♪ stag party. let's play "hardball." good evening. i'm chris matthews in washington. leading off tonight, the missing witnesses. how do you hold a hearing on birth control without anyone on the panel who might actually give birth? well, that's a question democratic women were asking today when a house hearing on the hhs contraceptive rule led by republicans included no women this morning as witnesses. the republicans argue this is not about women's health. it's still about religious liberty, even if it's not about churches or even religious institutions anymore. both sides think they are holding the wing hand on this fight so it's not going to go away. voters city.

michigan is the first of mitt romney's many home states. the state he assumed would propel him to a big super tuesday. but right now every poll there shows rick santorum with the lead in michigan. and the quiet talk has now begun. if romney can't win there, he may not be able to win anywhere. so then what? santorum becomes the nominee? really? well, romney will try to do to santorum what he did to gingrich in iowa and florida, carpet bomb them with negative ads. santorum may have the money to fight back this time against romney's dresden-style strategy. and not only doesn't mitt romney know how to talk like a conservative. he doesn't know how to talk to conserve fichs commentators on the right now are wondering, does he even want to talk to us? let me finish with those missing witnesses today, women. we begin with the gender war on capitol hill today. it broke out today. u.s. congresswoman eleanor holmes norton of the district of columbia walked out of today's hearing. tempers flared at that house oversight hearing called lines crossed, separation of church

and state. that was the name of the hearing. has the obama administration trampled on freedom of religion and freedom of conscience. that title alone will give you the tone of the hearing. new york congressman carolyn maloney criticized both the premise of the hearing and the makeup of that all male panel. let's listen. >> where are the women? when i look at this panel, i don't see one single woman representing the tens of millions of women across the country who want and need insurance coverage for basic preventive health care services, including family planning. where are the women? of course this hearing is about rights. contraception and birth control. it's about the fact that women want to have access to basic health services, family planning through their health insurance plan. >> u.s. congresswoman and delegate eleanor holmes norton of the district of columbia took

on darrell issa on the witnesses listed there. watch this picture of an all-male panel there. let's listen to the delegate. >> one thing, mr. chairman, we've been denied the right to have a witness -- >> the gentle lady -- >> i want to have the right to make a parliamentary inquiry. >> the chairman of that committee, darrell issa of california, defended the witness selection. all males on the first panel. let's listen. >> since only yesterday, two days after what would be the appropriate time for the minority to name their witness request, we were given it. with the short notice, final schedule was determined based on the unusual circumstances of the minority not in a timely fashion submitting any valid request for any witnesses. even though on a daily basis, actually multiple times per day, the majority requested that. >> also with us now is u.s. congresswoman jackie spear of california who boycotted the hearing altogether. let's hear first from delegate norton, eleanor holmes norton

who is a friend of mine. thank you for coming on. you were very strong today. when did you find out they were going to be an all-male -- almost like one of those cigarette hearings where all the leaders of the tobacco industry shows up. all the men there. when did you first realize this would be such a deadly visual for the guy holding these hearings? >> i realized -- i realized it this morning when i saw our business as she was there in the audience. we wanted her to be added to the panel. here we have five men sitting across the line to have one woman sitting there. apparently the committee thought would really have turned the tables on what they wanted to do because that woman would have talked about why contraceptives were important and she would have told a very poignant story. instead, they wanted to relitigate the health care law. they wanted to make this a hearing in the abstract on religious liberty when, of course there would have been no

hearing in the first place, except for the controversy about religious liberty and contraceptives last week, which, by the way, we settled to the satisfaction of most of the american people. you can't get a better win-win than what the president found. you can get your contraceptives. you won't have to pay for them any more than you would have had if you hadn't worked for a religious affiliated institution, and the religious affiliated institution doesn't have to pay for it. i mean, what more could we have done? >> i thought -- by the way, i happen to agree with you which makes it easy to do this show tonight. i thought the issue was resolved last friday to the satisfaction of people like catholic charities and keegan who were active in the work of religious organizations. let's go to congresswoman spear about this. you've been very dramatic on this topic. you didn't show up at all. tell me when you got the word that darrell issa was going to run an all-male panel of witnesses on an issue of birth control. >> it reminded me of what

happened when we had an all-male u.s. senate talking about sexual harassment with anita hill. that's when american women just blew up and -- >> that was the year of the woman. >> that was the year of the woman for elections across this country. more women elected that year than in all the years since then. but more importantly, there was -- this was a sham hearing. it was a biased hearing. and there was not the opportunity to have a balanced discussion on it. and you know what else is very interesting? no one talked about vasectomies. are vasectomies going to continue to be covered? it's not an issue the catholic church wants to raise? but that's a form of contraception. that's covered. >> let me ask you, while you're still on this issue. i think men need -- look. i think men and women have the same values. i think they have different perspectives. i think that's fair. and women who can bear children who can get pregnant especially when they don't want to get pregnant and live in that fear sometimes, talk about that why

men ought to hear from women on this topic of contraception. or hear from it a lot. just give me the basics here because i think the republicans and a lot of the men on the democratic side don't get the perspective women offer, deserve and are now demanding. >> well, first of all -- >> the women were necessary, too, because when they denied us the try to have a woman on the panel, they then added two -- this was my parliamentary point. they added two witnesses to the panel -- to the second panel, both of these were women and they were from religiously affiliated institutions which, of course, reinforced the men on that second panel. and they were deal with the optics then. they weren't dealing with the issue. >> i got you. congresswoman speier, give me some education why women, let's do it again and do it dramatically if you wish. you know all about these issues of abortion rights and things like that. men are involved secondhand.

or i'm not sure i'm going to say it right but women can give birth, men can't. that's as simple as it gets, i guess. >> and i think what is most disturbing is that, you know, contraception is something that is used by women for many purposes besides not getting pregnant. it's used for purposes of endometriosis, uterine cancer, ovarian cancer, for acne, for migraine headquarters. and it's almost like we are treated like we're chattel when this issue comes up that somehow it is going to be given to us. we're being told what we can do and what we can't do. and i must say, i am a deeply devout catholic. i lecter in my local parish. i respect the church's position on this issue. once you become secular in your activities, the largest health care system in this country, ascension, has a venture capital fund.

now where do we go? do we allow the venture fund to also espouse their beliefs and prevent their employees from accessing contraception? >> i'm with you. i don't know if it matters, but i'm with you. i'm so glad liberal catholics are speaking out. earlier today -- people like yourself. earlier today, andrea mitchell asked rick santorum, his benefactor foster friess about his views on contraception. this will rock some people what you hear now. you haven't heard it in 50 years and now you'll hear it from rick santorum's big guy foster here. let's listen to something from the old days here. >> this contraceptive thing, my gosh, it's such inexpensive. back in my days, they used bayer aspirin for contraception. the gals put it between their knees and it wasn't that costly. >> excuse me? i'm just trying to catch my breath from that. >> well, i can't catch my breath. i don't think that was ever the

thought process among thinking people. he said the old days, congresswoman norton. a guy who is a big shot backing a guy for president who talks like -- who? who is he? >> the last thing women need is to be insulted on this issue. most women use contraceptives even most catholic women. we ought to tread lightly when talking about something that is important to women's health as contraceptives. but the way to avoid the issue altogether, just have no women there. they expected us to sit there and listen to it and ask our questions in our usual way when in fact, it seems to me we had to make more of a statement about the exclusion of women from an issue that affects primarily women. >> have you ever walked out of a hearing before this? >> never, and i've been in congress more than 20 years. but never have i seen such high-handed dealings with the other side. remember, they refused our witness and then decided who was qualified to be the minority

witness. that's nobody does that. no chairman does that. so he overreached in a very long way. and he insulted the committee. he insulted the house. we don't even, even in this polarized house, do business in that grossly unfair way. >> let me go back to congress mm speier. again irespect your views so much on this because of the fact that you are who you are. and i want to ask you this. i didn't put that on lightly what foster friess said. he's a major spokesman now for former senator santorum. he is out there a lot all the time. and he is now representing a candidate, santorum, who said it would be fine with him if states outlawed the sale of birth control. i mean, you are talking about a guy from the cromagnum era. he has his guy out there making a joke. that was insulting, clearly. what do you make of this that we're in a world where this is still going on, that point of view?

>> the ignorance is really breathtaking. to say that contraception doesn't cost a lot of money. it costs from $60 to $100 a month for a prescription for birth control pills. aspirin doesn't cut it. and i just find it appalling that women are being thrown around like they are pieces of property here. this really is taking us back in time to a point that i don't think any of us want to go to. and in california, not only has this issue been legislated and i carried the legislation in california, we've actually had a supreme court decision that said two catholic charities that when you are secular in activities, there is an overriding state interest to make sure that women do have the kinds of benefits relative to health care and that they're not discriminated against because of their gender. >> i think it's one of those render under caesar, render

under god things. the line is clear and it was clarified as eleanor norton pointed out. it was clarified on friday. the line's been drawn. by the way, if any woman votes for rick santorum after that comment today by his number one spokesman, i'll be surprised. i think if he doesn't fix this thing within a few hours, i'm talking to you rick santorum. you don't fix this in a couple of hours you can kiss off all the women voters in this country and a lot of men. eleanor holmes norton of my district of columbia neighborhood, thanks for coming on and u.s. congresswoman jackie speier. thanks for coming on. coming up on "hardball," michigan is the first of mitt romney's many home states. he's got five states he's claiming. he's like mccain who couldn't even count his homes. getting much of his home state love? no. voter city is not liking romney right now. if romney can't win in michigan, republicans will be looking around for that big, fat panic button and start pushing it. you're watching "hardball" on msnbc. president obama's leading [ male announcer ] what if an entire car insurance company

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could be cool-ish. esurance. insurance for the modern world. click or call. president obama's leading each republican contender now in a new fox poll of ten swing states across the country. the swing states are ground by region. nevada, new mexico and colorado in the west. iowa, wisconsin, ohio and pennsylvania in the midwest. and florida, north carolina and virginia in the south. let's check the numbers in the "hardball" scoreboard. overall, the president leads mitt romney by eight points in those ten states. 47% to 39%. and now he's up 9 oversantorum in those same ten swing states. when you break it down by region, president obama does best in florida, income and virginia, 51% to 37%. he leads santorum in those states by a whopping 18 points. 53% to 35%.

in those three western states, obama up by seven over romney, 47% to 40% and a 14-point lead over santorum out west. 51%, 47%. things are much tighter in the midwest where romney is within one point of the president, 42% to 41% and santorum who is from pennsylvania manages to tie the president at 43%. that's where i thought the fight would be and it looks like i'm right.

welcome back to "hardball." do you need more evidence of the republican party that refuses to fall in love right now or in line with mitt romney? look what's going on. if there was a state most suited for an easy romney victry, michigan would be it. he was born and grew up there. his father served as governor there. even called his campaign event there yesterday a welcome home rally. he won this state in 2008. and all that and yet, by all accounts, mitt romney is going to have one of his hardest fights so far this year right there in michigan.

the latest polls have him losing to rick santorum in michigan. believe it or not. what does it mean if the front-runner can't pick up his home state? howard fineman is editorial director for the huffington post and joel klein is a columnist for "time" magazine. two heavyweights here. let me take advantage of your brains. let's go to a poll. the latest poll in michigan from the detroit news and wdiv. santorum now beats romney. and this is a very respected poll. four points among likely primary voters. first to you, howard. this is something i didn't expect but it's a god send to reporters and anybody who loves this political battle. romney for a long time looked like the front runner. looked like every time you get around the table with smart people they say eventually romney is going to win this thing. you ask who is going to be the

republican nominee. no matter who you ask who watches politics. the junkies all say, after all the excitement and the cur fufle and everything else goes wrong, it's going to be romney. is that still true? is it still the thoughtful position? >> that conventional wisdom is teetering on the edge of extinktsion at this point and will go away if he loses michigan. it will no longer be the default asuchtion. >> take that wisdom. he sweeks it there by two or three points hour, can it still be he's the front-runner if he has to squeak it in his home state? >> you know, we're in midcurfuffel here. midmishigoss. >> that's what my grandmother called michigan. >> i'm the ham in the rye between you two here. >> more wisdom won. >> more aspirin between the knees, who knows. >> that will not be forgotten.

>> i don't know whether a couple of points are enough. look at the polling in the super tuesday states. santorum is clobbering romney in ohio. gingrich is going to do well in the south. i mean, you know, i think that the romney campaign has now reached critical mess because what can he do at this point? you know -- >> what about just going negative again like he did before? >> i think that santorum came up with a pretty good antidote with that ad of the, you know, the phony mitt romney going around, you know, shooting mud at everybody. i think that that's become part of romney's baggage at this point that he's a mud slinger and has nothing positive to say. >> i agree. here he is trying to offset that. let's go, joe, here he is trying to nice tup here. mitt romney made a pitch to michigan residents that he was their native son. listen to how he talks about this state where he was born. he's about to say something so weird like severely conservative, i sometimes wonder

if he's been reintroduced to this planet from a long visit, extra territorial. he doesn't speak our exact language here. now listen and watch. >> i was born and raised here. i love this state. it seems right here. trees are the right height. i like seeing the lakes. i love the lakes. just something very special here. the great lakes but also all the little inland lakes that dot the parts of michigan. i love cars. i grew up totally loving cars. >> joe klein, you've been covering politics since i've been interested in it. look at this. here's a guy who has been running for president since he was born and he talks like this. in the state he claims to be born in. he was born, we think he was born here. i was born and raised here. i love this state. even though he left it rather early. it seems right here. the trees are the right height. i am waiting from the start to talk about precious bodily fluids here.

what is he talking about. the trees are the right height? >> it's not -- >> help me. >> it's hard to be convincing about a state, about your home state when you have five of them. i mean, you know, he was talking -- he's not good at geography, romney. >> what about the trees? >> he called corn the amber wave of grain. it's part of his -- the big problem he has right now is that he just seems wall to wall phony. every time he opens his mouth. and there's no way of getting around it. and you know the interesting thing, i was thinking about this, chris, is that the one way he could go after santorum now would be to run to his left on social issues. but mitt romney has not run to anybody's left on anything in this campaign. >> so scared. let me ask you this. he talks about honey but then says i never hunted. i just killed small vermins. and did he see a cowboy movie 50

years ago? trees are the right height. help me with that one. >> that's a conehead-like statement. >> from another planet. >> conehead-like -- your trees are the correct size here. >> i am sorry. this is a hoot. this is a hoot. >> every once in a while, he recognizes he's sound like a conehead so he throws in a vermin. >> he starts imitating characters he saw on tv. let's get back to the reality here. his problem is connecting not with us. we're the wise guys. fine. he can't connect with us. maybe he doesn't want to. why can't he connect to conservatives and people he's trying to get to vote for him out there.

when you aren't being yourself. >> the best of our presidents could talk us to as if they're on the telephone with us. that's right. >> here's the other thing is that people who know him well and who have participated with him as a leader in the mormon church, i think they are -- in there somewhere is a mitt romney >> that's real? >> that's real. but because he's been afraid for the last several years to talk about his mormonism, because of questions that some people have especially in the bible belt, probably the area where he could most touch hearts and most testify to his humanity, he's kind of blocked off from doing because he never wants to talk about. at least i give him the benefit of the doubt. >> you are like that part of the article where you say on the other hand.

we ought to do that more on the show. go ahead, joe. >> not just mormonism. a couple of years ago when he was governor ihad a couple of conversations with him about health care and he was really impressive. he really knew what he was talking about. he was passionate on the subject. and very convincing. but he hasn't been able to do that because he can't run on the things he actually believes in in this party. >> yeah, well, he's talking crazy now with things like that trees just about the right height. thank you. thank you, howard fineman and joe klein. up next, romney tries hard, too hard, to play the home town crowd in michigan and it ends up being more evidence to the awkward. stick around for the "side show" where we find mitt romney. so, this is delicious

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back to "hardball." now for the side show. a change of scenery. usually it only takes one late night comedy host to get us going. last night "daily show" jon stewart joined david letterman to talk presidential politics. here he is summing up the race on cbs. let's watch. >> i don't know if he's going to re-elect us. i worry about obama. he's the only president that begins every press conference with a heavy sigh. bush was all, everything was here. he was that kid in sixth grade that gave the book report about a book he clearly hadn't read. obama is the kid who has read the book in first grade and he can't believe you idiots are just getting around to it. the guy i feel worse for is romney. he's the guy you know is like considers himself next in line. the guy at the deli who is like, but i'm number six. but they don't like him. the voters. he wants to be a regular guy but

he can't just be himself. he puts on jeans but you know he's got his suit pants underneath it. >> can you imagine the debate really out there between jon stewart and mitt romney? that would be something to watch. that's the debate i want to see. it's no secret with the michigan primary coming up in ten days now, romney is going to have to make sure we know he's in his old stomping grounds in that state. it looks like romney might have paged through his old high school yearbook before a rally last night. let's listen to him. >> i am just delighted to be back in michigan to see some old friends. gosh, i've got lots of old friends here. there's another guy from my high school. and a gal from -- there's a lot of high schoolers here. i'm just -- this really does bring back memories. any old girlfriends here? i have to be careful. ann's not here today. don't tell. >> is that for real? anyway, romney can't bank on the hometown advantage anymore. santorum might just yank michigan out from under him. up next, romney is spending

big bucks on negative ads in michigan. he's got to run negative ads. but santorum is fighting back this time. the latest ad war with the "hardball" strategists. two pros. two mad men will tell us how this is done. can santorum survive the onslaught, the carpet bombing of negative ads against him in michigan? you're watching "hardball," only on msnbc.

welcome back to "hardball." and the big showdown in michigan. rick santorum may have momentum on his side but mitt romney has the cash and his cash-infused superpac restore our sfurt hoping to eliminate santorum and the threat from him and his ads like this. take a look at these ads in michigan meant to destroy santorum. >> in a single session, santorum co-sponsored 51 bills to increase spending and zero to cut spending. santorum even voted to raise his own pay and joined hillary clinton to let convicted felons vote. rick santorum. big spender, washington insider.

>> but today santorum got much-needed help. his own campaign and his aligned superpac announced they are pouring in cash to run ads to rebut the romney onslaught. will this early counterattack allow him to remain a threat or will he be outspent and written off as gingrich was in florida. the strategists happen to be two political admakers. they are mad men from the early '60s. steve mcmahon and republican todd harris. gentlemen, when you -- todd, when you run a -- when you are confronted with a guy like romney who has all the money in the world and is out to basically erase you because you are doing too well, is there any way to stop them? >> i think to go after romney because his record has been just legislated over and over and over again and people are generally aware of it. you have to turn it into a character logical fight. and really get after who he is. says one thing one day, says something else. what's he going to say the third day. >> go at his very soul.

in other words, santorum has to go negative. he can't defend. >> no question. you can't just go negative by saying, well, romney used to support this but now supports this. you have to cut underneath all of that. >> in other words, it's like the old jimmy in the movie "untouchables." you go at him with a gun and he comes back at you with a knife. >> it's got to be about character. mitt romney's changing position means he's somebody who you cannot trust when the chips are down. i think -- >> santorum has held back from that all-out attack on the guy's soul i've always thought because in the end he'd like to be on his ticket. >> i think that may have been true before. he sees an opportunity to win the nomination. the ad they're running, the rombo add where he sprays mud at rick santorum is a very, very smart ad because it's about character. >> why to make fun of a guy's negative -- >> when your desperate in a campaign and say almost anything to win, people smell your fear. it's not attractive and they don't like voting for a presidential candidate who behaves that way.

>> here he is trying to deal with a negative onslaught he knows is coming. >> i'm rick santorum and i approve this message. >> mitt romney's negative attack machine is back on full throttle. this time romney is firing his mud at rick santorum. romney fd his superpac have spent a staggering $20 million attacking fellow republicans. why? because romney's trying to hide from his big government romney care and his support for job-killing cap and trade. and in the end, mitt romney's ugly attacks are going to backfire. >> wow! so that's the first time i've seen a guy try to -- >> a negative ad talking his negativity. >> it's not true and it's desperate. >> i told you he'd do this. >> so right now we've got three experts here. i want you all to agree. why don't we all tell the people of michigan, pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.

don't buy any negative ad if you are watching because it's all just mularkey. >> it's not -- >> so you guys do this for a living. >> his ads are malarkey. >> the press voting. they turn voters into nonvoters. you know that's what they do. >> they certainly move voters away from your opponent. they keep rung them. you can run positive ads all day and show people ten positive ads they remember the negative one. >> it's what killed newt in iowa badly. what killed him again to some extent in florida was a series of superpac ads. mitt romney never had to say like rick sant ourm, i just paid for this add. tlings defensive add where this guy has the spray gun, does that help you put the guy's name on the negative ads against you? >> i think that mitt is being tarred with his superpac's ads as well as everyone else is being tarred with theirs.

>> so everybody knows it. >> the voters have no idea who, you know, what a superpac is. >> but they know it's a romney ad. >> sure. >> here's an ad from yesterday with romney talking about his michigan roots. so this is positive. well, let's take a look. >> i grew up in michigan. it was exciting to be here. i remember going to the detroit auto show with my dad. >> well, here's a full screen image of that photo of romney you just saw with his father there so you can get a better look. you think progress and daily cost point out that was not taken at the detroit auto show as the ad writer just said. the 1964 worlds fair in new york city. i was at that. and this thing, progress map, shows the fairgrounds. the car down there is a chrysler. is this a matter that there's at least technical dishonesty of saying it's part of me growing up in detroit but actually part of me being a rich kid and being at the worlds fair in new york. >> i don't think it's going to matter.

romney's michigan roots are not under dispute here. >> yes, they are. >> if he liked it so much, why did he leave? >> after he loses michigan he'll be like, i was never really from michigan. he'll flip-flop even on that. >> he lived in massachusetts, new hampshire, has a home in california now. how many homes can he have and say he's from there? people have multiple homes but do they always say they are from where the home is? >> his dad was governor of michigan. i he think has legitimate much roots. >> by the time this is over, rick santorum is nine or ten points ahead of him. he's going to beat him in michigan. >> you think? >> i do think. >> conservatives are going to come out, democrats are -- >> the spot that you showed before the attack on santorum, the way that it started out it said how did rick santorum actually vote. and that was the key line. what it's saying is he's not who he says he is. >> i think a lot of the catholic

democrats and independents in michigan are going to cross over and vote in the republican primary like they did for mccain back in 2000. i think they're going to like santorum. thank you, steve mcmahon. thank you todd harris. up next, is marco rubio still out of the running for vp? >> take him at his word. >> up next, conservatives find mitt romney disengaged. this will be fun. maybe because romney can't talk his language. it's like he's wearing someone else's clothes. romney doesn't even like to talk to conservative commentators. why doesn't he want to hang out with the guys who agree with him and women who agree with him? that's an extra problem. this is "hardball" only on msnbc. right there -- reminds yu why you fell in love wi her in the first place. and why you still feel the same. but your erectile dysfunction -- that could be a question of blood flow. cialis for daily use helps you be ready anytime the moment's right. you can be more confident in your ability to be ready. and the same cialis is the only daily ed tablet approved to treat ed and symptoms of bph, like needing to go frequently or urgently. tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medications, and ask if your heart

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plus, enjoy special offers through monday only. only at the sleep number store. remember this controversial ad that aired in michigan during the super bowl? >> thank you, michigan senator debbie spend it now. debbie spent so much american money you borrow more and more from us. your economy get very weak. ours get very good. we take your jobs. thank you, debbie spend it now. >> wow, that's part of an ad by republican pete hoefstra. that ad was harshly criticized by democrats and republicans for being racist and xenophobic. now the actress in that ad is apologizing for her role there. lisa chan wrote that she's deeply sorry for any pain that the character i portrayed brought to my communities. i feel horrible about my participation and i am determined to resolve my actions. wow.

she's likely not the only one sorry. a new ppp shows stabenow leading hoekstra by 15 points.

welcome back to "hardball." does mitt romney have a problem with the community of conservative pundits, the actual conservatives who are supposedly with him? a report today in "the new york times," a great report, suggests he does. it reads in part, quote, from the television studios of fox news to the pages of the weekly standard, the refrain of the conservative opinion machine is virtually the and romney's awkward phrasing about his conservative credentials at cpac didn't help matters at all.

>> i fought against long odds in a deep blue state, but i was a severely conservative republican governor. >> jeremy peters of the "new york times" wrote that article and robert costa is a contributor to cnbc's kudlow report and the national review. let's start with jeremy for the straight report on this. where did you get -- when did you start picking up on this story that even the pundits around him like rushbo and krauthammer weren't even talking to the guy or he wasn't talking to them? >> i think it's a problem you hear echoed a lot by not just journalists covering the campaign but commentators who are -- you would think would be loyal to republicans and governor romney. it's that there just isn't a whole lot of outreach going on. outreach in select cases. laura ingraham is a friend of the campaign. sean hannity. governor romney loves to go on his show.

but by and large, there seems to be a real disconnect with the campaign and these opinionators. >> do you think it's possible he just doesn't like their company? i say that because ronald reagan really liked the company of bill buckley and people like that. he was loyal to them. they were loyal to him. he would read the national review openly and make a big deal about it. president obama is not friendly like people on our side. he doesn't hang out with pundits on the center left or left that i know of. maybe i've not been invited. what's his personality that says i don't hang around with people i'm supposed to agree with. was he a fish out of water? >> he was going in the basement of that hotel talking to people. >> that was a young crowd. santorum hooked up well with them. >> hooked up real well. romney was backstage giving a speech.

there was a connection that romney doesn't have. >> mitt romney's comments about the poor turned into a big campaign gaffe. let's listen. >> 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 care about americans, not the very poor. that's an interesting comment let's listen to charles. >> it's not just that it strengthens the stereotype of romney who is only aware of people of poor who clean the streets and wash his car. the real problem is it shows he doesn't have a fluency with conservative ideas. >> i find it hard to believe that guy of his education, harvard business and harvard law and all that stuff to talk -- to be so unfamiliar with our language. use words like severely conservative and let me go over to jeremy on that.

just as a journalist, it must seem odd covering a guy who seems so unfamiliar with our american idiom. >> it's political idiom. he's not comfortable speaking political language. he was not a career politician. they're happy to help translate for him. you know, he is a businessman. now his business is politics and he needs to have a better fluency in speaking in the political sound bite or else he's going to keep getting himself in these traps. >> talking about how the trees are the right size. that goes beyond as howard fineman said earlier in the program, it's cone head talk. >> it's okay to be square. they wonder if you're a conservative. >> all right to be square but -- >> you have to speak policy ideas.

>> you can be dorky. >> they're fine with dorky. >> romney defended himself on the issue of hiring illegal immigrants by pointing out how politically stupid hiring them would be for guy running for president. he's openly admitting he's something of a fraud. let's listen. >> we hired a lawn company to mow our lawn and they had illegal immigrants working there. when that was pointed out to us, we let them go. we went to them and said -- you have a problem with allowing someone to finish speaking. i suggest that if you want to become president of the united states, you have to let both people speak. please, let me speak. so we went to the company and said, look, you can't have illegals working on our property. i'm running for office for pete's sake. i can't have illegals. >> in journalism we don't say illegals as coldly as that. we may say illegal immigrants. doesn't he have a prep session where he's told how to talk to not offend people?

>> people like when he's tough in debate. if he's the nominee using this kind of language, it could be trouble. >> hell of a news item today. i think you're onto something today. "times" had great story today. thank you, jeremy. robert, please come back. when we return, let me finish with the missing witnesses today. women. you're watching "hardball" only on msnbc.

let me finish tonight with this. in politics topic selection is everything. you talk jobs, which the president is doing now and it's a winner for him. you talk the growing national debt, however, as republicans are doing, and it's a solid issue for them. sometimes the same discussion can evolve different topics. when religious organizations especially the catholic church were being told to pay for birth control, two issues were prominent. the right of churches not being forced to act against beliefs and access for women to birth control. last friday the first topic ceased to have prominence when the president decide that insurance companies and not religious institutions would finance birth control coverage and now it's on the issue of birth control itself and should women have it as part of their

health insurance coverage or not? should the government require they do as president obama decided they should? the republicans held a hearing on that today and the first bank of witnesses including a group of religious leaders but here on a question of birth control not one of the highly visible group could possibly give birth. they were all men. and not surprisingly, several women members of congress noticed the selection of first witnesses and demonstrated their objection by walking out of the hearing once it started. i get it. most voters certainly get it. for the ample reason that most voters are women. most voters are born with the possibility of given birth, a reality that men, including me, don't. they therefore know that life may include the possibility of getting pregnant. pregnant when they don't want to get pregnant. and this is the reality that women in politics are bringing to national attention on this day, februar16