Washington Watch with Roland Martin, 01.08.12, Video Podcast

At the top of our agenda this week, the job picture gets better: 212,000 private-sector jobs added in December, [the] unemployment rate down to 8.5 percent.

Every vote counts. Romney beats Santorum by just eight votes in the Iowa caucus.

Pres. Barack Obama defies GOP senators and appoints a new head for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Our “Washington Watch” newsmakers: Labor Secretary Hilda Solis on the President’s summer jobs program and former Republican National Committee Chair Michael Steele on the strained relationship between African-Americans and Republicans.

In the “Washington Watch” roundtable, Democratic strategist and MSNBC political analyst Karen Finney; Georgetown University political scientist Dr. Chris Metzler; Robert Traynham, MSNBC political analyst; and Cornell Belcher, Democratic strategist and Obama 2012 pollster.

Also, “Essence” magazine editor-at-large Mikki Taylor on how to get that Michelle Obama swag.

All that, plus a look at Pres. Obama, “The Baby Whisperer,” in this week’s edition of “Washington Watch.”

Download the “Washington Watch with Roland Martin” Video Podcast.