. >>> i'm kuren redmond, 7 days left before the iowa caucuses, find out how the gop candidates are gearing up with new attacks and ads. >>> ads. >>> gone but not forgotten, a look at those who left news 2011 and the legacy they leave behind. that's straight ahead on tuesday, december 27th. good morning i'm charley crowson. let's get over to justin berk now with a check of your tuesday forecast. >> that sun over your shoulder, two hours away from seeing that sun. won't see it today. check it out. morning highlights, the clouds rolled back in. this came in a few hours ahead of schedule. no sweat there, the rain back in to the mountains. that will be arriving as we get closer to the lunch hour, in to the afternoon. a lot of rain a where that came from. the wider maps in a few minutes. 40 baltimore, holding 33 ocean city. the clouds haven't built in. 40s, where the rain came from , the air is moving in our direction. that's where we go. if you are in the upper 30s, we continue to push on the upswing, sunrise at 7:25, probably won't see it as the clouds continue to lower and thicken. showers co

but how democratic are the iowa caucuses? if you want to vote in the iowa caucuses, you have to show up at a specific time. which means if you can't make it at that time you do not get to vote. plus in iowa you either spend a lot of money to get voters to notice you or you have to rely on endorsements like bob vander plaats, endorsements that may not mean anything on election day but mean a lot of ideological pandering and the exchange of money. we talk a lot about the iowa caucuses because they talk about something, the beginning of the voting season. but how much are the iowa kauxs really like the rest of how we vote in america? how democratic is the iowa system? joining us now is steve kornaki. he's political news editor at salon.com. steve, thanks for joining us tonight. nice to have you here. >> sure. >> am i being naive to be shocked by the allegation that the bob vander plaats fundamentalist social conservative endorsement comes with a price tag? >> well, you've got to love the irony because one of the sort of messagin

but how democratic are the iowa caucuses? if you want to vote in the iowa caucuses, you have to show up at a specific time. which means if you can't make it at that time you do not get to vote. plus in iowa you either spend a lot of money to get voters to notice you or you have to rely on endorsements like bob vander plaats, endorsements that may not mean anything on election day but mean a lot of ideological pandering and the exchange of money. we talk a lot about the iowa caucuses because they talk about something, the beginning of the voting season. but how much are the iowa caucuses really like the rest of how we vote in america? how democratic is the iowa system? joining us now is steve kornacki. he's political news editor at salon.com. steve, thanks for joining us tonight. nice to have you here. >> sure. >> am i being naive to be shocked by the allegation that the bob vander plaats fundamentalist social conservative endorsement comes with a price tag? >> well, you've got to love the irony because one of the sort of mess

republican presidential candidates scramble for votes just one week before the iowa caucuses. >>> economic outlook -- leading economists are upbeat saying the economy should grow next year but the unemployment rate won't change much. >>> and passing record. the saints' drew brees breaks a record that lasted 27 years. captioning funded by cbs >>> and good morning. thanks for joining us. i'm whit johnson in for betty nguyen. we begin with politics in the last lap before the iowa caucuses with just a week remaining before iowans capped the first vote of the 2012 campaign. the candidates are ready with a final round of speeches and unleash a new round of commercials. duarte geraldino has more. good morning, duarte. >> reporter: most decided to attend the caucus are still open to the idea of changing their minds. so with so much at stake, presidential candidates are becoming increasingly aggre aggressive. rick santorum was the only presidential candidate campaigning monday spending part of the day pheasant hunting. the real hunt in the top spot for the iowa caucuses will intensify today. >> i'm

a lot of volatility all over with the iowa caucuses as we can see. some people have said they have had more than one favorite and could change their minds again. but if you look at new hampshire, it's a very different story there. mitt romney seems to be doing just great, at least for him. the latest "boston globe" poll released on christmas day, shows him with 39% support, gingrich and paul tieded at 17%. all in all you look at this iowa, looking very tight at the moment, new hampshire not so much. back to you. >> iowa looking like a jump ball in that 39% a break through number for mitt romney because for so long he couldn't get above the 20s. >>> he is trailing in the polls, but rick santorum may have bagged the big prize in a pheasant hunt today, it's not what he shot, but who he shot it with, influential iowa congressman steve king. let's bring in cnn senior congressional correspondent dana bash. dana, you spoke with him today, give us a sense of why king's endorsement is so important and what do you think it means. >> he is very prominent when i

the iowa system is caucuses. it's not a primary. so it's not that people get to come in and cast a vote based on a secret ballot. so what it is is if your neighbor can peer pressure you to support the candidate that he or she is supporting, you're more likely to go with that one and not get to make up your own mind. so it's kind of a double whammy of impracticality. >> joy-ann reid, erin mcpike, thank you so much for being here. >> thank you. >>> up next, the biggest lies in politics this year. politifact has compiled the biggest a-list of the biggest whoppers. that's ahead. this is "hardball," only on msnbc. and what girl wouldn't need new shoes? we talked about getting a diamond. but with all the thank you points i've been earning... ♪ ...i flew us to the rock i really had in mind. ♪ [ male announcer ] the citi thank you card. earn points you can use for travel on any airline, with no blackout dates. premier of the packed bag. you know organization is key... and so is having a trusted assistant. and you...rent from national. b

one week before the iowa caucuses, ron paul is leading the gop presidential pack. but it's still anyone's race. >> usually the iowa caucuses aren't completely defined until very close to the end. >> reporter: while rick santorum is hunting for votes -- >> you're not electing someone to cast votes. you're electing a leader. >> reporter: michele bachmann is getting ready to hit all of iowa's 99 counties. rick perry released a new attack ad. but it's aimed at washington. >> get a job like everybody else back home. >> reporter: mitt romney is still trying to convince iowans he's conservative enough. >> i'm going to do something to government. i'm going to make it simpler and smaller and smarter. >> reporter: newt gingrich failed to make virginia's primary ballot, and days before iowa, that's a setback he can't afford. >> we're disappointed but it was our fault. >> the primary is now a side show. i can't imagine anybody paying much attention to it. >> reporter: but right now all eyes are on iowa, where anything can happen. establishment republicans may be uneasy with ro

huk huckabee knows a lot about the iowa caucuses. he did win here four years ago but did not go on to win the nomination. john mccain did. another example of how iowa didn't always crown the winner. but take a listen to what he said on the sunday talk shows. >> if the weather is good, mitt romney is in better shape. if the weather is bad, and it's real tough to get out, ron paul will win. >> reporter: and here is why, because ron paul's supporters here in iowa are very enthusiastic and energetic. they'll come out on a cold snowy night. maybe some of the other backers won't. the weather right now, very mild and sunny. >> who's campaigning today? there's only one candidate out there campaigning. a little more than a week before these caucuses in iowa. >> reporter: right. because it is the federal holiday. only one candidate, that is rick santorum, the former pennsylvania senator. he's going to go pheasant hunting later today with what his campaign says are prominent conservative republicans. >> thank you, paul. >>> tune in a week from

i talked to iowa's gop chairman, who is neutral in these caucuses. he told me he's hearing some democrats are going to cross over and caucus for ron paul because of his views, wolf. >> he says he's not interventionist. i've interviewed ron paul on many occasions, he's trying to make that point. there was something that happened about a year, a year and a half ago. ron paul came into the situation room with a very liberal democratic congressman, barney frank. they were teaming up at that time to cut a trillion dollars in defense spending over the next ten years. ron paul and barney frank. let me play to you some of the comments that they made in "the situation room." >> the two of us have talked about this over the years, but actually, barney motivated to come to me and ask me about this, setting up a commission to do this study, set out a program, it's not going to happen tomorrow. tas ten-year program. he asked me if i'd be interested in doing more work. i agreed. i think it's a great idea because that's what i've been arguing for a long time and i'

the iowa system is caucuses. it's not a primary. so it's not that people get to come in and cast a vote based on a secret ballot. so what it is is if your neighbor can peer pressure you to support the candidate that he or she supporting, you're more likely to go with that one and not get to make up your own mind. so it's kind of a double whammy of impracticality. >> joy-ann reid, erin mcpike, thank you so much for being here. >>> up next, the biggest lies in politics this year. politifact has compiled the "a" list of the biggest who weres. that's ahead. this is "hardball," only on msnbc. >>> we may be getting a lot closer to seeing a viable third party candidate on the ballot in 2012. the nonpartisan group americas elect has been trying to mount a third party presidential campaign in all 50 states and now they've reached a major milestone. they've gotten on the ballot in california. the vote-rich golden state is the 12th state whose ballot americas elect has gotten on. and it could go a listening way in getting the media traction in

caucuses. >>> a hail mary from rick perry on the final debate before the iowa caucuses. the two front-runners try to convince voters they're the best republican to face president obama. >>> drone wars. iran claims it hacked a u.s. spy plane that went down on its turf and the u.s. admits it wasn't just watching the border. >>> and christian bale roughed up by undercover agents in china. cnn was along for the ride. what the government did not want that man top see on this "american morning." -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >>> as low blow. but it was funny. >> what are you going to do? it's friday, your favorite day of the wix week. my too. nine days before christmas. i'm alina cho along with carol costello on this "american morning." glad you're with us. >> good morning. >>> gop candidates going head-to-head for the last time before the primary season begins. the front-runner newt gingrich plays defense on his conservative values and his electability. mitt romney held steady, not running away from his business background, and no bets this time either. and strangely,

the iowa system is caucuses. it's not a primary. so it's not that people get to come in and cast a vote based on a secret ballot. so what it is is if your neighbor can peer pressure you to support the candidate that he or she supporting, you're more likely to go with that one and not get to make up your own mind. so it's kind of a double whammy of impracticality. >> joy-ann reid, erin mcpike, thank you so much for being here. >>> up next, the biggest lies in politics this year. politifact has compiled the "a" list of the biggest who weres. that's ahead. this is "hardball," only on msnbc. ♪ when your chain of supply goes from here to shanghai, that's logistics. ♪ ♪ chips from here, boards from there track it all through the air, that's logistics. ♪ ♪ clearing customs like that hurry up no time flat that's logistics. ♪ ♪ all new technology ups brings to me, that's logistics. ♪ >>> we may be getting a lot closer to seeing a viable third party candidate on the ballot in 2012. the nonpartisan group americas elect has been

five days to go until the iowa caucuses and new polling shaking up the presidential republican field. in the latest cnn/time research poll, mitt romney on top with 25% support, ron paul a close second, still within the margin of error. the story, the latest republican candidate to surge, former pennsylvania senator rick santorum. he jumps all the way up to third place in iowa. he has more than tripled his support in the state since the beginning of the month. santorum has invested just about all of his resources there. this comes at the expense of newt gingrich's who's plummeted to fourth place in the poll. you see him there at 14%. the right-hand column is instructive, down 19 points just since december 7th. rick perry and michele bachmann round out the top six, 11% and 9% respectively. important to note this only recorded republicans. while democrats can't caucus in iowa, they can change their registration right there at the door. santorum attributes his surge in the polls to his relentless efforts in iowa. with limited campaign money, senator santorum visited all 99 counties in the

rollins thinks ron paul wins the iowa caucuses. that would turn the establishment on its left ear spinning. >> saying that everybody will attack him for the next two weeks because is he now the frontrunner. at the end of the day his organization as has not gone away. you won't pull paul people away from paul. >> shepard: you can remind people of his previous positions on things. for instance, that iran is entitled in some way to something nuclear. that's just getting started. >> that's just getting started. he has a lot of rubbish that was written in the past. he has been pretty radical and some of that stuff will get exposed today. but he has a die hard following. foreign policy is nuts. not going to be the nominee of this party. but at the end of the day he basically could be a spoiler. >> shepard: is he the guy that would do that though? >> i don't know. he clearly has supporters out there and if hes is not treated with respect. particularly if he does well in iowa. you know, he basically can do anything he wants to do. he is an

. >>> more bad news for newt gingrich one week before the iowa caucuses. why there is a debate over claims made during his first divorce. good morning. it is december 27. >> the first day back. it is tough. we begin with traffic and weather every 10 minutes. we're going to check in with a steep but first tier is adam caskey. >> good morning. we have some areas of rain to talk about. the morning commute will be dry. it is thereafter the rain showers are going to move again. the big red l causing all of the precipitation. rain and snow. a mix of the two. we will just to see it raindrop the day. it will be moderate to heavy and taper off after the evening rush hour. 42. 36 in winchester. quantico is 44. often on showers. up to an inch of rain. maybe even more than an inch. high temperatures in the 40's. windy tomorrow. wins tomorrow and cooler. let's go to steve for the commute. >>> we're going to look at a problem on the beltway. this is doctor randy road where the taxi trailer accident happened at 2:00 this morning. they have a right finding by. it will con

there's precious little time left before the iowa caucuses. that's why mitt romney's attacks on newt gingrich have been fierce. tonight, the final showdown before voting begins in iowa. republican presidential candidates debate one last time before the iowa caucuses. for mitt romney, it might be his last, best chance to break newt gingrich's momentum. >> zany is not what we need in a president. >> reporter: the romney campaign tells abc news their internal polls in iowa show gingrich's lead slipping. mocking him in a "new york times" interview. >> zany is great in a campaign. but in terms of a president, we need a leader. >> reporter: romney got a little help attacking gingrich. yesterday in iowa, occupy wall street protesters interrupted a gingrich speech. it's not clear if gingrich will fire back at romney during tonight's debate or if he'll stay above the fray. he told sean hannity in a radio interview, he needs to stay cool. >> we're successfully baiting me and exacted the wrong direction. >> reporter: democrats, on the other hand, have no

the iowa caucuses now just four days away. we want to take a closer look at how the race is shaping up for the republican presidential candidates. joe johns is on the campaign trail in des moines. joe, another poll showing that mitt romney is at the top of the heap. is the romney camp feeling very confident right now? >> reporter: certainly not overconfident, fred. he has said he thinks he'll do pretty darn well, and i guess he's already doing pretty darn well in the polls. being first tied with ron paul, who is second. this is a guy who really didn't campaign here in iowa all that much though he's here right now. he's got chris christie, the governor of new jersey campaigning for him. the campaign certainly not expressing any overconfidence but feeling as though, yeah, things are in pretty good shape certainly compared to four years ago when there was a lot of chaos and a lot of concerns stemming from the fact that governor mike huckabee was running very strong at that time, fred. >> joe, let's talk about rick santorum now. i

with just three weeks away before the iowa caucuses, new to gingrich and mitt romney have become the candidates to beat. >> if you look at newt-romney, they were four of the $700 billion bailout. >> the rest of the field as trying to make the case that the two front-runners are not conservative enough. >> if we took that oath of office seriously in washington, we would get rid of 80% of the government. >> a new poll shows gingrich with a double-digit lead over romney in south carolina and florida. his challenge now is to preserve his rapid rise. >> the only reason you did not become a career politician is you lost to teddy kennedy in 1994. >> while romney is shaking off criticism -- >> a $10,000 debt? >> over the high-stakes bet he threw down. >> she came up and gave me a kiss and said i was great. she said a lot of the things you do well, betting is not one of them. >> opponents accused romney of being out of step with most americans. >> a little out of touch with the normal i was citizen. >> the iowa caucuses are set for january 3rd and the new hampshire primary is one week later.

there is precious little time left before the iowa caucuses. that's why mitt romney is attacking newt gingrich. expect more fireworks at tonight's debate. tonight the final showdown before voting begins in ottawa. republican presidential candidate debates one last time before the iowa caucuses. for mitt romney it might be his last best chance to break new gingrich's momentum. >> zany is not what we needed a president. >> gingrich's lead is slipping. mitt romney has increased attacks on the format speaker, mocking him in an interview. >> we need a leader. >> occupy wall street protesters in iowa yesterday in direerupted anew gingrich's speech. it's not clear if mitt romney will try to stay above the fray. newt gingrich said that he needs to stay cool. >> we are successfully beating them. >> democrats have no problem attacking mitt romney. big dollar donors in manhattan at mitt romney fund-raisers who clocked up in the skies of this banner that says i'll bet you $10,000 mitt romney is out of touch, if a reference tool his infamous wager at last s

. >>> just three days until the iowa caucuses. cnn's political editor paul steinhauser is in the thick of it live in des moines, iowa. whirlwind day ahead, i'm sure, for you, right? >> no doubt about it, nonstop on the campaign trail. this is the end of december in iowa and it should be cold. let's start with newt gingerich. he was reaching out to voters stai restaurant and bus stop. we've seen newt gingerich's numbers kind of collapse here. he was the front-runner, but that's not the case any more. he's telling voters, don't count me out. >> i would ask you to go tuesday night, take all your friends and help us win. i do think this is wide open, no matter what the news media does to try to create some stampede. newt beginning rip's numbers have been going down and rick santorum's numbers have been going up. he's out with a new television commercial and in it, he explains why he thinks he is the best candidate to take on president barack obama in the 2012 election. another candidate on the trail today, texas governor rick perry. w

ron paul could very well win the iowa caucuses. if he does that, though, it would become a major thorn in the side for the establishment republicans who find ron paul's brand of politics very, very frustrating. natalie? >> let's go back to gingrich for a moment. he had a pledge to stay positive. many make that pledge at certain times. he did really go after mitt romney during his interview with wolf blitzer. >> reporter: he did. this just happened yesterday. newt gingrich, who has made a point of trying to stay above the fray, we've seen that all year. certainly in all of the nationally televised debates he would actually chastise the moderators if he thought that they were trying to get candidates to fight one another. however, just in this interview yesterday with our own wolf blitzer, he went right after mitt romney. in fact, let's listen to what he had to say, natalie. >> all i'd say, mitt, is if you want to run a negative cap pamg and attack people, at least be man enough to own it. that's your staff and that's your organizati

the iowa caucuses will be held one week from today. ron paul is leading in the polls, but it has been a volatile race for republicans who want to be president. as brian mooar reports, a lot can happen in the last seven days. >> one week before the iowa caucuses, ron paul is leading the gop presidential pack. but is still any one's race. >> usually, the iowa caucuses are not defined until close to the end. >> while rick santorum is hunting for votes -- >> you are electing a leader. >> michele bachmann is hitting all of iowa's 99 counties. rick perry has released an attack at aimed at washington. mitt romney is still trying to convince iowans he is conservative enough. >> i am going to do something to government. i am going to make it simpler and smaller and smarter. >> newt gingrich failed to make the virginia primary ballot. >> look, we're disappointed, but it was our fault. >> i cannot imagine anybody paying much attention to it. >> all eyes are on iowa, where anything can happen. brian mooar, wbal-tv 11 news. >> our commitment to any

the race is still up in the air, the republican presidential candidates head into the iowa caucuses. the new favorite has a real shot to take the lead. >>> and pretty much everybody is even flowing. a drive on 580 is not a problem. we'll focus on some areas for the morning commute that do have some issues. >>> welcome back at 4:54. the iowa caucus is just one week away. now ron paul is leading in the polls. but it's been a very volatile race. today in the bay's brian mooar reports from washington, d.c. where a lot can happen in seven days, especially the last seven days. >> reporter: one week before the iowa caucuses, ron paul is leading the gop presidential pack, but it's still anyone's race. >> usually the iowa caucuses aren't completely defined until very close to this the end. >> reporter: while rick santorum is hunting for votes. >> not electing someone to cast votes. you're electing a leader. >> reporter: michele bachmann is getting ready to hit all of iowa's 99 counties. rick perry released a new attack ad. but it's aimed at washington. >> let them get a job like everybody els

just five days before the iowa caucuses. a new cnn time orc poll shows rick santorum's political fortunes rising while support for newt gingrich is falling. mitt romney leads the poll 25% of likely caucus goers say they support him. he's followed by ron paul at 22%. rick santorum is now third with 16%. newt gingrich is at 14%. >>> michele bachmann is on the campaign trail in des moines right now, a day after one of her high profile advisers defected. bachmann is likely to face questions about the decision by state senator ken sorenson to jump ship and throw his support behind ron paul. we're keying an eye on bachmann's media event and we'll take you there live for some of the q and a session. >>> he may be the front-runner but mitt romney isn't predicting how he will do in the iowa caucuses. he started the day in cedar falls talking about the job and the economy. speaking with wolf blitzer he responded to kplats from newt gingrich about attack ads. >> i don't know why he's so angry. look, this is a campaign about the things

the iowa caucuses. >> probably everybody up here could probably beat obama. >> it was the final debate before the iowa caucuses. each showed a sense of urgency that the clock is running out. >> we are going to reform right now. >> reporter: mitt romney got through a dozen debates largely unscathed, by focusing on president obama. he is no longer in the lead but tried that strategy again. >> how did you do when you were running general motors as president? >> i believe to create jobs it helps to have created jobs. >> newt gingrich wants to ride the front-runner momentum strait to the caucuses january 3. his record as a conservative has come under fire by colleagues in the house and conservative pundits. >> it's sort of laughable to suggest that some one that campaigned with ronald reagan and jack kemp and 30 year record of conservatism is some how not a conservative. >> reporter: gingrich was the focus of attacked from second tier candidates like michele bachmann. both would love to steal conservative su

who have secretly been trying to kill the iowa caucuses for years. but they make the claim if ron paul wins iowa, this is the beginning of the end of iowa. >> there are people, serious people in the republican party and probably some in the democratic party out here who have been saying exactly the same thing to me this week. >> susan, you agree with that? >> you wanted it short. >> so bachmann wins the ames straw poll and ron paul wins the iowa caucuses can -- >> the one-two punch, that is devastating to our friends in the iowa republican and democratic parties. hey, i like des moines. i like eastern iowa. i like sioux city. and you guys found out, right, john, they have pretty good m mexico food in sioux city? >> the best taco. >> it's a hidden gem of iowa. susan page, john heilemann. thank you both. >>> coming up, is 2012 a year that we're going to see a serious independent run for the presidency, like '68, like '92? it could happen and it could tilt the balance to one of the major party candidates. that's ahead. you're watching "hardball," only o

they found the body of the check. >>> squaring off for the final time before the iowa caucuses. we have a look back a ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [ female announcer ] light up your season with a brighter, whiter smile. with cst 3d white professional effec whitestrips. it penetrates below the enamel surface to whiten asas well as a $500 d dentist treatment. the secret's in the strip. for a smile that's sure to stand out. crest 3d white professional effects whitestrips. use these products together for a whiter smile in 1 day. life opens up when you do. >> authorities are still searching for a missing boater. the coast guard says two men from them after their boat capsized and 6:30 bus night. will was pulled to safety. a man is still missing. >> they recovered the body of a missing worker. he was found yesterday afternoon in a reservoir in montgomery county. he disappeared december 7. an autopsy is being determined to determine this. >> mn charge of trying to assassinate president obama is in court this morning. he is accused of using an assault rifle to fire shots at the white house. a prelim

one week from today tune in for the iowa caucuses. america's choice 2012 is our live coverage of the iowa caucuses beginning tuesday night january 3rd at 7:00 p.m. eastern. >>> let's turn our attention to international news now. we have a team of correspondents fanned out across the middle east. a group of fact finders from the arab league is now on the ground in syria. they're in the city of homs among other places to see if the government has ended its crackdown on protesters. before the group arrived, our sources in homs say that military forces left their positions. this is to comply with an arab league demand that the military withdraw from city centers. thousands of protesters rallied against the regime. take a look at some of these images from homs today. so, still some violence and just today an opposition group reports four people dead in homs. 13 total throughout the country. mohammed is monitoring the story. we have. >>> been allowed back into syria. i have to ask you about these witnesses saying the military was seen withd

our coverage of the iowa caucuses january 3rd begins at 7:00 p.m. eastern. >>> a reversal of fortune. the wealthiest county in one state now seeing a growing demand for foot stamps. >>> and the body of kim jong-il on display amid the concerns of north korea's iron fisted communist regime. >>> where the body of kim jong-il is on display for the world to see just days of his death. his son and successor, kim jong eun, appeared on state television in front of his father's glass coffin to express deep condolences. a closer look at the reclusive country. >> reporter: 150,000 north koreans crowd into the world's largest stadium for the spectacular mass games. is it propaganda or a generuine display of devotion? either way, this annual event honors the dear leader and his father. this level of dedication was illustrated again on the street of the capital pyonyang, this time, as they mourned their leader's death. >> everything in the north korean media is really staged. so, i have no doubt that the people we see crying in these videos have been carefully se