roosevelt right now, but i do think there's a real message that can be gotten from teddy roosevelt because really what teddy roosevelt had to fight after decades of being laissez-faire, arguing that the government had a role in equality, the robber barrons, the trust that we're developing, he had to persuade them, the threshold argument he had to persuade them in order to regulate corporations and do the antitrust and do food and drug and get child labor laws through, and in a certain sense obama today facing similar kind of turmoil, the squeezing of the middle class, giant mergers, antitrust problems, very big situation between the inequality of the rich and the poor, has to re-persuade america, that government, all of us, have a role to work on together. if he can't do that, then none of the programs he'll argue for will have any real legitimate >> i do you think the republican party is as bad now in terms of being owned by wall street as the republican party that teddy roosevelt inherited and warned against? >> well, the incredible thing is you think about here we are 100 years ago and

roosevelt right now, but i do think there's a real message that can be gotten from teddy roosevelt, because really what teddy roosevelt had to fight after decades of laissez faire, to argue the government had a role in th mammoth mergers, the trust you're developing. that was the threshold argument to persuade them to incorporate corporations. in a certain sense, obama today facing squeezing of the middle class, giant mergers, antitrust problems, the inequality of rich and poor, has to repersuade america, government, all of u have a role to work on these together. if we don't do that, the programs he argues for aren't going to have real legitimacy. >> do you think the republican party is as bad now, being owned by wall street, as the republican party teddy roosevelt inherited? >> the incredible think, you think about, here we are 100 years ago and roosevelt had to fight a party. you had guys represents the sugar trust, representing the copper trust. they'd be called the senator from maine is the copper trust guy, the senator from virginia is the railroad guy. it's much more blatant

in 1910, teddy roosevelt was making an anti-citizens united speech. he called for an income tax, he called for an estate tax, inheritance tax, called for an investigation into the financial system to stop financial panics. and teddy roosevelt was actually called a socialist for saying all of that. if our political institutions were perfect, he said, they would absolutely prevent the political domination of money in any part of our affairs. of course, they called him a communist for that. teddy roosevelt, a republican president, gave that speech in 1910, about a year after leaving the white house. president obama reiterated those populist themes today. there's no tape of roosevelt's kansas speech. give me a break, it was 1910. but if you want to imagine teddy roosevelt giving that speech today, if you want to imagine what it would sound like to hear it today, you might want to imagine it being given with the aid of a people's mike. joining us here in washington, is democratic senator sherrod brown of the great state of ohio. senator brown, thank you fo

. >> president obama cnnels his inner teddy roosevelt and gives us a pview of his 2012 campaign. secretary of althnd h human seices overrules theda onn the after-r-sex appeal for young girls. if you are a republican money to be president, why must you seek the blessing of donald trump? >> a great honoror to have newt gingrich up there. amazing howow welhe is doing. captioned the national captioning institute --www.w.ncic.org-- >> lets start by acknowledging that poles cannot predict the future, esciallyn places like iowa and new hampshire. however, i feel compelled to notehat accordi to a recent poll, newt gingrich has double- digit leads over mitt romney in flororida, pennsylvania, and ohio. he is well ahead of romney in iowa and getting closer in new hampshire and with out in front in south carolina. this is making a lot of democrats -- but happiss. they might want to be careful what they wish for. it has some mainstream republicans riddled with anxie but newt gingrich says he will take a high road a matter what anybody says about him. >> i am going to stay positive. i am going

teddy roosevelt talked about busting monopolies. he was called, as the president said in his speech, a socialist, a communist, and then turned out to be a hero, because in busting those monopolies, he created jobs for the american people. the president today laid out a roadmap and asked us, are we prepared and willing to sacrifice to get a better education, better opportunities for jobs and infrastructure, for the american people? by saying to those top 1%, many of whom are in agreement, but they have been taken hostage, themselves, by the republicans who use them as pawns to keep bush tax cuts that have done nothing to create jobs but only diminish the american people's opportunity for their genius and their job opportunities to grow. so the game is on. i will not in any way accept an extension of the bush tax cuts or a permanency of the bush tax cuts. we've got the payroll tax ready to go to save 160 million people over $300,000 and we have the unemployment insurance ready to go to invest in the american economy. >> congresswoman

teddy roosevelt talk about income inequality. what does it tell you? >> does this is what he will run on, leaving out of philosophical differences between barack obama and his republican opponents. i don't think it was an economic speech that he gave, because there were few economic prescriptions, but he did discuss -- he put into perspective how we got here. the question of collective amnesia about our past, and what we had to do as a country to get to where we are is completely different ball what you would get from, say, paul ryan. >> charles, i read your column. you said he was not channeling teddy roosevelt as much as hugo chavez. >> yes, he talked about how we got here. except that he left out a critical three years -- his presidency. it is as if it did not exist, that we jumped from 2008 until today. this speech was intended to say everything that happened in the past three years have nothing to do with my administration of or policies -- economic stagnation, high unemployment -- it is a result of the malice of the rich. he talked about that at

he will mention teddy roosevelt. he delivered an important speech there and that's why the president has selected this site. we want to welcome our viewers here. we have special coverage. i'm wolf blitzer along with gloria borger and jessica yellen is standing by. set the scene for us. what's the theory behind this address in kansas for the president today? >> reporter: this is the opportunity for the president and the white house to set the stage for the kind of economic message the president wants to define the campaign around and the economic themes going forward. he has, for many months, through the debt talks and even going back to his campaign in 2008, to some extent talked about opportunities in america. but we have increasingly heard about democratic party, the democratic base in particular, economic wealth in this country and the problems on the haves and have-nots and the shrinking middle class. for the president, this is a time and place for him to talk about what he believes are the right values as a nati

two, channeling teddy. >> in 1910, teddy roosevelt came here and he laid out his vision for what he called a new nationalism. our country, he said, means nothing unless it means the triumph of a real democracy, of an economic system under which each man shall be guaranteed the opportunity to show that th >> president obama gave a major speech in the heartland this week. in kansas, same town where in 1910 teddy roosevelt called for a new nationalism against cartels and against roosevelt's new nationalism was labeled a "square deal." >> now for this roosevelt was called a radical, a socialist [laughter] even a communist. but today we are a richer nation and a stronger democracy because of what he fought for in his last campaign. and he 8 hour workday and minimum wage for women. [applause] insurance for the unemployed. and for the elderly. and those with disabilities. political reform. and progressive income tax. >> question, did president obama sound more like teddy roosevelt or hugo chavez? >> oh, my. >> socialist. >> he was no longer president, running against for president and he lost. so

roosevelt and then he compared himself 101 years ago, teddy roosevelt -- >> bob: that is not comparing yourself to rose volt. >> andrea: in the same spot that roosevelt stood? >> bob: how many times have they said so many years ago lincoln said something here in gettysburg. are you kidding me? are you kidding me >> eric: are you mad? >> bob: i think it's so silly and ridiculous, it's below you people. below you. >> greg: all right, all right. >> dana: how is that not a comparison? >> bob: when he says what? did george bush cite another president in a speech? did he cite another president? >> dana: of course. >> bob: good. >> dana: but he didn't say he was called a liar and warmonger just like me, which is the sub text. >> bob: he didn't say just like me. >> they're analyzing whether or not the comparison is accurate because the white house wants us -- >> bob: but i mean -- >> dana: they pitched it. the white house pitched the story. they shaped this story. they're the ones who want to us make the teddy rose vent comparison and they work hard to make sure nerve the papers did that. >> g

obama's proposals to those that teddy roosevelt was pushing? lou dobbs joins us with his take. >>> a former school official in philadelphia, the superintendent, she was, is now under heavy fire after she filed for unemployment when she had just collected almost a million dollars in a contract buyout. that's taxpayers dollars, folks. her case, just ahead. >>> and country singer mindy mccreedy facing a judge after police found her hiding in a closet with her five-year-old son. could she face charges? we'll have a live report, after this break. ♪ the weather outside is frightful ♪ ♪ but the fire is so delightful ♪ nothing melts away the cold like a hot, delicious bowl of chicken noodle soup from campbell's. ♪ let it snow, let it snow megyn: president obama attempting to follow in footsteps of theodore roosevelt, as we reported moments ago he will deliver a speech on the economy tomorrow in the very same kansas town where president roosevelt delivered the new nationalism address 101 years ago. teddy roosevelt's speech drew strong praise,

"meet the press" he go the teddy roosevelt route. what was behind this. >> this sort of the campaign took over the speech in many ways. the white house won't fully admit that but they do in talking to aides in the last couple of days, they have pushing the idea that this is -- this speech that they say will look back on it and say this was the first major speech of the re-election campaign. this is the cornerstone of the message he's going to have. one of the challenges of this white house, the campaign team has this is trying to figure out what are we running on? you know, what are we running on? is it just simply we're not the republicans and, you know, what is the core message and so they've been -- look, he's been tiptoeing around this, this sort of populism hasn't been something he's worn comfortably but have been looking for a way of wrapping this idea of making the case not just against the republicans but making the case for government in a way that they think they can win it. and so what i think was interesting about the spe

. >> teddy roosevelt came here and he laid out his vision for what he got a new nationalism. for this he was called a radical, he was called a socialist, even a communist. >> in his kansas speech this week, the president says his political opponents have been on the wrong side of history for a century. >> philosophy is simple -- we are very often -- better off when people fend for themselves and play by their own rules. i am here to say they are wrong. >> robert reich, bill clinton that is secretary of labor, said it was the most important economic speech of obama's presidency. the president said the future of the middle-class is the defining issue because what is at stake is whether this is a country where the working people can't -- it can earn enough, save, and have retirement. roosevelt spoke about income inequality. what does it tell you? >> it lays out a philosophical differences between barack obama and his republican opponents. i don't think it is an economic speech that he gave, because there were few economic prescriptions. but he did discuss -- he put into perspect

president obama today trying to invoke teddy roosevelt as he supervises the largest bank and health care insurance companies in history. >> this isn't about class warfare. this is about the nation's welfare. in the final years of his life, roosevelt took that same message all across this country, believing that no matter where he went, no matter who he was talking, everybody would benefit from a country in which everyone gets a fair chance. >> right in line with the pro wrestling screenplay, republicans spent the day slamming the democrats' so-called compromise attempts on the payroll tax extension. >> this was nothing more than another bill designed to fail, so democrats can have another week of fun and games on the senate floor while tens of millions of working americans go another week wondering whether they're going to the see a smaller paycheck at the end of the year. >> all right. luke russert's here to educate me once again, as to what the heck is actually going on here. luke, when it comes to the power dynamic between these two parties, as we approach the end of the year, what is

you can argue what phase of teddy roosevelt's career it was, but it was vintage teddy roosevelt speech. you talk to republicans-- john mccain, whoever else it is-- teddy roosevelt of his hero. it was a very adroit approach to what i call rhetorical grave robbing, taking the words of the other party and saying them on their behalf. the republicans time and again have-- president obama has done it on ronald reagan, invoking ronald reagan's words. i think it makes sense. the republicans have given him enormous running room in this. i disagree with david that there is education. there's no question we are in a global economy. it's an information economy. it's wrenching. it's, it's discouraging to a lot of americans. and i think the president lays out an approach to remedy it. but these are uncertain times, and i think we're looking for a certain-- >> mark alluded to what i think opens up the way for potentially interesting debate, which is late roosevelt versus early roosevelt. as mark 60ed, there were phases to the guy. the early roosevelt, the one people like me who like, is a britain ma

abroad was the the new deal out of the great depression but teddy roosevelt who brought us the square deal and you know he was president from one thousand one in one thousand eight and then ran for president again as in the bull moose party as a progressive and the present the united states that i was calling out the republican teddy roosevelt theodore roosevelt and saying that that was an example of how the one percent was beaten back one hundred years ago and how we can do the same today in fact president obama even went on to say that the ideology of the one percent today is one of the things that's destroying america he was one of the first speeches frankly that has ever been given by at least by a president well here's here's the next clip. a certain crowd in washington who for the last few decades have said let's respond to this economic challenge with the same old to the market will take care of everything that sells and that theory fits well on a bumper sticker. but here is the problem. it doesn't work. it has never worked it didn't work when it was tried in the decade before

tamron hall coming up on news nation, channelling teddy roosevelt. in just a few minutes president obama will deliver a major speech on economy. he's speaking from the same small town in kansas in which theodore roosevelt delivered his famous new nationalism speech more than 100 years ago. the white house said it's remarkable how the conditions then parallel what we are seeing today as middle class americans are being squeezed and they say shut out by wealthy corporations. our news nation political panel including michael smirkanish of the "washington post" and coryn booth will join me. >> with newt gingrich now rising in the polls, some establishment republicans are wondering whether mitt romney has misplayed his hand. joining me now from washington, ben weber a form member of congress and special adviser to the romney campaign. hey, ben, thanks so much for joining us. >> congratulations on the new initiative in israel. >> well, thank you very much. exciting to be here. but back home, newt gingrich is now ahead in both iowa and south carolina. there

i have another room upstairs where teddy roosevelt is housed. it allows you to be surrounded by the things my husband and i have loved all our lives. >> who do you think is the most inspirational president? >> i'm not sure i know. i think it depends so much on the time. there's no question, if you look at the -- if you look at the human being that abraham lincoln was, he's the most inspirational. of all the presidents i've lived with, six years living with franklin, ten years with lincoln, another six years with jfk, and now i'm into my seventh year with teddy roosevelt. nobody compares as a human being to abraham lincoln. i felt if i could understand him i would be a better person, because he was so willing to forgive past hurts. he was willing to surround himself with people who could argue with him. and he just had a set of emotional strengths that i think no other president quite has had. >> so let's get to president obama. where do you think, if you can look at the historical night in 2008, when he was elected, grant park, chicago, where do

man: the key to teddy roosevelt's leadership was his passion, his audacity, the fact that he was an inspiring public speaker and enjoyed leading the country. he was a person who turned the country in a different direction where conservation was concerned. coyote: in the spring of 1903, theodore roosevelt once again boarded a train headed west, and on april 8, he steed off at the northern pacific railroad terminal just outside of yellowstone national park. he was no longer the scrawny and inexperienced easterner cowboys had laughed at and called "four-eyes" 20 years earlier. he was a national hero the leader of the rough riders in the war with spain, a former governor of new york state, president william mckinley's running mate in 1900 and now, following mckinley's assassination in 1901, the youngest president in united states history. man: the president unites in himself powers and qualities that rarely go together... the qualities of a man of action with those of a scholar and writer... the instincts and accomplishments of the best breeding and culture with the broadest democratic sympathies

he's speaking in the same town where teddy roosevelt delivered his new century speech. we'll have michele bachmann here live to react. new documents released by the justice department raising questions about whether some top department of justice officials lied to congress about the botched gun running sting "operation fast & furious." attorney general eric holder is expected to testify again this week about what he knew. now thanks to a late friday document dump by the doj we learn some at the top levels of justice knew more than they let on while testifying before congress or some of it would appear. john flannery, the former federal prosecutor for new york. gentlemen, thank you both for being here. this is a startling document dump as we call it in the law, the doj releasing internal memos and correspondence. chuck grassley the senator got involved early on and said did you let guns walk or didn't you? the doj had to respond to that. there was fierce back and forth. and the u.s. attorney for arizona and others. but how to respond to this letter? i want to talk to you

that speech that teddy roosevelt gave was when teddy roosevelt took a huge left turn to be a main stream president. >> bob: why is it it in nicky about millionaires when republicans are prostitutes for millionaires? >> dana: can you give me an example of that? >> bob: yeah. every republican that continues to say we are not voting for a payroll tax cut unless we get it paid for and we are not going to hold hostage the millionaire tax cut under bush. >> eric: what is wrong with paying for it? >> bob: pay for it by taxing millionaires. >> eric: how about the job creation? >> bob: that is a political maneuver. >> kimberly: real quick. >> eric: obama's fairness speech. 40 years ago, milton friedman gave is speech. he gave a speech about fairness. what is fair. life isn't fair, people. there is no reason one guy can hit a baseball, albert pujols, earn $20 million a year and another guy strikes out. >> kimberly: he is a great guy and does a lot for charity. >> bob: the university of chicago -- >> kimberly: here is the deal. what i love about obama, he can be different people. abraham lincoln, j

we are all americans, teddy roosevelt told them that day. our common interests are as brought as the economy. the final years of his life, he took the same message across this country. from osawatomie to new york city that no matter where he went, everybody would benefit from a country in which everyone gets a fair chance. well into our third century as a nation, we have grown and changed in many ways since roosevelt's time. the world is faster and the playing field is larger and the challenges are more complex, but what hasn't changed, what can never change are the values that got us this far. we still have a stake in each other's success. we still believe that this should be a place where you can make it if you try. we still believe in the worlds of a man who called for a new nationalism and the fundamental rule of the national life, he said. the rule which underlies all others is that on the whole and in the long run we shall go up or down together. i believe america is on the way up. thank you and god bless you. god bless the united stat