♪ imagine there's no pizza ♪ sweet home, chicago >> sorry, guys. isn't even close. congratulations, mr. president. thank you for watching. i'm al sharpton. "hardball" starts right now. lost in the trees. let's play "hardball." >> good evening. i'm chris matthews down in washington. leading off tonight, tree hugger. nothing mitt romney has said during the campaign has generated more ridicule than his comment that the trees in michigan are the right height. so what did mitt do today in detroit? he said it again. then to show he was a regular guy, he added that he owns a mustang, a chevy pickup and,

here it comes, that his wife drives a couple of cadillacs. a couple of cadillacs. that will endear him to blou blu collar voters. republicans like jeb bush fear the election is slip away from them. the new battleground map suggests they may be right. mitt was in detroit to push his plan but the optics didn't help. 1200 people there at ford field where the lions play football which means romney dressed 65,000 empty seats. who is the guy's advance man on this one? doesn't help that romney opposed the auto bailout and that's wildly popular in michigan. plus, culture wars. the ultrasound bill in virginia, not to mention the recently dropped personhood bill there, threatens to reaffirm for millions of independent women that the gop has lurched too far to the right on issues important to them. and the oscars are sunday night. this year it looks like liberal hollywood plans to stick it to the right wing by celebrating a

french movie. another one about paris and a third one spotlighting white southern racism in the 1960s. finally, let me finish tonight with a tribute to a great comedian who was the first to mimic this silent movie era. we begin with the 2012 race. and mitt romney's connection problem. chuck todd is nbc's political director and chief white house correspondent and holds a number of other titles. and major garrett is white house correspondent for national review. >> national journal. >> you have a couple of titles. >> national journal. not national review. >> mitt romney's had a problem delivering a large -- but he also seems to have a problem with the simplest thing of talking to people. he talked about the trees being the right height and everyone thought he was chauncey gardner for being there. let's watch him. then he did it again today. his big economic speech at ford field in detroit. he spoke to an audience. well, we've got -- 1200 people.

in a football stadium that holds 65,000 people. not the ideal message of a thunderous overflowing crowd you'd want to see heading into a critical primary. and incredibly, he brought up the michigan trees again. and his family's multiple cars. let's watch. >> just feels good being back in michigan. you know, the trees are the right height. the streets are just right. i like the fact that most of the cars i see are detroit-made automobiles. i drive a mustang and a chevy pickup truck. ann drives a couple of cadillacs, actually. >> a couple of cadillacs. the very poor. severely conservative. english. >> i don't -- it's funny. this is an issue the campaign itself knows this is an issue. he has this awkwardness about him. >> what's a couple of cadillacs mean to a guy who has no cars? what does a couple -- >> of all things to pick. he could have simply been a couple of gm cars or a couple of

other american cars and it wouldn't have felt so odd, obviously, with the cadillac. but, you know, we do this too much. i'm not crazy about putting politicians on the couch. >> i like to fire people. >> i get the sense that romney has been uncomfortable with the message he's had to sell for the last year and a hamp. he's running -- he's having to run in a way that wouldn't be ideal for him. where his comfort zone is. he's sort of a republican technocrat. and he can't run that way. i feel like all of this has -- and that's what gets these weird ad lib moments. >> let me try this. you are a fair man. both of you are. suppose he was in a board room with a bunch of other people and talking, about we own a couple of kafd lacks. i like firing people. certainly sounds right among that crowd. he's used to talking to people with a lot of money or people under him who are used to the fact he has a lot of money and comes from a lot of money. now he's throughout trying to sell himself as joe six-pack. what do you say? it's not translating.

>> there is and has always been for romney a disconnect issue. and there's two dynamics in this primary caucus process. you have had notional voters. the notional voters have gone after every front-runner. michele bachmann, rick perry, herman cain. the notion of someone who is not romney has attracted them. they fall in love. they fall out of love. then the rational republican voters. i'm not saying those who are rational are only rational but they say this is the best we've got. following the william f. buckley rule. probably the most conservative republican who can get elected. not the most conservative but the one who can get elected. even with all of romney's otherwise visible rhetorical malads. wherever he goes off script. tries this organic authenticity. >> we've seen this before. >> the dynamic rational notional will play out in arizona and michigan and it will have brought santorum close but i predict -- >> we saw this in 2000 with al

gore. al gore was uncomfortable running in his own -- something about how he had to run was not the way he wanted to run. he himself later admitted it. you get that sense that's what -- >> he did get tired of trying. >> and tired of trying to analyze, constantly badger these candidates, gore or romney, about whatever it is their central rhetorical defect is. the more they focus on it the bigger problem it becomes. >> is he walking back into the room having his handler say, what are you talking about, governor, are they afraid to talk to him? >> that's a good question. i get the sense there isn't somebody that's -- this feels oddly disjointed sometimes. i'm not 100% convinced there's somebody that goes to him and says, boy, you really messed that one up. >> what did mackinnon do? stew and stevenson? >> obviously, we're not privy to the most important conversations along this line. what you have seen and can note

consistently is there has not been a noticeable ability for romney to shift and shift effectively in this realm. >> let's take a look at this. governor jeb bush, former governor jeb bush of florida always the guy on the bench now. he told a dallas audience yesterday, "i used to be a conservative and i watch these debates and i'm wondering. i don't think i've changed but it's a little troubling sometimes when people are appealing to people's fears and emotions rather than get them to look over the horizon for a broader perspective. and that's kind of where we are. i think get to the general election. i hope. now here he is more concerned about the other kinds of candidates. he also told a local reporter he wouldn't jump into the race. that one of the candidates apparently currently running would be the nominee. i think that's true. but he stressed the importance. this is jeb bush again, of not forgetting independent voters. let's watch jeb bush. >> it's important for the candidates to recognize, though, that they have to appeal to primary voters and not turn off independent voters that will be

part of a winning coalition. >> now, major it seems he's more talking about santorum and the stuff you are getting from newt gingrich about the moon and strange things. almost like two guys. the rational guy, that's certainly mitt romney. and the more notional, the ones with -- let's try this guy, kind of thing. what a strange campaign this is. >> it's been a strange campaign. the most important takeaway is don't get the white horse ready for me because i'm not your white knight. that's the bottom line most important takeaway. don't look for me to rescue this situation if you think it needs rescuing. point two, remember, within the bush family and that tea party aspect and activist wing of the party there's always been antipathy. it's grown since 2006. tea partiers do not consider themselves bush republicans. bush republicans and bush republicanism, somewhat in minimum high regard. so jeb bush is not exactly the spokesperson for that wing of the party when they hear him say that. they don't say there's something

wrong with me. they are more inclined to say there's something wrong with jeb. >> jeb was more the trusted conservative of the two. especially now. >> much more philosophic than w. >> it is fascinating how all of the most effective hits on santorum by romney at the debate the other night were for things santorum supported which were bush initiatives. as much bashing as the bush administration, republican years to -- >> the santorum record. >> why did you support no child left behind? why did you support the bailout? >> this is friday. you have your new nbc battleground map of which way states are leaning. the magic number to win the presidential election is 270 electoral votes. let's start with the democrats. this shows they 18 states and the district of columbia in blue either solidly, likely or leaning democrat. electoral votes out of the 227 right now. put that down. 227 for the democratic side as of now leaning or likely or there solidly. now to the republican side. this is the red map.

this map shows the 24 red states either solidly, likely or again, leaning republican. these states amount to 197 electoral votes. here's how the complete map looks right now with red and blue together. there it is. plus the eight toss-up states that could go either way. 118 electoral votes there. nevada, colorado, florida, north carolina, virginia, ohio, pennsylvania. wow. pennsylvania and new hampshire. well, what do you know. pennsylvania is a toss-up state. >> right now. we'll see if it hangs in there. >> it's always been democratic. >> the shift for us was the industrial midwest. wisconsin and michigan. both of those in toss-ups a couple of months ago. the only thing that shifted from democrat -- shifted the republican way in our map is iowa. and part of that, and you talk to some folks in team obama. and they will tell you, you had for six months, republican messaging anti-obama messaging sitting there.

and it has taken a toll and it's both in public and private polling we've seen. it's taken a toll. in iowa, it's not they're okay with the social conservatism a little more. the sort of rural white blue collar vote that could be up for grabs. less so in michigan. >> let's go really big picture. this election has always struck me as basically about keep it going or change. in the end, after all the personalities and crazy kerfuffles and you have this sound somewhat boring but, you know, not scary mitt romney and maybe chris christie is his running mate. who knows. to play to the right. and you have a solid business mechanic as an alternative to this more, well, more charismatic president we have now, barack obama. in the end, isn't it going to turn on a simple gut decision by most middle of the roaders, do you think this guy has got control of the economy and he's taking it somewhere or don't you? if you don't you go with romney.

is it still that basic situation? of yes or no about obama? not about all these interesting characters on the right? >> i think it is. i think we're shifting to a choice. >> really? >> part of this shift here is that it is shifting to a choice. i think voters make, and they've done it. in '96 and '04, a majority said, we're interested in somebody else. but it wasn't a majority to fire clinton or bush. they were looking somewhere else. but then there's still a slice that will be about a choice. and i think -- >> so you don't think it's like the picture on the -- >> i don't buy that it's a full-fledged referendum. >> i think consolidate or eradicate. if obama wins re-election he consolidates that which he's put in force his first two years. health care law, dodd/frank, the architecture of a new relationship between the federal and government american people. romney or the republican wins, they have all pledged to eradicate the central pillars of what barack obama achieved his first two years. consolidate meaning, you want this architecture to stay and

grow and thrive. from your perspective. or completely wiped away and replaced. consolidate or eradicate. >> that's the reality. >> snf consequential. >> how we -- >> taxes and health care. >> everything else. and how we regulate american business. that's all. you know, that's it. >> consolidate or eradicate. >> my theory is go in that voting boot yes or no? and it's a hard one. yes, or no. it's still the -- >> underline yes or no. consolidate or eradicate. >> thank you chuck todd and major garrett. coming up, mitt romney spoke to a crowd of 1200 today at a football stadium that held, well, 65,000 potentially. the bigger challenge may be explaining to michigan voters why he opposed the auto bailout which saved the auto industry which explains that shift in the industrial states back to obama because of this stuff. opposing the car industry. except for the two, well, the couple of cadillacs his wife's got. that's ahead. you're watching "hardball" on

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here's a totally unfair comparison of dueling stadium speeches n the crowds attending. take a look. on the left you see the packed crowd at invesco field at mile high in 2008 when barack obama accepted the democratic nomination for president. it was a full house that night in denver. and there on the right, well, that's romney's little crowd at ford field in detroit. all 1200 of them. and a lot of empty seats in that huge stadium. we'll be right back. [ gong ] strawberry banana! [ male announcer ] for a smoothie with real fruit plus veggie nutrition new v8 v-fusion smoothie. could've had a v8.

back to "hardball." mitt romney has a tough sell to make in michigan. he has to somehow quince voters he opposed president obama's bailout of detroit while at the same time arguing the bailout worked. because the president did exactly what romney said he suggested all along. here's romney taking a step at that argument at wednesday night's debate.

>> i wrote an op ed in the paper and i said absolutely not. these companies need to go through a managed bankruptcy just like airlines have and other industries have. go through a managed bankruptcy. and if they go through the managed bankruptcy and shed the excess of cost put on them by the uaw and their own mismanagement, then if they need help coming out of bankruptcy, the government can provide guarantees and get them back on their feet. >> well, just the proof that he had that audience stacked out there. they applauded the word bankruptcy. no audience in america aplauds the word bankruptcy unless they were cued to do it by a bunch of whips now the the audience. steve rattner was the lead adviser on president obama's auto task force and john heileman. take a look at something you wrote in today's "new york times." you wrote romney's managed bankruptcy plan, quote, sounds like a wonderfully sensible approach, except that it's utter

fantasy. i've heard you say this before, but remind us. what is his plan and would it have killed the auto industry? >> you just heard him say he wanted them to go through bankruptcy and if government needed to help on the way out, they could. the problem is if the auto industry had gone into a so-called managed bankruptcy, it would have never come out. in late 2008 when bush first gave them money and 2009 when president obama did, there wasn't a pen nev private capital anywhere in the system that had any interest in financing these companies. they would have shut their doors, laid off their workers and put over a million people out of work. >> the reason the government had to cough up the money with the guarantees was because there wasn't anybody out there saying, i'd love to invest in the auto industry. >> correct. look. nobody -- none of us, anyway, like the idea of government intervening in these industries. we didn't do it because we wanted to. we did it because we had to. it was a unique moment in time. a unique moment in american business and financial history when there simply wasn't any

private capital available. and our view was that was what government was there to do to step in when markets fail. >> let me go over to john on this. the success of the auto industry right now is really, i have to tell you, one of those things you never expected to happen. i mean, i'm obviously a civilian in terms of the economy out there. but the fact that it came back so big. we've got three auto companies. cars, what is it, ford number one now? they are taking on the foreign challengers. they are doing so well. this is a victory for obama, isn't it, politically? >> well, yeah. it certainly is. steve makes the correct point there really was -- people try to take this out of context. it was an extraordinary moment. it wasn't just people weren't investing in car companies. there was no private capital given the state of the economy and financial system after the near collapse. barack obama and his team with steve and others felt like this was the necessary thing to do. it was a huge gamble in some ways. if it hadn't worked out as well as it has, it could have been a

huge political albatross. instead, he's got a great club to beat mitt romney with or whatever the republican nominee is. rick santorum also opposed the auto bailout. he opposed he says, all bailouts. he won the famous home of the reagan democrats by seven points. with this as his main calling card, it's going to be hard for a republican to beat him in michigan. >> i think also in ohio and missouri. let me show president obama's super pac priorities usa. they released this ad hitting romney this week. >> his message was clear. >> let detroit go bankrupt. >> mitt romney. the little question he made a fortune from businesses he helped destroy. >> bankrupt, bankrupt. >> romney pocketed huge fees shortly before companies collapse. >> even when the businesses failed, romney came out ahead. are those the values we want in

an american president? >> bankrupt, bankrupt. >> well, steve, you have really done the country a service here working for president obama. i want to ask you a little secret. maybe you can't tell me. you remember after world war ii, you know from history how all that you had to do was reopen the trading zones in europe. that's what the marshall plan was about. get those countries that had gone through world war ii, get them trading again. re-create what's already there. the strong financial structure. and economic trading structure of europe. get it back on its feet. how did you know there were still fundamentals there in the american auto industry that could compete? >> we didn't know for sure but we did the work you do. we treated this like a private equity investment exercise i'd done in the private sector and we tore these companies apart through due diligence, put them back together. we believed there was nothing fundamentally wrong with these companies. they were efficient, making better products. they had too much debt, too many liabilities and costs, including

some for labor, that weren't sustainable. and it was a restructuring exercise. we felt confident about general motors and chrysler. they've exceed our expectations. they've done a fabulous job. >> can we do this across the sghoord ed schultz talks about it a lot. i care about it a lot. this area between pennsylvania and wisconsin. can we rebuild american manufacturing the way we rebuilt the auto industry? is it big enough, this idea here, to go across the board? >> no, unfortunately, i don't think this model fits completely. this was a unique set of circumstances with companies that had been mismanaged for a long time. the fact is that we can do better in manufacturing. we are doing better. but we have to remember that we are competing against a lot of them that are doing better at were lower wages. we want to do the best we can in manufacturing while we build up in other areas where we have a comparative advantage. >> it seems to me there's a

number of -- 63 to 28 advantage in the way people look at this. they love this bailout thing. i'm looking the ining at the ma looked at with chuck. people really like the bailout. then take it to states like michigan, ohio, missouri. maybe not indiana, but there's a lot of states at stake here on this issue. >> yes, there is. you remember in 2010, when republicans swept through those midwestern industrial state governorships and we looked at president obama's approval ratings. we pointed at that as one of the biggest political problems he was going to have. now his numbers are looking really good in most of those states. it makes the map a lot easier for him. if he can -- as you pointed out, there are a lot of states, not just michigan, that had suppliers, parts, a lot of related industrial activity that feed the auto industry. they are all benefitting from this, too. it's a big part of the reason why president obama looks so much better across that region now is the fact the auto industry has rebounded the tway has.

it's a huge asset for him going ahead to november. >> steve rattner, a great service to the country by bringing back the american auto industry and john heileman, as always, sir. jon stewart takes issue with newt gingrich's description of himself as, who would have thought, cheerful. that's newt for you. cheerful. the side show is next. you're watching "hardball" on msnbc. if there was a pill to help protect your eye health as you age... would you take it? well, there is. [ male announcer ] it's called ocuvite. a vitamin totally dedicated to your eyes, from the eye-care experts at bausch + lomb.

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back to "hardball." now for the side show. first up, strategy session that may have sounded like the most straightforward of questions at wednesday night's debate when the four gop candidates were asked to simply describe themselves in just one word. still some of us were a bit thrown when newt gingrich went with cheerful. here's jon stewart weighing in on the debate and gingrich's one-word description of himself. let's watch. >> believe it or not, the 20th debate of this campaign season.

one more and the debates will be able to drink legally. mostly to forget about the terrible things they've heard. newt gingrich who throughout the night articulated a world view that made him sound like he'd grown up during the great depression, several world wars and had the bubonic plague. >> virtually any part of the danger could be in danger at any point. all of us are at risk more. men and women, boys and girls than at any other time in the history. >> all right. after all that, i'm almost afraid to hear gingrich's one word for himself. >> cheerful. >> well, maybe newt gingrich is cheerful because he likes it when things go bad. think about that, jon. what a difference four years makes. senator john mccain may be

backing romney now but that was far from the truth in 2008. here's a new ad giving us a flashback to some of mccain's favorite descriptions of romney when they were both vying for presidential nomination. >> one thing we should give romney credit for. he is consistent. he's consistently taken both sides of any major issue. he's consistently flip-flopped on every issue. on cap and trade. he flip-flopped. i haven't changed my position on even numbered years or have changed because of the different offices that i may be running for. i don't know how to respond to a lot of his charges because tomorrow he may have a different position. i just want to say to governor romney, we disagree on a lot of issues, but i agree you are the candidate of change.

>> that insane giggle he has. he keeps downright giggling every time romney shows up to be inconsiste inconsistent. anyway, up next -- in a year that's supposed to be about jobs, jobs, jobs, why are the republicans talking about birth control, abortion and gay marriage? they are reminding everyone how far to the right they've gotten. you're watching "hardball" on msnbc. [ female announcer ] want to spend less and retire with more? then don't get nickle and dimed by high cost investments and annoying account fees. at e-trade, our free easy-to-use online tools and experienced retirement specialists can help you build a personalized plan. and with our no annual fee iras and a wide range of low cost investments, you can execute the plan you want at a low cost.

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i'm milissa rehberger. president obama says the u.s. and its allies will look for every tool available to stop the syrian government from killing civilians. meanwhile, more than 100 were killed in syria today, including 14 children. so far, only 27 wounded have been evacuated from the hardest hit areas. in afghanistan, protests over the bunk korans at a u.s.

air base led to the deaths of seven people. 20 people have died over the last few days, including two u.s. soldiers. back to "hardball." >> how do you feel? how do you feel, bob marshall? how do you feel? shame! shame! shame on you. shame! shame! shame! shame! >> that captures the scene. welcome back to "hardball." that's the virginia delegate right there trying to talk there who sponsored a personhood bill being shouted down at the state capitol in richmond. the bill defines a fertalized human egg as a person was tabled, put aside, until next

year. in a big win for virginia democrats and a big rebuke to virginia republicans. sex and politics are colliding now in three big states right now. run by three high-profile governors in a way that could tilt the national political balance. in virginia, it's abortion politics with a republican legislature overreaching and a republican governor having to backpedal. in maryland, it's same-sex marriage with a democratic governor poised to make his state the eighth to legalize same-sex marriage. opponents say they're going to challenge the law and get on the ballot in november. in new jersey, republican governor chris christie is very well known. there he is. he vetoed a bill legalizing same-sex marriage and wants to put it on the ballot in november. at a time when most thought the economy would dominate all political fights this year, remember the economy, stupid, back in the old days? cultural issues have come creeping back, you might say roaring back. what does this mean for 2012 politics? jennifer donahue is a fellow witho eisenhower institute. and david corn is an msnbc

contributor for mother jones magazine. it's great to have you on this friday. let's just look tat it in generl terms. let's start with virginia. virginia state politics there. why is it -- is it the republicans pushing it there? ultrasound was picked up -- well, why are they pushing like ultrasound and personhood and issues like that? 2012? >> i think the party has moved so far to the right in so many states around the country, that you see in virginia, a state that's a must win for republicans if they're going to win the election in the general election. going so far right with a bill like this that mcdonnell, governor mcdonnell looked at it. at first glance thought it was okay. then remembered he might be a running mate for mitt romney and realized maybe it's not okay. and said it's not acceptable. i think what you are seeing is a real takeover on the right, maybe an overreach on social issues where they think maybe

we've gotten this far in the primary race. maybe we keep this going and go for the gold. >> your thoughts as a male -- >> as a male. have to be careful. i'm serious. it's women primarily concerned. you are talking about abortion, birth control rights. and it seems like the republicans in virginia have felt the precipice, have felt the abyss and are pulling back. in terms of denying rights. >> it's not just in virginia. if you think back a year ago when the tea party house republicans took control of the house and took the gavel from speaker pelosi, one of the first things they did were to come up with abortion bills, redefining rape and all these things after talking about where are the jobs? their natural impulses seem to come out. i think on the jobs issue, they don't have a lot to say. cut taxes. cut regulations. the same old. but they're so driven by these social issues that once they get into power -- >> they run on lowering taxes and once they get in do all

this. when the ultrasound bill was picked up on our rachel maddow show and late night comedy secured the state. >> virginia has representatives this week passed a bill that required women to have a transvaginal ultrasound before having an abortion. really? now don't get me wrong. i love transvaginal. it's my favorite airline. i have so many miles on transvaginal that i always get upgraded to lady business. >> virginia wasn't done. they also passed a bill saying life begins at conception. what's next? life begins at last call? >> wow. anyway, making light of a subject that matters to a lot of people, obviously, there. jennifer, let me ask about the other. virginia, they might have felt they got too close to the precipice for their own electoral good especially if the governor wants to be on the ticket. the big guy up in new jersey who clearly wants to get on the

ticket, too. but he wants to make sure they don't get the idea he's some northeastern liberal. here's new jersey governor chris christie defending putting gay marriage up for a vote in his state and, by the way, vetoing it to get it there. let's listen. >> put it on the referendum and i'll be ruled by what the people of new jersey want to do. but i am not -- i vetoed the bill. and if they passed it again, i'd veto it again. >> do you not suspect the reason they'll put it on is because there's a reasonable chance it would lose? >> i think it's a jump ball in new jersey. as it is in most places. >> basketball terminology there but it's political reality. jennifer, i think what christie wants to do is convince the rest of the conservative country that his party, that he'd be a great rock 'em sock 'em running mate for mitt romney if he runs and this is his issue. he's staked out a conservative position for an east coast guy for many purposes but for the primary opportunity here it gives him to be mr. anti-gay marriage and get on the ticket that way. >> to your point, i think you're

right. i think it certainly neutralizes some of the criticism that romney's gotten from the right for something supported in some ways same-sex marriage in massachusetts. and that would innoculate himsef and romney from that charge. but i also think christie is making a longer term play to 2016 where i think christie thinks the party is going to stay to the right for that long. so i think it tells you a bit about where one very keen political mind thinks the party may be going in four years. >> there's a danger here for the republicans. >> there's a danger of him getting re-elected in new jersey, too. >> again. what is he talking about? he's talking about sex or, you know, gay civil rights or not civil rights, depending on your perspective. rather than the economy. why did they elect him in new jersey? it wasn't because of social conservative issues. they thought he could come in, deal with the deficit issues, deal with financial matters. he's a big, tough guy. take these things on. new jerseyans did not elect him to be -- >> he's a tough prosecutor. >> to be pat buchanan of new jersey.

>> why is he doing it? what's your conspiracy theory? why do right wingers when they get in office stop talking bread and butter and energy and taxes and go into this cultural fit? >> he's trying protect himself and mitt romney. i'm not sure jennifer is right that it's going to stay this far to the right in 2016. kind of depends what happens in 2012, whether there's any counterbalance if they lose badly. if the republicans lose badly. >> part of it maybe. but this is getting to his appeal as an independent minded thinking guy. >> attitude as we say. attitude. like i can stand up against the gays, the establishment and "the new york times." but i just think going against the gays, jennifer, my thought is it's a bad political move. like in godfather terminology, not the smart move. >> this is the problem, chris. what you are saying is right. basically, what the republican party is opening itself up to is looking like hypocrites. they are anti-government intervention, pro-civil libertyez until it comes to the politics of sex. at which point they become interventionists. and that's a really bad mark on

the party for most electoral votes and for most of the people in the middle of the party and in the country. >> my little opinion, we're all god's children. god made us the way we are. and this anti-gay stuff is bad. anyway, thank you, jennifer donahue and david corn. up next -- "hardball" goes hollywood. we're going to have some fun now. the oscars are sunday night. i never miss it. hollywood is about to stick it to the american right by celebrating france. this is "hardball" only on msnbc. thing. but we couldn't simply repeat history. we had to create it. introducing the 2013 lexus gs, with leading-edge safety technology, like available blind spot monitor... [ tires screech ] ...night view... and heads-up display. [ engine revving ] the all-new 2013 lexus gs. there's no going back.

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on wednesday night's republican debate, rick santorum said he endorsed senator arlen specter in 2004 over the concern of pat toomey as part of a deal. santorum said specter promised he'd support then president bush's nominees for the supreme court. now today, specter denied it all. here's what he told our own chuck todd this morning on "the daily rundown." >> that is flatly not true. we never had any such conversation. it would be improper to make a commitment on a vote before i knew who the nominee was and whether i thought the nominee was qualified. i've got a very strong reputation and a record behind it not to make deals like that. >> and nobody has a voice like arlen specter. specter, who famously left the republican party in 2010 because he thought it would help him get re-elected. also says he wouldn't endorse santorum today, even if he were

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advaircopd.com. we're back. i'll be watching the oscars this sunday night where one of the best movies of the year, "the artist," is up for ten awards. david edelstein is a film critic for "new york magazine." here's a clip from "the aifrt." movie star george valentin at the height of his career. let's watch. ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ ♪ >> oh, david, i venture to ask you what you thought of the movie. i'm afraid, but go ahead. your thoughts on "the artist." why it is such a hot movie. >> silent movie? you heard that music. it was so loud. like watching "captain

kangaroo." it's -- the movie is charming. it's very entertaining. it's a love letter to hollywood. i don't know anyone who thinks it's more than a trifle, but d it's more than trifle, i think the academy loves it because their demographic is over 50, white, male, about a kind of aging guy, pushed aside by a young tootsy and the thought of her coming back and saving the male. >> restore the romance from your criticism, it is about hollywood. we love the idea of a star being born, young woman is a superstar, we love watie watchi grow up. >> let me go and ask about the

movie. the french piece, it wasn't until late in the movie, everybody is french. but it seems like a nice kick in the face on the old w crowd, the chavenist of the last president -- >> the frenchies make fun of me because of my accent but i try. they loved hollywood movies. they love ford, wells, loved jerry lewis, so. >> they love jerry lewis. >> jerry, jerry, so i think because of that, they are perfectly happy to celebrate hollywood without celebrating americans. the modern american political system, however it's interesting -- >> little romance was a kid who loved the whole thing. i love france. >> chris we have an american director made a love letter to

french movies, martin scorsese, he won't win. the french guy. >> what about woody allen, sending his love letter to hemmingway. "the descendants" hawaiian land baron matt king meets his daughter's boyfriend for the first time. playing a regular guy, not a stud and i think it works. let's watch. >> dad, this is sid. >> hello, sid. >> hi. what's up, bro? >> don't ever do that to me again. get ready we're going to see your grandparents, scott auntie esther is going to watch you. >> what is going on is a family matter. sid won't be interesting in meeting your grandparents, he will be bored stiff. >> dad, i told you he would be with me. i'll be a lot more civil with

him around. >> what can i say? >> okay, david. i loved it what did you think, is this going to win best actor? >> i don't know. "the artist "might sweep. clooney p p clooney's performance, a handsome smoocher, he put you in the ides of march. here he is playing a guy who is kind of twisted, estranged from his family, estranged from hawaiian culture, a workaholic, everything that george clooney is not and frankly, i didn't quite buy it, but i love the effort, i love the performance, made me laugh all the way through. i loved the movie, i talked to more people who hate it, i don't quite understand why. >> let's talk about we only have a minute, i loved "the help" i

think viola davis will win best actress. always great to have you and argue with you, you belong on "hardball." when we return, a tribute to a comic giant i was reminded of when i saw "artist" you're watching "hardball" only on msnbc. [ male announcer ] if you believe the mayan calendar, on december 21st, polar shifts will reverse the earth's gravitational pull and hurtle us all into space, which would render retirement planning unnecessary. but say the sun rises on december 22nd and you still need to retire, td ameritrade's investment consultants

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let me finish tonight with this, the academy acards are on sunday night and everyone will be paying tribute to "the artist" the movie about the silent film era. an old star who falls because he can't adjust to the arrive of the talking pictures. when i watched the movie, i couldn't help think of the show business figure, the great nbc star who pioneered all this, did the whole bit about the silent film star who couldn't adjust back in the golden age of television. i know a lot of of people watch him will know what and who i'm talking about and those who don't, pay attention. this is about greatness. back in the 1950s, a show called "your show of shows" writers like woody allen, mel brooks, neil simon, the great carl reiner and howard morris and it had sid caesar.

i remember one show where he played someone modeled on the great film star john gilberts who voice killed him when the talkies arrived. our star is saved by his misfortune, he catches a cold, voice drops to a resonant barotone. someone had to continually pour a pu bucket of water on him. all these years later i remember sid caesar as that star from the silent era trying to get back to the top i keep thinking of that skit of his when i watch "the artist" which is what it's about. the struggle of a silent film star to get back on top when he could hear the applause one more time. all i can say is if you're watching today, how