists. bonds? grab the phone. fixed-income specialist. td ameritrade knows investors sometimes need real, live help. not just one broker... a whole team there to help... to help me decide what's right for me. people with answers at td ameritrade. get up to $500 when you open an account. i have never shied from a good fight, and i never will. the reason i've decided not to run for re-election in 2012 is best expressed in the wise words from eclees yas tease. to everything there is a reason and to every time a purpose under heaven. at the end of this term, i will have served 24 years in the u.s. senate and 40 years in elective office. for me, it is time for another season and another purpose under heaven. 20 past the hour, joining us now from stamford, connecticut, the independent senator, joe lieberman. he had big news about his political career yesterday. the first question, i'd like to talk about what's next for you, but first, what about your senate seat given the interesting path of your political career. do you want to see a democrat or republican replace you? >> first off, good morning and good to be here, mika. secondly, my mind is open. i'm going to see -- it is going to be a lively race. there will be a lot of interesting candidates i think coming in this both parties. i wouldn't be surprised if somebody runs an incredible independent race for this senate seat in connecticut. i'm going to watch and see what happens and then decide who's the best candidate. i mean i wouldn't be true to what i've been saying if i just said reflexively i want one party or the another. i want whoever will do the best job for connecticut and the country and i'll be looking to see if there's anybody that reflects some of the same values that i try to bring. most important not so much positions on particular issues as a willingness to work across party lines to get something done. >> for as long as i've known it you've been my senator from connecticut. now you're talking about another purpose in life. what might that purpose be? >> yes. well, first let me say it's been a heavy burden to be your senator, mika. >> i know. >> it's not been easy. >> i know. i followed you around as a reporter in connecticut. yes, you're right. >> i remember well. neither of us has aged. or let's put it this way, you've aged less than i have. >> you're nice. >> the exciting thing for me to say this morning is that i don't know. i'll start thinking about that now. but once i made the decision, for all the years that i described in the clip that you ran, it really was time, is time, for a new chapter of new opportunities in my life. having made the decision the day after, morning after, "morning joe" after, it really feels right. now i'm going to begin to explore some of the opportunities that are ahead two years from now. but most of all i'm focused on the next two years in the sat and trying to do some of the things that i've talked about and i talked about yesterday. i'm not sure. but i do want to stay involved one way or the other in public service, part-time or full-time, because that's been my life and the causes i believe in are causes i'm not going to drop just because i'm not a senator anymore. i see this as a chapter change. >> did you hear what senator john mccain said about you potentially maybe being offered secretary of defense? >> i heard about it, yeah. you know that mccain, he's -- he's my friend. so i was honored he said that and obviously his whole life is tied up with the defense of our country that the fact that he'd say that meant something to me. but i'm not expecting anything. i'm not asking for anything. i'm just focused now on trying to finish these two years in the senate and be a bridge-builder and try to get some things done that the country needs done, particularly to cut the debt. >> senator, pat buchanan is with us and has a question for you. >> hi, senator. how are you? i guess congratulations if this is what you want to do. >> it is. thank you. >> let me ask you, in your career, probably the most controversial or one of the most controversial votes you made was for the war in iraq. now saddam hussein was an ugly devil but he didn't threaten us, didn't attack us, didn't want war with us. and we invaded his country and occupied his country and as a consequence, 4,000 americans are dead, there's 35,000 wounded. 100,000 iraqi dead. maybe 500,000 widows and orphans. the christian community's being subjected to violence, half of it has last the country. in the last analysis was it worth it and would you vote right now again if you had that vote ever to conduct that invasion? >> well, that's an important question. it's a tough question. i think it's a fair question and the right question. and my answer is, yes. my answer is yes because saddam was threatening the stability of the entire region. he'd shown that by his actions. i believe that the evidence is very clear that he was developing weapons of mass destruction. obviously we don't have evidence that he had a big program. but the most official and comprehensive report show that's true. he was also, the evidence shows, beginning really tactically to support the terrorist movements that had attack us on 9/11 and today, to make a long story short, instead of a brutally repressive dictator in iraq, we've got a government that was elected that's self-governing and the country is self-defending. by the end of this year, we're going to have most of our troops out of there. i think that's had a major effect on the entire region. iraq is now the most democratic country in the arab world. so, yes, i think it was the right thing to do. terrible cost we paid in life and treasure, but ultimately i think the right decision. >> arianna huffington has a question for you. >> hi, arianna. >> good morning, senator. i was starting to hear you say that there was evidence that saddam hussein was working on weapons of mass destruction, given that even president bush himself has now accepted that there had been no evidence. so on what basis are you saying that? >> yeah. i'm basing it on the so-called duelfer report. charles duelfer conducted the most comprehensive report on behalf of our government and nobody thought it was partisan. i want to be very clear. he didn't find big caches of weapons of mass destruction, but he found and approveproved, i t saddam had every intention to develop nuclear weapons, was developing chemical and biological weapons and had a structure in place, including nuclear sciencetistists that he prepared to support if he broke out of the sanctions which he was inclined to do. so i think that the evidence is clear that if we did not do what we did, that saddam hussein would today have at least chemical and biological weapons and have a nuclear program, probably like iran's beginning to move toward capabilities and that the entire world would be a much less -- >> well, based on this completely unfounded assumptions, i sincerely hope for the sake of the country that you do not become secretary of defense. >> arianna, these are not unfounded. go read the duelfer. >> there is nothing in the report that backs up anything you are saying. good luck in the next year, joe. >> senator, come back and we'll continue the conversation. thank you very much. harold ford jr., have a good one. thank you as well. coming up, is this the beginning of a big turn-around for president obama? chuck todd has the results of the new nbc news/"wall street journal" poll. and up next, an exclusive first look at the new cover of "time" magazine. plus, never before seen photos of jfk's inauguration. we'll be right back. somewhere in america... there's a home by the sea powered by the wind on the plains. there's a hospital where technology has a healing touch. there's a factory giving old industries new life. and there's a train that got a whole city moving again. somewhere in america, the toughest questions are answered every day. because somewhere in america, more than sixty thousand people spend every day answering them. siemens. answers. gingerbread men! egg nog! [ female announcer ] grab a box of multigrain cheerios. get a code to... ...a 7 day plan to get going on that new years weight loss. get the box. get the code. get started! that while you may come from the same family... you know, son, you should take up something more strenuous. you have different needs and desires. - i'm reading a book. - what's a book? so we tailor plans for individuals, featuring a range of integrated solutions. you at your usual restaurant? son: maybe. see you tomorrow. stairs? elevator. to see how our multi-faceted approach... can benefit your multi-generational wealth, look ahead with us at northerntrust.com. [ male announcer ] in the event of a collision, the smartest thing you could do is cut the fuel supply... ♪ ...unlock the doors, and turn on the hazard lights. or better yet, get a car that automatically does it for you. ♪ ♪ ♪ diabetes testing? it's all the same. nothing changes. then try this. freestyle lite® blood glucose test strip. sure, but it's not gonna-- [beep] wow. yep, that's the patented freestyle zipwik™ design. did it just-- [both] target the blood? yeah, drew it right in. the test starts fast. you need just a third the blood of one touch.® that is different. so freestyle lite test strips make testing... easy? easy. great. call or click-- we'll send you strips and a meter, free. free is good. freestyle lite test strips. call or click today. it's not my intention to do away with government. it is, rather, to make it work, work with us, not over us, to stand by our side, not ride on our back. >> welcome back to "morning joe." that was ronald reagan during his inauguration 30 years ago today. a lot of big moments in history marked today, including another one. 50 years ago wi, of course, the inauguration of jfk. there are some new pick tuesday of his inauguration which we'll take a look at in just a moment. inside the new issue of "time" magazine, but first we reveal the cover of the new issue of "time" magazine. the cover is just as good. the truth about tiger moms and this issue, perfect for me, tina, arianna, and willie. because this memoir that this woman has written has received so much backlash. we were talking about it at a dinner last night. so many people, so insulted. yet there's so many things that are so intriguing as a parent about taking a more harsh and hard-line approach to parenting. where do you stand, tina, on the tiger mom? >> i think, as i am a brit, you know, i do feel america's gone way too far the other way of being parents kind of going to the school and protesting when their kids don't make the team and surrounding them with constant all this kind of endless intervention and helicopter momism. i do think that's, i think, really excessive and i kind of think that, i actually agree with david brooks because i think that actually american mothers are going very much in the direction of the tiger mom, constantly litigating their kids pea's time, constantly v. i think kids don't have their own resources. i think she's right for the need for discipline but she's wrong that kids don't need time alone to be themselves. >> i'm completely against it. i have the best mom in the world other than tina's. we both have moms who gave us unconditional love. and i think the most important thing a mom can give her children is that sense of being loved no matter whether you s succeed or fail. the world is could be stabtly goi constantly judging them. that special treasury of love that you can constantly draw from. the way that expectations is the way to guard the parent? >> our moms also encouraged us to do well. >> absolutely. >> it wasn't done in the way of like this -- most horrid thing in the booi thought was the child giving the mother a drawn birthday card and she rejects it and said you didn't take enough time over that. that was just wounding, that's the kind of stuff that sends you into phoenix house. you know? >> i do think we could expect more from our kids. >> i agree. the other thing it doesn't account for, are human relationships which are the most important part of being successful. if you're alone with your mother and child drilling math problems, you're not learning to give and take with other people. there are some things that can be taken away. it was such a slap in the face to americans. everyone was immediately defensive. this woman from china telling us we do things the wrong way. >> willie, we have to stop feeling so exceptional. we're fat and lazy. >> well, some are. >> actually, it's a national epidemic. >> not everyone's fat and lazy in america. you really want to say that on tv? >> a growing number of american children and a growing number of americans are obese and a very, very disturbing number are morbidly so. it plays into this. we sit around, we watch tv -- >> i think that's more about mom neglect actually. >> i don't know. because i will tell you that you got to get your kid out there. how hard is it to get them to do what they need to do? don't you need to expect, and also, quite frankly, not condone anything but them doing their very best, very best? >> we're all kind of admiring chinese education. so much of it is rogue memorization. why did they create chinese innovation? they. may actually be producing the iphone and the ipad, but they were invented here. let's not forget that. >> arianna and i both have kids exactly the same age. you know it. at college. they speak about the isolation intention actually of many of the kids who -- from china. it is such a threat of rejection if they don't achieve that actual tli makes them deeply unhappy. >> we also have new pictures of jfk's inaugural. life.com has these amazing never-before-published photos. it is in "time" on the 50th anniversary of jfk's inauguration and the celebration surrounding it. we have kennedy asking truman for an autograph. jackie kennedy under an umbrella, snow falling. pat buchanan, take us back. what kind of memories are these new pictures stirring up in you? >> well, look at those top hats. >> amazing, huh? >> look, i was down there. i went down there and i was on the corner of 15th and pennsylvania when they came by and bobby kennedy was sanding up in his open limousine. it snowed enormously. they had had to bring the troops in from ft. myer to clean all the streets overnight. they did a great job. and the speech, of course, was tremendously memorable. i'll tell you what, mika. you were young then. what you saw was a real passing of the torch to a new generation from the guys who had led in world war ii, to those who had fought it. i think it inspired the kennedy did with the new frontier and all of it, it was glamorized, romanticized, but it caused an awful lot of people to say, hey, wouldn't that be a wonderful life getting involved in what they're doing? it's hard to recapture that feeling. obama's, frankly, inaugural came close to it in terms of real change and somebody new and something new and different coming in. >> "newsweek" has a lovely piece this week by ben bradley, who was there and of course a great friend of jfk. he really does capture the kind of optimism and curious almost like an innocent joy of that moment. because however bitter in the country, about anything, nonetheless there was that casting aside of that for that particular day. >> these new pictures on life.com and this week's "time," pat, thanks very much for your perspective on that. and the cover, "the truth about tiger moms," i'm intrigued. i'm intrigued. >> i think we need a tiger president telling us what we're going to do for our country. >> is this a new chapter in u.s.-china relations? thomas friedman joings us next. plus, has president obama turned the corner and is the gop honeymoon over? nbc's chuck todd joins us with the new polls from the "wall street journal" and nbc news. [ female announcer ] splenda® no calorie sweetener is sweet... and more. if you replace 3 tablespoons of sugar a day with splenda® you'll save 100 calories a day. that could help you lose up to 10 pounds in a year. that's how splenda® is sweet...and more. just shake it. [ rattling ] [ male announcer ] need ink? this week at staples, spend $40 on ink and get a $10 visa prepaid card via easy rebate. that was easy. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 if you could use any atm, at any bank, tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 anywhere in the world... tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 without having to pay to access your own money. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 it'd be like every atm in the world was your atm. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 the schwab bank high yield investor checking® account. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 zero atm fees. a great interest rate. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 no minimums. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 and it's fdic-insured. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 the schwab bank high yield investor checking® account. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 the biggest thing in checking since checks. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 open an account at 1-800-4schwab or schwab.com. on this day we gather because we have chosen hope over fear. unity of purpose over conflict and discord. on this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn-out dogmas that for far too long have strangled our politics. we remain a young nation, but in the words of scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. >> welcome back to "morning joe." 43 past the hour. joining us now, nbc news chief white house correspondent and political director and co-host of "the daily rundown," chuck todd here in the studio. >> can i just have one complaint? brought to you by starbucks. >> yeah. >> why no trentas yet? >> i'm not allowing them. >> they don't offer them for hot coffee. is schultz watching? he supposedly watches every second, right? i want the hot trenta. i don't eat the sweets. i just have block coffee. i promise you. no sweets if here. >> i think chuck has just proven what you said about americans being fat and lazy and obese. this is about more caffeine, more fuel in the morning. >> fewer refills. you don't have to run around. >> we'll make a segue to tom friedman who i don't believe is going to talk about coffee this morning. >> never know. >> then we're going to get to the nbc news/"wall street journal" polls. tom, there was so much promise for so many people with barack obama two years ago today. he talked there about putting behind childish things. we've been talking this morning about putting behind mindless wars that we continue to be entangled in while china's making strategic alliances across the globe. >> well, there's no question, joe, that we've got to get -- iraq's more or less behind us now. we're down to 50,000 troops there and they're going to be out by the end of the year. afghanistan though remains an open-ended obligation, and i don't see at this stage where the real strategic payoff is for us. i realize that you can't just pick up and leave and leave a vacuum but i think our footprint there needs to be dramatically smaller. we need to call on other people to take ownership of this problem. i just don't see the strategic benefit for us now at a time when our focus really has to be nation building at home. >> tom, speaking of nation building at home, this president, like the last president, hasn't done what you've been encouraging these presidents to do for the past two decades, and that is, re-invest in america like you've said and transform this economy. is there no president capable of pulling congress and america along to do such a thing? >> you know, joe, i'm officially on book leave and writing a book on -- partly on this theme. the way i would summarize it, the head of ge said something to me the other day, in interviewing him for the book, that really i thought captured the issue you're raising. which is that, it's been so long since we did something big and hard together. big, hard, together. okay? and all the problems we face today, joe, whether it's deficit, whether it's energy climate, whether it's how we adjust to this globalized world dominated by information technology, we cannot succeed, we can't be where we need to be on those fronts unless we can do something big, hard, together. on education, on deficits, on energy and climate. right now what ails our system is that we can't do that. we haven't been able to pull together to do those things. you know, we had the president of china here, and what -- i wrote about this six months ago, which is that there's only one thing worse, in my view, than one party autocracy, the chinese system. that's one-party democracy. okay? see, one-party autocracy, at least if it has some vision of the vision. but when you have one-party democracy, that is you have one party trying to do things and the other sticking a spoke in its wheels constantly, you can't get anything big done. and that to me seems to be our real dilemma today. >> there are still a lot of americans who see potential in this president in his ability to do something. chuck todd, take us through these numbers and they're pretty impressive against the backdrop of 19% unemployment across the board. >> well, it is. the question is, is it a moment in time, is it only a reaction to how he's handled tucson, or is it a more -- is it a bunch of contributing factors. there could be three. what you saw across the board, you didn't just see approval you how he handled tucson in the speech he gave last week. you're also seeing optimism about the economy, optimism about our five-year outlook, optimism about our one-year outlook. both were up, both are at near one-year or even in the case of the economic outlook, 18-month highs. and so is it just a, okay, everybody's just tired of feeling really crummy and holiday season helped, or is there something out there. any time we've seen evidence in our poll or suspected that we see evidence that things are going to tick up, that people's optimism is turning, the next month it's dropped right back down. >> so what's happened? run through these numbers. approval rating 53%. >> i call it the pre-health care level. in july of '09 was the last time he was at 53%. august of '09 we had the health care town halls and we all know what happened after that, that served as an anchor. for the first time it is almost like he got rid of the health care weight off of his barbell. >> high numbers for tucson? >> 74% of how he handle everything in tucson. very much a bipartisan look at that. that's clearly a reaction mostly probably to the speech. >> the long range, the outlook for the next five years, fairly positive. right? >> well, a dramatically different than where things were in august. there is another way to look at this. election rhetoric gets really heated. august, september, october of an election year. and you do have half the country in a completely pessimistic -- because you have the out party running against and saying how bad everything is and the in party -- so sometimes you have overly negative numbers in that period right before an election, and so there is a case where maybe we've just simply popped back to where things were in may or june. but, it's an important moment for president obama. think about it. we're five days away from the state of the union. two months ago, all of you would have argued here, who's going to have more confidence walking in to the state of the union, congressional republican leaders, or president obama? i think a lot of people would have assume the republicans. instead of public is saying they're giving the president of the benefit of the doubt again telling republicans we're not convinced yet you're going to work with this president. we think the president will thi to work with you. >> my question, todd is what is he going to do with that confidence that the american people have. and i'd like to ask tom. you said, tom, that this is a time for us to do something big and hard together. so the country is basically saying we are optimistic about the future. but are we going to do anything big and hard together? do you predict that the president will ask us during the state of the union to come together for some big cause whether it's jobs or innovation, something that will affect the future, that will involve the nation building at home that you've been talking about. >> i sure hope so because i think, you know, i felt this for a long time now since 9/11. the country has been prime to be enlisted. and not just enlisted for iraq or afghanistan but for nation building at home. and whether it, you know, the republicans will support it, whether the president will find that middle ground, i don't know. a lot of -- i think it's great the president's approval ratings are up and i hope as arianna suggests that he actually takes that somewhere, does something with it. but let's remember, you know, one reason the approval ratings are up is that we just gave ourselves another tax cut. we just borrowed another $700 billion from china to satisfy every end of the political spectrum. i think going forward the challenge for the president, and i know he wants to go there, is we've got to be really smart now because we do have to cut. and at the same time, we have to invest. so we've got to cut things in a really intelligent way so we have the money to invest in the infrastructure and the education that will actually propel us into the 21st century. and that's really the vision that helped the president lays out. that's certainly what i'm hoping for. >> last night at the state dinner at the white house, tom, obviously marked a symbolic beginning to perhaps a new relationship with china. but the bottom line is these countries have very different rules. how do -- how does this administration balance catching up with china and all the different stories about china's becoming very exceptional on a number of levels and still requiring some important moral issues to be overcome. >> you know, i'm of the view that china simply cannot achieve its propo tential in the 21st century without opening up for its people opening up more democratically, opening up to more media and conversation. and i have a friend -- kurt carlson runs stanford research institute. kurt has a saying i really like which is that in today's world, what i call the flat world, in today's world, everything top down is dumb and slow. and everything bottom up is smart but chaotic. look what hufgton post does. it's released all this bottom up stuff. and the trick is to sift through it to enable, empower, find the really good stuff. i think that's true for the whole labor market today. and i think china in the long term will face a challenge because if it can't unleash what we do still do here really well. unleash that bottom up and find the stuff that's smart but chaotic. if you are depending on top down, you are on the wrong side of history. >> tom friedman, thank you. >> chuck? >> thank you. hold on a second. tom, when is the book coming out? >> hopefully september. >> he was at a state dinner last night -- >> i'm writing it with my colleague so hopefully we can get it done. >> you were at a state dinner last night and now you are wearing joe, garments by joe with your fleece? >> i love it. >> thanks, guys. >> thank you tom. >> chuck todd -- >> we'll do one more. let's do one more. >> let's stay. i want to go through all of these poll numbers. >> what if i said no on air, that would have been bad. still ahead, a look back on jfk's inauguration 50 years later. you can spot an amateur from a mile away... while going shoeless and metal-free in seconds. 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. now this...will work. [ male announcer ] just like you, business pro. just like you. go national. go like a pro. isn't some optional pursuit. a privilege for the ultra-wealthy. it's a necessity. find investments with e-trade's top 5 lists. quickly. easily. use pre-defined screeners and insightful trading ideas to dig deeper. work smarter. not harder. depend on yourself the one person you should trust to take charge of your financial future. e-trade. investing unleashed. [ laughs ] that's so dumb. [ laughter ] nice. [ male announcer ] don't be left behind. at&t. the nation's fastest mobile broadband network is getting faster with 4g. ♪ [ female announcer ] sometimes you need tomorrow to finish what you started today. for the aches and sleeplessness in between, there's motrin pm. no other medicine, not even advil pm, is more effective for pain and sleeplessness. motrin pm. nah. we have something else. but if you're hurt and miss work does it pay cash like aflac does? nah. or let you spend it in any way you want like for gas and groceries? nah. or help with everyday bills like aflac does? nah nah nah. [ male announcer ] there's aflac and there's everything else. visit aflac.com for an agent or quote. aflac! [ male announcer ] in the event of a collision, the smartest thing you could do is cut the fuel supply... ♪ ...unlock the doors, and turn on the hazard lights. or better yet, get a car that automatically does it for you. ♪ ♪ ♪ can a trading site help make you a sharper trader? mine can. td ameritrade can. they've got trading specialists i can call for help. and paper trading. free practice trading that helps me hone my technique. complex options. and free tutorials. online or in person. can a trading site really make a difference? if it can't, why are you trading there? number one in online equity trades: td ameritrade. trade commission-free for 30 days, plus get up to $500 when you open an account. all right. it's the top of the hour. welcome back to "morning joe." look at that beautiful city, chuck. it's gorgeous, isn't it? >> from afar. >> oh, come on, chuck. why do you hate new york so much? >> it's not hate. it is not the only place in the world. it's not the only place -- >> hold on. let's compare. here's washington, d.c. >> i didn't say -- >> you think i'm going, yea, washington? >> how about, here's st. louis? how about here's des moines. how about here's -- >> we're in new york, chuck. >> show the new york picture again. >> how about the vegas strip. yes. we're all in agreement there. >> what you have here. we are showing a picture. it's very diverse of the upper west side to the left. harlem north and you can almost see the upper east side. >> i had someone make an turmt me in our newsroom. >> look at that. that's a beautiful -- >> why are we doing yet another story on new york. 1 out of every 9 americans has leerth lived in new york or has a relative that lives in new york. that means 8 out of 9 americans don't. i don't get it. >> chuck todd is here, begrudgingly. >> go steelers, right? >> what can i do. >> pat knows what i'm talking about about not liking new york. >> you got it. >> he's being kind. >> i go off the set for a second and check on the orphanage. so i'm talking in this ear. in the other ear i hear a united states senator call ariana huffington in a contemptuous way, sweetheart. >> she is quite sweet. >> senator joe lieberman did address her as sweetheart. >> it came off as a little facetious. >> the iraq study group, the deulfer report. >> and he spelled it for you. >> because i am greek and don't really -- >> i want to see this. >> let's play it. >> it kind of went -- >> this is joe lieberman raw and unedited and condescending. roll it. >> now, ariana, these are not unfounded. go read the deulfer report. i mean -- >> there is nothing in the report that -- >> good luck with the next. >> sweetheart. >> senator, we'll come back and continue the conversation. thank you very much. >> i don't think you have read it, sweetheart? is this a jimmy cagney movie? what's going on here? >> i didn't know you were going to jimmy cagney. that wasn't where i was thinking. >> what a sweetheart. >> i have a feeling ariana will be getting a phone call or e-mail. >> i have a feeling ariana will be just fine. >> remember, he said he's looking for another purpose under heaven for himself. so maybe he will include using sweetheart in different contexts. >> in condescending political debate. >> interesting off pat's question he said in no uncertain terms, did lieberman, knowing what he knows now, he would have gone into iraq again. and despite the evidence that saddam hussein did, in fact, have wmd. >> that is what is stunning. >> that's unbelievable. >> that he still clings to something which even george bush has given up on. >> pat buchanan, i don't understand. he's saying that saddam had weapons of mass destruction and despite the fact we went in for wmds and a lot of people, like myself, supported the war because we believed the intel. we believed it was a slam dunk. we believed there were wmds. it's a pretty easy call to say there were no wmds. that was a big, big mistake. but joe lieberman, seven years later is not saying that. >> joe lieberman is a true believer in that war and a true believer that we ought to do the same thing with iran, joe. and he talked about that saddam, while he may not have had them, he was working on them and by now he would have had nuclear weapons. you know, i think he believes that deeply in his own mind. but you recall in those debates, folks like hillary clinton and all the others who went along with it. biden and hillary clinton and daschle and kerry and all the rest. edwards. all of them had second thoughts. and i think they feel that was the worst vote of their career. but joe lieberman, no, he is still sticking by his position. >> you know, he was even talking about yemen, possibly going into yemen. i just don't know that there is a war that joe lieberman and john mccain don't want to fight if it involves -- >> but you know what it is interesting. he's proudly a religious person yet in every religion, humility and the ability to acknowledge your mistakes and forgive others, these are essential parts of any religion but sdhee not manifest any of those traits. >> i make mistakes all the time, don't i, mika? >> joe lieberman, what he's got, look. this is what he built his career on. it's like george bush and dick cheney and others. i mean, they took this country into that war and it's like the folks that took us into vietnam. a lot of them you know, never said we made a mistake and they don't believe they made a mistake. maybe we handled it wrong but they've got their whole psyche, their whole, themselves, enormously tied up in this enterprise because they took us all there. >> it's an endless war. mika, let's go through the new nbc news/"wall street journal" poll. chuck's been nice to stick around. >> we've looked at his approval rating. 55%, though, believe the president will strike the right balance when he deals with republicans in congress. the same number predict republicans will be too inflexible in dealing with the president. there are challenges that remain particularly on health care, where 46% opposed repealing the law and 45% favor repeal. and the majority of americans, 56%, still believe the country is headed in the wrong direction. the poll also weighed in on potential 2012 presidential contenders. therein lies the overall consensus that things are looking good for obama in 2012. >> it's interesting about those numbers about the inflexible and who is going to deal with each other. that to me feels like the lame duck part of the bounce which is they saw the public saw president obama look like the guy that's, all right, do what i have to do to cut this deal, get this tax deal. people may have the noliked it, but he's being viewed as somebody who will be pragmatic, where the republicans, who also worked with him on this, didn't get that credit and you wonder if the health care, if the fact they came out of the gates on repealing health care, if that is sending the message to the middle of the electorate, oh, they're going to be a little more inflexible. so i think they've -- one thing about this poll, we may -- a lot of folks may look at it and say and almost overanalyze the obama numbers and under analyze republican numbers. republicans look at this poll and realize this is a warning shot to them. early on they are getting a warning shot. be careful here. you don't have a mandate yet. your honeymoon is already over. be very careful here. don't overreach. start figuring out some way to work with president obama or we're going to punish you very quickly. >> pat buchanan, looking at the bill to repeal the health care law yesterday. would you agree with chuck that republicans need to navigate forward very, very carefully? >> well, i'm one of those who believes the republicans did the right thing. they said they were going to do it. it took one day, they got it done and they appeased if you will or nullified, did what they base wanted. but chuck is touching on an important point. the republicans in congress who got the majority in the house, the country wants compromise and working with obama. but those folks back home, the tea party folks and a lot of the conservatives and others, they want the republican party to stand up and stop what is going on. and they were sent to -- they sent these guys to washington to do battle. you can't basically satisfy both those constituencies, and i think boehner and mcconnell are going to be going back and forth between the two of them. >> by the way, i have -- a lot of people have been critical of the republicans doing this. willie, we've sat here for two years and we have watched barack obama's numbers fall precipitously because of health care. a lot of these republicans are in congress because they promised to repeal health care. i just think everybody that's so deeply offended by it needs to understand, they are doing what they promised to do. >> as pat said, they did what they promised their constituents they would do. chuck, i also was looking inside the numbers a little bit. whether or not it was a tucson bounce, i saw 11% rise in the number of independents swing toward obama. what does that tell you? >> i think it goes to the -- i think that's why this is a little more than you can't just write it all off on tucson. i think the -- basically, how he's reacted to congress. it's how he reacted to the elections. and everything. so you put it under that umbrell ait's how he handled lame duck, it's how he handled tucson. that he is back to -- it's like these folks in the middle who ideologically probably always thought president obama might have been to the left of where they were. they liked his style, right? they looked his tone. >> can i underline something really quickly? >> that's what tucson did. >> let's underline this because i know -- i just -- we all know how it works. president obama's critics today are going to be online. they're going to be on talk radio and they're going to see, see, we told you he was going to use tucson for political purposes. and that's why i want to stop and underline it. the ap had him at 53% before tucson. gallup had him at 50% before tucson. his numbers were already going up significantly before tucson. >> that's what our pollster said. they portentially -- all of this we'll find out in a month or two if this was just sort of a blip or if there's something to it. the potential for this being a foundation for him is the fact there's optimism about the economy. and if the opt -- if the statistics start matching the optimism, then that's how he will -- look. i think he's got a ceiling of 55, to be honest. politically. >> that's pretty good. >> but it is -- you are just, i think, modern american presidents frankly in this ideologically polarizing environment, you are going to be in a 40 to 55. that's your floor and ceiling. and we've seen him almost hit his floor a couple of times. and for the first time, he's actually getting close to league booeg able to touch the ceiling. >> what you said about republicans is borne out by that stunning number. only 25% say the republicans in congress will bring the right kind of change to the country. that's a very surprising number. >> if you -- like i said if you were john boehner, mitch mcconnell, that is a -- this is an early warning system for you. your first impression hasn't been great. it's not been a disaster, but your first impression to the middle of the electorate -- >> 25% is close to a disaster. >> you may be making the base happy and core conservatives happy and tea party activists happy, but the middle of the electorate who is going to decide this election, the folks in -- right outside of green bay where the president is going wednesday, first place he's going -- >> the people who made nancy pelosi speaker in 2006 and john boehner speaker in 2010, that's where it lies. >> but the numbers about afghanistan which are fascinating in terms of 2012. 82% say the war in afghanistan has either gotten worse or stayed the same and 71% believe that when we leave afghanistan, we leave the country in an unstable condition. so there's no -- about afghanistan. some republican candidate, i believe is going to take advantage of that. >> they should. >> in the republican primary. >> pat buchanan, 2012. >> but the only anti-war republican right now, anti-afghanistan would probably be ron paul. >> i don't think that can change. >> let's go to some news, willy. >> we talked about this post-tucson age of civility. everyone dialing down the rhetoric. let's take a look at the floor. democratic congressman steve cohn who took harold ford's old seat. they debated the appeal of the health care reform law. he talked about republicans and as he says, the lies they've been telling about the health care law. >> was he civil? >> it was civil, right? >> they say it's a government takeover of health care. a big lie, just like gerbels. you say it enough you repeat the lie. you repeat the lie and eventually people believe it. like blood libel. that's the same kind of thing. the germans said enough about the jews and the people believed it and you had the holocaust. >> oh, good god. what a clown. you're right. what a clown. >> i'm sorry. >> seriously? >> let's take a bet. will he apologize? >> he should. >> he hasn't. >> he doubled down. >> okay. the minute you start invoking nazi imagery at all, hitler, nazi imagery, you've lost the debate, ended the debate and you can't have a rational discussion. >> and also you are on tv for a lot of reasons. >> and someone made a point. the only reason these house guys think they can get attention is to do these things. that's why it's all the house. notice all the civility comments are coming from the senators. it is proof that house guys, they have their small groups that they have to deal with. the senators know for the most part they have to win swing voters and they act that way. >> he completely got carried away and made a huge mistake. >> no, i think those are written remarks for the congressional record. >> he was interviewed afterwards and he doubled down. >> -- his sweep ofwriter. >> no, it's time. he doubled down in an interview saying he wasn't going to apologize. >> he's been somewhat of a -- he's got a history of throwing retol chetorical bombs. >> so should barack obama, because he's our nation's leader, should barack obama call this type of hate speech? because i've been calling republicans out saying they needed to call out michelle bachman's hate speech when she talks about armed and dangerous and glenn beck and sarah palin. should barack obama call out this type of hate speech? >> specifically this person at this moment? i'm not sure. >> nancy pelosi should. she's the leader of the democratic party in the house. she should call it out and ask him to apologize. she should set the new tone. >> why shouldn't the president? >> i think his speech in tucson was the perfect balance. >> has the university of michigan speech that -- i would argue that he sort of has. do you want him calling people out by name individually? say, hey, you steve cohen, you michelle bachman. where do you draw the line? >> what if robert gibbs is asked the question today is the president concerned a week after tucson -- >> i'm confident i know how robert would answer the question. he probably would criticize him. >> the president and the white house is disappointed by that. >> i am -- i am 99.9% sure that's how robert would respond to something like that. >> that would be good. >> i don't know if i can get there in time. >> as the president, it's a fine balance of calling people out and making them accountable and stirring it up. so that's why i -- >> become the schoolmarm. you don't want to become the schoolmarm. >> it starts at the top. >> nancy pelosi, that would be a great place to start calling this guy out. pat buchanan, so if -- let's say that we were having this debate and you've advised two presidents on communication. would you tell the president to step out and respond to nazi comparisons on the house floor? >> no, i don't think he ought to get into it. i think if he's asked about it, he should make sort of a general statement like, look. we all ought to tone it down. and from what you describe, that is really over the top. but i would not get into it. the proper person as you all have suggested is nancy pelosi to deal with this. >> yeah. >> frankly, he ought to say, look. i regret what i said. i don't regret my passion, but i regret the metaphor. it was uncalled for and get it over with. >> pat, ariana, chuck, thank you. >> thank you, chuck. when we come back, 50 years after that legendary speech. we'll revisit the words, the timing and the audience that made president kennedy's inaugural address a speech that changed america. but first, meteorologist bill karins with a check of the forecast. >> i wish we could change our meteorologist. >> i know, god. how do we do that? >> amazing i keep showing up every day. they let me in the door. let's talk about this forecast. we are watching a snowstorm in the middle of the country. no problems at the airports today. tomorrow for the big airports on the east coast, we'll have some issues. right now a 30-minute delay because of volume in baltimore. pittsburgh, snow showers may increase later in the day. the daylight hours are drive everywhere. this is not a blockbuster snow event but 3 to 6 inches is enough you'll have to shovel or plow. d.c., baltimore, only an inch or two for you. the timing about midnight tonight until about noon tomorrow. the snow right now is located over st. louis. and kansas city got hit with about six inches of snow. as we take that snowstorm, we're going to push it into the ohio valley today. pittsburgh could end up with three or four inches on the ground before we're all said and done. drive carefully in the ohio valley tomorrow morning. you're watching "morning joe." brewed by starbucks. what's around the corner is one of life's great questions. and while it can never be fully answered, it helps to have a financial partner like northern trust. by gaining a keen understanding of your financial needs, we're able to tailor a plan using a full suite... of sophisticated investment strategies and solutions. so whatever's around the corner can be faced with confidence. ♪ northern trust. look ahead with us at northerntrust.com. for adults, stelara® helps control moderate or severe plaque psoriasis with 4 doses a year, after 2 starter doses. in a medical study, 7 out of 10 stelara® patients saw at least 75% clearer skin at 12 weeks. and 6 out of 10 patients had their plaque psoriasis rated as cleared or minimal at 12 weeks. stelara® may lower your ability to fight infections and increase your risk of infections. some serious infections require hospitalization. before starting stelara®, your doctor should test for tuberculosis. stelara® may increase your risk of cancer. always tell your doctor if you have any sign of infection, or have had cancer. alert your doctor of new or worsening problems including headaches, seizures, confusion and vision problems. these may be signs of a rare, potentially fatal brain condition. serious allergic reactions can occur. tell your doctor if you or anyone in your house needs or has recently received a vaccine. with 4 doses a year, after 2 starter doses, it's stelara®. i do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any other generation. the energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeav endeavor. and so my fellow americans, ask not what your country can do for you. ask what you can do for your country. >> and that was president john f. kennedy's inaugural address on january 20th, 1961. and here with us now to commemorate the 50th anniversary of that historic message is thurston clark, author of "ask not," the inauguration of john f. kennedy and the speech that changed america. welcome back to the show. >> thank you. >> that speech set the bar, did it not? >> it did. and he set out to set the bar. he prepared himself for really for a year beforehand for this speech. he would travel through when he was traveling, campaigning, when he saw a historical marker, he would stop and say, wait a minute. i want to read that. people in the car would say what your doing? he said i'm collecting stuff for my inaugural address. he saved things on pieces of paper and he said, again, what are you saving those scraps of paper for? he said it's for my inaugural address. >> why was it so important? >> kennedy was swinging from the fences. he wanted to be a great president. he told his best friends i'm going for greatness. and you start the way to start this campaign was with a great inaugural address. because, of course, the kennedys were very competitive people. he looked at oratory and the inaugural address as a competition. he wanted to be better than lincoln. he wanted to be better than fdr. he told ted sorensen who wrote the first draft, i want you to read the gettysburg address and find the key secrets. >> one of the key freezes that resonates, he got from his private prep school days. is that the case? >> yes, the headmaster used to say, don't ask what choke can do for you but what you can do for choke. this idea had been -- >> who knew? it came from choke? >> well, i've had a lot of grief on the -- great grief i got was that kahlil gibran apparently said a similar line and this is how kennedy got the line. but he didn't actually. the book wasn't translated in time for kennedy to read it. >> lawrence o'donnell has, of course, read this book. i'm reading the book as we speak. >> a look back. >> it's an amazing thing to do a book about one speech, one day. but you go back into all the drafts and the months leading up to this thing. people talk about the ted sorensen input, but you've got much more detail here about john kenneth gal brath, alan nevins his own draft. kennedy didn't like adelaide stevenson very much. he asked for advice. sorensen said can you give us some advice? stevenson was very huff beit. he said it's christmas and i have other things to do. finally he buckled down and gave a couple of lines that were very important. this speech is also, i call it kennedy's -- in a way, an autobiography. the lines in this speech he had lived himself. the world war ii hero. his experiences after the war as a correspondent in berlin. he had seen the devastation that war can cause, and that's one of the real themes of this speech. >> how much was the speech, the words versus the speaker? we were coming off eisenhower. he obviously -- it was the first telegenic president. so even if maybe the words were not as prolific, would we still be looking at that speech as a seminole moment? >> it's considered the second greatest speech of 20th century american history. and i think we would. you need a couple of different elements for a great speech. and one is a great event. and this was a great event. the first catholic president. the second thing you need is, you need great oratory. and kennedy had been spending months thinking about this speech. and he wanted it to be a great speech. but you also need an audience that's hungry for what the speaker is going to say. and americans in 1960, this was a speech they wanted to hear. >> i guess i'm wondering as a writer if you looked at the prose, the words, would they jump off the page? >> absolutely. every one of us can finish that sentence. it is impossible not to think of that many words from a clinton speech. >> the way he wrote was he dictated. he very rarely actually wrote lines to this speech. he dictated them. he had a draft from ted sorensen and then changed it as he dictated. one of his heroes was daniel webster. daniel webster, the great senator and orator who in his profiles in courage never wrote a speech. he could do it in his mind sentence by sentence. and kennedy points that out in profiles in courage. and that's one of the leans admired him and kennedy did the same thing. >> the book is "ask not." >> we're talking about it 50 years later. >> isn't it amazing? >> that would be longevity. thanks very much for coming on the show. more "morning joe" when we come back. ♪ [ male announcer ] from jet engines that have fewer emissions, to new ways to charge electric cars, to renewable sources of clean energy, ecomagination from ge is advanced technology that's good for both the economy and the environment. ♪ it's technology that makes the world work. [ squawking ] ♪ >> man: diving to 4,000 meters. >> boy: go down, down, down. down. straight. go straight. no, to the right. to the right. >> go to the right, go to the right. >> whoa! >> whoa! >> what is that? >> man: well, that's a, uh... i don't know. >> whoa. >> can we call him blinky? >> woman: expert teaching. deeper learning. together, we are the human network. cisco. [ male announcer ] in the event of a collision, the smartest thing you could do is cut the fuel supply... ♪ ...unlock the doors, and turn on the hazard lights. or better yet, get a car that automatically does it for you. ♪ ♪ i'm friend, secret-keeper and playmate. do you think i'd let osteoporosis slow me down? so i asked my doctor about reclast because i heard it's the only once-a-year iv osteoporosis treatment. he told me all about it and i said that's the one for nana. he said reclast can help restrengthen my bones to help make them resistant to fracture for twelve months. and reclast is approved to help protect from fracture in many places: hip, spine, even other bones. [ male announcer ] you should not take reclast if you're on zometa, have low blood calcium, kidney problems. or you're pregnant, plan to become pregnant or nursing. take calcium and vitamin d daily. tell your doctor if you develop severe muscle, bone or joint pain, of if you have dental problems, as rarely jaw problems have been reported. the most common side effects include flu like symptoms, fever, muscle or joint pain and headache. share the world with the ones you love! and ask your doctor about reclast. or call 1-866-51-reclast. year-long protection for on-the-go women. welcome back to "morning joe." let's get a check with erin burnett. she's live at the new york stock exchange. erin, a couple of years ago, i'd always joke about the university of michigan consumer confidence studies. chuck todd was here today talking about how americans' long-term outlook is more positive than it's been in some time. at least in the nbc/"wall street journal" poll. should we expect a spike in consumer confidence in the coming months? >> you know what's interesting, we joked about consumer confidence because in general, consumer confidence is not correlated with consumer spending and consumer spending is what drives the economy. but there's one component that is generally correlated with spending and that's expectations for the future. so by that measure, what chuck was saying would indicate that we would see more spending and people are feeling better. people with jobs have been getting raises. if you have a job in this country, you are spending more now than you have in any recovery in the past since 1970, as a matter of fact. it's the not job problem that's a problem. people that have them, confidence is there. >> we're showing right now breaking news, good news on the jobless front. tell us about that. >> so a drop of 37,000 in terms of people filing for unemployment. that puts the number at 404,000. that's a very good number. last week we had disappointment. we're now hovering around 400 which is very solid. if you look at continuing claims which sort of looks over the several week time frame. it's a more accurate number. that's the lowest since october 2008, which is right as the crisis was starting. so good signs there for the economy. and the other big headline about the economy, guys, has to do with china. and i wanted to put this up to give you a sense of where we are and where they are. now they are a smaller economy by about -- they are one-third the size that we are, despite all this fear that they're going to take over. take a look at china's gdp. it came out overnight. in the fourth quarter, that china -- why is the arrow red? well, anyway, it's up 9.8%. so ours, though in the most recent quarter, 2.6. even at the height of the federal stimulus we were only growing at five. so china is growing and growing and growing and growing. that china headline is one of the biggest headlines of the day. it's directly linked to the fact that inflation around the world saun fire. two bucks for a five-piece pack of gum in brazil. >> oh, my goodness. >> it's important. >> i am going to be buying my gum instead in venezuela. so i will -- >> you might have to pay 2 billion something there. >> so what stories are you following today and what should we expect on "street signs" this afternoon? >> we'll be talking about whether this inflation crisis around the world is squarery on the shoulders of ben bernanke. is the government to blame for the riots on food, it's not an intellectual conversation. it may be the other thing. another group of ceos meeting with the chinese president today. he's meeting tons of them. so another special lunch today. >> i love it. >> very cool. erin burnett, great job. thank you. up next, watch what happens live. bravo's andy cohen and donny. >> i'm very nervous. and all my investments, but it's not something that i want to do completely on my own -- i like to discuss my ideas with someone. that's what i like about fidelity. they talked with me one on one, so we could come up with a plan that's right for me, and they worked with me to help me stay on track -- or sometimes, help me get on an even better one. woman: there you go, brian. thanks, guys. man: see ya. fidelity investments. turn here. i'm 43. [ female announcer ] only roc® retinol correxion deep wrinkle night cream is clinically proven to give 10 years back to the look of skin, diminishing the look of even deep wrinkles. roc® was over 4 times more effective on wrinkles than another leading brand, and even 7 times more effective on crow's feet. 10 years? i'll take that! [ female announcer ] roc® we keep our promises. and try roc deep wrinkle filler with hyaluronic acid to instantly smooth your deep wrinkles. ♪ welcome back. >> it's one guy in his underwear sending out blogs. >> we don't have to hear about that. >> also the executive vice president of original programming and development for bravo. >> call me the chairman. >> and the -- >> he made himself the chairman. i'm going to call myself the chairman. >> also the executive producer of "watch what happens live." >> which just beat conan the other night. >> are you getting like $40 million now? >> oh, yes, $40 million. >> that's exciting. >> yes, it is very exciting. >> you beat conan. >> yes, i did. last thursday night. >> and it costs just about as much as conan to make. >> oh, yeah. >> no, it doesn't. they just put up a camera in your clubhouse. >> you spent a million on a commercial. if the concept is there it's there. >> wait a minute. let me see this. that's iman. she brought it. she brought her new whole hair thing. >> brought it? >> yes, and that's -- that would be mimi from the "housewives of atlanta." yes, we had a big night on sunday night. that was sunday night's show. >> so you are just swinging your chair and -- >> i just swing in the chair and cocktail and we take calls. >> can you help me out with something? and as you know, because you are downtown and you are hip with the kids. i'm very hip with the kids. they come up to you and go joe scarborough. but i have a blind spot. i keep reading these articles about skins. and how it's a danger to america. what is skins and why should i be afraid of skins. >> i don't know that you -- >> i may be asking the wrong guy. >> not afraid of skins, i don't know about that. but "skins" was a really successful show and still is. and mtv has taken the format and the story arc and made a u.s. version of it. >> this is on the front page of the "new york times." >> yeah. >> today "the new york times" has this on -- so what -- >> it's a big hit for mtv. it premiered on monday night. i think they got over 3 million viewers. and now mtv is saying they've taken a look at the third episode and it may be crossing the line. they show a boy's naked butt. and i think the kid is under 18. >> oh, my. >> so they are saying this crosses the line and we'll have to edit this out. but the whole point of the show is that it's raw and it is teenagers gone wild and, you know, they are having sex, doing drugs. and they cast all unknowns under the age of 18. >> and i just -- let me say this as a parent. if i didn't have kids i'd be like, come on. as a parent, it's not that 17 and 18-year-old kids are watching this. i saw this growing up. like when britney spears rides across the stage, it's my 10 and 11-year-olds that are watching it because they -- these shows do not target teenagers. they are targeting 10, 11, 12-year-old kids. >> here, as a dad with three daughters, i'm tired of being told that the media is going to tell my kids how to think. i don't care what's happening on tv. my kids' values are coming from me. i am getting very upset that every time something happens in the media, my daughters are not going to be making their decisions in life based on whether there's a little skin in this show or not. we have to stob abdicating responsibility -- >> whatever it is. >> we've got to stop -- every time something happens in the media that has to do with kids. oh, the kids are getting destroyed. good kids come from good parents and that's what happens. regardless of what happens on tv. >> what do you do about kids that don't have two parents hovering over them? >> if they don't have two parents doing the right thing, they have bigger problems than what's happening on tv. >> so you are saying culture has -- >> i didn't say absolutely nothing. i just -- good kids are good kids and tv is not turning their head in circles. >> i think the culture has been so sexualized. we talk about the miley cyrus thing. she had the pole and -- was i offended? no, i wasn't offended but if my 8 or 9-year-old is watching -- those are the people who watch her "hannah montana" show. you can overcome it as a parent. >> i'd rather them not, but -- >> how old of your kids? >> 3, 7 and 23. >> 3, 7 and 23. wow. have you seen "gossip girl." >> yes, you watch it, joe. >> of course, i'm hip with the kids. >> i don't watch a lot of "gossip girl" but the episode i've seen or parts of them, they are -- they are off the chain. and this is not on mtv. i mean, they are doing blow. they are having sex. and -- >> they asked me to be on it. >> they did? >> doing what? >> i don't know. >> like an -- it would be like an old woody allen movie where she sneezes and all scatters. >> anyway, "skins" is not the only dirty show on tv is all i'm trying to say. >> the reason "the new york times" is reporting on it is because the kids are so young, right? >> the kids on the show are young and the kids watching the show. >> it's obviously not a good thing. in particular if they cross that line. >> 8 to 13. >> that's actually the mtv. >> a new york mom is sharing the results of her family experiment. for six months, and this actually ties in to what we were just talking about. her teens -- wonder if i can do this -- were not allowed to use the internet, tv, cell phones, ipods or video games. her son rediscovered his love for the saxophone and is now studying music in college. >> whatever. >> but her daughter got fed up and moved in with her dad for a while. i'm serious. >> can i just say something? i had a few friends whose parents were so important that they didn't have time for tv and there were no tvs in the house. >> the kid are crazy. >> not only crazy. they are dumb. seriously. if they had read -- >> tune in to "skins." >> i'm just saying, every parent thinks if they watch less tv they'll be smarter. no, they won't. >> it depend on the kid. >> when you are in a restaurant and see kids out with their parents -- >> i agree. i love this thing. i love it that this woman unplugged her kids. i think it's great. i spent my childhood with my face like this far from donny and marie and everything else. so look how i turned out. >> let me ask you this. when you are sitting in a restaurant, do you -- are you one of these people at a restaurant, you are the only person there without a blackberry, which is -- >> i'm bummed i didn't bring my blackberry to the table. >> you to feel naked? >> i do. >> are you unplugged in? social settings i'm getting ready to throw this away. >> i try at dinner. last night i had dinner with a friend. it was her birthday. i made a huge effort. i said i'm not going to go for the blackberry. but she was ordering and i snuck it in and then i went to the rest room which i think is fully acceptable if you go to the rest room. you bring your blackberry with you and that's your time. >> if someone is at a table and someone goes like this, everybody else does it. i'm just as important. i've got stuff going on. i do believe our kids are getting -- if you watch a tv kid and at night they are on the ichat, this. there is no disconnected down time for individualism. and i'm just going to worry about creativity 10, 15 years from now. there's no me, me me. there's no i. >> they learn it from their parents. you see parents at restaurants where the kids just sitting there, young kids going like this. and you are like, hey, be a parent. i say that, of course. andrew scarborough who turns 20 today -- >> wow. happy birthday. >> happy birthday, andrew. >> i didn't know it was his birthday. >> one of andrew's great moments. we were on a trip in new orleans. and he turned to me and andrew never swears. he goes, dad, turn your damn cell phone off. that was a high point. that was good. >> andrew teaching me. >> andrew turned 20 today. >> congratulations. >> so what about you? do you -- i know i've asked you. mika is always on her blackberry. when you go out to dinner with your family are you on your blackberry? >> no. what i've been doing, put it in your coat, check the coat. don't even give yourself the option. i've done that lately. >> my new thing? sleep in a different room. >> from your blackberry? >> yes. put it in the other room and sleep in a different room. why, you think i'm crazy, donny? >> i am picturing you like 12:30. okay. do i go in the other room? >> do i -- i'll put it in the study. >> you always hear the buzz. >> do we have another segment here? >> yes, the best of late night. >> okay. i want to keep talking. we're going to blow out the best oaf. >> one more minute. >> donny deutsch is here. >> and one more minute. >> we'll be right back. >> let me get my blackberry. >> it's like new year's eve. very good. all right. so what do we have? a minute? okay. very good. yea? we mail documents all over the country, so, what if there were priority mail flat rate... envelopes? yes! you could ship to any state... for a low flat rate? yes! a really low flat rate. like $4.95? yes! and it could look like a flat rate box... only flatter? like this? you...me...genius. genius. priority mail flat rate envelopes. just $4.95. only from the postal service. a simpler way to ship. you struggle to control your blood sugar. you exercise and eat right, but your blood sugar may still be high, and you need extra help. ask your doctor about onglyza, a once daily medicine used with diet and exercise to control high blood sugar in adults with type 2 diabetes. adding onglyza to your current oral medicine may help reduce after meal blood sugar spikes and may help reduce high morning blood sugar. [ male announcer ] onglyza should not be used to treat type 1 diabetes or diabetic ketoacidosis. tell your doctor if you have a history or risk of diabetic ketoacidosis. onglyza has not been studied with insulin. using onglyza with medicines such as sulfonylureas may cause low blood sugar. some symoms of low blood sugar are shaking, sweating and rapid heartbeat. call your doctor if you have an allergic reaction like rash, hives or swelling of the face, mouth or throat. ask your doctor if you also take a tzd as swelling in the hands, feet or ankles may worsen. blood tests will check for kidney problems. you may need a lower dose of onglyza if your kidneys are not working well or if you take certain medicines. [ male announcer ] ask your doctor about adding onglyza. extra help. extra control. you may be eligible to pay $10 a month with the onglyza value card program. it will be back to the command post here. so again, another person of interest here, although now they are pulling into a fast food restaurant. the intentions here, i do not know. this may be a cut through here. we're going to keep an eye on it. well, no, they are stopping for some food. >> oh, i absolutely love it. if you ever need help getting out of a bad day and, really, who hasn't? technology is stepping up, andy. you now can get this device that -- >> samsung. it's a phone feature that shows you how to actually make your phone ring before you fake answer it. >> you can't rely on technology to set you -- to help you out of getting out of a bad date. you should just get yourself out of it or not put yourself in the situation. >> a lot of people do fake calling. it's happened to you. i fake call but also i was -- i have faked calls but also i was at a -- i had a situation where there was someone we were talking to about coming on my show who is someone that i'm friendly with and i saw her at a thing and i went up to say hello and it had nothing to do with coming on my show but she started faking a call and i saw the ramp up to her saying, oh, i'm going to start faking this call. and -- >> that was terrible. >> she took this dead phone and was like, oh, i'm on the phone. and i thought -- it feels terrible to be on the other side of it, i have to tell you. >> i take it that you don't have to depend on technology to leave. if you are in the middle of a bad date. >> since he is the host oaf. >> you lose the lieberman approach. i'm out of here sweetheart. >> it's easier being a guy because you proactively are controlling who you ask out and, you know, i'm never going to be on that bad blind date where i have to go away. if i'm taking someone out, not that i've had a date in a couple of years. but that's a different story. >> you are just jealous of my life. >> is joe jealous of your life? >> he says what's the hot places? where did you go last night? >> hey. look at me. you know what i'm jealous of? people that can fall asleep at 7:00 at night. we are old around this set here. this show gets us old. >> that's what you are jealous of? >> i've got two words for you. self awareness. >> okay. >> donny, what should i be aware of? are you saying he's too old to behave this way? >> are you saying he's too old to behave this way? >> i don't know what that meant. mika, we're having auditions for the "housewives of new york." you want to come by. because that was a smackdown. >> i can handle it. >> by the way -- >> you ain't seen nothing yet. >> donny deutsch is hosting a show for us a week from thursday called "love calling." a week from tonight. women all over america. he's going to tell them what guys think. mika is on the floor. he is telling the women of america what goes on inside the mind of the american male. >> oh, that is dirty. >> this is great. he's an advocate. >> i get it. there's great news for people with astigmatism. acuvue® oasys for astigmatism. he said it's the only lens of its kind designed to realign naturally with every blink and created with hydraclear® plus. i'm seeing more clearly, crisply, comfortably, all day long. now life doesn't have to be a blur. [ male announcer ] learn more at acuvue.com. acuvue® oasys for astigmatism. [ male announcer ] in the event of a collision, the smartest thing you could do is cut the fuel supply... ♪ ...unlock the doors, and turn on the hazard lights. or better yet, get a car that automatically does it for you. ♪ ♪ but when i was diagnosed with prostate cancer... i needed a coach. our doctor was great, but with so many tough decisions i felt lost. unitedhealthcare offered us a specially trained rn who helped us weigh and understand all our options. for me cancer was as scary as a fastball is to some of these kids. but my coach had hit that pitch before. turning data into useful answers. we're 78,000 people looking out for 70 million americans. that's health in numbers. unitedhealthcare. welcome back. time to talk about what we learned today. >> i learned that senator joe lieberman thinks ariana huffington say sweetheart. >> andy? >> i learned that mika has got a tart tongue. >> she's tough. >> me? >> donny? >> i did not know that mika had a problem but we'll work on that. >> so you are striking back at the woman who is suggesting that you are too old to just hat around. >> i'm still trying to understand what self awareness means. >> a jaded perspective. >> what did you learn? >> i learned that your son andrew is 20. >> how exciting. >> that's great. >> congratulations, andrew. >> and i get a text from chris christie who taught your father how to use his blackberry cell phone last night to take a picture of your mom. >> at

Related Keywords

Vietnam ,Republic Of ,Phoenix House ,New York ,United States ,Be In An ,Sichuan ,China ,Nevada ,Australia ,Brazil ,Beijing ,California ,Portugal ,Russia ,Syracuse ,Washington ,District Of Columbia ,Connecticut ,West Virginia ,Ireland ,Jersey ,Spain ,Greece ,Chicago ,Illinois ,Haiti ,Miami ,Florida ,Japan ,Germany ,Afghanistan ,Iran ,Kentucky ,Columbus ,Ohio ,Oregon ,Cincinnati ,Michigan ,Pakistan ,Tunisia ,Iraq ,Tennessee ,Sydney ,New South Wales ,Western District ,Victoria ,Pennsylvania ,Houston ,Texas ,Dallas ,Yemen ,Venezuela ,Berlin ,Americans ,Australian ,America ,Chinese ,Soviets ,Greek ,Germans ,Iraqi ,American ,Haitian ,Robert Gibbs ,Ronald Reagan ,Vladimir Putin ,Charlie Rangel ,Andrea Mitchell ,Michelle Bachman ,Arianna Huffington ,John Kenneth ,Alan Nevins ,Jared Loughner ,Chuck Todd ,Charlie Chaplin ,John Boehner ,Miley Cyrus ,Meredith Vieira ,Harold Ford ,Bravo Andy Cohen ,Thurston Clark ,Joe Scarborough ,Kim Clijsters ,Martin Luther King ,Charles Duelfer ,Joe Lieberman ,Thomas Friedman ,Carol Mosely Braun ,Steve Cohen ,Pat Buchanan ,John Boehner Mitch Mcconnell ,Barack Obama ,Andrew Scarborough ,George W Bush ,Tina Brown ,Mitch Mcconnell ,John F Kennedy ,Msnbc Andrea Mitchell ,Kurt Carlson ,Hillary Clinton ,Tom Friedman ,Nancy Pelosi ,Herbie Hancock Vera Wang ,Ron Paul ,John Lennon ,Daniel Webster ,George Bush ,Jackie Chan ,Todd Woodridge ,Ted Sorensen ,Ben Bernanke ,Steve Cohn ,Donny Deutsch ,Chris Christie ,Joe Jennifer ,Gabe Zimmerman ,Harold Ford Jr ,Dick Cheney ,Jon Stewart ,Ben Bradley ,Joe Gabrielle Gifford ,Kenneth Roth ,Ariana Huffington ,Erin Burnett ,Newt Gingrich ,Bobby Kennedy ,John Mccain ,Elaine Chao ,Jimmy Cagney ,Tina Arianna ,Harry Reid ,Jimmy Carter ,Monica Lewinsky ,Barbara Streisand ,Rahm Emanuel ,Dwight D Eisenhower ,Michelle Obama ,Mike Huckabee ,Janet Reno ,Sarah Palin ,George Allen ,Glenn Beck ,Willie Geist ,Stephen Carter ,