mika, you need to buck up. i know you think this story has no purpose other than keeping sarah palin's names in the headlines for another news cycle. i know you think she has nothing to offer the national dialogue and her speeches are coated talking points mixed in with words picked up at random from a thesauras. i know you think her reality show was pathetically unstatesman like and at the same time i know you believe it represents the pinnacle of her potential. and that her transparent desperation to be a celebrity so completely eclipsed her interest in public service so long ago, that there would be no journalistic integrity on reporting on one of the lesser kardashian's ass implants. i know when you arrive at the office each day you say a silent prayer that maybe, just maybe, sarah palin will at long last shut up for ten [ bleep ] minutes. you slap on a smile, get out there on tv and repeat what sarah palin said on "hannity" last night right into the lens. you know, news. >> wow. that was -- >> wow. >> do you think that? >> i -- i have to say -- >> no. >> he crystallizes some of my emotions, just a few. wow. >> just one. >> hey, good morning. >> it's wednesday, january 19th. with us on set msnbc contributor mike barnicle, president of the council on foreign relations richard hoff. >> we're so glad to have richard so we can talk more about sarah palin. >> no no. >> mike barnicle, let's talk about sarge shriver. >> a great man. >> he passed away at 95. there's a story of one of his kids getting knocked down at a football game and he started crying. bobby kennedy came up to him and said kennedys don't cry, get up. sarge came along, bent down to his son, he said but shrivers do, son, don't worry about it. >> it's interesting, because the shriver children, they're no longer children, obviously, were, although part of the kennedy family raised in a distinctly different manner than were a lot of the kennedys. sarge was a very dominant figure as a father. he was very religious, extremely catholic. one of the more generous people in terms of spirit that you'd ever meet. >> he was, of course, the founder of the peace corps. >> he was the first head of the peace corps. >> first head of the peace corps. >> at the same time he was head of the office of economic opportunity which began i think about 1964, 1965. president johnson appointed him to that. he was the head of both departments at the same time. some elements of vista, the oeo, office of economic opportunity, is still around in this country. they've been enormously helpful to a lot of people. the peace corps, i think you can make a case that the peace corps is the most substantive and long-lasting element of the kennedy administration. it's been 50 years tomorrow since john f. kennedy was inaugurated, january 20th, 1961. the peace corps is still functioning. it brought the word and the spirit of the united states of america around the world in a way that few things have done in a positive manner. and a lot of it, most of it, is directly attributable to sarge shriver. >> sarge shriver the ambassador to france in 1968, at a very difficult time in our relationship. did he a great job there, richard. of course, he went on to run in 1972 with mcgovern. but he had put by that time, his political career was probably over. he put his ambitions on hold so many times, in 1960, again in '64, again in '68 for the kennedys. he was a loyal son-in-law. >> mike made an interesting point. people talk about so-called soft power, the ability of the united states to project its values, its ideas around the world rather than sort of military force, economic might, even diplomacy. the peace corps is important. the peace corps stands in many ways for what's best, for volunteerism, for actually helping people at a grass roots level. i thought that was an interesting point. >> we're looking at pictures of sarge shriver now with his son-in-law, governor schwarzenegger and maria shiver. he was such an elegant guy. when he ran for vice president in 1972, his elegance was sometimes a source of great humor among the press corps. there was a time in pittsburgh, he's off the plane, he's campaigning and he's campaigning in a steelworkers bar in pittsburgh about two weeks before the election in 1972. sarge goes into the bar, followed by the press corps. it's filled with guys who are there at the end of the shift and he orders a round for the entire bar. buy a round for the earn tire bar. he says what will you have? sarge says quevasie. the shrivers were the only couple, they both got presidential medals of freedom. of course, for their work not only with the peace corps but also with special olympics. >> their kids are actively involved in special olympics and other endeavors. tim was on "meet the press" on sunday, i believe. >> yes. >> it was really good. >> yes. >> they've got -- he has a tremendous legacy. >> a tremendous -- >> just in his children alone. >> i was going to say, just with his children alone, really impressive children. let's move on to the news of the day. china. >> a lot going on. >> a lot going on regarding china. >> i look forward to talking about this finally. president obama is expected to welcome chinese president hu jintao for an oval arrival ceremony later this morning. the president will host a formal state dinner this evening. it's part of a day that will include bilateral talks, a giant news conference and meeting with business leaders to discuss the u.s. economic relationship with china. last time, obama and hu shared a rare private dinner underscoring the desire for candor. the white house said there were no official note takers and offered no readout of the discussions. both national security adviser tom done lynn and hillary clinton, secretary of state, were present. this is under pressure to show resolve on issues including china's currency and the country ace much criticized trade and human rights policies. so we pause there. richard maybe you could comment on how they strike that balance. going into this meeting they haven't been sideline the about some of the issues they are concerned about, human rights, trade, currency. >> they have to be careful. they're not going to get immediate results. the chinese are not going to walk out of the white house and give us great concessions on their currency or any kegss on human rights, they're not going to necessarily start being more helpful on north korea or iran or anything else. this is not a summit. you're not going to get specific agreements. what you have to hope is over time china begins to play a more responsible role in asia and the world. that's what's important about this. >> what could come out of it? what do we hope for? >> the chinese go home and they understand what they have to do if they want this to be a productive relationship. for example, over the last six, seven months their currency has gone up 3% or 4%. we need it to go up many more times than that. north korea, the chinese have got to do more lift be. they have far more influence over north korea than they let on. >> richard, try to name, over the past decade, a time over the past 15 years, where the chinese have acted like they were in a partnership with us. we put demands out and they ignore those demands. summarily. they do. you know, human rights. i was there in '59 when we said we'll give you most favored trade stat fuss you do three things. of course, they didn't do it. >> you have to take a longer view of things. china is not nearly as closed compared to what it was like under mao or dung chieping. >> what can we expect china to give in we've given them no incentive to give us anything. i'm not saying that we engage in trade wars. i'm just saying, china always gets what china wants when they deal with the united states. >> at the point of view of u.s. foreign policy has to be to effect chinese thinking. china has to essentially start acting more responsibly, not as a favor to us but as a favor to itself. >> how do we do that? >> they have to come to see that using influence over north korea's nuclear program to keep north korea from acting recklessly towards the south is in their interest. they don't want to see a war in that part of the world. they need us to cap their labor force employed, in order to export. this has to be a two-way relationship. think about it this way, during the cold war, the united states and china had something in common, we were both against the soviet union. it's 20 years later. we're trying to figure out what this relationship is about. what the administration is hoping that gradually china becomes our partner. >> we're trying to figure that out. i don't think the chinese are, because they don't have to. >> well, that's the interesting point to me. like most americans know very little about china. i know what i read in the papers but that's about it. it would seem to me, just on the face of it, a country with more than a billion people, manufacture them, the vast majority of them, extraordinarily poor and we're in an age when information is going to flow, even to the furthest provinces in china. don't they have their own int n internal problems that are going to perhaps potentially help us deal with them? >> for sure, though i would say, china's been one of the great poverty reduction experiments in human history, hundreds of millions of people who 20, 30 years ago were below the poverty level no longer are. but you're right, we should not assume that simply because china's been growing at 9%, 10%, 11% a year for the last decade or two it's going to continue to. tremendous problems internally. the role of the communist party is still a question mark. the resentment of poor people for the newly wealthy. hundreds of millions of people as you suggest still living in rural poverty. china has enormous challenges. >> what's the average age in china. >> china is getting older because of the single child policy. it will be the ironic result of their own attempts to keep their population down. >> another question is, what position does president obama hold today in making any demands given the fact that china holds so much of our debt, how do we pound the table and say, give us this or else? >> they hold a lot of our debt. on the other hand when someone holds that much of your debt, they're also vulnerable. plus china needs the -- >> it's like donald trump. hey, i'm $9 billion in debt, take my hotels. i don't care. >> any of you ever been 9 billion in debt? >> i can't tell a donald trump story. >> please don't. what are you doing? >> one of the great moments. just cockyness. he holds a press conference, he goes in there, everybody is killing him. he's like $9 billion in debt. everybody is an expert in here. has anybody in this room ever been $9 billion in debt? if not, keep your mouth shut. then he got out of it. >> interesting take. >> that is an interesting take. we are basically in donald trump's position right now. >> i don't think we take that approach. >> china needs to export to us. in part because it's got to keep people employed. >> do they need to export to us? >> for sure, for sure. >> this regime's legitimacy is based upon economic performance. economic performance in china depends upon keeping people employed. keeping people employed means keeping exports high. china needs the openness of the american market. >> they need us on you also talk about tremendous problems internally, that's clear. there is a shift in the dynamic between these two countries in terms of how they're seen on the world stage in terms of power, is there not? >> in part because we took a real hit because of what happened over the last few years with our financial crisis. the american model is not as appealing. china's feeling its oats after growing 10% a year. >> and getting a lot of attention. >> they've become much more aserltive. chinese foreign policy has become not just assertive but at times heavy-handed and belligerent. the good news is the united states is started pushing back in asia. what we're seeing is the beginning in some ways of the historical competition between the united states, the great power of the day, china, the rising power and the diplomatic challenge as to whether we can manage this process. we do not want to end up in 10 or 20 years talking thonn or any other set about a u.s./china cold war. that would be a diplomatic disaster for both countries. the challenge is to make this relationship work, get china to be more productive. >> i haven't seen it on curre y currency. i haven't seen it in 15 years on humen rights. we're not going to see it on the issue of protectionism. i don't care if you're doing a contract, you know, with your boss or whether it's foreign policy. it's leverage. and, mike, china right now has all the leverage. they've had it for 15 years because american companies have been lusting after their growing market. we have had no leverage whatsoever and we've taught china over the past 15 years, republicans and democrats alike, whatever you want, you get. >> except protectionism. joe mentioned protectionism. if we raise the tariff on incoming stuff, what happens to the cost of the ipod i want to buy when i go into walmart? >> that's both for both sides. once you start the process of protecti protectionism, you can't stop it. >> the chinese are engaging in protectionism right now. >> and subsidies. >> in a big way. >> patents are not respektd. >> why are they doing that. >> that's their short cut to economic -- >> it's going to help their economy. >> for sure. >> it helps china, it doesn't help us. >> u.s. exports to china have been growing tremendously. one of the fastest growing export markets we have. >> you have to give and take. we'll be talking about this much more. we have a big show this morning. tim kaine is going to join us, as well as maureen orth even george clooney. up next, why is president obama disappointed with his economic team? political has a sneak peek at an upcoming "new york times" article. and regis philbin announces his retirement. what names are being floated around to take his place? let's go to bill for the morning weather forecast. today will be a little bit better. we have light freezing drizzle from hartford to albany. as far as the radar, the white is the snow. we still have a little left over from scranton heading up to the capital district. as i mention that, pink is where we get to a little more ice. the rain is pretty much done from new york to philly today. new england will have to deal with light stuff. it will be a cold day in the northern plains and a mini stow snowstorm will head across the country, starting today in kansas city, st. louis tonight, ohio valley tomorrow and that will arrive from d.c. to philly, new york city and boston, thursday night into friday morning. not a blockbuster storm, many areas getting 3 to 6 inches of snow. you're watching "morning joe," brewed by starbucks. winter can be beautiful. [ female announcer ] and now, winter skin can be too. discover relief from dry, uncomfortable skin with skin relief moisturizing lotion. only aveeno has an active naturals triple oat and shea butter formula that soothes, nourishes and restores moisture. women saw improvement in all five symptoms of winter skin in just one day. beauty you can see and feel. that's being comfortable in your own skin. aveeno skin relief. and now get dermatologist recommended relief from severely dry skin with eczema therapy. new from aveeno. discover the power of active naturals [ indistinct shouting ] ♪ another day ♪ another dollar ♪ daylight comes [ dogs barking ] ♪ i'm on my way ♪ another day ♪ another dollar ♪ working my whole life away ♪ another day ♪ another dollar ♪ another day 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 has to go to her nurse, sean hannity. >> i don't think a lot of people on the left have been very difficult towards you over the years and i really don't hear you complaining a lot about it. >> you don't? you should maybe watch her when she appears on the sean hannity show. it's hard to see through all the plumes of ass smoke you're blowing, but is it hard to hear, too? because watching the two of you insisting on her easy going nature reminds me of taking my grandmother out to eat. you know me, i'm easy. i'm not a complainer. is it cold in here? you would think at these prices they'd shut a window. >> oh, my gosh, that was funny. >> let's take a look at the morning papers. >> let's do that at 21 past the hour. goldman sachs is facing angry american clients after forcing them to buy shares in facebook. the facebook offering will apply only to foreign investors. >> governor rick perry is sworn in for the fourth time. criticizing what he called washington's irresponsibility and announcing "texas will lead the way out of this." >> quite a picture. >> san francisco chronicle, researchers at the university of san francisco, says a simple blood test could predict alzheimer's. >> and when is it too cold for school children to go outside for recess? >> i live in upstate new york. we liked it. >> where's ed rendell? >> the department of education says there's no national temperature standard. >> how nice. and those decisions can be made at a local level. >> okay. >> good for kids. >> come on. >> did someone get frostbite. >> upstate new york, seriously, sometimes you'd be out at the bus stop and it would be like 30 below wind chill. you know what you did? you sat there and waited for the bus to show up. >> and you liked it. >> and you liked it. >> and you liked it. >> to write a passage to get your tongue stuck to the flag pole, have a snow ball fight. >> you know what's worse, it's 20 below zero and you finished playing basketball and you go out in the car. >> quick way to pneumonia. >> yeah, yeah. >> let's turn the page. >> can we please? >> you don't want to hear anymore? >> it's good. >> the chief white house correspondent from politico, mike galen. going behind the scenes at the white house. the president expressing his frustrations with his own economic team about their approach to job creation. what did peter find? >> willie, that's right. this has the memorable title, the white house looks for a job. and it chronicles the effort by the president to find something new about jobs. we know it's the number one issue on the minds of americans. it's clear the president needs to say something convincing about it. there's the daunting figure that the federal reserve says that unemployment could be 8% next year when the president is seeking re-election. yet, the white house has had real trouble finding something that's credible and convincing. peter opens with this scene, three days before christmas in which the president is having a meeting with advisers and they're throwing out ideas and he says, guys, there's nothing here that excites me. i want something new. and they just weren't finding it. since then, the president who has not consulted many outsiders on anything, including the wars, has been bringing in economists leaders, corporate leaders, union leaders of all stripes to look for ideas, one republican who was in there said he seemed a little defensive. i wonder why. >> you read the excerpts of this piece, it doesn't exactly inspire confidence. peter baker describes the president "casting about for ideas, frustrate thaad doesn't have good ones." talking to outside economis