>> this book is going to make a lot of people angry. >> there are going to be heads exploding all over washington. >> you know that? >> yeah. >> heads exploding all over washington. good morning, it's thursday, august 25th. with us on set, the president of action network and host of "politics nation," reverend al sharpton. happy to have you on board. also with us, essy cup. nice to have you this morning. and from the "huffington post," alex wagner, also very chipper this morning. down in washington, the "huffington post," sam stein. how are you? >> good. >> jaime is going to appear on "dateline." we are getting clips from his memoir. he's going to make people angry. he goes after colin power, condy rice and do we have the water boarding clip? he comes out and says i believe in what we did with water boarding. >> in your view, we should still be using enhanced interrogation? >> yes. >> no regrets? >> no regrets. >> should we still be water boarding terror suspects? >> i would support using it if we had a high valued detainee. >> even though so many people condemned it and called it torture, you think it should be a tool? >> yes. >> reverend sharpton, what do you think about dick cheney coming out with a memoir where he worked so closely to people that are still around. >> it's interesting he would say he's going to make a lot of people angry. he always did. >> he's make other people angry. >> what i think is interesting is he used the memoir to go after people that served in the administration and who were loyal to the administration and to policies that he really helped engineer and the gratitude they get is be attacked in his memoir. that means they have to roll out and defend themselves. it gives a lot of the mentality of dick cheney. the politics of it, though, is, i think he will remind a lot of americans what we want to get away from. i think this is good for president obama and on that side of the political aisle. we need somebody to remind america why we wanted to get away from the bush-cheney era. if i was a republican candidate, i wouldn't want right at this time, you have to deal with the persona of dick cheney now being the story. i think politically, i couldn't have timed it better if i was the one that was engineering this as a democrat. >> what about that from colin powell. "the new york times" got an advanced copy. he goes after colin powell for expressing regrets about the iraq war. >> i think it's clear, dick cheney, above all else, he was a loyalist to the president. i'm not sure any republican candidates are worried about what dick cheney is doing right now. none of them had very strong bush ties. i don't think this reflects at all on them. it's years later. i think dick cheney is a little sick and tired of his name being dragged through the mud. this is his way of saying, look, i have no regrets. i make no apologies. i have a legacy to protect. i did what i did. i'm proud of the record. >> there are parts of the book where he second guesses president bush a bit. >> do you think president bush will feel betrayed that you have revealed project conversations? >> i don't know why he should. >> you don't think so? >> i don't think so. >> you said the president deserves to be able to trust the people around him. by revealing these differences, you don't think you are betraying that trust? >> no. >> alex, what do you think? >> i think a better title for the book would be, "in my defense". look, he feels he's been done an injustice. this is just to clear the record. to the point, to the part about george w. bush, one of the more telling episodes is cheney says he was in control of the country after 9/11. he was commanding the country from a bunker. if people give president bush credit, it's the moments after the towers were attacked and the pentagon was attacked. they think it's a calculated move to say actually that was me. beyond that, you know, i assume bush is sad he's not part of the italian villagery. >> we'll get to that in a moment. during september 11th, president bush on that day was a peripheral player, dick cheney was running the show from a bunker urbunk er under the white house. >> i have to say, i read "the new york times" book and watched the clips and read the excerpts. a lot of it is old territory that we are rehashing. i don't see it moving forward. i guess there were differences in the bush administration during the prosecution of the iraq war. dick cheney fought behind the scenes with colin powell and disagreed with a lot of what george bush did. so, i'm curious to get my hands on a copy of it. most of it is old hat to me except the italian village. i want to be with dick cheney in this italian village. it sounds great. >> let's read it. the epilogue of the bok, cheney talks about going under heart surgery. he was unconscious for a couple weeks. he had a prolonged vivid dream he was living in an italian villa pacing the stone path to get coffee and newspapers. sounds like heaven to me. >> sounds like an opening montage for "saturday night live." >> they are going to get their hands on this, trust me. i want to talk a little bit about steve jobs as well. huge news. he put out a letter announcing his resignation. it's hard to overstate the impact this guy has had on computing and music. he changed the music business. on film with pixar, on marketing, on retail experience. this guy is a giant in american history. >> no, i think that, you know, we use the term giant too loosely. there's clearly giants and then there's giants. i think he falls in the real giant category because he impacted american culture and world culture. what he did, the technology and as you say music, it transformed how we deal with information. it transformed culture at so many different levels. he changed the face of the earth in how people relate to each other. he will go down in history as a real, real giant and deservingly so. >> he said in a statement, if there was a time i could no longer meet my duties i would be the first to let you know. unfortunately, that day has come. s.e., he touched every part of our lives. >> i think when we all heard he had pancreatic cancer, we saw the writing on the walls. we knew this day would come. unfortunately, it's a very difficult cancer. luckily, apple has been in place working toward this moment. i think apple will be just fine and we can all sort of look back and remember steve jobs both alive and when he passes as a huge innovator and you are absolutely right a culture changer. >> tim cook, the coo has been in place for some time. they expect a relatively smooth transition all though stock is down this morning. >> if you talk to tech analysts about this, it's insurgent. the question is aulsz been what happens post jobs. there's a plan in place, but never forget steve jobs was the top of the pyramid and all major divisions flowed through him. i'm not saying there's going to be a wild disruption in terms of apples day-to-day, but it's different. >> we are going to check the markets in a minute. i want to get you in on the 2012 poll. the gallup poll, since announcing his bid two weeks ago, perry passed romney and bachmann. he leads all candidates with 29% among republicans and republican independents. romney, 12 points back at 17 followed by ron paul and bachmann. it's before huntsman's new strategy. he's at 1%. 29% for rick perry. what does that tell you? >> the field was unsettled before he entered. romney was the front-runner. if you talk to anyone who's participated in the republican primary, they were never satisfied with the status. bachmann did not get a win at the ames straw poll. rick perry grabbed it. he's not going to be a rehash of fred thompson who entered in 2008, spiralled then disappeared quickly. >> reverend sharpton, if you are mitt romney looking at that number, how worried are you? >> you have to be concerned. you have to hope it's a new entry bump. it looks like it's more than that. you can't underestimate rick perry. even though he and i disagree on the weather, the fact is he is never lost an election in texas. he does know how to run a campaign. he's a shrewd person and has a charisma that mitt romney doesn't have. if i was advising mitt romney, i would say if you are thinking it's a shower that's going to pass, look at hurricane irene, it's coming. you are going to have to deal with it that way. i think the big one is sarah palin. >> sarah palin? >> i think the fact that he seems to have traction lessens her attraction. i think she's the one that i would say better get a copy of cheney's memoirs. >> always the pulpit. let's listen to what romney said when asked about the poll. >> look, i follow the strategy i have since the beginning. there's going to be potentially other candidates. i heard of others potentially getting in. i heard sarah palin might getting in. there's a lot going on amongst our group. if you are running for president, your focus should be on the current president and his failures. >> at the moment, the energy with the republican party is with rick perry. does he have staying power? >> a couple things. jeb bush came out and asked for a new tone among republicans. we shouldn't be flame throwers. clearly, it's not what voters want. they want the flame throwers. rick perry has been the worst when talking obama and his administration. there are two rick perry's. if you talk to texas republicans, there are two separate camps. one says he's an outsider, this non-politician. they really like that. he's the texas republican bush pretended to be. the other half, the detractors find him to be overly political. they really are turned off by it. which rick perry he wants to be going forward. the outsider, the outside washington texas politician. he can't occupy both spaces. >> the civil tone as jon huntsman at 1%. >> i think that's his family. >> his mom. >> you know, what else can you say other than he is trying to compete. he is saying presidents are elected in new hampshire and south carolina. it's where his effort is. this is just noise. he's not going to get involved in this. you have rick perry who is his own hurricane irene. i think, you know, in that same mitt romney interview someone said are you going to show more personality now, no offense. romney just had no rejoiner to that. it's a change in dynamics. exactly. exactly. >> this is all i got. sam, let's suppose rick perry for the sake of the argument is the nominee. how does he do in the general? >> if we are going to go down this hypothetical -- >> we are. >> why not. i think he's going to do as well as people would invision. he's got a lot of problems, a lot of skeletons in the closet. the rapid job growth in texas. a lot of problems on climate change. a lot of problems in the views of social issues. it might play well on the republican primary. i don't think it does well in the general election. >> it's hard to tarnish him. >> he doesn't believe in science. >> the creepy moment where he lectured the boy in iowa. >> yeah. i can't wait. >> i bet you cant, reverend. >> we're going to check in with richard engel. he continues his report in tripoli. robin wright predicted what unfolded in the middle east this year. fraud investigator and bernie madoff whistleblower, harry markopolos. steve jobs is stepping down. forbes annual list of 100 most powerful women is out. we'll tell you who topped the list. first, bill karins with a look at hurricane irene. good morning, bill. >> here is what you need to know. the forecast, instead of shifting further to the east is further to the west. it's no longer a storm that is going to miss. we are looking at impacts right through new england. it's over the bahamas. it's close to florida. large waves and rain there today. here is the latest forecast. the thing to notice, at least the storm is weakening as we go through the the forecast. 125, 115, 105 miles per hour. that's the good news. it probably won't be a major hurricane, but category 2 to category 1 hurricane. here is what it looks like saturday night into sunday morning and all day sunday, the jersey shoreline pretty much during the day would be the worst. 80 miles per hour winds. the potszibility of raking the coal line. the first time in a long time that happened. as a strong tropical storm into massachusetts. we are talking a storm that would do damage. we are going to watch the squiggly lines. to the left is chesapeake bay. every city on i-95 is at risk. we'll have updates in the next couple days. you're watching "morning joe," brewed by starbucks. 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"the new york times" a new pentagon report that says the military arsenal is growing. china already leads the world in ground troops with 1.25 million. the report estimates chinese military spending $160 billion in 2010 compared to the united states spending nearly $700 billion. the guardian, a new study says twitter was mainly used to react to the london riots, not to organize them. this news comes in sharp contrast that says social media, twitter, was one of many sites used to gather protesters. forbes magazine list of 100 most powerful women. the imf christine la guard on the governor. the number one on the list. german chancellor angela merkle. hillary clinton, michelle obama is eight, lady gaga is number 11. look at michele bachmann, number 22 of the most powerful women in the world. >> lady gaga a lot more important than people who are running for president. i guess when you wear a dress made out of cold cuts. >> that always gets them. >> facebook ceo number five in the world. joining us for more on steve jobs resignation, john fort. good morning. >> good morning. lots of people surprised out here in silicon valley. lots of comments coming out from companies that have been competitive with apple. cisco coming out with support of steve jobs. google posting statements and support of steve jobs health. this is a person who has affected all of silicon valley. >> what do we know -- i know they are tight lipped about this. we suspect it's the pancreatic cancer. he had a liver transplant. is that the bottom line? is it why he stepped aside? >> it appears to be. absent from the statements yesterday was any referent at all to his health. the closest we got was he mentioned if it ever came down to he wasn't able to fulfill his duties as ceo, he would let us know. he said that in the context of his health. he said yes, the time has come. i am no longer able to serve in that role. no mention of his health in this announcement. >> we have to believe that's what it is. you and i talked awhile ago about steve jobs legacy. hard to do it in a couple minutes. how will he be remembered as an executive at apple? >> well, you know, he's really so unique in so many ways. you can't just pick up and run a company the way steve jobs has and the way he does. look through apple's patents. his name is on many of the patents. the design focus is something he's elevated working with the lead designer, jonathan. look at the marketing and the use of commercials, the use of the stage and his star power. then you look at the turn around. the fact he was able to assemble a team that included operational people, tim cook, the ceo of the company. ron johnson, he brought over from target to create a retail experience that's been so key to apple's revival. all the tools he's brought together plus the outside work he did at pixar. it reinvigorated animation for disney. he's a unique ceo and executive in america. >> john fort live in california for us. thanks so much. obviously, not just a gadget guy. he changed the way music is delivered. the apple stores have become places of worship for people to get apple stuff. mike allen has a look at the playbook. hello, mike. >> hey, good morning. >> good morning. we were talking rick perry. he's got a sizable lead. 12 points over mitt romney. how is the gop establishment going to react? >> they are surprised at what he's saying out on the trail, taking pot shots on washington wall street. if you are going to raise money for a presidential campaign, if you are going to compete with mr. moneybags, where are you going to go? he's the front-runner in the polls by being mr. outsider do they want pictures of him coming to new york-d.c. to raise money? his early fund-raisers, the first wave of trips he's doing in the next week or so are the south, southwest, mountain west, places he's traditionally raised money. he's raised money in new york and d.c. and will be coming here, too. the question is how much to do that. he's had meetings with people who he hopes will raise money for him. at least for now, he's been able to get new york and washington to come to him. >> smart republican money flow in his direction? >> we'll see. rick perry may be new on the presidential scene but he's not new politically. people know who he is. they have known him for quite awhile. he's got coffers to dip into. weather they are deep enough and long enough to sustain a year of campaigning remains to be seen. mitt romney's got four years behind him and what is the front-runner. it may end up being the front-runner once the haze of rick perry, you know, excitement saves a little. we'll see. >> mike, what is your sense of panic as you look at the new numbers? >> they are not panicked. they think they are going to be the long-haul player, the last man standing. they think rick perry has not gone through a national vetting. he's about to get a big scrubbing from all the reporters and think he's going to come out, not as shiny as he looks now. >> mike allen, thanks so much. standing by in the green room, keith richards was going to be there. eric will join us in a few minutes. up next, ochocinco at it again. offering to pick up a tab for a fine leveed against an opposing player. that story in baseball. almost tastes like one of jack's cereals. fiber one. uh, forgot jack's cereal. [ jack ] what's for breakfast? um... try the number one! [ jack ] yeah, this is pretty good. [ male announcer ] half a day's worth of fiber. fiber one. excuse me? my grandfather was born in this village. [ automated voice speaks foreign language ] [ male announcer ] in here, everyone speaks the same language. ♪ in here, forklifts drive themselves. no, he doesn't have it. yeah, we'll look on that. [ male announcer ] in here, friends leave you messages written in the air. that's it right there. [ male announcer ] it's the at&t network. and what's possible in here is almost impossible to say. [ male announcer ] get ready for the left lane. the volkswagen autobahn for all event is back. right now, get a great deal on new volkswagen models, including the cc. and every volkswagen includes scheduled carefree maintenance. that's the power of german engineering. right now lease the volkswagen cc sport for just $289 a month. ♪ visit vwdealer.com today. welcome back to "morning joe." time for news. rebel forces in libya putting a bounty on the head of moammar gadhafi and offering amnesty to the le