he wants to fix. >> and he's talked about as a leader, and he told "the new yorker" he was miserable about being forced to cast all those votes. ari melber gets tonight's last word. thanks, ari. >> a rape by any other name. let's play "hardball." good evening. i'm chris matthews in new york. let me start with the raging, crazy uncertainty about the person of todd akin. will this republican can't indicate for the united states cincinnati stick with his run and risk the demolition of his own political party or will he take the hit and pull himself out of the race? to be or not to be. that's question for todd akin, the man who continued through today to explain what he meant by legitimate rape, he meant

what most of us thought he meant the first time. that he believes significant numbers of women that charge rape are, in fact, victims of rain -- not victims of rape, only in certain cases is there a rape. as he put it, a legitimate rape. well, to assess the perils of this, i'm joined by michael steele, former chairman of the republican national committee and nia handerson of "the washington post." i want to you start with the news. we have from our end, late this afternoon, mitt romney came around the the position that akin should, quote, exit p senate race. but the timeline on how romney evolved to this point is not exactly a profile in courage. on sunday, within hours of the comments, a romney spokeswoman put out a statement saying quote, governor romney and congressman ryan disagree with mr. akin's statement and the administration would not oppose abortion in cases of rape. congressman ryan differs with mitt romney.

he believes abortion should only be used to save a mother's life. not in cases of rape or incest. on monday, romney took a harsher turn. in an interview, he said this. >> comments about rape were deeply offensive and i can't defend what he said. i can't defend him. >> do you think for the benefit of the party, sir, he should drop out? >> he should consider what's in the best interest of the things he believes most deeply. what will help the country at this critical time. >> i guess he believes in evolution because rush limbaugh joined the chorus of the criticism of akin and shortly after limbaugh said what he had to say a romney campaign spokeswoman released this statement on akin. today, his fellow missourians urged him to step aside and i think he should accept and exit the senate race. this is a strange progression and a slow one.

from remarks made on sunday. here we are on tuesday. the candidate decided after hearing from rushbo, it is okay to call for the guy's withdrawal. i wonder who the boss of the republican party is. looks like it's rushbo again. >> i don't know if this has anything to do with rush limbaugh. i think it has more to do with the fact you have had a defiant akin. over the last couple of hours he declared he is a crusader and crusading against the establishment of his party. at this point romney in some ways had no choice but come to the decision and call for his ouster, does not look like he has any sway with todd akin and todd akin has positioned himself as a poster boy for the wing of the party and evangelical wing of the party that in some ways agrees with todd akin's statements. if you listen to the huckabee interview, they had this sort of dialogue and -- currency,

original thoughts about rape and false rape and talking about the initial decision rowe v. wade. it is very inning in talking to evangelicals they feel like todd akin has some sort of appeal with evangelicals and grassroots folks in that he could have staying power. >> impervious to the avalanche of calls to withdrew. today he was defiant. let's listen to akin himself. >> i want to make things absolutely clear and that is we are going to continue with this race for the u.s. senate. >> who does that we include, michael steele? who is with this guy in persisting? >> that's him and the supporters, those folks who went to the polls an elected him in missouri primary a few weeks ago.

that's the basis of his energy right now. he's probably got some poll numbers if they've rushed together to sort of get a vibe on the ground on how this thing is playing. and there is no big push from the grassroots, evangelical community. you have the family research council and others coming behind and standing with him, so he's got support that is probably growing to some degree to your point. for him right now, the witching hour is an hour from now. we'll see whether or not he actually does step out. i doubt it and there's no incentive for him to do it. there's nothing the party can do about it. >> the longer he stays, the more risk for the new balance and persia core voter. nia, i have to ask you about this. in a gender sensitive point, i've noticed that the women i work with, the producers and all, not all liberals, i got to tell you, by any means.

despite the reputation of the liberal media. not all liberals at all, are very sensitive to that word he used, legitimate. as if to imply, let's not believe every woman's charge. why would a woman go into court and charge anybody with rape, which is a major crime, if they didn't believe they were raped. what an assumption to make, we know how women are sometimes but -- brutally interrogated in these situations. your thoughts? >> well, no. again, i think with certain members of the pro-life community, there is a sense that real rape doesn't result in pregnancy. >> what about real rape as opposed to what other kind of rape? what other rapes are there besides real rape? >> i don't think there are any other kind, but you've seen this creeping of the language. into these bills in fact. forcible rape.

dr. john wilke who is a hero of pro-life talking about assault rape. there is this sense among pro-life people that pregnancy doesn't result from rape. >> it's quackery. >> it is quackery but has some currency. >> the way i hear it from some people, women, such as yourself, what you hear is a real condescension to the basic character of women that they would make up these stories. only in a few case, michael, is there such a thing as legitimate rape. in other words, some guy forces himself in a way that's so graphic they can't deny that that was rape. i don't know why the -- why this guy is in -- see, what i think is going on here, we are in strange territory, michael. your political party has some real -- in it. have you some knuckle draggers your party.

the guys that run the cave men television ads. your thoughts on that? is it true or not true that you have people in your party so far to the right that they have a problem with a woman saying she was raped? >> i can't speak to everybody in the party where they stand on that issue. i do think that yeah, there are some folks who have a very strong view and extreme view in that regard in terms of the definition of rape, but as the president said, as mitt romney and others have said, rape is rape and for us to have this discussion, for akin to begin to even elevate this conversation this way, to me is not only wrong, it is harmful to women. it puts them in a very, very bad position. should they ever have to god forbid confront that situation. as you noted, chris, this system is already geared against them to not believe in the first instance that that has occurred, so this makes that even harder

for them to express and to come forward when they have been so brutalized and that's what so stupid and pig headed about these comments. elevates to it a point it does not need to go to. >> i like when you get really human out there. last night, seriously. i love it when you are because i don't think there's a partisan issue, although it clearly hurts the republicans. last night, akin, is who is the congressman who is running for the cincinnati a u.s. congressman, this guy. he is not some guy living in the trees somewhere. he is a u.s. congressman, representing a congressional district with his point of view. he taped an ad asking for forgiveness, which is okay as an idea, but let's listen to him. let's watch. >> rape is an evil act. i used the wrong words in the wrong way. important that i apologize. as a father of two daughters, i want tough justice for predators. i have a compassionate heart for the victims of sexual assault and i pray for them. fact is, rape can lead to pregnancy. truth is, rape has many victims. the mistake i made was in the

words i said, not in the heart i hold. i ask for your forgiveness. >> yesterday, he said there ought to be some punishment for rape. what a strange thing to say. late this afternoon, that man was on sean hannity's radio show distancing himself from his comments on the biology of rape. admitting he was misinformed. this is on the science of whether you can get pregnant if you were raped. let's listen. >> a couple of articles i read and i think they were probably in error. >> when you say probably, are are they? >> i don't know the details of what the percentage, somebody who's a medical doctor would have to tell you that. >> if a woman is raped, you're suggesting her body has ways of preventing pregnancy is wrong. and medically discredited. you understand that? >> yes, that's what i'm saying. >> what is he saying? he said yeah and then goes yeah,

may be discredited. he is casual about his lack of interest in scientific information it seems. i don't know if that's the main point. main point is your attitude towards the rights of women, equality of the sexes and attitudes of whether sex should be an actual mutual decision, entirely mutual or legitimate. the whole idea there is some different categories of rape just drives people crazy. >> i feel odd talking about this on air. this is odd we're talking about this. we are in the middle of a presidential campaign and we are talking about rape and women's bodies. in tampa they are discussing what the republican platform is going to be. there is some discussion there about putting language in there about respecting women's bodies. in some ways saying abortion actually is upholding the dignity of women. >> they are also saying no abortion under -- we are hearing this. that the draft so far is they've

got to prove it on monday, the first day of the convention. so far is headed towards an absolute abolition of any right at any level for any reason to have an abortion. it's an absolute hard line position which is consistent with ryan and akin. this is much more hardlined than the candidate espoused. >> but that is not consistent with the vast majority of republicans, pro-life and pro-choice. >> how come they don't get to write their own platform? >> since this plank was put into the body of our laws or rules back in 1980, that has not consistent. there's always been those exceptions. so it does speak to you know, some voices within the party. certainly on the rnc, the committee, that want to see this thing fleshed out further. i think that given what we are now dealing with, to the point that was just made that we're

talking about this, they should be very smart and careful. we do have an issue that goes beyond this election and we don't need to get bogged down on this. >> you might warn your former colleagues there at the convention as they write this platform, that rachel maddow and the rest of us will be watching closely and reporting on it with great relish on monday night, >> i know you will. i will send that out right now. >> whatever you guys try to hide, we're going to show. thank you, michael steele, my friend, and nia. coming up, todd akin's views have been exposed as extreme, but there's little daylight between what akin and paul ryan believe. as i just said. ryan and the other republicans who just smarter about the way they talk about it. plus, less than a week before the republican national convention. where does the presidential race stand? new nbc/"wall street journal" polls have just come out. a gop official in ohio admits republicans have made it harder for blacks to vote.

that's what they're going around the country. a tighter voter i.d. law is approved in virginia and hundreds of thousands could be disenfranchised in pennsylvania. we're going to have michael nutter joining us tonight. finally, let me finish with the illegitimacy of so-called legitimate rape.

the romney campaign and its allies now have a huge fund raising advantage over obama. july's numbers are in. while the obama campaign raised 49 million, it has 88 million in thbank, the romney campaign brought in 40 million and has 30 million on hand, but factor in the outside groups and it's a decisive romney advantage. the are rnc raised 39 million versus the the 10 million and 15 on hand. those pro romney super pacs

dwarf anything on the side with karl rove and restore our future with nearly $50 million more for those negative ads against the president.

welcome back to "hardball." when it comes to abortion issues, paul ryan is more in line with todd akin, than mitt romney, but neither man is on the fringe of where the gop stands today and every day republicans have to answer questions about terms like legitimate and forcible rape. the democrats have an opportunity in each case to seize women's voters this november. donna edwards, democrat from maryland. joe klein, columnist for the "time" magazine. i want to ask congresswoman edwards as a human being, not as a partisan, what did you think when you heard the u.s.

congressman, a colleague in the broadest sense, who said he's really -- doesn't think that in the case of legitimate -- only in a case -- the way he phrased it, so wild, in a case of legitimate rape the woman wouldn't get pregnant and by the way, there should be some punishment for rape. i don't know how to read all that to me. >> well -- >> what did you think as a woman? >> chris, i said before this doesn't bear any relation to either biology or humanity. i really mean that. when you think of what a woman experiences in rape and the horror of that, the idea that you're going to separate some kinds of rape from other kinds, you have good victims and bad victims, really just takes us back to a really different time in our history and as women, we thought we had gotten way beyond where we had systems, law enforcement systems, and in our communities that actually treat us as whole human beings when it comes to rape and to the horror and tragedy of it.

so as a woman, it actually hurts me because i thought we were long past this debate, but clearly, we're not. >> what's interesting, the weird intellectual linkage, you can -- very pro-life. fine. you can take that position. legitimate in this country. people are divided it but uses that strong pro-life position to cast doubt as a republican on rape as an idea. because it's inconsistent with his republican notion, which is in the platform, we know, the draft form already there can be no abortions under any circumstances including rape. they have to almost define or non-define or define a way, i should say the idea of rape because it gets in the way of their pro-life position. the party. >> the notion you can parse rape is absolutely ridiculous. >> why is he doing it? >> because he's an ideologue. the amendment he put in that had paul ryan as a supporter used the term forcible rape.

there are studies that show that one-half of out of wedlock births among teenagers are the result of rape by older men of teenage children and especially in poor black, poor white communities, it's very often mom's boyfriend. now, that -- you can't distinguish between that and forcible rape. that's disgraceful. >> let me get back to the idea of the republican party. donna, you're a democrat, but the republican party is meeting this week coming off this whole crazy thing with todd akin and this debate's going to go on all weekend. they're going to draft language that basically abolishes any legal right to an abortion, out under any circumstances. any condition, whether it's incest, they are going to basically eradicate a woman's right to choose.

what do you think that's going to do to voters after they do that on monday night? >> i think it gives us real cause. mitt romney and paul ryan are -- they're running away from paul ryan's legislative agenda which he has been very clear with and lock step with todd akin and now try to run away from the republican party platform. there's only so much running away that can be done by a ticket from the top to the bottom that strongly has a pro-life position, but a rather radical position when it comes to the way we treat rape, incest, in this country and not even providing exceptions for that, even though mitt romney says his administration was, it's not their party platform. there's only so much you can do to run away from an entire agenda of the republican party and this is pretty consistent with the way they have treated these issues related to women's and women's health care over the course of certainly this

congress since republicans have had control of the house. but very consistent in their republican agenda. i just don't see how mitt romney and paul ryan can distance themselves any more from what their agenda is. >> it seems to me that was the whole idea of picking ryan. you picked a guy which romney did after weeks of thinking about this, i'm going pick a guy that will put the focus on the economy and take a guy who is true blue on that subject. it turns out within days, we are realize thing guy believes in personhood. from the second after conception, fertilized egg, you are a human being, a person. therefore, the government will protect you under the 14th amendment. all your rights. this is pretty radical stuff. do you think romney knew he was stepping into this? >> i think there is a larger issue here. i don't think romney was fully aware of all the aspects of paul ryan. but the larger issue here is how does a guy like todd akin get to win a primary in a state like missouri?

the republican party has a major grassroots problem, which is that a good part of its grassroots now celebrate ignorance. it is more than abortion and women's rights. you know, denying evolution. denying the science behind climate change. the birtherism. how is it that when donald trump comes out of the closet as a major league birther, he shoots to the top of the polls among republicans? i mean, there is an awful lot of celebration of ignorance going on in that party right now. it's really sad for me because there was a point 20 years ago when i thought the republicans were coming up with some of the best policy ideas. >> no attack on anybody, but our politics is getting more middle eastern. where any room or weird theory becomes the thing you fight over. there is no such thing as checking with google even, check the facts. nobody checks anything anymore. crazy thinking. thank you, donna edwards of

maryland. joe klein. up next with all the attention on todd akin, still out there on the railroad tracks, where he tied himself to, will weather he will leave the ticket or not, what about kevin yoder? he went skinny dipping. we've got david letterman's top apologis he could use. and darned light hearted. this skinny dipping is not going to cause any vote to change. this is "hardball." the place for politics. hmm, it says here that cheerios helps lower cholesterol

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first you must know by now that kevin yoder's under fire for taking part in a bizarre skinning dipping incident in the sea of galilee. during a trip to israel last year with other republicans. here's david letterman with some of the top ten apologies yoder

might consider. >> so, this is kevin yoder and now, he's apologized to his constituents for swimming nude in the sea of galilee. it was an oversight or something, but here, we have his excuses. number nine, it was spring break. chill out. eight, people in the middle east are pretty easy going about nudity. seven, i had been drinking heavily and number six, trying to take the focus off mitt romney's taxes. five, it had been days since a congressman did something embarrassing. four, it's obama's fault. >> it is obama's fault. i like placing the blame for the president for even that craziness. the president made me take my clothes off. next, remember when bush's running mate dan quyale made this spelling blunder during the '92 campaign? >> spell that again now. >> there you go.

>> it's bad enough he can't spell. he made the kid misspell it. potato with an "e." ben quyale is is running for re-election in arizona and an anti quyale super pac has put up an ad. with a moved to that gaffe of the candidate's father. >> how do you spell lightweight? >> throughout the nation is spending well over 14.5 trillion a year. >> off by a trillion. >> government in america is today spending well over 14.5 trillion. >> still wrong. >> numbers really important and they're really -- hard could keep up with. >> q-u-a-y-l-e almost forgot. >> that's a cheap shot. making fun of a kid because of his dad.

if he is a lightweight fine but leave the old man alone. the obama campaign is noting that mitt romney's father george released 12 years of tax returns in his own run for president while mitt is only going to release two. that's the way to use the old man. as a role model. finally, are you curious to how people are reacting to todd akin's ad asking for forgiveness? for his remark what he called legitimate rape? well, forget about it. the options to like, dislike or make comments about the ad on akin's youtube channel have been disabled. you don't get to choose anymore. according to talking points, there were about 13 dislikes for every one like before they shut it down. lastly, akin is so far refusing to cave the calls to back out of the race, but -- staying the course, not so. back in 1997, missouri's house gop leader was under fire for a drunken driving incident and akin, a member of the missouri

house of representatives at the time, had some advice. for hip him. get out of the way, he said cht quote, that is a logical thing. just in terms of keeping our focus on legislation. well, does he want to keep the focus on romney this year? apparently not. he wants to win. up next, with just days before the convention starting this monday, we've got a new poll just out with new numbers on where the presidential election stands right now. if you are a progressive, liberal, leaning to obama, you will be happy tonight.

now back to "hardball." we're six days away from the republican convention in tampa, and we have new poll numbers that spell trouble for mitt romney. according to the latest nbc news/"wall street journal" poll, president obama holds a four-point advantage over romney among registered voters. 48% to 44%. romney's negative numbers are high and hasn't seen as acceptable alternative to obama by enough voters. the polls have found that the pick of paul ryan hasn't given his campaign a significant enough jolt. the pick made it less likely

they would vote for romney as more likely. in 54% said it had no effect on their decision whatsoever. chuck todd's the political director and chief white house correspondent for nbc news. you look at the numbers. the president has a strong advantage over voters view as more likable. both candidates score the same in term of negative ratings obama's viewed more positively than romney. 48% of voters say their feelings towards the president are very or somewhat positive. only 38% say that about romney. perhaps more telling, the poll asked how recent news had changed their opinions of him. only 32% say it had given them a more favorable opinion of the candidate. 44% said it has given them less favorable opinion. romney's also been seen as more out of the mainstream than obama. 54% say obama's approach to issues is in the mainstream versus 44% who say he's out of step. it's almost a complete reverse for romney.

chuck, it seems like i'm not using the word weird except that it seems to be this thing about he's not one of us to voters. what's that about? >> i call it, it's the gut decision, right, at the end of the day. there's -- i have theory in presidential elections they're more personal of a vote than people realize. yes, 90% of the country is lining up in their partisan tents, but for that last slice, it is that personal vote, the sort of who represents me. who represents my values. and so that's why it's funny. if i told you a race was -- the incumbent was winning, you'd say, oh, my god, the challenger might win. that's what romney campaign is saying. obama's not at 50. when you look at the gut-level questions and when does the president cross 50? when you ask who is in the mainstream. when you ask who is going to look out for average people. the question is these gut

questions all seem to favor the president and that's what you've got to -- >> i'm with you, chuck. let me go to garrett on this. all that is true and if you are a progressive or liberal, pro-obama, just don't like romney and the crowd behind i am. concern would be what happens in an hour and a half on television when the guy comes on for the first time, 90 or 100 million people and for whatever reason, shows a humanity he hasn't shown before. can he gobble up those extra votes sitting out there now? >> that's going to be the key in this election. i can tell you the way the obama campaign views it. they view that likelihood as minimal for this reason. had a long conversation with senior advisers in chicago not too long ago. they believe they spent money in june, july and august to preemptively, disqualify romney as an acceptable alternative.

i had a long conversation with david axelrod. i have never been involved in a presidential campaign where money or messaging was decisive in november or october. what do you to if opponent in summertime is what matters the most. that is their theory. whether it works out or not we will find out. the obama theory is disqualify or attempt to disqualify romney in the summer and what he says in the fall will not have traction. it can't gain purchase because people already had -- obama point of view, enough doubts placed in their mind about what romney is saying so whatever he says doesn't attach nearly as well enough -- >> you believe that, though? do you believe they are right? >> i know they believe they are right. i don't run presidential campaigns. i just cover them. i have to tell you, it is an embedded philosophy they have. they believe they made a tactical decision, one that carried some risk because it would mean there would be less money for them to spend, so they made a tactical decision.

>> i think they had to do something like this. they had to go for the gut. had to take the guy out in the summer, but still face the reality of three national tv debates. four and a half hours of exposure to a guy who could look so much better than the advertising. >> that's the thing. moments that cut through the advertising and can romney take advantage of this. another thing that comes lou in our poll. the romney can't connect, romney can't do this. i have an alternative theory. he is dragged down by the image of the republican party. it has not been good since he announced his -- this is, okay, romney is not the most charismatic guy. i don't know if the most charismatic guy that could overcome the negative weight of

the brand of the gop righ-ht now. it is very tough. and the same way the president's dragging around the weight that is the mediocre to nonexistent economic recovery, which i think is a larger weight to carry, mitt romney's carrying around the weight of an unpopular brand. >> here's the president's message on medicare, apparently scoring higher than romney's in the msnbc poll. the nbc poll, "the wall street journal" poll showed half of registered voter agreed with obama that changing medicare the way ryan has suggested is a bad idea. only 34% agreed with what romney said on medicare. it seems to me that medicare has become the magnet, the lightening rod of this decision. discussion. it looks like they like the way it is. people who were on medicare like it, don't mess with it. >> well, this was what romney bought when he brought on paul ryan. whether he wanted to or not. he owns the paul ryan budget. he owns elements of it. he can distance himself or attempt, but paul ryan inject in this race. unbalanced when you talk about entitlements, people are resistant to change.

republicans argue we can have this debate. we have a lot of time to make this debate let's be honest with yourselves. three weeks ago the romney campaign was not eager to spend five weeks slogging through a medicare debate and context of a general election because it takes away from the economic message which they believe is so much more lethal against president obama that they can't get to it because medicare stands in the way. the way. >> the romney campaign believes if they can change the messaging to make voters think who is the candidate most likely to prevent medicare from going bankrupt, if they can make that the question, then they can win that argument. they claim they win that argument when it's framed that way. the problem right now is the argument's been framed to who's going to protect medicare and they've got to figure out how to save and prevent it from going bankrupt. >> so, the battle is who won the summer and who's winning the fall. romney people are planning to win it in the fall with what

looks like a huge bankroll of money. thank you, chuck todd and major garrett. up next, as many as a million votes in pennsylvania could be disenfranchised by the tough new voter i.d. law. we've got michael nutter coming here next to tell us what the democrats are going to do to get people to vote. be able to vote. this is "hardball." place for politics. we know a place where tossing and turning have given way to sleeping. where sleepless nights yield to restful sleep. and lunesta can help you get there, like it has for so many people before. when taking lunesta, don't drive or operate machinery until you feel fully awake. walking, eating, driving, or engaging in other activities while asleep, without remembering it the next day, have been reported. abnormal behaviors may include aggressiveness, agitation, hallucinations or confusion. in depressed patients, worsening of depression, including risk of suicide, may occur.

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if you want to know where the the presidential campaign is being fought the hardest, just like at the cities with the most total campaign ad spending this week. here they are. number five, denver. four, toledo, ohio. number three, last week's top market, roanoke, virginia. number two, colorado springs. and the ad market with the most total campaign spending this week, des moines. we'll be right back.

republicans continue to make gains implementing voter i.d laws. in ohio, a republican elections

board member who voted against early weekend voting said quote, i guess i really actually feel we shouldn't contort the voting process to accommodate the urban red african-american voter turn out machine. nerd, they don't like to help black americans get to the voting polls. in virginia, the department of justice signed off on the law for the first time. residents have to show some form of i.d. to vote and in pennsylvania last week, the -- a judge refused to block the state's strict new photo voter i.d. law which may disenfranchise hundreds of thousands of people, mostly democrats. with me is mayor nutter of philadelphia. thanks for joining us. let me start with a case in point. a 72-year-old woman comes up to you and lives in a row house in north philly or west philly. she says i'm worried, mr. mayor. i don't think i can vote this time. how can i vote? i don't have a driver's license. i haven't driven in years. how do i get to vote? >> well, those are the kinds of situations that the pennsylvania voter i.d. coalition has geared up along with the committee of

70. you know the committee of 70, chris. we're geared up here in philadelphia to address those concerns. the state put out a recent piece of material about how to get a free voter i.d. from the department of state if someone is faced with that kind of situation, so we just need to get to the facts. do you have social security card or number? do you have proof of where you live? a utility bill or something like that, and your birth date. if you can give that information over to the penndot, department of transportation, fill out the necessary forms to verify you don't have the other data or id information, you can in fact get a free voter id, but we're encouraging folks to be a part of this coalition, 1-866-our-vote, or go to the committee of 70 in philly. you can call 311 to get information. our focus here in the city, the

city government, utilizing every resource we can for all voters is to make sure that every eligible voter has the information that they need. we're printing up materials, issuing new ids, we'll soon be issuing new ids to all of our public employees because municipal governments have to put expiration dates on their ids. through the civic community, through activists in the neighborhoods and all of the electing officials geared up and ready to go to make sure that everyone can vote and no one is disenfranchised in this. >> let me tell you my problem. i covered katrina, and mayor nager who is not at all of your level said of katrina, we're going to try to get 90% of the people out of the city. that sounded like a good effort, and then 50,000 were left behind the drown, basically. my concern is, i'm sure yours is, too, we're going to find

ourselves in a morning after situation where pennsylvania may have gone slightly in the direction of either candidate and all of a sudden, pennsylvania stands out as the state that's going to define who wins the presidency next time around. are you concerned that might happen because 700,000 people denied the right to vote unless they get this extraordinary effort to get an id card? >> my concern is that we take every effort that we can, every day, between now and the election, to identify all of the folks, young, not so young, and everyone in between, that they have the information that they need, that we get them to these penndot centers. we need to talk about hours of operation and additional access issue. i'm going to use the time i have and work with our partners like at the pennsylvania voter id coalition and the black clergy and so many other groups, the unions and the coalition that has been put together not just here in philadelphia, but the

participating counties. i want to make sure everyone can vote and we don't have the scenario you laid out which we're concerned about. our effort are that everyone votes and pennsylvania stays in my democratic hat, that pennsylvania stays a blue state and votes for president obama. >> mary shields, my grandmother, living on 15th street where we grew up, and i'm 72 years old right now, mr. mayor, and i want to vote but i haven't driven a car in years. what should i, mary shields, do right now to get a voter card in. >> what you should do is call 1-866-our-vote, or i may have to visit your aunt personally, but 'll make sure that she gets the information that she needs, and then we're working on a transportation network to get folks like your aunt to the penndot station, fill out the forms, stay with that person, work with them, and make sure shoe gets her id because i know she wants to vote this november.

>> let me do something you can't do, but i know you won't mind me doing. get ahold of your committeemen. democratic committeeman or republican committeeman. they work around the clock, they love politics. they're ready to take your phone call. you know who this guy or woman is, she lives within a couple blocks of you. call that person up and ask them to personally make it possible for you to vote on election day. i want that person, even if they're republican or democrat, whatever, you get ahold of that committee person. wouldn't that be a smart thing to do? >> absolutely. and i want to commend bob brady who is our party chair here. we have had outreach from the obama campaign and haven't heard anything from the romney campaign. my focus is to make sure that everyone has the id they need. folks will figure out who they need to vote for come the election. we need to make sure that everyone has the opportunity to vote. the democratic party is geared up and ready to go that everyone can vote this november.

>> all 69 ward leaders, all of the good guys are going to be here, the aclu, the naacp, everybody add that meeting. >> an incredible coalition. >> maybe it's going to wake up the machine more than it's been woken up. thank you mayor michael nutter of my home town. >> when we return, let me finish with what may be todd akin's biggest problem with women, about distinguishing between legitimate and illegitimate rape. you're watching "hardball," the place for politics.

let me finish tonight with this crazy story out in missouri. the candidate in question, todd akin, raised his concern that women who charge rape may not have a legitimate case. well, that is mr. akin's case, can the story continues and the question is why a candidate for a major national office would make a case like this. it tells you much of what you need to know about the thinking behind it. why would a person belittle or try to undermine a testimony of a woman charging rape? why would they do such a thing? why? a couple possibilities arise. one is this person, todd akin, doesn't want to allow an exception for having an abortion to avoid allowing that exception, he argued that women who have been raped cannot get pregnant. the other is he simply doesn't take the world of women on this most violent of questions.