hello, everyone. i m erin burnett. outfront tonight, the republican candidates for president have just finished debating in iowa. this is important, because it s the last day before the iowa caucuses, just 19 days away. and while newt gingrich remains the national front-runner, he has been losing steam. take a look at the latest poll. this is a gallup poll that shows in the beginning of december, just ten days ago, 37% of republican voters say they will pick newt. 22% picked mitt romney. but here s how it looks now. newt s number has dropped to 29%. romney, as no doubt he s incredibly frustrated by, remains the same. but it doesn t go down, remains around the same, 24%. as we ve seen in this race, anything can happen in the next few weeks. the swings have been dramatic and certainly didn t require 19 days. so how did the candidates do at the debate tonight? game changers? joining us now, john avalon, contributor. david frum, former speechwriter for george w. bush, and ron chr
and his new book the time of our lives, what he thinks america needs now. this is what we can learn from another time. tom brokaw for the hour. this is piers morgan tonight. tom brokaw is one of my journalistic heroes. he anchored the nbc nightly news for 22 years. he has also become awe celebrated author. his book the time of our lives and i m thrilled to say that tom brokaw joins me now. welcome. it s very good to be here and that business about me being your hero, you ll get over that by the end of the hour, i promise. i doubt that very much. you re actually the perfect guy to ask this question. i read your book with great fascination. also with an eye to how this year 2011 is going to rate in the news peo to me who s a new boy to this news anchoring game, it seems like it s been the most incredible year for news that i can remember. but what do you think? it s been a chaotic year. i think part of the reason that we see it in the way that we do is that it
against the school. i want to help children to have the courage to tell adults if they re sexually abused. also battle for the heart and soul of the gop. newt gingrich calls for a positive campaign. is that really any way to win an election? i ll ask two men who are no strangers to the rough and tumble of the trail howard dean and tom ridge. this is piers morgan tonight. good evening. a dramatic day in a pennsylvania courtroom. jerry sandusky, the former penn state football coach who is charged with child sexual abuse was expected to come face-to-face with his accusers. then at the last minute sandusky dramatically waived his right to a hearing leaving the packed courtroom in shock. he s under house arrest tonight and not due back in court until his trial begins sometime next year about. joining me now is jerry sandusky s defense counsel carl rominger. almost unprecedented certainly in pennsylvania. the big question everyone is asking, why did you waive jerry sandusky
i m erin burnett. outfront, breaking news, federal failure. gridlock reigns in washington once again. now the payroll tax cut proposal passes the republican house. so why do we say failure? well, the republican bill, included a controversial oil pipeline that the president has said he would veto. so, pass, smash. we re at square one. congress again playing chicken with the clock. there are just 18 days left until the tax cut expires. if it does, the average american will pay about a thousand dollars more in taxes next year. now, this may not be economic armageddon. but because the tax cut is popular for everyone, both parties want to pass it. so why are they failing? the bottom line, in one afternoon we found a way to compromise and get this done with the help of robert and williams at the nonpartisan tax policy center. here goes, what we call a decent proposal. if you extended the payroll tax cut for only people making under $75,000 a year, the price tag would be about $48
children. also battle for the heart and soul of the gop. newt gingrich calls for a positive campaign. is that really any way to win an election? i ll ask two men who are no strangers to the rough and tumble of the trail howard dean and tom ridge. this is piers morgan tonight. good evening. a dramatic day in a pennsylvania courtroom. jerry sandusky, the former penn state football coach who is charged with child sexual abuse was expected to come face-to-face with his accusers. then at the last minute sandusky dramatically waived his right to a hearing leaving the packed courtroom in shock. he s under house arrest tonight and won t be back in court till this trial begins some time next year. joining me now is jerry sandusky s defense counsel carl rominger. almost unprecedented certainly in pennsylvania. the big question everyone is asking, why did you waive jerry sandusky s rights to have this hearing today? unprecedented in large cases, normal in almost everyday cases, i