mississippi. two apply go to nissan.jobs. our website, politicsnation.msnbc.com has the latest information on the companies we're featuring. we also have updates on the status of their jobs. click on "here are the jobs." we're looking forward to hearing from you. thanks for watching. i'm al sharpton. have a great weekend. "hardball" starts right now. the economy picks up. will it last? let's play "hardball." good evening. i'm chris matthews in washington. leading off tonight -- digging deeper. mitt romney now insist he's misspoke when he said he's not concerned about the very poor. if that's the case why did he defend this statement when he got challenged? to use a las vegas term, why did he double down?

so maybe mitt said it precisely what he meant. he doesn't intend to think about the worst off in this country. and isn't that a bigger political problem. plus you can just imagine how republicans hopes dropped when they heard this morning that 243,000 new jobs were created last month. 243,000. well, last month. and that the unemployment rate dropped down to 8.3%. it's good for american workers, the 8.3%, and for president obama. but the president still facing headwinds from europe perhaps, from a shutdown of mideast oil perhaps and also perhaps from a log jam in congress on the jobs front. also, another big news item today. the susan g. komen foundation decided to stop the bleeding today. the group reversed itself and decided not to cut off funding for planned parenthood. it's another big example of what a hot button issue abortion remains in this country. an israeli air strike on

iran's nuclear bomb-making facilities. the whispers are getting louder that it could happen, a strike as early as this spring. john mccain lived through that 2008 election. how much does he want to relive it by seeing the movie "game change"? not so much. check out the side show. we start with the race for nevada. mitt romney now saying he misspoke when he told cnn he wasn't concerned about the very poor. sue is a former senate candidate in nevada and a gingrich supporter and bob ehrlich is the maryland campaign chairman for mitt romney. sue, thanks for joining us again. we've got a new journal poll out now of likely caucus goers tomorrow. governor romney leads gingrich by 20 points. with santorum and paul trailing well behind. the lead is wider in the ppp poll of nevada republicans. romney up to 50%. first time he's been near that while gingrich is at 25%. sue, everybody that i talked to, the experts on this election,

know more than me. some of them that this is all about speaker gingrich getting through february. it's going to be a tough month for him. come march he can start ringing up big scores, perhaps big victories across the south where he did so well in the panhandle of florida. is that the game plan, get through february and have a march madness a month later? >> i would think that that would be the game plan. you know, here in nevada, the delegates are proportionate. so if you win, place or show, you're going to walk away with delegates. it's nice to win. but if you come in second or third you will walk away with a pocketful of delegates. >> how do you think you'll do, your candidate. looking like 25% right now. you have a large lds population in nevada. helps, obviously, governor romney. fellow mormons. that's understandable. he's got an organization out there. how is the newt gingrich organization in nevada tomorrow? >> it's -- we're a grassroots organization, to tell you the

truth, chris. you know, governor romney and congressman paul have been campaigning here for five years. and they are very, very organized. i am pleasantly surprised and happy that the speaker is coming in second in the polls because i would have thought it would have been ron paul. >> me, too. here's romney. governor romney's original statement about the poor, by the way, wednesday morning. in an interview on cnn. this is what caused him to have a pretty bad end of week. let's watch. >> i'm in this race because i care about americans. i'm not concerned about the very poor. we have a safety net there. if it needs repair, i'll fix it. i'm not concerned about the very rich. they're doing just fine. i'm concerned about the very heart of america that -- the 90%, 95% of americans who right now are struggling. >> i think there are lots of very poor americans who are struggling who would say that sounds odd. can you explain that? >> you had -- finish the sentence, sole dad. i said i'm not concerned about

the very poor that have a safety net. if it has holes in it, we'll repair it. we'll hear from the democratic party the plight of the poor. there's no question. it's not pleasant being poor and we have a safety net to help those who are poor. my campaign is focused on middle income americans. you can choose where to focus. focus on the rich. that's not my focus. you can focus on the very poor. that's not my focus. >> did you ever watch a man in quick sand. there he is dhefefending the comment later in the day. >> you have to take the whole sentence as opposed to saying and then it sounds pretty different. i said my focus, my concern, my energy is going to be devoted to helping middle income people. >> here he is last night by the way in an interview with a reporter from out in nevada. romney called the gaffe a misstatement. let's watch that. >> john it was a misstatement. i misspoke. i have said something that is

similar to that but quite acceptable for a long time. and when you do, i don't know how many thousands of interviews, now and then you may get it wrong. and i misspoke. >> governor ehrlich, thanks for joining us. his original statement so we know context is important. i don't want to be unfair. he said -- listen to what he had to say. i'm in this race because i care about americans. americans. >> all americans. >> i'm not concerned about the very poor. i'm concerned about americans, not the very poor. what does that mean? >> he made a mistake. people make mistakes. this middle school game the president has misspoken -- >> what did he mean. >> you heard what he had to say. he meant all americans, obviously. people make mistakes. this middle school game people play. he said/she said. it's why people get turned off on politics. it's why people turn their tv off. you have made mistakes. the president, with his 57 states. speaker gingrich with the paul ryan comment. people make mistakes.

as you heard, he's a very human guy. these guys are tired. you've been through this chris, you know it. >> so you want to see the full context. >> so you want to see the full context? let's look at the comment in context. here it is in the context of the kind of statements this candidate has been making off the cuff when he's not scripted, when you don't see the teleprompter. these are the comments he's made. you want the full context, governor ehrlich, let's look at a few of them. >> i should also tell my story. i'm also unemployed. we can raise taxes on people. that's not -- >> corporations. >> corporations are people, my friend. >> rick, i'll tell you what, 10,000 bucks? $10,000 bet? >> i'm not in the betting business, but i'll -- >> i know what it's like to worry whether you're going to get fired. there were a couple of times i wondered whether i was going to get a pink slip. >> if you don't like what they do, you can fire them. i like being able to fire people that provide services to me. i'm not concerned about the very

poor. we have a safety net there. if it needs repair, i'll fix it. i'm not concerned about the very rich. they're doing just fine. >> chris, in context. you have -- >> tell me the context. >> you have to complete the context. you aren't worried about the rich people. we fixed the safety net when it's broken. he's really worried about the working poor, the middle class, the people who have really been hit by obama policies over the past four years. i suspect speaker gingrich would agree with those comments as well. the very poor have that safety net. the working poor do not. with regard to the very poor if the safety net is broken, he said we would fix it. chris, again, you can't just do this gotcha game. i know everybody does it, right and left, but i don't think it's very fair, particularly -- >> but is it a pattern? okay, governor, ehrlich, would you go around saying on television ibet you 10,000 bucks. would you say corporations are people, too? >> chris iwould say with regard to corporations -- chris,

corporations hire people. we want healthy corporations. >> and fire people according to your guy. >> i want more corporations to exist in this country. i want entrepreneurs to start corporations. of course that's what he meant. that has defined his entire life. >> he didn't say i like being able to hire people. he never said i like being able to hire people. he said i like being able to fire people. >> people who are not -- >> have you ever said that in your life? i like being able to -- >> finish the sentence. people who are not serving his needs. the consumers needs. that's, of course -- look. i remember when speaker gingrich and you talked about medicare dying on the vine when i was in congress. i was on your show. you just can't take these simple phrases out of context. you have to complete the sentence. this election is about the health of corporations and job creation. >> this is a guy that has money buried over in the cayman

islands in swiss banks. it fits the man. the way he talks about being able to fire people, corporations being people, too, betting $10,000 at the drop of a hand. he does come off as an elitist. >> what the charitable contributions. does that count? is that -- >> he makes $20 million a year. i've never criticized his charitable contributions. >> joe biden makes a lot of money. you don't see those dollars from them, do you? >> i think biden makes about what -- 10% of what the other guy makes. anyway, let me go back to sue loudoun. what does newt gingrich have that as a candidate for president. i was kind of surprised to hear you because you are sort of a moderate republican. i don't want to get you in trouble out there. how about main stream republican, sue lowden. when you back up newt gingrich i thought he's a little wild for you. why do you like gingrich over mitt romney? >> you know, i remember, chris in the '90s when the speaker led

the charge for the republican revolution. when the speaker was an integral part of balancing the budget which we haven't had since he was there. when the speaker was a big part of welfare reform. i don't forget those things. i know he can obviously reach across the aisle and work with democrats. he has already proven himself as a leader in that regard. i think he can do it again. >> thank you very much, sue lowden. the person that could have beaten harry reid had she gotten the nomination last time. and bob ehrlich. thank you governor ehrlich. i like argue with you. you were not an elitist. >> thank you. a very strong jobs report gives president obama a big boost. unemployment dropped to its lowest point in three years today. i think the dow is at its highest point before we got into big trouble under president bush. you're watching "hardball" only on msnbc.

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at aarp.org/jointoday. nate silver of "the new york times" 538 blog has laid down the odds in the next presidential nominating contest. here they are. here's the score. nevada, silver says romney has 100% chance of winning. not much left of chance. what are we doing here tomorrow night? we're covering this thing. he also gives romney a 91% chance of winning arizona. and 89% chance. boy, he's fine tuning it, of winning michigan and then ohio which votes on super tuesday. things get interesting. silver has it labeled. it's awesome. gives gingrich a 40% victory versus 36% for romney. his forecasting motto will sharpen up as more polling is done in each state. fascinating. newt's got power in the midwest and in the south. the "i'll sleep when it's done" academic. for 80 years, we've been inspired by you.

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i want to send a clear message to congress. do not slow down the recovery

that we're on. don't muck it up. >> boy, that is a telling comment from the president. a warning to the republicans on the hill. don't muck it up from the president. that was president obama earlier today. responding to a stronger than expected jobs report. the labor department reported today that 243 jobs were created in just january this year. and most -- the most in nine months. and the unemployment rate dropped to 8.3%. its lowest point in three years. it spurred the dow. it's at its highest level before the bush disaster of 2008. the financial crisis. this is all good news for the president in this re-election year. he still faces serious political headwinds. we'll go through them in a moment. first the good news. joining me is politico reporter joe williams and david corn from mother jones. you are both political analysts. you first, joe. is this all good news, or is it quick -- is it too good, too soon it will get worse and then

we'll be in worse shape? i hate to be irish about it. my mother -- the worst is going to happen, no matter how good the news is. then she was right or wrong. whatever. >> it's not -- >> assume the better and it always turns out that way. >> certainly a dark cloud around the silver lining. sure, unemployment is down. sure, things look good. lifetime between now and november. anything can happen. already we've seen signs in the middle east where the strait of hormuz situation could tick oil prices up, slide the economy back down. >> that's what screwed carter. oil prices. >> the cbo report indicates it's going to be about 8.8 by the end of the year. it looks like they may finish ahead of that. it may still maintain around 8.3, mid8s. >> you are fearful of a second dip? >> second dip is inevitable and nobody can control whether that happens or not. >> before we go to you, david, the president -- let's help they

don't muck it up. is he laying out the pred cat if they don't pass a jobs bill or something to put back the guys coming back from the war, put them to work doing ccc kind of work. is he laying down the predicate for you guys blew it? >> he's trying to make sure congress is on notice. something needs to get done. something needs to shift this unemployment rate for the good of everybody. not necessarily just for the good of the president's prospects. it's a marker. he intends on -- >> this is clarity, isn't it? 8.3. if he can keep it down that low he probably gets re-elected. if it goes back up, he has to blame it on somebody else. >> watch the fight coming up neppayroll tax holiday extension and unemployment extension. >> is there a chance they'll deny that to him? >> the tea party wing of the republican party which has been whipping the leader, house speaker boehner, doesn't want to extend this stuff. they don't like it. they don't -- >> they don't want to screw the

economy? >> they don't believe if you give tax breaks to the middle class it helps the economy. >> tax cuts -- >> for the rich. for what they call the job creators. >> that sounds a little slanted. >> no, it's not slanted. >> how can they not believe in tax cuts for jobs? >> they have said this. jon kyl in the senate. >> is this your reading? they really don't think -- maybe you are right. i'll leave it at that. they don't think helping the employer have a lower cost of labor, right, which is what we're really talking about. is healthy for hiring people. >> but so that's what the president is talking about. don't muck it up. this is the fight coming up. if you look at the cbo report, it did not -- it assumed that there was an extension of the payroll tax. so if you extend it, you bring the unemployment rate down. >> a slope towards -- >> so we're still looking at 8.3% for january. the dow jones through the roof back to where it was before bush screwed things up. let's look at a a troubled

econy. take a look at this chart. it shows steep job losses under president george w. bush right there in the red. and shown here in the red. once barack obama became president, the chart turns blue. look at it. see it begins to show reverse and job losses eventually become job gains above the line. we all learned to read those graphs in school. the stuff above means it's shooting up positive. underscoring the point the economy has steadily improved. a bloomberg report shows the economies of michigan, indiana, ohio and pennsylvania have improved faster than the rest of the country since the recession began in april of 2009 until the end of 2011. some of those, by the way, some of those are in what i call the scranton to oshkosh corridor. the sensitive blue collar part of the country where people depend on the accordion industries. they go in and out. they hire and then lay off people. hire, lay off. serve very sensitive. where there are layoffs and where people are hiring. >> two things come to mind. the first is, david is right.

they are going to go toe-to-toe and try to get something passed for the payroll tax extension. what sort sufficient interesting politically about that graph is ohio, indiana certainly, right to work states now are certainly having fights with labor. wisconsin, same thing. what that fight is going to have and whether or not the governor wins and whether or not there's going to be a right to work legislation that will limit union bargaining and that will restrict the ability to get a wage that they believe is fair could have an impact on hiring as well. just depends -- >> which way does it go? ironically does a tougher situation for organized labor mean more hiring less hiring? >> a stroerng situation for organized labor means more hiring in broad theory. that is that you get organized people, manufacturing takes off. wages go up. everybody wins. but in a situation where you have restricted labor ability, manufacturers and producers tend to want to hire more, but the wage sort of tops out. >> also remember in wisconsin, there's the recall fight that

will be going on over the next few months. and you see a lot of this is driven by steel which pays good -- >> despite all the conservative and right wing argument that the government is hiring and hiring and hiring and more and more padding and feather bedding and jobs in the government, the fact is private sector jobs have been going up and up and up as we saw in that chart under president obama md the decline has been state and local, joe. >> that's right. >> because at the very time our business and everybody hopes business can create jobs. the local and state governments are so starved that they are laying people off. >> and that's a big problem because early on, the president had called for aid to states. the spending -- the congress that did not want to do any spending did not want to go along with that. their choices are cut or tax. cut usually wins. >> who are they cutting? a lot of states have to cut teachers. you cut teachers you don't have kids learning as well and it hurts future prospects. >> it's the local and state that are firing people, laying them off and that's what's causing

this continued lag in the economy and the recovery. >> part of the jobs plan was to try to prevent that from happening and put money into the states and the republicans have said no. >> and that money has run out, the money they plugged into scranton and other counties back in '09. thank you joe williams and david corn. good economic news for this weekend. good economics for retirees out there. coming up, we're going to talk about the game change the movie. who doesn't want to watch this movie because he's already been through the pain. his name's mccain. stick around for "the side show."

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but what do you thing real-life subjects think about the impending premiere? depends who you ask. let's get the lowdown from john mccain who was asked about the movie yesterday by cnbc's andrew ross sorkin. >> i was curious if you had an opportunity to see ed harris playing you and your views. >> it will be a cold day in arizona when i watch that movie. >> fair enough. >> thanks. >> i guess, well, was the joy with -- the joy ride with sarah palin was something he'd rather experience just once? next up, time to make a move? for many conservatives it would be a dream come true to have mitch daniels jump in the republican presidential race. well, the ship sailed on that one. but an endorsement from daniels could provide much-needed backing for any of the current candidates. think he's starting to lean toward one of the candidates? let's hear how he took on the question yesterday. >> who your endorsing for president on the gop side? >> well, i'm for all of them. i'm rooting for them tulle do a

good job. continuing the spirited competition. i don't think anybody would care too much who i was for. >> are you kidding? everybody wanted you to run. they want your endorsement. >> now that donald trump has spoken iguess it's over anyway, right? >> good point. >> there's one way to dodge the question. what do you think? would romney trade trump for mitch daniels at this point? you bet you. speaking of that, here's a no-brainer. who do you think was clapping the loudest when mitt romney and donald trump took to the podium? the obama campaign. here's an e-mail sent out to obama supporters earlier today. "yesterday, mitt romney said he was humbled to accept donald trump's endorsement. seriously. yes, donald trump, birth certificate conspiracy leader, has decided that mitt romney's his guy and romney has embraced him without reservation. as if we need a reminder which top tick was that dominated trump's almost candidacy. and finally, game on. there are a few super bowl bets going on in congress. but here's one that involves the

senators. this one is between new yorker chuck schumer and jeanne shaheen of new hampshire. what's at stake? a round of beer for the entire senate. it's just a question of what type. let's hear the two of them discussing the wager earlier today. >> we think we brew a lot of really wonderful beer in new hampshire. and so we're delighted with the idea that senator schumer is going to pay for that beer to treat all of the senators when the patriots win on sunday. >> we have brooklyn beer, blue point on long island. we have saranak. when the giants beat the patriots, jeanne is going to be nice enough to serve those beers to all the senate and they'll start buying them and it will help jobs in new york. >> i don't know who it was that thought up these corn ball bets but i think it's time to please retire them. up next, the komen foundation reverses its

decision. what a big discussion this has been these last few hours. ♪ [ male announcer ] how could a luminous protein in jellyfish, impact life expectancy in the u.s., real estate in hong kong, and the optics industry in germany? at t. rowe price, we understand the connections of a complex, global economy. it's just one reason over 75% of our mutual funds beat their 10-year lipper average. t. rowe price. invest with confidence. request a prospectus or summary prospectus with investment information, risks, fees and expenses to read and consider carefully before investing. that's good morning, veggie style. hmmm.

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i'm milissa rehberger. reclusive taliban leader mullah omar reportedly sent a letter to president obama late last year. according to reports, omar expressed interest in bringing an end to the war in afghanistan. president obama met earlier with 25 wealthy donors who paid more than $35,000 each for his time. the event at a washington hotel was closed to the press. and the first big storm of the new year is battering denver, colorado. more than 600 flights have been canceled. now back to "hardball." welcome back to "hardball."

after a firestorm erupted this week, the susan g. komen foundation has apologized and backed off their plans to drop funding for planned parenthood. actually planned parenthood's breast cancer screenings. in a statement, nancy brinker said, "we want to apologize to the american public for recent decisions that cast doubt upon our commitment to our mission of saving women's lives. our original desire was to fulfill our fiduciary duty to our donors by not funding grant applications made by organizations under investigation. we will amend the to make clear that disqualifying investigations must be criminal and conclusive in nature and not political. we'll continue to fund existing grants, including those of planned parenthood and preserve their eligibility to apply for future grants while maintaining the abillities of our affiliates to make funding decisions that meet the needs of our communities. so what exactly was the motivation behind those words to

drop the funding to begin with, with the politics at play. andrea mitch ceell is right on s story. she has been. she's the host of "andrea mitchell reports" on msnbc. also joining sussenat ining sus boxer. it seems to me that they were under some pressure, i don't know where it came from, to make this decision to no longer fund planned parenthood screen frgs breast cancer which are extremely popular with women. especially women of limited means. it's a very comfortable place to go to planned parenthood. it's like a clinic. it's a real public service. for them to drop their support for that because some right wing congressman is messing around with them with some kind of hearings was a pretty thin read on which to build their case. >> they didn't make the case that this was a real investigation. it seemed to be a sham. that's what critics said. they were also some suggestions from people close to the komen organization that there were other state investigations.

well, they never made that case either. and then when ambassador nancy brinker came and talked to me yesterday on the program, she came with another explanation which was that they wanted direct referrals. so they had a credibility problem with their constituency. and i think it's wise that they apologized and reversed themselves so quickly. >> nancy brinker told you yesterday she was upset by the questions of whether this was a political decision by them. let's listen to her. >> i am troubled that it's been labeled as political. this is not a political decision. we operate from one set of standards every day. and it is to our mission. and if we don't advance and revise and make grants that meet the mission and bring real care to vulnerable populations, we won't be doing our job. >> senator boxer, it's great to have you on as always. what were the pressures coming from the pro-choice people that really seemed to reverse this decision lickety-split overnight.

>> can i just say, pro-choice, not pro-choice, this is about screenings for breast cancer. there is no room for politics in this at all. and we all know we face attacks on a woman's right to choose. it is nothing to do with that. and i was -- i had the privilege of being on andrea's show yesterday and today, and i made the point, this is just the tip of the iceberg of the right wing. going after women's health. they are even going after birth control. and i thought that all was resolved in the '60s. so we are very happy. we in the united states senate who sent a letter. about 25 or 26 of us, men and women, who said to the komen people, please reconsider this. and they did and i'm very pleased that they did. >> the question still, we don't really know what pressures or what politics or whatever played a hand in it. but nancy brinker out of nowhere saying we're not going to do

business anymore on these critical issues of breast cancer screening with planned parenthood. nobody knows yet. >> i personally do not know. i do -- >> we don't know, but we can -- >> oh. >> you want to guess? go ahead, senator. >> you probably know better. >> what do you think is behind this decision that caused this uproar? >> well, i think we can surmise that there was far right pressure on komen to drop all support for planned parenthood and stop those grants. there's no other explanation. they did say that very first day, under investigation, and anyone who knows these quote/unquote investigations are really political in nature. we know that there are members of the house and senate who tried very hard to destroy planned parenthood. in the last budget we were able to stop it in the senate. so i think we know that it is political. but the people out there who

looked at this got really disturbed about it. they rose up on all the social media. men and women of good will. different political parties. and they just said stop it. you have to separate out your politics from the need to find a cure for breast cancer and prevent it. >> andrea, yesterday you interviewed michael bloomberg. that was earlier today. i like the way he handled this. he afrd matoffered a matching d up to $250,000 to make up for what it looked like they were going to lose. let's watch mayor bloomberg here for a moment. >> i think health care is at the top of the list of things we have to worry about. i don't think politics should enter into it. i don't know what got the komen foundation to make their decision. i'm glad they reversed it. but the bottom line is planned parenthood is an organization that was providing a great service in terms of screening for breast cancer and they do a

lot of other things as well. i have no idea why the susan komen foundation did what they did or why they reversed it. i'm just glad that in the end they came to the right decision. they will continue to fund planned parenthood. i will continue to support both organizations, and i would urge everybody else to do it. >> well, race for the cure is one of the most dazzling things that goes on every year. you've been involved. i saw it down in florida. all these people. they painted one of the bridges down in palm beach pink to honor the day. is that going to revive and come back after all of this? >> i think there is some damage that has to be repaired, but i think that the institution decades of participation by men, women, children, survivors and supporters alike just has to go on. this is a global organization now, and we've seen the first susan g. komen race for the cure around the old city of jerusalem with arab and israeli women running together in a cause and the mayor of jerusalem running in the race and nancy brinker as

well. so there's a vibrant community here, and the social network media certainly proved that that is instantaneous. it's passionate. and one of the reasons it's so passionate, as senator boxer could tell you, when you run in one of these races and thinking about people you've lost. now i'm thinking about myself and the community. >> my friend, you've been through this. you are allowed to have emotion. your last thought on this, barbara boxer. will this be okay for the race for the cure which we're watching a picture of right now? >> i think everyone is going to come together after this. it was a lesson for everyone, and we have to take politics and take it out of this. because, you know, republicans and democrats and independents, every one of us, whether we vote, we don't vote, whether we're pro choice or not, we know someone who has been touched

deeply by this. i sit here and i think about andrea and i think about the wife of my friend harry reid who is going through this now and i can say we have to work together, period. and i think what happened with this apology was a recognition that we won't find a cure if we start fighting over things. let's just work together. let's get this done. >> great strong words from senator barbara boxer of california. thank you senator, and thank you, my friend, andrea mitchell, who knows of what she speaks. is israel planning to attack iran? now for something really frightening. we'll get the latest report and find out what it means to us in the united states and what role we might play if any, before or after this happens. if it happens. this is "hardball" only on ms c msnbc. i want to be a volunteer firefighter. when i grow up, i want to write a novel. i want to go on a road trip. when i grow up, i'm going to go there.

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leaders in some of their bluntest language so far said that the window of opportunity to stop or slow down iran's nuclear program is narrowing. in other words, getting short. and what would a strike on iran mean for the u.s. and the rest of the world? how concerned are leaders here in america about the possibility of israel attacking iran? richard engel is the chief foreign correspondent for nbc news. he's in tel aviv. and dr. zbigniew brzezinski is former security adviser to president carter. he has a new book called "strategic vision" about the united states' role in the world and whether our power and our influence is on the decline or not. we'll talk to him about that. let's start with the situation out there. what's new, richard, about the prospects for an attack by israel on the iranian nuclear program? their facilities? >> what's new is that the israelis do feel that their window to operate is shrinking. that the iranians are working on their program, making progress every month and that they could reach a point of no return.

a point at which it is no longer possible for an israeli air strike, missile strike to slow down the program in any kind of effective way. and according to what is playing out right now, it seems that washington, particularly defense secretary panetta, saw this as a real possibility and took this very unusual step of making public statements through david ignatius to try and signal to the israelis, don't do this. allow the sanctions more time to play out. don't break up a consensus around the world that has been formed against iran and give this more time. and we're seeing some pushback from the israelis saying, yes, fine. we will give it a little more time, but we can't wait forever. >> second question to you, is israel concerned, not that they are going to build a launching platform or missile system, but that they are just afraid they can build a bomb itself and can

deliver it by all kinds of means? >> israel thinks, according to officials we've been -- officials we've interviewed here that it would take iran a year iran a year to have some sort of weapon, two to three years to have an arsenal, and they are worried once israel -- once iran has a weapon that calculations even domestic calculations in the country will be different. willis real be able to operate as freely in gaza, be limited by hezbollah knowing iran has even a rudimentary style weapon it no longer able to reach. israel doesn't want to get to that point where it's always have to worry about iran having a weapon, this threat hanging over it. iran says the weapons program is peaceful, no decision has been taken to actually create a weapon and points out that

israel in fact does have nuclear weapons. >> doctor, is there something that could be worse than iran having a weapon? when you make the calculations or consequences, is there any way you would decide well, all right, we can live without a nuclear weapon in the hands of the iranians, because it's better than what? >> war. it's very easy to start a war it's difficult to end it on your own terms and tends to produce unforeseen consequences. look, the israelis have a so-called nuclear deterrent, we have an enormous nuclear deterrent, the notion that some how or other the iranians, who have existed for 3,000 years, that will commit public suicide the first moment they have the bomb is ludicrous. a major significant expert on iran has produced a list since 1994 of annual israeli predictions that next year iran

will have the bomb. so i think we can take their predictions with a little bit of caution. moreover, their public opinion is not for a strike. the majority of american jews are not for a strike. we're dealing with a right-wing government with rather one-sided notions, of what security is, and perhaps with somewhat irresponsible attitude about the consequences of their actions for us. because the iranians, if attacked, are not going to retaliate effectively against israel because they cannot. they will retaliate against us because they will see us as the sponsors. so our troops, in afghanistan will pay the price, and our disengagement may become difficult to pursue. we'll have a mess in iraq again. there could be difficulties in the persian golf -- gulf. the price of oil could go up, the global che could economy co

hurt. the consequences for us could be serious. >> but doctor, can israel survive if it's known by its own people and perhaps future immigrants they are going in a country under a basically firing zone from iran, that any moment one of the mullahs could attack? >> look, we lived. >> but irrationally. >> we lived in that situation with an enemy that could wipe out much of america in a few minutes. they don't have the bomb yet. we're negotiating with them. i think part of the israeli concerns we may make an arrangement with the iranians that doesn't humiliate them, doesn't force them to capitulate. >> you're watching "hardball" only on msnbc. when bp made a commitment to the gulf, we were determined to see it through. here's an update on the progress. we're paying for all spill related clean-up costs. bp findings supports independent scientists studying the gulf's environment.

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. we're back let's go back to tel aviv and chief correspondent richard engel, we have the author of the new book "strategic vision" richard, we talked to dr. brzezinski, what is israeli public opinion whether to strike or not to strike iran and the nuclear facilities? >> israelis are divided on this. not that everyone in the country is clamoring for military action. i was in an israeli home. people are cleaning out bomb shelter making sure it's ready, the gas masks are are available and in working order. . . >> if they have a guarantee from the united states they have as much safety as western europe or japan, or south korea. we have to be forthright and our president and our secretary of defense also have to speak forthrightly and make it clear we don't want that