Transcripts For MSNBCW Meet The Press 20150201

For no reason. What more does the nfl need to do to protect players from brain injuries . And how young is too young to let your child play football . Finally, how athletes are like politicians, and why this im here so i wont get fined. Im here so i wont get fined. Reminded us of this. There is no Controlling Legal Authority. There is no Controlling Legal Authority. Im chuck todd. And joining me to provide insight and analysis this morning are cnbcs jim cramer, Savannah Guthrie of the today show, Kathleen Parker and Mark Halperin of bloomberg news. Welcome to super bowl sunday. Its meet the press. Announcer from nbc news in washington this is meet the press with chuck todd. Well, it is your pre pregame show here on nbc, home of super bowl xlix. All joking aside, though later on we will talk about the game, head injuries, and the future of football. Lets start with the most important matchup of all, for other people at least next year, thats the 2016 president ial race. The republican field is now set. Mitt romney deciding not to run for president a third time. Republicans had been full of praise for another romney run. Right up until the point when mitt romney actually considered making another run. Then former romney supporters decided they really didnt want to take yes for an answer. In fact, here was a typical example. There is not a lot of good press in it for somebody losing the election and coming back four years later and becoming a nominee. Thomas dewy is the best example in our party. Didnt work out too well. Who better to join us than congressman paul ryan, mitt romneys running mate from 2012. Also chairman of the influential house ways and Means Committee. In fact, ryan may be the most important republican in washington these days because if president obama is going to get deals done with the new republican congress, most of them are going to be brokered by ryan. In fact, ryan surprised many when he signaled his willingness to work across the aisle, at least on taxes, when he praised president obama the morning after the state of the union. Well see if we can get a tax reform package done. Im glad that he sort of held back on the partisanship in the demagoguery. I guess i would say in his speech he dialed it down a bit from what he were used to seeing it more divisive, partisan speeches from the president. He didnt do that as much. I think thats a good thing. And welcome back to meet the press, congressman ryan. Good to see you. Before we get to the budget and what you can work out with the white house, lets start with what happened on friday. Your running mate, governor mitt romney, deciding not to run for president. Did he make the right decision . It is the right decision for mitt and ann based on what they decided was the best thing to do for the country. Its bittersweet to me. I was going to support mitt whatever he decided to do. You would have endorsed had endorsed him . Oh, sure. Its no secret that i think mitt romney would be a great president. It is a perfect style of mitt romney decision. Country first. He did what he decided was best for the country. The way he decided this and the statement he made reflects that. Hes a class act. Does this mean it makes it easier for you to support your home state governor who is likely a president ial candidate. As you probably know two weeks ago i was named chair of the president ial party trust helping my friend reince priebus. Im helping with the general election for the eventual nominee. That means i need to be neutral in this. Had mitt jumped in, that would have changed circumstances. But since im the chair of the trust, chair of the funds to get ready for the eventual nominee, that requires my neutrality. But look, let me say scott walker is a great governor, good friend of mine, a reform governor, hes done amazing things. We like it say in wisconsin, hes so good he got elected governor three times in four years purchase i know you decided not to run for president. Are you also would you be willing to go through the vetting process again to be a running mate . I havent given any thought to that. Thats not enough. I havent been asked that. I havent given any thought to it. I decided early on in this year to pull myself out of this president ial contention because i want to focus on my job as chairman of the ways and Means Committee. I think i can make an enormous difference for our country, where i am, and help our party put together an optimistic agenda for the country to show how to restore a healthy economy, upward mobility, all of those things. Thats where im focused now. Thats what im focused on. I havent even been i dont think it is worth discussing. Its pie in the sky. Lets move to that. It was interesting in your book, you wrote this, youve got to be willing to take criticism even from your friends and trust that the people will understand that governing requires tradeoffs. You sounded like somebody that wanted to make a deal with the president right at the state of the union. One of the few republicans that didnt criticize his state of the union. Does that mean you are ready to be a compromiser with the president when it comes to tax reform . If we can find Common Ground, the answer is yes. We got to go the economy growing. We have had such a stagnant economy, the slowest recovery since world war ii, middle income wages are stagnant. We have to break out of the slog. I do believe there are things we can do hopefully in the next year to get this economy growing faster. You believe the tax code is a way to do that . Absolutely. We really believe that we should reform the entire tax code for all people, individuals, families, businesses, simpler, the whole thing. But it is pretty clear to us that the president doesnt agree with that on individuals. So the question is, which i dont know the answer to, is there Common Ground on aspects of tax reform that we think can help grow the economy . For us, Small Businesses have to be a part of that puzzle. Well find out. Lets get into some specifics. A couple the tax cuts the president is proposing for middle class families include expanding the earned income tax credit, for working families that dont have kids. Childless adults. Yes. And expanding the child care tax credit. What do you think of those . I think i actually endorsed the idea of the eitc first one. The first one. I think thats something that actually pulls people into the workforce. It is one of the more effective welfare reforms we had. Thats something that i think with we should Work Together on child care . Child care. Child care or child tax credit. Child care tax credit. Thats something were going to have to look at and see if there is Common Ground. What i want to make sure is we dont impact put in place the rest of his agenda which are tax increases hes calling for. You talked about lowering the tax code but getting rid of loopholes, some call them loop holes, others deductions. One of the things the president wants to get rid of the trust fund loophole, the idea you can tax up inheritance. Last time that was done democrats in Congress Quickly rescinded. It destroyed family farms. What do you think . I think its a bad idea. Youre actually making it really hard for a family to pass on a Family Business to the next generation. So what i think the president is trying to do here is to, again, exploit envy economics. This topdown leadership doesnt work. We have been doing it for six years. It may make for good politics. Doesnt make for good economic growth. The full budget comes out later this week. When will you put out a tax plan . When shall we expect one from you. Well wait and see what the president we have jack lew coming tuesday on the ways and Means Committee. Then we want to see if there is Common Ground. We want to work with the administration to see if we can find Common Ground on certain aspects of tax reform and exhaust that possibility. If and when that possibility is exhausted, then we will put out what we think ought to be done. So we fully intend in the ways and Means Committee of showing what full comprehensive tax reform for everybody, individuals and families alike, looks like. Okay. When, i dont know the answer to that. Right now we want to exhaust this possibility of seeing if we can find Common Ground with the administration. All right. I want to play something for you, something you said right after the election in 2012 about the president and the economy. Here is what you said. It is true that president obama won reelection. And i congratulate him on his victory. But on january 20th, hell face a stagnant economy, and a fiscal mess. You might even say hell inherit these problems. Now, a little graphic here, december 12th, unemployment rate, 7. 9 . Stagnant gdp, dow sitting at barely 13,000. Look where we are two years later, unemployment of 5. 6 . Gdp, 2. 6 . Not as much as some people would like. The dow up 5,000 points. Is that the definition of an Economic Policy that hasnt been working . Were under 3 . We have 90 tens of millions of people not working or looking for work. Theyre not even counted in that unemployment statistics. We have 35 Million People living in poverty. We have middle income wages that are stagnant. So, yeah, that is not economic success. Are we better than where we were before . Yeah, but we got a long ways. The big beef i have with the president s state of the union, which and i you talked about how i talked about the state of the union, is he gives a lot of happy talk about the economy. It is not as if there is a Mission Accomplished speech. It is not Mission Accomplished. We have a long ways to go. People are hurting and we have to get back to work to fix this. Quickly, is it appropriate for congress to invite a world leader to address them without telling the president . Do you think the netanyahu thing you to think this was getting involved in Foreign Policy in a way that maybe the legislative branch shouldnt have done that to the executive . Look at the constitution. There are three separate but equal branches of government. We dont subserve one to the other. Hasnt happened before. Well, i dont know. You could probably go back in history and maybe find an example. Do i think it is wholly appropriate that the speaker of the house of a separate but equal branch of government is free to invite a foreign leader to address us . Absolutely. To antagonize the relationship between the two sides, is that worth doing . I dont know if i would say it is antagonizing. We would like to hear from the leader of israel about his thoughts on iran. By the way, the president s policies with iran have bipartisan concern. Huge bipartisan majority in both the house and the senate are very worried about the handling of these negotiations. Iran playing us and the delay of the negotiations. So i would argue that there are there is concern on both sides of the aisle about how the president is handling this situation. I think it is totally appropriate that we have netanyahu, the Prime Minister of israel, come and address us with his thoughts. All right, paul ryan. Are you going to enjoy the super bowl . Can you root for the seahawks after what they did the packers. Were big Russell Wilson fans where i come from. He was wisconsin badger. Fair enough. At the end of the day in this case, were rooting for the seahawks because of Russell Wilson. Paul ryan, enjoy the game. Thanks. You got it. Well, were going to stick to a 2016 theme. As if on cue, romney gets out and our friends at the Des Moines Register and bloomberg come out with a one year from now iowa caucus poll. Lets look at it. Here is the big surprise here. Look who is in the poll position. Scott walker with mitt romney in the race. Scott walker, 15, paul, 14, romney, 13, huckabee, 10. And ben carson at 9. Well let you know what candidate is not in that top five. And then our friends at the des moines registrar were able to reallocate romney second choice supporters. Here is what it is without romney. Walker 16 paul 15 huckabee moves up the most points with three points to 13. Carson 10. And, oh, look, there is an establishment candidate, jeb bush in there at 9 . Mark halperin, you were behind this poll at bloomberg and the Des Moines Register. Scott walker in the poll position. How about that . Thats your headline. This is lots of margin of error here. That was an oh, wow, how about that . Strong performance. Now an opportunity for him, mitt romney leaves a huge vacuum in the establishment lane, scott walker, as you and i discussed, plays in both lanes. He can be a grassroots activist kind of candidate but also establishment candidate. He would be smart right now to not let jeb bush and Chris Christie lock up the establishment donors from the romney world. He can be the winner of iowa and the second best candidate this year. If does he that, hes right in the game. Kathleen, it was interesting, when romney got out friday, it felt as if he launched the starting gun. Now we know the field. We know who is there. We know that we know everybody else is running. There is no more dominos to fall. Thats right. I think one of the things that romney set out to accomplish, besides removing himself from what i think amounts to personal reasons, he wanted to set an example for the rest of the field. And in other words, he wanted to show you can do this thing without ripping each other apart. He really did yeah really . And mitt romney didnt do that in 08 . The toughest negative ads were mitt romney against newt gingrich. Maybe were in a period of reform. So maybe this applies to mitt romney as well. You know, savannah, what interests me now is watching jeb bush. I saw a Washington Post clip here jeb bush has become the gop frontrunner for 2016. Now what . Im sitting there going, since when do we have a frontrunner who doesnt lead any polls . When romney was still polling, he had much better numbers than jeb bush does. I think thats interesting. Establishment people who cover washington think jeb bush is a formidable opponent and he may be, particularly in a general election. But when you look at grassroots republicans, he doesnt even make it to the top five of the Des Moines Register bloomberg poll. Hes not going to play well in iowa. But cramer, i think about your audience, about the business audience, im guessing they love jeb. What do they think of scott walker . Look, theyre not pro union. When you theyre going to like scott walker. Hes good for higher stock prices. Where does the wall street money go . Does it all go to jeb and christie first and then walker gets to play in it . What happens . There are some christie fundraisers, this man who started home depot may be the most powerful fundraiser and everyone takes his call and you tend to do what he wants. Okay. Thats christie. How many more people are going to follow ken lingo . Surprising number because hes so boisterous and because he really has on his rolodex the s p 500. Everyone takes his call. Its surprising to hear how reasoned he is why christie would be great for business given new jersey has the highest debt service on any state. It has not been a banner time to be a jerseyite. I dont know how Chris Christie sets himself. Hes got to me a lot of challenges, but he may be able to raise a bunch of money. Back to the jeb comment. I saw you wanted to jump in that. Jeb is not frontrunner but sort of frontrunner. Hes not frontrunner in iowa. He didnt go to iowa. He has a lot of problems with the base, as you know. His immigration position is problematic as is his support of common core. Those are surmountable obstacles for him, i think. One of the things that scott walker has in his favor hes already, you know, jeb has to sort of prove hes a conservative to the base. And scott walker has already done that. Hes already identified himself as one of them, and he can appeal both to the grassroots and to the more establishment people and hes not crazy. Jeb bush has a great story to tell about being a conservative in florida and biding his time to tell it. He can consolidate a lot of support. We may wake up by november 1st and jeb bush raised around 100 million and no one else is over 25. But he can raise all that money and still not be in the lead in any of the early states. It never happened in the republican party. They always nominated since reagan the person that raised the most money the year before election. He may raise a lot more. He has to perform. If does he not perform as a grassroots candidate, people talk about the issues, to me, it is more about excitement. I havent met a single voter oufts outside of cramers viewers who arent super excited about jeb. What does he stand for . What does he mean for america . He needs to demonstrate that. I want to quickly on tax reform, you think well get something done . You watch this . You dont buy it . Never. Wall street think it . Nothing. Nothing is going to happen. You have no expectations of anything happening to make your life interesting. No, absolutely zero. No Corporate Tax lowered, no meeting of the minds. There is just no one is even counting on it. It is a draw. The state of the union was colossally just misplaced in terms of the 529, in terms of the notion of the step up in bases which would hurt the middle class more than anybody. Good to know that people outside of washington are as cynical as we are in washington . They are theyre more down on us than we are. All right. A pause. Well be coming back to you guys in a little bit. Coming up, though, isis executed a second japanese hostage. I want to talk with former defense secretary robert gates about what the u. S. Needs to do to win this fight against that terror group. And with the nfls biggest game just hours away were your pre, pre, pregame show the league faces a big problem in the future. How should it tackle traumatic brain injuries. Welcome to the most social car weve ever designed. The allnew nissan murano. Nissan. Innovation that excites. You only know in a fire to get out, to escape and now ok you are outside and you are safe but what do you do now and thats where the red cross came in. We ran out of the house just wearing our pajamas. At that point just to even have a toothbrush that i could call my own was so important. You know it just makes you feel like a person again. Every 8 minutes the American Red Cross responds to a home fire or other emergency. You can help. Please donate now. Later on, well politicize anything. Food fights, what your big game snack says about what kind of nfl team youre for. Well hit the nerd screen on what patriots and seahawks fans are likely going to be munching on today. Whats your favorite kind of cheerios . Honey nut. But. Chocolate is my other favorite. But Apple Cinnamon is my favorite too. And fruity. Oh yeah, and frosted okay, but. Whats youre most favorite of all . Hmm. The kind i have with you. Me too. [ narrator ] mama sherman and the legion of super fans. Wow [ narrator ] on a mission to get richard to his campbells chunky soup. Its new chunky beerncheese with beef and bacon soup. I love it. And mama loves you. Theyre coming. What do i do . You need to catch the 4 10 huh . The Equipment Tracking system will get you to the loading dock. There should be a truck leaving now. I got it. Now jump off the bridge. What . In 3. 2. 1. Are you kidding me . Go. Right on time. Right now, over 20,000 trains are running reliably. We call that predictable. Thrillingly predictable. Welcome back. President obama has condemned the murder of japanese journalist kenji goto by isis after the release of another propaganda video by the terror group appearing to show his beheading. The video comes less than a week after the killing of another japanese hostage, haruna yukawa. Meanwhile jordan has announced its still willing to hand over jailed iraqi militant in release of a jordanian pilot who is also being held by isis. To discuss u. S. Strategy to defeat isis, joined by robert gates, who served as secretary of defense between 2006 and 2011. Under two president s of two different parties. Secretary gates, welcome back to meet the press. Thank you. Lets talk about isis. Is it fair to say were not winning this battle against isis right now . I think thats correct. I think we made some steps some Successful Steps to contain it. But at the same time, in a way isis has sort of reached the natural limits of where they would have sympathetic people, the sunni areas of northern and western iraq in particular. But i think that the air strikes have contributed to containing them, but were a long way in my view from being in a position to roll them back or push them out of iraq. How do you you have said you felt the president was making a mistake by continuing to say no boots on the ground, no boots on the ground, at the end of the day you believe some boots on the ground will be necessary. But i am curious, how does that square with your speech you gave at west point that anybody that is advocating for Ground Troops, more Ground Troops in the middle east ought to have their head examined. Well what i said was a large land army. Fair enough. I think that the notion of our of the alternatives being what were doing now and a reinvasion of iraq, if you will, with large Ground Forces is a false set of options. I think that there are other options. And i think it will be very difficult to roll isis back without Forward Air Controllers and spotters, without embedded trainers, with the sunni tribes, with the iraqi army, with the peshmerga, the kurds, and i think some limited use of special forces. But what im talking about here is potentially a few hundred troops, not thousands or tens of thousands. And i think that the president has set an ambitious and i think under current circumstances unrealistic goal when he talks about our intent being to destroy isis. With the means that he has approved so far, i think thats an unattainable objective. Is it can you we killed a lot of islamic radicals. Members of al qaeda, members of isis. But we dont seem to defeat the ideology. How do you is that should we stop saying youre going to defeat because it seems like once you get rid of one group, another one pops up with another name, but the same radical ideology. I think we set unrealistic goals for ourselves. We say were going to destroy the taliban, were going to destroy al qaeda, we have been after al qaeda with all of the resources of the American Military and Intelligence Community for 14 years now. And we havent destroyed it. So i think a different kind of strategy in terms of how do we, first of all, how do we contain them and then how do we limit their ability to carry out these attacks and atrocities and to occupy territory. It seems to me that particularly with respect to isis, our objective should be to deny them the ability to hang on to territory because that gives them a base from which potentially to plot against us and against western europe. I was thinking here, i was looking, weve got problems in iraq, afghanistan, libya, syria and yemen. All these places where there is fear it could become safe havens of some sort for radical islamic terror groups. We dont have good partners on the ground in any of these countries right now or stable partners. We may have good partners, but dont have stable partners that seem to be able to build up the governing part of this. How much more do we throw military solution at this if we dont have a governing partnership . Well i think you need to a a step back and realize the complexity and historical magnitude of the challenge were facing. First of all, we have four conflicts going on simultaneously in the middle east. Sunni versus shia, authoritarians versus reformers, islamists versus secularists and then the question of whether artificially created countries like syria, libya, iraq can hold together absent repression. You have all that going on. Thats a generational conflict. At the same time, you have what appears to be the beginnings of the falling apart of the entire state system in the middle east. You have a half a dozen back to tribalism. Half a dozen countries, including major ones like iraq and libya, where the Central Government does not control the country, the country side fully in their own countries. There are other countries as well. These are huge problems that are going on. And frankly i think we are so preoccupied with dealing with todays crisis, we havent stepped back to figure out what kind of a longterm strategy do we have and what are the tools that we can use . The military is clearly one tool, but it is by far not the only one. I want to go to another crisis and that is russia. There is a massive economic crisis going on in this country. I want to put up a graphic here, the ruble is down 50 since early last year. Things like sugar, the cost of it up 40 , bread prices up 20 . This is a case where the economic sanctions combined with oil cratering has created a potential for an economic catastrophe in russia. I had some people almost concerned that things are going too bad there and that russia nationalism and in a weird way this could empower putin, oddly even more. Are you concerned about that . Putin, you have to understand the narrative that putin is putting out to russia, to russians, on what he now on the now state controlled media. And that is that this is all a conspiracy by the west to break russia, to deny them the Nuclear Weapons and to make sure that they do the bidding of the west. He is basically making the argument to the russian people, we sacrificed before for our country, were going to have to sacrifice again, and hes telling them this will take a couple of years for them to work their way through. His popularity is in the high 80s. Supposedly. Nobody trusts whether the media is would you change the posture here . Sanctions are theyre doing what they were intended to do. Theyre causing pain. But theyre not getting him to change his ways. Look, the key issue here, there are others where we have a commonality of interests with russia, dealing with jihad is one of them. Dealing with iran is another. And so the question is does this boil down to ukraine . And is ukraine the crux of our major differences with russia and what is the kind of outcome we want in ukraine . What is the realistic outcome in ukraine . This is another area where i feel like were dealing with the situation day to day, but we dont have a broader strategy in terms of what we want out of the russians, what are the russians willing to agree to that perhaps leaves ukraine not in the west and not in russian hands, but calms this thing down so we dont end up with a renewed cold war with the russians. Let me ask you this, if you could ask one question that you feel like needs to be answered by president ial candidates in 2016 that will convince you that theyre ready to be commander in chief, what is that question . What is that initial question for these guys to test their mettle . I think the question is what kind of people do you want around you to advise you . I think that the there is a great quote from Oliver Wendell holmes jr. About fdr. He said he had a second rate intellect but first rate temperament. I think if you look at our greatest president s, washington, lincoln, both roosevelts, truman, eisenhower, reagan, they were people who had a first class temperament, and so they never considered themselves the smartest guy in the room, but they wanted the smartest people around them and they could take their advice shape it based on their own instincts and their own views. I think the kind of people that a candidate wants advising him or her is critically important. The rest of it is, i think, you know, you cant predict the problems that a president will face. All right. Robert gates, former secretary of defense, thanks for checking in. Thank you. Good to see you. My pleasure. Coming up, are you ready for nerd screen football . Super bowl food fight, that is. Well politicize anything here. Why what you eat and drink actually does say a lot about which party you vote for. If you have moderate to severe Rheumatoid Arthritis like me and youre talking to your rheumatologist about a biologic. This is humira. This is humira helping to relieve my pain and protect my joints from further damage. This is humira giving me new perspective. Doctors have been prescribing humira for ten years. Humira works for many adults. It targets and helps to block a specific source of inflammation that contributes to ra symptoms. Humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. Serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers including lymphoma have happened, as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. Before treatment get tested for tb. Tell your doctor if youve been to areas where certain fungal infections are common, and if youve had tb hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have flulike symptoms or sores. Dont start humira if you have an infection. Talk to your doctor and visit humira. Com this is humira at work theres confidence. Then theres trusting your vehicle maintenance to ford service confidence. Our expertise, technology, and high quality parts mean your peace of mind. Now you can get the works, a multipoint inspection with a Synthetic Blend Oil change tire rotation, Brake Inspection and more. 29. 95 or less. Nerd screen time. The super bowl is hours away. As we promised well politicize your snack nerd screen time. The super bowl is hours away. As we promised, well politicize your snack food. Thats right. So whats in your refrigerator and what could it say about where you live and your political leanings . Well start with what you drink. Which fans do you think will be drinking more tonight . Well, if youre a patriots fan, and youre in new england, there are going to be a lot of beer at your super bowl party. On average, people in the northeast drink about 6 more beer than the country at large. That said, who do you think drinks more beer . Liberals or conservatives . Well, when you split it up by political leaning, it is liberals who are 32 more likely to drink beer than conservatives. And their beer of choice . Well, liberals are 52 more likely to be drinking one of those craft beers than the average american. So, combine the northeast, liberals and a patriots fan base, it is safe to say that today a lot of sam adams is going to be consumed. Conservatives, when they do drink beer, they tend to go domestic. And, remember, of all the big beer brands, an american brand named coors who produced a republican candidate for the senate not too long ago. Back in 2004. What about snacks . Liberals, they tend to lean toward things like pita chips. They eat 30 more than the average american. Conservatives, pretzels is what they prefer. And what about those folks that consider themselves middle of the road or swing voters . Im not making this up. It is a chex mix. Thats right. Your party mix for your swing voters. There is one snack apparently we all agree on. Liberals and conservatives, that is a big bag of corn chips. Fritos, tostitos. Finally, what are your political leanings of the fan bases of the two super bowl teams . Well, two republican strategists crunch the consumer data and found out on a liberal to conservative spectrum, Patriots Fans are solidly blue. That shouldnt be a surprise. Theyre from liberal new england. So you would think the Seattle Seahawks would be just as blue, right . Its seattle. Not so fast. Dont forget the rest of the northwest is not as blue. The seattle fans tend to be more purple. And teams, by the way, with purple fan bases, they have done more winning in the super bowl in recent years. Think about that, vegas. By the way, the most liberal fan base in the nfl, the oakland raiders. And the most conservative . John mccains arizona cardinals. You had fun with this . You can find out where your team stands and much more about your football snacking and the politicizing of it all on our website. Coming up on this super bowl sunday of meet the press, head injuries in football. And how young is too young for your child to Start Playing . N your pocket right now . I have 40 21. Could something that small make an impact on something as big as your retirement . I dont think so. Well if you start putting that towards your retirement every week and let it grow over time, for twenty to thirty years that retirement challenge might not seem so big after all. Ring ring progresso i cant believe im eating bacon and rich creamy cheese before my sisters wedding well its only 100 calories, so youll be ready for that dress uhhuh. You dont love the dress . I love my sister. 40 flavors. 100 calories or less. As popular as the game is, the nfl had a rough year off the field. From the ray rice scandal to deflategate, the league has been in the headlines for all the wrong reasons. But none of those controversies seriously threaten the future of the league. What does . Football related concussions and brain injuries. With an increasing number of former players becoming seriously ill. Its not just a contact sport, it is a collision sport. Violent and unforgiving. That explains its popularity and its peril. Boston university neurologist ann mckie directs the largest brain bank of former players diagnosed with chronic, traumatic encephalopathy or cte. Cte is a neurodegenerative disease that affects individuals who have been exposed to repetitive brain trauma. I could go out and physically hit somebody that hard that could because them to be concussed or perhaps even laid out cold on a football field. Reporter Leonard Marshall a twotime super bowl champion for the New York Times has been diagnosed with cte. When did you sit there and go, whats wrong . I would forget things. I would forget places. I would have this erratic behavior towards my child for no reason. Did it scare you . Scared the daylights out of me. And i started talking to people and i started to figure out im not in this by myself. There is other guys like me. Researchers have discovered the signs of cte in the brains of dozens of former players. Dave durdson who committed suicide in 2011. Jevan belcher who killed his girlfriend before taking his own life and junior seau who killed himself in 2012. This weekend he was voted into the hall of fame. The late great junior seau. The nfl released new data this week showing a 25 drop in concussions last year in regular season games. We spend a great deal of time on Player Health and safety. We want to make this game as safe as possible for them. Commissioner Roger Goodell promised to hire a chief medical officer to oversee the nfls health policies. Mckie, a Green Bay Packers fan, says the game needs more fundamental changes. Im concerned about the number of hits. Some of those are asymptomatic, none concussive hits. To me, looking at the concussion rate really doesnt tell me much. Should the nfl permanently be taking care of your health care . Do you think i think they should. You told me about everything else, but you didnt tell me about the risk associated with traumatic brain injury. Do you think they knew then . They had to know something. You do . Chuck, they had to know something. I think its bullcrap. Not all players agree. I think when you sign up, this is a violent sport, thats what we sign up for. You think of a boxer going in the ring saying he doesnt expect to have a problem after boxing. Youre getting punched in the head. While fans love watching the game, theyre beginning to wonder whether it is safe for their kids to play. Nearly 4 in 10 americans say they would encourage their child to play another sport because of concerns about concussions. We found some of those parents in pine crest, florida, suburb of miami, on the soccer field. The reports are kind of scary, but i still want to play. I think that it serves a great purpose for a lot of kids. Just not my kid. Participation in youth football has been declining. And this week, researchers from Boston University published a study that found former nfl players who started playing football before age 12 had a higher risk of developing cognitive problems than those who began playing later. And even some former players are wary of letting their kids play football. I would be real leery of him playing. And that sounds in some respects im almost glad i dont have a son. Do you believe football can be safe enough to play in the future . I think i think it can. But i think it is going to take an overwhelming and alarming thing to happen for there to be change. Im joined now from outside of the university of phoenix stadium, site of the super bowl, by demaurice smith, executive director of the nfl players association. Welcome to meet the press. Thank you for having me, chuck. You just heard in that piece, mostly Leonard Marshall, some other former players, brett favre, being concerned about the safety of the game. You represent nearly 2,000 players on any given day as executive director of the nfl players association. Do you believe this game is as safe as it can be on the field . I dont think we will ever be content that the game is as safe as it can be. Chuck, when i took this job in 2009, it sounds a little bit like the punchline of a bad joke, but when i took this job in 2009, the head of the nfl Concussion Committee was a rheumatologist. So over the last five years, we have done things to revolutionize not only the way in which fans enjoy football, but trying to make the game safer. There are sideline concussion experts for first time. There is limits on the amount of contact for the first time. We have eliminated two a day practices for the first time. And all of those changes didnt come about because the National Football league suddenly got an issue of a conscience. All of those things came about because organized labor and our union made decisions that we were going to make the game safer. Have you done do you feel like youve done everything you can . I heard from a lot of players that dont like thursday night football, this dont like those short weeks, that dont like the idea of having an 18game season and yet you have sort of youve agreed to, for instance, thursday night football being year round. Was that a mistake . No. And i dont believe that the evidence right now indicates that was any sort of mistake. You know, you remember, chuck, we went through this, it was a National Football league that wanted us to play 18 games. We said, no. The changes that we made in this game i think are always going to evolve. Let me move on to the personal conduct policy that the nfl has unveiled and i know where you stand on it as far as how it was unveiled. Let me go through it and tick through it here. The new personal conduct policy would include league investigations, paid leave if formally charged with a Violent Crime for any player, the nfls special counsel hands out the initial discipline, a player can appeal that initial discipline but the commissioner would have final say on that discipline. What issue do you have with that proposal . Well, chuck, its the process by which the proposal was implemented unilaterally by the National Football league. One thing you didnt mention all the way through the litany of the issues there is we have a commissioner who has been overturned twice on personal conduct policy, first time he was overturned by the former commissioner, the second time he was overturned by a neutral arbitrator. One thing that is not in that proposal is a neutral arbitrator to hear these appeals. So we have issues with a number of the individual issues, but i honestly believe that we should be working together to make an overall policy fair for both players and owners. Before i let you go, youre a big fan of the washington redskins. Where are you on the name change . No, no. Hey, lets lets keep it straight, pal. I grew up a redskins fan, but im a fan of the players now. And do you think the name should change . Wonderful to grow up in a city well, i think for all of the fans who love that team, they love that team because of the art monks and the darrell greens and the sonny jergensons i think the right course is to sit down with our fans and talk about what we love about that team. If its in the best interest of everybody that we not offend anybody, then lets make that change. Demaurice smith, enjoy the super bowl. Happy super bowl. You got it. In a few minutes, well talk to a representative of the nfl. But, first, as you saw earlier, i sat down with former new york giant Leonard Marshall, who despite rule changes to the game still doesnt believe professional football is safe enough today. Take a listen. Would you be comfortable playing under these rules . I want it to be safer. They have to do something to take the helmet out of the game, somehow. I dont know what that is. And now representing the league, im joined by jeff pash, executive Vice President and general counsel for nfl. Welcome to meet the press. Thank you, chuck. I appreciate you having me this morning. Let me start with that basic question. Do you feel as if the game is as safe as it can be for the players of today . I think the game is safer than it has ever been. And the progress that is being made means it is going to be safer in the future. And i think if you look at what has been done during commissioner goodells tenure, whether it is in the context of preventing concussions, better by rule changes, better equipment and teaching safer tackling techniques, better medical care for the players with the use of independent neurotrauma consultants and negotiated return to play protocol with the nflpa and the research being done in conjunction with the nih, general electric, International Sports federation, i think there is a tremendous amount of progress being made and i would say to people the game has never been safer. The statistics show that. The fact is that helmet to helmet collisions, which have been the biggest cause of concussions in the past, those helmet to helmet contact is down by more than 40 . So were definitely making progress, but there is more work to be done and we want to work with the players and the coaches to continue that culture change and foster that culture of safety. Some of this culture of safety may go all the way down to youth football. We saw the New York Times story about this initial study, preliminary, a very small sample, do you think we should have an age, a floor for tackle football that maybe 12 is the floor. There is a lot of studies that say the brain isnt fully formed until at least 12 years old. I think the authors of that study themselves have highlighted some of the questions about it. And it is clear that more work needs to be done. We promoted safe play, whether in the context of tackle, or flag football. And it is, again, chuck, lets look at actions. Through our efforts, there are youth concussion laws passed in all 50 states. Through work with professional athletic trainer associations we put athletic trainers on the playing fields for thousands of children across the country. That program is going to double for this year. Not just football, but all sports. We have worked with the Consumer Product safety commission, and its past two chairmen to bring safer and newer equipment to Youth Programs across the country. Could you envision a day where the nfl says, you know what, we support the idea of no tackle football until 12 . I think youve got to have the facts and youve got to see what the alternatives are. I dont know if thats a practical solution or not. But we support kids getting out and playing, whether it is flag, tackle, as safely as possible. Thats our goal. Lets go to the player this personal conduct policy that you released. I just talked to demaurice smith, head of the nflpa. And he seems to have less issue with your proposal and more of an issue that it is not being done in a collective bargaining situation. You wouldnt impose drug testing without the nflpa negotiating it. So why are you imposing this without the nflpa in the room . We have numerous meetings with the players, back as as far back as 2007 and over the course of the six or seven years. And the personal conduct policy that was implemented in december was implemented only after extensive discussions with the players. So i think there has been a lot of Common Ground and players want high standards. They want a personal conduct policy that holds them up as the men they are. It feels like the beginning of a dickens novel for the nfl, the best of times on the field financially, but it has been a pretty the worst of times off the field this last year. How would you describe this last year for the nfl . A good year, a bad year or a learning experience . It was challenging. It was a learning experience. But i think like any strong organization, we have great leadership in our commissioner. We have great leadership from our ownership. And we have Great Partnership with the nflpa. We accomplished a tremendous amount together. And im confident that well take the learning we have from this year and well have a better game and when we get together to talk a year from now, youll have seen a lot of positive change. Jeff pash, happy super bowl. Enjoy the game. Thanks, chuck. You too. You got it. Dont go anywhere. In less than a minute, the Seahawks Marshawn lynch teaches us why football is a lot like politics and vice versa. Cepted. Im watching you soup people. Make it progresso or make it yourself want to know a secret . I wasnt always a redhead. Youd never know it though because its nicen easy color so natural looking its clairols 1 authentic color thats always true to you. So shift a shade and still look like your most amazing you. Introducing. A pm pain reliever that dares to work all the way until. The am. New aleve pm the only one to combine a safe sleep aid plus the 12 hour strength of aleve. Good job still running in the morning . Yeah. Getting your vegetables every day . When i can. [ bop ] [ male announcer ] couldve had a v8. Two full servings of vegetables for only 50 delicious calories. Startupny. Its working for new york state. Already 55 companies are investing over 98 Million Dollars and creating over 2100 jobs. From long island to all across upstate new york, more businesses are coming to new york. They are paying no property taxes no Corporate Taxes no sales taxes. And with over 300 locations, and 3. 7 million square feet available, theres a place thats right for your business. See if startupny can work for you. Go to startup. Ny. Gov. Welcome back. We know well be rolling into the bob welcome back. We know well be rolling into the bob costas coverage here soon. Well talk super bowl with the panel. Lets get a little serious. Jim cramer, you deal with a lot of ceos. Roger goodell is a ceo. It has been a tough year for him. As a politician, i can see of him being forced to resign, i can see shareholders having demanded his head back if he was dealing with shareholders. How did he survive this . He was great for tv deals. Thats where the money is. He was a between the lines commissioner where you had to be outside the lines within a 16game period. He was able to go outside the lines, which was major. I think when he lost espn, he realized he had changed. And he didnt bring in the best minds. I was listening to secretary gates. Bringing in the best minds, thats what he did. By the last game of the season, i think he had it. People knew he was a goto guy who had changed a lot of people in the nfl. Successful season for him. It is funny, mark. I think you and i would look at the problems he faced almost like, how would a politician have handled this . And even the worst politician would have handled it better than he did. Without a doubt. Teams now understand they have a problem, which is the first step in solving it. Every problem they have from the off field behavior, outrageous behavior, to questions about cheating, drug use, concussions, every one can be solved without damaging their bottom line of the game. They have to recognize that they put some resources into it. Put some pr into it, put some substance into it. And we can all love the nfl without concern . It is interesting to me that they have eventually do the right thing. Look at what theyre doing on they are doing some pa. This is dam ned if you do and if you dont. If they did nothing, everybody would say why arent you doing this . When they play catch up, they throw a lot of money at the problem. Absolutely. I think they are doing the right thing both on Domestic Violence and concussions. It will become the clearinghouse for the latest progressive ideas toward helping to combat Domestic Violence and developing new scientific strategies on concussion. It is a winwin at this point. But they looked bad for a long time. Youre a new mom. You have a daughter. But it is a conversation that my wife and i with our son just what is your reaction to the game . Whether or not would you feel comfortable . I dont know. First of all, i do have a daughter and if she has any athletic skills of her parents, we wont worry too much about this. I think a lot of parents have the soul searching conversations with themselves, and the question for the nfl is whether it can do things that preserve the integrity of the game, the fun of the game, what people love about football, but also acknowledge that there is a real problem here. For the nfl, the concussion thing is potentially an existential crisis. They have to get out ahead of it. All right. I want to do a little lighter note on football. With super bowl media day, i wish we had a political equivalent, right, of politics media day. But nobody stole the show like Marshawn Lynch and it did get us thinking that he kind of reminded us of somebody else. Here is a little marshawn on media day, which players are required to do, as he made it very, very clear based on every single question that was asked of him. Im here so i wont get fined. Im here so i wont get fined. Im here so i wont get fined. Im just here so i wont get fined. He sort of reminded us of one of my favorite moments from the 90s, here is al gore having to deal with an interesting political problem he had, Campaign Finance issues, was he illegally raising money out of the official office of the Vice President. Here was al gore and this Infamous Press conference from 1997. According to my counsel, there is no Controlling Legal Authority. There is no Controlling Legal Authority that says this was any violation of law. No Controlling Legal Authority no Controlling Legal Authority. Just so you know, were bipartisan here. Here is republican congressman mike hoffman who was asked to clarify his comments about the president not being an american citizen. Listen to how he suspend responded to numerous questions. I stand by my statement that i misspoke and i apologize. I stand by my statement that i misspoke and i apologize. I stand by my statement that i misspoke and i apologize. Is there anything i can ask that you would answer differently . I stand by my statement and i misspoke and i apologize. Who did it better . Gosh, coffman or lynch . Im a big fan of lynch. I love what he look, i think he doesnt want to speak to the media, dont make him, right . Fair enough. A new definition of beast mode, right . There is going to be something on youtube very soon where they sync those words. What is it when you it can make it into a song, what is that, auto tune . Can we auto tune it . Shouldnt we be auto tuning Marshawn Lynch. Its already been done. Lynch did it with humor. If youre going to do it do it with a wink and he did. Thats all for today. Stay tuned, of course, to nbc for there is a sporting event that takes place sometime this afternoon. There is a more important event right before it. Savannah will be interviewing the president live. Rare he does live interviews, fiveminute live interview, a lot more tomorrow on today show. Real serious stuff. A live interview and sit down and do a longer interview. Excellent. If it is the sunday after the super bowl, it will be meet the press. Well see you next week. Im richard lui, top stories. Powerful winter storm with blizzardlike conditions. In nesh parts of interstate 80 shut down due to crashes. Lets go to domenica davis. Winter storm warnings and advisories that stretch into new england. Blizzard warnings for chicago and northwest illinois. That is in progress. We will see whiteout conditions blowing and drifting snow right through the evening. That will expire by midnight. Leading edge of this storm system starting to push in to central pennsylvania and upstate new york. We will see this make its way into new england tonight