as the first write-in senate candidate to win since 1954. and why the obsession with the royal wedding? didn't we already revolt against these folks, or is this just the ticket for our grim economic times. it's wednesday, november 17th, 2010. i'm chuck todd, and yes, savannah guthrie. we thought she was going to be back today, but she's getting one more day. trust me, i'll take advantage of that down the road. also this morning, general motors boosts its stock size in advance of a landmark ipo. could be the biggest u.s. offering ever. how about that government bailout? plus, the daily rundown interview with senator orrin hatch. and where are the republican presidential candidates that should be throwing their hat into the ring by now? the slow start to 2012, ahead. let's get to the rundown, and we're going to start with nancy pelosi in the house, where it looks like she and her top lieutenants will hold on to all of their top jobs despite midterm elections that spent dozens of their colleagues packing. kelly o'donnell is capitol hill correspondent. huge change election, everyone wants change, and the players are exactly the same on both sides of the aisle. >> reporter: the people who don't want change are the people who have devoenjoyed their leadership positions in the senate. we saw it yesterday, and now on the house side, the argument for pelosi and her supporters, she is the one who helped get democrats out of the wilderness, as they like to say, when they assumed power in 2006. therefore, she is the one who knows how to get it done again. there's a big argument against that case that about two dozen makers are making, saying the american voted strongly against democrats, doesn't make sense to keep the identical leadership team in place. but when you look who these people are, really skilled politicians, they know how to count votes and bring a caucus together. and because so many of the moderates are the ones who were sent home, nancy pelosi's base is here. so it looks like she has the votes. it's just a kind of a chip away at the appearance of her power as well, because it's not going quite as smoothly as she might have hoped. >> there's a big policy argument that's going to take place in the lame-duck congress that has nothing to do with tax cuts. it has to do with a nuclear arms treaty with russia, referred to as s.t.a.r.t., a strategic arms reduction treaty with russia. and jon kyl, a member of the republican senate leadership, is almost saying it is dead on arrival. true? >> yes, he is. and right now, checking my watch, secretary of state hillary clinton is here on campus, talking about this issue. trying to get support for the s.t.a.r.t. treaty which would add new dimensions between the race arms between russia and the united states. and for a treaty, you need two-thirds, and jon kyl is telling democrats, harry reid and the white house, that he does not see this doable in the lame-duck session, because they have so many things to deal with. and republicans are showing resistance, because they have some assurances that there will be modernization to the current nuclear arsenal. so they want to get a deal, but they have some things they would like to see done. so kyl is using the clock as well as some of those issues to say, not going to happen now. >> it will be interesting to watch. 58 democratic senators between now and the end of the year, 53 after the first of the year. >> reporter: tougher then. >> we can do that math to 67 pretty easily. anyway, kelly o'donnell, capitol hill, another busy day. thanks very much. >> reporter: you bet. well, the first bipartisan meeting, by the way, scheduled at the white house since the midterm election is now on hold until later this month. nbc's mike viqueira is live for us at the white house. well, viq, white house jumped the gun here a little bit, didn't confirm this with their brethren on the other side of pennsylvania avenue, did they? >> reporter: that is the republican end of things, that is what they are saying. it was supposed to happen tomorrow night, chuck. we were all thinking, maybe they were going to sit down, have a little kumbaya, sit down and upstairs in the residence, have a little nosh. republicans, democrats, senate, house, eight leaders, nancy pelosi, mitch mcconnell, harry reid, john boehner and the rest all down the line. turns out, not so fast. the white house put out a statement last night saying, due to scheduling conflicts in the republican caucuses -- which is in itself, if you follow these things, is a little bit of slap -- they call them conferences, chuck. the democrats are caucuses. they say that meeting will have to put off until november 30th. a lot of back and forth behind the scenes. a republican spokesman for mcconnell, don stewart, saying this thing was never scheduled to begin with. it has been known, chuck, of all the times the president has called republicans up here from the health care debate onward, that meeting they had across the street at the blair house, republicans don't like this issue of them being summoned up here to the white house and standing and asking questions to the president, who is clearly running things. hey, they're a co-equal branch of government and they're running things now, at least in the house of representatives. so bottom line, you know, democrats will tell you that republicans are at each other's throat. jim demint on sunday, said, yeah, we'll go far compromise on that tax cut for the wealthy. the last thing we heard publicly from john boehner is that he was going to stick by his guns for a permanent extension for the wealthy. so democrats are trying to tell us that republicans are not on the same page. we'll just take them at face value at this point. it's november 30th that meeting has been rescheduled for, chuck. >> well, it was a get to know you session for this one, november 30th getting awfully close to the end of the lame duck. mike viqueira, at a windy white house this morning, thanks very much. well, general motors is on the verge of what could be one amazing turnaround. a year and a half after filing for a controlled bankruptcy that the government helped do, the company is about to unveil its new initial public offering, ipo, potentially the most profitable in history. phil lebeau covers the auto industry for cnbc and joins me now. this is a big moment. it could be a big moment politically. ramifications from detroit to washington to where you are at cnbc's world headquarters. >> and chuck, nobody's going to be happy about this. any way you look at this, you will find somebody who will say, well, the government should have done this, or general motors should have done this, tor the companies running the ipo should have done this. that said, when the ipo takes place tomorrow, it could be the largest ever in the history of the united states. of course, visa is the largest. all said, 478 million common shares will be sold tomorrow. now, keep in mind, that money does the not go to general motors, that money goes to the people selling the common shares. that's treasury, the uaw trust, the canadian government. pricing right now between $32 and $33 a share, although we're told it may go a little above $33 a share. when it's all said and done and the government has sold its stake of this ipo, post-ipo, the government will own 24% of general motors. but to get to your point, chuck, in terms of how big this moment is, with general motors is now primed to begin the process of not being government motors. and the company desperately wants to shed that tag, because it still hurts with sales to a certain extent. >> phil, what will the valuation of general motors be after this? the estimated valuation, and compare it to ford. >> well, it depends. and if you factor in all of the convertible and preferred stock, most people are saying, you're looking at probably a valuation of $52 to $54 billion. ford is going to be in there at that $58 billion range. that's going to fluctuate over next couple of days. people are going to look at this and say, does this valuation make sense for this company? >> that's going to be fascinating to watch, fascinating to watch the politics of all this. it is a story that has many, many facets to it. phil lebeau at cnbc world headquarters for us, thanks very much. well, senator lisa murkowski is headed back home to alaska to address supporters and potentially to declare victory as she has widened her lead over joe miller to more than 10,000 votes. but joe miller's not going quietly. nbc's kristen welker is live for us in anchorage. she's been watching all the vote counting. so here we are. her vote lead is 10,000. is that with or without these challenged ballots that the miller campaign has set aside? >> reporter: right. well, good morning, chuck. that is with those challenged ballots. but even without the challenged ballots, she is still beating him by more than 2,000 votes. that means if you throw out all of those ballots that joe miller doesn't think should be counted for things like spelling errors. he's even got a court case to try to get them thrown out, she's still beating him bip more than 2,000 votes. miller said two days ago if he doesn't see a clear path to victory, he would secede. he now wants a hand recount. he says his ballots should undergo the same type of scrutiny her ballots have undergone. he also says there might be some voter fraud and has expressed concerns about the voting machines. here's representatiwhat represem both sides have had to say. >> i think giving the results we've seen now, we've reached the point, and i hope we can keep joe miller at her word. >> it's not up to her to declare universal victory. and we want what's established to be the standard of review, and that's likely going to be something that the court that has to decide. >> reporter: now, here's the interesting thing. alaska doesn't do hand recounts. any recount would be done with the help of machines. and according to the division of elections, it would have to come out of joe miller's pocket. it would cost about $15,000. now, the division of elections still has a handful of ballots to count, about 600 overseas ballots. they're hoping to be finish ed with those by the end of today. lisa murkowski is traveling from washington, d.c. back to anchorage. she's expected to hold a news conference once every single vote is counted and you can expect it to sound a lot like a victory speech. >> kristen welker in what looks like a colder anchorage. starting to look a little more like winter. >> reporter: indeed. >> thanks for getting up early for us this morning. one thing about the miller/murkowski race, yesterday mike huckabee tweeted his supporters to say, go send some money, go help out joe miller. this isn't over yet. question, is this a litmus test for white house 2012 candidates? will the tea party folks hold republicans' feet to the fire who are running for president who didn't help miller? will be interesting to watch. with 20 minutes to go before the opening bell, let's preview what else is driving the markets today. the big gm ipo is one thing. becky quick, what is wrong with the market this week? >> there's been a lot of concerns about what's happening. the big issue is what's happening in europe. this idea of the irish bonds and the irish economy, whether it's going to need a bailout. that indecision, that back and forth has put a lot of pressures, people wondering if we're right back where we were, where we were in may. and china's been trying to tamp down inflation, and that means you may not see as much growth as we had around the globe. the futures are indicating a higher open today, but this is a relative question, because yesterday we lost 178 points on the dow. so this is a bounceback in some ways. we'll see if it actually sticks. the economic data we got this morning was not great. consumer prices were down sharply. and i know you think, okay, great, prices are down, that's good news. but it adds some cover for the fed. it sounds like they could be right when they start worrying about some of the deflation issues. consumer prices and core inflation was at the lowest level on record. and then when you look at the housing starts, it raises a lot of questions about what's been happening in that housing market as well. housing starts were the lowest that we've seen in 1 1/2 years and economists all over the place are saying, this is more reason that we need to be worried that housing isn't out of the woods just yet. also, there was an op-ed in today's newspaper, "the new york times," from warren buffett, where he praised the government for the actions that they took back in 2008. we spoke with him this morning and said he's not dissing the obama administration or anybody who's there now. he was just writing about the pearl harbor of the moment, and that's why he specifically gave thanks to president bush and some of the people who were there then. he said the recovery is a different issue and he'll write about that soon. chuck? >> interesting. becky quick, also at cnbc's headquarters for us this morning. thanks very much. >> thank you. tax cuts, earmarks, a potential devastating blow to a new arms treat with russia. what about bailouts? the lame-duck congress is juggling a very full plate. up next, we'll talk to senator orrin hatch, who is in line to become the top republican on the senate finance committee. and when will the first republican presidential hopeful step forward? the gop is actually off to a slow start in the race to 2012, at least when you compare it to the last two decades. but first, a look ahead at the president's schedule today. as you can see, got a little meeting about afghanistan. there's another awards ceremony. no on camera briefing. and by the way, at 6:30 tonight on the nbc news with brian williams, the new nbc/"wall street journal" poll. you're watchin ing thing the da rundown on msnbc. >> yay! no! no! no! no! aah! >> that's your water? it's bad water. isn't that right? >> healthcare that goes everywhere. hey, lawrence, my parents want to talk to you. oh. about what? 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[ male announcer ] we understand.® you need a partner who can help you go global. fedex. but the financial landscape is still full of uncertainty.bal. in times like these, you need an experienced partner to look out for you. heads up! and after 300 years we have gotten pretty good at that. i and others have had numerous conversations with the president over the last week or so and we look forward to exploring the ways in which we can go forward together. >> well, that was republican leader, mitch mcconnell, rhetorically, at least, extending a hand yesterday to president obama at the same time that his number two, jon kyl, was dealing a possibly fatal blow to the president's top near-term foreign policy priority, that s.t.a.r.t. nuclear treaty between the united states and russia. this as we learn that the bipartisan meeting that the white house had scheduled for thursday has now been postponed. utah senator orrin hatch, ranking member of the senate finance committee, joins me now. senator, a ton to get to. i want to start with the news about general motors, though. you know, a lot of anxiety in both parties over the government's role in rescuing general motors. is today a good day for america and for general motors and for how the government handled this bailout? >> well, it's a good day for the current general motors, but i wonder how all those people who had -- who were secured creditors feel, that they've been basically cut out as the company's been turned over in large measure to the unions. but i think everybody's got to be happy that they're doing as well as they are and that, you know, the initial public offering looks like it might be a success. >> and does this give you any reassurance that, you know, maybe government and the private sector in an emergency situation can work together? >> well, i think the government shouldn't be picking and choosing. that's the problem. if the government prefers one company over another, you know, in the future, that's not the way to go. and secondly, once you get the government into it, there's always going to be cross ties that really will hamstring the industry and that particular company. so i'm not a real fan of government saving of large corporations like that. but hopefully this will be a successful -- a complete success in the end, and if it is, that's good for gm, it's probably good for those who are workers at gm, and hopefully it's good for our country as well. >> all right. i want to move on to the issue of the s.t.a.r.t. treaty. it's one of the first things that's going to come up, potentially, in this lame-duck session of congress. right now it appears to be at least four or five votes short of ratification, depending on how you do the vote count. what do you need -- what assurances do you need from the white house before you will ratify this treaty? >> well, people are complaining about bringing it up in this lame-duck session. that's always a very tight session that really, it's going to take more time than just a couple of days or even a week to examine the s.t.a.r.t. treaty. but some of the things -- >> let me stop you there. senator, this was signed in april. it was sent, i believe, to the united states senate in full form in june. this has been six months, has it not? >> well, that's not the republicans' fault. they could have brought it up immediately if they had wanted to. but let's face it. s.t.a.r.t. treaties usually take a little bit of time because they're very serious things. and this one, we do not have a verification process with regard to the ballistic missile manufacturing facilities. there are tlemtry problems with this treaty, there are other problems with this treaty that are significant problems. and to bring it up in a lame-duck session where you now have new people elected, it just seems to me that -- who won't be sitting here in the lame-duck session -- seems to me that's the wrong thing to do. when you start talking about s.t.a.r.t. treaties, you're talking about life and death. you're talking about, we better doggone make sure it's the right way of doing things and there are some real glaring problems with the s.t.a.r.t. treaty as it exist. they may be able to explain themselves around those, i don't know, but so far they haven't. >> well, it sounds like you're pretty much a vote no, if you believe there's no verification on ballistic missiles, it's fair to call you a no vote on this? >> i didn't say no verification, no verification really of the ballistic missile production facilities. we had that under s.t.a.r.t. one, as far as i can recall. so it's a matter of great concern to me. i haven't made up my mind on it. i believe we should a s.t.a.r.t. treaty. the question is, is this one going to put the united states at a disadvantage? and there are some indications that it may very well do just that. >> i want to move to tax cuts. there's lots of -- compromise is the watch word, the buzz word of washington in this post-election divided government environment. are you facing -- are you facing the reality that you're going to have to vote for a compromise? >> well, i don't think -- i doubt there's going to be a compromise. literally, there are a lot of people on all sides of this particular issue. and probably the best thing and the smartest thing to do would be to kick this over and don't play around with tax relief for anybody at this point, for at least two years, until after the next election, so it will be less political and it will be handled maybe in a better way. but it's not just that. we've got to solve this amt problem, the alternative minimum tax problem, it just keeps going out of control. we've got to get the research and development tax credit through. we've got to worry about the death tax. my gosh, if that goes back up to 55%, that's really unfair to small businesses, farmers, and others who die and their family's left trying to pay the bill. >> so you basically want some sort of one, two-year, three-year, push it all, basically, punt this for another couple of years? >> well, not one, two, or three-year push, but -- no, just two or three months. i think it ought to be put over until the next congress, and then we ought to resolve that problem at that particular time. but we need to -- we need to really examine all of our tax policies, because they're not working. we keep hatching things like the amt. why do we keep doing that when we know that it's going to -- that was supposed to affect a little over 150 people who didn't pay taxes. now it's affecting 23 million to 26 million people, the middle class itself. and democrats don't want to get rid of it, because it's more taxes for them to spend. >> two quick things, the debt commission, alan simpson, erskine bowles, their plan that they released certainly drew fire from both sides. what did you think of it? >> listen, there's no way any group could get together and bring out a plan that's going to please everybody. and i think they've done a pretty credible job. do i agree with everything in there? of course not. but there are some very interesting suggestions in there, like reducing the corporate tax rate down to 26%. the g-7 countries are about 28%. you go to the g-20, they're down below 25%. you know, we're at 35%, the highest corporate tax rate in the world, and you wonder why large companies are leaving our country and going overseas. back in 1980, the 50 largest corporations in america -- in the world, we had 39 of them. today we have 16. why is that? part of it is because of our stupid, lousy tax policy and we better start changing it. >> have you made up your mind on running for re-election in 2012? >> oh, of course, i'm going to do it. because i'm -- i become ranking on the very powerful senate finance committee, which is the most powerful committee in the senate, along with ways and means. if we're going to solve our problems of social security, medicare, medicaid, and other entitlements, the solution has to come in the finance committee, as well as the ways and means committee. and i think, yeah, as long as i am healthy and strong and can work as hard as i always do, yeah, i'm going to run again and i intend to win. >> and why are you conservative enough to survive a convention challenge? >> well, i would think my 90% american conservative union voting record over 34 years -- >> well, that's what bob bennett thought. that's what bob bennett thought. >> well, he's -- we're different. i think bob bennett should have been re-elected. he's a fine man. on the other hand, i'm not bob, and i'm a lot tougher and i'm actually more conservative, by quite a measure. but be that as it may, i'm also one who has been known to bring both sides together and to get things done. but i've always done it on a more conservative basis and i think even with senator kennedy, you know, he would have to come all the way across the center, to the center-right. he loved it, because he'd got all the credit, i'd get all the blame by the conservatives, but we got a lot done that really does work in america. and i think you've got to have people in the congress who are capable of doing that, and i can do it. all i can say, it's up to my folks in utah with what they want to do, i'll do whatever say, but i intend to run and i intend to run. >> senator orrin hatch, who's moving over to finance, should be a fascinating, not just lame-duck congress, but the next congress as well. thanks for joining us. >> nice to be with you. coming up, what are americans willing to give up to take a bite out of the $1 trillion deficit? here's a hint -- pretty much nothing. there's a new plan floating that goes beyond what the president's panel is proposing. plus, what's with the fascination over royal weddings? oh, well. but first, our washington speak, this is a good one. shermanesque. this is when a politician wants to remove any doubt about the future. it's often said that a shermanesque statement is the only way to do it. it goes back to the civil war, william sherman, who was a possible republican candidate for president, 1884, and he famously said, if drafted, i will not run, if nominated, i will not accept, and if elected, i will not serve. no if, ands, or buts. we'll get into some of the statements of potential 2012 candidates, coming up. none of them are making shermanesque statements. if you have washington speak you'd like us to clarify, send us an e-mail. exchange traded funds. some firms offer them "commission free." problem is they limit the choice of etfs to what makes financial sense to them. td ameritrade doesn't limit you to one brand of etfs... they offer more than 100... each selected by investment experts at morningstar associates. only at the etf market center at td ameritrade. before investing, carefully consider the fund's investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses. contact td ameritrade for a prospectus containing this and other information. read it carefully before investing. if anything, i thought i'd get hit by a bus, but not a heart. my doctor put me on an aspirin regimen to help protect my life. 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[ man ] ♪ trouble ♪ trouble, trouble trouble, trouble ♪ ♪ trouble been doggin' my soul ♪ since the day i was born ♪ worry ♪ oh, worry, worry worry, worry ♪ [ announcer ] when it comes to things you care about, leave nothing to chance. travelers. take the scary out of life. well, we're going to see another plan today aimed at tackling some of the hardest choices the government would have to make to go after this deficit problem. where to cut spending and potentially where to impose new taxes. all, of course, in name of solving the nation's growing fiscal problems. nbc's lisa myers has the details. >> hey, chuck. this plan comes from a bipartisan group of about 20 budget experts and former elected officials who put together a series of proposals that they acknowledge many americans will hate. they use words like "dangerous" and "alarming" in emphasizing that we've simply got to do something or we will suffer another economic crisis. to avert that, the gup roup is proposing a new 6.5% national debt reduction sales tax and would dramatically scale back virtually all tax deductions, including the write-off for home mortgage interest. on the spending side, it would freeze domestic and defense spending for four or five years, reduce social security cost of living adjustments, and make medicare recipients pay more. now, overall, this plan, chuck, would rely much more heavily on tax increases than the bowles/simpson plan unveiled last week. in fact, some members of this group were a little miffed that bowles and simpson rolled their plan out early, because they had planned to be the first people out the door. >> and lisa, alice ridley is on the deficit commission as well, right? >> yes. >> but dminchy is not? >> dminchy is not. and the thinking was, the deficit committee would not be able to get 14 votes to agree on anything, so they thought it was important that this shadow commission, as they think of themselves, that it is possible to get a bipartisan deal. so they think the only way to make it work is if everyone jumps off the cliff together. >> lisa myers in our washington newsroom. and as you know, tonight at 6:30, we'll show the public just what they think of these debt and deficit commission plans. here's a hint. they don't think much of them. they, lisa, thanks very much. >> you bet. coming up, we're following developments out of the pentagon, where search teams are scrambling to locate a missing fighter jet. and the first debate is set, so where are the candidates? why hasn't one single republican thrown their hat into the 2012 presidential race? it's fascinating. but first, today's trivia question from "the almanac of american politics." what congressman received a bronze star for rescuing 40 men in the korean war? the answer and more ahead on "the daily rundown." host: could switching to geico really save you 15% or more on car insurance? is a bird in the hand worth 2 in the bush? appraiser: well you rarely see them in this good of shape. appraiser: for example the fingers are perfect. appraiser: the bird is in mint condition. appraiser: and i would say if this were to go to auction today, appraiser: conservatively it would be worth 2 in the bush. woman: really? appraiser: it's just beautiful, thank you so much for bringing it in. woman: unbelievable anncr: geico. 15 minutes could save you 15% or more. bottom of the hour now, here's a look at some other stories making headlines today. u.s. military officials tell nbc news that rescue teams are searching for an air force f-22 raptor and its pilot after the jet went missing during a flight over alaska overnight. the jet was about 90 miles northeast of elmendorf air force base when it dropped off the radar. there have been no distress calls from the pilot. police say still no suspects this morning in the shooting death of a respected hollywood publicist. ronni chasen was gunned down in her mercedes near sunset boulevard after leaving a movie premiere yesterday. and here's what not to do if pulled over while driving. in california, a suspected drunk driver got out of his car, but apparently left it in reverse, so the car slammed into the front, that's right, of the police vehicle, but it got worse, the driver got back in, and the car sped off and crashed. the man was arrested on suspicion of a dui. i think that video evidence is more than suspicion. the 2012 presidential race is getting off to a slow start, at least compared to the last couple of decades. the republican field is packed, but no one, so far, seems willing to be the first one to throw their hat in the ring. look at this montage. >> yeah, why is it perceive as tease when it's on honest answer. i don't know. >> we haven't made our mind up as to when the process will be or when we'll make our final decision. >> i haven't finally decided that. >> i think closer i'll make a decision probably in february. >> i haven't given it any serious thought. >> right now i have no plans to run for the president. >> i'm giving it some consideration. >> i'll be running for re-election next year. >> i'll be governor until 2013 and then we'll see what the verdict is of the people of the job i did in 2013. >> jeff zeleny joins me right now. we're all in the media used to these guys, it was the thursday after election day in '06 that tom vilsack got in. we saw mccain and romney having an arms race already in december. there were no hints. this race may not get started for six months. >> it won't. and part of that is from the lessons learned if four years ago. the first thing is money. john mccain has the best example of this. he hired the best staff and was really trying to consolidate everything. a year later, he was broke. he was out of money. he had to scale way back. >> but he'd already spent $30 million. >> he had spent it, and it didn't help him that much. mitt romney was already spending money in iowa in the 2006 of this period. so what they're doing is trying to hold off a little bit. because they know whatever they spend now, it's not necessarily going to pay off later. >> so the first -- the most active candidate, truly is mitt romney at this point. >> that's right. >> he is signing up plenty of folks, we know, behind the scenes with fund-raisers. but considering that some of his biggest rivals, including haley barbour have said. he's a governor, so he can wait until the legislative session is over, which is april. does mitt romney put his timing right around then as well? >> i don't think so. i think he'll make a decision earlier than that. we all basically know he's running. it would be a much bigger story if mitt romney said he was not running. i look for him to make some type of a formal announcement some time in the first quarter of next year. if you wait until march, that means you aren't necessarily judged by how much money you raise in those first three months. >> there's another factor in here. that is the sarah palin factor, because she flirts, she's on again, off again. here's the latest, a "new york times" magazine piece. robert draper, he quotes palin, i'd like to bring in more people, more people who are trustworthy. i know that's a hurdle i would have to cross that some other potential candidates wouldn't have to cross right out of the chute is proving my record. that's the most frustrating thing for me. the warped and perverted description of my record and what i've accomplished over the last two decades. she would wait until the very end, and when i say end, probably fall of 2011. is that having an impact on the rest of this field? >> it is having an impact. everyone is sort of wondering what she's doing. no one can wait as long as she can wait. you're absolutely right about that. it has a mental impact, i think. it has a strategic impact of how would we, perhaps, run against her. but at the end of the day, almost everyone would have to make up their mind well in advance of her, but i'm not sure she has quite as much time as people say. those voters in iowa and new hampshire expect people to come around, perhaps through the summer, but she cannot get in at the 11th hour, i don't believe, and appeal to these voters. >> one theory i've heard of late, the person rooting the most for sarah palin to get in is mitt romney. >> i think that could be, because that would take care of the huckabee problem, perhaps. that would take care of some other people that mitt romney has to worry about. >> sucks the oxygen out of the room for everybody else, makes romney the alternative. >> right. but everyone is still very wary of her and has one eyes on her, maybe two eyes. >> fascinating. probably two eyes at this point. thanks very much. trivia time, what congressman received a bronze star for rescuing 40 men in the korean war? the answer, it's new york congressman charles rangel. we will, of course, find out tomorrow how the house is going to punish charlie rangel for his ethics violations. coming up, it's been called the wedding of a century. it's been a short century, so why not p. and aside from the pomp and circumstance, england's economy could get a big boost off the upcoming nuptials of kate and will. but first, the upcoming soup of the day, this is one i always love, because i think it's adventuresome, asparagus and feta. feta is good to put on anything, and asparagus, it's good for you. you're watching "the daily rundown" on msnbc. 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[ both ] ♪ oh what a relief it is! i welcome this kind of examination, because people have got to know whether or not their president is a crook. well, i'm not a crook. i've earned everything i've got. >> well, on this date in 1973, president richard nixon, in the midst of the watergate scandal, famously declared "i'm not a crook" to a group of newspaper editors gathered at walt disney world in orlando. it might be, of so many quotes that are famous from richard nixon, the single most famous quote he ever uttered. now, britain today, celebrating its modern day fairy tale romance, eagerly anticipating what's already been dubbed the wedding of the century. yes, our century is only ten years old. an added bonus, in a country hit hard by recession and cutbacks, one retail analyst is actually predicting the economy could get nearly a $1 billion boost from the wedding. listen. >> i want to marry prince william, but she's beautiful and she's down to earth and she's a proper english lady. >> heard the news and it was absolutely wonderful. >> i'm just so happy for both of them. they are so happy. and it's wicked. >> it's true, thank you very much. been practicing for long enough. >> "i've been practicing for long enough." okay, dad. a piece of britain right here in our studio, matt frey, host of bbc world news. i guess prince charles does not approve out of this -- >> i think he was being quite honest. he had been practicing long enough, when he got engaged to lady diana in 1981, it was much more awkward than the kind of interaction wed yesterday. >> let's get into that. some folks -- we here in america and you guys in britain are overanalyzing the relationship already, between will and kate, plus eight -- oh, no, wrong tv show. here are prince charles and lady diana back in 1981 when they did a similar sit-down together. take a listen. >> just delighted and happy. and i'm amazed that she's being brave enough to take me on. >> and i suppose in love? >> of course. >> really in love. >> now, look, we saw everything yesterday, between kate and will, and while they certainly weren't very close, they seemed a lot warmer to each other than those -- >> whatever love means -- >> a quote of the century. the last century. >> what we had yesterday between the two of them was practically shakespeare by comparison. they were pretty close to the each other. as close as the royal sofa would allow them to be and was a natural conversation. and the interviewer asked all the right questions that the public wants to hear. it wasn't too aggressive. the whole thing was almost like a sort of dinner party conversation between three commoners about what marriage means for them. >> so the impact of the royal family, this is a powerless family. it is very much about prestige when it comes to great britain. so i guess explain the importance, symbolically of this marriage, and clearly, obviously, the populous wants this to work out, since they could be the next king or queen of england. >> you can never underestimate the importance of constitutional monarchy to nation. the monarchy is really the symbol of the nation, much more than the flag is. we have your flag, we have the monarchy. the national anthem is all about, god save our queen. so although monarchy can be at times dysfunctional. they've had their family problems, it is still symbolically, iconically very important for the nation. the problems within that family -- >> it feels like hollywood. it doesn't ever feel real, and like a part of the government. >> well, i think it is -- it's certainly not a part of the government, but it is very real in terms of the problems that they encounter. a lot of the marriages in the royal family have been very messy, like a lot of ordinary marriages, not between royals. what's different here is that kate middleton is the daughter of an affluent but middle class household. she's a commoncommoner. this is the first time ever that a royal has married a commoner. that's a big deal. >> and do you think that's what will make this bigger than diana and charles? >> it appeals to modern britain. and when it comes to the wedding itself, don't expect opulence. >> i was just going to say, in this economy, with usausterity, are they going to the feel the pressure not to do -- >> trust me, it's going to be a big wedding. >> you want a royal. >> this is not going to happen in southeast london with a question asked by a priest -- no, no. none of that. there might be a live feed on twitter. it might be on facebook, but this will be quite, this will be a royal wedding. it will be quite opulent, but not overly so. so the wedding dress will be designed by a british designer. instead of designer and might b smoked salmon. >> they're not going to make them walk around in a buffet. >> no, not like that. >> the public expects a degree of escapism. >> that's what will give the upbeat and the optimism. >> and people are saying they'll make billions from tea cups and towels. every time we had good royal news amongst the bad royal news, it's coincided with a recession in britain. britain is going through and the royal family provides -- >> there it is. >> latin on your program, chuck. >> i tell you. let me ask you one dumb question before you go do you change the words god save the queen to god save the king? >> that would be really -- >> it's been so long. >> you might have to get used to it. a few people mispronouncing it. >> matt frye, we'll bring you on next time and talk afghanistan. >> that's what we normally do. quite a nice distraction. i know you're biting your tongue here. >> look, it's why we left and we're just as fascinated. >> you can't get enough of this story. remember your history. >> i know, 750 million americans. wait, we don't even have that many. they'll be watching by then. follow us any time on twitter because you can't get enough of royal wedding news right here on "the daily rundown." the day marches on, back to more pills. and when he's finally home... but hang on; just two aleve can keep arthritis pain away all day with fewer pills than tylenol. this is steven, who chose aleve and 2 pills for a day free of pain. and get the all day pain relief of aleve in liquid gels. it's like hardwiring the market right into my desktop. launch my watchlist -- a popping stock catches my eye. pull up the price chart. see what the analysts say. as i jump back, cnbc confirms what i thought. pull the trigger -- done. i can even do most of this on my smartphone. really, it's incredible. like nothing i've ever experienced. unleash your investing and trade free for 60 days with e-trade. >> brandy and max. which means kyle and lacey and jennifer and derek will face off. >> the power of palin. before we go, quick dippen t ei shallow end. bristol palin will compete in the finals on "dancing with the stars." even brandy's perfect score couldn't protect her. bristol was at the bottom of the leaderboard, again, but despite the judge's critique, she's sticking to her guns. >> bristol the pistol is back. >> well, the big question is, if bristol can get enough votes to win the mirror ball trophy next week, what does that mean for sarah palin's chances for winning the white house? probably nothing. for news i have personally been waiting for all year long, not alet. people magazine's pick for the sexiest man alive. i had to ask who was this person. ryan reynolds. apparently he's a movie star who is going to put on tights and play the green lantern in an upcoming movie. it was always my most underrated superfriend. i never understood what the power was but i liked him because he seemed like an underdog. coming up next, "chris jansing & company." at 1:00 p.m., "andrea mitchell reports." we'll see you back here tomorrow, bye-bye. time for your business travel forecast on this wednesday. all the troublesome travel weather is up in new england today. rain and thunderstorms early this morning yielding to a very windy afternoon. that will include new york city with some gusty winds possible airport delays and atlanta should be okay and chicago all right. have a great day. [ male announcer ] think you can only charge one thing at a time...? consider this: drop & go charging for up to 4 devices at once... the duracell mygrid™. simple and smart. it's mygrid™. from duracell. trusted everywhere. but the financial landscape is still full of uncertainty. in times like these, you need an experienced partner to look out for you. heads up! and after 300 years we have gotten pretty good at that. a special edition of "jansing & company" live from capitol hill. the battle over who will lead the democrats in the house. some renegades want nancy pelosi out and they're staging a last-ditch effort to postpone today's leadership vote. we have new