>> i'm john heilemann. >> and, i'm mark halperin. "with all due respect" to john travolta, stop touching my face. ♪ >> on the show tonight, money, motives and movies. but first, muslims. barack obama, not a muslim -- not that there's anything wrong with that. but, there might be something him him politically wrong now with scott walker. he says he did not know president obama is a christian. if you are keeping score at home, scott walker still does not know whether president obama loves his country or evolution is real. walker is not backing down and his fans on social media are cheering him on. john, is scott walker in a proverbial barrel or on offense

now? >> it is a tale of two cities. in the right wing world, he is on offense and he is trying to raise money off this. in the other part of the world the mainstream world, he is still in the barrel. he is trying to get out. >> republicans, meet me at this camera. i have yet to find a single republican who has worked for a winning presidential campaign who said to me what scott walker is doing is brilliant. no other republican is doing what he is doing. you can bash the media. you you can take the high road and say voters care or do not care about this, but the way he has handled it has caused him problems with some elite republicans. the press is saying it, too. >> the fundamental thing about scott walker in the invisible primary is, among elite republicans and donors, is this guy up to it as a political

performer? on paper, he looks great. can he handle the big time? right now, he is not handling the bedtime and that is bad for them. that is why he is still in the barrel. >> what happens right now in the walker campaign, they think yeah, we are on offense. we are not in the barrel and yet i guarantee there are some donors that are looking at scott walker who are saying today maybe this guy is not the best to go. >> some of those guys who met him last week in new york who were intrigued and don't know much about him except he doesn't like unions. >> it is not that they love barack obama. it's because this is not the way to win the white house back. >> they understand whether you like it or not this is the nfl. this is the major leagues. >> to scott walker's fans who attacked me and others on social media, this is not about whether you agree with scott walker. it is about whether this is smart. i can't find a republican who thinks it is. >> i attacked you on social media for no good reason. scott walker did not cause all this controversy by volunteering

his views on obama's love of country or religion. in both cases, he was asked by reporters. this raises this question -- are these questions, strictly speaking, are they fair game or, as walker would maintain and his bolsterers would say -- fair or double standard? >> they are fair in the sense that lots of republicans think the president is not christian. a lot of them think he is unpatriotic. >> some still think he is from kenya. >> there is a huge double standard and republicans who are angry about this can point to, with great justification, tons of cases where democrats do things that are embarrassing like rudy giuliani did. not every democrat in the world -- the press is obsessed with this beyond what was said. >> i don't disagree with these questions. this is a big question for the republican party. people want to know about that.

rudy giuliana was at a scott walker event. if you show up at an event and an elected official says something, you will be asked about it. that is totally legitimate. >> you are less likely to be asked about it if you are a democrat. >> you should be. >> or nobody should be asked. the standard should be the same and republicans are right. it has not been the same throughout my entire career. >> perfectly fine questions. you have to have better answers. >> jeb bush's wife doess not speaking in public, but she likes to make it rain. "the washington post" is all over her shopping spree of more than $40,000 in a single day when jeb was governor. that is a lot of bling. there was a mixed take over the weekend, but she was still poked and prodded without getting an interview. john, does team jeb need a more assertive strategy or can they just sit back? >> yes, a more aggressive strategy.

she is a cipher to a lot of people. there is fascination about her because she could be a huge asset, nobody knows much about her. and right now the stuff that is coming out as republicans are getting formed within the republican establishment is going to be colored by these kind of stories. she needs to get out and they need to paint a better picture of her. get her out in front of people. >> this is not just because jeb bush is the frontrunner and there is great interest in her. it is because a lot of donors that don't know her have questions about her staying power. it is widely known she was not hugely enthusiastic with him running. i think they don't want to be more aggressive. i don't see her out there anytime soon, but they are going to take more stories like this. it will be painful -- people knew about this story about undeclaring at customs. when that is the one thing people know, they will go digging for more. there are two truths in this

world -- lance armstrong is a dirty liar and in washington there is always a threat of a government shutdown. this week, it is because republicans are tying up funding for the department of homeland security to roll back obama's recent executive actions on immigration. as we come to a climax here at the end of this week, who is in a better position to win the showdown -- the president or the republicans in congress? >> almost certainly, the president. mitch mcconnell and john boehner does not want -- boehner made some comments to the contrary. but right now, it may go down to the wire or we may have an extension. eventually, john boehner will do what he has done in many other occasions -- let democrats hold the position. >> they cannot shut things down in the department of homeland security. every time they threatened to shut the government down, they lose. the longer they push this, the more risk they are in. if they are sensible, they will get out as soon as they can. >> sometimes republicans are blamed unfairly for shutting it down. in this case, they are arguing they need more robust homeland security.

you do not do your job in the house if you pass bills that have no chance to getting through in the senate. >> in this case, they have a perfectly fine argument. the courts are dealing with this immigration thing. let's move on and take care of the country's national security. >> it is in a big heap because the deadline is coming and they don't have a solution yet. >> i don't disagree with that. >> obviously, there is quite a bit of drama and comedy in the political world right now. it is only appropriate that last night's oscars had plenty of politics. >> it is our time to have wage equality once and for all and equal rights for women in the united states of america. [applause] >> one of the most important decisions being made affecting all of us are made in secret. we lose our ability to check the powers that control.

thank you to edward snowden. >> when i was 16, i tried to kill myself because i felt weird and different and i felt like i did not belong. now i am standing here and so i would like for this moment to be for the kid out there who feels like she is weird or different or does not fit in. yes, you do. >> this bridge was once a landmark of a divided nation. but now a symbol for change. when people are marching with our song, we want to tell you we are with you. we see you, we love you and march on. >> the ones that live in this country who are part of the latest generation of immigrants in this country -- i just pray they are going to be treated with the same dignity and respect of the ones that came before and built this incredible immigrant nation. [applause] >> immigration, voting rights,

women wages -- are these artists helping their causes? >> i respect them all. i think they have a right to say what they said. it does not bother me. some of those speeches were eloquent, some less. i think they do nothing to advance their cause is in a tangible way. that does not really bother me. i don't think that is really the point. >> they have this huge platform. as far as i can tell -- i cannot find any examples -- they would be smart to coordinate these speeches with a social media campaign, paid advertising. get other surrogates out there. they do this one thing and from the heart and yet if you don't have a coordinated with other people, it will just float away. >> i thought the one to have an actual tangible effect was the screenwriter telling his personal story. there are some young people -- that could move some human beings. the rest were whatever. >> they have all that money and sophistication -- >> they want to surprise everyone.

coming up, it is here, it is here. the invisible primary has begun. we bet you did not see it coming because it is, you know, invisible. we will check out who is ahead and who is really ahead when we come back. ♪ >> "with all due respect" is brought to you by billing, where the drive inspires you every day.

>> like a cloak bequeethed to harry potter by his father, the most important contest for the republican 2016ers is the invisible primary. the backstage sprint to the real primary. to help us find out who is winning it, we brought in a republican guru, alex castellanos, and a democrat savant, steve mcmahon. we are going to talk about this invisible primary. there was a lot of demographics. we will pick three topics. we are only grading in terms of who is in the best position to win the republican nomination in these areas, not the general election. we will keep score. we will ask for your top two picks. you will get two points and one

point will go to the people getting in second. let's start with message. alex, who you got so far? >> the most well-rounded republican candidate is scott walker. number one on message. libertarian flavor but a social conservative and an economic conservative. number two, the soul of the republican party -- ben carson. on distilled -- undistilled essence of conservatism. >> steve, go. >> my first pick is scott walker. animosity against barack obama works very well. my second pick is ted cruz for the same reason. >> i have marco rubio myself. he is young, dynamic, and hispanic. number two is jeb bush. he is talking like a general election candidate. that is a good way to go message-wise.

even in a primary. >> jeb bush like mitt romney before him is taking on the establishment of the party. in some ways, the right wings of the party and establish message always wins. number two is scott walker. he is bringing the message national. we have a mixed bag there. a lot of walkers. let's start with you and carson now. i understand you say the distilled conservative message. what really is it? what parts of the message are powerful right now? >> the moral component which is at the core of all republican primary voting. there is no competition for that. ted cruz, angry politically and too self-interested. santorum, old. there is no michele bachmann. huckabee will not pick up where he left off last year. all of that -- ben carson will get a huge ride and shape what a

lot of this republican contest is about. >> why don't neither one of you have jeb bush in your top two? >> you said primary. everything you said was in respect to the general election. jeb bush is the strongest general election nominee by far. he has got the best message. >> we are going to move on. >> you can run small. you can run for a small slice and polarize and win a primary but you can also run big. >> let's go to fundraising. we will all have jeb number one in money. who is the second-most powerful republican? >> scott walker will be the second. >> hold up your little sign for it. >> oh, sorry. whoever harnesses the power of the small donation -- walker the people really like him. >> i know you have bush number one and walker number two.

>> the real campaign will be the campaign outside the campaign that can raise unlimited money. scott walker has the koch brothers. >> maybe. >> i think you are both idiots most of the time but with this particular instance, i have scott walker number two as well. >> this is a guy, ted cruz small donors. he has a great wrasse roots base. -- grassroots base. he is going to be the king of the super pac. you will get checks that will pay your salary for 15 years. >> he is the king of the $20 checks. [indiscernible] >> funding is a waste of time if you can do grassroots and checks. that is big. >> is there enough money out there in the world for marco rubio? >> actually, there is. marco rubio is in better position than people think.

you can be right behind jeb bush. if jeb bush turns out to be a roman candle and not a rocket, marco rubio could raise all that money. >> the anti-terrorism credential candidates. number one and number two. >> number one is rubio. in the senate, unlike a lot of the governors he is competing against, he has foreign policy credentials and is passionate about it. jeb is number two. >> number one is jeb because he is a bush. all he has to do is say his foreign policy is like his father's. number two is marco rubio for the same reasons alex said. >> this might be a surprise pick -- rick santorum is number one because he is the only one with any foreign-policy credentials in the entire field. marco rubio is number two. >> i have marco rubio number one and bush number two. everybody has discussed the

reasons. let's put on the board of the total. let's see who is ahead. these are only in the three categories. >> it is on the tv right there. jeb bush -- >> jeb bush first, marco rubio second and scott walker third. does that roughly match up with your sense of who is doing well? >> the surprise is how powerful rubio is even on jeb bush's shoulders. >> if he is not on the top tier, he is pretty close. >> we could settle it right here, couldn't we? >> round up the usual suspects. >> you raised the question of internet strength. that is a big one. it has to be rand paul. >> also, scott walker. three national campaigns against the unions. >> watch out for ted cruz for all the reasons we talked about. >> one more.

12 white guys on a stage and one very smart woman. she is going to pop. >> we are not done yet. we will talk about hillary clinton and her pack of problems, including jeffrey epstein. yes, i said it. we are going there after the break. ♪

>> we are back with alex and steve. we spent the last segment reviewing republicans and now we are switching to the democrats. let's talk about the nominee in waiting hillary clinton. we will talk about her perceived weaknesses. she is giving a speech tomorrow. no message -- is that a problem that she should address and if so, how? >> can i sell her stock short? she has been in the public life for 20 years and nobody knows what she is for. >> should she address it now? >> her whole campaign is predicated not on winning, but

sucking up all the money and staff and oxygen from other campaigns. >> no rationale and message. is that going to keep her from getting the nomination? >> there is a rationale. she says the economy is not working for everybody as it should. >> she should step up tomorrow in san francisco. >> she is not a candidate yet. i don't think she should. >> meanwhile -- >> the stories are out there about the invention of the authentic hillary. it is killing her. >> you are right that the stories out there are a distraction and are hurting her. she needs to tell everyone to shut the heck up. >> we have other stories out there -- the foundation that hillary built. accepting donations from foreign government, companies that were championed by the state department while she was secretary of state. how big of a problem is that?

what should you do about it? >> bill clinton can get away with that stuff because everybody loves bill. hillary clinton cannot get away from that. she is velcro, everything sticks to her. >> it is not going to stick to her. >> should they give the money back? they probably should get the money back. >> it is too late. >> late on a friday afternoon. give it back on easter. >> she has a nice smooth path to the nomination. >> distractions are bad, let's give the money back. >> keep the money. >> new york tabloids consumed with the story about jeffrey epstein, a former associate of president clinton and now a convicted sex offender. most americans have no idea what is going on. should they touch it or ignore it? >> they should ignore it. >> would you have your team look into it? >> of course. there is evidence of the team is

already looking at it. all this stuff -- >> the "new york daily news" going with the report with the woman at the center of the accusations with jeffrey epstein. >> america wants to see bill clinton were running around the white house with nothing to do. >> hillary clinton met in secret with elizabeth warren. she got a problem on the left. how big a problem is that and what should she do? >> i don't think it is a very big problem. people in the middle think people think the last is unsure about hillary. there is hesitation on the right about jeb as well. >> she's got no message. warren is the soul of the democratic party? these campaigns start with a

little seed and they grow. give me the odds and i bet elizabeth warren will be the democratic nominee. >> is there anything you think hillary clinton should accelerate on? >> she should accelerate on telling her staff that anybody that talks to a reporter is fired. >> that has always worked well with the clinton staff. >> number two, she probably at some point should begin to think about when she is going to announce. sooner rather than later. >> one of her first high profile event tomorrow in california. it is a 25 minute speech. >> it will be a "seinfeld" event -- an event about nothing. >> should she do more tomorrow? should she show something? >> it doesn't matter. you are the presumptive democratic nominee and nobody knows what you are for? >> everybody knows what she is

for. she is for the middle class. >> she is for the middle class. >> thank you both. when we come back, a massage given to ash carter's wife that you didn't see. ♪

>> we talked a little bit about double standards today so here's a little thought experiment. everybody thought the scene of joe biden massaging ash carter's wife was a little creepy, but mostly kind of funny. what if that scene had happened in the previous decade and it was dick cheney instead? we called on science to see what it would look like and how you would react. take a look. >> i think you know how much it means to me to have you swear me in today and i thank you. [laughter] >> ok. we put that online. people have said the reaction would be much more negative if it was cheney. people would have gone crazy. >> it is a great example of a double standard. people would have gone crazy and and tried get him arrested. tomorrow, the man everybody

wants -- mitt romney's former finance chairman, spencer zwick, is going to be right here. until then, we will see you tomorrow. thank you for watching. sayonara. ♪ he's out there. there's a guy out there whose making a name for himself in a sport where your name and maybe a number are what define you. somewhere in that pack is a driver that can intimidate the intimidator. a guy that can take the king 7 and make it 8. heck. maybe even 9. make no mistake about it. they're out there. i guarantee it. welcome to the nascar xfinity series.

>> hello, i am pimm fox. this is what i'm "taking stock" of for this monday, february 23, 2015. greece and the eurozone are working towards a deal. the greek government says by that tomorrow morning it will submit a number of policies in return for some eurozone money. a greek shipping executive says they should stay in the eurozone. >> it is a political and national consideration. we are too small to be left alone in this part of the world politically. it would be a disaster in the economic sense. >> the ports of los angeles and long beach, california are now open. dockworkers returned to work after nine months of talks and a tentan