k k kryst krystal and steve, his contributions here, and s.e., you may think she speaks like glenn beck, but i've talked to her and it is exciting for me and i think it's exciting for them and we'll all learn this a bit sooner than later. but we're out of time. so let you hear from them tomorrow. a full segment tomorrow. this was a tease. for the next to last time will say to you, thank you for watching. "hardball" begins right now. stop dreaming. let's play some "hardball." good evening. i'm michael smerconish in for chris matthews. during the republican primaries,

mitt romney tried to outflank his conservative opposition with talk of self-deportation and support for arizona's tough immigration law. today, eager, some might say desperate to win over latino votes, romney softened his tone and talked of bipartisan reform. can he sketch away the months of tough talk with one speech? plus, the miami campaign tells rick scott stop talking about how good the economy is. it clashes with our message. in other words -- also, why is team obama smiling over the contempt vote over attorney general holder? because it allows the democrats to tie mitt romney to an extreme republican majority and we may now know why jersey sandusky decided not to testify at his own trial and it involves what his adopted son would have said about him on the stand.

finally, leave it to joe the plumber to blame the holocaust on gun control. hey, joe, stick to plumbing. we begin with mitt romney on immigration. leslie sanchez is a republican strategist. bob shrum is a democratic strategist. remember when mitt romney was heard saying if they can't get more hispanics to vote for their party, that would spell doom for them? today, he was speaking to a group of hispanic leaders at the national association of latino elected and appointed officials in florida. after last week's executive order from president obama on halting deportations from some illegal residents, romney was expected to clarify where he hands on that issue. how did he do? >> last week, the president finally offered a temporary measure. he called it a stopgap measure that he seems to think will be enough to get them through the election. some people have asked if i will let stand the president's

executive order. the answer is that i will put in place my own long-term solution that will replis and supersede the president's temporary measure. as president, i won't settle for stopgap measures. i'll work with republicans and democrats to build a long-term solution. >> leslie, did he offer today that which you thought he needed to close that gap in the latino community? >> i did. i think many analysts, many folks are saying he had to speak specifically to the immigration issue. i think what governor romney had to do that he did very well is speak to having an alternative, that latinos can be the ball. he spoke particularly on this issue of immigration. two points. one, he would have his own permanent solution to this and two, he would work with democrats. that spirit of bipartisanship in a crowd that is overwhelmingly democrat is extremely important.

they want to know it's a safe bet for someone who will work with them. >> but was he not lacking in specifics as to what that would be? >> i don't think so. i think he laid out a more general specific outline of immigration reform. there's a lot more decision that needs to go in that, but he talked about enforcement, both exterior and interior. he talked about the value. there were some strong applause lines, but most important thing he did was he focused on the economy. latinos are going to be looking at their own pocketbook, their own financial security. as much as people would like to say it's the issue of immigration, it's the lens of which people will judge him. >> bob, you know the numbers. it's accepted by outsiders that unless romney closes that gap with the hispanic community, then he's a loser. is that necessarily the case? can he maintain the position he

is now and still pursue a strategy? >> there's thot a lot karl rove and i agree on, but that's the truth. number two, that was a wonderful phrase leslie had. a general specific plan. i thought it was remarkable. >> i work hard on those, bob. >> i thought it was a remarkable day and he did say that he was going to take away the president's provision to end porations for those brought here as kids and who are not young people except for those in the military. that means millions of people who obeyed the law, have graduated from high school, are going to be back in immigration limbo. i don't think it's enough for him. after all he said in the primaries and by the way, the obama campaign will remind people of this. in television and advertising all the way to the election, i don't think it's enough for him to offer generalities. had a really good recommendation

this a "new york times" op-ed piece almost a month ago. said he ought to embrace the dream act otherwise risk losing the vast majority of hispanics and the election. >> he's done his opposition research on you. >> i actually adwree with her on that. >> romney's message focused on the economy. allow me to show you this. when he talked about immigration, he made an economic argument. let's watch. >> hispanics had been hit disportiona disportionatly hard. hispanic unemployment is at 11%. immigration reform is not just a moral imperative. it's also an economic necessity. immigrants with advanced degrees start companies, create jobs and they drive innovation at a very high rate. if you get an advanced degree here, we want you to stay here. so i'd staple a green card to

the diploma -- >> leslie, rank the issues immigration and economy for the latino community. in other words, there's a tendency for those of us outside the community to think that illegal immigration or how to deal with lawful immigration is the paramount issue even for those already here about to vote in this election. are you arguing no, it's the economy that takes priority? >> absolutely. for 30 years, the democrats have earned no less than 60% of the hispanic vote. until george w. bush. and what bush did was shifted the conversation for this open minds, swing vote latino voter to the economy. they started looking at their own financial security. good jobs. the ability to grow their small businesses. that shift with george w. bush continued, i would argue that in 2008, many of these swing voters gave the benefit of the doubt to president obama and that was what's interesting about this speech. governor romney acknowledged the

fact that president obama's extremely popular in the latino community. he said four years ago, three and a half years ago, you gave him the benefit of the doubt cht it was basically the idea are you better off. there is a better alternative. it was a very savvy move. he's speaking to the personal interests of small businesses, which are thriving, growing. many are suffering under obamacare. he talked about appealing and e replacing it. that was an aplouz line. these are folks that understand the economics of the hispanic vote. >> i wonder if he's locked in by things he said in primary season. because in the primaries, romney ran to the right of his opponents and championed for self-deportation for illegals. one debate, he hit rick perry for his record in texas. >> in the state of texas, if you've been in texas for three years, if you're working towards your college degree and if you

are working and pursuing citizenship in the state of texas, you pay in-state tuition. >> if they came for a handout, they'd be voting for democrats. with regards to illegal immigration, of course we'd build a fence and do not give in-state credits to people who have come here illegally. that only attracts people to continue to come here and take advantage. >> bob, big applause line as you can tell, but are those sort of statements now an impediment for where he needs to be? >> oh, sure. they're a big impediment and he's going to hear them over and over again. what we heard from leslie was a remarkable rewriting of history. bush did a good job with the hispanic community in 2004 but that's because he was in the process of working with ted kennedy, john mccain, toward a comprehensive immigration reform of the kind reagan had. you know what? you talk, i'll finish. what happened there was not the economy. which was not in great shape in

2004. and in fact, there was no net job creation during the bush administration. look, hispanic voters are smart just like other voters. they know where this economic problem came from. they know it came from the bush economic policies. romney wants to reinstitute those policies and if you look at some of the state polls this week, they're very interesting. new poll out in arizona where the president's only three points behind. that's remarkable l. a ten-point flip in florida. he's now four points ahead. and if you look inside those polls, a lot of that is being driven by hispanics. i don't think romney's mealy mouthed discussion today would leave millions of people in limbo is going to help him with the hispanic community. >> leslie, you can respond, but i want you to address the issue of whether what really happened here was that romney was trumped. and reeb owe, ubio, in that the

intending to persue something similar. >> i heard senator rubio talking about that, this it took a lot of the impetus behind his colleagues to move with something right away. that meet is gone basically and i think in an election year, it's always tough to move forward on immigration reform. as long as the democrats continue to believe that immigration reform is is the big deciding factor for latino voters, then republicans have clear opportunity to make inroads. >> tells us republicans don't -- latinos. >> thank you, leslie sanchez. coming up, enough with the good news already. the romney campaign tells rick scott to stop talking about how good the economy is in his state. that's because it doesn't quite jive with the romney message that the economy is a mess. can they have it both ways? this is "hardball," the place for politics. [ male announcer ] trophies and awards lift you up.

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we've got new polling data from key battleground states. starting in florida. where a new quinnipiac poll shows president obama with a four-point lead over mitt romney. that's a ten-point swing from where things stood a month ago when romney led by six. now to michigan, a state that's gotten close in recent weeks. the new mitchell poll has obama with a one-point lead and finally, wisconsin, a state republicans hope to win after fending off a recall earlier this month, but it's law school. literally across the street from her sister. [ banker ] but someone else bought it before they could get their offer together. we really missed a great opportunity -- dodged a bullet there. [ banker ] so we talked to them about the wells fargo priority buyer preapproval.

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welcome back. we've seen signs that the economy is improving in battleground states, but what we

haven't seen today is how much that concerns the romney campaign. bloomberg reports mitt romney's presidential campaign asked rick scott to tone down his statements heralding improvements in the state's economy because they clash with the republican nominee's message that the nation is suffering under president obama. that's according to two people familiar with the matter. the story says romney's campaign made the request after scott's re-election campaign sent a press release touting 11 consecutive months of improved unemployment numbers, which democrats say are a testament to president obama's policies. joining me now is michael steele, the former rnc chair and msnbc political analyst and former special counsel to president clinton. both are partners in the new bipartisan firm, purple nation solutions. so men, in the spirit of bipartisanship, let us discuss this. can they have it both bays? can they trash the president and tout what's going on in their states?

>> no, they can't. i'm a little suspicious. i've been a leaker myself and i don't trust that sourcing by bloomberg, but if that's what they said, i would say that the republicans cannot have it both ways and governor scott has a right to tout numbers. the ultimate reality is how people feel, not which is being touted or what the spin message is. >> and michael, not just any states. we're talking some critical swing states on this list. florida chief among them. >> you're right. i would disagree with lanny and point to the extent that a lot of this is less about what obama has done and what the governor has done to turn his economy around in his state. you forget. the federal government doesn't run individual states. it's what the chief executive does. the policies they put in the place, when you come in the door to hit the ground running and certainly, florida was important politically, but also economically and i think you know, the governor's done a number of things to help move

that economy in the right direction, so i would agree to the extent that the sources are a little suspicious. anyone who can't man up if you will and put their name to quotes like that. i'm a little bit suspicious about. >> let me give you an example. >> across florida, here's the news. companies are hiring. expanding. putting more floridans to work. florida's unemployment rate continues to get better. now at a three-year low. so what's changed? governor rick scott's cutting the red tape. getting government off the backs of businesses. over a dozen new pro business initiatives passed by governor scott and republican ledge islators. florida's getting back to work. >> lanny, the only thing missing is i'm barack obama and i approve this message. if you were half in the bag

watching that, you'd think it was an obama commercial. >> last time i looked, the governor of florida had some pretty bad approval numbers. just sign and paid for by the barack obama campaign. i don't believe it matters. although michael and i are he's red and i'm blue and we came together as a company and are looking for solutions and we're purple, the fact is, it really doesn't matter. it matters how people feel and right now, there is a movement that people are saying they feel better now than they did last year and the year before about the direction of the economy. that's what reagan benefitted from. >> michael steele, isn't it true we tend to give politicians too much credit and blame? that there are things going on, they're not calling the shot for, but happy to take the praise and reluctant to take the critici

criticism. >> there's a real truth there that you come into office. we spent a first three and a half years listening to barack obama whine about george bush, for example, so there is, there's some u truth to that, but there's also the reality that commercial is a reflection of the steps and the efforts that the governor has taken in his state to turn around. to work with the republican led to put the businesses back to work. i think you've got to be very careful when you try to federalize the states and work that they're doing. i speak as a former lieutenant governor where he inherited a $2 billion deficit from the previous democrat administration. over the course of four years, fixed that, raised an additional 2 billion in revenue that we were able to put in the bank and we did it without raising taxes and relying on the federal government necessarily to get it done. so you've got to look at that. >> in my state, we really did e

deserve the credit. >> what i'm saying that's true for governor, for scott as well. that he has the opportunity to turn his state around and he clearly has done that. you talk about the polls. the people in the polls will remember that you know, scott walker was not very popular in the state of wisconsin. look what happened a couple of weeks ago. >> rick scott's not alone in this. republican governors all over the country, including romney surrogat surrogates, are bringing attention to their state's progress. john casic, michigan the e. and scott walker who you just mentioned, credited the state'sn the recall election. >> could we just say it straight? i think michael will agree with this even though we're looking at it from different political perspectives. if the situation were in reverse and the unemployment was going

up in florida, rick scott would be blaming barack obama. now, let's just get it straight. both sides play this nonsense game and by the way, the polls you showed, a 1% margin isn't a margin at all and the clip of whatever you said in florida, you still have my president who i'm supporting stuck in the '40s with all the things i think are wrong with mitt romney. so we have a tight contest here and it is going to be about real perceptions of the economy, not how people with spending. >> i want to see the purple interior. thank you, michael, lanny. up next, joe the plumber hits a new hole. he blames the holocaust on gun control. stick around for the side show. this is "hardball," the place for politics. you can prevent gas with beano meltaways,

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first up, all five romney sons, that would be josh, tag, craig, ben and matt appeared on conan o'brien's show yesterday and conan came up with a not so novel system for keeping track of their names. >> you know what? this seems like a joke, but it's not. this will make this work a little better. i have name tags. could you distribute these? i don't know who's who and have been looking at your pictures for days. josh, tag, craig, ben, matt. my first question, why the name, tag? all of you guys, all boys. my question is, was one of you a girl being raised as a boy? >> you want to take this one? >> this seems like a large family to me. but this is just the tip of the iceberg. we have a photo here of a family

gathering of the the romneys. absolutely incredible. you can tell when you guys get together, there's a global khaki shortage. you're all dressed the same, but you can tell ben is the rebel in stripes. check that out. >> and they were all good sports about it. next up, if you're having trouble keeping up with the conservative conspiracy theorys around fast and furious, take a look at this. >> i'm so mad about this. just thinking about fast and furious makes me quickly angry. >> very clearly, they made a crisis and are using this to take away people's second amendment right. >> clearly. obama started this gun tracking program in 2006 when he hypnotized george bush, then ordered holder to order the justice department to order atf to order gun shops to sell guns

to mexican gun cartels and then lose track of them, there by panicking americans to begin up support for the draconian gun control measures that obama has never introduced. >> got all that? here's advice for super pac players. learn to spell check. might involve money from outside the bay state, they spelled massachusetts wrong. the bost"boston globe" is repor they filed to correct a misspelling. massachusetts with an extra s and missi ining t. the group's treasurer declined to give details about that, which raises in terms of which races they're going to get involved with. he cited instructions from quote, the people in charge and who would they be?

the people who pay me. thank you for clearing that up. let's hope they spell your name correctly on your paycheck. finally, have you seen the new web ad for joe the plumber? running for congress in ohio. take a look and see if you can figure out why certain jewish groups are calling it offensive. >> in 1911, turkey established gun control. from 1915 to 1917, romanians were exterminated. in 1939, germany established gun control. from 1939 to 1945, six million jews and seven million others unable to defend themselves were exterminated. i love america. >> using genocide for partisan political gain, pretty low. even for a want to be member of congress. up next, why team obama loves to fight with house republicans who want to hold the the attorney

general in contempt of congress and if you want to follow me on twitter, you just need to figure out how to spell smerconish. you're watching "hardball." the place for politics. tex-mex fro-yo tapas puck chinese takeout taco truck free range chicken pancake stack baked alaska 5% cashback. signup for 5% cashback at restaurants through june. it pays to discover.

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i'm amanda drury. worries about the economy sending stocks sliding. the s&p off by 30. the nasdaq sinking 71. factory activity was weak this month according to the philly fed index. weekly jobless claims fell slightly, but the four-week movimove ing average rose to a 2012 high. previously owned homes dropped by 1.5% in may. we've also just found out that

moody's has downgraded a number of of banks. not just morgan stanley, that stock is is moving to the upside. back to you. welcome back to "hardball." if there was any doubt president obama intended to tie mitt romney to the republican congress, it was erased in the president's big economic speech in ohio. >> governor romney disagrees with my vision. his allies in congress disagree with my vision. governor romney and his allies in congress, mr. romney and his allies in congress. mr. romney and the current republican congress. governor romney and the republicans who run congress. that's what mr. romney will say. that's what the republicans in congress will say. >> and at the moment the

republican congress is tied to an investigation of attorney general eric holder and by asserting executive privilege now, president obama is in the thick of the fight. is this where the obama campaign wants to be? mark halperin, editor at large for "time," steve, senior writer for salon and starting monday, will be a co-host of the new show. today in their weekly briefings, pelosi and boehner put their spin on the politics of the holder investigation. >> instead of bringing job creating legislation to the floor, the transportation bill, they are holding the attorney general of the united states in contempt of congress. for doing his job. >> the decision to invoke executive privilege is an admission and the white house officials were involved in decisions that misled the congress and have covered up the truth. >> mark halperin, do you buy the

theory that the president inj t injected himself into this because he wanted to again be add odds with the gop controlled house? >> i don't think that was his motivation. i'm really not entirely sure what it is. but i do think as your introduction suggested, that they are unhappy when the president's seen as being strong and standing up to a republican congress that is in the eyes of a lot of americans, part of the problem in not addressing the big issue. >> but what if a vote the taken and some of the ds break ranks? then how is it spun? >> then that will be a big deal. for the most part, american people hear things like this. wa wa wa wa wa. if somebody braebs rank on either side, if republicans say this isn't what we should be doing or if democrats say there are real questions here, then it

becomes a different issue and moves out of the realm of politics and political theatre, that this is a clash between two branches of government about investigating or the executive branch need to have some privacy and confidentiality in communication. >> steve, i would think the downside politically speaking for the white house is that it rallies the gop based. i entertained a lot of radio callers today who essentially said what's he got to hide? how deep is the president involved in this? >> i think the orbeg gins are important. and that is this is a scandal that really began on the right. which i don't really think it is. the right decided sort of when obama became president that one

of the top targets in the administration, one of the symbols, resentment of the administration, would be eric holder. so there's sort of been a target on his back since the obama administration began. this has been pushed on the right, talk radio, cable news and now because republicans control the house, they're able to push this thing far enough that it gets a little mainstream exposure. it's the fight the democrats are not necessarily upset about having because as nancy pelosi says in her clip, they can look at the republicans and say let's talk about jobs. meanwhile, boehner is behold in the base, he has to be appeasing them as speaker, he has no choice but to carry the water on this one. it does excite the republican base, but the republican base was always going to be excited about this. >> does the nra involvement change it?

they put house members on notice that the contem was being watch and said this -- >> well, that may intimidate or influence some democratic candidates or office holders on the ballot. look, this is not a central election just over the center. it's not just an election about energizing the base. for both sides, it's both and i think that while we monitor very closely on issues like this, what mitt romney and john boehner are doing, are they being dragged too far to the right, you can bet the nra will use its normal strength and wealth in communicating with base voters and i think there are some voters, in ohio and pennsylvania and iowa and wisconsin who may hear from the nra on this issue in a way that gets them to maybe contribute more, to volunteer more. maybe to vote when they otherwise wouldn't be energized to vote. i think that republicans can be pleased even if they might be

losing the battle in the center to some extent. >> what drives the antipathy toward holder on the right? of all the cabinet members, it's holder who is most perceived as the surrogate for obama and who seems to incur the wrath of the harshest of criticism. >> look, it can be uncomfortable to talk about this stuff, but you have to consider the possibility there might be an aspect of race because you have the justice department, you have sort of the caricature of obama on the right that he's this secret black radical and looking to take away rights or this sort of money from white people and redistribute it and that sort of thing. you take prominent black lawyer and put him in charge of the obama justice department and to people who sort of traffic in that sort of thing, it really is kind of a lightening rod. i picked up on it, too. i can remember at the end of

2008, 2009, all those cabinet secretaries having to do in there for confirmation. there was geithner. he had his tax issue. he attracted a lot of heat and really the only other one i remember was eric holder. >> he's incured the same internet wrath. in all capital letters, you must read this. if they weren't typed, they'd be written with a crayon. thank you for being here. up next, the jury has the case in the trial of jerry sandusky and we may now know why sandusky himself didn't take the stand. the latest from the courthouse, next. this is "hardball," the place for politics. if you made a list of countries from around the world... ...with the best math scores.

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john bryson has resigned from the obama administration. he was involved in two car accidents in southern california in the same day this month after suffering a seizure. president obama thanked him for his quote invaluable experience and expertise. he said he worried the seizure could be a distraction and thought the p department would be weserved by a change in leadership. we'll be right back. ♪music plays throughout

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we're back. after closing arguments in belafonte, pennsylvania, the jury has begun deliberating on the 48 counts of sex abuse jerry sandusky faces. michael isakoff reported this morning that he declined to testify after prosecutors warned his legal team if he took the stand, his adopted son, matt, was ready to act as a prosecution witness with a damaging rebuttal and just a short time ago, we learned what they would have been. matt's attorneys claim that he, too, claims to be an abuse victim of jerry sandusky. michael, i saw your report on the "today" show this morning. this is quite a bombshell. >> yes, it was. and when prosecutors warned the defense team about this this week, it was pretty explosive news and it was from all indications, it was a factor

perhaps the most important factor in jerry sandusky's decision not the testify. this went right down to the wire yesterday. there was wide expectation he would take the stand. i was in the courtroom and just during a court recess, he got summoned by his lawyers to discuss this issue then they go into the judge's chambers. when he emerged, he looked somber, chasened, almost ashen. you could tell he was in very bad straits and had been almost hit in the gut with something that he hadn't expected. now, when he exactly learned that matt sandusky, his son who's been adopted son has been a supporter all this time, had turned on him, we don't know, but it clearly seemed to have had an effect yesterday. >> there was passing reference made by one of the alleged victims during his testimony to an encounter where matt was present and the question was did his face reveal his expression

or some such thing. i hope you know what i'm talking about. i wonder whether reference to him caused him to come forward or maybe if the prosecutor made reference to him so as to drive home the threat to sandusky, we're going to call him if we need to. >> well, what we do know is that matt sandusky was in the courtroom that day. this is the opening day of the trial and the young man known as victim number four was testifying and that is where matt sandusky, that's the day his name surfaced in the testimony. and then after that, matt sandusky dropped from sight. he was not seen back in the courtroom and did not reemerge in the courthouse until our nbc cameras caught him entering the courthouse yesterday morning with state troopers and then exiting right after court adjou adjourned. so ul all indications are that

matt had flipped, gone over and the statement from his lawyers says he was retained last week to negotiate an arrangement, to can contact the prosecutors in this case and that they had him on hand to testify if jerry sandusky took the stand, they would bring matt on. >> it just underscores tprospec of more charges he could face when this is behind us. >> certainly that, but look, there's a lot of other aspects to this case as you well know, michael. there's a wide ranging investigation including into high level penn state officials. what they knew, what they testified to. there's new e-mails that have been gotten. i think prosecutors are hoping to get a fairly quick conviction here and then move on to the people they believe were his enablers. >> thank you, michael isakoff. i might add when i have an opportunity to offer, let me finish tonight, i'm going to talk of what's still to come in

this case. joining me now also from the courthouse is tom klein, an attorney representing victim 5 and a named tom, i learned from joe amendola's closing argument today that you're to blame. it's the attorneys and it's all about money. >> it's cops, prosecutors, media, and lawyers. in some order. >> in other words, it's a grand conspiracy of o.j.-like proportions. that's essentially what amendola is asking this jury to believe. >> amendola asked the jury to believe exactly that, michael. that it is a conspiracy that started with one victim. the prosecution they then coerced and convinced seven other individuals -- actually more than that -- that they should also testify they made up

these gruesome, horrible acts. they all came in and testified under oath to that. then they hired lawyers. some of them that the lawyers put words in their mouth. and even that in one instance because one of the members of the print media had suggested to the mom, that she was part of the conspiracy. the prosecutor countered by simply saying this kind of conspiracy like all conspiracies falls of its own weight. >> and the prosecutor also said joe mcgettigan said if this is all it's about -- and i'm paraphrasiing -- but you may as well cuff me. >> i heard mcgettigan's closing speech. and that's exactly what he said. he looked at the jury. he put his hands towards himself and said me, too, then. as if to say bring it on. old fashioned style, i might add. >> so tom, this jury has now

taken its dinner break. they'll recess for an hour or so. then they're going to come back and they're going to continue their deliberations. they've had a long day all right, right? they've been there since 9:00 this morning. what does that tell you about their demeanor, focus, et cetera? >> i think conventional wisdom is they have to work through what is now 48 counts. and it's going to have to take some time. a jury that's telling us is an old hand waiting for juries to come back. if they're asking to go to dinner and then come back, it may tell us they're closer than we think. that would be my reading. just reading the tea leaves. >> i have only 30 seconds left with you. is your anticipation that this -- if it is a guilt verdict to some extent would be an all or nothing? >> oh, i believe looking at this jury that they will look carefully at it. and i would be very surprised if it was just flat out all guilty. this looks and appears to be the

kind of jury that's going to carefully sift through evidence. and i think we're going to see the way i read the evidence, guilty on some very important charges. but i also think they may find some things less credible than others. just my sense of it. >> tom kline, we appreciate your time. when we return, allow me to finish with some of the still unanswered questions in this case. you're watching "hardball" the place for politics. thy way with listerine® whitening plus restoring rinse. it's the only rinse that makes your teeth two shades whiter and two times stronger. ♪ listerine® whitening... power to your mouth. if we took the nissan altima and reimagined nearly everything in it? gave it greater horsepower and best in class 38 mpg highway... ...advanced headlights... ...and zero gravity seats? yeah, that would be cool. ♪ introducing the completely reimagined nissan altima. it's our most innovative altima ever.

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let me finish tonight with this. and see the sandusky jury is finally out. no doubt many can't wait until this legal process reaches a conclusion. the subject matter is unpleasant, the testimony hard to read. but this is not the end of the inquiry nor should it be. jerry sandusky will have his fate determined very soon, but there are many questions and issued still to be resolved. and the only way to protect children in the future is to ensure we've learned the lessons of the past. among the unresolved matters, was the investigation handled expeditiously? where sara gannon has reported that for the first year of the investigation by the state attorney's general office, there was only one investigator assigned to the case. and that it took that investigator a full year to learn that sandusky had been the subject of a prior criminal probe. there was similar delay in recognizing sandusky had written a book oddly titled "touched" which became a road map for

finding alleged victims. had a large staff investigating state corruption in a matter called bonus gate. a second question, during the sandusky trial, reports surfaced that the independent investigation conducted by lewis free has uncovered e-mails that evidenced discussions within penn state's leadership where there was a desire expressed to treat sandusky humanely when the mike mcqueary incident was reported. third there are criminal charges already pending against two former penn state officials for perjury an a failure to report what mike mcqueary told them. mcqueary was a credible witness at the sandusky trial. it's important that the legal system now hold accountable those individuals who had a duty to report and did not. fourth, there will be and should be civil litigation in the event

of a sandusky conviction. if the criminal jury finds sandusky responsible, those young men are entitled to be fairly compensated for their horror. and finally, society needs to recognize the failure of adults to protect the interests of children. the prosecution of jerry sandusky brought to light many instances where adults had reason to suspect bad behavior, but did not exhaust their remedies to protect children. mike mcqueary's claims of seeing sandusky raping a child is well known. but there were other instances. the janitor who failed to report seeing sandusky perform oral sex in a shower. the d.a. that didn't prosecute despite the detective thinking it was solid. the wrestling coach who saw sandusky on the floor with a young man. the school officials who were initially skeptical of the abuse claims of the boy who was the first to step forward with a complaint. and the parents who did not perceive the unhealthy nature of the relationship between the football coach and their sons.