trump, he saw, we all what happened to donald trump for a couple of weeks. the moment that he both disgraced himself by talking about birtherism, but in the opening couple of weeks, made himself a skyrocket, rocketed to the top of consideration among this, the folks on the far right. perry sees that as an opportunity. look, they understand very well that mitt romney has topped out, they believe, around 25, 30%. all they have to do is coalesce other folks around him. and those folks, those most active constituents who are going to show up at the caucuses in iowa, who are going to show up in south carolina, are exactly the people who still think that obama is the other, and who still think that, as extraordinary as this may seem, you go out there and talk to folks, that donald trump is a kind of sage and expert who will talk directly to people. i know! talk directly to people and say the truth. >> okay. i mean, when i went to new york the first couple of times, and i still do this as an out-of-towner, i do look up at the tall buildings, but i realize people in

herman cain to the top almost, and it's propelled even donald trump to the top for a couple weeks there. this is a very volatile crowd. here's reporters asking governor christie if his calls for him to run said something about the republican field for 2012 without him. and it is now without him. let's get his answer to that. here's what he had to say. >> i don't think it says anything, particularly, about the field. i'd like to think it says something about me. and, you know, there are folks who feel like what we've done here in new jersey in a blue state, in bringing people together and getting things done, is something that they like to see in the country. and i think that's what it was really all about, john. it wasn't my charming good looks, you know that. so i think it's the accomplishments that we have here in new jersey that made people excited that maybe divided government could work, maybe, you know, leading in a very bold and direct way could forge compromise. >> astounding thing here. i'm thinking of the hustler and those two guys, jackie gleason against paul newman, i'm thin

if you can't switch from this guy to the next donald trump or michele bachmann, because there's none left, don't you get stuck holding this guy as your candidate against mitt romney? >> well, look, the roller-coaster ride isn't necessarily over yet, chris. we've had rides up and down and i think there'll be several more twists and humps to go up and down and over in this race. so i don't accept what you say, that cain is the last man stand standing as the alternative to romney. he is the one at the moment attracting the most attention and getting quite a ride, but we've seen too many times this cycle somebody rise up and rise down and in the case of perry, possibly make an effort to come back. so, enjoy the ride. >> gene, remember the old ghandi, which is, first they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they attack you, then you win. that's what happened to ghandi. here's karl rove proving that he's at the attack speed here. here he is going after this guy, cain, on fox news brought out his whiteboard to list all the reasons why cain isn't up to being president of the united stat

only until donald trump again stated that perry's original remarks were, quote, good for him, in the republican primary just a few hours later. good for him. thanks, donald. >>> up next, how's this for a profile in courage. rick perry plans to duck debates. again, how's he going to debate obama if he can't debate romney? you're watching "hardball," only you're watching "hardball," only on msnbc. building one of the biggest natural gas projects in the world. enough power for a city the size of singapore for 50 years. what's it going to do to the planet? natural gas is the cleanest conventional fuel there is. we've got to be smart about this. it's a smart way to go. ♪ you noticed! these clothes are too big, so i'm donating them. how'd you do it? eating right, whole grain. [ female announcer ] people who choose more whole grain tend to weigh less than those who don't. multigrain cheerios... five whole grains, 110 calories. multigrain cheerios... or creates another laptop bag or hires another employee, it's not just good for business. it's good for the entire community. at bank of amer

only until donald trump again stated that perry's original remarks were, quote, good for him, in the republican primary just a few hours later. good for him. thanks, donald. >>> up next, how's this for a profile in courage. rick perry plans to duck debates. again, how's he going to debate obama if he can't debate romney? you're watching "hardball," only on msnbc. americans are always ready to work hard for a better future. since ameriprise financial was founded back in 1894, they've been committed to putting clients first. helping generations through tough times. good times. never taking a bailout. there when you need them. helping millions of americans over the centuries. the strength of a global financial leader. the heart of a one-to-one relationship. together for your future. ♪ >>> i'm hampton pearson with your cnbc market wrap. a massive rally losing steam in the final hour of trading. the dow jones industrial soared 339 points to finish well above the 12,000 point benchmark. the s&p 500 jumping 42. the nasdaq surging 87 points. a deal on greek debt, strong corporate earnings,

only until donald trump again stated that perry's original remarks were, quote, good for him, in the republican primary just a few hours later. good for him. thanks, donald. >>> up next, how's this for a profile in courage. rick perry plans to duck debates. again, how's he going to debate obama if he can't debate romney? you're watching "hardball," only on msnbc. let me tell you about a very important phone call i made. when i got my medicare card, i realized i needed an aarp... medicare supplement insurance card, too. medicare is one of the great things about turning 65, but it doesn't cover everything. in fact, it only pays up to 80% of your part b expenses. if you're already on or eligible for medicare, call now to find out how an aarp... medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company, helps cover some of the medical expenses... not paid by medicare part b. that can save you from paying up to thousands of dollars... out of your own pocket. these are the only medicare supplement insurance plans... exclusively endorsed by aarp. when you call now, y

i was having fun with donald trump. you know, lighten up a little bit. >> you have no doubt that he's an american citizen? >> i have no doubt about it. but here's the more interesting thing. let's lay out our income taxes, let's lay out our college transcripts. mine has been on the front page of the paper. >> so let's all call each other illegal immigrants and have a yuk about it. mr. brown, mayor? what do you make of that defense which was all just in fun? >> well, that's typical of rick perry. rick perry is not ready for primetime, chris. he literally is a fellow texan who should have remained in texas in every way, because his thought processes are pretty much restricted to that state, and under those circumstances he can't make the presidency period. >> why would they buy his act, which seems like buffoonery on issues of importance like secession from the union and saying we don't need the voting rights act in the south and we should never have had the constitutional justification for the civil rights act and then h

first it was donald trump. then um balkman and rick perry and now it's herman cane who's leading in the polls as the darling of the right. but the one constant has been mitt romney hanging around as the republicans mr. right now, if not it's mr. right. romney clobbers mr. obama in our new poll in new hampshire and is neck and neck with him in iowa, two states obama won in 2008. if obama's going to beat romney and win re-election to his second term in these very challenging times, he can't totally blame bush. he can't focus on the past. he's going to have to make a case for the future. can he do it? that's where we start tonight. plus, we've been talking about it for days here on "hardball," and now it's gone mainstream. can the democrats embrace the occupy wall street protesters? should they? if they jump in, as one person pointed out, what happens if the protesters start throwing garbage cans through the windows or worse? also, the president's jobs bill. we know it won't get 60 votes tonight to overcome a fili

past examples include donald trump, michele bachmann, and rick perry most recently. between august and october, rick perry lost 22 percentage points while herman cain took it away from him. has cain got the staying power? what is his game plan for actually winning the nomination? we've got an expert here, right now, michael steele, an msnbc political analyst, and of course, the former rnc chair, and another expert, who's independent, and a great journalist, of course, howard fineman, editorial director for "huffington post." michael, i want you to start on the inside and the outside for howard. he has a notebook open for this. if you look at the fact that all of this is coming pretty quickly now. we're halfway through october. november, december, and then the game's up. he has to have a plan to win the iowa caucuses, probably win or do very well, do decently well in new hampshire, and perhaps have to win by south carolina, at least compete. tell me how you would take these bulbous poll numbers and apply that and get it going on the ground in iowa to start with? >> i

he said, here he is, today after meeting donald trump, herman cain had this comment on rick perry. let's listen to this too. >> all i said was the mere fact that that word was insensitive. that's not playing the race card. i am not attacking governor perry. some people in the media want to attack him. i'm done with that issue. i really don't care about that word. they painted over it. end of story. i think it -- i accept governor perry's response on that, and i'm ready to talk about what's really important to the american people. >> so the disconnect between what mr. cain said may know before that and then what he just said there. there was a change of direction there, because between those two statements, he got this statement written from the perry campaign. "mr. cain is wrong about the perry family's quick action to eliminate the word on the rock, but is right the word written by others long ago is offensive and insensitive. that is why the perrys took quick action to cover and obscure it." i want to go back. sometimes we benefit over an argument over a fact, because maybe one s

. >> we were going on and on about donald trump last spring, michele bachmann seemed to be the anti-romney candidate. there is a taste, a desire, a craving for someone other than mitt romney. but as anyone has come up, they've fallen very quickly. >> who's going to replace him on that job? that's my point. is he the last guy on the right standing? >> we haven't had a santorum bubble yet. >> i've been logical about this. i've watched what you watch. we've saw trump do his number, watched bachmann do her run, watch perry fizzle. this guy as seceded all of them. who will secede him, who hasn't already fizzled? answer? >> i would say that the best bet would be a perry comeback, and then say, a newt gingrich rise. >> a perry comeback? >> yes. he has the money, he'll have the consultants, and -- >> did you watch him in the debate? >> oh, i think he's awful. >> "the washington post" debate, he was a groundhog. >> he can't stay awake. this man cannot stay awake past 8:00 in the evening. >> let's put perry on tv right now with herman cain. who wins the the debate? one on one? >> well, that's a real