mark: hi, i'm mark halperin. john: i'm john heilemann. with all due respect to all those other fake holidays we mention on this program, this is the one we actually celebrate. happy the only day that could make sense of that open. yes, 4-20, sports fans. outline, campaigning, looking and a lot of wrangling. the first, if you like reading and you hate hillary clinton

boy, there a book for you. clinton cash is 186 pages of information about foreign donations to the clinton foundation by peter schweizer, a republican speech writing consultant to george w. bush and fellow of the hoover institution, "the new york times" preview of the book suggested that some news outlets, have agreements with the author to follow up on his reporting. today all three issued statements clarifying their position on that matter. we'll talk about that in a second. in new hampshire hillary was asked about the book and other allegations. mark: and when she was asked about it she called it a big distraction. my question for you, this whole thing. there's a lot to say about. let's start at the top. what do you think the story, the book and how it all comes together says about hillary as a target and the news media? mark: there's nobody who will be targeted like she is. for a variety of reasons. there's going to be an iron triangle between the so-called mainstream media, conservatives who produce books and movies and other opposition research, and then republican operatives.

what you're going to have is you're going to have these books and movies produced and sort of teased out. you're going to have the mainstream press write being them, then republican operatives taking that writing and recycling it back in. very dangerous for her. incredibly unorthodox to have on one level these organizations working this way but on another level not at all. john: if you look at the statements here from the newspapers, all of them seem to be saying, we had no special arrangements to pursue anything. we had advanced copies of the book and we decided if we were going to write about the book we were going to do independent reporting. we both know that is something that a lot of news organization does. but it's true that there is because of the fact this guy is an apparently kind of partisan author, the optics of the "new york times" happily taking a partisan book, again, a guy with partisan credentials, and using that, trying to angle for advanced access to it, then using it as a springboard, nothing wrong with it.

but unusual. and it will make hillary clinton crazy. because it's the kind of thing that just feeds her worst paranoia and fear. mark: we talked about this last week. you've already seen correct the record, the group that defends hillary clinton even before she was a candidate. hillary clinton herself and her statement up in new hampshire. and all saying basically, these are old recycled stories from discredited and partisan attackers. we're going to see this cycle again and again. for all of us really, for these news organizations and for us, the proof should be in the pudding. if there's good reporting here, if there's stuff that's worth telling the public about hillary clinton, we should do it and shouldn't publish partisan screeds and shouldn't let hillary clinton and her people intimidate us from reporting the news. john: we both know there is the problem with all of this that there is a kernel of truth in her paranoia. that he does get coverage more than anyone else. john: just like king arthur, today hillary clinton convened a round table at a manufacturing

plant in new hampshire. she took a question about drug abuse. she talked a lot today, said a lot of the things she'd said in iowa. this was in fact about the newsiest thing she said all day of substance. >> there is a hidden epidemic. the drug abuse problem, whether it's pills or meth or heroin, is not as visible as 30 years ago when there were all kinds of gangs and violence. this is a quiet epidemic. and it is striking in small towns and rural areas as much as any big city. the mental health issues because i consider substance abuse part of mental health issues, is going to be a big part of my campaign because increasingly it's a big issue that people raise with me. mark: this is a big issue for her and her husband. what did we learn about hillary clinton and her campaign today through that statement and the other thing she talked about? john: we learned, first of all i think, your friend, our friend wrote a story saying the republicans were out to lunch

for not talking about this issue because it's a big issue in new hampshire. second thing is, notably, she knows what day it is today. because she criticized a whole bunch of drugs but didn't say anything about weed. she understands where the country is on that. apart from that not much news. , she's doing what she did last week. apparently they think it worked for her. mark: this is a big story in new hampshire and iowa as well. everywhere in the country. so she's smart to talk about it and it shows the advantage that she has as someone who's for additional government programs to address national problems. republicans don't talk about this issue because if you're running for president, if you don't believe in a bigger federal government to address problems it's hard to know what , to say about it. john: with the exception of chris christie who talks about it in similar ways. in a very courageous way. mark: you can talk about it in a compassionate way and say, we need leadership and nonprofit organizations and religious organizations to deal with it. she's a very comfortable turf. i think she talked to the press today, answered chatty questions, i think she wanted to

address the book and get that out of the way. but the trip today was a blueprint and her aides suggest this is going to be the way it is for a while. small events, not big rallies, and talking to voters and not talking to reporters and saying, we're talking to everyday real people, not reporters. john: matt lewis wrote a column over the weekend saying, she risks being mocked. she's not getting -- it's not the scandals that are going to bring her down. it's the mockery. do you think -- they obviously think last week worked. a lot of people thought last week did not work at all. a lot of people in the peanut gallery, not just republicans. did that work? do we think it worked for her? mark: the local coverage was good. i suspect her poll numbers improved and she's staying in a good place with the democratic party, if not the general election electorate. i'm sure her campaign team strategists are laughing at us saying it was a disaster when by their metrics it was a pretty big success. local coverage was very good. john: i think there's something in the matt lewis thing, though.

one of the things she's never had to deal with in the past i'm not saying she can't transcend it, but she's never been a figure of mockery in the way that mitt romney was a constant figure of mockery and obviously it's a new world for her. there was a lot of chortling about some of the elements of last week. i wonder how she's going to handle with that. mark: i disagree with your premise. she's been subject to a lot of mockery. john: i take it back. it's 4-20 which means, a, you're probably high as a mountain goat right now, b, you've probably had to put up with a lot of marijuana-related puns. and, c, you don't really care because of a. we're going to play it relatively straight. in a bloomberg politics national poll, 58% of people said they think pot will be legal nationwide in 20 years but 32% of people said it will never happen. 58%, that's a high number. had to get one in there. hot is currently legal in washington dc and other states. when, if ever, i ask you, will it be legal in all 50? mark: it will eventually be

legal in all 50 but you're going to see some crackdowns in the way the laws work and the way they're enforced because you've seen reports, we'll see if about them, in the states like colorado and washington. you have seen reports of problems with the widespread availability. john: we've seen a lot of money coming into those states and the tax revenue that's coming in from it. i think it's very powerful. if you think what helped gay marriage suddenly take off and become a majority issue in favor of gay marriage, young people don't think anything -- it's unremarkable, gay marriage is benign. they think the same thing about pot. pot has money on its side. which you don't have been gay marriage. states -- fiscally strapped states across the country are going to look at that pot of dough and say, i need me some of that. mark: it's been the biggest cash crop in many states and you're going to see, again, a younger breed, not just of electorate, but a younger breed of politicians doing. this i do think there will be a little bit of a pushback and a little bit of a correction in

terms of how the laws are enforced and where it's available. john: if you're going to say you're going to regulate and tax and normalize, you have to have the right public safety issues in place and that. you deal with people who are smoke or high while they're driving. it's hard to detect. how do you get the tests that work? all that stuff is infrastructure stuff. in the end, if we can deal with alcohol, we can also deal with pot and i think people will figure it out. mark: up next, what happens when new hampshire hosts almost all of the g.o.p. candidates in one weekend? it's republicans gone wild. we'll talk about it with our special guest, new hampshire republican king pin, tom rath, after the break. ♪

mark: the curbside bobble heads. the republican candidates and potential candidates for president marched on national

new hampshire this weekend and while no one made any obvious big news, there was a lot of stuff happening behind the scenes and a lot that laid the groundwork for the future. we're going to break it all down now with a republican strategist and proud new hampshirite who is joining us from new hampshire. thank you for joining us. guest: great to be here. thank you. mark: you watched a lot of this. we're going to put forward our two takeaways from the weekend. after all those speeches and all the politicking. first, one of your takeaways is that there's no frontrunner in the primary, right? guest: there's no obvious one which is a little unusual for the republican party. this close in. but i think you can make a plausible case for any one of four or five people and i think it's probably not going to change for a good long time. john: what does it mean to have a big, huge field with no obvious frontrunner? how does that change the dynamics? guest: i think it changes a lot in terms of how you put programs together. it certainly is a full

employment period for a lot of republican operatives and i think it creates new hampshire as a really populistic kind of battleground where you can really do a lot of one-on-one retail politicking. that's one way to cut through the clutter right now. mark: you're not for anybody at this point, right? just to be clear. you're not supporting any of the candidates? you're not. all right. guest: no. mark: i assumed your list of people who could run the list are jeb bush, scott walker, rand paul, christie, yes or no, rubio, yes or no? guest: christie, rubio, yeah, if he gets in i would put that. -- casing in that. mark: the traditional dynamic is somebody's' ahead. is there way for somebody to pull ahead in a meaningful way or are we going to be like this all the way through? guest: i think we'll stay in this -- certainly through the fall. unless something major happens

where someone, you know, a portion of the field collapses leaving in that bracket just one or two people. i think as long as -- we're like in the field of 64. there's too many things that can happen still. mark: one of my takeaways was about marco rubio. as good a speaker as he is, the speech he gave up in new hampshire, he did the friday night dinner speech. was actually better, even according to some of his supporters, than his announcement speech, which was pretty well received. let's listen to a little bit of that. >> the 21st century can be an american century if we want it to be. now it is up to you and i to go out and seize it. to be the party of the future. to show those who are trying to improve their lives that we are the party with the ideas and the plan to get us there. and if we do these things, then we will be able to leave for our children what americans always leave for their children, the single greatest nation in the history of all man kind. mark: there's a flavor of just how good he was. how far can a guy with a good speech, how far can that carry him?

guest: it can get him pretty far. but beyond the stump speech, what he talks about, he projects a commitment, if i can use an old term in authenticity, quite beyond the stylistic part of what he does, the way he does it and the way people react to it is very genuine. and beyond the rhetoric, there's a comfort level that he develops, that's impressive. and he comes across as really to serve but not trying to grasp. i think that's a good thing. john: if you put aside what rubio is saying and put aside in terms of policy or substance you put aside his communications skills. you have a basic thrust of his campaign which is generational. he's very explicit about that. he's saying to people, jeb bush is a bad candidate to run against hillary clinton, we must look like the future, i look like the future, get behind me. is that an argument that cuts ice in new hampshire?

guest: i don't think he necessarily says jeb bush is a bad candidate. john: no? he looks like the past. john: he says, it's time to make a generational change. i don't think he names names. generational change. our party is ready for it. i think we need to talk about where our party goes and what the future is. and especially where, frankly, the democrats are likely to run someone of another generation who is significantly older and been part of the public scene for a lot longer. mark: one of your takeaways is about john kasich. john: he made some moves last week to move closer to running. he moved even closer up at the event you were at in new hampshire. we're going to listen to that right now. this is what he had to say in new hampshire. kind of tipped his hand a little bit. >> at the end of the day, if i feel this is my call, i will come back again and again and again and in the meantime i'm not going to change my message.

so i think about me, would you? don't commit too soon. let us all have a chance to breathe and get out and you know what i really look forward to? being out in your homes again. letting you get to know me and me. john: i think we have a sense that kasich is getting closer to running. he's making moves. it says to me that this establishment bracket, there's a big crowd in the anti-establishment grassroots bracket, the establishment bracket has been a little bit more limited. this gives you an idea of the competition. what do you think about that? talk about both the establishment bracket, number one, and more specifically about john kasich. we all know a lot of people who think john kasich could be a real player in this if he gets in. guest: i think it's filling up.

the center right bracket. that's part of the party that usually the nominee comes from and it's the part of the party that usually does well in new hampshire, particularly in the year in which a lot of independents are going to take the republican ballots. i think kasich is one of the most interesting fellows coming out of this weekend. your reference to what hillary clinton talks about, about mental health and drug addiction, he talks about those things too. he talks about them in a very human, personal way. i think he expands the dialogue. he'd make a great edition to this field. mark: another takeaway is that hillary clinton is serving to unite the republican field. let's listen to lindsey graham on that. >> at the edge of the day, folks, the republican party's got a chance of a lifetime. if she wins, when are we ever going to win again? if it's not me, for god sake pick somebody who can win. mark: while there's some republicans who think she'll be easy to beat, most people up in new hampshire i talked to think she'll be formidable as a

fundraiser and because the electoral college. doesn't that help people who can make an electability argument more like a bush or kasich than it does somebody like a cruz? guest: i think you're exactly right. i call in the game of 270. somebody's going to have to make the argument about how do you get to 270 electoral votes? how do you get votes that we've been losing, states that we've been losing into the republican column? somebody from ohio, somebody from pennsylvania, some of those places where we need to get those states to move our way. i think they have a good chance. i think because hillary clinton is so firmly established as the democratic nominee, she's going to really crystallize that question of electability and make it absolutely central to the republican debate. john: republicans in new hampshire spent a lot of time attacking hillary clinton. do you think there's risk the party will spend too much time focused on her before it has its own nominee? guest: it's a funny time up

here. you don't want to be too negative. you want to talk about what you can do. but you don't know whether it makes sense to continue to go after president obama, whose star is in the descent, or go after hillary clinton. somebody will be able to marry those two things so we're running against what's in place. this is going to be a change election and hillary clinton cannot be allowed to represent change. mark: i think the smarter attacks are the ones that don't go after her personally. also, a guy who i rated in my report cards as one of the best four or five of the weekend, which was rand paul. john: we saw rand paul do his announcement tour, his announce. speech, then gave his tour. his tour did not go all that well. there were various moments where he had problems with the press and various other things. now he's back on the stump again. let's take a look at that. i will tell you why i think it mattered. >> so often we pick politicians who all look-a-like. they all sound alike. they all dress alike. and guess what? nothing ever changes.

government gets bigger and bigger and bigger. so we ask ourselves, we have a decision now, we need to find someone who is going to represent us, someone who is going to be the leader of the republican party and make the country a better place. how are we going to get that? some in our party say, well, let's just dilute the message, let's become democrat-lite and then we'll get more votes. i couldn't disagree more. i think what we need to do is be boldly for what we are for. john: i want to ask but rand -- you about rand paul. he gave that speech up there. thunderous standing ovation at the end. do you think rand paul is a for real candidate in new hampshire? guest: i think he's a for real candidate and i think he'll be competitive in new hampshire. his biggest concern in new hampshire is an odd one. he has to demonstrate to people first he's not his father. the core of support that he starts with comes from that

which he inherits but he's different than his father. he has different perspectives and he has different outlooks. he's got to be able to hold onto that support and grow it as he defines himself better. sooner or later, he can't be rand paul, son of ron paul, he's got to be rand paul himself. that's a process that's still very much ongoing. mark: my last takeaway, jeb bush, to me he was clearly the most presidential, very strong performance throughout the weekend. and yet he's not convincing people. so my takeaway is, jeb bush is going to have to spend a lot of time now, i don't know that his game is going to get better than it is now, he's going to have to win people over through time rather than elevated performance. guest: i thought -- i saw him three times in 24 hours. i thought he was terrific each time. the more time he spends on the ground here the better. mark: he's terrific but not changing minds this weekend. didn't blow people away, as strong as he was. that's a lot of work. thanks for coming in. we'll talk to you again soon.

keep everything warm up there until we get back. up next, our favorite strategist who wants to be a judge on tv. what? it's real. sort of. after this. ♪

john: we love james carville. whenever we talk too long our control room plays this to shut us up. apparently james, or should we say justice james, is craving some more tv time too. he shot a pilot for a show called "carville's court.” basically the cajun incarnation of judge judy. we found the promo full of life lessons. in case the show never makes air, we put together a clip reel of him doling out wisdom for pretty much any situation you can think of. >> i'll let you have it for $1.98.

>> that's a lot of dough. >> losing money, you can make money back. you lose a friend, that's something gone. that's something precious. thank god nobody really got hurt. >> in years past, finally here we are. saying i do. the way it should be. >> i would urge you to meet her more than half way. >> has the saudi government indicated to the white house of the united states any plans to start ground operations in yemen? is that something that the white house would support? >> there's an old expression, if you see a turtle on a fence post, the one thing you can assume is it didn't get there by itself. i done decided. case dismissed. john: we'll be right back with terrific news about one of the greatest knicks of all time. ♪

john: big news. our white house correspondent's dinner coverage this saturday will feature new york knicks legend and fashion icon, walt "clyde" frazier.

pimm: hello. i'm pimm fox and this is what i'm taking stock of on this monday. it is crunch time for greece. greek prime minister today ordered local governments to move their funds to the central bank. tsipras needs the cash for salaries, pensions and a repayment to the international monetary fund. and i.b.m. reports earnings and beats first quarter profit and sales estimates. though those estimates were lowered following comments by chief executive in october that i.b.m. would fall short of its profit goal. and google came close to buying tesla. this is the revelation from a new book from bloomberg news' own ashley advance. in 2013 tesla was on the verge of bankr