president obama wants the facts. let's play "hardball." good evening, i'm chris matthews out in washington. tonight the president weighs in. it is inevitable that it happened today that president obama was asked about the shooting death of 17-year-old trayvon martin. mr. obama aid that all of us have to do some soul searching now to figure out hu out how something like this could happen and then he said this. >> my main message is to the parents of trayvon martin. you know, if i had a son, he

would look like tray von. >> wow, with the last time that the president was asked about a racially charged police incident, the moment backfired on him when he sharply criticized the cambridge, massachusetts, police officer, but this time, he got it just right. and yet another sign that the republicans see a winnable election slipping away from them, peggy noonan told mitt romney that it is time to get off of the goofball express she say says and enough of the cheesy grits and the singing and the jaens and the compulsively plez sants and calling the opponents lightweights. act like a president. and does he have it him or does he have what an aide called him an etch a sketch. >> the president signed the popular health care law, and so has the president's hypocrisy on the issue, and continuing the charade that obama care and romney care are essentially the same thing. we know you can't wait for

it. "mad men" begins sunday night, and we will bring you some of the real mad men who brought presidential politics in 19f 64. we begin with the trayvon martin shooting. we are joined by two political analysts. let's listen to the president. here is what we know and by the way start with the facts as we know them and please correct me, because we will argue some of the facts as we know them. the official police reports regarding the shooting of trayvon martin. sanford police, simmerman observed the wet back covered in grass, a bloody nose and blood on back of head. sanford city manager says zimmerman claims in police statement that he was returning to his truck to meet police when

trayvon was attacked, but then a 16-year-old girl on the phone with tray von said that she was being approached by a strange man and asked him what he was doing as he approached her. so we have sketchy evidence as to what happened. the president said he wants to find out what happened and he also said that if he had a son, he would look like trayvon and bringt back to the ethnic fact that we are familiar with here. >> and that is why the ethnic statement was perfect for him to elevate the statement and not drag it down to politics, but not deliver pathos either, because it showed a relatable moment, because he knows that he is telegraphing that he u.p. understands what is going on and how the parents might feel about this, and it was an important statement and quells a lot of the critics. >> and people from what?

describe the criticism? >> the criticism is that obama needs to say something. we have first black president here, and we have what appears to be a clear cut case of racial bias or at least that racial overtones in the case. >> and we will hear some of them in a moment, yes. >> and the president clearly needs to say something about this, and commander in chief, and h he knows the experience and this a moment for him to step in to advocate for the african-american. >> and another thing that is relevant is that his attorney general and close friend eric holder is out there investigating about some hate crime. >> yes, and the attorney for the civil rights division is hispanic and not only one of the thing th things that the justice department taking a look at this, but when the president spoke today, he also let us understand when he says this this this is what my son would look like, what he is saying is that it is power fful for many reasons, and most importantly, this is not some kid from the hood who might have been acting out where people might have necessarily said, he was engaging in the criminal

activity, but young man, well educated and middle-class family and mother and father love him and armed with nothing but a bag of skittles and iced tea and some lunatic says a black man in the neighborhood, and i will shoot him. maybe, maybe not, and we don't know what happened but we know that racial bias was involved and know he was shot by that guy and he is dead. the president said this could be any black man in america. >> i thought it was wonderfully said and i'm white obviously, but it was a statement that was well done. he almost has to speak like a pope and get it right the first time. your thoughts. >> well, that is part of the problem, because it is a blessing and a curse for the white house. the curse is that when you have situations like these that come up, many eyes in the african-american community turn towards the white house, because we have never been here before. and one of the presidents is not like the other, therefore, looking to him to make a statement either one way or another puts a lot of pressure that none of the predecessors or very few of the predecessors had.

>> and let's listen to the president whose first comments came today on the shooting death of trayvon martin. >> my main message is to the parents of trayvon martin. you know, if i had a son, he would look like trayvon, and -- you know, i think that they are right to expect that all of us as americans are going to take this with the seriousness that it deserves, and that we will get to the bottom of exactly what happened. >> and finding out what happened is probably the first, and maybe i am different than the other commentators because you have to find out what happened and you have to find out in court ultimately, but formally, and we know that the guy is arm and he has the stand your ground law on his side and he is acting like a pseudo policeman and no authority whatsoever, and yet he is on a neighborhood watch thing, and it is a toxic mix and he has a point of view that clearly this guy is a criminal.

>> well, he was a suspect even before anything started, because we have evidence or tapes purporting to show that zimmerman repeatedly called into question black men woalking through his neighborhood. >> this is serious business, because we have a tape here which we have here boosted something that the guy zimmerman says under the breath, and it sounds like to me listening a couple of times the f-word which we don't speak on television, and another word which is clearly recognized to anyone watching as a racial slur. let's listen to the tape. >> okay. which entrance is he heading towards? >> the back entrance. [ bleep ]. >> are you following him? >> yeah. >> okay. we don't need you to do that. >> okay. we cut it off there, and i don't know why we cut it off there. >> i have listened to the enhanced version of the tape and for whatever reason it is cut off here. >> well, it is this time.

>> and it is in the initial part where he is whispering under his breath and says fing -- >> well, we should not hide it, because if you listen to the tape it says fing coon under the breath and it is unmistakable and undeniable if you listen to the enhanced version and that in and of itself makes it a hate crime, and if the state authorities do not prosecute and properly investigate this, we will see a prosecution under the federal hate crime legislation, because what we have seen if this killing appears to be have been racially motivated. >> if you are in court and a prosecutor and/or a member of a jury or defense attorney, you will have to contend with this boosted sound of what he said on the 911. >> yes sh, the prosecution has contend with it, but this is how they built the case. one, this mr. zimmerman has a history of making a lot of phone calls to the police whenever he sees black men in his neighborhood. number two, you can hear it

clearly on the tape that the police ask him, are you following this person, and he says yes. they say we don't need you to do this, and he keeps doing this. and then you add in what he says fing coon. >> and no, i heard it. if you were sitting in my office a few moments ago, you would have heard it. >> you would have heard it. >> it is the fing word followed by a word that we all recognize as racially evil really go ahead. let's listen. >> it is evil. >> okay. which entrance is that that he is heading towards? >> the back entrance. [ bleep ]. >> are you following him? >> yes. >> okay. we don't need you to do that. >> you hear it, fing coon and he says we don't need you to do that and he continues to follow him and you put that together with trayvon speaking with the girlfriend and she is saying run from him, and you have motive and clearly based on the racial

bias. >> well, this is tricky prosecution, because it could be murder one, two, three, but now two levels here of the reporting here, joe, and one is that the justice department is moving on this case in what looks to be a case of a hate crime. looks to be. or sounds to be. clearly. and then you have the second issue there of the grand jury down there, so locally, and the president covered all of the bases today, because he said local, state, federal, we have to all get into action and do the right thing here. >> and to the last point, the actions speak louder than words in this particular case. the justice department was sent down a few words ago in addition to a community activism team to try to get things going to make sure they do the right thing in florida. the problem however going back to the initial point is that we have a law here, the stand your ground law that is replicated around the country, and that is as far as we know one of the trigger points of the shooting, and you mentioned that the shooter apparently felt like he had the law on his side. that is a powerful thing

especially when you consider the extended history that we have had of profiling of stopping people in wrong neighborhoods this this country. i mean, it happened to me. it happened to my dad in the '50s and to me in '80s and the '90s and now happening again and the added mix of what sounds like permissible violence in order to -- >> well, let me say something important here about the stand your ground laws. >> this is used by criminals, too, because people who are normally criminals have used this as a defense when they kill somebody. >> yes, that is why it is a flawed piece of legislation. >> and the important point to make is that regardless of the fact that this guy felt protected by the law, i can't imagine any black man in the united states of america who believes that if he were to stand his ground under this law and be the shooter and the victim was white he would not be prosecuted, but he would have been arrested and in jail and awaiting trial. absolutely that. law does not cover -- >> and that is the history. >> -- cover the blacks.

>> the history. thank you. joe williams have a happy weekend, but it is going to be disturbing for a number of people. michelle bernard, thank you. and mitt romney cannot shake the etch a sketch comment, and now this comment to mitt romney, get off of the goofy express. i don't think he is goofy, but he has a problem believing anything he says. but anyways, romney's continuing problems coming up next on "hardball" only on msnbc. twenty-five thousand mornings, give or take, is all we humans get. we spend them on treadmills. we spend them in traffic. and if we get lucky, really lucky, it dawns on us to go spend them in a world where a simple sunrise can still be magic.

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back to "hardball." this week has been the best of times and the worst of times for mitt romney, and he did capture the decisive win in illinois and cinch a closer win to nomination, but he can't shake what his aides said about him being an etch-a-sketch type. and this article comes from

peggy noonan. for mr. romney in particular, suit up now that everyone knows you will be the nominee, and get off of the goofball express. cheesy grits, jeans, singing, being compulsively pleasant, calling your opponents lightweights-enough. use the next few months to get back to basics. why do you want to be president? because i'm a fellow and it's the top job? dig down deep for a better reason. and now joining me is an nbc analyst and it is strange, because every time he gets something, it is not just goofball. >> well, peggy noonan's criticism is right in one respect, because mitt romney is constantly falling down by answering the questions. if you talk to the traveling

news press corps that would be a shocking comment for them, because he is notorious for the press avails and when he does limiting them to one or two questions. and for peggy noonan and other conservatives the race is settled and not numerically or calendar settled, but can romney ell vat t-- elevate the party with him. and he took a step tuesday. >> and his answer to peggy is i think i'm pretty good, and this is the best job in the country, so i think believe i should be here. >> well, the romney advisers believes he should be president because he is uniquely qualified in these times. he should say that more often, i have a skill set that meets this time. >> and i'm not super man or anything else, but when we have a screwed up economy, i can fix it.

so chris, what about it? >> well, all of the things that you point out, chris, cheesy grits and -- >> peggy did that. >> well, peggy pointed out that he is trying to be the 2008 mitt romney trying to be everything to everybody, moderate and totally conservative and this campaign to his credit for most of the time, they have stayed with the businessman route, and the more he gets afield from that, the worse he is, but major is right about this. if you look at the exit polling, chris, one fascinating thing comes up, romney's biggest advantage over santorum over all demographics group is that he has the right experience to be president and wins it overwhelmingly. in illinois he won a huge share of it and newt gingrich in second, and ron paul third and rick santorum fourth among the values that voters support, and if he wants to be clear, this is the background and this is why i'm uniquely skilled to make this case and not just in the primary, but in the general

election, too. >> and maybe he is not willing to make the chance on why he wants to be president is because the economy takes a second dip when they go in this spring to vote and say, we need a mr. fix it and willing to put the bets on the need for not continuing the president, but a person who knows business. and yesterday in the lou hewi hewitt's radio show, romney try tried to downplay the etch a sketch comment after the big win. >> what about that? the campaign stepping on its own story, governor? >> well, this time it was not ideal, of course, but you know, you never can, you never can estimate that every word that comes out of your mouth is going to be answersed in the way you want to describe it. rick santorum said the other day that he does not care about high unemployment. really? is that what he meant to say? >> that is not a good comparison, because the aide was saying exactly what he meant to say, this guy can reset and deny everything he said in the

primaries and adjust for the general, right? >> well, the question was not about strategy, and the question was not about financing or the overall metrics or mechanics of a general election and it is about the issues that you staked out here and now, and will they hurt you in the fall? reset. etch-a-sketch, shake it up and do it again. but one thing about the mr. fix-it for romney, and he has vulnerability, because all of the democrats will say, well, you said detroit should have gone bankrupt, and with your unique skills maybe you would have gotten that wrong, and you put together health care in massachusetts and you thought that was a fix-it then, but you say it is a bad idea now, and what about that? and right now he should say my instincts are right in these time times, but he will have areas where he is vulnerable. >> and what is the one word that people associate with the

candidates and one word to describe romney, and newt, and ron paul and rick santorum. we will be right back on msnbc.

huh. back to "hardball" and now for the side show. first up, what, no etch-a-sketch? when mitt romney's aide compared his shift in the primary to the general election as a etch-a-sketch, the new toy was a must have prop for santorum and gingrich, but ron paul, not so much, his campaign came out with in new ad on the topic and sounds like a bromance with him and romney. >> it is like an etch-a-sketch and you shake it up and start over again. >> the etch-a-sketch. >> where is my etch-a-sketch at. >> do you have an etch-a-sketch? >> we are talking about the big

things, folks. >> see it mainly goes after gingrich and santorum, but going after romney? not here. the paul campaign has released ads going after every campaign, but never mitt romney. and the debate heats up over birth control. and there is a as some call it a war on women. well, senator hannah was a sole congressman who had quite a message for the women in the crowd. wait until you hear it. let's watch. >> contribute your money to people who can speak on your behalf, because i have a lot of it. it is a dog fight and fistfight

and you have all of the cards. ki only tell you if get out there and use them and make it matter and get out there and get on tv and advertise and talk about this, and the fact that you want it is evidence that you deserve it and that you need it. >> well, did you catch that? he is saying to donate your money to the other side as in the democrats. well, he is going to take heat from his party on that, but hanna as a pro choice advocate will not be the first time he took heat from the party. and you know the game where you have a word or phrase and you say the first word that comes to your mind called word association? well, those were the rules behind a washington pugh poll, and the top two words for each of the candidates. mitt romney, no, rich. rick santorum, conservative and no. newt gingrich, old and no. and ron paul, no and old. so there's a pattern there, i

suppose. more people had negative words than positive for all of the candidates with newt gingrich taking the lead for the highest number of negative word choices. that is "hardball" ncoming up ns with j.j. ramberg." after they're burnt! [ male announcer ] treat your frequent heartburn by blocking the acid with prilosec otc. and don't get heartburn in the first place! [ male announcer ] one pill a day. 24 hours. zero heartburn. but what about your wrinkles. neutrogena® rapid wrinkle repair. it has the fastest retinol formula available. it's clinically proven to visibly reduce wrinkles in just one week. "why wait if you don't have to." rapid wrinkle repair. neutrogena®. recommended most by dermatologists.