That area set to soar in the next few days, the rain in the forecast now. Suddenly the risk of massive flooding is becoming a top concern out there, too. And also the dustup over the president s new executive action on immigration continues. We he want to begin this morning with a surprising news breaking overnight. We now have word that president obama has reversed himself and decided to expand the role of troops in afghanistan. Theres still almost 10,000 american traps in thoops in tha and their role was supposed to be limited to Training Afghan soldiers. Under obamas new order they could now be involved in proactive combat missions against the taliban and other militant groups through next year at least. Nbc news has confirmed the information reported overnight. An important detail is president obama made this move quietly signing a secret order. To discuss this, the other top stories this week, joined by our panel Katherine Van pelt of the washington post, david of go pac and susan paige, Washington Bureau chief for usa today. This news overnight about afghanistan, a little bit after surprise here, i think, certainly the timing. People didnt see this coming. The way this was done, done in secret. Were just finding out about it after the fact. Some of the back story here suggesting this is one of those clashes between leaders in the pentagon he who wanted a sort of more forceful involvement and civilian leaders in the pentagon winning out. And the president who said earlier this year about six months ago, look, the troops who are there are strictly there to be Training Afghan soldiers. Nothing else. Now the traps are there, Training Afghan soldiers, also going after the taliban, also maybe going after other networks. The experience with iraq, i dont think president obama is enthusiastic after 13 years of war in afghanistan to make it 14, but we know that with the withdrawal of u. S. Troops from iraq we saw a collapse of the iraqi forces. We saw the rise of isis, a great complication that has us sending traps back to i troops back to iraq. Whats the reaction going to be like to this . Susan cites the iraq example and isis and all of the talk now, did we leave too soon . Did we not leave enough after force there . That becomes the way we view this. Wed better not repeat the same mistake. What do you think the reaction is going to be this war has been going on since 2001, now were going to be engaged at least through 2016. Get them out by the end of the president s term. Thats what theyre saying now. As we see here, they can always revise these things. I think the political optics are not very good, right . I anticipate a lot of clips on cable news over the next few days claiming flipflops because of his comments in may saying that were going to be out of there next year. From an optical perspective this does not look so great. As president you kind of have to think about the political blow back but what the best policy is. As the republican, dave, be so much this week weve heard from republicans about obama making unilateral decisions, the king, the monarch, all this stuff. Is this one the president makes this decision in secret and the president exercising his commander in chief authority, is this where republicans say, hes doing the right thing . How the American People ultimately view this is how the president frames this and does he make sure americans understand whats at stake and why he did this action . And, to your point which you referenced, this is an opportunity for republicans and democrats to come together. And ultimately when have the American People most been around our military action overseas . When the president and congress have spoke in one voice. This is an area i think we have an opportunity to do that. One person to keep an eye on as we get ready for the new congress is jodie erins who soon will be in the u. S. Senate, has military experience, was a Company Commander in Operation Iraqi freedom as a woman, as a combat veteran. She brings a voice that i think youre going to see many republicans look to as they try to cast their votes on the president. Its her voice, rand pauls voice. Thats another one to look for whenever he we Start Talking about further intervention overseas. Thats one to be keeping an eye on. We have word of the expansion in afghanistan overnight. Other things he we want to get to including new words from president obama this morning over the executive action on immigration that he announced to the nation two nights ago. Here is what the president is now saying in this this mornings weekly address. As you might have heard there are members of congress who questioned may authority to make our immigration system work better. Well, i have one answer for that. Pass a bill. The day i sign it into law, the actions ive take tone help solve this problem with to longer be necessary. In the meantime, we cant allow a disagreement over a single issue to be a deal breaker on every issue. Thats not how our democracy works. The president s order which is he designed to protect some families who are here is receiving support from Hillary Clinton who calls it a historic step. He was asking congress to pursue legislation approved by the senate more than a year ago. A war of words has broken out between obama and House Speaker john boehner with boehner saying the president is acting like an emperor in making unilateral changes and obama replying that boehner is standing in the way of progress and saying he would wash his car or walk his dog if it would help get a bill passed. Susan, ill start with the Hillary Clinton one is interesting. Its not it seems theres been some intentional distancing here as she gears up for 2016 on Hillary Clintons side from the president , obviously his poll numbers havent been that good. Here is an issue, though, where she wants to be associated with him very closely, it seems. I dont think this is some grand strategy but they have stumbled into a very helpful political situation for themselves on immigration. Because by doing the minimum, which is temporary permission to stay in the country legally, right, thats all that the president has be done, he is being hailed as a hero by hispanics and has succeeded in dividing the republicans in a way that i think is going to bedevil them for the next two years and create huge complications for them in 2016. Hillary clinton will distance herself from barack obama on some things. Well see what she says about afghanistan, for instance. But on this issue i think democrats are incredibly united behind the president. And thats the democratic side. Talk about here for a second the republic wran side. Obviously we hear it in the remark from boehner, emperor, dictator, all of these he things. The process they are going to attack. They have been attacking the 30 ses that led to this and polls are showing people dont leak the idea of obama acting on his own on this. Thats fine. When it comes to the substance of what he did here, can he we expect republicans will try to do anything to undo anything proactively to undo what the president put in place this w k week . There wont be a movement to undo what he has done but let me say while this probably doesnt reach the level of constitutional crisis, congress has since the beginning said the president s were doing things they shouldnt be doing. The president has to be careful as he continues to make steps because democrats are not united on this. Where is the fracturing . Claire mccaskill has come out against what the president has be done. Joe manchin has come out. Again, its that process argument. Im trying to say he, be though, sure, but when it comes to the policy thats been implemented, i get the sense republicans want to score the political points here of saying how dare he act unilaterally on this. But when it comes to, okay, would you actually do anything different if you were elected president they have to make it about process, because if not for that, they would have to pass something and have something attached by the public. If theys passed a law for what they believe in. There is unilateral agreement with where the president is on immigration. Lets look at what happened a few days ago in oregon where 66 of voters voted to not allow drivers license to go to Illegal Immigrants. Oregon is certainly no republican bastion, no red state. So we need to be careful to think that just because what the president is saying on immigration isnt necessarily where the American People are. Thats not the case. You said at the beginning you dont think republicans are going to try to undo these protections . Well, its hard theres not much they can do under executive action until a new president comes in and he decides to reverse the executive action of what a past president has done. Congress needs to work with the president and find some Common Ground. One of it were never going to solve this problem until our borders are secure, until we know who is coming in and going out of this country and hopefully we can find a president who now that he has passed the exec it tiff order to keep executive order to keep about 5 million immigrants. That was in the senate legislation. That seems to be the trap here. There was a bill that didnt have overwhelming republican support but it had real republican support. Let me disagree with david. I think you are whistling past the graveyard with the idea republicans are not going to make an effort to undo what the president has done. John boehner and Mitch Mcconnell may wish that happens, but they have troops in congress who want very much to undo it any way they can by Government Shutdown, by impeachment, by trying to take action on the appropriations process. Can they do it by the way they cannot. Explain what the deal is on that. The agency that implements the major provisions of this law is paid by fees of immigrants who will pay for it. You can shut down the government and this agency can keep running. Its problematic for republicans. Very crafty how they did that. But congressional republicans, there are tea party and other kfb republicans, who will demand that something be done and this is a huge problem for the leadership. Wanting something to be done and doing it are two different things. The house and senate leadership, they have said, look, theres only so much we can do. Reversing the action is not something that were aebl to do. But theres going to be an effort to try and its going to impinge upon the effort we heard Mitch Mcconnell talk about the day after the election it that he wants to actually get things done. Its going to make it harder. That seems to be the test. We know i think we knew last year when the shutdown happened that the establishment, the lead leader ship didnt want it. The question its those voices from ted cruz, the tea party, from the sort of House Republican conference. Its those voices. Do they rise to a level where a guy like boehner and mcconnell have no choice but to push the envelope . Thats the thing to watch. Metropolitan more on immigration later in the weekend, later in the show, probably for months, years to come. Its that kind of topic. More happening this weekend. More to tell you about right after this. T heres the thing about half of men over 40 have some degree of erectile dysfunction. Well, viagra helps guys with ed get and keep an erection. And remember, you only take it when you need it. Ask your doctor if your heart is healthy enough for sex. Do not take viagra if you take nitrates for chest pain; it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. 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Ambassador susan rices talking points skraut ncrutinized for y were not to cover up or belittle the incident. This is something weve heard about more than two years you now. Plenty on the right say this is what will haunt hillary. Ive been suspecting all along and really after this report feel this is whitewater all over again. This is just a lot of innuendo, the name of the scandal that cant get out of our mind, but there doesnt seem to be anything here. Republicans put it out on a friday night in the wake of an immigration announcement as were on the verge of perhaps a decision from ferguson. If you wanted a report to get as little attention as possible, this is the moment you put it out. I think its great news for Hillary Clinton. Bad news for the special committee in the house investigating benghazi. Theres still a Second Committee thats active. And they said that trey gowdy said he would be happy to incorporate this investigation into his own. This looks pretty solid. This is a pretty extensive investigation by a republ republicanled committee. That Second Committee is trey gowdy from south carolina, this benghazi select committee. They put out like baseball cards when they announced this committee. A whole cottage industry. To override whats in the report, the authority that comes with the report, will take something i can cant even imagine what they could come up with that would override this. It seems whenever our elected officials want to talk about the middle east, they always do it on a friday just as the president announced his decision to up the number of troops. The best thing we can do to honor ambassador and those killed that day is to make sure the facts are out. Thats what this report helps do. And to bring to justice the suspects and the killers who actually did it. Do you think as this political rallying cry we hear, do you think this is going to kill that now . Look, the facts are out now. Certainly our country has lots of things to be focussed on. We talked about it earlier, immigration and health care and job creation being the most topics on peoples minds. As we get ready for the new congress i suspect youll see a Movement Towards other issues. David, republicans, what are they going to do . What are they going to do . Cat, what do you think theyre going to do . This is like the ground hog day of political controversies. It seems like this is a drumbeat thats been working for a while. It doesnt really seem like its likely to die down. Weve had several reports to this point coming to the exact same conclusion and yet theres know report on the horizon. I mean, if the previous findings didnt stop the drumbeat then why will this make any difference, i guess. How many definitive climate reports can you have and were still talking about how many times were the clintons cleared during whitewater . They still were impeached in a very backward way. Its still maybe to be continued. This morning, also, it is now official. House republicans have filed their longawaited lawsuit against president obama. I can feel another question to david here, accused of overstepping his authority on the Affordable Care act. The timing is significant. The actual filing came the same day the president signed hday h executive order on immigration. Turley is a well respected d. C. Law officers. Jonathan turley a legal expert, also fairly left of center in his politics, this is a big surprise to see his name attached to this. You know what americans dont care about . The process of implementing obama care. Its like democrats discovered they dont really care about the coke brothers and their ads. Thats one thing we discovered in the midterm elections. You can cant talk about substance. You talk about process. Americans care about the Actual Health care theyre getting and about the economy and about job growth and will they have a good christmas. So it seems to me this is i think republicans do things that will appeal to their core base he and will not help with voters. A law that is unpopular, how best do you stop the implementation of it . The president is not going to reverse and sign a bill that reverses obamacare. You have the courts on the implementation and is it actually following the law . This president continues to delay the very things he initially said he wanted whether it be well, exactly. And what were trying to do is make sure it never becomes part of the law. Lets not just delay it. Lets get rid of it. When they started talking about going down this road of the lawsuit, wasnt the idea this is a way to give the base something to sink its teeth into thats not impeachment. This is a way to head off any kind of impeachment push. Hey, you are upset with this guy. Instead of starting an impeachment push, were going to sue them. Well, again, it goes back to how can congress, short of passing the law that overhauls what is happening, theres really two actions. One, you have to go to court to stop whats actually happening and theres certainly been successes object on that level and, two, to find some Common Ground with the president which Mitch Mcconnell and the president both talked about doing, to actually do 0 things which this law never talked about. Things like tort reform to get rid of junk lawsuits, to bring more doctors. The doctors shortage thats coming in this country will be catastrophic and this legislation does nothing to bring new doctors into the system. We just have to have a willing partner. Look, there are areas you see the sort of eissues unresolved. A hike in the minimum wage, looking for fixeses in the Affordable Care act. So there are some you can see the ingredients for compromise. One of the points on which there is agreement between obama and the republicans is one of the very things that is the center of this lawsuit which is delaying maybe effectively forever the employer mandate. Republicans dont like the employer mandate. The Obama Administration has put off 0 its implementation again and again. And thats what republicans are angry at him for. An area of overlap. Its this tortured area of liability. What better way to get rid of it than to have the court say its not legal. Thats not what the lawsuit is about. The lawsuit is about how he is implementing it and were trying what the lawsuit is trying to get rid of the provisions most destructive to the Health Care System and most destructive to 0 the economy. I dont want to put too much of an academic point on this. I think theres a cynical motive to the lawsuit that i just expressed a minute ago. I think weve reached this were always talking about how broke washington is. Its gotten worse because you have one Party Controlling the white house, another the congress right now and you can talk all you want about the motives of each. They have not been able to Work Together and i cant see how that will change in the next couple of years. One thing a lawsuit could clarify maybe we need to get clarification on, how much power the president has to act alone on things. How much of a role Congress Needs to be playing on things because if neither side is going to be able to Work Together 0 for the next three, four, five, ten years the way our politics are shaking out. Were cust omd to having a divided government. Its that the willingness to make a tradeoff have been lost. There are issues on which there is general agreement where you might be able to get a deal 0. You might be able to get something that you want and give the other guy something that he wants. Thats whats failed. Thats not a function of divided government. Thats the constant warfare. That becomes a function of divided government, too, when its so tribal. Well, theres Common Ground here ideologically but thats the other tribe. We dont work with them. Thats not politics. Thats antipolitics. Poll 0 particulars is the nature of making a deal that gives the 0 other guy something so youre willing to move forward and thats just disappeared for the past four years and i agree with you. I dont see any signs its coming back in the next two years. Are you any more optimistic . Not particularly. Its been so polarized the last couple of years and now we have divided government still but more divided. The balance obvious ly has shifted now that republicans picked up more seats both in the house. Extra gridlock. Super gridlock. A number of our newly elected members came from the state legislature. People who understand governing and gettinging things do igetti. If you have a congress that is going to find areas it can work with the president and pass legislation and address some of the issues our country faced. We have the republicans saying the president is caeser. Here we go. Were off to a great start with this bipartisanship. Thanks to catherine rampell, david avella and susan page will be back late they are morning. A st. Louis county grand jury could issue a decision on whether to indict the Ferguson Police officer who shot and killed Michael Brown. We will go live to ferguson to see how officials are preparing for that decision right after this. [ 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. And mama loves you. New nestle© toll houser for delightfulls morsels. In honor of our 75th anniversary, were bringing you nestle© toll house chocolate filled with caramel, Peanut Butter, cherry and mint. So Peanut Butter up some blondies and brownies. Caramelify those chocolate chip cookies. And give that thing a hinty of something cherry or minty its time to bake the world a better place with new nestle© toll house delightfulls. Bake some love™ nestle©. Good food, good life. Ugh. Heartburn. Did someone say burn . Try alka seltzer reliefchews. They work just as fast and taste better than tums smoothies assorted fruit. Mmm. Amazing. Yeah, i get that a lot. Alka seltzer heartburn reliefchews. Enjoy the relief. It is vital to engage in planning and preparation from evaluating protocols and training to choosing the appropriate equipment and uniforms. Now this is the hard work that is necessary to preserve the peace and to maintain the public trust at all times particularly in moments of heightened community tension. Attorney general eric holder urging restraint by Law Enforcement during possible demonstrations. Which demonstrations . Where . By whom . Hold er doesnt say in those remarks but its all but certain hes referring to ferguson, missouri. The st. Louis suburb has been bracing for an announcement for months now whether prosecutors will indict Police Officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of Michael Brown this past summer. The announcement of that is thought to be coming at anytime this weekend. Zach roth is live in ferguson this morning and joins us from there now. Zach, thanks for taking a few minutes. Let me start with this. Ive seen a couple reports that there are fbi agents now apparently on the ground out there. Is this something you know about, and do you know what theyre doing out there right now . Reporter they are said to be here not to sort of be on the front lines confronting protesters or anything like that, theyre here as sort of backup, just to have a federal presence in the region. Its still going to be the st. Louis county and the state Law Enforcement that are doing the majority, really all of the kind of frontline work in being there when protests are going on. One thing i read, too, that kind of surprised me, there have apparently been a number of meetings between police, between Law Enforcement will locally, and between protesters and they have basically worked out it sounds like theyve basically worked out a plan for whats going to happen as soon as this decision from the grand jury is announced. Tell us a little bit about that planning. Reporter thats right, steve. Protesters submitted quite a detailed sort of what they called rules of engagement to the st. Louis county authorities, and police came back and had kind of annotated the document and said, yes, we agree with this. No, we wont agree with that. Theres been a kind of negotiation on that. Protesters requested that police, where possible, not wear riot gear and are on the side of deescalating things. Police have kind of agreed to that. We cant give any garuarantees certain situations, so there has been this kind of negotiation. Of course any written document is not necessarily going to stand up in the heat of the action and its going to be an unpredictable situation but its at least sort of a positive development that theres been that process. How does it feel out there right now . We dont know when this announcement will come. We dont know what the announcement will be. There are all sorts of theories out there about what could happen. Obviously good faith efforts being made on both sides for the response not to be violent in any way, for the demonstrators to remain peaceful, for the police not to react. Good faith efforts there. What does the mood feel like in terms of do people think this will be orderly . Reporter its a mood of sort of foreboding and tension, steve. People, to be honest, do not think it will be orderly. They, when you ask people, what do you expect the response will be . People say they expect anger and even violence along the lines of some of the violence we saw over the sumsummer, perhaps even mor so. Having said that, everybody is saying we need to pray for peace. We want calm. Its actually similar to over the summer. Theres kind of a split between what you see during the day and what weve seen lately at night. During the day organized, peaceful, very substantive protests talking about the kind of underlying issues to deal with Michael Browns can death that people want to see resolved, the Economic Issues, the social issues, relations with law enforce. At night you see a little bit more after rowdier element. You see people, many of whom dont seem to be from the area, though some are from the area, being more confrontational, blocking traffic. Weve seen a number of arrests. You had somebody, according to police, in an anonymous tshirt and mask yelling we want to see Darren Wilson dead. I should be clear, thats according to what police said. I did not witness that myself. Again, you see that split between most of the community who is out in the day and wants to make something positive here and then an element thats coming out at night thats a little bit rowdier right now. All right, msnbcs zack roth live on the ground in ferguson, missouri. Were all watching closely. Again, that announcement could come anytime this weekend what the grand jury has decided. Thank you for joining us this morning. First the people of buffalo had to contend with a massive snowstorm this week and now flooding could be in the forecast. Well keep you updated on that as we go forward and a breaking story also to keep an eye out for, reports in japan of a major earthquake this in central japan this hour. Just getting word of this right now. The preliminary magnitude of the earthquake 6. 8. Thats according to japanese Public Network nhk. Added that no tsunami warning has been issued as a means of comparison. The fukushima earthquake me measured 9. 0. The details we have so far that highspeed trains have been halted. Obvious ly this coming in right now. Well keep you updated as we get more information throughout the morning. But up next segueing back to politics with the First Official democrat to declare that hes thinking of running for president. I said he. Its not Hillary Clinton. Well tell you who it is next. Comes now sayin mony mony. [mony mony by billy idol kicks in on car stereo] dont stop now come on mony come on yeah i say yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah cause you make me feel like a pony so good like your pony so good ride the pony the sentra, with bose audio and nissanconnect technology. Spread your joy. Nissan. Innovation that excites. [singing] mony mony prof. Burke the more you learn the more gaps you may find. Like how you thought you were covered for this. pirate ahh, haha prof. Burke . When youre really only covered for this. pirate boy ahhh, haha prof. Burke talk to farmers and get smarter about your insurance. We are farmers bumpadum, bumbumbumbum from San Francisco to Silicon Valley, Boston Private Bank works with all kinds of people who are innovating, building, contributing individuals, business owners, private partnerships, nonprofits, families planning their financial futures. People like you. If you want the individual attention and expertise your financial needs deserve, this is your time. This is your private bank. Hit him with a hard count,ine. See if theyll tip their hand. The nfl trusts duracell quantum to their game day communication. Theyre blitzing up the gut get out of the pocket hut duracell quantum. Lasts up to 35 longer than the competition. Residents of buffalo, new york, are still digging themselves out of the massive lake effect snowstorm that dumped a historic 7 feet of snow all over that area over a threeday period this week. Officials confirmed 13 deaths. Members of the Buffalo Bills Football Team were plowed out of their homes and picked up by snowmobile. The this the first leg in their trip to detroit in a game against the jets that will be played monday night now. Theres a new fear in the buffalo area, what happens to all of that snow when it melts . Temperatures are expected to climb into the 60s and rain is also in the forecast. That means severe flooding is the new threat for the people of buffalo. Full developments here on msnbc as the story continues to unfold. We return to politics next with the first democrat to announce for 2016. Ple question in retirement, will you outlive your money . Uhhh. No, that cant happen. Thats the thing, you dont know how long it has to last. Everyone has retirement questions. So ameriprise created the exclusive. Confident retirement approach. Now you and your ameripise advisor can get the real answers you need. Well, knowing gives you confidence. Start building your confident retirement today. Mmmmmmm. Look out. Now theres even more of the amazing cinnamon taste you love on cinnamon toast crunch. Crave those crazy squares even more. Maestro of project management. Baron of the buildout. You need a permit. To be this awesome. And you. Rent from national. Because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle. And go. You can even take a fullsize or above, and still pay the midsize price. aaron purrrfect. vo meeeow, business pro. Meeeow. Go national. Go like a pro. Some people think its too soon to be looking at the next election, but im not one of them. Not only are the president ial debates already on the calendar, they start just a few months from now. Not only are some candidates and potential candidates acting and looking like candidates. Theyre running right now until they tell us otherwise. The very first president ial hopeful took an official step toward running for president. It wasnt Hillary Clinton. It was virginia democrat jim webb who announced in an email to supporters Late Wednesday night he is forming a president ial Exploratory Committee. The email was accompanied by a 14minute introductory video that had no splashy effects, no highend graphics, no broll of bucolic Virginia Country sides. Simply jim webb in front of a blue screen talking about criminal justice reform, veterans issues, and poverty. Webb has a tough road to climb as a democratic candidate. If he makes it far in the field, just might be his no frills style that gets him there. I guess thats the spin you could put on the video. Out on the campaign trail in 2006 webb famously wore the same combat boots that his son jimmy had wore during his tours in iraq. The gesture that helped him win support with more liberal voters but also working class voters in the western appalachian part of the commonwealth. He is himself a former marine who served in vietnam. He was the secretary of the navy under Ronald Reagan. So far weve heard hints from Bernie Sanders. Not a defensemmocrat yet but he become one. Theres been buzz about Maryland Governor Martin Omalley or at least there was until his handpicked successor lost the recent election in maryland. Dispanned iing this week of the please run for hillary pac has strengthened the idea its only a matter of time before she enters the race herself. Right now the democratic field is one man deep, jim webb. Seems the perfect opportunity to launch a series looking indepth at each of the prospective candidates. Were going to be doing that every weekend on up and well start right now with jim webb of virginia. To talk about him krystal ball and a native virginian. She has written an article for msnbc. Com asking if jim webb is 2016s barack obama. And we have see san page back with us, Washington Bureau chief for usa today. Okay, jim webb makes his move this week. Its november 2014. The election, the general election two years away, the Iowa Caucuses barely over a year away. This is not historically jimmy carter was a candidate in november 1974 to 1976. This is not historically that early to be getting involved. Jim webb, the next barack obama . Seems a bit after stretch. Take me through what youre thinking there. I dont know he has the organizational capacity to make it all the way the way that barack obama did. I do think he has the potential to really challenge Hillary Clinton, assumption that she does run, which it looks like she will, in several areas. One, he has so much credibility as you were pointing out with his military background, former secretary of the navy under Ronald Reagan on military issues and hes been opposed to intervention in libya and syria. Theres a real stark contract there with Hillary Clinton. To the left on Foreign Policy but a he does so with military credentials. Exactly. So he has lots of credibility there and his son served so that gives him a personal added stake in what were talking about. And then on Economic Issues hes a true populace progressive. He was talking about how unfair it is that Hedge Fund Managers have to pay only the capitalgains tax while wage earners pay a much higher rate. Thats a populist position to take and its at odds with the money interest controls elections. The wall street crowd does not like that. Hes willing to stake out economic positions i think would be uncomfortable for Hillary Clinton given her coziness with wall street and big corporations. It is like on paper an interesting issue for jim webb. Lets back up a step. You should get credit here for helping to break the news jim webb might be running for president. I was guest hosting a show on npr. His mihm oir came out. Its an hour long show so you get to ask a lot of questions and almost as a throwaway said, so, are you thinking about running for president . And he indicated, yes, he was. And i think that was the first time that there had been a sense that he was thinking about doing that. The thought to even ask him. I thought that was interesting. I thought krystals piece this morning on msnbc. Com was very interesting and thoughtful. Thank you. I do not think hes the next barack obama. I dont think he has the organizational chops or the fundraising potential. You know what he could do . He could give Hillary Clinton a lot of trouble in iowa. We know that the withiowa democc caucus goers, theres a strong antiwar group among them, theres a lot of economic populism. And he could, i think somebody is going to challenge Hillary Clinton. Iowa has not been a good state for the clintons, for either one of them. In that way he could affect the debate although im skeptical that he ends up as the nominee. He also just stylistically is such a contrast from Hillary Clinton. You showed the video in all the ways that shes polished and produced and perfectly kam britted. He is not. He is rough. He is authentic. He cares with about issues. He speaks plainly. He doesnt try to oversmile, for example, he is exactly who he is. Theres something very compelling about that and it is a stark contrast from the very carefully packaged and branded clinton image. Ill say the thing that struck me about him because he has such an unusual biography for a politician, a writer and hes written real books. Politicians always have the ghost writers. Hes written really, the prose is impressive. He could make a career just out of that. When i watch him sometimes i almost feel his style is almost jarringly subdued because you respect a guy who will be a lot more. What do we know about jim webb in terms of who is around him . If youre going to be making a national campaign, does he have anybody around him that can raise money . No. Does he have strategic people . Is this one guy out there driving around . Thats my impression certainly. He writes in his letter he has no fulltime staff at this point. Ive never met a politician who has as much antipathy towards politics as jim webb does. When i was running in virginia i was going to every fundraiser i could whether it was mine or not just to tray to pick up as many donors as i possibly could. I think i saw him at one. He stood off the side. He didnt talk to anybody who didnt come up to him. Hes not the glad handling work the room type of a guy. So he hasnt developed that kind after donor network. This is jerry browne in 1992, running around with the 800 number and no staff around him. Hey, theres a debate tonight . I think ill show up. To be clear, i dont think jim webb has an 800 number yet. And lets remember, he won that senate election. He was lucky because his opponent had a big, selfinflicted wound. George allen. And then he chose not to run again. He doesnt have a long political history. He has that race. On the other hand you a then au is something americans would like to see and so thats an interesting quality to bring. How do you think look, i will hill obviously is an incredible frontrunner. Elizabeth warren doesnt look like she is run. Martin omalley, jim webb, if you want to throw biden into the mix. Where does jim webb stack up to you in that mix . I think theres Hillary Clinton and then there are the people who are not Hillary Clinton. He can be in that group. Are where its people who are thinking of running and have differences to point out. Its hard to see them able to go all the way. On the other hand thats what we said eight years ago. We thought Hillary Clinton would be the nominee. Things sometimes happen in politics that you dont expect but at the moment i think Hillary Clinton is the best. The poll in some perspective jim webb is running 61. 9 points behind Hillary Clinton. Its early. Theres a margin of error so it may only be 59. 9. One thing about the capabilities and the lack of the donor network, if ever there was a time you could go from the complete lack of structure that jim webb has to having at least an impact in potentially being a contender, its now. I think about i dont want to compare him to Newt Gingrich but you think about the fact if you get a couple billionaires invested in your campaign, you can have a big impact. Susan is right, he is potentially a compelling fit for iowa voters in particular. An alternative to Hillary Clinton. Hillary clinton will not get a free ride here. Well be seeing a debate with Hillary Clinton and somebody else. You see these various people including Martin Omalley. I dont think tony brown in maryland means Martin Omalley will not run. Do you know whose Lieutenant Governor also lost . Howard dean. His Lieutenant Governor lost in vermont in 2002. How interesting. Didnt stop him from being the biggest thing in politics for half of 2014 and then they started voting. Just one thing, i interviewed howard dean this week. Are you going to support Hillary Clinton . He said, yes, and ive told her so. Hes ready for hillary, as they say. May thanks to you for joining us. You can watch can krystal ball 3 00 p. M. On a show called, and i dont know, the cycle. Ive made the joke too many times. I used to be on it. Youll be back with us next hour. Plenty from lawmakers reacting to the immigration plan. We havent heard a lot from the people executive action actually affects. We will get their thoughts. Interesting video for you to watch right after this. vo nourished. Rescued. Protected. Given new hope. During the subaru share the love event, subaru owners feel it, too. Because when you take home a new subaru, we donate 250 dollars to helping those in need. Well have given 50 Million Dollars over seven years. Love. Its what makes a subaru, a subaru. Because it helps me skip the bad stuff. Im good. Thats what i like to call, the meta effect. 4in1 multihealth metamucil now clinically proven to help you feel less hungry between meals. Experience the meta effect with our new multihealth wellness line. I love my Meta Health Bars. Because when nutritious tastes this delicious, i dont miss the other stuff. New Meta Health Bars help promote heart health. Experience the meta effect with our new multihealth wellness line. As weve been talking about it brings a new immigration policy that is now in effect across the United States. On thursday night, president obama issued a new executive order that devefers deportation. Temporary protection will go to parents with legal permanent residents. Obama is also expanding the pool of socalled dream eers eligibl for deferred deportation. Children brought here as minors from 2007 to 2010 just in that window will be protected from immediate deportation. Some will be available for work permits. Equal authority if he or she wants to revoke all of these new protection protections. Weve asksed the republicans strong rebuke of action, we thought it was important to bring you the voices of people who are directly impacted by this new policy. Here is our original report. Im very happy that final areally the president is doing something that will have an impact especially on Illegal Immigrants that have been here illegally for so long. Were not bad people. Its just a struggle back if our old kcountry. Ive been here 20 years. Im a mother. I have kids back home. I dont think it will protect me that much. Mr. Obama opened a little door. I wish he would open it a little bit wider so i can see my kids. We dont know the future of this law whether there will be a lot of opposition or not. People are afraid that this law may be gone tomorrow. With the dreamers a lot of people from our Community Get some benefits because they can go to school. We are very scared that something can happen if a republican becomes president. I hope that they get a change of heart or that obama can influence more people into supporting what hes doing and i completely support him and im not scared because i know that hes going to make a difference. An update he on the japanese earthquake this hour in the central part of the island nation. The Japanese Meteorological Agency says it has registered a preliminary magnitude of 6. 8. The u. S. Geological is yosurvey believes it wasnt as strong as that. They have an estimate of 6. 2. No tsunami warning and no reports so far of any major damage. When we come back a return to politics bringing beginning with the most surprising reaction so far to the president s executive action on immigration. A surprise reaction from republican that you probably didnt see coming. Thats what the surprise is after all. Another full hour straight ahead. Ng everything, i think this is the one. But let me take one last look. Sure. Take your time. Builtin nav, heated seats for mom, dvd with Wireless Headphones for the kids and tons of room for the golf clubs golf clubs, and strollers. Shhh. I love this part. So what do you think . I think its everything we wanted. Great. 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Its no coincidence in the state of nevada itself it proved vital in harry reids defeat in the reelection race. At the annual conference in florida our friend chuck todd questioned about immigration. This is what they had to say. I think it would be a profound mistake for the president of the United States to overturn American Immigration with the stroke of a pen. He desperately wants to get the topic changed from the i issues we got elected on. I think its the height of arrogance for this president to go around the constitution and the laws. In his own words he said a year ago that this was not legal for him to do. We have to think about whats going to bring about healing. Now my sense is i dont like the idea of citizenship when people jump the line. We may have to do it. Whoa. That last one sounded a little bit different there. You have four out of five republican governors there, chuck todd is talking to, in agreement saying what youve come to expect for republicans to say on the subject. They believe president obama radically overstepped his authority with thursday nights announced action on Immigration Reform. But then theres the fifth, the one you heard from at the end there. Ohio governor john kasich. He he did not agree with every other republican governor on the stage. He stole the scene. Everybody in this country has to feel as though they have an opportunity. And i know what they did. I know they jumped the line. I dont like it. Theres a lot of people who have gone through legally who have not jumped the line who are bitter about this. But at the end of the day it may be necessary. Im open to it. I will tell you that. Im open to it. Seems there might be two ways of looking at what john kasich is saying there. One, maybe he just doomed his chances of winning the republ republican nomination should he launch a bid for 2016 or maybe hes positioning himself as the frontrunner, someone who sees the demographic direction in which the country is heading, open to solutions, willing to compromise in the nail of getting things done. Maybe he thinks hes the kind of leader who can bring the rest of the Republican Party to that realization and get them to rally around him for that. Maybe hes calculating it will not hurt him, it may actually help him in republican primaries. Trying to figure out the psychology of this issue within the Republican Party, joining me now msnbc contributor and university of texas professor victoria defarchescosoto, usa today washington chief susan page. Adolpho, let me start with you. You heard very predictable stuff from four republican governors there. John kasich opened his mouth and i wasnt expecting it. One of the things about john kasich hes a combination, youre right, steve, of a pragmatist and a corporate guy. Hes a Committee Chairman in the house of representatives establishment guy, a popular governor in a very purple state. Hes prone to these comments in the past. In the comments he didnt quite say this was the way to do it. Sure. He was talking more broadly about the fact the healing and positioning himself, i think we saw candidate kasich today, candidate for president of the United States, positioned him seven as a governor. He won reelection by a large margin, by the democrats n. Ohio we lost twice. So in many ways its an attractive candidate. I dont think its very different than some things governor bush has said, jeb bush. Hes been in line with that position and i think that will be the course of the republican president. Get over the anger that i share about the way the president has gone about doing this. I guess whats so striking is the contrast and the timing and the contrast because hes on stage with these republicans, many of them looking at 2016 as well who cant get beyond just the talk radio. And what kasich is doing is a model in a way. Politically, sure, youre going to bash the president for the style of doing this, but he turns around and offers something real. He says, yes, path to citizenship. Im open to that. I havent heard that. Almost from any republicans. Im wondering what jeb bush is saying but a he was banking on being the candidate that was going to be a little bit different. Also, i was surprised by marco rubios lack of response. He also had this i dont like the process but i also support this. So i think slowly but surely were going to see more and more republicans come can out of the woodwork and say i dont like the process but we do need to broaden the tent, open arms, and dont forget republicans have been friends of immigration for a long time. George w. Bush being the figure head of that just recently with the tea party movement, the Republican Party got very antiimmigrant. But i think within the party, theyre starting to heal and perhaps if 2016 shakes out in the jeb bush side of things, a more friendly immigration positi position. So, susan, earlier in the show you were talking about the idea of the republicans just sort of letting this executive action go without some kind of, you know, shutdown fight or some kind of articles of impeachment introduced by somebody, something dramatic like that. When you look at it, can you see the Republican Party getting from this moment right now, that kind of reaction youre describing to looking at somebody like john kasich and r rallying in 2016 behind somebody who says, you know what . Path to citizenship . We have to do that. Well, i think we see a big division in the party and you see the division in part with the people who would like to be elected president. But the Republican Party and especially the Republican Party that votes in republican primaries is going to be very i mean, look at the reaction rick perry got two years ago when he was running and he took a moderate position on immigration. But you have not only john kasich saying this but also rick perry and jeb bush trying to delineate a somewhat more respectful, moderate, centrist position that gets you toward legal status if not citizenship but you will have the core voters in the Republican Party insisting that their president ial candidates pledge to undo the president , and if you want to sorry, i didnt mean to say that. If you want to anger voters he, take away this legal status from 5 million. Im just imagining, think back to 2012. You probably know where im going with this. Mitt romney wanted to get to the right of immigration. He came up with the line of selfdeportation and it haunted him the rest of the campaign. Im imagining them on stage in a debate, january 2016, and president obamas exec it tiff order, will you rescind it . And the thing the Republican Base wants to hear is yes. The Republican Base hears yes and everybody else in the k country hears all of these people will be deported now. I dont think were going to say were going to rescind it. This is like a divorce or death. Were going to go through it, and i share it, an anger period. I think well do efforts to not fund certain parts of the program and so forth. I think well go through that phase. Let me be clear. I would like to state the republican view clearly. The speaker of the house, our leadership, our party has said were in favor of comprehensive reform. Not the reform president obama has in mind and not necessarily this process. Obviously we reject the process. So i think at the end of the day if you dont like the process and the executive order, i get that. Theres a bill that passed the senate. Its just been sitting in the house. Whats wrong with that bill . Whats wrong with the bill, even marco rubio stepped back from that bill as were not going to do what obamacare did, pass a bill that as nancy pelosi said no one has ever read and also there is a lack of confidence with his own legislation that he wont be faithful to any kind of deal we reach and so spend parts of a comprehensive Immigration Reform bill that has aspects of it he does not like. So thats the problem. Even senator schumer said in terms of a comprehensive Immigration Reform bill this might have to wait until 2017. Obviously he with executive action i think it will. He said that previously meaning there is a lack of faith in this president especially with these very, very large bills as the former speaker of the house said, no one has ever read. As Political Science editor, i wonder what you make of that. Weve been hearing republicans on other issues, too, as sort of the idea of we dont want to compromise with the president on x because we dont trust the president to implement, to enforce. Have you heard this with previous president snz i dont remember hearing this argument before . I think we see a bushback against a big, comprehensive Immigration Reform because theres a lot of nervousness in the Political Party from the 1986 reform. It was good in theory but it didnt work. Theres still a lot of nervousness. Whats the biggest lesson not to repeat . First of all, if you want to stem immigration, you go after the demand which is the employers. The utter failure of the Immigration Reform and control act was they beefed up the border, great. They granted add pathway to citizenship but they did nothing to the guys and gals who were hiring undocumented folks and undercutting wages for americans. They did nothing. On paper they said they were going to do it. Absolutely true and i conquer with that. I would add another aspect of t it. We didnt really do anything about a guest worker program. We didnt talk about the demand base need. People dont want to work and go back and forth which i think is a feasible alternative to illegal immigration or immigration uncontrolled. Those aspects of a bill were never really considered in 1986. Its a bad taste in the mouth. It is. Its almost 30 years later. The fear over executive action. The kind of question demands we break out the big board. Were going to look at some poll numbers on this, too. Interesting contradictory poll numbers next. The Holiday Season is here, which means its time for the volkswagen signthendrive event. For practically just your signature, you could drive home for the holidays in a germanengineered volkswagen. Like the sporty, advanced new jetta. And the 2015 motor trend car of the year allnew golf. If youre wishing for a new volkswagen this season. 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The holidays wouldnt be the same without your crescent rolls. We got you a little something. We got you jeans. Its about time. Pipin hot pillsbury crescent rolls. Make your holidays pop were for an opens you internet for all. Sing. Were for creating more innovation and competition. Were for Net Neutrality protection. Now, heres some news you may find even more surprising. Were comcast. The only isp legally bound by full Net Neutrality rules. All right. So the politics of Immigration Reform. The politics of the president s executive action. You have heard republicans all week, the months up to what the president did this week, the republicans attacking him as a king, a monarch, the dictator. The president saying all you have to do is pass a bill. What is the political fallout from this . How will this shape politics going forward. With the good old big board. You remember this thing from Election Night . Well put it to use. The bottom line number this week thats important is not a good one for the white house. Its one that has republican salivating. Its why you hear all this overheated rhetoric. Its 38 . Accord iing to the nbc news wa street journal poll that came out. 38 of americans say they approve of the executive action the president took this week that will protect some Illegal Immigrants from deportation. Just 38 approve. 48 disapprove. The numbers are all over the place. So now what you you have here, theres a lot of words here but what that is voters who were basically asked, they were described the senate bill. This is the Immigration Reform bill that passed the Senate Last Year that has sat in the house the last year and a half. Nobody has acted on it. This is why president obama said he has to take action. This bill is going nowhere. The contents of this bill, the opportunity for those here illegally to earn citizenship by paying fines, with by paying taxes, the long pathway to citizenship. You describe that and 74 say theyre for it. This is something much more expansive than what president obama did this week, only 38 support that but nearly thr threequarters of all americans support this. So how do you get from this to that 38 number . Three things to take a look at. This is the same poll and this is asking voters, do you want the candidates elected to office in novembers elections, a couple weeks ago, to be making compromise or to be sticking to their Campaign Position . You are essentially asking do you want them to Work Together with the other party or going it alone . And look at that. Overwhelmingly theyre saying we want them working together. We want bipartisanship. You compare that to four years ago when republicans won back the congress in the big landslide, then opinion on this was a lot more divided. Now the mood of the country, that much more toward bipartisanship. So in that sense president obama not acting in a bipartisan way here by taking a unilateral action. Go even further on this. They want compromise. Who do they want to take the lead . They want the president and the Congress Working together. Who do they want to take the lead in the relationship . By a 5633 margin they Want Congress taking the lead. Thats not what president obama is doing this week. President obama is doing this on his own while Congress Pretty much does nothing. Hes running afoul on that. And then here is the third question. If xong is supposed to take the lead, what should the priorities of congress be for the next year he . So one of the questions should it be a priority for congress to create legal status for some immigrants here illegally . Voters are saying, no, it shouldnt be a priority. Plurality there. They say they dont agree with that. Only 39 say they agree. Those are all process questions, questions about the style of how this is done, the fact its an executive action instead of a grand bipartisan legislative compromise. You add that together and you have 38 approving of what president obama did this week. 48 disapproving. Obviously short term, talking short term these are rough politics for the white house. I think the calculation the white house made here, though, may end up being a smart one. You take a shortterm hit like this, take whatever grief comes with doing something when only 38 says you want to do it and put republicans in a much trickier longer Term Position because when something this popular in terms of the policy itself is on the boongs, as you saw, the policy itself is popular. When thats on the books, youre daring republicans to undo it. If they undo it, theyll be running into a storm of Public Opinion all their own. Use the big board to show you its complicated, bad short term for the white house but democrats see a long term plus in what they did this week. Up next, behind the scenes with Chris Christie. vo you are a business pro. Solver of the slice. Teacher of the unteachable. You lower handicaps. And raise hopes. And you. Rent from national. Because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle. And go. You can even take a fullsize or above, and still pay the midsize price. pro nice drive. vo well played, business pro. Well played. Go national. Go like a pro. [mony mony by billy idole she cokicks in on car stereo]y. Dont stop now come on mony come on yeah i say yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah cause you make me feel like a pony so good like your pony so good ride the pony the sentra, with bose audio and nissanconnect technology. Spread your joy. Nissan. Innovation that excites. [singing] mony mony mmmmmmm. Look out. Now theres even more of the amazing cinnamon taste you love on cinnamon toast crunch. Crave those crazy squares even more. So you can see like right here i can just. You know, check my policy here, add a car, ah speak to customer service, check on a claim. You know, all with the ah, tap of my geico app. Oh, thats so cool. Well, i would disagree with you but, ah, that would make me a liar. No dude, youre on the jumbotron whoa. Ah. Yeah, pretty much walked into that one. Geico anywhere anytime. Just a tap away on the geico app. If you were to run for president , would you run on overturning this executive order the president is about to issue and would you overturn the executive order that allows some dreamers to stay in this country . If i were to run for president , i would then articulate the basis for my candida candidacy. I have not yet decided, therefore, im not going to articulate the basis for a yet unknown candidacy. For someone who may or may not be running for president , Chris Christie has done a lot of running for president type of things, campaigning nonstop on behalf of republican candidates in this terms midterms. In iowa he was there as role for the Republican Association to support the republican governor there. He might have had Something Else on his mind, too. This week dropped the selfserving hint he thought a governor would be our next president and despite the year hes had fielded questions about the George Washington bridge lane closure scandal and even more questions about his administrations handling of Hurricane Sandy relief funds. Christie subjected himself to a revealing and entertaining profile. The title in the New York Times magazine Chris Christie is back. He thinks hes back. If he is, hes the ideal republican to examine today in our continuing look at the emerging 2016 field. So to talk about the Chris Christie that he saw up close and personal, joined now by the author of that piece, mark l lebowicz. I wonder just that experience of sort of tagging along with him as much time as you did, what did you learn about him . What did you see that the rest of us dont see . Whats striking about him is when you talk to people who see him especially the first time they talk about, wow, he really comes off honest. Hes telling you what he feels, and its really overdo that we have a politician who does that. Its true. He does present as someone very straight forward. The truth is as we saw in the clip, he hasnt said a heck of a lot about a lot of big issues. He is just as cute and obfuscating, if not more so about things like immigration, about any number of Foreign Policy questions, about, you know, a lot of things he doesnt frankly want to answer as any politician. And so you do when youre hanging around him get a sense of a more maybe charismatic or fresher version of a lot of the same bs that frankly i think a lot of voters are sick of. Its a balance. Hes a fun guy to be around. Very compelling. Very different. At the same time there are so many black holes of where he comes from and where he is on the issues but, also, obviously a lot of questions to answer for over the last few years especially things like bridge hegate. Its interesting because i covered him back in his new jersey days. He wasnt officially running for office then but it was clear to everyone in the state he had political designs in the future and he struck me he is a very charismatic person. In an informal setting, working the room, hes great at that. He does have that tendency where sometimes this is very intentional where he starts mix ing it up with audience members. Sometimes i get the sense he cant help himself, he though. What was your experience with Chris Christie and his temper . Well, i think the temper is real but also hes all temperament in some ways. He knows what has gotten him on the map and he plays to that to some degree. Its almost like i remember once following him around the jersey shore and these tourists from out of state were sort of watching him and they said it was Chris Christie and it was just this matter of fact, oh, yeah, were in disneyworld and theres donald duck, right . So i think hes, in a way, a cultural he cexport if many way. He likes being a political celebrity which is what hes been the last few years. Running for president is a lot harder than that and you have a lot more to answer for and, frankly being he will have to start doing so. I guess we always try to we look back at peoples childhoods to explain their adult behaviors. Something did jump out at me in the piece you wrote, talking about his parents, the house he grew up in, the atmosphere he grew up in. He described it to you. There was open, regular warfare between his mother and father. No, it was amazing. His parents were fighting constantly and to a point where i said when you get physical, you hear the stories bill clinton is an iconic story of the oldest son sort of stepping in and saying, hey, leave mom alone. He said i never did but it was obviously a very, very animated household. So that forms him. The other thing that strikes me about christie is in politics people who are running for things especially tend to fetishize their fathers. Its a daddy issue kind of experience around politicians. Chr christie is different. He talks about how by far his mother was the most formative person in his life. His grandmother, too. He used to go and watch meet the press and go to church on sundays. It was amazing to hear him talk openly about that. I remember asking him if he felt better after he had lost as much weight as he lost, no, i feel fine physically. I feel a lot better psychologically and he does talk in more of i dont want to say oprahish but a newer age brand of republican than you might expect. I have to ask you about that, too. Obviously people talk about his weight. Im not looking to get into any jokes but its a Serious Health thing as well. He had the lap band surgery so has lost all of that weight. You have him in here, a scene youre at a diner with him and youre describing it as nachos dripping with grease piled with three scoops of sour cream and melted cheese all true. Is he whats your observation about him . He lost all the weight, has he changed his lifestyle at all . I think he says he had the lap band surgery, he has less of an appetite as he used to, he doesnt drink he soda he used to. Its not his fault the nachos were as elaborately decked out as the diner served. Hes obviously eating, he ate a lot of that. Its been a constant struggle for him. I think it will continue to be but hes obviously a lot smaller than a year ago or two years ago. Hes probably lost about 100 pounds. He feels good about that. And in terms of just watching him deal with different republicans in iowa, all these other places, what was your sense in talking to them . How do they look at him as a president ial candidate . They look at hem as a novelty. When he goes to places like iowa, he is the guy you see on tv. In a sense the bridge gate coverage on a number of outlets, a lot of people on the right feel has gone too far so in a sense that gives him a kind of victims credibility. Oh, hes been in the cross hairs of the left and, therefore, we must like him more. So i think a lot of things that might have made him suspect being a northeast quasi moderate, many would say, also could help him in the aftermath of this but, no, people have a lot of questions. I think whats interesting is after this big year in the rga, he won more than expected, raised a ton of money. Theres not a groundswell of people saying, all right, i will now support him for president if he runs. Look, i think he is he says hes not running yet. I think he probably will. I think the bigger question is how big his act will travel but also how it will wear. Yeah, and also when he starts to start answering those hypothetical questions eckardtfully dodge. Interesting to see what he says. Will he keep the executive order in place. One of the first of many land mines. Pick up that magazine sunday. Give it a read. Its a great profile. Thank you for joining us this morning. And up next an update on the breaking news of the earthquake out of japan. Let us be lovers, well marry our fortunes together ive got some real estate here in my bag it took me four days to hitchhike from saginaw ive come to look for america im just looking over the company bills. Up . Is that what we pay for internet . Yup. Dsl is about 90 bucks a month. Thats funny, for that price with comcast business, i think you get like 50 megabits. Wow thats fast. Personally, i prefer a slow internet. There is something about the sweet meditative glow of a loading website. Dont listen to the naysayer. Switch to comcast Business Today and get 50 megabits per second for 89. 95. Comcast business. Built for business. The getaway vehicle for all the confidence you need. Td ameritrade. You got this. Ring ring . Progresso its ok that your soup tastes like my homemade. Its our slow simmered vegetables and tender white meat chicken. Apology accepted. Im watching you soup people. Make it progresso or make it yourself prof. Burke the more you learn the more gaps you may find. Like how you thought you were covered for this. pirate ahh, haha prof. Burke . When youre really only covered for this. pirate boy ahhh, haha prof. Burke talk to farmers and get smarter about your insurance. We are farmers bumpadum, bumbumbumbum we have more details about this mornings major earthquake in central japan hit the city of nagano the hardest, with where the 1998 Winter Olympics were held. At least one building is said to have collapsed injuring one person there. Nhk also says that a landslide is blocking one of the roads in the area. At a Nuclear Power plant nearby, a spokesman for the Power Company said there are no signs of anything irregular. All reactors are currently offline. The fukushima plant, you may recall, was not damaged by the march 2011 earthquake in japan itself but by the tsunami that followed it. No tsunami warning, though, triggered so far this morning by the earthquake. Still ahead how closely have you been paying attention to the weeks big stories . We put you to the test next. Som. Others come to build something faster. Something safer. Something greener. Something the whole world can share. People come to boeing to do many different things. 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Youve been part of this family for as long as i can remember. And you just mean so much to all of us. The holidays wouldnt be the same without your crescent rolls. We got you a little something. We got you jeans. Its about time. Pipin hot pillsbury crescent rolls. Make your holidays pop [mony mony by billy idole she cokicks in on car stereo]y. Dont stop now come on mony come on yeah i say yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah cause you make me feel like a pony so good like your pony so good ride the pony the sentra, with bose audio and nissanconnect technology. Spread your joy. Nissan. Innovation that excites. [singing] mony mony live from studio 3a in Rockefeller Center usa, its time for up against the clock. When hes not pumping iron, hes sipping a cool glass of wine, say hello to aldoll foe franco. She has to refer to states by their names rather than their nicknames as she would prefer. Of its susan page. Ever the rebel, she prefers apple pie other thanksgiving pie at thanksgiving. Welcome victoria defrancescasoto. And the host of up against the clock steve kornacki. Thank you audience for joining us and thank you to our three new con it testants for another action packed edition of up against the clock. Adolfo, victoria, susan. A contentant on season one. We appreciate you being here today. Lets get right to it. Explain how this works, a you know this is a fastpaced political news and Current Events quiz. We will play for three rounds, each of them 100 seconds long. Questions 100 points in the first round. 200 in the second and 300 in the third. Contestants you may ring in at anytime but be careful. Incorrect answers will be penalized and i will then complete the question are for your opponents. Our contestants will be playing not just for victory, not just for glory, not just for honor but also for a possible chance to play in our tournament of champions at the end of the season. To qualify you will first need to win today. As always i will implore our live studio audience, please no outbursts. Our contestants deserve absolute concentration when theyre up against the clock. And with that, contestants, i will ask you, are you ready . Yes. Ready. Hands on buzzers. Lets get 100 seconds on the clock. In the 100point round begins with this. A new nbc wall street journal poll reveals this individual who turns 72 this week is the second most positively viewed potential democratic president ial candidate behind Hillary Clinton. Victoria . Biden. Joe biden is correct. Victoria is on the board. Facing public criticism from several of his fellow World Leaders over his countrys belligerent Foreign Policy this head of state susan . Vladimir putin. Left the g20 early. 100 points for susan. 100point tossup. According to newly released analysis the top recipient of wall street money this election cycle was this new jersey senator. Susan . Cory booker. 100 points for susan. 100point tossup question after recent reports about his mongering of journalists an investigation into ubers victoria . I was going to say uber buzz feed. She rang in early. Incorrect. I will now complete the question for susan and for adolfo. Business practices was called for this week by this minnesota senator. Susan . Al franken. Correct. Stop the clock. 100 points there for you, susan. More excitingly with that correct answer you have triggered our video bonus question. Here is how it works. A risk free proposition. Its 100 extra points if you can correctly identify a famous quote read to you by our special celebrity guest. Mr. John lithgow. Hi, im john lithgow with this weeks up against the clock quote of note. Which early 20th actor and humorist once said everything is changing. People are taking their comedians seriously and the politicians as a joke. Good luck. Mark twain. Oh, it was will rogers. Will rogers. No penalty, though, for guessing there. Thats the freebie. We put the clock back in motion. 100point tossup question. A seattlebased private equity firm this week purchased the rights to sell marijuana using this late reggae singers name. Majerle. Bob marley is correct. 100point tossup. Shuttle bus drivers voted to unionize at this Silicon Valley social network ing victoria . Facebook. Thats right. 100point tossup request question here with trips projected to take 36 longer than usual, thanksgiving eve traffic in had this congested west coast city is expected to be the worst. Adolfo . L. A. Susan jumps out to the early lead with 400 points. Victoria and adolfo with 100. You could catch up very quickly or susan could run away quickly or fall behind quickly. Twice as hard, twice as valuable, twice as much suspense in the room. I can feel it. Lets put 100 seconds on the clock. The 200point round begins with this. The latest installment of this mesh scifi adventure twe he en film franchise pulled in thailand hunger games. They think it will incite a rebelli rebellion. Monday nancy pelosi appointed democratic congressman Ben Ray Lujan to lead the 2016 effort to retake the house as the chairman of what of the eccc. The final film from legendary director mike nichols who passed away this week at 83 was 2007s Charlie Wilsons war oh, im sorry. Susan . Sorry, i buzzed in too early but id say it was about the war in afghanistan. Afghanistan is correct. 200 points for susan. 200point tossup. After losing soundly to republican governor nathan diehl this grandson after president adolfo . Carter. More specific, please . Time. Ill complete the question. Susan . Jason carter. May run for governor again. We needed the first name. 200point tossup. On thursday the Supreme Court allowed same sex marriages to begin in what . Susan . South carolina. Correct. 200point tossup. It was report this had week that scott brown will return to fox news as a contributor after losing to adolfo . Senator sheehan. Correct. Stop the clock. He lost to jean shaheen. Correct. 200 point for you. Because you got that right, trying to catch up. Ill explain it to you quickly. This is an optional question. I have here a question somehow related to the one that you just answered. If you choose to take the question, you can double the points you just won. Telephone more points or if you answer incorrectly you will lose those 200. So i have the question. Use it or lose it . I might as well go with it. For 200 extra points, just like scott brown, jean shaheen is also not original ly from ne hampshire. Before moving to the state in the 1980s, she lived in three other states. Name one of them. Massachusetts. Inxrekt. Missouri, pennsylvania, mississippi. Interesting assortment. We have to take those two. Its a chance you had to take. 200point tossup. We start the clock. The world bank estimate this had week that half of those employed before the Ebola Outbreak with now out of work in this west african nation . Sierra leone. Liberia. Following a petition from the coalition to stop gun violence, this comedian and former talk show host canceled his upcoming performance jay leno. Jay leno canceled it. At the wire, susan 200 more. An impressive round. You have charged into a big lead with 1,600 points. Adolfo took the chance and is in negative territory. Still, 300point round here. This is our ph. D. Round. We have seen bigger gaps overcome. Were going to dim the lights now for dramatic effect. Were going to crown a champion with this 300point round. 100 seconds on the clock. The first 300point question is this. A recount now looms in arizonas Second District where republican mcsally narrowly leads ron barber who was formerly an aide to gabby giffords. Correct. The first openly gay athlete in a major team sport, Jason Collins announced his retirement after playing for what nba team . Not my field. Time. Its the brooklyn nets. 300point tossup. The Oxford English dictionary named victoria . Veep. The word of the year. Wow. Very impressive. Revealed this week that the washington, d. C. , home shared by retiring congressman george miller, Chuck Schumer and dick durbin is up for sale. Their living arrangement are the inspiration animal house. Alpha house. Big swing there. A worldwide shortage of chocolate is possible in about five years warned this maker of m ms and adolfo . Mars. Mars is correct with confidence. 300point tossup this saturday night live cast member will headline the next white house susan . Straw. 300 points. With the unveiling of a marble and bronze statue in a song from zz top congress this week formally honored the president of this former european country. The Czech Republic . Czechoslovakia. Czechoslovakia is correct. 300point tossup. Wednesday president obama nominated Mark Rosekind to lead this Transportation Safety agency. Tsa, transportation . Incorrect. Susan . National Transportation Safety board. Incorrect. Im going to plead ignorance on this one. The national highway Traffic Safety administration. That brings us to the end of the game. Victoria, you got closer but susan was 1,600 points. You held on in the ph. D. Round. Youve won the game and because of that bill wolf will tell you what youve won. Congratulations, susan. Your name will be engraved using the finest sharpie ink on the stain resistant up against the clock gold cup. Youll receive a dvd copy of the classic 1988 film cocoon 2 the return personally autographed and youll get to play in our jackpot round for todays grand prize, a 50 Gift Certificate to kwik food meal cart operated by a former chef of the russian tea am room. Tid for lunch today. Dlib. Enjoy the meal and congratulations. Back to you, steve. All right, susan. Congratulations. Here is your cup. I warn you, dont drink from it. The chemicals in the paint are highly toxic but display it with pride. For that 50 Gift Certificate to that delicious Street Vendor food, susan, your jackpot bonus question. Jim webb this week formed a president ial campaign Exploratory Committee previously served one term in the United States senate from 2007 to 2013. For that 50 Gift Certificate, susan, who is the last onetermr to win at least one president ial primary or caucus . Okay. Can you repeat the question, please . Sure. Who is the last former oneterm senator to win at least one president ial primary or caucus . So it cant be barack obama it could be barack obama . No, a former. So last former senator to win at least one. So um, ill say biden. Incorrect. Kerry sanford . Incorrect. Victoria . I was going to say kerry. Formerly held kerrys seat. The answer is going to be an obscure massachusetts politician. Any way, congratulations. You both get the home edition. It was a spirited effort. Well be right back with the show right after this. Let us be lovers, well marry our fortunes together ive got some real estate here in my bag it took me four days to hitchhike from saginaw ive come to look for america 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. I have a cold. I took nyquil but im still stuffed up. Nyquil cold and flu liquid gels dont unstuff your nose. Really . Alkaseltzer plus night rushes relief to eight symptoms of a full blown cold including your stuffy nose. breath of relief oh, what a relief it is. Thanks. Anytime. Which means its time for the volkswagen signthendrive event. For practically just your signature, you could drive home for the holidays in a germanengineered volkswagen. Like the sporty, advanced new jetta. And the 2015 motor trend car of the year allnew golf. If youre wishing for a new volkswagen this season. Just about all you need is a finely tuned. Pen. Hurry in and get zero due at signing, zero down, zero deposit, and zero first months payment on select new volkswagen models. From San Francisco to Silicon Valley, Boston Private Bank works with all kinds of people who are innovating, building, contributing individuals, business owners, private partnerships, nonprofits, families planning their financial futures. People like you. If you want the individual attention and expertise your financial needs deserve, this is your time. This is your private bank. All right. Its time to find out what our guests know now that they didnt know before the weekend. This is the second time, susan, youve signed your name to the highly toxic up against the clock gold cup. I think youre the first twotime winner now. But i did terrible in the playoffs, in fairness. Its like march madness. So what i learned this week, if you want to look at what a pickle the republicans are in when it comes to immigration, look at a poll that came out two days ago. Its from an advocacy group, but a highly respected democratic pollster. In obama state, 67 support the substance on what the president did. And in states supported by mitt romney, 65 supported. The president s action despite the controversy for the process. Victoria . I learned things are going to get worse before they get better in mexico. Theres been a lot of unrest as a result of the kidnapping of 43 students. I think things are going to get worse for the next couple of months and i dont know what is going to happen to the presidency there. What i learned is that the republican is going to take a different tact in the next two years. The consequence of the president s bait, quite honestly, the political ploy, meaning that trying to have the Government Shutdown or some dramatic action, the republican leadership, including conservatives, have been clear they are not taking that bait and i think were going to see a republican agenda and a far more constructive agenda to the obama policies. Obviously thats the big story here for the next two years, is what is going to happen this year. We talked about earlier on the show, jim web seems to be i heard people suggest that the web thing is remember he said Newt Gingrich, was he really running or trying to sell books . I dont know. But i guess what that tells me i learned is that there will be competition for the democratic nomination. I had been thinking that maybe Hillary Clinton is so imposing that she gets the free pass. I dont think Hillary Clinton is losing any sleep over jim webb. She may have to debate him at some point. Hillary clinton and Bernie Sanders and jim webb, that would be interesting. Susan page twotime up against the clock of victor and victoria, thank you. And thanks for being good sports. Enjoy the home he had degrees, as we say. Join us for more up on sunday at 8 00 a. M. Eastern. Coming up next is melissa harrisperry. Thanks for getting up. Hi. Need an appraisal . Yeah. We do. Vo when selling your car, start with a written offer, no strings attached. Carmax. Start here. Looking for one of these . Yoplait. Smooth, creamy, and craved by the whole family. We know in the cyber world, threats are always evolving. At first, we were protecting networks. Then, we were protecting the transfer of data. And today its evolved to infrastructure. Finance. And military missions. Were constantly innovating to advance the front line in the cyber battle, wherever it takes us. Thats the value of performance. Northrop grumman. Thats the value of performance. They take us to worlds full of heroes and titans. For respawn, building the best Interactive Entertainment begins with the cloud. This is titanfall, the first multiplayer game built and run on microsoft azure. Empowering gamers around the world to interact in ways they never thought possible. This cloud turns data into excitement. This is the microsoft cloud. This morning my question, just what is the state of emergency in ferguson . Plus, new questions over the hanging of a young black man in the south. And oneonone with nina turner. But first, president obama invites millions of people to come out of the shadows. Good morning. Im melissa harrisperry. President obama promised that after the midterm elections he would take executive action and use the power of his office to address our nations broken immigration