Transcripts For MSNBC Morning Joe 20110105

to say that when they move to try and repeal health care a week from tomorrow, that the hit on the deficit will not matter. that kind of film flam is exactly what the american people came to expect the last time the republicans were in charge. >> all right. good morning. it is wednesday, january 5th. we are in washington as the 112th congress will be sworn in today. welcome to "morning joe." joining us on the set, msnbc political analyst pat buchanan, msnbc chief washington correspondent norah o'donnell, and political reporter for the "huffinigton post," sam stein. good to be here, isn't it. >> what is film flam? >> they've got to come up with better -- >> film flam. van hollen went on to say those young whipper snappers. >> i won't stand for film flam up here, bright and early. >> let the games begin as somebody said here. norah, that's an unusual tough joust. enron-style accounting from republicans before they take control. >> i guess it's no kumbaya. you can see they're already at loggerheads. today is the big day, like the first day of school on capitol hill. the new speaker of the house, john boehner, gets sworn in. ten of his 11 brothers and sisters will be there. 50 nieces and nephews. >> it's a giant family that came in on buses an planes and trains. they introduced new rules in the house. thursday they start reading the constitution on the house floor. >> something i forgot, reading "the new york times" this morning, i forgot, and i was there -- i forget so much of when i was there -- it was the summer of love in '98. couldn't remember a whole lot. john boehner actually was in power when i got there in '94. but in '98 he got voted out of power. >> right. he sat out for quite some time. >> he got rejected for about a decade which actually, pat, makes this rise back to the top for boehner all the more exciting. >> exactly. a big catholic family as norah points out 126789 kids back in the '50s. wasn't he involved in the cue data against newt? >> no. we could inviting him and he wouldn't come. >> if you've got the votes, we'll be there. tom delay was there, stuck his tow in the water and then ran. boehner was not there. but he got voted out. >> he's a survivor. >> i've got to say, also, sam, john boehner has avoided the mistakes we made in '94, even before we went in, we said so many things that were inflammatory. we were going after big bird and newt was talking about taking kids away from parents and throwing them in orphanages. there was a lot of scar tissue before newt got sworn in, before i got sworn in. boehner is keeping his head down. >> i think he has two things he's contrasting his tenure to. one is obama and the other is '94. it's actually telling to look back at what happened in '94, but also the speech newt gingrich gave when he took the gavelship of the speaker. he talked a lot about shared responsibility, about making sure that washington's eye wasn't removed from the plight of the poor. the rhetoric is a lot different now. you can see the republican party has moved a bit to the right since then, that they're very cognizant of the tea party. boehner has a lot of a balancing act to do. a lot has to the with not repeating the mistakes in '94. >> he's learned from the mistakes we made in '94 which i think were more tonal than anything. we did blns the budget as we promised to do, reformed welfare as we promised to do, cut taxes. tonally we lost the middle of mayor canned give the presidency back to clinton. boehner has also learned from the mistakes the bush congress made. the "wall street journal" editorial basically telling boehner and republicans keep in line or else you're going to be voted out again. >> republicans have a lot to live up to because they've been highly critical of this white house leaning left and critical about spending. we've got a big show this morning, representative paul ryan, senator claire mccaskill. are we allowed to say she's our favorite? howard dean will join us, he's my favorite, and bob woodward will be on the show this morning as well. let's get to the top story, the 112th congress will be sworn in today. congress's first legislative action will come friday when house leaders begin the pros pro ses of repealing president obama's health care law and identifying billions of dollars in proposed spending cuts. much of what republicans do will be ssymbolic. the quick action will allow boehner to follow through on campaign pledges and satisfy members of the tea party. republicans will read the entire constitution, as norah mentioned in the house championshiper tomorrow. on route back to washington, president obama appealed to newly appointed republicans to focus their efforts on the economy. >> by the way, we said this would happen, this puts the president in such a great position. the president is saying on the plane flying back from "air force one," i hope congress, i hope boehner, i hope mcconnell will focus on jobs which, of course, very ironic. but he's in a great position now. >> i think he ended the year very strong. with his compromise, he's better off dealing with boehner and republicans than he is with pelosi and the left wing of his party, positioned himself in the center because of the nature of the conflict with the tea party. it's interesting, if you take 1964 to 1980, the immaturity of the conservative movement and it matured when reagan hit 16 years later. '94 and 2010, 16 years later. a lot of the guys came in with you, rhett hots, have learned a lot, have grown, are now in power. they know what they did wrong, know what they did right. >> i will say i was a red hot -- >> i was a red hot. >> at least you admit it now. >> i was a regular bomb-thrower. that loses presidential campaigns for the party. they have grown a good bit. it's going to be fascinating to see. i wonder, sam, john boehner gets sworn in today. when the president of the united states is sitting at 50% approval rating for the first time in a long time. the gallop three-day looks great, 50-42. you've got a president empowered, a republican speaker empowered, it gets interesting, doesn't it? >> i think this is highly liberating for obama, not just him, but democrats in congress. for two years they were shoulder rg a lot of burden, getting a who host of legislative action done. a lot of liberal attention was focused on congressional leadership's inability to get something done. now that you have boehner in position, you see van hollen going up talking about film flams and schumer saying republicans should give up health reform. these are superficial but interesting, rhetorical jabs that you didn't really see during the past years because they're so focused on their own internal processes. >> joe, you bring up the underlying narrative that's important to note that even during this shellacking of the first two years, this president has held on to very strong approval ratings relative to other presidents. >> norah the president didn't get below 45% approval ratings when we had 15% unemployment, right track in the 20s. that's remarkable. he's jumped up now by just showing a bit of moderation. he's now jumped up to 50%. >> which is huge. nome no president since world war 2 has been re-elected with this high of unemployment. for the president to be at 50% is remarkable. i think that's why the president looked very rested and ready coming off on the plane and visiting with the press corps. it really does give i think, too, you mentioned having an opposition is healthy for the democrats. it gives them a lot of ammunition in many ways. speaker boehner is talking about a lot of cuts. they'll make this symbolic cut to their operating expenditures, about 5%, maybe less. they're cutting their own staff budget. symbolic, important, a nod to the tea party. then they talked about returning to 2008 spending levels which would cut about $10 billion. there's disagreement about that this morning, but the democrats are going to use that to say, really? you're going to cut 40,000 teachers. that's a 20% across-the-board tax cut? where are you cutting? you're going to cut pell grants for students? it's going to give democrats ammunition. as we know, we need to make spending cuts, but it's painful. >> it takes the focus off barack obama. you can't over estimate this fact that the professional left now has a target other than obama. you can actually blame republicans who have power in washington now, and so the professional left will focus away from the president. palt, we've drawn reagan analogies with barack obama in the past, a guy americans like. now he's at 50% which i think is extraordinarily high considering everything. like reagan, if you get unemployment down to 7.5%, it's morning in america. >> that's a big if. that's what you're talking about. exactly right. >> it was a big if for reagan. >> it was a wig if for reagan in '82. >> if they start picking up jobs and gaining jobs, things like that, the mood of the country grows. on the other side, things are looking pretty good on the stock market. but on the other side, california, illinois, new york, these cities that are in danger. greece, all of the sudden one of these countries could go and these banks could start going down. that thing could leap the atlantic. i think that is the big problem is that the bond markets are nervous and the stock market is happy. if the bond markets are right about what's going to happen, it could be a real problem. >> there's another problem as well, though. that's if this president did want to do something drastic in terms of job creation, he's really exhausted his opportunity to do so. no chance for another stimulus. the tax cut package which was packed with some stimulus, was the last real bite at the apple. >> sam, i got bad news for you, my liberal friend, tax cuts about stimulus. there is no better stimulus than people keeping their money instead of giving it to bureaucrats in washington. >> now we have a great litmus test. we can see what happens with the bush tax cuts. they're all part of the same package. a year from now when the ui benefits run out, we can see if they're worth extending again. in two years when the tax cuts run out, we can see if they're worth. >> not tax debates. 61st speaker of the house takes his post today. the speaker apparently will be saying "the player can't people have humbled us, refreshed our memories as to just how temporary the privilege to serve is. they have reminded us that everything here is on loan from them. that includes this gavel which i accept cheerfully and gratefully knowing i ambu its caretaker. after all, this is the people's house. this is their congress. it's about them, not us. what they want is a government that is honest, accountable and responsive to their needs. a government that respects individual liberty, honors our heritage and bows before the public it serves." >> i'm tearing up. >> humility, humility, humility. we have said this, pat, because we saw the arrogance of clinton lead to gingrich. the arrogance of gingrich lead back to clinton. the arrogance of bush leading to obama. the arrogance of obama leading to john boehner. it sounds like at least this republican congress understands they did not win. obama lost. >> that is exactly the right tone to set. boehner, unlike clinton and unlike newt, who were cocky guys, boehner i think is -- he's undergone a rough time. ten years in the wilderness. he's been out. he's back. this is his term. he understands the mistakes that were made back then. i think he's trying to go against them. this is an excellent start in terms of tone and content. >> sounds good. >> i had a conservative friend on twitter -- i don't have a lot. but i have a conservative friend on twitter who spent a year or two hammering me saying, why are you so tough on republicans? it's because they spend too much money. she sent me a cartoon that i posted, and it was of a huge american bald eeg wl a grimace and a little, little elephant. and it's "we're watching." which is americans are watching republicans, they're watching democrats. these parties are finding every two years now, if you're going to be held accountable. >> governors are responding. up next, the latest on the rumored shakeup coming the the white house. also a dramatic and controversial sugar bowl decided just a few hours ago. complete highlights coming up in sports. first, bill karins with a check on the forecast. bill? >> good wednesday morning, mika. another cold start to the day. nothing too shocking out there. temperatures are in the 20s for the most part along with the windchill. no snow today for the big cities. that will wait till friday. more on that in a second. but from albany through syracuse and utica, you may be dealing with lake-effect snowshowers. the next snow event will come into areas between boston and new york city it looks like during the day on friday. a couple inches possible. right now it looks like three to six inches around new york. boston, probably something similar to that. it's not a big nor'easter. as farr as the south goes, heavy rain on i-10 from baton rouge to mobile, heading for panama city and pensacola later today. a cold day around minneapolis and chicago with a chance of light snow in the twin cities. you're watching "morning joe" brewed by starbucks. back in the 80's, it was really tough for me and my family. i was living on welfare and supporting a family of four. after i got the job at walmart, things started changing immediately. then i wrote a letter to the food stamp office. "thank you very much, i don't need your help any more." you know now, i can actually say i bought my home. i knew that the more i dedicated... the harder i worked, the more it was going to benefit my family. this my son, mario and he now works at walmart. i believe mario is following in my footsteps. my name is noemi, and i work at walmart. ♪ oprah winfrey, she's got this new network, the first couple nights they were doing "behind the scenes." they showed before each show the staff in the control room gathers and they all hold hands. let's hold hands, and they all hold hands in the control room. and then they go ahead and do the show. i was thinking, we've been here 26 years, however long we've been here, 30 years. i've been in the control room twice, and both times it was because i thought i was going to fight a guy. >> really? >> see, now this is why we're not letting you go in the control room. we know -- >> last i go to the control room here, chris had a brain hemorrhage that morning. so i have not been allowed in since. going in talking about camera angles. i want the over-the-shoulder shot. >> seriously. >> i'm staying out. >> i told you you caused it. let's take a look at the morning papers. "new york times," aloha also means good-bye. two staffers return with their surf boards tuesday as the hawaii vacation ended and work commenced. >> let's look at that picture for a second. >> i don't want to. >> let's go back to that for a second. pat, did that ever happen in the nixon white house? >> la casa pacifica, i don't think so, joe. >> i don't think they would be carrying those back. "the boston globe," governor deval patrick has a new goal as he starts his second term, get out of the state more often. the governor said he wants to travel to research other state policies, publicize his upcoming memoir and possibly campaign for president obama. >> "wall street journal," the first clear pictures of what appears to be a chinese stealth fighter jet have been published online. it highlights china's military buildup just days before defense secretary robert gates heads to beijing to try to repair defense ties. >> "arizona daily star" new legislation being introduced today in washington could reignite the battle over citizenship. lawmakers from arizona and at least 14 other states want to change a policy that allows if children of illegal immigrants to be granted automatic citizenship if they are born on u.s. soil. without going to pat buchanan, we now turn to our right and mika, what do you have? >> i have business on the go. i'm moving on. let's bring in anybody coal lapin at cnbc headquarters. i take it consumers might be bracing for new banking fees. i don't need fees. >> nobody wants fees. the fed actually wants to help us out. they wanted to cut the late fees on debit card transactions. you remember this was part of dodd-frank. we thought this was great news. yeah, for a hot minute. we my the banks would figure out how to make some of that revenue back, about $9.8 billion. the journal is reporting this morning they may impose a $25 or $30 annual fee on debit cards. some may also try to limit the number of debit card transactions consumers can make each and every month or even the amount of stuff people are buying. some other things on the table is potentially raising atm fees for noncustomers or doing away, cloers your ears, with that free checking. >> great. those fees add up, especially the atm fees. you have to be really, really careful. nicole lapin, thank you so much. we'll see you tomorrow. now to willie for politico. >> joe, we should point out one thing. you made fun of the nixon white house. they enjoyed frolicking in the sun, they wore wing tips and black dress socks. real natural on the beach, that nixon. chief white house correspondent for politico is mike allen with a look at the morning playbook. hey, mike. >> hang ten, willie. >> let's take a look inside the white house. you guys are writing about big staff shakeup there including perhaps for robert gibbs. we heard about bill daly possibly coming in as chief of staff. run through some of these for us. >> robert gibbs development is a real surprise. we knew he'd probably move away from the podium, perhaps to be a senior advisor, perhaps to go to the campaign. now we're hearing a possibility that robert gibbs is considering leaving the president's operation, opening his own shop, described to me as carvel-esque, able to serve the president's re-election, but also serve other clients. this is an amazing change in the obama ecology because, of course, going back to the senate, robert gibbs has been at the president's side every single working day. >> but doesn't he serve a larger purpose going back with axelrod, too? he's still working for the president, just in a different capacity, right? >> that's right. as the re-election campaign ramps up, we'll see a big obama, inc. you'll have the white house, you'll have the campaign headquartered in chicago. you'll have a lot of the obama consultants. it's going to be a huge operation. other changes as soon as this friday, gene sperling, treasury official who helped negotiate the points of the tax cut deal. he may be named to secede layry summers. early next week we have the rival date for david plouffe. this is all building toward january 25th, three weeks from yesterday, the president's state of the union we'll really unveil obama 2.0. >> mike, i saw tom daschle's name floated for the first time in a while as a possibility of chief of staff which we all have said around here we think would be a great idea. is there any possibility that daschle could possibly take that position? >> it's unlikely, but tom daschle continues to talk privately with the president which is not often known or reported. tom daschle's connection to lobbying aren't the optics the white house is going for. we think it will either be bill daley coming in or pete rouse will be persuaded to stay. >> has bill daley been asked yet, mike? >> he has talked about it. interesting enough, he's been talking extensively to rahm emanuel about what the rest wing is like, what the problems are. we're told bill daley thinks there should be changes. >> there's a lot of daley-rahm swap going on. >> there sure the. >> happy 112th. how a cup of coffee caused an international flight scare causing a highjack alert and an emergency landing. you'll want to hear this one. an epic fail in final moments of a marathon, you hate to see this. the lead runner makes a wrong turn. >> don't follow that truck. >> plus two words that don't mix. amateur and bull fighting. we'll be right back. 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good judgment and professionalism when making the videos that included simulated sex acts and anti-gay contact. actress glenn close says she's deeply offended she's part of the video. philippine police say this chilling photograph helped them capture a gunman accused of killing a local politician. the image taken by the victim himself shows a man aiming his gun straight at the camera seconds before the assassin pulled the trigger. just a few days after some 5,000 black birds fell from the sky in arkansas, another 500 of them dropped to their deaths in louisiana. it is unclear if the two cases are related. state officials speculate power lines along the highway where the birds were found could be involved. as if things possibly couldn't get any stranger, brazilian media -- >> i don't get this. birds keep falling from the sky and they're blaming fireworks one day and power lines. why do birds keep falling from the sky. >> really clean windows? >> no. >> i guess so. seriously. it keeps going and going. i got another one for you. brazilian media reporting that up to 15 tons of dead fish have washed ashore in south america. officials are still investigating the cause of that. >> this happened in arkansas, too. an update to the big facebook deal that we reported on the other day. the "wall street journal" reports that the scc is examining whether to update disclosure rules for privately held companies. that's the result of the recent facebook agreement with goldman sachs that would allow some of the bank's client to buys as much as $1.5 billion in equity in the social networking site. according to "the journal" the inspection is still at an early stage and the scc has not disclosed it broke any rules. a united airlines flight had to be divert. the emergency? spilled coffee. according to transportation officials t pilot tipped a cup on the plane's communications equipment triggering emergency codes including a signal usually used in the event of a hijacking. the captain and crew decided rather than continuing the flight, they would take the plain to toronto where it could be fixed. let's go to willie with sports. strong coffee. >> another day, another college bowl game. the sugar bowl was a wild one. number six ohio state against eighth ranked arkansas. terrelle pryor and four teammates suspended the first five games of next season for nonsense ncaa rules. he was allowed to play in the bowl game, and it was a good thing for the buckeyes. in the second quarter, pryor shooking up with devier posey in the end zone, a 43 yard touchdown pass. posey one of the guys suspended as well. 336 total yards in the game. the buckeyes jumping out to an 18-point lead at half-time. here comes arkansas in the third quarter, ryan mallet, a perfect pass connecting with wright. by the time they got to the fourth quarter, the razor backs cut the lead to five. with just over a minute to go in the game, ohio state punting, arkansas blocks it. should have scooped it up and run into in for a touchdown. they have a minute to score from 20 yards out on the touchdown, would give them the win. mallet gives up the interception to solomon thomas. that would be it. buckeyes beat arkansas 31-26. they win the sugar bowl. pryor is named mvp for the second consecutive year. the mvp of the rose bowl last year. in an interview after the game, pryor addressed the suspension handed down by the ncaa. >> we're a football family and when everything goes back, that's exactly what happened. they stuck with me. i love all my teammates for that. i apologize to buckeye nation. we made dumb mistakes two years ago. ncaa had to do their job and take us out. i apologize to everybody. >> terrelle pryor saying the right thing. he got a discounted tattoo using his fame and his name. it's all soly dick laos. >> guys turning in championship rings. it was unbelievable. the bigger story has been the complete collapse of the big 10. it is, without a doubt, a third-rate conference when you compare it to the s.e.c. look at the fact that s.e.c. this year has a chance to have five national champions in a row and they're five different teams. >> the big 10 was exposed, especially on new year's day, 0-5, getting blown out in three different games by the s.e.c. although last night ohio state got the win. >> yeah, finally. miami heat looking good all of the sudden. remember they got off to a slow start with the dream team. now they've won 19 of 20, beating milwaukee last night. the win streak, even more impressive because the heat's ability to sell out games on the road. they've got screaming girls, the whole thing. they lead the nba in road attendance. in a postgame interview lebron james compared the heat to a certain rock group. lebron said, quote, we call our sells the heatles. we bring our show on the road. >> good lord. >> in that scenario lebron and dwyane wade are john, you know that. 7'3" ill gawk cass is ring go. >> give me a break. one more reason to hate the heat. >> you were probably watching intensely this weekend's tokyo marathon. i know i was. the red and black, he's winning the race, cruising -- don't follow the tv truck. you're going the wrong way. oh, no. >> that is such a shame. the tv truck takes a right turn. he's winning the tokyo marathon. the rest of the runners cruise the finish line. he came back to finish in tenth place. you just hate to see that. he's crushed as you can see. >> that's happened to us several times. it's a heartbreaker. >> you get into that right turn in central park, joe, and it's cost us so many times at the marathon. >> willie would have won the new york marathon in '87. i had the boston marathon -- actually i turned into a pub right before the finish line. my own fault. >> right after mcdonald's. one last thing for you. proof that sometimes sports best left to professionals. this was the scene in colombia last week where hundreds of amateur bull fisers, basically people ran into a ring to fight bulls, taunting thousand pound beasts. local media reporting at least 48 people have been hurt, no one too seriously. unlike the bull fighting in spain, they do not attempt to kill the animals in colombia. the idea is apparently just to get your ass kicked by a bull. i don't know. you get into a ring -- so there you go. amateur colombian bull fighting. now you're up to speed. >> they don't have video games in colombia? >> they need something. >> give them the xbox, man. up next, mika's must-read opinion pages. also there are at least two new multi, multi, multi millionaires. we'll eel tell you where the winning mega million tickets were sold. is the world ready for the next susan boyle? i think the internet found him. he was living next to a highway in columbus, ohio. you have to hear this guys. "news you can't use," we'll be right back. it's me. girl's weekend. hey, thanks so much for swapping cars with me. no problem. is there gas in it? yeah, um, you got plenty. and the oil? oil is good to go. tires? all four tires. full of air. now only if i could get the keys... i could start it for you too. ok now you're just showing off. available on most cadillac models. onstar. safely connecting you in ways you never thought possible. live on. can a trading site help make you a sharper trader? mine can. td ameritrade can. they've got trading specialists i can call for help. and paper trading. free practice trading that helps me hone my technique. complex options. and free tutorials. online or in person. can a trading site really make a difference? if it can't, why are you trading there? number one in online equity trades: td ameritrade. trade commission-free for 30 days, plus get up to $500 when you open an account. it was years of effort and so many people, and everything had toe happen to make it happen. i have to tell you, jon, your show made a difference. it really made a difference. i know you're shy. >> listen -- >> listen, i know you're shy. i know you're modest, but it made a difference. >> i do feel like we drove by a burning car on the highway and went, someone should call that in. and so that's what we did. meanwhile there are people standing around the car the whole time saying, we've been saying that. and we're like, i know, we have a phone. >> that is the 9/11 bill that president obama signed over his hawaii vacation. we have -- the "new york post" we have a picture of that. >> this drew an interesting reaction off camera. nobody wanted to say it on camera yesterday. the president signed the 9/11 bill in the casual shirt, and mika, you and barnicle and others around the table said, it just didn't feel right. >> i'm not one to judge, but yeah, yeah. if it's anything to do with 9/11, i just -- >> i'm from florida, so that looks like -- if i could sign every bill in that outfit -- pat, what do you think about that? there's always -- we heard the stories reagan didn't go in the oval office unless he had a jacket a on. we're in a more casual age. mika and others around the table said it didn't seem right. >> it's serious, grave business. these are guys that died in the line of duty. >> i guess the image -- i don't know. i have to say i noticed it. >> i don't think we should get caught up in what he was wearing in signing the bill as the fact that it took a while to pass it. if you're worried about the gave business of helping 9/11 responders, your anger should be directed toward those that blocked the bill. >> it reminds me of iraq with bush, watch me hit this tee shot. >> there are people around the table off camera -- >> we didn't talk about it because we thought it was a little -- >> it tease florida guy in me. i'd wear flip-flops and a t-shirt every day if i could. i'm only dressed like this because i came to washington in sweats yesterday. sunday clothes and sweats and no in between. >> let's read a great opinion today in the "wall street journal." yes, the gop opportunity is the title. it says in part, this, this will begin to frame the stakes for 2012, and from there the gop can attack obamacare piece by piece. postpone next year's tax increase on branded pharmaceuticals and biotech, reform and restore funding for medicare advantage, repeal the long-term care insurance program that is already scheduled to be broke within a decade. such votes will honor gop campaign promises, continue to educate voters about the bill's falls and perhaps even force mr. obama to use a veto or two. >> they say this: republicans could make a difference, but much depends on which republican party chooses to show up. will it be the incumbent protection and business group machine that prevailed under the final years of tom delay or remember the real sources of power -- >> i'm doing reporting on this. it's the difference between voting the repeal health care and voting the defund certain aspects of it. the repeal is purely symbolic. it's a play to the base. if they win and try to defund health care, it will be very telling. not only will they be going at the lifeline of the bill, but the private insurance companies will be actively pushing against the republican party in that case. >> by the way, pat, as you know, all the funding begins in the house of representatives, they're not going to overturn it. they could gut it. they could defund it every step of the way. >> exactly. cuccinelli's lawsuit on the individual mandate could overturn it. joe, i tell you this. the "wall street journal" has been pushing to make this the big battle with the democratic congress. health care, they say if you let this thing go in for two more years and don't do anything about it, it's gone. >> the funding is out the door in that case if you led this thing stand. a lot of it is out the door. they'll have to do it now. >> is this a healthy battle? is this what they should take on? this is what they're committing to. >> well, sure. listen, if the democrats want to defend a health care reform bill that they don't even know what's contained in it, then let them go aled and do it. but this is really the way this republican house can have their biggest imprint. it's by funding. you can't fund anything in washington, d.c. unless the house of representatives says so. they write -- they've got the checkbook. and that's an extraordinarily powerful position to be in. >> still ahead, incoming chair of the budget committee, we have congressman paul ryan joining us. and willie, what's coming up next? >> we've got "news you can't use," one of those. how did that voice come out of that body, sort of susan boyle type situation. this one is from here in united states from a homeless man living by the interstate. wait till you hear this guy and his story. we'll tell you when we come back. >> ( baby crying ) >> grandfather: our first grandson. >> father: he sees you. >> ( "imagine" by john lennon playing ) >> ( laughing softly ) >> ( woman speaking korean ) >> ( child speaking korean ) >> ( children chattering ) >> dwight d. eisenhower: in the goodness of time, all peoples will come to live together in a peace guaranteed... >> john lennon: ♪ you may say ♪ i'm a dreamer ♪ but i'm not the only one >> ( blowing whistle ) >> ♪ i hope someday... >> good night, baby. >> ♪ ...you'll join us ♪ and the world ♪ will be as one >> woman: together, we are the human network. cisco. for three hours a week, i'm a coach. but when i was diagnosed with prostate cancer... i needed a coach. our doctor was great, but with so many tough decisions i felt lost. unitedhealthcare offered us a specially trained rn who helped us weigh and understand all our options. for me cancer was as scary as a fastball is to some of these kids. but my coach had hit that pitch before. turning data into useful answers. we're 78,000 people looking out for 70 million americans. that's health in numbers. unitedhealthcare. diabetes testing? what else is new? you get the blood, hope it's enough, it's-- what's this? freestyle lite® blood glucose test strip. sure, i'll try it, but-- [beep] wow. yep, that's the patented freestyle zipwik™ design. it's like it-- [both] targets the blood. yeah, draws it right in. the test starts fast. you need just a third the blood of one touch.® okay. freestyle test strips. i'll take 'em. sure. call or click-- we'll send you strips and a meter, free. can't i just have these? freestyle lite test strips. call or click today. oh, yes. is it time, willie? >> it is. >> look how cute he is. >> thank you. it is indeed time form the "news you can't use." we had the susan boyle situation last year. got on stage and everyone stunned to hear her voice. something kind of similar going on in columbus, ohio. there's a guy who sits by the side of interstate 71 with a guy that says i have a gift from god. he grows on to talk about his voice. it's more of a speaking voice than a singing voice. he says i'd be great on the radio. so one report frer the newspaper, "the columbus dispatch" pulled up to the intersection and asked, let me hear this gift. listen to this. >> when you're listening to nothing but the best of oldies, you're listening to magic 98.9. through so much. god bless you. we'll be back with more right after these words. don't forget tomorrow morning is your chance to win a pair of tickets to see this man live in concert. >> sign that guy up. >> is that his voice? >> his real voice. his name is ted williams. fell on hard times. homeless. now he's going to be on the radio today, a radio show in columbus, ohio. somebody raised $15,000 to pay to get him on the radio. this guy might end up with a job thanks to that sign and that voice. did you play the mega millions last night, $355 million. fourth biggest jackpot in the history of the united states lottery. 41 states. d.c. as well. lines all over the place. let's go now, thanks to a guy wearing a might tra dee's outfit, the winning numbers. >> the first number tonight is 15. that's followed by 47. up next we have 4. that's followed by 25. and the final white ball for this it is evening is 8. >> for the mega ball, the mega ball number is 42. >> if no one matches all six, this friday's jackpot could be a world record breaking $480 million. >> check your takts. 4, 18, 15, 25, 47, your mega ball, i'm reading lottery numbers on tv -- 42. we're told so far there are two winning tickets, one in idaho and one in washington state. the winners haven't come forth yet to split the $355 million. >> i really needed that money. >> for the record, the lump sum would be $224 million if that's what you're interest ed in. chris christie got into a little trouble last week with the whole snow situation. a new poll came out. apparently didn't hurt him. in a hypothetical head-to-head with barack obama. let's look at this poll from zogby, christie would beat obama 43% to 40. >> i think that's good news for the president since i'm not running. that's about the only thing i can say about that. >> he says again, joe, he's not running, but he would beat obama if you believe that poll. >> chris christie over the next six months may be dragged to iowa or new hampshire whether he likes it or not. he's emerging as one of these rare guys that can unite both sides of the republican party. >> you think it becomes one of those situations where you can't say no when all the pressure comes on him? >> pat f you have chris christie from new jersey winning tea party polls in south carolina, he's a unifying figure. >> you get to iowa, you get huckabee out there and sarah, you'll have competition. >> did he just say sarah? >> he did. >> what's next, willie. up next, congressman paul ryan and the bbc's katty kay. keep it right here on "morning joe." we have no regrets. this house has over and over again sent to the senate legislation for job creation which the republicans in the senate held up. this administration and this congress inherited a near depression. and so the initiatives that we took were positive for the american people. >> nancy pelosi's final press conference as speaker of the house. welcome back to "morning joe." we're live here in the washington bureau for the new congress today being sworn in. pat buchanan and norah o'donnell still with us. joining us now, washington correspondent for bbc world news america katty kay. good to have you back. >> happy new year. >> the 112th congress being sworn in. boehner sounding very humble. >> we have excerpts and we'll read some of them. it seems like it will be a beautiful speech, actually. >> a good move, pat. we have not had over the past 20 years humility hasn't been -- >> hasn't been in vogue if you're in washington. >> boehner has kept it down. >> he's doing very well. when you hear pelosi with a little sour grapes and van hollen, that almost seems like yesterday. boehner is looking a little bit like tomorrow which is unusual for john boehner. >> isn't it fascinating, katty, a guy when i worked with him and he was in leadership all of the tea party types back in '95 and '96 looked at john boehner and were like, k street. he is the establishment. he's not one of us. and yet he's the guy in charge of a tea party congress. >> and having been in the wilderness for, what, a decade? who thought john boehner was going to come back? it will be interesting the see how he handles it. he might be sounding humble in his speech. i'm not sure a lot of the freshmen republicans that are coming in want him to radicalize washington and change the way things are done. >> it's going to be fascinating to see if they learned from our mistakes. >> i guess the guys that came in with you, they're all the guy that is got the committee chairmanships. it wasn't the red hots. it was the basic establishment republicans in the house that got the chairmanship? >> you look at a guy like paul ryan, not only in charge of the budget committee, mika. but he's been given a great deal more power than any budget chairman has ever been given. more power than john kasic had when we came in in '95 and kasic was, of course, like a god to us, and what he did with the budget. so boehner has empowered a lot of conservatives underneath him. i think it's going to be a fascinating counter to the white house. >> and if speaker boehner puts into action the words and the tone of his speech today, it will be a really interesting process of watching the evolution of a politician. you and pat say you started out as red hots. you both have evolved. he, too, seems to be -- >> well, i don't know about evolving. >> oh, come on. >> have you evolved, pat? >> i've learned to tellmper my tone. >> joe is an evolved man oovps. >> maybe evolving. maybe that was too strong a word. >> i haven't grown at all. it's all form. our top story, of course, the 112th congress getting sworn in today. congress's first significant legislative action comes on friday when republican leaders begin their attempt of repealing president obama's health care law and identifying billions of dollars in proposed spending cuts. much of lit be symbolic, but the action will allow john boehner to follow through on pledges and satisfy members of the tea party. in fact, house republicans will read the entire constitution in the claimer tomorrow. >> mika, this greatly offended the "new york times" this morning, in their editorial. i'm not exactly sure why reading the constitution would greatly offend "the new york times" editorial page. >> what would be the reason? >> i think it's a good thing. >> picky, i can't believe it. >> did you read that? >> i'm happy they're reading the constitution. >> i actually found myself agreeing with "the times" at times editorial page which doesn't happen often. they were petulant this morning about this new congress, mocking and ridiculing them for reading the constitution. >> they feel they're being goaded. >> i think there are some that think it's a gimmick and would be a waste of time. john boehner called the constitution, was reading from the declaration of independence. everybody needs a reed case on what the constitution is. >> theatrical production of unusual pompousity. >> very interesting. that's "the new york times" editorial page. these are the sort of things that are always written by "the times" when republicans take control of any branch of government. yet somehow it slides past them when democrats take control. >> joe, the american people are not going to care one bit whether the constitution is read before each session of congress all they're going to care about is whether things get done by this congress and whether the unemployment rate comes down. that's it. we get down from 9.8%, you can read the constitution until the cows come home or not. all you have to do is be competent. >> on route, back to washington yesterday, president obama appealed to republicans opinions his way home from vacation. >> there we have a president talking about jobs. his critics said for two years he should focus on it. now he's focusing on it. and it's always great, norah as we said before for a president to have a party to play off of. >> no doubt. the president's approval rating is now at 50% which is pretty good, with unemployment still high. he can run against a republican house of representatives that wants to slash spending. boehner, one of their first acts today and tomorrow is going to be to cut 5% of their operating expenditures. it's really a drop in the bucket, $30 million. then they want to talk about return funding levels to the 2008 levels which could cut about $100 billion t. white house says, you're going to make 20% across the board cuts, that means 40,000 teachers have to be fired. it gives the white house the chance to say, look, they want to cut education. >> katty, a fascinating debate. we showed chris christie before the break. he's been going after everything in new jersey and his numbers have been going up. we'll have an important debate here. >> i think there will be a real debate on the size of government, this kind of debate we've had in europe. we've seen the anger it's produced. >> hoye is that working for britain? >> cameron's numbers are good, at about 48%. given the kinds of cuts, 16%, 18% cuts over the next few years, that's big. >> think about it. you guys are having massive cuts in britain, and yet his numbers are holding steady. merkel's numbers in germany are stronger than anybody would have believed. and then back in the united states, chris christie, the most popular politician in new jersey, maybe austerity is the new flavor. >> flavor of the month. >> out of necessity. >> out of necessity. >> you hear democrats in town say this a lot this week. are the republicans going to overplay their hand in the sense that they are going to be addressing issues that the public doesn't really care about without focusing on jobs? if we get to the end of this year and the jobs numbers have not improved, then the republicans have some responsibility for that. if what they've done is spent this year with investigations and subpoenas and trying to cut health care reform which they're not going to be able to do much about, does that make republicans look as if they're not addressing the central issue? >> it's kind of depressing to hear democrats looking at the idea of republicans tripping over themselves rather than trying to get anything done. >> we talked about this earlier this morning off air. republicans can talk about cutting nondefense discretionary spending all they want. it's 20% of the budget. they're going to have to cut pentagon spending, social security and medicare, if they want to save this country economically. are they and the president going to have the guts to do it? >> i think that's the big test. frankly that's the test whether the country goes over the cliff. where you'll see it right up this year, the states have to balance their budget. look what happened to schwarzenegger who was doing all that kuth. he's down to 23. you take a look at california, illinois and new york where cuomo is not going to raise taxes, that's where the real rubber is going to meet the road. austerity, is it going to be like portugal and greece. how about clegg? how is he doing in britain? >> not so well. clegg is the foil for cameron in a way. in some ways having a coalition allows yos you to do things you may not do otherwise. >> why is he not doing well? >> the base of his party is more liberal, more democratic and doesn't like the spending cuts for public workers. >> by the way, the reason why the white house was so desperate to get this deal that extended bush tax cuts is in part because of what pat is talking about. that is, the states are starting to go belly up. this white house desperately needs the economy to grow, not just for the federal deficit, but all the state deficits. if the states start going under, they're going to be asking for bailouts. it could get very ugly very fast. >> that question, will the congress bail the states out? it certainly did in the stimulus bill. >> i don't think they will, pat. >> i don't think they will either. >> not in this house. >> i tell you this gal, meredith whitley who was interviewed on cnbc, she's talking about these 10 counties, cities, towns, municipals are going to go basically into default. if she's right, we'll have a very exciting year. >> this goes, by the way, back to cory booker in new jersey who desperately is trying to get the unions to be responsible with their police force. and unions across america are begging these cops in newark to stop being reckless, and they refuse. so cory booker asks the question, if i've got cops that are being irresponsible, do i ask the state government or the federal government for more money to give -- to basically pay off hostage takers? his answer is no. i think you're going to see something dramatic happening there. >> i think it's beginning to happen. we or looking at governors across the country falling in line behind chris christie and making really, really tough decisions we haven't seen in a long time. coming up, house republicans pledge to cut $10 billion in this year's spending. are they beginning to backtrack? we'll ask the incoming chair of the budget committee congressman paul ryan. plus nbc's chuck todd is standing by at the white house. later this hour we'll bring in senator claire mccaskill and howard dean. but first bill karins with a check on the forecast. good morning everyone. here in new york, a typical day in january, cold and cool. that's the case from boston to d.c. the windchills are a little nippy. not horrible. today upper 30s. light snow possible near the great lakes. that's where we'll watch for significant weather. new york city, friday afternoon and evening, could have problems with the evening commute and airports with light snow in the area. not a blockbuster storm, but just a little one. down along the gulf, heavy rain along i-10 from alabama, mississippi, pensacola, right to jacksonville later today you need your umbrella. very cold from minneapolis to chicago. this afternoon we warm up a little bit. also atlanta some showers for you. overall, no huge weather stories out there. at least not yet. still starting ounew year off nice and trin quill. you're watching "morning joe" brewed by starbucks. with bengay pain relief plus massage you can do this... get the ball, girl. hmmm, you can't do that. but you can do this. bengay pain relief + massage with penetrating nubs plus the powerful pain relief of bengay. love the nubs! this repeal of health care by the republicans is political theater. it is a ka bookie dance. the fact of the matter is we're not going to repeal health care. it is not going to happen. >> you don't have to repeal it. you just defund it. with us from capitol hill republican representative from wisconsin, the new chairman of the house budget committee, congressman paul ryan. not only chairman of the budget committee, but you have been given more powers than even kasic had when i came in in '95. what's going on up there? >> we're serious about cutting spending, joe. that's what's going on up here. that's what we're all about. >> let me ask you this. can you take care of america's long-term budget problems without accounting spending at the pentagon, without taking only social security's explosive growth, without taking on medicare's explosive growth? >> you just put about 75% of the budget out of reach under that formula. so no, the man ser is. that's basically two-thirds of the budget there that you just articulated. we have to look at every spending program, go after efficiencies and reform our entitlement programs. there's a lot of waste at the pentagon f. you throw $70 billion at any government agency, we'll have wasteful spending. we should make social security solvent, not only for current but future generations. medicare is the big program. medicare is the one that has the $30 trillihrill eun un in the $100 billion you're going after, you keep pentagon spending the the side and you, of course, don't talk about the entitlement programs. are these spending cuts that you guys will only engage in the you get the president to agree with you to go along with specific cuts? >> no. these are just for fiscal year 2011. so let's be clear. this is just for the next six months of spending that's occurring. we put this out there a year ago. we're now halfway through the fiscal year. so half of the spending cats are already out of the bag, so to speak. we have about six months of this fiscal year left which is where we want to get the savings from starting with the fy 2012 year. that's where we want to look at all other areas of savings in the budget. >> paul, i remember back in '95 i voted against raising the debt ceiling above $5 trillion. i was called irresponsible and reckless. and i say, as we just go over $14 trillion, that the irresponsible and reckless thing to do is raise the debt ceiling without guarantees of fiscal responsibility. will you force washington to make promises before voting to raise the debt ceiling yet again? >> not only do i want to force washington to make promises, i want washington to actually do things to get spending under control. so i'm not interested in raising the debt ceiling on the hope that a promise will be fulfilled at a later time. i'm only interested in raising the debt ceiling if we get concessions on spending, on real controls to get our fiscal situation turned around and headed in the right direction. >> all right. so how do you make that happen? what would you propose, joe, in terms of -- go ahead, congressman. >> no offense, mika. i don't like to negotiate these things in the media. there's a lot of options that we have at our disposal on different kinds of controls. i think we should put caps on spending. spending occurs around here with no limits. there's no guidelines, no caps, no budget enforcement mechanisms in place right now. those are the kinds of things we need. we need real fiscal controls to get this thing going in the right direction and actual spending cuts. those are the kinds of things i would like to see if we're going to go down that path. >> i understand stand not wanting to negotiate in the media. at the same time why not just be forthcoming about what needs to be -- >> first of all, they are being forthcoming on $100 billion. >> we're being very forthcoming. >> going back to 1995. sf you look at paul specifically, paul has been very specific. but as a party, when we stepped out on medicare in 1995, bill clinton brutized us for saying the same thing he had proposed a year earlier. so you start doing this with entitlement programs, unless you lock the president arm in arm, he's going to demagogue. that was the case then and i suspect will be the case now, congressman. >> this is my concern, joe. if we consider these things as political weapons, entitlement programs to use against the other party if they try to reform the programs to get the debt going in the right direction, then it's all gone. then we'll have a debt crisis. what we ought to be doing is act like adults up there, talk to each other, stop demagoguing these issues so we can preempt the crisis. the worst thing we can do to people on medicare and social security is nothing to reform the programs which will hasten their bankruptcy, compromising their very benefits. the better off we are, is if we address these now. europe is facing austerity. cuts to current seniors, tax increases on the current economy because they kicked the can down the road. let's take this on right now and address this before it becomes a real crisis. that's what we're trying to do. >> paul, i read where you took a swipe at me in politico. it's deeply hurt and offended since i've only been praising you for a decade now because you thought -- >> what did i do? i don't even know this. >> you said scarborough was all pain and no gain, it was austerity. so you agree with me now that we have to be very conservative and cut, cut, cut. >> and grow, grow, grow. cut spending, grow the economy, prosperity. >> okay. very good. pat buchanan? >> cut taxes, grow and grow. congressman, let me ask you, are there any program that is you plan to zero out? in other words, eliminate? you mary talks americorps may go, public broadcasting and npr. are there any of them where we can no longer afford this because this is a luxury in good times. we're not in good times. it's got to go to zero. >> yes, obamacare. you're setting me up. >> -- oh. >> i understand that wasn't mika's preferred answer. so pat, i think that was pat, the answer is yes. we're going to be doing lots of hearings. we want a lot of oversight hearings. through those hearings we want to come up with a list of things to eliminate. i'm not trying to be evasive and say whatever the program is, we want proper congressional oversight. and through that oversight, but looking at the evidence, cost and benefits, what programs have outlived their usefulness, don't work anymore, how much of our children and grandchildren's money are we willing to spend, then we'll come up with a list of things to eliminate and move to it the appropriations process. >> one thing we learned in '95, paul was working for brown as a staffer, we had all these great ideas to balance the budget, but everybody focusesed on the fact that we were going to kill big bird. i'm eve going to get sworn in and my kids are saying don't kill big bird. you have to choose your targets wisely. >> congressman ryan n the senate they have the sessions msh mccaskill budget amendment which would cap spending. when that expired in 2002, in the '90s there were caps on the budget which led to four balanced budgets in the 1990s. why not do that. >> that's what we want to do. >> why not avoid the white house is accusing you guys of taking 20% out of education and slashing 40,000 teachers. get everybody including democrats on board with you to restrain and cap the budget at 1% or 2% growth. and that is the first step before you tackle the budget entitlements. >> co-budget chair norah o'donnell. >> the current fiscal year we're in was a huge spending spree. we want to take some of that spending back. for fiscal 2012, we want to do just what you said, put discretionary caps in place. i want statutory caps in place meaning laws that actually cap spending which is what mccaskill was up to. my cap would be lower than what other people want to do. in the moment we're in right now, halfway through the fiscal year, there is so much spending that has gotten out of here, we want to get that down. that's what we're focused on right now. that's exactly what we're going to do. >> paul ryan, i'll see you on the hill. i'm coming up there. >> happy new year. >> i'll give you a big hug. if you want to insult me again, i'll be here for you. good to see you. incoming budget chairman paul ryan, very exciting. he's like a little brother. i can't believe he's going to be budget chairman. >> thin skin, party of one, your table is ready. >> oh, stop. chuck todd, big news, the big 10 finally won a football game last night. about time, huh? >> did they win or did they survive? >> they survived. >> let's remember if arkansas had any receivers that could catch the football i actually think they would win that game. apparently they forgot to learn to catch. >> no doubt about it. robert bibs, is he leaving the white house? >> it would be a surprise i think at this point if he stayed. more than likely he ends up working on the outside helping to set up the 2012 campaign. you're going to have an operation in chicago that david axelrod will be heading up and you'll have an operation here in washington. essentially that's what robert gibbs will be heading up. there's going to be a stronger now team on the outside which is something this white house has lacked that, for instance, the clinton white house had in the beginning. so now they will have a little more of an outside game. then you'll have a new team of folks on the inside. i think it's going to be a bigger new team than folks realize, all depending on the the job offer to bill daley does happen, if he's going to be the next chief of staff. we'll know in the next 48 hours. >> chuck, happy new year. katty kay here. >> happy new year. >> i wonder if all the changes in personnel in the white house, whether we can read some sort of theme about what the white house feels it needs to do next, whether we can see an overarching change of direction or whether there's any discussion about how these personnel changes should fit into a pattern that would show us where the white house feels it needs to go? >> i think you're see ag white house that's preparing to run for re-election, preparing for a two-year-long political fight. all of those things that paul ryan talked about that they're going to do, let's see it get through the senate. and if it does, then it may be something that gets signed by the president. this is no longer a white house that's going to be focused on legislating because that's going to be something that's going to be very difficult to watch on capitol hill with a republican house and a democratic senate. it's going to be a more message-focused white house. i think what you're seeing is you're seeing them try to solidify the management on the inside and prepare for re-election on the outside. and it seems like much of the changes has to go into communicating and messaging which the president himself will talk about, is something they dropped the ball on in the first two years. all right, chuck todd, thank you very much. you can catch chuck along with savannah guthrie on "the daily rundown" at 9:00 eastern on msnbc. much more still ahead, including senator claire mckag caskill and howard dean. we'll be right back. ♪ i was diagnosed with copd. i could not take a deep breath i noticed i was having trouble. climbing the stairs, working in the garden, painting. my doctor suggested spiriva right then. announcer: spiriva is the only once-daily inhaled maintenance treatment for copd, which includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema. i love what it does. it opens up the airways. announcer: spiriva does not replace fast-acting inhalers for sudden symptoms. stop taking spiriva and call your doctor right away if your breathing suddenly worsens, your throat or tongue swells, you get hives, have vision changes or eye pain, or have problems passing urine. tell your doctor if you have glaucoma, problems passing urine, or an enlarged prostate, as these may worsen with spiriva. also, discuss the medicines you take, even eye drops. side effects include dry mouth, constipation, and trouble passing urine. it makes me breathe easier. i can't do everything i used to do. but there's a lot i can do that i was struggling with. announcer: ask your doctor if once-daily spiriva is right for you. all right. new video just in to "morning joe." this is john boehner leaving his house near capitol hill headed to the gym, ultimately headed to capitol hill, where he will be sworn in as the 61st speaker of the house. we will be there today as the 112th congress is sworn in. coming up, even if the gop doesn't succeed in repealing health care, can they still starve it of its funding? we'll ask senator claire mccaskill and howard dean about that straight ahead on "morning joe." ooh, a brainteaser. how can expedia now save me even more on my hotel? well, hotels know they can't fill every room every day. like this one. and this one. and oops, my bad. so, they give expedia ginormous discounts with these: unpublished rates. which means i get an even more rockin' hotel, for less. my brain didn't even break a sweat. where you book matters. expedia. the democratic proposal would allow the senate to change its rules with only 51 votes, ending the historical practice of allowing any senator at any time to offer any amendment until 60 senators decided it's time to end the debate. those who want to create a freight train running through the senate today as it does in the house might think about whether they would want that freight train running through the senate in two years when the freight train might be the tea party express. >> all right. that was republican senator lamar alexander. democratic senator from missouri senator claire mccaskill and former governor of vermont howard dean joining us. let's ask, first of all, if the changes to the filibuster rule, does it have a chance? >> the question is, what we're trying to change is not radical, mika. all we're trying to say is own your filibuster. everyone doesn't understand why we're not making republicans talk. the rules don't allow us to. everyone saw "mr. smith goes to washington." they're going why aren't they up there explaining why they're blocking this legislation? we just want people -- we don't want to change the 60-40 rule. we just want the 40 people who want to keep us from debating to own it. >> you agree with lamar, though, that the same people that hate the filibuster today may love it two years from now when republicans stake control of this if they were to do that. >> i think that's why nobody is proposing to change the filibuster rule. how about secret holds? won't won't the republican party agree to change the rules to change secret holds. not holds, but secret holds. this talk we're having from the republicans about transparency and good government and being accountable to the people, hogwash. they won't even allow us to get rid of secret holds. that's how hard the republicans are holding on to bad government habits. >> governor dean, today john boehner becomes speaker of the house. >> he does. he's going to have his hands full. >> he becomes speaker with a lot of energy behind him with 87 new freshmen republicans. they have a mandate of sorts, and barack obama is at 50% approval rating, could say i, too, have my own mandate. how does that work itself out over the next few years. >> i think it will be fascinating to watch what happens in the house. my guess is john boehner is equipped to be a very competent speaker. my guess is he has a lot of freshmen not interested in legislative ability and are, frankly, somewhat fraudulent. you and i had some agreement on the tax cuts, for example. the largest component of the deficit, of the deficit in 2018 is the bush tax cuts. 60% of the total shortfall. >> before you say the freshmen are fraudulent, remember, i thought it was interesting that there were freshmen coming in that actually were critical -- >> that's true. >> -- critical of this plan to explode -- >> that's true. i should be more specific. the tea party leadership is basically fraudulent. go ahead and pass the tax cuts and create more of a deficit, then we'll takist all out in spending. you know that can't happen. >> there are tea party leaders out today who came out and said you guys can't keep adding trillions to the deficit. your bigger point is this -- they're going to have to govern, they'll have to cut spending. i keep hearing these words growth, growth, growth. i love growth. but i'm sorry. it's david stockman's rosey scenario in 1981, pat, if you're going to balance the budget and be conservative, you're going to do it through cuts and not pray for growth to magically appear. >> if you really want to balance the budget, you have to have a compromise which means you can't give tax breaks to people who make $1 million and year a take things away from little old ladies. >> why didn't you repeal the bush tax for the wealthy when you have control of both houses by about 3-2? why didn't you do it? >> i think the problem was, many things around washington, you get to it when you have to, and there were so many things that were on the and en dachlt i frankly think we made a mistake not debating it earlier. now we'll have the debate again. that will be a good time to pull back the curtain and say, wait a minute, are we really going to argue about 3% for people who make multimillions of dollars. >> you're not going to raise taxes then. that ain't going to work for you. >> i'm telling you on the multi millionaires i think having that debate before the next election is a good thing for our party. >> i agree with the senator on this, most american people as part of the deal to balance the budget which does cut defense, which republicans for the first time are talking about, not a lot of them, but they are. >> starting to. >> i think the american people, 81% of american people thought taxes should be raised on people who make $1 million a year. this is part of a compromise package where republicans have to give up taxes on the rich and we'll have to give up entitlement restraint. >> can that happen, snt tore mccaskill? can both sides come together and republicans say, okay, the wealthy have to pay more taxes, but social security and medicare will have to be cut for the next 20 years. >> i think people need to remember that rah lot of the republicans that won won in swing districts. the senator coming from wisconsin and the nsenator comig from illinois, if they come down on the extreme right along with house m the house members that got elected in swing districts, they'll have a rough case in the next two years. i'll be hopeful. i think we do need to enact spending caps which for some unexplained reason president bush let go by the wayside. >> let me say, senator, nobody has got clean hands on spending because nancy pelosi promised pay-go and all this other garbage and deficits from '06 to '010 exploded at record rates. >> every republican in the senate voted for a spending cut that include defense spending. >> that's a great idea. that could be a place to compromise. >> we've already done it in the senate minus two votes which we now have. so i think we'll get the sessions-mccaskill spending cap passed. once we start doing things like that, demonstrating the the american people we can cut spending responsibly, then i think we can move in to a compromise position on some of the other hard decisions we have to make. >> governor, you were actually -- and people don't realize this because your image got so skewed in '04, you were actually a budget hawk when you were governor of vermont. and a lot of your own progressives thought you were too tough on the budget. can a deal be done where social security, medicare and pentagon spending gets put on the table and the president and the republicans come together and do the responsible thing. >> and taxes. >> and taxes. it can be with leadership. we haven't seen a lot of leadership over a long period of too time. >> did the president show leadership when he gave tax cuts to mail theirs? >> i'm talking across the board, not just this president. >> i agree. >> the last guy that was serious about balancing the budget was bill clinton. >> well, come on, we had to drag him to the table kicking and screaming. >> no, no, no, joe. margerie march goal liss lost her seat. >> for two years bill clinton was saying we're going to throw little old ladies out in the street. i want to ask you, though, did this president make a mistake by not fighting on extending bush tax cuts to multi millionaires? >> i think so. i've said that publicly. i think we needed to -- if you wanted to do this budget deal -- we should have really done it when we had a majority. republicans have a zero record of trying to balance the budget, zero. they've been totally unhelpful trying to balance the budget. >> since when? >> since george bush was president. >> okay. we balanced it four times in the '90s. >> no, we balanced it four times in the '90s. >> both say taxes have to be part of the mix. you know the tea party folks. you know missouri. do you really think a republican congress elected by a tea party is going to raise taxes on its own people? >> maybe it won't. but we're not talking about for 99.9% of america. we're talking about that little legislativeer at the top. i do think and you understand, pat, that there is a disconnect. the populist movement is fueled by a lot of people frustrated. look at the tax code, if we could clean up the tax code, more than 70% of americans don't even itemize deductions. >> the mortgage deduction, deduction for charity? >> i don't know about that one. i think there's a lot of things we can clean up in the tax code and bring the corporate tax rate down, the individual tax rate down. that's where the fiscal commission i think did a very good job. i was disappointed paul ryan didn't support it. we had republicans in the senate that supported it. coburn and durbin both supported the fiscal commission. that can be a headline. that's a big deal, to have those two ends of the ideological spectrum saying we need to clean up this tax code, get some of the special goodies out of there. >> here is where you'll get the problem. the problem is the republican ideologues in the house. i think paul ryan did very well. he didn't vote for temperature's deficit reduction commission, not because it didn't save enough money but because it didn't privatize social security. we're not going to privatize social security. it's not going to happen now and it's not going to happen in ten years or 50 years. so they have got to start -- we can restrain the growth in social security and medicare. but you cannot privatize these systems and ruin them. we'll never let that happen. so the republicans are going to have to give up their ideology and look at numbers to get this done. >> with this debate over taxes and spending is also the republican top goal of repealing obamacare, governor dean, while it's probably unlikely they can do that, they can defund parts of this. what will it look like in a year? they seem poised for a fight? >> that's hard to say. i think first of all they can defund some of it. i differ with the administration on the individual mandate. i think that will be gone. i think people don't like it. and i don't think it's essential to the program at all. it's great for the insurance companies. we've done universal health care in my state. we did it 20 years ago for kids. romney has a mandate in massachusetts. that works okay. doesn't work any better than not having a mandate. there will be some changes. but i think the core reforms that the president put in place will continue because states like them and they steer going to work. >> senator, would the people of missouri like to see obamacare repealed? >> i think they don't like the mandate. by a wide margin they voted that way. i do think we have to look at it to see if there's a different way to make sure to get more people in the pool. what the most popular part of the bill, pre-existing conditions, allowing people who have had the nerve to be sick before, allowing them to get insurance, that's the most popular part. that really is what drove the desire for a mandate because you've got to get everybody in the pool. can you imagine if you could go get car insurance after you have a wreck? who is going the buy insurance until after they're sick. there's other ways to get people in a pool other than a mandate. we need to look at that. >> by the way, claire mccaskill is wearing a pin on her lapel. one of my first teams i followed, because i remember wi. >> who still is the voice of the chiefs. >> lenny dawson is still voice of the chiefs? >> the things you learn. >> i loved len dawson. >> we love underdogs in missouri. the chiefs are an underdog on sunday. watch that game. >> all right. >> there we go. programming note. senator, thank you. howard, good to see you again. >> congressman. >> governor. >> coming up at the top of the hour, the author of "obama wars." obama's wars. bob woodward still ahead on "morning joe." [ steam hissing ] an accident doesn't have to slow you down. from accident forgiveness and 24-hour claims assistance to a lifetime repair guarantee, we help you move on. to learn more, visit us today. liberty mutual auto insurance -- responsibility. what's your policy? welcome back to "morning joe." i'm willie geist up in new york. we'll send it to d.c. in just a second. want to get you up to speed on some of the more strange stories going on out there. a few days after 5,000 black birds fell from the sky in arkansas, another 500 have dropped to their deaths in louisiana. it's unclear if the two cases are related. probably not. a suspect power lines. a likely story, along the highway where the bird were found could be involved. as if things couldn't get any weirder. brazilian media is reporting up to 15 tons of dead fish have washed ashore in south america. officials there investigating the cause of that one. i believe it's the beginning of the 2012 mayan prophecy starting early. justin bieber, we have a lot of justin bieber fans in our audience. he's on the cover of the new issue qualify "vanity fair" which is all very exciting. big profile of biebs. big tour. here's one of the excerpts that caught our eye. this is biebs talking about himself. not trying to be arrogant but if i walked down the street and a girl saw me, she might take a look back because maybe i'm good looking, right? the 16-year-old biebs finds himself irresistible. we learn so much from that piece. one more for you. the megamillions 355 million bucks last night. fourth largest jackpot in the history of the united states of america. lines around the block in 41 states and washington, d.c. get out the tickets, folks. 4, 8, 15, 25, 47, 42 is your megaball or whatever they are calling it. we have two winners so far that we know about. one in idaho. and one in washington state. they could split that 355. just so you know, the lump sum on something like that, $224 million. up next, bob woodward joins the crew down in washington. we'll send it back when "morning joe" continues. it's easy to get the calcium you need with two soft chews each day give you plus with a great taste you'll enjoy, try viactiv today. ♪ 100 ways to enjoy pringles. ♪ 100 crisps, 100 ways. ♪ everything pops with pringles. new video just in to msnbc. initial reports were that incoming speaker of the house john boehner was headed to the gym. now we're told he was having breakfast. >> so we have a boehner cam, huh? seriously. >> yeah, it's a little much. welcome back to "morning joe." we are near the washington bureau as the 112th congress will be sworn in today. it is a big day. >> it's exciting. still with us, pat buchanan and norah o'donnell. and joining the table, pulitzer prize winning author, bob woodward. >> i stumble on to the house of the floor. i did four yearsing -- four years ago to see the first woman in u.s. history get sworn in as speaker of the house. very exciting standing back with her family and watching her take the oath. it's amazing how quickly things are changing in washington these days. four years later, she's a former. >> well, yes. but the names change and the parties change and the question -- i mean you can answer it better than anyone. can congress change? can the house of representatives really change? are there things so engrained, the habits of partisanship, the habits of, gee, when you have the majority and the ball, it's all yours and no one else gets to play. can that change? you know. >> i think we're actually going to see a lot of positive things happen over the next two years. you have 87 new republican freshmen, but, bob, you also have a president who is sitting at 50%. when we came in in early '95, we had contempt for clinton. we thought he was weak. we thought he was a has been. we thought we were going to run him out of town. >> and you were wrong. >> and we were wrong. we overreached. and what we did was we re-ele re-elected bill clinton. sitting at 50% approval rating right now in the latest gap ul poll. 15% real unemployment. 28% right track/wrong track. this is a president who republicans know has real strength. >> no question about that. but here is the issue. you have to go away in the sky and look down and say what's going on here? and what's the theme? what's obama's theme going to be? what's the republicans' theme going to be? and there's a lot of rhetoric thrown around. i think the issue is going to be reform. who can take on the reform mantel in a genuine way where people are going to say we're cutting spending, but in a reasonable way, we are fixing some of the problems in the bureaucracy in the government, and if obama can do -- become the reform president, he's going to be formidable. if the republicans can come in and say, look, we actually cut spending. we made government more efficient. if that's theirs, they are going to be powerful. >> i was just talking to claire mccaskill, asking her off camera, how much longer are we going to be in afghanistan? she said i am conducting hearings on waste in afghanistan. i can't even get my local papers to pick it up. bob, why isn't this congress, why isn't this country focusing on the tragedy that's unfolding every day in afghanistan? >> i mean, this -- tom brokaw wrote a great piece in "the new york times" saying the wars america forgot. afghanistan and iraq. and there's just a disconnect, and there's an acceptance that we're going to be there, that there are going to be casualties. my former assistant, josh boke, had the lead story in "the post" yesterday where they had the story about all of the money that we spent on these projects, on these roads. we go in and we build the roads and then turn it over to the afghans and they don't have the money or the experience and so they are even worse potholes in afghanistan in all those roads than in washington, d.c. >> and, pat, we were talking yesterday with someone who compared the united states and afghanistan to the roman empire. and final centuries where it was fighting wars where romans were completely disconnected. and that's where we are right now. we are now fighting wars across the globe that americans are not invested in. >> you know, the great rising power is china. everybody recognizes that. and they are moving all over the world and investing. and here we are bogged down basically in two wars. i suppose we're going to get out of iraq at the end of this year, but in afghanistan, i do, i think america is a distracted empire who which is living in the 20th century and china has moved into the 21st. >> and obam apts out but he realizes you can't just to it in a year or several months. >> do you really know he wants out? he's tripled the number of troops. the deadlines keep getting moved back. 2011, then 2014. then he went to portugal and told nato, don't worry, we're not getting out in 2014. he's not acting like a man who is in a hurry to get out. >> that's right. this is the conflict. he doesn't like war. he realizes it's a very, very expensive war in many, many ways. at the same time, he gets a lot of support from the right and the republicans on it. so he's kind of holding his ground. but the inner obam amy assessment from my reporting, he wants out. >> but how? the question is how to do it? >> and when. >> what are the risks? >> you get out by getting out. i hate to say that. >> no, that's easy to say. >> it's not easy to say. by 2014, by 2014, there will be young men and women being drafted into war -- not drafted, but being sent to war in afghanistan that were 5 years old, that were in kindergarten when the war began in 2001. now at some point, it is time to leave. >> i just love this idea of 2014. i mean, tell me one thing we know about 2014? and we know nothing. i mean, the circumstances may be dramatically changed. and this idea of kind of -- >> in what way? >> in what way? >> do you think that with the number of troops we have there we're going to be able to do anything positively in afghanistan? that the british, or alexander the great weren't? >> you have to remember the history of iraq. everyone is saying it's a fiasco, it's not working, it's a disaster. and now obama, of all people, holds iraq up as a model for withdrawal. >> what about you? you wrote a lot of books about iraq and now afghanistan. do you see any parallels? do you think petraeus has a second act in afghanistan? >> boy, he's sure trying and we'll see. he's the miracle worker. look what he did in iraq. i mean, the circumstances in iraq were so much more violent, off the charts when he took over than they are in afghanistan now. violence levels just, i mean, he was in despair when he took over in iraq and said, gee, i wish i had afghanistan. now he's got afghanistan. >> so we'll see. we don't know. >> is there anyone in the white house who has any idea or anybody in charge of this war who has really a true concept of how to disengage in afghanistan? >> that's a really good question. and the answer is you do it month by month. that there's no big theory. there isn't. it's just make do politically. make do militarily. >> in iraq, you had -- petraeus did it. cut the deal with the sunni to take care of al qaeda. you had a surge up to 170,000 troops. this surge in afghanistan is over. the allies are coming home. and we're going to start to bring them out at n a trickle, as joe says in 2011. we're starting down. how do you turn it around then? >> well, you just see, again, the other side is there's intelligence that the taliban, the insurgency in afghanistan is not happy. the leadership which is in pakistan, not afghanistan. this is one of the ironies, and it's hard to explain to people. it's hard to get your head around. wait a minute. we're fighting in afghanistan. the leadership is in pakistan, but there it is. and this is no picnic for them because, you know, the pakistani intelligence that they have this arrangement with is very unpleasant. people -- there's intelligence. these people are saying, hey, this is not a party that we're having here in pakistan. so it takes its toll on them, too. so the answer is, we don't know, but you're right, mika. what's the overall theory here? do we understand where we're going? and i say they are working it month by month. >> there is no theory. there is no exit strategy. we've had two presidents. a decade in afghanistan. there is no exit theory. you ask an administration official why we're there and they'll say, well, to drive al qaeda out of afghanistan. and then you say, well, your own cia director said there are only 50 al qaeda members in afghanistan. >> if that. >> if that. and then they'll mumble something about pakistan. there is no -- there's no theory. >> yeah, but -- >> there's no exit strategy. >> one thing obam ands, and this is important is the poison is in pakistan because the al qaeda leadership, the taliban leadership -- >> you caw sau whsaw what happe yesterday. >> obama rose to the occasion and privately told the pakistanis himself that we are on a collision course with you, and you have to get more aggressive with this leadership that is there in these sanctuaries and safe havens. >> lots of luck. >> if the taliban are asked that of the pakistanipakistanis for americans go because they'll keep the indians out. >> it's something else. >> it's a mess, and, you know, you -- and many of us remember vietnam. and the big problem is the pakistanis are now saying president zardari is saying we don't want to be the cambodia in vietnam. >> too late. i mean, actually, there's been a lot more bombing in pakistan than nixon ever let loose in cambodia. >> no, it's just been done with drones, and it gets lots of attention, but it's you know, you don't win this war with drones. you have to get on the ground. and i quote people, including the cia director, leon panetta, saying you have to get boots on the ground to solve this problem. >> in pakistan. there may be a war against a so-called ally. >> that's why vietnam was such a mess because vietnam is it laos, is it cambodia? >> at vietnam we were coming out with casualties -- >> this, okay. >> -- 'in '72. when we came out it was pacified. they're going up in afghanistan. >> we're not going to relitigate vietnam. norah o'donnell, let's move from afghanistan. to john boehner. how is that for a segue? john boehner is coming in speaker of the house. mika, you actually -- do we have -- >> boehner cam? >> no, we've already had the boehner cam. but actually, the text of why -- >> the text of the speech, which we have an excerpt of because it's actually quite beautiful. excellent, pat buchanan would say. newly released excerpts from the speech that incoming speaker boehner will deliver later today. he says this. the american people have humbled us. they have refreshed our memories as to just how temporary the privilege to serve is. they have remintded us that everything here is on loan from them. that includes this gavel which i accept cheerfully and greatfully knowing i am but its caretaker. after all, this is the people's house. this is their congress. it's about them, not us. what they want is a government that is honest, accountable and responsive to their needs, a government that respects individual liberty, honors our heritage and bows before the public it serves. >> norah o'donnell. humility. austerity. listening to the people. they do not want to be a party of hubris. john boehner will be sworn in today by the chief justice, john roberts with 10 of his 11 brothers and sisters there. some 50 nieces and nephews surrounding the speaker. they want to change the tone. they'll make these symbolic moves. 5% of the operating budget is $30 million. it's a drop in the bucket. they'll try to bring it back to 2008 levels. but i think bob's point about who is going to be the party of reform is an important message because obama is already done with legislating. he's had two big years. he's transitioning. his white house team is transing iing to run for re-election. you see the republicans in the house trying to cut spending. you see the president in less than three weeks deliver a state of the union address where he tries to be the profit reform. where he talks about overhauling the whole tax code. being about deficit reduction. who can really capture that mantel of reform that american people want? but i think there has to be more than just rhetoric behind that. there's got to be -- the president can't just campaign on this. there has to be substance done. >> and, bob, we've seen overreaching always gets people in trouble in washington, d.c. john boehner in that speech, sounds nothing like newt gingrich or the rest of us when we came in after the '94 election. >> yeah, it's -- i mean, an old speechwriter, pat buchanan. that has some rhetorical lift to it. the question is always, where's the power. and if we're in agreement on this, norah that reform is the issue. you who can reform in the most visible way? and interestingly enough, it's the executive. the president has the -- he can go in to these departments and say, cut 10%. cut 20%. cut $10 billion and just go department by department in a very visible way. and people are going to say, hey, wait. he's really serious about that. from congress, you don't have that executive power and you can only do it with bottom line numbers and so worth. it's going to be an interesting contest. >> that's what i really do think. i talked to claire mccaskill. she now thinks she has the votes because there are more republicans in the senate to cap spending, which, of course, expired in 2002, led to four balanced budgets in the 1990s. she thinks they have the votes. there's an appetite for that. i think that's the first real -- rather than getting entitlement reform. they can start and overhaul the tax code but talk about capping the budget. that's a real opportunity where they can meet in the middle and reform on that. >> one thing we did find, pat is we dragged bill clinton to the table on balancing the budget on reforming welfare. but it was still seen as bill clinton's victories. he got re-elected in '96. this still is barack obama's town and as bob says, he's got -- and one we found is interestingly enough, we have all these cable channels and all of these distractions. that actually was the president even more powerful. all of these websites. it actually -- because the president is the one voice that cuts through everything. whoever it is. >> a podium up there that nobody's got. but, bob, two to your point, you are talking about the president going in and chopping 10% of this department, that department. that's chris christi. that's good stuff for republicans. you go in and start chopping that bureaucracy, you are chopping the heart and soul of the democratic party. >> but it sounds like andrew cuomo as well. it sound like jerry brown as well. >> cuomo realizes this is where the country is moving. he's not his father. but to actually do tharkts he's going to be at war with those public unions. >> great. >> exactly. >> there you go. on that note, perfect. >> that's a war people will pay attention. >> yes, they will. >> when we come back, mike allen has politico's top stories. also inside warren buffett's candid conversation with "vanity fair" including the future of berkshire hathaway. and who might one day replace him? first, here's bill karins with a quick check of the forecast. >> good morning, everyone. the east coast looks nice and tranquil for your morning commute. continuing to have windchills on the chilly side. a nais day with plenty of sunshine from boston to baltimore into the richmond area. norfolk you look nice, too. the problem spots today. two areas of heavy rain. one on i-10 from new orleans to mobile, pence coal apanama city through southern alabama. that will head to georgia during the day. also for our friends waking up with us early on the west coast from seattle to portland, a mixture of heavy rain and snow. be careful on your drive on interstate 5. middle of the nation, a little chilly but not too bad. light snow showers around minneapolis. beautiful in florida. dallas to san antonio, you can't complain. temperatures near 60 degrees. you're watching "morning joe" brewed by starbucks. oprah winfrey is proud to introduce the new oprah winfrey network. at 8:00, experience the pulse-pounding excitement of mic check. >> check one, two. oprah, opractice, you go girl. >> at 9:00, catch screaming nut job crazy hour. and at 10:00, don't miss backwards oprah. own, where you are the viewer. oh, no. thousands of birds just fall dead right out of the sky. just bang, just like 1,000 birds dead right there. where was obama? huh? vacationing in hawaii. that's where he was. come on. >> that's pretty good. until he threw them. okay. welcome back to "morning joe." time to take a look at the morning papers. "the new york times," aloha also means good-bye. two staffers returned with their surfboards on tuesday as the white house hawaii vacation ended. >> bob, did you ever see that nixon white house? would nixon have allowed surfboards? >> buchanan was a secret surfer. >> if i had been it would have been underneath. >> maybe not strided with chains and surfboards. >> let's bring in right now the chief white house correspondent for potico. he is mike allen here with the morning playbook. what are you looking at this morning? >> well, this morning, up on capitol hill, already there's the air of a presidential inauguration. the new members are having receptions. they have family in. last night. soon-to-be speaker boehner, four busloads have come in from ohio and to celebrate after he gets the gaffele in the canon caucus room. get hungry. they'll have cincinnati's favorites, skyline chili, grader's ice cream and ribs from the montgomery inn. 9 of 10 boehner siblings in town. >> that's pretty big. willie, we need to crash the party on the hill. sounds pretty good. >> sound like a bender. let's get the live boehner cam up if we can. want to update you on the boehner cam. >> yes, please do. that's important. >> mika brought us initial reports he had been to the gym. in fact, he was merely getting breakfast. we'll keep you posted minute by minute. >> i love it. >> you got the boehner cam. >> come on, man. >> we give him a bye if he cries, yeah? >> he can tear up. >> absolutely. >> he can tear fup if he wants to. >> let's get to some other business as we wait for the speaker to emerge from his home. senator schumer issues a challenge to republicans who want to repeal the health care bill. what is he telling them? >> this is a sign of the new aggressiveness by the senate democrats. the younger senators, especially the ones up in two years, want their caucus to be more focused on message. that's never been senator reid's thing. senator schumer now is to be taking much more of a public role. today he announced his war room that he plans. and as part of this, we have him out there pulling on the thread of members who -- republican members who voted against the health care bill. he is saying they shouldn't accept government health care. shouldn't accept the health care they get through congress. he's been helped along by that by a few members who said they are not going to. republicans say that's silly. we buy private insurance like everyone else. we just get it through the government. >> let me ask you. does harry reid have any problems with a newly aggressive chuck schumer? >> he's doing this to protect himself from these members who are getting restless. so senator schumer who is famous for his weekend press conferences, famous for being opportunistic with press. i remember one time he went out and had a press conference saying that if you are easy pass is stolen if your car is stolen with your ez pass in it you should get a new one free. some of his colleagues joked and said that was ez press. but that's what you had. senator schumer is famous for that. >> schumer, bob woodward, schumer is a fighter. and politically, he's about as astute as they come. >> i think mike allen is one of the best in the business. but to compare the boehner coming to the speakership with the presidential inaugural. four busloads? i mean, for obama, for any president coming, they had hundreds of busloads. >> this is big. this is big. and willie geist is going to be there. >> it, too, will pass. >> mike allen, thank you very much. let's go up to our boehner cam correspondent. willie geist. get us up to date. >> we want to make sure we have everybody up to speed. do we have the boehner cam? just real quick. >> oh, look. a recycling bin. >> he's very responsible. up next, business before the bell with erin burnett. and much more with bob woodward and norah o'donnell in d.c. we'll be right back on "morning joe." 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[ male announcer ] ask your doctor about adding onglyza. extra help. extra control. you may be eligible to pay $10 a month with the onglyza value card program. switch to tempur-pedic. now it's your turn. call now for your free information kit including a tempur material sample, along with a dvd and catalog. traditional mattresses use metal springs that can cause pressure points causing you to toss and turn. only the tempur-pedic mattress automatically adjusts to your body while keeping your spine in perfect alignment. plus, because tempur-pedic doesn't transfer motion, you won't disturb your partner when you get out of bed or shift positions. best of all, tempur-pedic will let you sleep on one of their sleep systems for an incredible 90 nights before you make your purchase decision. if you want the ultimate in comfort - if you wish to get more sleep but can't, it's time you make the switch to tempur-pedic. call the number on your screen. welcome back to "morning joe." it's 8:31. up here in new york city. we want to get you some breaking news on the job market. we turn to erin burnett at cnbc headquarters. hey, erin. what's up? >> so one analyst just described this in an e-mail as a blowout set of numbers. this is a private sector survey of employment in america that comes a few days before the government key number. the number was 297,000 jobs added in december. that's a really strong number. when you look within the num berk it's the first time we didn't see a decline in employment in construction since june of 2007. it was flat. so that's a pretty incredible number. we saw increases in hiring in small business and manufacturing and in services. now this clearly adds to what we've been saying for a while which is that the jobs picture is improving dramatically in this country. but i will say this. the adp number, which is what this number is, was also optimistic and ended up being twice as strong as the final government number. so i don't want to say as goes this number, definitely goes the number on friday but it's a really good sign. >> that's a remarkable figure. is that much more than we expected or was that about where we were looking? >> it's a lot stronger than we expected. and it does fit in with what we've been talking about on this show. ceos over the past couple of months were saying they were going to start hiring and hire significantly this year. something they said they were going to do before they got the final confirmation that the bush tax cuts would be extended an extra couple of years. >> and it adds to the auto numbers which we got yesterday. we had double-digit increases. i know you've talked about that a little bit this morning. but i want to just highlight here the forecast for this year. general motors is saying that we could, in this country, sell up to 13.2 million cars this year. it's a good number. it's real improvement. context is everything. i did the math. that number if we do that here in 2011, is 17% or 17.5% below the peak auto sales of this country. so like everything, we're improving but we're still far below where we were at the peak. the only thing where we are back to where we were around the world is something that is frankly pretty troubling. and that is in food prices. food prices are at record levels. that's something that affects not just poor in this country but poor countries around the world. >> and oil prices climbing up, too. one person saying they are entering the danger zone yesterday. i want to ask you about the facebook deal. the goldman sachs investment of $450 million and facebook. i guess goldman valuing the company at $50 billion? a lot of people writing this morning, including the "new york times" op-ed page that's a ridiculous number. that with $2 billion in revenue, goldman is sort of inflating a bubble here. what do you make of that? >> it's possible. you know, on monday, we were talking about boeing is now at this valuation worth less than facebook. boeing, which has, what, 75% of the world's current commercial jet fleet around the world and 160,000 employees versus facebook's 2,000. it's not quite as simple as that. if you look at the valuation, there are only about 20 companies in this entire country that would be worth more than facebook. so it doesn't mean that it's wrong. it doesn't mean it can't pan out but it certainly is making a lot of people nervous as to what it's really worth. the other angle on this, i like to call it like a funnel because a lot of companies don't want to go public and have the scrutiny of the public market, including facebook. goldman sachs is putting this money in. it's like a funnel. they're allowing tons of investors to come in the top of the funnel but it only counts as one when it comes out. that's something the s.e.c. has, too prove because it sort of gives an advantage to some of those wealthy investors. >> they are offering exclusively to those high-end investors. erin, thanks. those numbers. let's hope it holds up on the jobs. still ahead, warren buffett's candid conversation with "vanity fair." we'll tell you what he told that magazine. up next, we'll talk about the first order of business for congress. that's next in our political roundtable. we'll send it back to washington when we come back. all right. word just in to msnbc. live pictures of boehner cam. >> you can see the excitement. >> was that him? >> no, i don't think so. >> he might be talking in a little bit. if he, does we'll pick it up. with us now, let's bring in ken strickland. thanks for being with us. we're talking a lot about john boehner and the republicans and what they are going to do in the house. what are democrats going to be doing in the senate? >> i still think the senate is where the deals are going to get cut. >> right. >> when we talk about taxes, spending. if it's going to be bipartisan, it's going to have to happen in the senate. boehner and his team are pretty much like anybody who takes over the house. push their stuff through. they haven't changed the rules so dramatically that democrats in the house will be able to really offer amendments. >> this is important because bob brought up earlier the important question is where is the power? the power to spend is in the house. the president of the united states has all the executive powers. they'll be pulling in both directions. but in the middle, it's going to be the senate doing all the deals. >> harry reid has one responsibility, to protect the democratic agenda. he doesn't want anything -- the president to have to veto anything. he still holds a 53 majority over there and he can still stop anything the republicans send over. on the other hand, anything that gets done, whether it's spending cuts, the debt ceiling, that's where the deal is more than likely going to have to be cut. look how the tax cut went down with the vice president and mitch mcconnell. republicans are looking for that door to open again and see if they can get it done. people like claire mccaskill, people who are up for re-election. people who want to fiscally get at it are going to be players in this game. >> you'll have people like claire mccaskill, missouri, up in two years. webb, virginia, tough race, going to be up in two years. republicans will probably have some allies on some of these close votes. >> sure. but the question is, what's the deal going to be about? >> right. >> you have any idea? >> i think one of the things -- >> fabricate for us or say this is how the compromise on some of these key issues is going to work. >> if there's anything that you hear resonate on both sides is that we have to reduce the spending. republicans want to take a number, let's say like $300 billion. but if democrat comes up with something that's 250 or 200, republicans aren't going to just say no. they have to accept something. republicans will tell you that. they want to have an ambitious agenda but they also -- >> does it come down to accounting for the next two years? i suspect it does. >> one of the people -- >> what social program, the democrats or the president, are they going to be able to advance in the next two years? >> senate republicans are in that sweet spot where they have enough to effect anything that gets pa s passed but they don't the responsibility of having to say we own. we'll set the bottom line but the white house has to figure out what actually gets cut. >> senator claire mccaskill was saying, which is contrary to popular thinking, i think, that next election cycle, taxes for the very wealthy could actually coming up as an issue that would be agreed upon. >> in '12. >> they're going to raise taxes in '12. >> so they're going to raise taxes -- they're going to raise taxes in a presidential year, before a presidential election. >> but polls show that people might be ready for something like this. >> people? mika, polls show that people were -- mika? hold on? >> i'm talk -- >> let you know where i'm going here. >> i do. >> people were ready for -- people were ready in '10. >> oh, wait. let's go to boehner cam. here's the incoming speaker of the house talking to reporters. >> -- proto protect the institution. i think most americans believe that congress is broken. it's time to fix it, and that will be my number one goal. >> thank you. >> there you go. >> now, kids, get off my lawn. channeling bob woodward. he's talking about reform. but, bob, before we went to the boehner cam -- >> i was trying to make a point. >> the motorcade. is he going to walk down pennsylvania avenue? >> yeah. >> so you asked the important question. why doesn't it happen in '10? >> i agree with that. >> if it's not going to happen in '10, it's not going to happen in '12. >> because obama didn't seize on it. and didn't, you know -- look. it's very popular. let's tax the rich. and it should be. and it didn't happen because he knew that was his lever with the republicans. >> was smart. >> i agree with joe. the idea that we're going to -- let's raise taxes on, you know -- >> we're talking about -- >> how did that work for republicans? >> you know, 58 republican or democratic senators in the house where they had 80-vote majority. if they didn't do it, after they've been creamed, they are going to come back and say let's cut -- let's raise taxes now. >> is it possible? could its time come? >> i think one of the things we haven't talked about is what's the economic outlook of the country. >> the guy has come to raise your taxes. >> two years from now until 2012 is almost like a lifetime in politics. what is the economy going to look like? where are the jobless numbers going to be spp there going to be any other unforeseen thing on national security. there are a lot of things we don't know. i can't think of the rumsfeld line. there's what we know and what we don't know. >> the unknown knowns. >> rums feld, we should give him a plug here. his book is coming out next year. i think they've worked hard on it. >> i wonder if he'd come on the show. >> it's something to watch. >> we don't know that he will. pat, do you think this president triangulates democrats? >> i think the president is an excellent shape himself. it's the liberal wing of the democratic party, joe, that we're talking about $250 billion and $300 billion in cuts. the beneficiaries of programs are democrats. the employees of government are democrats. you are going right at the base of the democratic party. if you chop that much out of government, how do they do that? >> i was thinking this morning how two years ago it was really the high water mark for american liberalism. probably since '64. but it's about as plique as it's been in a very long time. when you have andrew cuomo going after unions saying we're not going to raise taxes on the rich. when you have jerry brown saying we're going after unions, these are bleak times for progressives. >> yeah, and what is going to happen to the liberal wing of the democratic party? are they going to vote for republicans? no. again, the contest is in the center. they say the undecided voter, that's wrong. it's the persuadable voter. and people are now persuaded, rightly, that government is too big and too fat and let's go after it. >> it also comes down to the votes. doesn't matter what the liberal agenda is. if the votes aren't there to pass them. that's what we found out during the tax cuts when schumer and others wanted to say we want a tax cut plan that does not give tax cuts to the rich. the votes weren't there. the energy was there but if the votes aren't there it can't get done. >> ken strickland, we'll see you on the hill. up next, two will be the next warren buffett? the oracle of omaha opens up about berkshire hathaway in an in-depth interview with "vanity fair." more "morning joe." when we come back. ooh, a brainteaser. how can expedia now save me even more on my hotel? well, hotels know they can't fill every room every day. like this one. and this one. and oops, my bad. so, they give expedia ginormous discounts with these: unpublished rates. which means i get an even more rockin' hotel, for less. my brain didn't even break a sweat. where you book matters. expedia. ♪ you are my sunshine ♪ my only sunshine ♪ you makes me happy ♪ when skies are grey ♪ you'll never know, dear ♪ how much i love you ♪ please don't take my sunshine away ♪ [ male announcer ] as long as there are babies, they'll be chevy's to bring them home. ♪ talking about the values that you were given, obviously, by your parents. what made you say you know what? i may have a lot of money. i'm not going to change who i am. >> yeah, i enjoy life the way it is. things other people may get a kick out of, i don't. somebody once said the success is getting what you want. happy sentence wanting what you get. and basically, i've always had what i wanted. >> all right. welcome back to "morning joe." that was warren buffett on "morning joe" last june. the 80-year-old oracle of omaha sat down for an extensive interview with "vanity fair's" bethany mcclane. among the topics, the fufrt his company berkshire hathaway. he said there is no end point for berkshire hathaway. the important thing is not this year or next year but where berkshire is 20 years after i die. not taking care of berkshire would be like not having a will cubed. with us now from california, contributing editor for "vanity fair," bethany mcclane. you spent 11 hours with warren buffett. obviously, he has a reputation for being extremely down to earth. what did you learn about him that perhaps we haven't heard about buffett? >> i think i was surprised by how much he cares about the long-term future of berkshire hathaway, that he really cares what happens to his company after he goes. this is his legacy. i was surprised by -- we all think of warren buffett as an investing genius, which he is. but he's built berkshire hathaway into one of the largest companies in the united states. and he views the future of the company as more dependent on the operating business than on its investing prowess. and that was really surprising to me, too. >> so who is in line to replace warren buffett? >> there will be two different people. right now warren buffett has the role of both ceo and chief investment officer. and there will be two different people who take over those roles. maybe more than two. most of the speculation is that the likely ceo right now would be dave soco who used to be the ceo of mid-american energy. now is its chairman. that's one of berkshire's major operating business. berkshire hired a guy named todd combs to run the investment portfolio and they'll likely try to hire other people. one of the interesting things is how hard it is to find somebody to replace buffett in that role of chief investment officer. you would think people would be clamoring to have that job. and buffett zould his pick of just hundreds. >> this guy is an investment genius. i am not so sure those skills are transferrable, are they. >> i'm not so sure they are either. when you look at what buffett has accomplished, it's really remarkable. he has all these built-in advantages. he built these advantages for himself. and it's really pretty incredible. the closer you get to that company, i think, the more impressive his accomplishment is. and then when you think in today's modern hedge fund world, there are a lot of really fantastically talented hedge fund managers out there. but how many of them want to give up their opportunity to make hundreds of millions and potentially move to omaha for a much smaller salary and a ton of pressure as the successor to buffett. i don't know if that's a trade i'd make. >> bob woodward, you were telling us about a meeting you had in 1974 with buffett. his advice when "washington post" stock was at 4 was to do what? >> was to buy it. i thought it was a conflict of interest, so i didn't. but i should have bought his stock which was at $90 a share. it's now $116,000 a share, roughly. >> good gracious. >> and i wound up having breakfast with him because katharine graham, the publisher of the post called me up on a saturday morning and said there's this guy who bought 10% of our company and he's in town. i've got a tennis game. will you take him to breakfast. so i took him to breakfast. and i said what do you do? he explained what he did. and now when i go to breakfast with anyone who owns a company, i buy lots of their stock. >> yeah, really. missed opportunity. >> of course, and here's a great example, bethany. he said buy "the post" stock. it was at 4. it went into the thousands. the guy gets it right. >> you know, it's really amazing. i actually heard the same story bob just told from buffett. and the two stories are identical even those this happened how many years ago. how many times does that happen? the guy has a phenomenal memory. >> but he has a theory of -- and the theory is buy companies that have value, that have monopolies, that are well run. and it makes sense. >> but don't buy the speculative bubble companies. >> right. >> bethany mclean of "vanity fair." thank you so much. fascinating article. up next, what did we learn today? it says it's got a running time of 191 minutes. [ wife ] that's good. that's 3 hours. it says my freshman roommate's name is jake. she sounds nice. it says it's a self portrait. really? [ guy ] it says he's david paymer. oh, okay. yeah. [ kid ] it says you have 4 million hits. [ male announcer ] at&t feels every family should have access on the go. so we're introducing smartphone data plans for the family. now at a more affordable $15 per line. at&t. rethink possible. now get the motorola bravo for only $49.99. another heart attack could be lurking, waiting to strike. a heart attack that's caused by a clot, one that could be fatal. but plavix helps save lives. plavix, taken with other heart medicines, goes beyond what other heart medicines do alone, to provide greater protection against heart attack or stroke and even death by helping to keep blood platelets from sticking together and forming dangerous clots. ask your doctor if plavix is right for you. protection that helps save lives. certain genetic factors and some medicines, such as prilosec, reduce the effect of plavix leaving you at greater risk for heart attack and stroke. your doctor may use genetic tests to determine treatment. don't stop taking plavix without talking to your doctor as your risk of heart attack or stroke may increase. people with stomach ulcers or conditions that cause bleeding should not use plavix. taking plavix alone or with some other medicines, including aspirin, may increase bleeding risk, so tell your doctor when planning surgery. tell your doctor all medicines you take, including aspirin, especially if you've had a stroke. if fever, unexplained weakness or confusion develops, tell your doctor promptly. these may be signs of ttp, a rare but potentially life-threatening condition, reported sometimes less than 2 weeks after starting plavix. other rare but serious side effects may occur. looking for a simple way to reported sometimes less than 2 weeks after starting plavix. help lower your cholesterol? try benecol spread - a heart healthy alternative to butter. benecol contains an ingredient that helps block cholesterol absorption and has a delicious, buttery taste. make benecol part of your healthy lifestyle. welcome back to "morning joe." time to talk about what we learned today. pat, what did you learn? >> boehner day and it's going to be a good day for him in that speech. >> boehner day, all right. >> norah? >> i learned that 10 of boehner's 11 brothers and sisters are here. one has to work in georgia. and more than 50 nieces and nephews. huge family. >> w

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