you need an ally. ally bank. your money needs an ally. don't move. "hardball" starts right now. >> the president sticks his neck out. let's play "hardball." good evening. i'm chris matthews in washington. let me start tonight with the president who's doing the right thing. there was once a congressman from massachusetts, jimmy burke was his name. he voted against every tax increase. he voted for every benefit increase. every time a bill came before the congress to raise taxes, burke was a sure vote against it. every time somebody wanted to curb the growth in spending, our guy was right there with a nay. it was simple.

people didn't want their taxes raised. people never did. people didn't like the benefits cut. he never, ever voted to cut them. somebody asked burke once, why do you do that? all you're doing is causing the government to go bankrupt. why do you vote like that? why shouldn't i? he said. too many politicians do just what burke did and get away with it. they never put up nor do they shut up. they complain about the debt but vote against all tax hikes, against all attempts to cut back on spending. today president obama did something politicians don't like to do, he came out and said, we need to do two things. we need to do what we like, and they don't like doing it. raise revenues, and hold back on spending. he took the first step, himself, in the hopes others will follow, that others will join him in doing the right thing. the gutsy thing. the president proposed adjusting social security cost of living. he proposed savings in medicare. he wants republicans to join him by making more upward adjustments on the revenue side of the books. in other words, he's being a leader. not a bad way to end the week. gene sperling is director of the national economic counsel.

assistant to the president for economic policy. as i said, he stuck his neck out tonight. he's a leader, he's saying, look, i can do things on the spending side, make adjustments. we can help reduce the debt over time significantly. now i want to be followed by republicans as well as the democrats in doing something on the revenue side. there are risks to doing this. why did the president take the risk? >> look, because our goal, every day what we do here is focus on what's going to strengthen job creation and help the middle class. and right now, we are weighing down this economy with a sequester that's going to cost hundreds of thousands of jobs. and uncertainty about our fiscal future. and uncertainty created by manufactured crisis because we don't have the ability in washington right now to compromise. now, the president put forward today not his ideal budget. he put forward a compromise offer that he had done, given to speaker boehner, and it included some very tough things but it

asked for sensible entitlement reforms that strengthen those core benefit programs. medicare, social security. it asks for revenue savings in the very way that speaker boehner had asked for it just months ago. not by raising rates more. by tax reform that would close loopholes and tax expenditures and apply it to deficit reduction. >> i think you're right. >> we can do this while we still invest in the future, but you're right, just what you said. you know, you're not going to get this compromise unless everybody's willing to give, everybody's willing to show a little courage and a little compromise and the president's leading by doing so. >> i can follow this, jean, pretty much through having worked on the senate budget committee. i see it getting probably through the senate. you've got enough votes to get it through, i think. then i can see it getting to the house then i see paul ryan carving up his ayn rand theories. if you do the right thing, get it through the senate but in the end the budget process proceeds

through may and perhaps into june, you end up having a log jam on the other side. what happens then? what happens then? >> well, let me make a couple points. number one, we were very close with speaker boehner last fall. let's remember, he had $1 trillion of revenues on the table as part of a deal with serious entitlement savings. he's pulled that back completely. even though only 60% of that, of that kind of revenue increase was passed. so we've been close. unfortunately, they've decided to take, as you mentioned, an absolutist position which does not help us compromise. secondly, you know, what do we teach our kids? government? we teach that when a bill passes the house and senate, it can two to a conference report. >> i know. >> both houses and both parties can work together. we ought to give that a chance. >> i see what you're doing. you're going the right road here. going to try to get a budget, going to try to get a

compromise. here's boehner's reaction. here's boehner's reaction here. "if the president believes those modest entitlement savings are needed to shore up these problems, there's no reason they should be held hostage for more tax hikes. that's no way to lead the country." this is like the russians, the soviets used to be. i'll take what you're offering then we'll negotiate back from there. he's not giving anything here. >> yeah, let's think about what that position is, and i think how few people at home would support that. he's saying that as part of a larger deficit reduction plan which is part of an economic strategy to strengthen jobs in our economy, that there's not, are you ready for this? there's not one single penny, not one, that you can get from any tax expenditure, any special interest tax break, any loophole for the most well-off american that you can apply for deficit reduction. wro you know, i just do believe that there are sense ible republican and democrats who want to be part of what the president said is a common sense caucus. and they understand that if

you're going to do a sensible entitlement savings that that's tough and that you need to do it as part of a broader package. it's good for jobs. good for growth. but also asks everybody to do their part. >> i agree with you. >> how can we say there's not a penny when this speaker, himself, just months ago said there was $1 trillion in savings from the very type of tax reform the president's calling for that could be used for deficit reduction? we just need the speaker to remember his position that he had in november and december. >> okay. i'm agreeing with you. here's the president here. this is what you must have known, gene, when you stuck your neck out. here's james dean, the brother of howard dean. no surprise howard dean's people are going to cause trouble. they're on the other side sometimes. it's called democracy in america, whatever. he says "let's be clear, president obama when it comes to cutting social security, medicaid, medicare benefits, over 200,000 progressive members of your own party don't have your back and we're going to fight you every step of the

way." when you decided to do this, did you calculate that these usual voices who have organized to make these kind of arguments, and they're fair enough, i sometimes agree with them, did you know they were going to come at you? >> look, you know, compromise and deficit reduction, they're always difficult. what i would say to some of our progressive friends is let's remember a few things. the president's doing this in the context of a budget where he's protecting medicaid so that we can have a major expansion of the affordable care act and help 30 million americans get coverage. when, as opposed to the republican house budget that would cut medicaid by $800 billion, that's what the president's fighting for. yes, the president has some medicare savings, but he's rejecting vouchers, premiums. he's doing medicare savings that are designed to protect the core benefit of this program. and he's trying to do a sensible way of deficit reduction so we don't have this sequester that is going to hurt children, it's going to hurt veterans, it's going to hurt civilian military

retirees, it's going to hurt our research in our future. so i think you have to look at the whole budget. this is a president who has fought hard for tax cuts that help low-income, hard-pressed families. he's fought hard to protect medicaid. that's also in this budget. and that's also what we achieve when we have the type of compromise the president is calling for. >> i haven't read budget yet. haven't seen it yet. so far i agree with everything you're trying to do. thanks so much, gene sperling, from the white house. joy reid is managing editor of the grio and msnbc contributor. joy, you and i think like normally. i think normally i think somebody has to lead. and it's one of those things almost like in a kidnapping you have to, you know, i want the baby back, here's your 100,000 bucks. you know, you have to do it at exactly the same time. in this case the republicans didn't want to do it the exact same time. the democrats, the president has to lead. i think it has trickiness involved in it. we'll see. >> i think you're right in the sense the president is doing like what you said a hostage exchange. he's saysing we know republicans want something very specific. they would like to cut entitlements.

just to set the stage here, democrats should understand, republicans would like to either raise the retirement age or deeply cut entitlements either by doing it that way or by privatizing the program. okay? that's the stage that we're working in. the president is saying i'm not going to do either of those things but i will give some entitlement cuts. but i'm only giving you that, republicans, if you give me revenues. you have to give me something that i want which is revenues in order to get the thing you really, really want which is to cut social security. democrats, of course, hate this and take an absolutist position on cutting social security benefits for a good reason because of what i just said. they know what republicans really want to do and don't want to open the door. if you look at the president's proposal, he's not talking about medicaid and medicare cuts. he's talking about going to chain cpi which is a slight change. it does cut benefits. let's be clear about that. but in return, he's looking for revenue and investments, things like universal pre-k. as gene sperling said, these tax look hole changes to how much you can put into your i.r.a.

that could impact the wealthy. the president is trying to do a delicate dance here knowing probably nancy pelosi could deliver the votes in the house, probably harry reid could do it in the senate, but will republicans give something that they've already offered before to get something? >> we don't have to get even farther down the road here because as i was running it through, game planning it here, once they put it up there in the senate, get it through the democratic senate what we're talking about with some revenue enhancement, thai going to have to go to the house side and get a conference agreement. at some point the danger here, of course, is the congress, itself, will grab hold of the cuts. >> that's right. >> on the benefits side. put them into a budget, but them into a reconciliation bill and the president will end up with cuts he's agreed to without getting revenues he's wanted. there's always a tricky part of that. polling wise, this puts the president on the political good side of the angels. a recent mcclatch/marist poll. when asked who they trust more to make the right decision on the budget, half say the president compared to 41%. he has a substantial advantage

over them. when asked who's responsible when the party is in gridlock? 34% blame the president. he goes into the fight with street credit. obama is trying to do the right thing. i know some people on the very hard lost, maybe professional left to use a terrible phrase, who aren't going to go along with anything he does. i tell you, sometimes you just have to get off the dime to put it bluntly. >> the thing is because the president keeps offering things that are substantive, he's really giving something that's painful to his side. that's why the public always sees him as the guy who's willing to compromise. he doesn't give away petty things. he gives away real -- >> cpi. >> chain cpi is something real. by the way, the little secret some departments don't say, center for budget priorities said they're okay with it if you exempt the floor by not having -- >> the conscience. >> the center for american progress proposed going to chain cpi back in 2010 in a big paper they did on social security. these are ideas that are not foreign to left.

democrats, again, take an absolutist position. they don't want to open the door to cutting benefits. >> bob greenstein, by the way, is god on this stuff, from the center of public policy priority. if he says it's all right in a certain context, i can't help but with with him. joy, thank you so much. once again, we are of similar mind. >> we are of same mind i think on this one for the most part. coming up, you saw "hardball" last night and heard the all-out prefurefusal of the lobby to not allow a vote. to keep americans scared and of course armed to the teeth. also, 2016. simmering new polls. a new hillary clinton speech today emerging matchups for the next presidential election. it's all coming for the junkies now. don't want democrats to vote? republicans in north carolina figured out a way to keep students at unc and other places from casting ballots in their own state. you know how they're going to do it? race mom and dad's taxes. the argument of the national

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welcome back to "hardball." the gun lobby has been winning the war over gun restriction, of course. this despite the fact many of their arguments couldn't past muster in a high school debate. yesterday, for example, here on "hardball," larry pratt of the national gun owners association had no defense for his opposition to even voting on background checks. why is it bad for the government of the united states to maintain information on people that are criminals, wife beaters, addicts

or otherwise threats to society or under some sort of restraining order so they don't get access to firearms? >> they're going to get access to firearms anyway. if they have a criminal intent, they're going to do it. they have done it. they to it all along. >> yet, while they oppose background checks, as he just did for gun owners, when it comes to making schools safer, they are all for background checks. this week on national rifle association funded task force came out with recommendations to allegedly make schools safer, not surprisingly arming school employees including teachers is a big part of the plant. but buried inside their report, the nra report is this built of hypocrisy. "it's almost recommended schools perform a preemployment background check and periodic rechecks on all employees including a criminal records check." yes, they're calling for a background check. the same thing the nra fights so strenuously in its recommendation of the report otherwise. also this week the nra posed a u.n. treaty that restricts -- why? because any restriction could

eventually restrict the u.s. ungun owner. passed 154, that's nations, 15 kun twri countries to 3. found itself in the esteemed company of those three countries. iran, north korea, and syria. that's our new crowd. anyway, ron reagan is a radio talk show host and msnbc contributor. willie brown is former mayor of san francisco. mayor brown, having run a city, you know this issue of safety. public safety. the strange nra thinking is he can't let a teacher or armed guard or retiree from the police force, for example, work in a school protecting the student body unless they had a background check on their criminal record, any other problems and have to have a regular recheck, not just the first time they get hired. you have to go back and recheck to make sure they kept their nose cleaned. yet, if you say that about a typical gun purchaser, don't ask nothing, no questions. give the guy the freaking gun. that's the way they want to do it. guns on demand like you're buying a hershey bar. that's it. it's a hershey bar.

i think i'd like one. i'm going to try that. background check? are you crazy? that's the hideous argument they make. check out the guy who's going to guard the kids, but don't check out the guy who's buying the gun to go after the kids. >> that's typical of what the nra has been producing and pushing among politicians for years. and it's totally and completely inlogical, inconsistent, and, frankly, they are out to lunch on the issue altogether. >> have they made a mistake, ron, to actually expose some critical thinking here on how you hire school guards? by employing usual logic when it doesn't come to guns? they're exploring the fact that maybe there is such a thing as common sense here and they ought to be consistent. >> yeah, your annoyance is right on the money there. what annoys you, i think, is that you're being asked to accept arguments which are fatuous nonsense on their face. wayne lapierre gives fatuousness a bad name.

for instance, the size of magazines, he doesn't want them being restricted to ten bullets per magazine, you know, because it only takes a second to change magazines anyway. so 10 bullets, 30 bullets, what difference does it make to the mass murderer? however, if you're defending your home, then you really need the bigger magazine all the time because, you know, you can't just be switching out magazines all the time. >> well, once again, it's meagan kelly over at fox who did the hard work here. she had npr, actually i say npr -- national rifle association. the very thing you're talking about. watch this strangeness that's coming up here. here's wayne against meagan. let's watch. >> if there's anything that moves people in this country or has moved them in one direction or the other recently, it is that newtown tragedy. and you hear the parents and the spouses of those killed. 20 children and 6 adults killed.

say 11 children had the chance to escape as that guy reloaded. >> criminals aren't going to have less one round in the hand of someone that's going to do horror is too many. >> how to you know, wayne? let me just jump in. i'll give you the floor, i promise. adam lanza, his mother was a legal gun owner. how do you know this person, his mother would not have obeyed the law and limited the magazine clip and adam lanza would have been limited to 10 rounds instead of 30? >> meagan, people that know guns, you can change magazine clips in a second. there's no evidence that, you know, that anything would have changed. >> so you go to the gun salesman, mayor, and you go to buy a 30-round clip and he says, don't waste your money, young man, because you know you can change those magazines really fast in a matter of seconds. just take the ten-round one. this is the stupidest argument. they want the 30-round clips because they want to have access to them for hunters i guess. i don't know who.

or people defending themselves in their homes against the government. but, you know, yet they say we can flick this thing out of here in ten seconds. apparently up in lucki luckily, it's not that easy for a nut to change clips. >> all their arguments are kraszsy. that one in particular is crazy. that's wrong. if you have to change a clip, that gives a few seconds for somebody to save their lives or others to be able to assist in saving their lives. there's no question about that, except if the nra says we want the maximum opportunity. i suspect the dianne feinstein, the senator from california, is right. they really want bazookas. they're not just looking for clips. >> well, if you ask them, they would legalize them, i'm sure. bring up a vote, ask wayne lapierre if he wants to outlaw tommy guns. he'd say no. anyway, last night i had to do a little victory lap for last night. a lot of people liked this. i challenged larry pratt. gun owners of america. gun salesmen of america i think. he's opposing background checks.

let's watch this kerfuffle. the ill logic of this is as follows. if i walked into a gun store to you and looked like a nut, a crazy person, would you sell me a gun? >> no, and frequently gun dealers experience that and -- >> so if you could call up and find out in a matter of seconds whether this person has a mental capacity, a problem, and has been court ordered not to be operating in any way with a gun, why wouldn't you want to take advantage of that information? >> chris, even after you've done that, the chap that's been turned down can easily go somewhere else -- >> where? >> and they do. >> where do they go? >> they get them on the street. >> that's what we're tieing to st stop. you can't have private sales, can't have internet sales. >> you think criminals are going to obey that? >> so the argument would be, why do we check mayor, people, before they get on an airplane to make sure they're not carrying something dangerous? they could always get on some other airplane. they'll find some guy who isn't doing his job that day. i mean, these arguments, why

have squad cars last night because they can't be in front of every store, every minute? they occasionally show up so it diskun discourages crime. i believe you call it loving it to death. it's not perfect. his first argument was absurd. if you morally don't want to sell a gun to a dangerous person, how do you make sure you don't do it, mayor? you want somebody to call up and say, it's like this whole thing with people here in country without documents. if you want to avoid hiring an undocumented person, it's nice to be able to find out. >> they don't want to do it because they want zero restrictions on anything to do with guns. for an example, chris, why wouldn't they agree right out of the box to say that every gun that's sold must be insured the same way that an automobile is insured? that obviously would restrict the number of people who would be buying guns. but they don't recommend anything positive on the question of controlling guns. they're not at all for any restrictions imposed upon guns.

they want encouragement for the use of guns. they want encouragement for the availability of guns. and so their arguments are going to be totally and completely illogical. >> ron, i think they want the old cowboy movie with mat dylan, everybody in the salon, in long branch, including kenny russell, everybody's armed and some guys are armed. the sober guy kills and shoots the drunks guy and we have a half hour episode. >> they want everybody armed because that mean s everybody would have to go out and buy a gun or have one bought for them. this is a $12 billion industry. this isn't about ideology. this is about money. the nra's point you were talking about here seems to be there's no purpose in having any law whatsoever because criminals will just break the laws anyway. >> yeah, isn't that wonderful? >> that's their rational. >> ron reagan, have a nice weekend. up next, republicans are trying to stop young people from voting again by raising their parents' taxes.

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ha! back to "hardball." now to the sideshow. first a little round of where are they now? remember joe walsh? he's the former illinois u.s. congressman who lost his bid for re-election to democrat tammy duckworth last year. walsh resurfaced at a town hall this week blaming his 2012 election loss on, you guessed it, democrats who promise people free stuff. >> maybe this is why i lost. i traveled the entire district and i said, my name's joe walsh, if you vote for me, i'm not giving you a darn thing. my opponent walked around saying, i'll give you this, by way, you need a new shirt. i'll give you a new watch. i'll take care of you.

i'll pay for your haircut tomorrow. this is how our politicians get paid. will we ever have a majority of this country that will vote for me when i say, i'm joe walswalsf you vote for me, i won't give you a darn thing. i'm trying to cut what washington takes from you so that you can keep more of what's yours, now go live your life and be happy. >> that goes to the 47%. takers and makers stuff from last election. of course. he's got company. former south carolina senator jim demint kicked off his first day as president of the conservative heritage foundation with a letter to the staff saying, "more people than ever before, 69.5 million americans from college students to retir tireries to welfare ben fisheries defend on the federal government for housing, food, income, student aid or other assistance. the united states must reverse the direction of these trends or face economic or social collapse." to former congressman allen west. you remember him as the florida republican who said that 78 to 81, very specific, house democrats are members of the

communist party. anyway, west traveled to l.a. as part of his web series recently and had a tough time adjusting. >> i have to correct a nice young lady at a nearby lunch stop who wanted to put sprouts on my turkey and swiss sandwich? i had someone ask me if i want to go to a real nice sushi restaurant, but i had to tell them that i don't eat bait. needless to say, it has, indeed, been interesting being out here in l.a. >> well, there you have it. both allen west and joe walsh have said another run for office is not off the table. hmm. next, the latest republican spin on voting restrictions. this time it's about college students from north carolina who register to vote at their college address. if it's up to some republican lawmakers in the state, that decision could cost their parents. according to a new bill, "if the voter is a dependent of the voters' parent or legal guardian is 18 years of age or older and the voter has registered at an address other than that of the parent or legal guardian, the parent or legal guardian will

not be allowed to claim the voter as dependent for state income tax purposes." north carolina does not want young people voting democrat in their state. this bill parents pay more in taxes if their child votes near campus. finally, a slip of the tongue from first lady michelle obama. >> believe me, as a busy single mother, or i shouldn't say single, as a busy mother, sometimes when you've got husband who's president, it can feel single, but he's there. >> president obama was on his second day of a fund-raising swing. he was in california yesterday while michelle obama remained here in d.c. up next, hillary's talking and everyone's guessing. will she or won't she? are you kidding? i think she's running. you're watching "hardball." the place for politics. mine was earned in djibouti, africa, 2004.

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i'm bertha coombs with your cnbc market wrap. stocks finish off of lows of the day. the dow down 40 after falling triple digits earlier in the session. the s&p 500 was down 6. the nasdaq up just over 21. you may have heard earlier8 last month. the unemployment rate fell to 7.6% but main to people leaving the workforce. worries of north korea, it asked foreign embassies to consider evacuating staff due to increased tensions. that's it from cnbc. we're first in business worldwide. now back to "hardball."

of course, the big question now about hillary is, what's next? >> the big tease. welcome back to "hardball." that was of course "daily beast" editor tina brown who on this program endorsed hillary clinton asking the question on everyone's mind, what's next for hillary clinton? no one knows the answer yet. well, you can say that, will she or won't she? we do know one thing. she's back in the public eye very much so this week. talking about work still needing to be done. let's listen to her today, this morning, in fact. >> this truly is the unfinished business of the 21st century, and it is the work we are called to do. i look forward to become your partner in all the days and years ahead. let's keep fighting for opportunity and dignity. let's keep fighting for freedom and equality. let's keep fighting for full participation. and let's keep telling the world over and over again that, yes,

women's rights are human rights and human rights are women's rights. once and for all. thank you, all, so much. >> actually by the way, this morning we got a copy of hillary clinton's remarks to the "daily beast" which had her saying, should be a partner. here's where she changed it in the written version from the written to the spoken, and champion in the days and years ahead. she left out, as you saw in her read, word champion which she approved in an earlier draft, decided that's not occasion. we went through a presidential election. we know that. as new polls and the travel schedules come out, it's clear the race for 2016 is simmering already. i have two pulitzer prize winning people here who can tell the future. cynthia tucker. cynthia, i do this to people who are columnists and have an opinion. do you want hillary clinton to be the next president? >> i certainly want her to run, chris. >> you want her to run. you're not willing to commit

yet. >> i want her to run, yes. >> you won't endorse. >> i'm not willing to say. i don't know what's going to happen in the next four years. >> i just want to know what you think now. >> there could be a little known state legislator out there somewhere who springs forward and makes a brilliant candidate. i doubt it. that's the reason i want hillary to run. >> okay. thank you. you can't commit, can you? can you commit? the "washington post" is made of sterner stuff. >> i'm not going all in. >> you'll get a call from the editor. let me ask you about -- what did you make of her -- i love to do this. it drives people at home crazy who don't like this show to start with. here's hillary, that apparently approved a script for this morning's speech which had her championing the causes for women and great causes for children in the future and wouldn't actually say it. was it tina brown was a little too gushing here, figured she had to slow this train down a might? what happened there? why is she not a champion when she was when she approved the

script in the first place? cynth cynthia? >> people often rethink things they've written, chris. i've certainly does it. and champion does sound a little bit too much like she's committing to a run. there's so much pressure on her. there's already a pac that's started to specifically to encourage her to run. and i think she's going to find this too much to resist. odds are very good that she could be the first woman president of the united states. i think she will run. but she doesn't want to commit yet and she wants the speculation, i think, to ease back just a little bit. >> i think you might be -- do you agree with that, she wants to notch it back? >> yeah, i think she probably does. why wouldn't she? >> i agree. there's nothing to be gained at this point. >> we just had happen election. >> well, except -- >> a little while -- >> except joe biden might be getting the information he needs now that he's going to have to

beat her or get out of the way. >> everybody is going to have to stay on simmer until she makes up her mind. >> the pilot light is lit. >> yes. >> okay. that's what i say. anyway, hillary clinton also spoke today of the need to carry on the fight for women's rights. it's very universalist what she's doing here, but also a rallying cry to the most dominant voter in this country, women. let's listen. >> if america is going to lead the way, we expect ourselves t lead, we need to empower women here at home to participate fully in our economy and our society. we need to make equal pay a r reali reality. we need to extend family and medical leave benefits to more workers and make them paid. we need to encourage more women and girls to pursue careers in math and science. we need to invest in our people so they can live up to their own god-given potential. that is how america will lead in the world. >> i think that's very effective

presentation. cynthia, i think she's got it down. that's the way to do it. teach people. inform them. make the case logically. yeah. >> it is a natural issue for her, first of all. this is something she believes in deeply. she's worked on it, as she said, in her four years as secretary of state, across the developing worlds. she encouraged education for women, economic advancement for women, equal rights for women. and she can do all that while encouraging her supporters without saying so. you know, more than half the voters in this country are women. so she doesn't have to talk about running for president while still encouraging particularly her women supporters. it's a very natural issue for her. >> let's take a look at some of these numbers now, guys. here's hillary clinton clearly with an advantage over much of the gop field. she handedly defeats marco rubio, rand paul, and jeb bush.

in the mcklatchy and marist poll. here it gets interesting. let's take a look at christie, governor christie who this show seems to like. the one republican that gives clinton and biden a run for the money is chris christie of jersey. hillary clinton beats him by 46%/43%. biden loses to christie. there, gene, is sort of the pivot right there. >> look, one thing about that number, though, we know what hillary clinton is like as a national candidate. we don't know yet know what chris christie is like as a national candidate. how he translates to rest of the country. we'll see. >> also one other thing. cynthia, not to prescribe what's going to happen in this campaign, hillary clinton fits the democratic party like a glove. she is not a

hillary clinton. you know, i'm not sure i would be that quick to say christie has no shot. i think -- >> you think if they want to win, they might do it? >> if they want to win, imagine that the establishment coalesces behind them. they're all united behind him. they, you know, ran mitt romney through. they might be able to ram chris christie through. and, look, there's going to be some sort of civil war. there's going to be some sort of civil war in the republican party. >> if they lose to hillary, they lose four in a row. thank you, cynthia tucker. have a nice weekend down there. eugene robinson. we're having our first day of spring in d.c. up next, remembering the great roger ebert.

how movie reviews were an elite thing in the past. they would bring it to us on television. we'd decide the thumbs up with them. it's a development for the moviegoers like me. this is "hardball." the place for politics.

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we're back. the legendary film critic roger ebert loss his battle with

cancer. he earned a star on the hollywood walk of fame. he and gene changed the way that people saw movies. it made it fun and accessible for the public. we all get into it and they had a love-hate relationship between themselves but let's watch them in action. >> the question was do you like or hate each other and i said both and roger said -- >> neither. >> for 24 years we were on television together for more than 30 years we fought it out. on our newspaper jobs there was a lot of competition, a lot of rivalry, but also respect and friendship. >> well, in recent years, a bout with thyroid cancer took his jaw. thank you. let me just talk about how film

criticism came out of the closet with these guys. it used to be something thoughtful, you sat in the screening room, you watch it and it takes a couple days to get it right. these guys said, here's how i went after this, here's how i saw it, here's my reaction to it. thumbs up, thumbs down, and then you got involved. >> before ebert and siskell, movies were art form. it was dominated by french critics and americans dominating french critics. these guys engaged you. they gave you the information so you could make your own choice about the film and people reacted to it in such a way that within a few years they were no longer the bar bear generals at the gates. they had overtaken movie writing. >> ann, i love your reviews and your writing and i do love your elegance and he will low consequence. two guys sitting in a room, could be two women, one guy says

greatest movie ever and another says clunker. your thoughts? >> exactly. and that's -- they were almost channelling -- i think they kind of -- as you said, they brought out of the closet what we were all doing anyway and i think they gave people a sense that they could be critics, too, which became true in a few decades when technology made it possible for people to be critics on their own blogs and on facebook and twitter. they completely anticipated this demock kra advertising force that's happened and then to r roger ebert's ever lasting credit, rather than get in a crot crouch around that, he almost had a second career on social media. he mastered that technology with such ariodition and such -- it

was such a terrific thing for him. >> my wife is getting back at 5:00 and i can't wait to go see the redford movie. we grew up when people were bombing the bad guys. i want to know about these guys. i'm going to watch a movie. i'm going to decide if i like it based on that movie around me. at "argo" i thought, this movie is going places and same thing with "rocky." i go with my reaction. this isn't birdman, this is good. >> that's what ebert captured and gene. >> who picked "argo" as the best movie of the year? >> it's the one i haven't seen

yet. >> what's the matter with you? >> zero dark thirty, i haven't seen that. >> are you going to wait for netflix? >> two nights ago i saw a movie i hadn't seen and i did what i always did. i went to ebert's site and then i shouted out to my wife, there's a 3 1/2 star by ebert on at 8:00 and so we watched it. but that was duplicated in american's homes after american homes. >> that means like lawrence of arain bee yeah, isn't that the greatest thing in the world, how many movies get that, that this is magic? >> it's very rare. and i try to be as stingy as i can because there's something so special about that, this is a masterpiece, this is a home run. although there's something to be said for a triple. there's something to be said for the garden variety. >> i'll take a triple tonight. thank you, ann, for always being

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let me finish tonight with this week's bottom line argument of the national rifle association. we can't have real background checks on who buys a gun. why? because we can. why can we, because we're going to filibuster. why are you going to filibuster? because we don't want background checks. why don't you want background checks? because we're going to have guards at schools instead.