who killed a black man. >> it is incumbent upon all this as americans, regardless of race, region, faith, that we recognize this is an american problem, not just a black problem or brown problem or native american problem. when anybody in this country is not being treated equally under the law, that is a problem and it is my job as president to help solve it. [applause] >> so, how does this non-decision, second time a grand jury has reached this conclusion, how does this compound the issue for the president and for the country? >> significantly. this case is amazing because of all of the scrutiny and attention ferguson got and the police response to the demonstrations there. this case is in many ways more shocking. it was captured on cell phone video and a lot of people have seen it. this is an unarmed man not fighting the police and was choked to death on camera. the coroner ruled us a homicide. we have not seen the documents but we do know there will be a lot of people who will be upset and it's going to raise a lot of the same kinds of questions about whether prosecutors are able to infer the grand jury's do their jobs and it comes to death inflicted by members of the police. >> this is a very tough moment for the country and you saw the president not being particularly emotional. he was his law professor self but it is clear to me that he recognizes even though the situations are not totally analogous in this case has not got national attention up until now, this compound things dramatically and it means that in new york, the media capital of the world were stories can go big, this is going to go very big and is supercharged by the ferguson results. >> there are some intimations that there might be some kind of action tonight at the tree lighting at rockefeller plaza. if there are big protest here tonight, it's going to be an even bigger problem. >> whole country needs to take a deep rest. -- a deep breath. >> indeed. >> three shining figures from the right called a press conference today to thumb their nose at house speaker john boehner. in short, they wish their mainstream colleagues in the republican parties were doing more to stifle president obama's plans for immigration. here's senator cruz. >> doing what you promise does not mean, as it so often does in washington, sending a really stern letter. and having a meaningless show vote. why do you think people are so frustrated with washington? because they recognize there are a whole lot of politicians who say one thing at home and do something different here. >> that press conference had the flavor of a good old-fashioned tea party jamboree. we have heard that some are pushing back against boehner's plan but will this make any difference in the end? >> i think it works against the interest of ted cruz and those would like to see bipartisan compromise in washington. if he goes forward with this proposal of giving democrats a lot of what they want, which is a budget agreement into next year, i think we are headed toward nancy pelosi having to provide votes to get this passed and that's going to produce a bipartisan deal that could be the building block for more to come, most of which ted cruz will not like. >> i think that is exactly right. not only is what you said true nancy pelosi has not said whether she would allow a vote on this but john boehner's hand is only going to be strengthened in the next congress. he will have a bigger majority to work with and that will let him ignore some of the farthest right members of his congress to -- of his caucus to get things done. i dig it will strengthen boehner's hand if it gets done. >> president likes it, harry reid likes it -- when those guys agree, that's a very big deal. yesterday on the program, you and i did not see this insurrection clearly as it has emerged today, but the fact of the matter is you see a real discomfort on john boehner's part with a talk of a shutdown and you see people like ted cruz who is always an outlier and michele bachmann, who is retiring, steve king, who a lot of members of congress wish would quiet down -- this is largely going to be a sideshow and if it passes with a coalition of steny hoyer and john boehner, that's going to be good for those who wish the two parties to come together. >> it is hard to think -- i said it looked like an old-fashioned tea party rally. it's hard to imagine they are going to be stronger in these last few years. all of the signs point to it being weakened significantly by everything that is happening. >> take out your manhattan's and drink, because for the first time since the midterms president obama had a meeting with the incoming senate majority leader, mitch mcconnell from the bluegrass state of kentucky. not a lot of reporting on what happened in the meeting but both sides say was cordial and productive. we hope to learn more but at this time, is it fair to say the best friend president obama has in washington is mitch mcconnell? >> that is a little bit of a rhetorical effect. i don't think which mcconnell -- mitch mcconnell will ever be barack obama's best friend, but it is a constructive sign they are meeting and talking. we talk about how little contact the president has had with mitch mcconnell and they are now forced to do some business together. he has been the loudest voice saying no government shutdown, no threatening america's debt rating in the world. a lot of the chicanery that took place, he has been loudly outspoken on not allowing that to happen and that makes him and odd ally in many ways for barack obama. >> if these guys talk about the first few months of next year and the president says here's what i'm going to say, what do you want me to talk about? tax reform and trade -- those are two things those guys want to get done and if you build off the budget deal, this -- it may not be his best friend but this could be the guy who gets stuff onto the president's desk which is something harry reid was rarely able to do because of the split control between house and senate. mitch mcconnell -- no shutdown no debt ceiling breach, he wants to get things done. >> we are going to talk about the business roundtable, but one of the things he said today was he was open to doing a tax reform bill and that was really interesting. i think the president was signaling an openness to try to make a deal on that front and it's another sign that augurs well for the possibility that as much as we are skeptical, there could be a few things that might get done over the course of the next few years. >> i hope it's not the last meeting that these guys have. and that the next one is and has far away. >> i don't know whether there was bourbon in the room, but i hope there was some and i hope it was good bourbon. >> the president had other friends to make today. i believe the appropriate noun would be a rookery of the ceos. they talked about tax reform integration, and it seems like they agreed on a lot of things. given the overlap between the corporate community and white house, i can't help but wonder why big business is not doing more more vocally to help this president. >> a bunch of things -- a lot of them are more conservative than the president and always have been. even the ones inclined toward him before, they don't think you think good manager. -- don't think he is a good manager. they are disappointed in his ability to run the federal government. i think a lot of these guys are fed up with washington and don't think much is going to get done and don't want to put capital in to work with the president to get things done. a lot of this event was open, i think the president has a great chance today in the room -- we will see in the coming days -- he's got a great chance to build a coalition with this group a -- with this group. tax cuts, reform integration trade, infrastructure -- the business roundtable could not be more in line with the president on a lot of these issues. >> the white house is saying to a lot of reporters that they feel as though the president has had a rocky relationship with business. less so with some people in finance. he is never had a great relationship with these folks and the white house says they think the fall has started. i don't know if that is true. i will say 3.8% economic growth over the last couple of months will do a lot to improve their relationship. when you start seeing growth that is booming like that, it makes them favorably predisposed to whatever is in office. >> is that a ball or a self? -- eighta balm or a salve? >> it's a nice lotion. it puts the lotion in the basket and puts it on its skin. >> are republican business people so turned off by people like senator cruz that they turn away from the president because they do want the uncertainty that comes with showdowns and shutdowns? >> that is certainly a part of it. coming up, rick perry was doing his best to recruit donors in texas. we will talk to one of the republican strategists who was there when we come back. ♪ >> the governor of texas sure does look like a guy who wants to run for president. he has to to win over voters and donors. his focus to some extent today looking for a do over from the rattlesnake candidate he was in 2012. a lot of people to make a first impression. he's also in the process in the latest of a series of policy briefings he has been giving in the last few months. one republican strategist has in the room is the national committeeman from mississippi who was a big supporter of governor perry in 2012. welcome. >> thank you. how are you? >> we are good. these meetings involve a lot of people who were already for governor perry but quite a few who have not been for him and you are trying to court. what is the mood of these meetings compared to other political meetings you've been to? >> these are like lunches where you bring in 30 or 40 people and visit with them. people are very eager for change in washington. they see washington is broken and obama has offered hope and hype and they are looking for someone who can perform. governor perry has performed in texas and people are open-minded. there are some people who hope governor perry is going to run and there are other people who just want to hear what he has to say. >> i'm curious -- when governor perry ran last time, he had a rough go of it. i have talked to him a little bit about what he learned from that first run and he said he learned a ton and it was a great learning experience, but it has created a thin margin for error and a lot of people are dubious about how well he can perform. what did the people who are around you to day, what kind of bar does he need to make himself plausible in their eyes? >> that's a good question. the governor has been very direct. he was not ready. he jumped into a race and kind of embarrassed himself and was arrogant to think he could just do it. people expect to hear him talk about policy a way that shows he has command of the issues and he's doing a good job of that but i think is fair to say that is a hurdle he's got to get over, particularly with the donor class and i think he is off to a nice start, but it is just a start. >> what are the stakes for someone running in this fight? what do you have two rays be a -- tor raise to be a serious candidate? >> to get started and be able to perform in the first couple of states and get some organizations, you have to have between $10 million and $15 million. >> it's got to be more than that. >> not necessarily. >> in all of 2015? >> i think if you raise $10 million or $15 million, you can play. obviously there will be people who raise multiples higher than that. but that is not necessary. i really do believe, and maybe i smoking something in am mississippi, but if you raise $15 million, you can compete. i think governor perry will probably do a little better than that and do better than some of his competitors on fundraising but donors right now for candidates, mostly they are keeping their powder dry. whether it's chris christie scott walker, jeb bush or whoever, people are not eager to jump in the middle of this quite yet. >> whatever you said that thing is you're smoking in mississippi, hope you save some for me. how far in the planning stages is governor perry? is there a nucleus around him, a real team that could be activated if he decides to run? is he planning a trip to new hampshire in the coming weeks or months? >> he is light years beyond where he was when he jumped in in the summer of 2011 in the last minute. he does have a nucleus, he has a team around him and he has been the last few years pairing. -- years preparing. he realizes because of his poor performance in the debate that he is to be well-prepared and he is making certain he is well-prepared and understands what is coming at him and that this is a real challenge. i think he is off to a good start and in some ways, he's farther along than some others who have had elections they have had to deal with this past year for themselves personally, so that is an advantage for him but there is ample time for folks who want to think about getting in this and the pace will pick up in the first quarter and second quarter. >> most people who run have their equivalent of karl rove. peachy strategist. -- a chief strategist. the person for rick perry was not involved. tell us about jeff miller, a guy relatively new to the kerry political operation. how has he become the karl rove of this operation? >> i don't know that i would call him the karl rove of this operation, but jeff miller is doing a great job managing a team of people who bring great skills and talents to governor perry's team as they consider this. miller has no egos. he's very open and look to folks and has the governor's trust. >> is that why you would not call him another karl rove? [laughter] >> right? he's just different from carl. karl is more of a political strategist. jeff is a guy who gets things done and who has put the right people in front of the governor. i would not so much call him the strategist, but he's the guy who is directing traffic and deserves a lot of credit for helping him thus far. >> tell me real quick who do you think is the most formidable potential candidate other than governor perry and how much of a problem is ted cruz in terms of donors if ted cruz does run? >> what is obvious is the republicans have a strong bench. if you look at states like wisconsin, where scott walker is from, they are having great success -- rick snyder in michigan, having great success mike tents in indiana is a guy people talk about who could be a formidable candidate. jeb bush, obviously, chris christie -- we have a strong bench. rand paul is a very serious contender, mike huckabee would be an attractive candidate. we have a really strong team and the democrats have gotten behind a candidate -- barack obama has demonstrated is overrated and flustered on the campaign trail. >> send john some of that stuff you are smoking and send me your barbecue. thank you. when we come back, you have probably seen the trailer for the new movie lampooning north korea's a prima leader decided -- north korea's supreme leader and we decided to make a better one. you will see it when we come back. ♪ >> we have saved the most delightful item of the day for last -- the hacking of sony pictures. it is the back story that makes it especially delicious. the approximate cause is a forthcoming buddy flick starring seth rogen and james franco. the plot revolves around a plot to kill the supreme leader of north korea. unsurprisingly, kim jong-un was upset about it. he decided to take it was the look is action imaginable -- that is exposing the salaries of a bunch of hollywood's suits, which has unleashed widespread pandemonium in fact, when you think about it, all of this actually makes for a much better and funnier story than the one in the movie. so we put together a trailer for the flick we would actually like to see. >> this christmas, seth rogen and james franco are best friends in the dictator strikes back. starring, the real supreme leader of the people plot them a craddick republic of korea. still bitter over a film that portrayed his father is a tiny puppet, he is now the target of a dastardly plot -- a movie plot, and wish to stoners are sent to north korea to take them out. >> you want us to kill the leader of north korea? >> this makes kim jong-un very unhappy and his response is to strike back at america where it really hurts, not with a terror attack or nuclear missile, but by embarrassing the decadent american imperialist dogs who run sony pictures. >> hackers reportedly leaked executive salaries. >> including 17 salaries of over $1 million. $3 million year for the sony ceo and amy paschal, sending hollywood into a tailspin while kim jong-un striking back at a comedy film gets the last laugh. based on the true story of a pr strategy that relies on north korean outrage, elevating the buddy comedy to the level of international crisis and getting oceans of ink and free publicity from the western media. >> kim jong-un is a winner -- seth rogen and james franco are also winners. the only losers are the people making millions of dollars. >> thanks again to the voice of matt miller. we are not making fun of kim jong-un. we mean no offense. he's one of the most prominent and prized endorsers of our last look. ♪ >> breaking news -- it turns out that mitch mcconnell/barack obama meeting was not the most interesting. more on that on bloomberg's politics.com and on the show tomorrow. >> we will see you later. ♪ >> hello, i'm pimm fox and this is what i am taking stock of this wednesday, december 3 2014. a white new york city police officer accused of killing a black man with a chokehold is not indicted. the grand jury reached its decision today after months of testimony in the death of eric gardner, who is forced to the ground after being charged with allegedly selling untaxed cigarettes. the decision has caused protests in new york city. a coalition of states challenging president obama's recent order on immigration. the lawsuit claims of the president exceeded his constitutional authority. obama defended his decision today. >> this is the right thing to do for our economy.