to fill this out and file their taxes on that. >>> it is all part of a rick perry reboot. you can call it perry 2 .0. >>> he has found out being the friendly cowboy from texas is not going to do it for him. the idea of rick perry ul p better than rick perry himself. >> he saw his numbers drop from double to single digits. the polls have him at 6%. he takes aims at former massachusetts governor, mitt romney. >> i consider him to be a fat cat but it doesn't matter to me what anybody says about this. i know what will work. >> what he thinks will work is his flat tax plan. it includes giving taxpayers a choice. stick with the current rate or take a flat rate of 20%, reducing the corporate rate to 20%. allowing younger workers to opt out of social security and capping spending to 18%. >> for those at the top, it is hundreds of thousands, even millions of dollars for them. >> but i don't care about that. >> something else perry claims not to care about, the so-called birther issue he helped revive. >> that's all a distraction. i get it. i am really not worried about the president's birt

. >>> and governor rick perry has been bruised at the republican debate. but there was a time he was pretty good at thees events. so what happened? we'll go to the archives. >> let's try on our children's future. >>> it has monday october 10th, 2011. this is "the daily rundown." let's get to my first reads of the morning. four years ago mitt romney was to face doubts evangelicals had about his faith. this time running even with president obama, romney hoped he'd put the religion somewhat behind him. when robinson called him an outstanding christian, campaigns thought it was a quote to evangelicals saying this is not the litmus test you're looking for. robert jeffress turned his o endorsement of rick perry into a religion debate. >> mitt romney is a good moral person but he's not a christian. mormonism is not christianity. it's considered a cult. >> romney responded in his speech saturday denouncing religious bigotry. >> it's never softened a heart or a mind. the task before us is to focus on the things that unite us. let no agenda tear us apart. >> on the trail in iowa, romnpe was forced to

perry? >> it is supposed to be taxation tuesday for rick perry. the moment when he reveals his plans for a flat tax for all americans. i'm afraid we must start with the candidate who is smoking up the charts. the got father himself, herman cain. in a brand-new "new york times" poll leads with a full quarter of voters, cruising past mitt romney's 21%. just weeks ago, the two were tied at 17%. the cain train is not only driving the polls, but pushing the gop in terms of policy and influencing the other candidates, jumping on the 9-9-9 bandwagon, the flat tax is the centerpiece of rick perry's plan as announced in the battle ground state of south carolina. today the cain campaign has everyone a twitter. not about taxes, but tobacco as featured in a new web ad. take a look. >> we have run a campaign like no one has seen and america has never seen a candidate like herman cain. together we can do this and take this country back. . >> the somewhat disheveleds smoker in question is mark block, cain's campaign manager and a man with a smoking gun of his own. block is otherwise known for

of your point. >> he's a very smart guy and he looks at rick perry and thinks that rick perry is both the -- it's both the temptation and it's the warning sign. right? the temptation is look, there's this opening here. the establishment doesn't love mitt romney. rick perry is fading fast. i could get in here and maybe sweep this thing, take it, just run right through. on the other hand, look what happened to rick perry as unprepared as he was. christie looks at a situation, i have not had any chance, i don't know that much about foreign policy or domestic policy. what if i get up in the glare and what happens to me happened to rick perry? it's a delicate balance to figure out what side to come down on. >> christie knows he's never once been in a public debate about social security, medicare, national defense. all these big and complex issues. he probably also knows he needs one good index card worth of material to win a republican debate on any one of these subjects, right? to sound smart enough. does he know what obviously perry didn't know? perry obviously wasn't crossing his m

most would be rick perry? right? jim o'sullivan with the "national journal" thanks for joining us. >> thanks for having me. >> you recently reported romney is going in for the quick kill of rick perry, if you will. let me ask you this, south carolina and florida are two important primary states for perry, he's expected to do better in the south but let's look at some poll numbers. these poll numbers for the states show in south carolina it's cain edging romney with perry far behind, and then in florida, it's romney edging cain with perry far behind. the question for you, why is perry the threat if he's not doing well in his own backyard? >> right, you saw mitt romney get far more confrontational with rick perry last week and from our reporting it looks like the big answer is the $17.2 million that rick perry put on the board in the third quarter, that gives him the resources to withstand a long campaign. he's raising money at a clip faster than any other candidate. he's right neck and neck with romney on that and serm fcertair above the other candidates. if they don't have the mon

, including rick perry's wife. >> when i hear 9-9-9, i want to call 911, because it will raise the taxes. >> this morning on meet the candidates series continues, as i go one on one with herman cain. then more of our special look at the state of the gop race, mitt romney performs well in the debates. but why is his support among conservatives static? can rick perry steady himself with a new jobs plan after a stunning fall in the polls? is this really a two-man race? a debate this morning between two top surrogates, for romney, former presidential candidate and governor of minnesota, tim pawlenty. and for perry, louisiana governor bobby jindal. also this morning, our "surnd breakdown." nbc's chuck todd, and the bbc's katty kay take us inside the candidate's playbook for victory, give us an up-close look at the white house re-election game plan. >>> good morning. today we go inside the fight for the republican presidential nomination. our latest nbc news/"wall street journal" poll out this week shows that herman cain is the frontrunner, ahead of both mitt romney and rick perry. mr. c

this. rick perry is tanking as a presidential candidate. honestly, i really thought rick perry would be better than this. he's been bad at the debates. he does not seem to be good as talking about his record as texas governor and has the likability factor of a small, sharp rock that you know is in your shoe, it's killing you every time you take a step but you can't find it to get it out of there. in the national cbs/"new york times" poll, governor perry has fallen off a cliff. herman cain is in the national lead followed pretty closely by mitt romney. rick perry is down at fifth. soon after rick perry got into the race, he was winning that same poll with 23% of the vote in mid september. by mid october that was down to 12% of the vote. now he is down to 6% of the vote. rick perry is tanking as a candidate. and so time for a rick perry comeback. probably. at least that seems to be the idea. rick perry this week unveiling a kitchen sink strategy of trying everything all at once. since mitt romney has been doing well by being the establishment candidate, tanking rick perry went and got

of rick perry. did president obama cost her son his job? and a rough patch in court for the immigration law. i'm not a number. i'm not a line item on a budget. and i'm definitely not a pushover. but i am a voter. so washington... before you even think about cutting my medicare and social security benefits... here's a number you should remember. 50 million. we are 50 million seniors who earned our benefits... and you will be hearing from us... today and on election day. ♪ at liberty mutual, we know how much you count on your car and how much the people in your life count on you. that's why we offer accident forgiveness, man: good job. where your price won't increase due to your first accident. we also offer a hassle-free lifetime repair guarantee, where the repairs made on your car are guaranteed for life or they're on us. these are just two of the valuable features you can expect from liberty mutual. plus, when you insure both your home and car with us, it could save you time and money. at liberty mutual, we help you move on with your life. so get the insurance responsible

. who is against that? oh, never mind. senator barbara boxer on the big vote on the jobs bill. perry/romney attack ads. >> kra hai can't have illegals. >> they're amazing and i'm loving it. plus tyler perry talks about his movies, his media empire, and president obama. >> it took many years to get to the situation that this country was in, and he's only had a short time. >> politics nation starts right now. >>> welcome to politics nation. i'm al sharpton. tonight's lead. after decades of tyranny, libya is free of moammar gadhafi. >> will is a momentous day in the history of libya. the dark shadow of tyranny has been lifted and with this enormous promise, the libyan people now have a great responsibility. you have won your revolution. and now we will be a partner as you forge a future that provides dignity, freedom, and opportunity. >> gadhafi first seized you power when richard nix on thon president. now his reign has officially come to an end. he was reportedly found alive hiding in a storm drain and we must worn you, there's graphic video showing rebels dragging his body through hi

, between governor romney and the texas governor, rick perry. >> you lose all of your standing, from my perspective, pause you hired illegals in your home and you knew for a year and the idea that you stand here before us and talk about that you're strong on immigration is on its face the height of hypocrisy. >> governor romney? >> rick, i don't think i've ever hired an illegal in my life, so i'm -- i'm looking forward to finding your facts on that because that just glsh i tell you what the facts are. >> rick, again -- i'm speaking, i'm speaking, i'm speaking. i'm speaking. >> we hired a lawn company that -- to mow our lawn and they had illegal immigrants working there. when that was pointed out to us we let them go. so we went to the company and we said, look you can have any illegals working on our property. i'm running for office, for pete's sake, i can't have illegals. >> a lot of questions raises, and some very important lessons learned. let's begin our breakdown of the big republican debate with the democratic perspective. david axelrod, president obama's top campaign adviser, joi

model heather mills ended in a divorce in 2008. >>> one of rick perry's supporter caught fire when he called mitt romney's mormon faith a call. >>> here's abc's political correspondent jonathan karl with this week in politics. >>> in 2008, it was all about hope and change. what two words will define obama 2012? >> i haven't boiled quite it down to a bumper sticker. our vision for the future. four words. >> that's five. >> math aside, this week it almost sounded like hope and change are being replaced by grim and grimmer. first the grim. words you have never heard from an incumbent president. >> there are so many people who don't think they're better off than they were four years ago. >> i don't think they are better off than four years ago. >> then the grimmer? >> a significant majority of the american people believe that the country is not moving in the right direction. >> no wonder those occupy wall street protests are starting to look like a national movement. from new york and washington, d.c., to salt lake city and beyond. to republicans it's not another tea party movement. >> i,

>> are you just going to keep talking -- >> but romney couldn't resist hitting perry below the belt. >> this is a tough couple of debates for rick. and i understand that so you will get testy. >> you just don't have credibility, mitt, when it comes to repealing obamacare. >> and santorum has a direct hit with healthcare. >> you're allowed to change -- >> you had your chance, let me speak. >> rick, you had your chance, let me speak. >> you're out of time. >> rick -- >> the state tax is an apple. we are replacing the current tax code with oranges. >> then came a fruit fight over 9-9-9. >> and i'm going to get a bushel basket with apples and oranges in it because i will pay both taxes. >> rick may have won last night but is losing today. trailing cain by 4% and in florida, 42-31 with perry a distant third in both places, which was echoed last night? >> if you start that kind of fight, you have to finish it. i don't think he finished it. >> a let's start with the polls then. mark murray is nbc news deputy political director. then we will get to the gop debate performance after this. let

advice more than karl rove's. we've got breaking news from rick perry's campaign tonight. >> believe it or not, the birthers are back. >> birtherism is born. >> donald trump sells rick perry the brooklyn bridge. >> rick perry a very visible republican flirting with the birther movement. >> he was asked do you believe. >> that president barack obama was born in the united states? >> i had dinner with donald trump the other night -- >> i had dinner with donald trump the other night. >> perry, i have no reason to think otherwise. that's not a definitive yes i believe. >> it's a distractive issue. >> he is eligible to serve. >> karl rove is worried. >> these kind of things do not help. >> i think rick perry may be trying to be too cute. >> donald trump, you associate yourself with a nutty view that and you damage yourself. because it starts to marginalize you. don't associate yourself with sort of this nutty fringe group. >> trump is a vulgar clown. >> rove is even more worried about becky, becky, becky stan. >> cain has had a couple of -- >> he didn't know what the right of

perry at a conservative forum here in washington and then ignites religious war by calling mormonism a cult and a vote for mitt romney a mormon something that would, quote, give credibility to a cult. tonight, perry's spokesman tells us organizers of the values voter summit chose leader robert jeffers to make that introduction. we ask if governor perry would repudiate that statement or call on dr. jeff to apologize. the only response from the campaign, the governor does not believe mormonism is a couple. dr. jeffs are will join us live. you see him here with governor perry. in his introduction he did not use the word cult or specifically attack romney by name but there was no doubt he had the former massachusetts governor in mind when he drew there is contrast. >> do we want a candidate who is skilled in rhetoric or one skilled in leadership? do we want a candidate who is a conservative out of convenience or one who is a conservative out of deep conviction? do we want a candidate who is a good, moral person or do we want a candidate who is a born-again follower of the lord jesus christ

in the g.o.p. debate. rick perry seeming to fade after everyone took aim at herman cain and that three-number plan. >> my top priority is 9-9-9. jobs, jobs, jobs. >> when you take the 9-9-9 plan and you turn it up side down i think the devil's in the details. >> how many people are here for a sales tax in new hampshire? raise your hand. that is how many votes you will get in new hampshire. >> cain tried to turn the tables on romney. >> can you name all 59 points in your 160-page plan? >> but mitt romney had the confidence of a shoe in. >> you want someone who is smart and knows how the financial services works and how to protect american jobs. and i do. i've done it. >> he went into the debate with a major endorsement. >> tex governor rick perry tried to attack romney on health care. >> romney care has driven the cost of small business insurance premiums up by 14% over the national average in massachusetts. >> we have less than 1% of our kids that are uninsured. you have a million kids in texas. >> no serious mistakes for the texas governor but not many details either. >> i will

thursday, governor perry was introduced on the past and perry campaigned to prove that. what do you think the tactic of imputing someone's religion from governor romney? you have been silent and what do you think about what happened on friday? >> my thaws about this are the same on those folks in new jersey who disparaged in both parties. my decision to appoint a muslim judge. these types of religious matters have nothing to do with the quality of somebody's ability to lead. you have to evaluate their record and character and integrity. not religious beliefs, but based on who they are and i think that any campaign that associates itself with that type of conduct is beneath the office of president of the united states. >> mark, governor perry selected an entered to introduce him who used religion and he said he would endorse governor perry and not support me. governor perry said that introduction hit it out of the park. i don't believe that that kind of divisiveness based on religion has a place in this country. i believe in the spirit of the founders. when they suggested in crafting

. limbaugh and hannity can't stand it. republicans are eating their own when it comes to rick perry's past. i guess you could say that no stone is being left unturned? this is "the ed show." let's get to work. >> i think it's offensive. i think most people recognize it's offensive. >> it's open season on the racist name of rick perry's hunting lodge. tonight, jim moore, dr. james peterson and republican strategist joe watkins weigh in. >>> right wing hate was on full display on fox news this morning. >> that would be like hitler playing golf with netanyahu. they're the enemy. >> tonight, late breaking news on the future of hank williams jr. on monday night football. we'll play you the full remarks and get reaction from "ring of fire" radio host mike papantonio. >>> the occupy wall street protesters are getting a major shot in the arm from big labor. an exclusive announcement on "the ed show" tonight. good to have you with us tonight, folks. thanks for watching. rick perry is doing major damage control one day after the "washington post" reported on an ugly racial slur painted on a rock at

like to run against rick perry from up close and personal firsthand experience. plus we've got some latebreaking and very interesting, unexpected news from occupy oakland. that's all still to come. >>> we have some breaking news out of the occupy oakland protests that have received so much national attention this week. 24-year-old iraq war veteran scott olsen has been upgraded from critical to fair condition at a hospital in the san francisco bay area. mr. olsen was hit in the head with a projectile, apparently fired by police. the occupy oakland protest the night before last. you can see mr. olsen here on the right just before he was injured in the protest. it has been speculated that what hit mr. olsen was a tear gas canister or rubber bullets, but at this point we still don't know. whatever it was that hit mr. olsen hit him hard. it fractured his skull. in a press conference today the interim police chief for the city of oakland promised a full vgs into investigation into the zrent incident. incident. >> this is the highest priority for us. we will use all the resources we use wh

. >> some people define it as a cult. >> it's always been considered a cult. >> you did rick perry no good, sir in what you had to say. >> joe scarborough, i refer to you derogatorily. >> a republican is attacking republicans for attacking the wall street protesters. >> growing mobs occupying wall street. >> protesters are filling the streets around wall street. >> wall street's connected to main street. >> i think this divisive rhetoric is fairly -- is divisive. >> it comes two years after the tea parties. >> i don't think they're similar to the tea party at all. >> the more than 25 million americans unemployed. >> herman cain says don't blame wall street. >> some of them are there because they don't have a job. >> finding someone to blame in my opinion isn't the right way to go. >> blue, red, you know, it doesn't matter. you're unemployed in this country. >> i tell you what they need. >> look out. >> a shower. >> there she goes. >>> while president obama's re-election campaign is busy raising the money it will need to do battle with a super-funded republican opponent who will be strongly

look at herman cain and rick perry. tonight on "washington week." putting together puzzles. why is herman cain leading in the polls? >> politicians want to poll stuff that they think they can pass. businessmen propose stuff that fixes the problem. gwen: how is rick perry changing his strategy? >> this postcard, this is the size of what we're talking about right here. taxpayers will be able to feel this out and file their taxes on that. gwen: can president obama regain the upper hand on the economy. >> we should be doing everything we can to put a college education within reach for every american. gwen: and is the congressional supercommittee moving forward or treading water? >> today we may be debating the pennies, nickels and dimes in a debt crisis that is demanding half dollars and dollar bills. >> if this committee's going to work, and i believe that it must, we all need to be willing to make some tough decisions and real compromises. gwen: the fall temperatures are dropping but the debates are heating up. covering the week, john dickerson of "slate" magazine and cbs news. john

to every attack. rick perry, most people in the audience didn't really like the bickering between the two. they said rick perry did not look presidential. interesting to see the polls in the days to come. >> all right, carol, great to have you back here so we can rehash more of it. great work. >>> that does it for us. "cnn newsroom" starts right now with fredricka whitfield. >> have a great day. the cnn presidential debate, tempers flair and we'll talk more on that. >>> this morning after we're tallying the fight cards of the most tested debate of the election season. jim acosta is in las vegas where the candidates anted up and they threw down. jim, all must be nursing some bruises after that throw down. any winners? >> there were some winners and some losers and i think you're going to see in this piece we are talking about. this was, as a lot of people are calling it, fight night here on the vegas strip. for weeks mitt romney cruised through debate after debate and letting other top tier candidates take all of the abuse but that all came to an end in last night's cnn debate. >> ande

conservatives. >> perry catching a lot of heat. >> his star has been falling. >> the president issues a challenge to all the republican candidates -- >> you want to be commander in chief? you can start by standing up for the men and women who wear the uniform of the united states even when it's not politically convenient. >>> a republican who supports the obama position on civil unions for same-sex couples. a republican who may be to the left of the president on gun control and medical marijuana and a republican who has definitely been to the left of the president on the treatment of undocumented workers. and a republican who completely agrees with the president that climate change is real continues to trick the political media and mor importantly wall street billionaires into thinking he can win the republican nomination for president if he simply makes everything he has previously said about running for president a lie. >> everyone in the republican party but you is talking about that you should be on the ticket in 2012 to run for the white house. you say -- >> no way. >> going to run

. some say perry can't win he will make sure romney is badly damaged. laura ingraham will analyze. >> apologetic about your loss. you like to live well. >> bill: barbara walters has a special on millionaires even as wall street people demonize the wealthy. we will talk with mr. walters tonight. >> did our president kill people? talk back to me. you have made your president an assassin. >> bill: once again the nation of islam lashing out over president obama this time over qaddafi's death. >> now muammar qaddafi lie dead. >> bill: caution, you are about to enter the no spin zone, the factor begins right now. captions by closed captioning services >> bill: hi, i'm bill o'reilly. thanks for watching us tonight. the republic party on the brink. fox news poll among likely republic primary voters has herman cain in the lead 24-20 over mitt romney with newt gingrich at 12%. rick perry at 10%. the rest of the candidates are in single digits. rise interesting taken from michele bachmann and governor perry as conservatives rally to the biz man's engaging and direct manner. even though herma

hardships they say the banks have cost the country. mitt romney and rick perry are at odds. flip flopping to birtherism. will the bumps in the road for the men likely to get the nomination spell a winning week for president obama? a few hours ago, rick perry shows that he is feeling the heat for bringing up the president's birth certificate. >> the president is the president. that's a fact. >> case in jeopardy, a glitch in the trial against michael jackson's trial conrad murray and it is not clear the trial will go on. the problem is a request made by the prosecution. >>> i'm tamron hall. a rare snowstorm that could bring smoke for this time of year. the first fledged noreaster could bring up to a foot of snow with temperatures in the 30s and 40s. some northeast residents are getting hit with snow. one said this storm is "uncharted territory for october." karl parker is tracking the storm for us at the weather channel headquarters. everybody who picked out a halloween costume with a jacket or cape may be okay. >> this is a serious storm. a heavy wet snow and a lot of leaves on th

word. >> bill: another controversy surrounding rick perry. this one has to do with racism. is the hunting club deal a bogus situation? brit hume will analyze. [chanting the world is watching] >> bill: anti-capitalism protesters continue to run wild in new york city costing the taxpayers big money. what should be done with these people? we'll have a special report. >> all this time i have been paid to say what is on my mind. you don't get any luckier in life than that. >> bill: was andy ronnie good for america or just another left wing idealogue? bernie goldberg has some thoughts. >> dogs are nicer than people. >> bill: also tonight, the amanda knox case. caution, you are about to enter the no spin zone, the factor begins right now. captions by closed captioning services >> bill: hi, i'm bill o'reilly. thanks for watching us tonight. the talking points memo on how the democrats are spinning the economy will be in the next segment where brit hume will analyze. brit will also comment on rick perry's recent controversy dealing with race. first, the lead story tonight, 24-year-old aama

. happening now, republican presidential candidate rick perry tries to boost a slumping campaign, gambling on an unusual tax plan. also, a secret burial for moammar gadhafi. his body removed from public display and taken to an undisclosed location and herman cain's new campaign ad. it's like few we've seen before. what it says about him and his competition. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >>> he's plunging in the polls and in need of a boost. will a new plan help rick perry climb back to the top of the republican race? his rival, herman cain, is leading the pack according to a brand new poll and perry is a distant fifth with cain apparently benefitting from his 9-9-9 tax plan, perry today unveiled his own new tax plan and 20 is the magic number. he proposes a flat tax of 20% for individuals and corporations, but in a twist, perry would let people choose to pay his flat tax rate or file under the current system, which he derived. >> the size of the current code is more than 72,000 pages. that's represented by this palate righ

introduced rick perry at the values voter summit sparked controversy with comments he made about mormonism. >> rick perry the a christian. evangelical christian a follower of jesus christ. mitt romney's a good, moral person but not a christian. mormonism is not christianity. it has always been considered a cult by the mainstream of christianity. it's the difference between a christian and a non-christian. >> perry the campaign released a statement saying the governor does not believe mormonism is a cult. after a campaign event in iowa, perry was asked about his view of mormonism. >> governor, mormonism -- is it a cult? >> no. >> you really don't think so? >> i don't want to answer that -- >> attempting to distance himself, they did not choose him to give perry the introduction. they suggested the pastor. perry's campaign signed off on him. more on all this in a moment. >>> perry did not discuss romney's religion during his speech at the values voters summit but weighed in social issues and took a veiled shot at romney's stance on abortion. >> some candidates pro-life is an electi

suggested this was all about fund-raising. >> money will be a big factor. >> rick perry was in enough trouble without having chris christie to worry about. >> i'm the east coast version of sarah palin. >> christie showing interest, a andrea, does not help rick perry or mitt romney. >> will rick perry have more than mitt romney? >> mitt romney is out with a new ad. >> i'm a she lion when it comes to attacking him. >> mitt romney, they're not that into you. >> you better look out. >>> 28 days. with exactly 28 days left for new jersey governor chris christie to decide to jump into the republican presidential race, today people are asking if he's in shape for that race. friend of the show, eugene robinson, caused a ruckus on "morning show" this morning with the first line of his "washington post" column. "whether or not he lets himself be persuaded to run for president, chris christie needs to find some way to lose weight. like everyone else, elected officials perform best when they are in optimal health. chris christie obviously is not." withdrew gene robinson's column says christie's we

perry. mr. cain, a businessman, syndicated columnist, radio talk show host, and former ceo of godfather's pizza, tned presidential candidate, is the man of the moment. and he's joining us this morning as part of our "meet the candidates" series. mr. cain, welcome to "meet the press." >> david, i'm delighted to be here. >> your big idea is to throw out the tax code. >> yes. >> tax reform is a way to create jobs and spur economic growth. >> yes. >> the reality of the 9-9-9 plan is this, i'll put it up on the screen. it is to have a 9% corporate income tax. 9% personal income tax. 9% sales tax. everything else is gone. >> yes. >> the reality of the plan is that some people pay more, some people pay less. this is how "the washington post" reported it on friday, we'll put it up on the screen. experts see surprise in cain's 9-9-9 plan. the 9-9-9 plan that has helped propel businessman cain to the front of the gop presidential field would stick many poor and middle-class people with a hefty tax increase while cutting taxes for those at the top, tax analysts say. robert and williams,

" with chuck todd. >> so just as rick perry was hoping to pull out of his funk, a front page story gives the campaign another blow. how long did he know about a racist name given to the family ranch? cain calls it insensitive. he has momentum so why does the campaign schedule look like that of a second tier candidate? and new reports that new jersey governor chris christie could decide within a couple of days. it's monday, october 3, 2011. i'm chuck todd. let's get to my first reads of the morning starting with rick perry. just as he was trying to slow the campaign bleeding on immigration, getting positive reviews at a string of town halls in new hampshire here's the front page story from the washington post. he spent saturday arguing his record is solid despite a texas bill he signed giving children of illegal immigrants in-state tuition rates. >> i vetoed a bill for illegal immigrants to have driver's license in texas. i have sent over $400 million to the border of mexico in the form of texas ranger recon teams. i helped pass and signed a voter i.d. bill in the state of texas. i'm a go

with us. chuck, first to you. i mean, this smackdown was really, rick perry, against mitt romney, herman cain was almost an after thought. they did go after him on the 9-9-9. but all mitt romney. and did he go too far in fighting back? >> it's interesting. we thu this debate wag coming. it was the moment when rick perry realized, look, it's now or never. and the moment when the rest of the field realized when it came to mitt romney, it was now or never. so that's when it all came together last night and you saw i think the results of this. and one, the perry strategy was, go personal with romney. see if you can draw him out and boy did they draw him out. i think there are times when the romney folks that romney may have gone too far. i was impressed with how romney would always almost realize it and he would dial it back. but he ended up getting in these little mini lectures to newt gingrich who was somebody who -- somebody on that stage always trying to be the mediator, calming force. he seemed to get a rise out of newt. he got a rise out of santorum, though that isn't hard to d