MTP Roundtabler Mike Murphy offers his insights and "Murphyisms" during last week's show. 

By: Mike Murphy 

I had breakfast in a bar this morning.  Not because I passed out in one last night, mind you.  At midnight I was pulling into a Holiday Inn in Mason City, Iowa while noting the gigantic Perry for President tour bus looming in the parking lot and hoping not to bump into the Perry entourage as I slunk into the lobby.  It’s never much fun explaining one’s old “chimp playing with a locked suitcase” debate cracks to a weary candidate who knows he is going to lose an election in three days.  Luckily for me, the Governor was nowhere to be seen in the quiet lobby.

Back to the bar.  Mason City is tidy and proud, but in the older downtown area the small and occasionally wonderful brick buildings built in boom times eighty years ago, betray empty store windows and faded signs from businesses long gone.   This is not millionaires row.

Nearby, LD’s Filling Station looks more like a small machine shop than a bar.  Filling a squat, nearly unmarked brick building with no windows and a haphazard paint job.  You find it in the morning by zeroing in on a clump of cars, mostly American, gathered in the back of a large empty concrete lot beside a few other industrial buildings.  Three grimy semi trailers, left behind by their cabs, and a pair of rusted freeway style overhead lights guard the empty remainder of the lot.

It’s warm inside.  About twenty laughing and smiling patrons fill the place. The floor is the best part, fifty plus years of machine oil, gasoline and now beer, soaked into the hard wood.  The walls are full of chrome hub cabs and an old Cadillac grille, as well as a scared battlefield between the neon signs of the local beer reps.  (At LD’s, the Bud guy has the Miller Lite and Coors guys on the run.)  A sign advertising Taco Night on Thursday; two tacos for five bucks.  A pair of dusty 90’s era video poker machines – my bet is the bartender might take a small, discrete bet on Saturday nights – sit in a lonely corner. The lighting comes from a few naked fluorescent tubes on the ceiling.

By the bar, a small sign proclaims, “Starting November 1, 2010, we will no longer accept personal checks.” Curiously, that sign was posted just before the out of state politicians started showing up after the last big elections.

LD’s breakfast clientele is a mix of old codgers and young families.  Everybody, from the two young waitresses to the numerous grandmothers wear the same Saturday morning outfit, jeans and a sweatshirt.  Several of the men wear worn caps with fold down earflaps; refreshingly, they do so without a single atom of hipster hat irony. The food, of course, is delicious.

I sit in the middle at a small table and just listen as snatches of friendly conversation float by.  The big topic is the weather.  Winter is no joke in northern Iowa.  But with the caucuses looming, snatches of political talk darts in and out of various conversations: “Santorum”, “it’s your first caucus?”, “Where is it?”  “Beat Obama”, “Bachmann, I think.  Or the other guy.  They’re church people.”  But mostly, a variation of “politics” and “same old...”

Which I think makes the vital point about the Iowa caucus we have today.  When it was first discovered back in the late 70’s, the Iowa caucus was indeed a small, folksy affair.  The big candidates ignored it, so the dark horse hopefuls – with nothing but time on their hands – came here, spent a lot of that time, got noticed and broke through with media attention from a win in what was then a little known contest.

Today, the caucus is big time politics as normal.  Tens of millions of dollars in TV ads, home telephones ringing off the hook with pollsters asking questions and politicos making pitches, mailboxes stuffed with attack fliers, highways clogged with huge, garish campaign buses, and even some TV pundit clown with a fancy laptop sitting at the corner table at LD’s staring at everybody when they’re trying to eat breakfast.

I got the feeling that the Iowans, these clever, practical people who can make a roadhouse bar lead a successful double life as a popular breakfast hangout, have the Iowa caucus of today pretty well figured out.  It’s just another big time, big money campaign, with all the noise and baloney of politics as usual.  Fine to have in the state, a good thing for Iowa, but really nothing that special or different.  It’ll be gone in a few days.  But the weather?  Now, that’s the real deal.

Mike Murphy is a Republican strategist and frequent guest on our political roundtable.

White House Senior Adviser David Plouffe had strong words for what some have called the inevitable GOP nominee, Mitt Romney. "He has no core," Plouffe said. Later adding, "you get the sense with Mitt Romney that if he thought it was good to say the sky was green and the grass was blue to win an election, he’d say it."

Plouffe is also confident in the President's chances at re-election. When I asked if President Obama would be a one-term president, Plouffe said, "Absolutely not.  We're going to win this election."

Our political roundtable discussed the state of Washington and addressed the question: Why can't Washington find a leader like Steve Jobs? We also broke down the GOP horse race including the new Des Moines Register Poll that has Herman Cain sitting atop the field with Romney in second in Iowa. Republican strategist Murphy argued that Mitt Romney is "within striking distance to do well in Iowa," and called David Plouffe's comments on Romney's character, "a step too far." 

Tom Brokaw, however, cautioned that, "What I think this poll tells us most of all is that the Republicans are still trying to find a candidate."

Watch our entire roundtable conversation on our website, plus our special Take Two conversation with author of the new biography on the late Apple CEO, Steve Jobs, Walter Isaacson; and author of the new book “The Time of Our Lives,” NBC News Special Correspondent, Tom Brokaw.

We'll be back next week. If it's Sunday, it's Meet The Press.

Gov. Bob McDonnell (R-VA )

• In a speech to Republicans this week in New Hampshire, McDonnell said, “We both really realized we made a big mistake back in 2008 because both of our states [New Hampshire and Virginia] went for President Obama. I hope you're all ready to fix that problem next year. Read The Washington Post article about McDonnell’s speech. 
• In an interview after Gov. Rick Perry’s appearance in Richmond, Virginia, McDonnell said, “I just look at the record on spending, on results, on problem-solving — he [Perry] has got as good a record as anybody in the country, and that’s what we need.” McDonnell has not formally announced who he will endorse for 2012. 
• In August, McDonnell replaced Republican presidential candidate Gov. Rick Perry as the chairman of the Republican Governors Association.
• The Hill reported that in an interview McDonnell said he would “probably” accept the vice president nomination in 2012.  Watch the interview here.
• Watch McDonnell’s last appearance on MTP.

Gov. Deval Patrick (D-MA)

• Patrick was elected Governor of Massachusetts in 2006, following now Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. 
• In The Washington Post, Patrick commented on former Gov. Mitt Romney’s health care program.  He said, “Having a strong health-support system is another piece of our infrastructure puzzle, making us an attractive destination for new businesses.”
• Last week, Patrick spoke at an event in Massachusetts on behalf of the American Jobs Act.  He said, “President Obama's plan will make a difference for our people and our economy, and I call on Congress to pass the American Jobs Act bill quickly.”
• Watch Gov. Patrick latest appearance on PRESS PASS.

Roundtable:  Murphy, Dionne, Noonan, Becerra

• In the new issue of TIME magazine, Mike Murphy writes about the two most important people in the GOP race during the next ten days.  He asks the question, “Conventional wisdom holds that Rick Perry, last week's inevitable GOP presidential nominee, is now toast. Is that correct? Or will the race offer more surprises in the weeks to come?”  Watch Murphy’s last appearance on MTP.
• EJ Dionne writes in a recent column for The Washington Post about Warren Buffet receiving criticism from conservatives.  He goes on to say, “it is common sense, not class jealousy, to ask the most fortunate to pay taxes at higher tax rates than other people do.”  Watch Dionne’s last appearance on MTP.
• In her latest column for The Wall Street Journal, Peggy Noonan writes about the outlook of the world economy, the need for leadership and the new sense of patriotism in America.  She also asks, “Are those running for president aware of the fix we're in? I'm not sure they are.”  Watch Noonan’s last appearance on MTP.
• Member of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-CA) said in a recent hearing that those who received the most benefits should be willing and ready to contribute revenue and necessary spending decisions to heal the long-term fiscal situation.  Read more about Rep. Becerra’s thoughts on the budget deficit here.

Follow these guests on Twitter

• Gov. Bob McDonnell: @Bobmcdonnell
• Gov. Deval Patrick: @MassGovernor
• Mike Murphy: @MurphyMike
• Peggy Noonan: @Peggynoonannyc
• Rep. Xavier Becerra: @RepBecerra

RNC Chair Reince Priebus & DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz

• After he was elected to chair the RNC in January of this year, the New York Times wrote this piece on Priebus. It said humility was, "a key selling point," for Mr. Priebus during his campaign to replace former RNC chair Michael Steele
• When Debbie Wasserman Schultz was elected to head the DNC, Politico described her as, "as a sharp partisan with an outspoken style."
• The New York Times cites Wasserman Schultz's years spent on the House's Democratic Campaign Committee as good preparation for her job as DNC chair where she'll have to "rally Democrats to give money and time, swatting away Republican barbs and defending President Obama at every turn." 
• The Hill reports that Priebus criticized Wasserman Schultz's reaction to the recent scandal involving Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY). The article cited this tweet. 

Fmr. Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) - Republican Presidential Candidate

• After Santorum announced his candidacy, The New York Times wrote this piece on Santorum. It said he is widely known for his strong stance on social issues despite a record of foreign policy work in the Senate. 
• The Washington Post says Santorum is offering himself "as the tried-and-true candidate conservatives can count on — like an old shoe that fits better than anything new." This article also looks at the former Senator's faith and family. 
• Santorum lost his Senate seat to Bob Casey in 2006. The Washington Post reported that when he called Casey to congratulate him, Casey said, "He talked about one thing, he talked about the future, and I appreciate that because American politics more than ever ... has to be as much about healing as it is about debates on issues." 
• In this interview with Real Clear Politics after announcing his candidacy, Santorum said he supported Paul Ryan's Medicare proposal. He also said the president handled Libya poorly, but has done a good job in Iraq.

Roundtable - Reed, Murphy, Wolffe, Strassel

• In charge of the ninth largest metropolitan area in the U.S., Atlanta mayor Kasim Reed juggles a national and a local profile. The Associated Press writes in this article that Reed wants to be a hands-on manager of local issues while simultaneously "selling the city" to the world as "the most important city in the South."
• In his latest column for Time Magazine, GOP strategist Mike Murphy said demographics could play a key role in the 2012 election. "The 2012 election is shaping up as a battle between economics and demographics. The economy is threatening to end the President's political career. The demographics of a changing America might just re-elect him," Murphy said.
  
• Richard Wolffe's best-selling book on President Obama, Revival: The Struggle for Survival Inside the Obama White House is getting an update. Publisher's Weekly is reporting that Revival 2.0: How the Obama White House Is Making Its Political Comeback was released Friday as an e-book. The report says Revival 2.0 will include, "the president’s reaction to the killing of Osama bin Laden; the inside story of the overhaul of senior White House staff; the contentious internal debate over the response to the revolutions in Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya; and the campaign strategy for the 2012 election."
• In this recent article for The Wall Street Journal, columnist Kim Strassel writes, "The stakes in 2012 are high. Mr. Obama is a sitting president. It will take a mighty GOP nominee (not to mention a lot of luck) to knock him off."

Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) - Chairman of the House Budget Committee

• Rep. Ryan released his budget, The Path to Prosperity, in April and it has come under fire from Republicans and Democrats alike. On Meet The Press last week, Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich called Ryan's Medicare plans in the budget, "too big a jump."
• In an op-ed published in the Chicago Tribune this week, Paul Ryan defended his budget saying, "Our budget makes no changes for those in or near retirement, and offers future generations a strengthened Medicare program they can count on, with guaranteed coverage options, less help for the wealthy, and more help for the poor and the sick."
• An article from the Atlantic Wire yesterday asks the question: Has the Ryan plan become the Third Rail of the GOP?
• Watch Paul Ryan's last appearance on Meet The Press from April here.
• From an earlier post of ours, check out Congressman Ryan's graphic-enhanced video where he presents his budget plan.

Roundtable - Chris Van Hollen, Andrea Mitchell, Eugene Robinson, Mike Murphy, Andrew Ross Sorkin

• In an interview with Al Hunt at the end of April, Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) said deficit reduction needs to be tackled with a, "balanced approach."
• Watch Andrea Mitchell's Nightly News piece on the aftermath of Newt Gingrich's Meet The Press appearance here. 
• The Washington Post's Eugene Robinson wrote a piece this week chronicling the "disastrous" campaign launch of Newt Gingrich.
• Mike Murphy wrote a column in Time Magazine this week about the Iowa caucuses. In a tweet, Murphy explained, "I'm very fond of Iowa, but dubious about the Caucus."
• Andrew Ross Sorkin's book about the 2008 financial collapse, Too Big to Fail, was turned in to an HBO movie set to air Monday night. Here is a Washington Post review of the film.