in new york city. according to the "new york daily news," the president said, "it's time for us to refocus and make sure we understand that change we can believe in was never ç going to be change overnight. rather, it's going to be a slow, steady progression during which this aircraft carrier that we call the united states of america slowly shifts into a direction that promises more opportunity. well, the president also told reporters -- or supporters, rather -- i'm going to need another term to finish the job. there he said it. running for re-election. we'll be right back. i'll have a triple iced 410 calories please. you know what... i'll have this instead. [ female announcer ] swap one thing a day for a yoplait light at around 100 calories. it will add up to amazing. so i get claritin clear for strong, non-drowsy relief of all my allergies like dust mold pets and pollen. looks good. thanks. i live claritin clear. >>> welcome back to "hardball." after yesterday's spectacular stock market surge, plus huge retail sales numbers over the thanksgiving weekend, could there finally be

. >>> listen to what president obama told supporters at a fund-raiser last night in new york city. according to the "new york daily news," the president said, "it's time for us to refocus and make sure we understand that change we can believe in was never going to be change overnight. rather, it's going to be a slow, steady progression during which this aircraft carrier that we call the united states of america slowly shifts into a direction that promises more opportunity. well, the president also told reporters -- or supporters, rather -- i'm going to need another term to finish the job. there he said it. running for re-election. ♪ for you [ male announcer ] this is zales, the diamond store. take up to an extra 15 percent off storewide now through tuesday. an extra 15 percent off i've tried it. but nothing helped me beat my back pain. then i tried salonpas. it's powerful relief that works at the site of pain and lasts up to 12 hours. salonpas. premier of the packed bag. you know organization is key... and so is having a trusted assistant. and you...rent from national. because only nationa

new york city. according to the "new york daily news," the president said, "it's time for us to refocus and make sure we understand that change we can believe in was never going to be change overnight. rather, it's going to be a slow, steady progression during which this aircraft carrier that we call the united states of america slowly shifts into a direction that promises more opportunity. well, the president also told reporters -- or supporters, rather -- i'm going to need another term to finish the job. there he said it. running for re-election. we'll be right back. [ male announcer ] you are a business pro. premier of the packed bag. you know organization is key... and so is having a trusted assistant. and you...rent from national. because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle...and go. you can even take a full-size or above and still pay the mid-size price. here we are... [ male announcer ] and there you go, business pro. there you go. go national. go like a pro. >>> welcome back to "hardball." after yesterday's spectacular stock market surge, plus huge retail

evening. i'm chris matthews up in new york. leading off tonight, the bomb thrower. here's why newt gingrich is winning right now. he's a bomb thrower. he's willing to pay any price, bear any burden, say anything, as long as the result is that he sticks it hard and good to president obama. newt channels the visceral irrational contempt so many on the right feel for our president. and it's working. he's running free and clear to the goal line right now, and the best mitt romney can do is hope newt fumbles. that's not a strategy, that's desperation. there were two images, by the way, on our tv screens this weekend that stand out. one was when the circus came to town for the gop debate. the other was of a thoughtful president obama on "60 minutes" last night defending his presidency. the contrast with the republicans was jarring. conservative columnist fred barnes of the "weekly standard" believes the big winner of republican debate so far was president obama. by the way, could mitt romney be this year's hillary clinton? his experience, you know, i've got the experience argument, like

>> yeah, especially because new york needs more homeland security than wyoming. >> and by getting drunk, you put yourself in vulnerable situations, period. >> of either gender. >> it's a fact, it's not a concept. a pleasure, as always. nice to see you. that'll do it for us. i am dylan ratigan and "hardball" with chris matthews starts right now. >>> neutron bomb. let's play "hardball." >>> good evening. i'm chris matthews up in new york. leading you have tonight, the bomb thrower. here's why newt gingrich is winning right now. he's a bomb thrower. he's willing to pay any price, bear my burden, say anything, as long as the result is that he sticks it hard and good to president obama. newt channels the visceral erational contempt so many on the right feel for our president. and it's working. he's running free and clear to the goal line right now, and the best mitt romney can do is hope newt fumbles. . that's not a strategy, that's desperation. there were two images, by the way, on our tv screens this weekend that stand out. one was went the circus came to town for the gop debate. the

." now for the sideshow. first up, deck the halls of the house. when house democrat paul tonco of new york state took the floor this morning to give a year-end address about the state of congress and the middle class, he opted to sugar coat his reality with a timeless holiday classic. let's hear tonco's holiday spin of what should be on tap for congress. >> 'twas the week before christmas, when all through the house, a cry echoed much louder than a roaring mouse. don't raise our taxes, on us, please be fair, or our middle class will be lost in despair. when outside the chamber there arouse such a clatter, the public was disgusted and shouted, we matter! let's get to work and not be grinches this season. the economy and middle class are clearly the reason. working together with all of our might, happy holidays to all, and for fairness, let's fight. >> i get the message. fairness. up next, eyeing the field. president obama's campaign staff may have been banking on a 2012 face-off with mitt romney, but the tides have certainly changed, and it's make room for newt, and the obama camp is n

that's just what mitt romney did today, telling the "new york times" zany is fine for a campaign but not for a president. are you listening, newt? he's talking about you. mitt is also calling in christine o'donnell, remember her, the senate candidate who famously denied being a witch? is he bringing her in because he believes that denial or because at this point his campaign needs a little dark magic? plus, do republican primary voters hate president obama so much that they are willing to lose a general election just to see newt take obama on in the debates? we'll talk to a republican ally of newt's. also, if a long and drawn out primary race was so good for democrats in 2008, why does david axelrod say it will be so bad for republicans this time around. he has to get that story straight and we'll ask him when he comes on. remember this moment from one of the republican debates? >> my question is under one of your presidencies do you intend to circumvent the progress that's been made for gay and lesbian soldiers in the military? >> boo! >> you heard that booing. that was gay army

for "the "new york times."" kimberly, thank you for joining us. i guess, is there any way to answer that question objectively? i look back at the polling that went on at the time we went into the war. i don't think anyone opposed this war with these sorts of casualties. >> i think you've got to look at it in a different way. instead of was it worth it going in, what did we salvage from it? once military commanders were in there, what did they learn from the mistakes we made? the way they tried to solve it with brute force. and learned can't work that way, you've got to work by, with, and through the local population, something that was an old special operations dictum for years. now they're applying that in afghanistan. another lesson they learned was how you catch terror suspects. the way general stan mcchrystal and the intelligence community worked the system to learn to work together and hunt terrorists from hiding spot to the next hiding spot to the next hiding spot, sometimes in a single night, that science is now being used to catch -- hey, it tracked down osama bin laden. it'

herbert is a distinguished senior fellow at demos. he was a longtime columnst for "the new york times". kimberly, thank you for joining us. i guess, is there any way to answer that question objectively? i look back at the polling that went on at the at the time that we went into the war. it sort of was against it. let's go the diplomatic route. a poll or two that showed if the casualties are light and it's a short war, i don't think anyone proposed the idea of a decade long war with these kinds of casualties. >> i think you've got to look at it in a different way. was it worth it going in, what did we salvage from it? once military commanders were this there, what did they learn from the mistakes we made, the way they tried to solve it with brut force and something that was an old special operations victim for years. now they are applying that in afghanistan. another lesson they learned is how you catch terror suspects. the way general stan mcchrystal and the intelligence community worked the system to learn, work together, and hunt terrorists from hiding spot to the next hiding spot

new york times" asked mitt romney, whether zany ideas are coming out of the white house, and of course, mitt romney picked up that word "zany" with relish. did gingrich -- how is gingrich holding up? he seemed to be okay at the debate, but, boy, he's getting pummeled on the air. >> i think it's hard when everybody's attacking you and you're on the defensive, not on one issue that you have to address, but you have to address the freddie mac issue and then you have to address the abortion issue and the temperament issue. it was a cumulative effect. i thought it was an hour into the debate before he was able to find his sea legs and becomes the confident figure we saw there. i had already filed two stories for "usa today" before that happened. >> there you go. timing a lot. john heilemann, what i feel like is a story that we can't fully report out yet until the fund-raising reports go in, but it seems clear to me that gingrich, while serving in the polls didn't get this online surge of money that we have seen other candidates get when they've surged, particularly look at herman cai

a national affairs editor for "new york" magazine, and of course, an msnbc analyst, and susan page is the washington bureau chief for "usa today." welcome, both of you. john, let me start with you. mitt romney got a big old plane today, his first press charter. >> yep. >> loaded up members of the press, flew that nonstop flight that doesn't exist from sioux city to greenville, south carolina, got the most important rising star governor to endorse his campaign. mitt romney acting like a front-runner again. >> he is, chuck. i saw him this morning in sioux city at the one event at a steel company before he took off for he had a very confident, very assured mien to him out there, as he did in the debate last night. and i think part of the reason for that is he had the nikki haley endorsement in his pocket. he's also, i think, starting to see some movement internally in their polling. some that's reflected in the public polling also, that seems like gingrich is softening. and he's also bending in iowa a little bit, and he's had a chance to look at the television in iowa, where he sees h

new york, filling in for chris matthews, who's taking a short break after his tour for his book, "jack kennedy: elusive hero." he'll be back on thursday. leading off tonight, down goes newt. roughly one week ago, newt gingrich looked like he was on the way to becoming the republican nominee. but two iowa polls out today show ron paul leading with gingrich crashing. for that you can thank a week's worth of negative advertising, aimed squarely at newt. and it won't stop. this week the romney campaign and pac are expected to vastly outspend gingrich in iowa. right now, gingrich is paying the price for his disorganized campaign. >>> plus, gingrich has a creative idea for what to do if a judge makes a decision that you don't like. ignore it, and if necessary, arrest the judge. it may not be constitutional, but it's excellent politics on the right. >>> also, are we finally seeing the republicans splintering into tea party and non-tea party factions? hours after senate republicans agreed to a two-month extension of the payroll tax cut, house republicans said, no way. now even some in t

, "jack kennedy: elusive hero," now high up on "the new york times" best seller's list. chris is in portsmouth, new hampshire today, and then in rhode island at barrington books on saturday. he'll be back here on monday. and we'll be right back. ♪ i think i'm falling [ male announcer ] this is your moment. ♪ for you [ male announcer ] this is zales, the diamond store. take up to an extra 15 percent off storewide now through tuesday. an extra 15 percent off i've tried it. but nothing helped me beat my back pain. then i tried salonpas. it's powerful relief that works at the site of pain and lasts up to 12 hours. salonpas. >>> welcome back to "hardball." the new front-runner in the polls for the republican nomination, newt gingrich, has some interesting position on child labor laws. he's called them, quote, truly stupid, and he suggested that students could replace janitors in schools. yesterday he was asked about those comments and he doubled down, saying poor kids have no work habits because nobody around them works. it's not the first time that he's demonized the poor for politi

york. she called and said that he canceled and that's a big media star event in new york city for sunday night. >> recognizing your big caveat that we don't really know until it's said by herman cain, would be benefit, if anyone, if he withdrew. >> you've seen that newt gingrich has inherited a lot of that support by iowa and other places. and a lot of people channeling that anger at president obama i think it's an obvious place for it. >> if that's the case, it's one more reason why it's been a tough case for not only mitt romney but it itemizes why it's been so tough. >> you have the tv ad and a testy interview, brett of fox news and then romney complained about the questioning and then the media endorsement, a a republican debate and then new time magazine with a cover image that says, why don't ne like me? and it's a new york times magazine story by robert draper coming up which talks about these elusive quality, where they are packaging him as the corporate steady as you go guy in a campaign year where people want passion and they want somebody that can be rough against him.

michael smerconish in new york. chris matthews is taking some time off after his tour for his new book. he'll be back on thursday. leading out of tonight, family feud. the republican on republican spitball fight over the payroll tax may be doing for democrats what they couldn't do for themselves. two national polls give president obama his best approval numbers in months, and republican infighting over whether, when, and how to extend the payroll tax cut seems to be moving the numbers. it's possible the gop is finally paying the price for its full-body embrace of the tea party. plus, up in the air. three polls have mitt romney and newt gingrich in a dead heat nationally. and now ron paul is learning what it's like to join the front-runners in iowa. he's facing renewed questions about bigoted comments printed in his political news letters of two decades ago. also, why iowa? republicans there have proven as good at picking losers as winners. so why do we care so much what they think? a growing number of people are saying we shouldn't. and pants on fire. we'll look at politifact's biggest

too much. we start with senator charles schumer, a democrat from the great state of new york. senator schumer, thanks for being here. what's the exit strategy? how might this flap over the payroll tax end? house blinks, senate blinks, or does it expire? >> well, i don't think it will expire. i think that basically there is so much pressure on speaker boehner. he's basically standing alone, that the house is going to have to do what the american people want and what many of us have been asking which is very simple simply to pass the two-month extension and then we'll negotiate for the rest of the year. speaker boehner had a very bad day. it started out with the "wall street journal" editorial which you mentioned. in the course of the day senator mccain tweeted the "wall street journal" editorial to thousands of republicans and said he agreed with it. later in the day, both newt gingrich and karl rove, two leading republican strategists, said that boehner ought to just go along here, so he's sort of out on a limb, and i think he knows the right thing to do, but he's got a caucus that co

around on this book tour you've gone to beautiful cities like chicago and san francisco and of course new york. and every time you walk down the streets, i'm not saying always, you see russian, germans, people from asia, carrying big bags. they're buying all this stuff here. >> there's this multiplier effect. they're staying at hotels, going shopping, eating at restaurants. so it's huge for our country. and we could create -- >> so our biggest export is people coming here iron clie ically ically. >> it could be. since 9/11 the u.s. has lost shares of global travelers. >> where are they going? >> the numbers are going up. we now have 12% because we've made it really challenging to get in here with our visa policy. and you have so many people -- >> is that because of terrorism? >> well, we just want to be careful. so it it requires in places like china and india and brazil an in-nerns interview. you have to physically go to a consulate. there are only five consulates in all of china. only five in india. sometimes it takes as much as 100 days to get an appointment to get a visa. and sometime

, beautiful cities like chicago and san francisco, and of course new york. every time you walk down the street, i'm not saying it's always the kay, but russians, germans, people from asia, carrying big bags -- >> they're coming here. there's some pullet supplier effect, they're staying in hotels, shopping, going to restaurants, so it's huge for our country. >> our biggest export is people coming here ironically. >> it could be. the problem is since 9/11 the u.s. has lost share of international travelers. we used to have -- >> where did they go? >> the numbers are going up. we now have 12%, because we made it challenging to get in here because of our visa policy. we just want to be careful, so it requires places like china, india and brazil an in-person interview. you have to physically go to a consulate. hundreds of millions -- >> just to come over for a couple weeks. >> sometimes it takes as much as 100 days to get an appointment to little a visa. sometimes you have to thattic a big trip to get to the consulate. we're working with the state department, woring with homeland security, ad

the new york magazine critic david and me to go over the issue. we start with president obama playing "hardball." michael steele is here, and he's dressed in fine christmas fare. bob, you're in your usual suit. i see no sign of christmas on you, except -- >> it's red, it's red, chris. >> red, pink -- >> we have decked the halls with bows of holy here, and you, s , sir, -- >> he wears it well. >> it's a zippered sweater. anyway, the president signed a payroll tax extension into law today and he thanked congress for ending the political stalemate but warned there was more work to be done next year. let's listen to the president. >> when congress returns, i urge them to keep working without drama, without delay, to reach an agreement that extends this tax cut as well as unemployment insurance through all of 2012. you didn't send us to this town to play partisan games and to see who's up, who's down, you sent us here to make your lives a little bit better and to do what's right. and fortunately, that's how this week ended. >> well, i'm going to let you have this first ball here, b

>>> the battle for iowa. let's play "hardball." >>> good evening. i'm chris matthews up in new york. leading off tonight, newt's new law. what goes out must come back. newt gingrich may be getting a lot of mileage dumping on mitt romney's health plan as a socialist-inspired government takeover of health care, but it turns out newt praised romney's plan long before he buried it. in a newsletter five years ago, in fact, so, basically, newt is saying, pay no attention to what i said then, just hear me now. so what does go out does come back and what you said can be used against you. >>> plus, ron paul with a fringe on top. you're hearing more and more about ron paul's fringe supporters and more about what he really thinks of gays and israel. meanwhile, on the under card, while no one was watching, rick santorum has been making a move. could it be that he's the tortoise raising in a pack of hares? >>> plus, it turns out it's not just the rich that get richer. so do those getting elected to congress. why has the personal net worth of the body gone up so much while everybody else has gone down? >>

"hardball." good evening. i'm chris matthews up in new york. leading off tonight, ire of newt. boy, is this guy ticked. a few weeks ago he was mr. big stuff surfing at the top of the polls. his timing couldn't have been better, it seemed. late today we saw the numbers. the reason newt gingrich is fuming. in percent of vote in iowa he's gone from the 30s down to the teens. that's why newt is pouting and mitt romney is strutting. the latest from iowa and the big january fights at the top of the show. also, why have we seen a new republican front-runner every week with newt falling just as fast as he rose? why can't voters decide on a candidate? could it be because republicans are looking for someone with anti-government simplicity of ron paul, the religious fundamentalism of rick santorum, the war fever mitt/newt? we'll get into that one. plus ben nelson's retirement in nebraska is a hard blow to the democrats' chance of holding the u.s. senate. we'll go over the map and crunch the numbers and also the latest republican play for religious conservatives and whether that will affect th

dress down for iowa. i would not -- if i were in new york, i would wear a suit and tie. i would wear a suit and tie if i were in new york, but i'm out here in iowa. i want to show the same respect. >> i promise to be properly dressed tomorrow. i know big city people have this attitude about this place out here. i'm just kidding. >> newt -- newt had several ads on the rush limbaugh radio show, which is on w.h.o., the big 50,000 watt station here. he had lots of ads saying, i'm a great guy. then mark stein who's substituting for rush comes back on and bangs newt over the head again. the whole conservative movement has decided that newt is a mistake waiting to happen. i can quote mark who said --ç newt gingrich is like yosemite sam, the dynamite's going to blow up in his pants. [ laughter ] >> that's a -- >> that's a conservative! >> david, a local perspective here. we've watched these -- one of these frosty the snowmans after another melt week after week. that's my new metaphor for the winner here. the fact is that we've watched even donald trump melted in about two weeks. and herman c

heilemann is national affairs editor of "new york" magazine and msnbc political analyst. that's the way cary grant used to say it. new york! let me ask you both -- one of the three us, i believe, isn't an evangelical. let's get that straight. we are looking inside the fish bowl. why can't they find one guy or person they like the most? you first, mark. >> four years ago mitt romney had to run against four other establishment candidates. and huckabee was able to be the evangelical to consolidate. it's a mirror image this time. they can't consolidate because all of them have had moments, all of them have sacrificed for months to run for president. rick perry, a little bit less than the others. they don't want to give up. they don't particularly like each other. and they all think that they can be the one to emerge from here as the romney alternative. it's kind of a prisoner's dilemma. if they got together, they could do what they all want to do individually, but fighting each other, romney now, mirror image. the only establishment candidate against not just the three you named, but gingri

. newt came to new york today for trump's blessing, calling the tycoon a true american icon. but trump is now something phenomenal indeed. he's the ringmaster of the republican clown show. >>> also tonight, mitt versus newt. with herman cain's exit, the republican race comes down to this. on one side, the perfectly presented if not sufficiently conservative mitt romney. on the other, the gladitorial former speaker of the house. newt's surging in iowa right now and closing the gap in new hampshire, and that's got romney sweating, if he could sweat. >>> and that leads to this, which candidate, newt or mitt, does president obama and his people want to run against? would the obama campaign rather face a flame thrower like newt, who has a ton of baggage, or the genteel romney who has trouble with consistency and connection with people. >>> and later, the penn state scandal, the sex scandal has come back. jerry sandusky, the former assistant football coach accused of sex crimes against young boys speaks out, again. in another incredible interview, sandusky says he was a father figure w

philadelphia and new york and chicago and cleveland and all around the country, middle of the road voters who thought they were going to have an option in the upcoming presidential campaign, if they were a little bit disappointed with president barack obama, perhaps hopeful but still disappointed, it looked like they would get a choice. it looks like the republican party is not going to give them a choice with this clown show going on with the likes of newt gingrich and donald trump. what a duo. thank you, steve schmidt, thank you, dana milbank. >>> coming up, no matter who the rips end up nominating, president obama is betting on a campaign strategy of fairness. he wants the middle class to get a fair shake. he wants wall street to play by the rules and he wants the wealthy to pay their fair share. all reasonable proposals. can he put some bite into this, though? not just good talk, but bite and fight. you're watching "hardball" only on msnbc. woohoo! whoa. haircolor is a chore no more! you gotta come see what's new. c'mon! tadaaa! welcome to haircolor heaven. aa-ah-ahhh! courtesy

suburbs, millions of people in the suburbs of philadelphia and new york and chicago and cleveland and all around the country, middle of the road voter who is thought they were going to have an option in the upcoming presidential campaign, if they were a little bit disappointed with president obama, perhaps still hopeful, but disappointed, they thought they might get a choice. it looks like the republican party is in no mood to give them a reasonable choice with this clown show going on right now, from the likes of, well, newt gingrich and donald trump. what a duo. thank you, steve schmidt. thank you, dana milbank. >>> coming up, no matter who the republicans actually end up nominating, president obama is betting now on a campaign strategy of fairness. he wants the middle class in this country to get a fair shake. he wants wall street to play by the rules and he wants the wealthy to pay their fair share. all reasonable proposals. but can he put some bite behind this? you're watching "hardball," only on msnbc. impact wool exports from new zealand, textile production in spain, and th