dream a little dream. let's play some "hardball." good evening. i'm michael smerconish in washington for chris matthews. leading off tonight, dream act lite. for years democrats have tried to pass the dream act and for years republicans have stopped them. so today president obama issued an executive order that would stop the deportations of most illegal immigrants who arrived here as children. is this a blatant political play for the critical latino vote? you betcha. we'll break down the politics. at the top of the program. plus, president obama and mitt romney offer starkly different visions for fixing the economy. romney says trust the private

sector. president obama says that's another way of saying let's try those bush policies all over again. my question, can barack obama win re-election without offering some new vision for how to get the economy going again? also, could race be a bigger factor in the election than we thought? using google searches, a harvard researcher says racism cost barack obama three to five points in 2008 and could sink him this time. and the sandusky trial. one thing we're learning is that many people knew what was going on for a long time. so why did it take so long for people to speak up? finally, mitt romney's bus with it someone with a sense of humor driving an suv with a fake dog strapped on top. it of course is in the side show. we begin with the president's announ announcement today on immigration. howard fineman is with the editorial director for the "huffington post" and maria is here from voteo latino and both

are msnbc political analysts. let me get you caught up by hearing exactly what was said first by the president on this matter. the president had the following to say when he made this announcement in the rose garden. >> effective immediately, the department of homeland security is taking steps to lift the shadow of deportation from these young people. over the next few months, eligible individuals who do not present a risk to national security or public safety will be able to request temporary relief from deportation proceedings and apply for work authorization. this is a temporary stopgap measure that lets us focus our resources wisely while giving a degree of relief and hope to talented, driven, patriotic young people. it is the right thing to do. >> and then late this afternoon, mitt romney reacted to the president's announcement. >> i believe the status of young people who come here through no

fault of their own is an important matter to be considered and should be solved on a long-term basis so they know what they're put your would be in this country. i think the action the president took today makes it more difficult to reach that long-term solution. i'd like to see legislation that deals with this issue and i happen to agree with marco rubio as he looks to consider this issue. he said that this is an important matter. that we have to find a long-term solution, but that the president's action makes reaching a long-term solution more difficult. if i'm president, we'll do our very best to have that kind of long-term solution. >> howard fineman, i think i know how it plays with the respected bases of the parties, both the "rs" and the "ds," but the critical question is how does it play with the "is," the independents? >> that's one reason why mitt romney was being as careful here as i thought. he was saying long-term, not short-term. he wasn't denouncing it. i think that's important. that's because it is a close question.

if you're talking about swing voters as independents, then a lot of those swing voters are latinos. and i think this is very important for them, and a plus for the president. if you're talking about white working class americans, in states such as ohio and north carolina, in nevada, and elsewhere in florida that are swing states, also, then i think it's a closer question. it's obviously a very political thing. obviously, it's not about the number one topic in the country and in the election, which is the economy. and some of those independent voters don't like moves that look too political. so for them it could be a turnoff. >> you heard governor romney's invoekz of marco rubio's name. was his stock going sky high today? >> i think his stock was already going sky high and i think in part that the obama campaign sees that and they want to get in there ahead of the possibility of rubio becoming the running mate. they don't want to look like they're reacting to rubio and

the president needs forward motion on something. it's kind of like the thing in case of emergency, break glass. okay? this was kind of in case of emergency, break glass. let's do this hispanic thing now. >> maria -- >> you know. >> a cynic would say let's look at the states that would be impacted by this, florida, colorado, virginia, nevada. it's half of those that are the swing states. >> it is swing states, but i think howard is right. had president obama done this six or seventh months ago, the latino community would have remembered and fixed his enthusiasm gap that is present now. but now -- and moderates by now would have forgotten this nishlg step that he did. now moderates are going to say wait a second, i don't have a job. this is uncomforting for me. why are you talking about jobs and providing special privileges. however what the obama campaign has done smartly is basically saying we're going out before rubio, before romney and own this media campaign and media messaging. whatever rubio or romney does now, it's going to be difficult for them to own this issue. >> speaking of senator rubio, he

issued a statement himself on this issue today. we've got it to put up on the screen so everybody can take a look at marco rubio's i call it lukewarm statement on obama's executive order. there is broad support for the idea he wrote that we should figure out a way to help kids who are undocumented through no dpault of their own, but there's also broad consensus that it should be done in a way that does not encourage illegal immigration in the future. today's announcement will become welcome news for many of these kids desperate for an answer, but it's a short-term answer to ray long-term problem. what does that mean politically? >> i think he's right. that wrub 50 rubio's -- the legislation that he wants to propose is actually creating a path to legalization and residency. president obama's does neither. neither citizenship nor residency. it just basically provides the opportunity for a kid to get a job or go to the military. the big difference between romney and president obama is romney has only wanted to support dream act that is only for the military. that really ruffled some feathers.

not just latino feathers, but also a lot of moderate and progressives who are saying wait, these young people can sangry nice our life for our country but they can't be doctors or accountants or engineers? that doesn't make any sense. >> howard, i thought of newt gingrich when i heard the announcement today, it reminded me of what i thought i heard the former house speaker saying on the campaign trail that incurred the wrath of his gop opponents. >> one thing that the white house is doing here is trying to keep might romney in the corner that mitt romney put himself in as a conservative during the primary season in order to outflank rick perry and others on the immigration issue. and they're trying to back him into the corner by going as far as they have. i totally agree it's a halfway measure. and if you read the three-page letter of order from secretary napolitano, you can see it really isn't a sweeping thing here. and they can slow walk it to the extent they want. but politically, i think it was a, overall, it was a pretty shrewd stroke on the part of the the president.

>> maria, let's watch because in a republican presidential debate, newt gingrich and mitt romney sparred over immigration policy with gingrich portraying romney as heartless. romney saying he's enforcing the law. >> is he still the most anti-immigrant candidate? >> i think of the four of us, yes. >> go ahead. >> that's simply inexcusable, inexcusable. >> you tell me what language you would use to describe somebody who thinks that deporting a grandmother or a grandfather from their family -- just tell me the language. i'm perfectly happy for you to explain the language you'd use. >> mr. speaker, i think i described following the law as it exists in this country, which is to say i'm not going around rounding people up and deporting them. what i said was people who come here legally get a work permit. people who do not come here legally do not get a work permit. those who don't get work will tend over time to self-deport. >> maria, what the president put forth today, does it really change things? maybe this is a naive question on my behalf. are the sort of folks that he's

talking about susceptible really being deported as things stand right now? >> it does give relief to a lot of biggest advocates within the immigration movement, which have been young dreamers. young people. they're the ones that have been staging hunger strikes, walking around the country. they're the ones who have created this media swell that has been very difficult for the obama administration to back away from. i think what romney -- what i really caution romney with is, again, he's the one that says he's for some sort of immigration, but he has strange bedfellows. the architect between the arizona sb-1070 legislation is one of his largest supporters. the fact he has pete wilson, the one that is basically chairman of the california caucus, of his campaign in california, that's a dirty word among the latino community. he's saying one thing, but the folks he's moving his campaign along is very anti-latino, anti-immigration. >> speaking of bedfellows, steve king, the republican from iowa, has already said he wants to sue

the administration over what the president just announced today. iowa is a swing state. now, everybody in iowa knows steve king already. there's no news there. but to the extent that the obama campaign in iowa can tie romney to steve king on immigration with this latest play, it's marginally helpful to the president in that state. >> quick question for you, howard. the timing of this. why today? it's the beginning of summer. this is a serious and big-picture issue. politically speaking, this the time to drop it? >> i think there's a big political meeting next week involving the latino community, that's one and i think the president wants to change the subject, quite frankly, after several weeks of dismal news on the economy and the politics of the economy. don't forget, to some extent, the president is running a cultural campaign against the romney's economic campaign. he's got a big gay rights event going on at the white house today. he made this announcement on

latinos. so he's going cultural to change the subject from the economy. >> was today the time to do this? >> absolutely because the supreme court is going to come out on their decision with arizona sb-1070. which basically today the congressional members, lindsey graham said that immigration is literally a congressional issue. so now they're forcing the supreme court to say, wait a second, the states can't be deciding. it's going to be interesting how it plays out. >> the days of waiting for labor day for the starting gun to be fired are long over. >> true. >> this baby is under way. >> that's correct. >> thank you, howard fineman. thank you maria teresa kumar. coming up, president obama and mitt romney offer two different visions of how to fix the economy. mitt romney wants to leave it to the private sector. president obama says that's what got us into this mess. this is "hardball." the place for politics. ♪ ♪ [ multiple sounds making melodic tune ] ♪

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if you want to give the policies of the last decade another try, then you should vote for mr. romney. >> he's been president for three and a half years. and talk is cheap. actions speak very loud. >> welcome back to "hardball." we may have reached an inflection point in the campaign when president obama and mitt romney faced off against each other yesterday in dualing speeches in ohio. mr. obama tried to frame the election as a choice between his economic policies and the republicans failed agenda of the past. mitt romney for his part tried to make it a referendum on the president's last three and a half years in office. joining me know, joan walsh and editor at large for salon. and john feehery is a republican strategist. thank you for being here. president obama held up governor romney's economic policies as carbon copy of a failed george w. bush agenda.

>> the economic vision of mr. romney and his allies in dodge was tested just a few years ago. we tried this. their policies did not grow the economy. they did not grow the middle class. they did not reduce our debt. why would we think they would work better this time? >> joan walsh, is blame bush still potent? >> you know, i think polls show it is. voters blame bush, michael, but i think he did more than that. i think an interesting thing that the president did, he's making the case, i'm not just digging out of eight years of republican leadership, lack of leadership, i'm digging out of 30 years. he really told quite a compelling story about how we disvested in our middle class over these years. we had wages begin to stagnate and decline. we had women, moms go into the workforce, families tried to keep up.

we had families then borrowing against their houses, that was true because their wages weren't keeping up. starting with reagan, we dis-invested in public education. here in california, the system was free until ronald reagan. we've seen college tuition costs double and triple. so it's a long-term story that kind of culminates in the crash of 2008 when things really fell apart. he's trying to make people understand that this is not something that just started. >> i guess what i'm asking is even if americans buy into that portion of the logic, at this stage of the election, aren't they looking for more that's forward looking? john feehery, i guess i'm making your argument for you. >> the big problem i have with this argument, well, i have a lot of problems with the argument, first of all, george bush is not on the ballot, president obama is. how has the president done and what is his vision for the next four years?

this is a curious time to blame george bush. it's a long end to his administration. he could have made that the first year, but this is three and a half years into his administration. and job growth has been so stagnant and remarkably lousy that i just don't think it works with most voters. i know what joan's saying. there's a poll saying you still blame bush. bush is not on the ballot and i don't think it's going to work for president obama. if he wants to win this election, he's got to hope for two things. hope that the economy improves and he gives a vision for the future. >> here's what he did say looking forward, the president laid out his ideas for moving as the campaign slogan says, forward. here's that audio. >> i believe we need a plan for better education and training and for energy independence and for new research and innovation, for rebuilding our infrastructure. and if you agree with me, if you believe this economy grows best when everybody gets a fair shot and everybody does their fair

share and everybody plays by the same set of rules, then i ask you to stand with me for a second term as president. >> here's the the part that i'm not getting from him, joan. i'm not getting the part that says if the gop maintains control of the house and if there's continued, i'll say the word, intransigence, i'll say on the part of the republicans who will provide the leadership in the house, then how is he going to get any of these things accomplished? i haven't heard it from romney either. neither of them to my way of thinking have addressed the hyperpartisanship and how they're going to get beyond that. are you hearing something, joan wall rn, that i'm not hearing? >> the one thing i did hear, michael, is he said repeatedly it's up to the voters to break the stalemate. he did point to that intransigence over and over and he also pointed back to ronald reagan who i criticized before. but he really did, at the end of the speech, did something important which said, look, our post-war america was strong. because we had a bipartisan consensus about the roll of the

government and in growing the economy. it wasn't the government did it alone. it wasn't the government controlled everything. it was that we built roads and we funded r&d and we funded schools and public universities because that made smart people and it made businesses strong. and we are stuck because this republican party has moved so far to the right they wroent even -- they won't meet me where ronald reagan met democrats or where dwight eisenhower or richard nixon met democrats. so he's saying his goal -- the three of us can disagree about whether this is going to be effective is, he's saying you know the thing to do, voters? you have to break the stalemate. you have to tell the republican party, why have you gone off a cliff and why have you lost your minds? >> i've got to say thanks to joan walsh and john feehery. up next, mitt romney can't outrun that story about why he put the dog on the roof for the

vacation. that's next on the "side show." and if you want to follow me on twitter, figure out how to smell smerconish. this is "hardball." the place for politics. it's time to live wider awake. only the beautyrest recharge sleep system combines the comfort of aircool memory foam layered on top of beautyrest pocketed coils to promote proper sleeping posture all night long. the revolutionary recharge sleep system... from beautyrest. it's you, fully charged.

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welcome back to "hardball." time now for the "side show." first up, jon stewart took on senate banking committee member jim de mint yesterday for his gentle questioning of ceo jamie dimon. take a look at this. >> they didn't just haul jamie dimon in to tell him how good he is and huge he is. they also brought him in to talk about how terrible they, the senate are. >> we can hardly sit in judgment of your losing $2 billion. we lose twice that every day here in washington. >> did senator demint think that spending money is the same as

losing money? i had $10 million yesterday and now all i see is this [ bleep ] highway. i don't understand. i don't understand where it's going. where's my money? we're going to have to dig this up and find my money. >> stewart's right. there's a big difference between building something and blowing it. next, mitt romney just can't shake the dog on the roof story. romney's on a bus tour through new hampshire. guess who is right there with him? that's right, the suv called the romney mobile with a fake dog strapped to the roof. you can see it there. he would be proud. next up, in michigan, two democratic female state legislators were banned from speaking on the state house floor this week. one, seemingly, for referring to her vagina in a heated debate over an anti-abortion bill. here's democrat lisa brown. >> i have not asked you to adopt and adhere to my religious beliefs.

why are you asking me to adopt yours? and finally, mr. speaker, i'm flattered that you're all so interested in my vagina, but no means no. >> brown later told "the daily beast," quote, if i said elbow would i have gotten in trouble? if you're regulating vaginas, i don't know how we're not supposed to talk about them. the second lawmaker was told she was out of order for arguing for her moment, which would force men getting vasectomies to show that their life was at risk or prove that they had a medical emergency. a spokesperson for the speaker said the decision was about the need to keep the floor debate civil and mature. and lastly, florida governor rick scott tells "the miami herald" that he voted by provisional ballot back in 2006. why you might ask? quote, you can't vote because you're dead. you passed away according to our voter rolls. scott says he was told. after providing his i.d., they allowed him to vote with a provisional ballot.

it turns out the governor was born the same day as another richard scott who had passed away. that's "hardball" for now. coming up next, "your business" with j.j. ramberg. wake up! that's good morning, veggie style. hmmm. for half the calories plus veggie nutrition. could've had a v8.

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