but it is the latest poll that shows mr. romney all of a sudden 12 points behind mr. perry. and the question now in presidential politics is how long rick perry's shine is going to stay shiny. and how mitt romney is going to adjust his campaign to try to deal with the threat of rick perry. rick perry after all is new on the national stage. and mitt romney has been around for a while. he has essentially been running for president for the last eight years. people got to know him really well when he ran in 2008. they got to know him really well, and then they picked the other guy. there's a thing about mitt romney that the republican elect yorate didn't like back then, or at least not enough. >> some of your opponents pass out these flip floppers, that mitt romney flips and flops on the general issues. >> when you hear them on immigration, flip flop, flip flop. >> the former governor faces doubts about his conservative credentials all the way home to massachusetts. where democrats have posted his alleged flip flops on issues like gun control, gay rights, abortion. since romney'

president obama gave perry a pass during an interview yesterday. >> mr. perry just got into the presidential race, i think that everybody who runs for president, it probably takes them time before they start realizing this as soon as like running for governor or senator or congress action and you have to be more careful on what to say. i'll cut him some slack. he's only been at it for a few days now. >>>. >> mike viqueira, the president president was kind to per by, but he's not been holding back criticism of the republicans as a whole. how much more of that can we expect today. >> it's interesting on the rick perry front, obviously rick perry making a big slash, trying to run and the conservative base vote. this was clear this morning on our political block, that the president would rather run against perry than romney, why is that? perry is to the right of romney, at least thus far. the further he goes to the right, the more difficulty he'll have coming back to the middle to win those crucial mittle voters. when rural potential opponent makes a gaffe li

the next day, mr. perry, being a presidential candidate, of course, went to iowa. this is rick perry, presidential candidate day two. he's answering a question about social security here. >> let the whole, the whole issue of -- have you read my book, "fed up"? get a copy of it, read it. it is, because i talk about the entitlement programs in there. >> have you read my book, "fed up"? he released the book in november, nine months ago. the book was meant to introduce him on the national political stage. it was one of the first big hints he might be running for president this year, and if you do want to know about what rick perry thinks about entitlements, "fed up" will give you an earful, an eyeful. "certain programs massively altered the relationship between americans and their government, tossing aside principles, by far the best example of this is social security." social security, rick perry, is saying, "fed up" is not just un-american, but violently un-american, and it's not just social security. that same month governor perry told "newsweek," i don't think our

and i understand mr. perry grt got a better reception. he worked the tables. he shook hands with people. kind of folksy. while ms. bachmann sat in her tour bus and waited like a superstar to emerge when it was right before the time to speak. so what's going to happen in your republican fight for whose the anti-rom flee? >> look, i think you know, that that politico story you are talking to, drew a stark contrast to the styles of bachmann and perry. and i think, perry bacon, i saw you in south caroline why at the rick perry announcement. you can back this up or disagree as you winner. those of us who have seen perry in person knows that he is dead on. he is a veteran campaigner. extremely accomplished. works a room like nobody else. frankly, given that his reelection was last year, that campaign never stopped in many different ways. some of his team went to newt's team and came back but it is a well-honed machine on the rick perry side. >> josh, what about contrasting that to mitt romney? you have covered both. >> sure. >> are you saying mitt romney doesn't kno

. >> mr. perry just got in the presidential race and i think that everybody who runs for president probably takes a little bit of time before they start realizing this isn't like running for governor or senator or congress. you have to be more careful about what you say. i'll cut him some slack. he's only been at it for a few days now. >> today in new hampshire governor perry counterpunched. >> the president said i need to watch what i say. i just want to respond back, if i may. mr. president, actions speak louder than words. my action as governor are helping create jobs in this country. the president's actions are killing jobs in this country. it's time to get america working again. >> that's point number one of a three-point critique from governor perry that he's a job creator and president obama is a job destroyer. keeping them honest is not quite true. all three points stretched the facts. here's point two. the private sector creates jobs. the public sector doesn't. that's what he says. li

no relation perry? >> the clips you played at the beginning of the broadcast tells you everything you need to know. this is a guy, when he's put under the spotlight, doesn't back up, he's always done that. when he's accused -- and he's still under the investigation of executing an innocent man, he disbanded the forensic science commission trying to find out if it was true or not. that was an audacious move. he's not above saying that the opponent he's running against is responsible for the deaths of police officers because he's operating a sanctuary city. the guy is responsible for audacious politics. these are serious times, that said, for those that are political junkies, it's time to get your popcorn out, he's going to be entertainment to watch. >> max strama, i appreciate it, keep representing them well. >> thank you. >> thanks for joining us. >>> coming up, no jobs, no prospects, no ability to pay back the student loans? >>> and why democrats shouldn't be rooting for the weakest republican candidat

yesterday, president obama hit back. >> mr. perry just got in the presidential race and i think that everybody who runs for president probably takes a little bit of time before they start realizing this isn't like running for governor or senator or congress. you have to be more careful about what you say. i'll cut him some slack. he's only been at it for a few days now. >> today in new hampshire governor perry counterpunched. >> the president said i need to watch what i say. i just want to respond back, if i may. mr. president, actions speak louder than words. my action as governor are helping create jobs in this country. the president's actions are killing jobs in this country. it's time to get america working again. >> that's point number one of a three-point critique from governor perry that he's a job creator and president obama is a job destroyer. keeping them honest is not quite true. all three points stretched the facts. here's point two. the private sector creates jobs. the public sector doesn't. that's what he says. li

no relation perry? >> the clips you played at the beginning of the broadcast tells you everything you need to know. this is a guy, when he's put under the spotlight, doesn't back up, he's always done that. when he's accused -- and he's still under the investigation of executing an innocent man, he disbanded the forensic science commission trying to find out if it was true or not. that was an audacious move. he's not above saying that the opponent he's running against is responsible for the deaths of police officers because he's operating a sanctuary city. the guy is responsible for audacious politics. these are serious times, that said, for those that are political junkies, it's time to get your popcorn out, he's going to be entertainment to watch. >> max strama, i appreciate it, keep representing them well. >> thank you. >> thanks for joining us. >>> coming up, no jobs, no pekts, no ability to pay back the student loans? >>> and why democrats shouldn't be rooting for the weakest republican candidate. t

yez mr. obama hit back. >> mr. perry just got in the presidential race. i think that everybody who runs for president it probably takes them a little bit of time before they start realizing that this isn't like running for governor or running for senate or running for congress. and you've got to be a little more careful about what you say. but i'll cut him some slack. he's only been at it for a few days now. >> today in new hampshire governor perry counter punched. >> the president said i needed to watch what i say. [ laughter ] >> i just want to respond back, if i may. mr. president, actions speak louder than words. my actions as governor are helping create jobs in this country. the president's actions are killing jobs in this country. it's time to get america working again! >> well, that's point number one of a three-point critique from governor perry that he's a job creator and president obama is a job destroyer. but keeping them honest that's not quite true. in fact all three of his points stretch the facts. point, two the private sector creates jobs.

. >> you know, mr. perry just got into the presidential race. i think that everybody who runs for president probably takes them a bit of time before they start realizing that this isn't like running for governor or senator or running for congress, and you have to be more careful about what you say. but i'll cut him some slack. he's only been at it for a few days now. >> for that nice guy comment, here comes of response. governor perry took a swipe. let's listen. >> yesterday, um, the president said i needed to watch what i say. uh, i just want to respond back, if i may. mr. president, actions speak louder than words. my actions as governor are helping create jobs in this country. the president's actions are killing jobs in this country. it's time to get america working again. >> what do you think he meant when he said the other day, the governor, that he wanted to have the military proud of who their commander in chief was. what did that mean exactly? >> well, i would say this, governor perry is the only candidate in the race with military exper

but it is the latest poll that shows mr. romney all of a sudden 12 points behind mr. perry. and the question now in presidential politics is how long rick perry's shine is going to stay shiny. and how mitt romney is going to adjust his campaign to try to deal with the threat of rick and mitt romney has been around for a while. he has essentially been running for president for the last eight years. people got to know him really well when he ran in 2008. they got to know him really well, and then they picked the other guy. there's a thing about mitt romney that the republican elect yorate didn't like back then, or at least not enough. >> some of your opponents pass out these flip floppers, that mitt romney flips and flops on the general issues. >> when you hear them on immigration, flip flop, flip flop. >> the former governor faces doubts about his conservative credentials all the way home to massachusetts. where democrats have posted his alleged flip flops on issues like gun control, gay rights, abortion. since romney's failed 1994 senate run and his campaign for governor in

he wrote because primaries tend to be binary contests, mrs. bachmann and mr. perry will now likely compete to be the not romney candidate. they can aclooef dominance by attacking each other, attacking mr. romney or attacking mr. obama. the smartest course is the last. if they are all saying, listen, this is what the president is doing wrong, how would they distinguish from one another at this point? you've got republicans out there who want to know where they stand as far as being tough on spending and all of these other things where they quite honestly differ. >> i think what strategy they come up with will reveal to the public how much of a threat each sees the other. i think rick perry will shy away from attacking michele bachmann. i think bachmann probably the onus is on her to attack perry more. because what she's confronted with now, you see this in some of her remarks and attempt to address this, she is a legislator confronting two executives. one current executive, texas governor and one former in mitt romney. they have very different issue profiles. s

yez mr. obama hit back. >> mr. perry just got in the presidential race. i think that everybody who runs for president it probably takes them a little bit of time before they start realizing that this isn't like running for governor or running for senate or running for congress. and you've got to be a little more careful about what you say. but i'll cut him some slack. he's only been at it for a few days now. >> today in new hampshire governor perry counter punched. >> the president said i needed to watch what i say. [ laughter ] >> i just want to respond back, if i may. mr. president, actions speak louder than words. my actions as governor are helping create jobs in this country. the president's actions are killing jobs in this country. it's time to get america working again! >> well, that's point number one of a three-point critique from governor perry that he's a job creator and president obama is a job destroyer. but keeping them honest that's not quite true. in fact all three of his points stretch the facts. point, two the private sector creates jobs.

actually, mr. perry's entrance into the race may be a good thing, because it will get more people focused on this case, and i think if you looked at the totality of the case, there's plenty of other evidence besides the forensic evidence demonstratingwillingham was in fact guilty. a forensic negotiation exceeding its jurisdiction and it's appropriate they were reined in to what the texas law permits it to do. i don't think that's really a case of stonewalling. >> governor perry does appear to approve of the execution of mentally retarded criminals. also juveniles. he thinks the juveniles should be executed as well. does that take him outside of the norm of what most americans think is just? >> no, i don't think so. i mean, the law at the time of these cases was that the minority status of the person as well as any mental deficiencies could be considered by the jury. must be considered by the jury. all the evidence can be presented to the jury and the jury was required to weigh that against the othe

but it is the latest poll that shows mr. romney all of a sudden 12 points behind mr. perry. and the question now in presidential politics is how long rick perry's shine is going to stay shiny. and how mitt romney is going to adjust his campaign to try to deal with the threat of rick perry. rick perry after all is new on the national stage. and mitt romney has been around for a while. he has essentially been running for president for the last eight years. people got to know him really well when he ran in 2008. they got to know him really well, and then they picked the other guy. there's a thing about mitt romney that the republican electorate didn't like back then, or at least not enough. >> some of your opponents pass out these flip floppers, that mitt romney flips and flops on the general issues. >> when you hear them on immigration, flip flop, flip flop. >> the former governor faces doubts about his conservative credentials all the way home to massachusetts. where democrats have posted his alleged flip flops on issues like gun control, gay rights, abortion. since romney's

actually, mr. perry's entrance into the race may be a good thing, because it will get more people focused on this case, and i think if you looked at the totality of the case, there's plenty of other evidence besides the forensic evidence demonstrating willingham was in fact guilty. as far as stonewalling the investigation, a forensic negotiation exceeding its jurisdiction and it's appropriate they were reined in to what the texas law permits it to do. i don't think that's really a case of stonewalling. >> governor perry does appear to approve of the execution of mentally retarded criminals. also juveniles. he thinks the juveniles should be executed as well. does that take him outside of the norm of what most americans think is just? >> no, i don't think so. i mean, the law at the time of these cases was that the minority status of the person as well as any mental deficiencies could be considered by the jury. must be considered by the jury. all the evidence can be presented to the jury and the jury

i think it sort of highlighted a certain problem that mr. perry has and that might be true of some in the republican field, which is that they have their political life, their policies, their philosophy of what they believe in. but it's also very important in politics to have a kind of persona of moderation to seem like a benign person, a kindly person, a smart perso ronald reagan was the last really, really conservative president -- republican nominee to win in 1980. part of the reason he ran was that he was called radical. he was called mean. he was called all these things. then you'd look at him and you'd se benign, even keeled, even tempered, normal. i think the republicans, some of them have to work on that right now. >> yeah. it seems that perhaps the republican primary voters, that's not what they're shopping for. maria, i have to ask ou, what does wall street hear when they hear something like that from a candidate. >> i think wall street, main street, people are sick and tired of the us versus them. it's your fault. no, it's your fa

>> you know, mr. perry just got in the presidential race, and i think that everybody who runs for president, it probably takes them a little bit of time before they start realizing that this isn't like running for governor or running for senator or running for congress and you've got to be a little more careful about what you say. but i'll cut him some slack. he's only been at it for a few days now. >> mitt romney says corporations are people. does he have a point? >> well, if you tell me that corporations are vital to american life, that the free enterprise system has been the greatest wealth creator that we've ever seen, that corporate ceos and folks who are working in our large companies that are creating incredible products and services and that is all to the benefit of the united states of america, that i absolutely agree with. if, on the other hand, you tell me that every corporate tax break that's out there is somehow good for ordinary americans, that we have a tax code that's fair, that asking

>> you know, mr. perry just got in the presidential race. and i think that everybody who runs for president, it probably takes them a little bit of time before they start realizing that this isn't like running for governor or running for senator or running for congress. you've got to be a little more careful about what you say. but i'll cut him some slack. he's only been at it for a few days now. >> mitt romney says corporations are people. does he have a point? >> well r, if you tell me that corporations are vital to american life, that the free enterprise system has been the greatest wealth creator that we've ever seen, that there are corporate ceos and folks who are working in our large companies that are creating incredible products and services and that is all to the benefit of the united states of america, that i absolutely agree with. if, on the other hand, you tell me that every corporate tax break that's out there is somehow good for ordinary americans, that we have a tax code that's fair, that asking oil and gas companieses, for ex

i think it sort of highlighted a certain problem that mr. perry has and that might be true of some in the republican field, which is that they have their political life, their policies, their philosophy of what they believe in. but it's also very important in politics to have a kind of persona of moderation to seem like a benign person, a kindly person, a smart person. ronald reagan was the last really, really conservative president -- republican nominee to win in 1980. part of the reason he ran was that he was called radical. he was called mean. he was called all these things. then you'd look at him and you'd see benign, even keeled, even tempered, normal. i think the republicans, some of them have to work on that right now. >> yeah. it seems that perhaps the republican primary voters, that's not what they're shopping for. maria, i have to ask you, what does wall street hear when they hear something like that from a candidate. >> i think wall street, main street, people are sick and tired of the us versus them. it's your fault. no, it's you

perry if he should get in. the going to have to be very clear about how they would handle this debt situation going forward. they would have to stake out some ground. some of the ground might be different. >> i didn't mean to interrupt you. the official word. >> the house amendment bill 365 is agreed to. without objection. >> mr. president --? >> majority leader? >> i should ask -- >> 74 yeas, 26 nays. michael steele, the under paid off. the under pays off, we'll get the party breakdown as soon as we have it to see how bipartisan was it. was it more democrats or republicans that be voted for it. >> there were 34 nos from the tea party supported members to the house bill. 22 black caucus members voted no. 12 hispanic caucus and 58 so-called progressive caucus members voted no. you had more opposition from the left than from the right. >> martin frost, i've been watching one of the things and an drea knows this when you have the white house beat suddenly you see people come in. you don't see who the president mee

>> you know, mr. perry just got in the presidential race and i think that everybody who runs for president probably takes them a little bit of time before they start realizing that this isn't like running for governor or running for senator or running for congress, and you've got to be a little more careful about what you say. i'll cut him some slack. he's only been at it a few days now. >> mitt romney says corporations are people. does he have a point? >> well, if you tell me that corporations are vital to american life, that the free enterprise system has been the greatest wealth creator we've ever seen, that there -- corporate ceos and folks working in our large companies that are creating incredible products and services and that is all to the benefit of the united states of america, that i absolutely agree with. if, on the other hand, you tell me that every corporate tax break that's out there is somehow good for ordinary americans, that we have a tax code that's fair, that asking oil and gas com

and/or ron paul and, mr. paul corniis concord, and, he was less than 3% off the pace, in the straw poll and, rick perry stands by his remarks regarding the possibility ben bernanke might be guilty of, quote, treasonness behavior, were he to print more money and president obama mentioned rick perry in the context and the texas governor turned the tables, not away from ben bernanke and on the president, listen to this: >> yesterday, the president said, i needed to watch what i say. and i want to respond back, if i may, mr. president, actions speak louder than words. my actions as governor, are helping create jobs in the country. the president's actions are killing jobs. >> reporter: that said, mr. perry did seem to tamp down his texas twang a little bit and he was at the politics and eggs breakfast, a gathering of very, very politically influential activists and operatives and candidates and lawmakers themselves also go to that and he took a lot of very, very tough questions, this morning. martha. martha: inter

and as i spoke to mr. perry he also was eager to contrast himself to mitt romney. >> i'm asking the president of the united states to do something. he says he's on a listening tour so i'm going to talk to him. here's what i'm going to say to him. mr. president, you need to free up the employers of this country to create jobs. get rid of the regulations that are stifling jobs in america. free up this country from these stifling regulations. >> reporter: pery said he's a pro-business republican and makes no apologies. he says compare the perry record in texas to massachusetts. texas has been responsible for 40% of the country's job growths. in massachusetts while he was governor massachusetts was in the low 40s? job rankings. megyn: what is the early buzz on him and how he might fare in the republican nomination? >> reporter: when it comes to money. in the last five to six weeks, the perry organization has been lining up commitments, not to say donations, from major donors referred to as bundlers and fundrai

>> mr. perry just got into the presidential race. i think everybody that runs for president probably takes them a little bit of time before they start realizing that this isn't like running for governor or running for senator or running for congress. you've got to be a little more careful about what you say. i'll cut him some slack. he's only been at it for a short time now. >> mitt romney says corporations are people. does he have a point? >> well, if you tell me that corporations are vital to american life, that the free enterprise system is the greatest wealth builder we've ever seen. folks and ceos working in large companies that are creating incredible products and services and that is all to the benefit of the united states of america, that i absolutely agree with. if e on the other hand, you tell me every corporate tax break that's out there is somehow good for ordinary americans that we have a tax code that's fair, that asking oil and gas companies, for example, not to get kpesexemptions that other f don't get, that closing t

support to start with and michelle bachmann is going after the same people, however, and, this morning, mr. perry was campaigning, he seems to be a lot more at ease, and, michelle bachmann arrived in south carolina last night. big crowds and big response. and, this morning, perry hit the palmetto state campaign trail and had a big crowd and seemed more enthusiastic going after the southern vote than he was in new hampshire where he got mixed reviews in addition to the protests. and, so this morning he was playing up the conservative unity of the g.o.p. message, heading into the 2012 elections. listen to this: >> individuals who want more government and more debt, well, they need to go with the other side because we're all about smaller government, we're all about making government work. we're all about cutting taxes. cutting regulations. and cutting litigation. that is what we're about. [applause]. >> reporter: while in new hampshire, rick perry stayed behind the podium and did not do a lot of stage strolling and not a lot of gestures and stuff like that and in south carolina, the enthusia

the top aides to mr. perry say he will not announce his candidacy on saturday, but as he has with many, many visitors from across the country who have been going down to austin to meet with him about money and logistics and political strategy, he will encourage them to get ready and express his intentions, and his desire to seek the presidency. it is also a day, the day of the straw poll, that perry will not only visit south carolina but also travel to the primary state of new hampshire. that is a very clear sign and perry aides have suggested he'll then in a matter of a day or so head off to iowa and come here, home of the first caucuses. the governor of texas doesn't need to come to these three states unless he's serious about running, as they've said he is. bill: quick analysis, if he does enter, what is the effect on mitt romney, michelle bachmann, carl? >> >> reporter: potentially profound. mitt romney is obviously the national frontrunner and just yesterday, he referenced there was a poll recently t

rick perry. we bring in bill adair. glad to have you there. let's get right to it. first line we tested, here it is, rick perry on the trail. >> they want to make -- if you're a tractor driver, if you drive your tractor across a public road, you're going to have to have a commercial driver's license. >> now, rick perry has said this a few times about a supposed iowa law. what say you? >> that one gets a false on the truth-o-meter. this has become sort of a legend in agricultural circles that the government wants to do this but there's no truth to it. we talked to the department of transportation, there are no such plans to do this. it seems to be based on an idea that it was actually illinois that floated the idea, the feds have said they don't want to do it so false on the truth-o-meter for this one. >> don't mix up iowa and illinois. all right. here's the next rick perry sound bite, about his home state of texas. >> have the doom sayers forgotten that texas added more jobs in 2010 than any other state? >> all right, bill adair. true or false? >> true. he's right.

. >> does this become a two-man battle between mr. romme and mr. perry? >> i think so. i think by the time they come out of florida, it's a two-horse race. >> if bachman or others who were to join, obviously a third person deeply involved, how does he stack up against michelle bachman? >> i think he stacks up really well. in this regard, i love michelle bachman. i love what she did for the party last time. i would love to see her do it again. help us expand our majority in the house. help us take over the senate. i would love to see her stay in the house. >> that's what you really mean, stay in the house. bob, americans for perry, thank you very much. so he'll be here tomorrow and we're waiting now to find out who won today on what is obviously the most consequential straw poll on the campaign thus far. bret? >> bret: very interesting. carl, thank you very much. as carl mentioned, we're waiting word on results of today's voting. could be within the next 45 minutes to an hour. while we wait, let's talk with fox news sunday host chris wallace. welcome. you were looking at

. >> good morning, mr. willie. >> good to see you. let's talk about rick perry. the campaign is gaining traction and getting lot of attention. the romney campaign is not that concerned about it, why? >> at least publicly, they are staying the course. mitt romney is doing what front-runners do, continue to focus on the general election. he's going to keep beating up obama. team obama started to feel better in iowa. they think perry is potentially a formidable candidate, they love the idea of republicans going after each other. the week before, the republicans were going after obama. mitt romney says he's going to stick to his message of jobs, economy, going after obama and talking act his private sector experience which sets him apart from both perry and obama. >> mark halperin, is that a good strategy to look past the republican field, even if it includes rick perry and president obama? >> it's a good strategy now and one he can maintain. he's going to do it in new hampshire. the two things out there that force him into a different direction is the decision to co

that's in the a recovery, mr. president. that is an economic disaster. >> some of perry's comments raised eyebrows. for now, obama said for now he will cut him some slack. >> i think everyone who runs for president it probably takes a little time before they start realizing that this isn't like running for governor or senator. >> even with perry literally breathing down his neck, president obama tried to look past the republican con -- contenders and instead blamed the republicans in congress for the gridlock. >> they are putting the partisanship in front of country. that has to stop. >> today, president obama will defend his record on the economy in an illinois town that benefitted directly from the 2009 federal stimulus money. karen travers, abc news, washington. >>> 4:50. driving in, definitely mike noticed more fog. but we will see the temperatures close to where we were? >> i think so. if not warmer this afternoon. take a look outside and show what is going on. the clouds are thicker. more moisture. drizzle. more likely

we've heard mr. perry's claim that he's created 40% of all the new jobs in the last couple of years. the white house saying it's because of white house programs, federal programs that jobs in texas are being created. who's right? >> well, in a way, kind of neither of them are right. i don't think rick perry creates jobs. i think businesses create jobs and individuals create jobs. and then the question becomes, well, does texas have the environment where the businesses can create the jobs? the answer is obviously yes. you look at the numbers, jobs are up. as for whether or not the federal government has created any of those jobs, if we look at the stimulus as a medicine and obama is the doctor, we've given this medicine to 49 different states. 49 different unhealthy states and one healthy state and this is kind of the administration coming in and saying we made the healthy guy healthy. it doesn't seem to hold a whole lot of water blaming the -- >> let me cut in on you here a little bit. how can govern

caller: mr. perry is running for president. he was in favor of sanctuary cities for the illegal aliens. host: we are talking about the straw poll. guest: i have not heard he was in favor of century cities. one interesting thing about rick perry is how much he will focus on jobs. he has a great story to tell. texas has been responsible for creating more jobs than any other state over the last decade. they have relatively low unemployment. there are all of these factors he will drop off -- rattle off. that will be important to watch in terms of how he frames his campaign. the story is more complicated than that. along with the private sector job growth, there is also the governmental job growth. it matters what kinds of jobs were created, whether they were lower paying jobs or better paying jobs. in his case, they skewed towards the lower paying jobs. we will see the debate over the texas economy versus the national economy if he is the nominee. he has a great contrast against other governors who have their own economic records.

mr. no relation perry is using this year's budget to slash $4 billion from public schools. $46 million from the university of texas alone. and ut is part of the statewide system that's one of the largest in the country. perry and a texas think tank are pushing a plan spearheaded by a perry donor to overhaul the university system in a way that at least one dean warns will drive top students and faculty away. now, all of the members of the system's regents board are perry appointees, and among them, one of his top campaign donors, james dannenbaum. his engineering company has been awarded multiple state contracts, and he happens to be one of perry's biggest contributors, donating more than $320,000 to perry. and he certainly is not alone. with me now is matea gold, co-author of a revealing new piece on rick perry's biggest campaign donors. thank you for joining me tonight. >> thank you, melissa. >> your reporting found that of the $102 million of donations raised, $37 million were from the

mr. no relation perry is using this year's budget to slash $4 billion from public schools. $46 million from the university of texas alone. and ut is part of the statewide system that's one of the largest in the country. perry and a texas think tank are pushing a plan spearheaded by a perry donor to overhaul the university system in a way that at least one dean warns will drive top students and faculty away. now, all of the members of the system's regents board are perry appointees, and among them, one of his top campaign donors, james dannenbaum. his engineering company has been awarded multiple state contracts, and he happens to be one of perry's biggest contributors, donating more than $320,000 to perry. and he certainly is not alone. with me now is mattia gold and a co-author of a revealing new piece on rick perry's biggest campaign donors. thank you for joining me tonight. >> thank you, melissa. >> your reporting found that of the $102 million of donations raised, $37 million were fro

is the nominee and mr. romney won't make it? >> i think mr. romney won't make it. i think the tea party is the republican party. i think romney will soon go after perry. but for example, on the jobs issue. romney is more vulnerable. perry is an outright radical on a lot of these social issues but that helps him in today's republican party. this is a republican party that doesn't care about those polls the congresswoman was talking about. promised it was going to go to washington in 2010 and fight for jobs. and has done anything but that. they fought to destroy jobs. they want a recession. their definition of recover is that they take back the white house. >> let me ask you this, congresswoman, talking about radical, just the payroll tax extension that would cost, if we don't get it, roughly $2100 to each one of the taxpayers, working class people. but look who opposes it. opposes payroll tax cut extension. eric cantor. camp, ryan. i mean, how do you deal with these people who you go back after the labor day

is hoping to lasso a new title mr president it daily take the night on why fair is perry's biggest endorser let us into the two thousand and eight recession and could lead us into another financial meltdown. that republicans have started their latest which on against president obama on this one involves hollywood last week in new york times columnist maureen dowd said that the obama administration is sharing classified information about the osama bin laden raid to oscar winning filmmaker kathryn bigelow who is currently three years into working on a film about bin laden dowd wrote the white house is counting on the big screen version of the killing of bin laden to counter obama's growing reputation as ineffectual the movie is scheduled to open on october twelfth two thousand and twelve perfectly timed to give a home stretch boost to a campaign that has grown tougher the movie makers are getting top level access to the most classified mission in history from an administration that has tried to throw more people in jail for leaking classified information than the bush administration. upon rea

had "hardball" returns, is this a. >> assessment by mr. rove? only on msnbc, "hardball." >>> democrats in wisconsin hoping to stave off recalls. after they left the state rather than vote on republican governor scott walker's anti-union agenda. last week two republicans lost their seats in recall elections but democrats freed to win three seats to take control of the senate. republicans in wisconsin are hoping to take one or both seats tonight and reclaim some of their momentum heading into fall. >>> we'll be right back. at exxon and mobil, we engineer smart gasoline that works at the molecular level to help your engine run more smoothly by helping remove deposits and cleaning up intake valves. so when you fill up at an exxon or mobil station, you can rest assured we help your engine run more smoothly while leaving behind cleaner emissions. it's how we make gasoline work harder for you. exxon and mobil. as luxury s.u.v.s, it helps to have the quality and craftsmanship of your leather interior test better than the lexus rx 350. it's also helpful

rick perry talking about president obama just yesterday in iowa. let's listen to the road show. >> look, i think the greatest threat to our country right now is this president who's trying to spend our way out of this disaster. >> and here he is at the same event. he had this to say about fed chairman ben bernanke who i think has been saving this country's bacon. let's listen. >> if this guy prints more money between now and the election, i don't know what y'all will do to him in iowa, but we -- we would treat him pretty ugly down in texas. i mean, printing more money to play politics at this particular time in american history is almost treacherous -- or treasonous in my opinion. >> does this guy know any history, treating somebody ugly? that's what they did to adlai stevenson in '63. remember that? appointed by george w. bush, the fed chairman. this afternoon perry said he stood by what he said, of course, but a former aide to president bush tweeted this response to his off-the-cuff remarks -- governor perry's comments about chairman bernanke are

mr. bassett, why do you believe rick perry ousted you from the kpligs? >> the stated reason i think from his staff was that we didn't have jurisdiction to consider the case. i think there was probably more of a concern about what we were investigating. now, when you say more of a concern of what you were investigating, this man had been executed. and continued to have mounting evidence that raised the question of whether or not this man was in fact executed wrongly and you and the commission members were going to look into it. now, had you determined that he was wrongly convicted and therefore wrongly executed, and that the governor should have listened to some of those appeals, that would have been quite embarrassing to say the least to the governor, wouldn't it? >> yes, al. i think it's important to realize that what happened with the science of arson between 1991 and the time of the execution, was rather extraordinary. many of the indicators that had been previously reported as science, as indicators of arson in the 70s and 80s, were shown to be poor

it looks as if perry is not afraid. here it is now. what perry's been saying. >> mr. president, you need to free up the employers of this country to create jobs. get rid of the regulations that are stifling jobs in america. >> obviously, president obama's policies are failing the economy. we took the biggest punch to the gut this week that we have seen in our economy. >> he seems to be more intent on trying to save his job than to try to create jobs for the american people. >> well, that's a great sort of character study. isn't it? you got him going, acting like a country boy dropping his jeans and then bachmann, that passion and then romney. anyway -- the campaign for re-election of the president is beginning now. coming into labor day. looks like we're ahead of schedule. for a campaign slow to start, it looks like this battle, increasingly the front-runner, rick perry against the president. >> those donors on the sideline, particularly those who can bundle the cash, beginning to filter into the perry lineup. you're going to have sigh think a step-up in the game by m

i think private. >> mr. hightower, he hasn't impressed you. rick perry talking about president obama just yesterday in iowa. let's listen to the road show. >> look, i think the greatest threat to our country right now is this president who's trying to spend our way out of this disaster. >> and here he is at the same event. he had this to say about fed chairman ben bernanke who i think has been saving this country's bacon. let's listen. >> if this guy prints more money between now and the election, i don't know what y'all will do to him in iowa, but we -- we would treat him pretty ugly down in texas. i mean, printing more money to play politics at this particular time in american history is almost treacherous -- or treasonous in my opinion. >> does this guy know any history, treating somebody ugly? that's what they did to adlai stevenson in '63. remember that? appointed by george w. bush, the fed chairman. this afternoon perry said he stood by what he said, of course, but a former aide to president bush tweeted this response to his off-the-cuff

mr. obama essentially called it a beginner's mistake adding that candidates have to be careful. the president's bus tour also rolled through iowa today and our chief white house correspondent norah o'donnell was with him. norah? >> reporter: scott, the president came here to ask iowans to share some ideas about how to jump start the economy. the president also sounded a note of optimism saying that he was confident that america can get through this difficult challenge. >> i'm here because i want to hear from you. >> reporter: the president has called this bus trip to america's heartland a listening tour to hear people's frustrations about the economy and to offer a way forward. >> we want to leave no stone unturned when it comes to strengthening this economy. >> reporter: but today's rural economic forum was not just about new federal aid for rural small businesses and manufacturers. >> i want to sell goods all over the world that are stamped with three words "made in america." >> reporter: it was also part of the president's retooled message to blame washington politics and con

as the journal wrote mr. sullivan acknowledged that many passages in perry's "fed up" could dog his presidential campaign. i actually don't think to happen that flip flop is always a bad thing. i think it's bad to punish a candidate and elected officials to develop new ideas. if leaders are willing to stop, listen, and learn and evolve, that's good for them and for you. president george w. bush aka the deciders often boasted of his it tee nace yus determination to stay the course even when everything suggested that the country needed a new course. at my most charitable i like to believe rick perry has a moment of clarity that allows him to see the danger in declaring meshgs's crucial associate safety net is unconstitutional, even if he's having trouble saying it. when a staff says to ignore what he wrote in a book less than a year ago and when perry answersanswers policy questions saying, read the boong then maybe we need to involve an our thinking and look at how similar rick perry and george bush really are

i think mr. huntsman walks away very quietly and gets on with his life. >> and i would speculate to say that maybe bruce bartlet does the same thing? maybe karl rove does the same thing? what do you make of that? >> well, i don't think karl rove is ever going to endorse him. there's a long history there of separation. and bartlet is the same. and everybody in the bush family who supported him and who are supporters of the bush family you and the bush candidates, they're not going to be very comfortable supporting rick perry. i think there is a real complicated problem within the republican party when rick perry becomes the nominee. >> just seems to me that huntsman is so far is the first one to step up and say, you know, houston, we got a problem. after all the rhetoric this guy seems willing to stake his candidacy and his -- his campaign on, hey, i'm the normal guy. you know, i'm kind of a bob dole republican. you can talk to me. and if this doesn't work, i mean if he doesn't do a little bit bet

first to you, mr. armey, your governor rick perry is about to jump in for president. is he the savior many republicans want or is he fred thompson that gets in with all of the hull la bah loo and fizzles. >> bless paul begala's heart. he continues to be wholly misguided and uninformed about what goes on in the world. the fact of the matter, we in texas -- paul you must agree with that, we're proud of our economy. how jobs are created. we see the governor as been a man of powerful conviction, understanding that is a source of prosperity and having policies available to it. we think our governor will be competitive on the world scene and that critical area of getting the government under control so the private sector can grow and expand and get some jobs. >> democrats worry about rick perry more than the republican field as of now? >> no. texas has a crummy job performance.