extraordinarily fond of, once told me when you enroll other people in your idea and let them have a stake in your success, then you'll have an easier time getting people on your side. i'm still learning that. but hey, if leading a little less doesn't work out, the president could go try living in an aaron sorkin liberal fantasy. sounds like a really nice place. all right. that does it for us. speaking of a really nice place, it's time for the martin bashir show. >> thank you, sir. good afternoon. it's monday april the 29th. and has a line been crossed? has a former governor sunk his latest campaign? and has sarah palin finally jumped the shark? there's hope out there on a monday afternoon. >> knowing that potentially chemical weapons have been used, it doesn't tell us when they were used, how they were used. >> the president has laid down the line. can't be a dotted line. >> the world is watching. >> iran is paying attention to this. north korea is paying attention to this.

>> one way you can stop the syrian air force from flying is bomb the syrian air bases. >> we don't want to do that unless it's absolutely necessary. >> the red line's been there. they've been crossed. >> no one wants to start wars. you have to do what you have to do. >> other groups are calling for their own sequester fix. >> we call on congress to show as much concern for others being harmed. >> seniors who depend on programs like meals on wheels. >> mark sanford and elizabeth colbert-busch will debate for the first time. >> at least he gets to debate a live person this time. >> appreciate it. thank you. >> one thing they all agree on, they need to do a better job reaching out to minorities. i can think with one minority they can start with. we begin with the administration facing a complex and bloody crisis in syria with some lawmakers demanding action

but with little agreement about what that would mean in practice. in the latest violence, syria's prime minister survived what appeared to be an assassination attempt today when a car bomb exploded near his convoy in damascus. this, the latest in a series of attacks on high-ranking officials comes after intelligence reports that the syrian government has used chemical weapons and as lawmakers on both sides of the aisle demand a response, however limited in scope. >> i believe the united states could play a greater role in dealing with the humanitarian crisis. the suffering is intense, and i don't think the world's greatest superpower, the united states, can stand by and not do anything. >> we have said that they need a no-fly zone which could be obtained without using u.s. manned aircraft. we could use patriot missiles, patriot batteries and cruise missiles to take out their air and to supply the resistance with weapons. >> but if senator mccain

outlined a robust intervention there, he joined a parade of lawmakers strongly against sending in united states troops. >> the worst thing the united states could do right now is put boots on the ground in syria. that would turn the people against us. >> obviously, we don't want to do that unless it's absolutely necessary. >> we don't need to put boots on the ground, but we need to enable their neighbors, the neighbors of syria, to bring some sort of peaceful resolution to this. >> some, however, urged less caution. with senator lindsey graham arguing that failure to intervene in syria would embolden other rogue nations like north korea and iran. >> if we keep this hands-off approach to syria, this indecisive action toward syria kind of not knowing what we're going to do next, we're going to have a war with iran because iran is going to take our inaction in syria as meaning we're not serious about their

nuclear weapons program. >> graham raised further alarms about inaction for security here at home. citing syria's store of chemical weapons. >> the chemical weapons, enough to kill millions of people, are going to be compromised and fall in the wrong hands, and the next bomb that goes off in america may not have nails and glass in it. >> but even senator graham agrees the situation in syria is difficult to say the least. in "the new york times" this weekend, a lengthy report on the increasing islamist dominance of the opposition. "nowhere in rebel-controlled syria is there a secular fighting force to speak of." as such, the question of further military aid to the resistance is fraught with potentially disastrous consequences. as congressman peter king said on "meet the press." >> the situation in syria is complex. my concern is al qaeda has more influences than it should among the rebels and if we assist the rebels, al qaeda could take advantage of that. >> with all that at play, the

white house is facing no end of questions about just where their red line lies and what it means to cross it. >> there is much more to be done to verify conclusively that the red line the president has talked about has been crossed. an degrees of is not sufficient to -- upon which to base a policy reaction. >> the white house says an investigative team is ready to deploy to syria within 24, 48 hours if assad will let them in. that's a big if and a big question. one among many. joining us now is nbc's peter alexander live at the white house. pete, we're just learning that the president has had a phone conversation with russian president vladimir putin talking in part about syria. what can you tell us about that conversation? >> reporter: yeah, martin. we're learning that from white house officials that that conversation between president obama and president vladimir putin of russia did take place at some point today. the topic of conversations

including syria, where the president expressed concerns over syrian chemical weapons. obviously russia would be a critical ally if the u.s. is to pursue some further intervention in terms of the crisis taking place, the civil war in that country. white house officials telling us the president urged there to be close consultations continuing between secretary of state john minister on this very topic. one of many topics the two men spoke about this afternoon. >> pete, given quite understandable reluctance to engage in yet another military conflict, there now some regret that while the administration obviously had a red line in their minds about syria, that they may now regret having said so publicly? >> reporter: i think there may be privately some regret that this is playing out the way that it is. obviously, the fact that that line was drawn so clearly, so firmly in the sand obviously adds a layer of complexity to

this. i posed the question to jay carney in the briefing hours ago and he said the president made it clear the red line exists long before we had the evidence, we had the information, the intelligence suggesting there is a high likelihood or likelihood chemical weapons were used in the situation. they insist the president's policy hasn't changed. foreign policy experts say in some sense the white house's words were a little ahead of their policy actions right now. the white house, as you played some of the sound bites, has made it clear the president said we will pursue this effort prudently and deliberately, focusing on among other things what happened in iraq where faulty intelligence led in many ways contributing to that invasion. they don't want that to repeat itself here. >> peter alexander at the whoit house. let's bring in our panel. in washington, nia malika henderson for the "washington post." steve clemens of "the atlantic." good afternoon to both of you. steve, given the terrible toll of the last ten years and still

uncertain outcomes in places like iraq and afghanistan, is it really time to engage in yet another military conflict with an arab nation or does the humanitarian situation in syria simply demand an intervention? >> well, there's no simple answer to that good question in the sense that, you know, whether it's your framing or lindsey graham saying other nations are watching this and he wants a cookie cutter approach to intervention. the fact is that syria is not libya, and syria has its own somewhat compounding circumstances and the largest of which are that despite humanitarian trauma which is clear and evident, despite now with the potential use of chemical weapons in syria that i think would bring a lot of realists into the camp and say, this is a different kind of conflict, basically, you know, issuing a u.s. military intervention, whether it's a no-fly zone strategy or something more robust really raises the prospects that you

create a situation in which the state, which assad now has. all of that bureaucracy and infrastructure completely collapses. and the heroes of the revolution who will succeed are not the ones that we're talking to diplomatically. they are a much more ferocious and a much more extreme islamist faction and you end up with a much worse situation. i think the administration is trying to be surgical to some degree and cautious. i talked to senior state department officials saying it's hard to get to the best outcome in a horrible situation. somewhat the best outcome is to get rid of assad but largely keep the infrastructure of the state in place. >> right. >> and that's what they're trying to do and why they're not moving as rapidly as some others are demanding. >> nia malika, the president has been attacked, as, quote, being too waeak on syria. even a superficial glance at the rebels is enough to cause us to think very, very carefully before taking action. you've got an opposition made up

mostly of sunni arabs but also the country has christians, kurds, palestinians, armenians. one group of rebels known as the jabat al nustra declared allegiance to al qaeda. are people like lindsey graham suggesting we dive headlong into that? >> you heard lindsey graham say that as well as john mccain, saying we should arm the rebels. the problem as you laid out there and as "the new york times" laid out over the weekend is the lerebels aren't natural allies of the united states. they have al qaeda links. so to arm the opposition is in many ways to arm the opposition against the u.s. so it doesn't look like that would happen. i think one of the things that is interesting about this is that we are seeing the sort of post-iraq reaction to the middle east. even someone who is as hawkish as a john mccain or lindsey grah graham, they are certainly not advocating any boots on the ground. what it looks like that we're in

for is this long sort of evaluation of whether or not there actually were chemical weapons used then the white house will have to decide what they want to do. they want to figure out what russia, what china, would do. so far russia and china have been pretty much road blocks of getting anything done there. >> sure. >> what does turkey want to do? what does jordan want to do? their neighbors in that region. syrian neighbors. so, you know, this is a complicated, a hornet's nest of a situation and you certainly don't have a situation, at least yet, where americans are overwhelmingly backing any sort of intervention that would cost the lives of american soldiers. >> certainly not. steve, despite all the risks of involvement in syria's civil war, noted war hawk, bill kristol, thinks it's totally irresponsible for the president not to jump in. take a listen to this, steve. >> this is not a president who wants to start another war. that's the way he sees it. i think it's totally irresponsible for an american

president to have that -- no one wants to start wars -- but you have to do what you have to do. >> have to do what you have to do, consequences be damned? >> bill kristol is irresponsible, he once worked in the white house. it's irresponsible to basically critique the commander in chief for taking a pause to ask the key questions about -- >> especially after, especially, steve, after the irresponsible response to the belief that there was wmd in iraq where 5,000 troops gave their lives. is that not irresponsible? isn't it right for this president to pause and say, hang on a second? >> no, that's absolutely right. it's absolutely right to check out the scenarios of what happened. to look at what the motives were. i raised on msnbc the other day that there were, you know, a lot of scenarios. you need to think through the unthinkable issues and not just let the bandwagoning emotion of the moment drive u.s. military

commitments. and i think the biggest issue is we're all assuming is the assad regime commanded the use of those weapons. i talked to a senior administration official over the weekend who said that if chemical weapons were used, it is most likely the case but not only the case that those were under assad's command if they were used, and that the question they don't understand is if assad did give the command to use those weapons, why were they used to such a minimal degree? these are questions that anyone in the position of deploying potentially men and women to the frontline, but u.s. military force, need to think through and work through. we have a lot of intelligence we're not sharing publicly that is signals intelligence, chatter among the syrian command staff on what happened. we don't know what any of that is, but it's vital to do that and bill kristol knows this. and we see a lot of people that for months have been discussing chemical weapons and red lines and it's almost as if those wanting to advocate a more robust response are gleeful

that, in fact, chemical weapons have somehow been used. we need to stop and pause. >> absolutely. nia malika henderson, steve clemons, thank you for joining us. next, former governor mark sanford may be running the worst campaign in history. stay with us. why is redemption so much easier for republicans than democrats? well, simply put, it's because republicans are the christian party, and there's nothing evangelicals eat up like a redemption story. sanford said he asked jesus to forgive him, and jesus said, okay. [ kate ] many women may not be absorbing the calcium they take as well as they could because they don't take it with food. switch to citracal maximum plus d. it's the only calcium supplement that can be taken with or without food. my doctor recommends citracal maximum. it's all about absorption. my doctor recommends citracal maximum. angie's liat angie's list, i autyou'll find reviews. on everything from home repair to healthcare

written by people just like you. if you want to save yourself time and avoid a hassle, go to angie's list. at angie's list, you'll find the right person to do the job you need. and you'll find the right person quickly and easily. i'm busy, busy, busy, busy. thank goodness for angie's list. from roofers to plumbers to dentists and more, angie's list -- reviews you can trust. oh, angie? i have her on speed dial. [ dennis ] allstate wants everyone to be protected on the road. whether you're an allstate customer or not.

all you have to do is call. [ female announcer ] call and sign up for good hands roadside assistance today. [ dennis ] are you in good hands?

if you want to see a perfect encapsulation of all the ails of

the republican party, may i suggest you watch tonight's debate between the candidates vying to represent south carolina's first congressional district. the debate airing on c-span bits democrat elizabeth colbert-busch against the man who turned the phrase "hiking the appalachian trail" into a sexual euphemism. republican mark sanford. sanford has managed to do the impossible. become the underdog versus a democrat in a district that mitt romney won by 18 points. he's done this via an impressive aware of mitt cascalculations, reportedly asking his ex-wife to run his campaign and later allegedly trespassing at her house. then admitting to the trespassing in a full page display ad, but justifying his actions because it was the super bowl, after all. let's also not forget he awkwardly introduced the world and reportedly his son to his mistress turned fiancee the night he won the nomination. oh, and there was the time he got into a debate with a poster

board cutout of nancy pelosi. yes, you heard me. >> let's have that conversation that i think is so vital to, again, not only the discussion of ideas, but ultimately finding conclusions. i mean, if at the end of the day you have an idea and i have an idea, but at the end of the day we can't -- how you doing? appreciate it. thank you. >> joining us now is jimmy williams, a democratic strategist and msnbc contributor. and hogan gidley, a republican strategist. both south carolina natives. hogan, when you see your former governor arguing with a cardboard poster on the side of the road, do you worry he may be losing more than just this election? >> one word, gravitas. look, everyone here is talking about this. jumping the shark, doesn't look good. mark sanford is in serious trouble down there in a district that should be his and should be his handily. the missteps you mentioned,

including some you didn't mention, that have come out recent ly after he won the nomination have worked to torpedo the campaign and any momentum he had and any chance of a comeback. i still think it's going to be close, and quite frankly, we'll probably disagree, he could actually end up winning this thing but right now he's got serious problems to address and he's embarrassed the state on many, many occasions. this is just another one of those embarrassments. >> jimmy, when sanford first came out, he had an ad campaign called the god of second chances. but given his natural disposition, shouldn't this be retitled the god of 50 second chances? >> listen, the people in south carolina like redemption. if you admit your sins and ask for forgiveness, you are given that. the problem is when you are the billy carter of the state and you have made a fool of your state and of your family and of your children and of your sons and your ex-wife, and everybody else and the republican party, and the entire state. women -- i can tell you why i

disagree with my good friend, hogan gidley. i think she's going to win, colbert-busch is going to win because of the female vote. this is going to be the year of the woman down in south carolina where women, steel magnolias, are going to war and they're pissed off, martin. they are angry. they're angry he did this to his ex-wife. they're angry that he did this to his children. republican women in charleston especially are coming out in droves. they're giving money to colbert-busch. they voted against sanford in the primary. they're going to vote for colber colbert-busch in the general election next tuesday. every single republican woman except for my mother, she doesn't live in the district so he can't vote, thank god. >> right. >> every republican woman i speak to in south carolina in the first district is voting for colbert-busch. >> hogan, i'd like you to hear how one conservative megachurch minister invoked sanford in a recent sermon which less colorful language than jimmy. nevertheless, here he is.

>> if he dealt treacherously with his wife before and the state and the people who worked for him, do you think character has changed that much? that he's not going to deal treacherously at some point in the future? >> hogan, does that man have a point? that if a man cannot be trusted to keep his pants on, he might have problems controlling the public purse? >> yeah, i don't know that he necessarily put it that way with the pants on, but yes, we'll just say dealing treacherously is the euphemism he used. that's fine. look -- don't take it overboard. look, he's right. this is something we've talked about before, martin. on air. i mean, he's got a personal problem. he's got a professional problem as well. colbert-busch did a wonderful job exposing, you knows, the unethical use of taxpayer dollars. leaving the state in a constitutional crisis for four days. she didn't hit on the personal problems. now what we've seen, having to relive this whole situation all over again because he is running for congress, now we're learning new things like the trespassing, like not paying for the tuition,

the $5,000 he owed to his own child. those types of things are really big problems. and, of course, the one-page ad you mentioned where he said he did go to see his child because he was home alone. then we found out the child wasn't home alone. all of his -- some of his brothers were there, too. so this whole thing continues to unravel and it's not really good for mark sanford. and, look, that preacher is absolutely right. he has a very good point to make. >> jimmy, final point to you. you suggest he's not going to go down very well with women. i have to question you on that because this is a man who really does know how to speak to women, whether it's a cardboard cutout, and i might quote to you from one of his letters, and if you will, "i could digress and say you have the ability to give magnificently gentle kisses or that i love your tan lines or that i love the curves of your hips, the erotic beauty of you holding yourself, or two magnificent parts of yourself. in the faded glow of night's light. but, hey, that would be going into the sexual details we spoke

of at the steakhouse at dinner and unlike you, i would never do that." the man, gentlemen, is a poet. >> he's a deadbeat dad and he's a pervert in my opinion. he should not be re-elected. >> jimmy, and hogan, thank you, gentlemen. stay with us. we have much more ahead. first, the white house weighs in on news today, nba player jason collins decided to tell the world who he really is. >> here at the white house we view that as another example of the progress that has been made and the evolution that has been taking place in this country. and commend him for his courage and support him in his, you know, in this effort. [ male announcer ] running out of steam? ♪ now you can give yourself a kick in the rear! v8 v-fusion plus energy.

natural energy from green tea plus fruits and veggies. need a little kick? ooh! could've had a v8. in the juice aisle. and you'll dump your old broom. swiffer sweeper's electrostatic dry cloths attract and lock dirt, dust, and hair on contact to clean 50% more than a broom. it's a difference you can feel. swiffer gives cleaning a whole new meaning. ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] there are hybrids. ♪ then there are turbo hybrids. introducing the first hybrid you'll actually want to drive. that's the power of german engineering. to prove to you that aleve is the better choice for him, he's agreed to give it up. that's today? [ male announcer ] we'll be with him all day

as he goes back to taking tylenol. that was okay, but after lunch my knee started to hurt again, and now i gotta take more pills. ♪ yup another pill stop. can i get my aleve back yet? ♪ for my pain, i want my aleve. ♪ [ male announcer ] this may, buy aleve and help those in need.

stay with us. the day's top lines are coming up.

♪ [ agent smith ] i've found software that intrigues me. it appears it's an agent of good. ge has wired their medical hardware with innovative software to be in many places at the same time. using data to connect patients to software, to nurses to the right people and machines. ♪ helping hospitals treat people even better, while dramatically reducing waiting time. now a waiting room is just a room. [ telephone ringing ] [ static warbles ] [ beeping ]

red or blue?

man: how did i get here? dumb luck? or good decisions? ones i've made. ones we've all made. about marriage. children. money. about tomorrow. here's to good decisions. who matters most to you says the most about you. at massmutual we're owned by our policyowners, and they matter most to us. ready to plan for your family's future?

we'll help you get there. from a distinct lack of principle, to a set of skewed priorities, here are today's top lines. let them eat cake. >> rush limbaugh warned you about this. second term, baby. >> after the election, ryan said president obama was re-elected because of the high turnout of urban voters. then when he was asked just how he liked his coffee, ryan said no milk, no sugar, just urban. >> if i can think of one minority they could start with. >> i look forward to hosting this event 18 years from now. then my opening line will be -- [ speaking foreign language ] >> sheldon adelson spent his own money on negative ads. >> i was worried because of

sequester we would be forced to hold this even at a less prestigious hotel than the d.c. hilton, then i was told that's not possible. >> you remember the sequester? >> republicans fell in love with this thing. >> it's just a meat cleaver. we cut everything. long-term unemployment. >> cut 11% for 2 million out of work americans. >> head start. >> 70,000 children. >> meals on wheels. >> 4 million fewer meals on wheels for seniors. >> now they carved out this exception because they wanted to get home on time. >> and the only way they're bipartisan is to do something for themselves. >> impractical to expect all of the negative consequences of sequester can be solved this wa we can't pass gun control legislation, but oh by the way, you're about to get delayed at the airport. >> i think we have our priorities a little bit skewed here. >> you're not kidding. we're joined now by karen finney, former dnc communications director, soon to be an anchor on this network. democratic strategist dr. bob shrum for the "daily beast."

we saw plenty of republicans enjoying president's speech saturday night. what's happening right now to people because of sequestration, the loss of millions on meals on wheels which we talked about on this broadcast. the slashing of head start programs. republicans have absolutely nothing to say about that, do they? >> no. look, the republicans care more about tax breaks for hedge fund billionaires than they do about food for hungry seniors. this is the new republican party. this is the remade republican party. they won't sit down with the president. they won't come up with a bargain that can get rid of this sequester. they like the sequester. and they like the sequester because it slows the economy. they think it's their route to power in 2014. and the president, democrats, organizing for america, with all of the energy of that turnout on ration, is going to have to go into 2014, try to defy history and change the balance of power in this congress. >> wow.

karen, here's white house press secretary jay carney. this is what he had to say earlier. take a listen. >> we hoped congress would show the same kind of unified passion it comes to helping families whose kids are getting kicked off of head start or seniors who are losing access to the meals on wheels program, or families whose breadwinners have lost their jobs. >> karen, why is it that republicans can step up when it comes to fixing flight delays so they can go on recess, but have no interest in addressing the issue as bob shrum just said, of people, elderly seniors who rely on meals on wheels? >> it's about politics. who they perceive votes and who they perceive gives money and who they perceive has the political power. you cannot worry about let start if you're not worried those children or parents are going to vote for you or donate to your campaign. you worry about your campaign contributors who are sitting on a tarmac calling you from their

cell phone. right? so a lot of this has to do with political dynamics. democrats need to get on offense on this. there's no research actually now showing austerity may be the reason for the slowdown in economy. not the reverse which was the line the republicans had been pushing for so long. and we're seeing, you know, we're already seeing reductions in the deficit. we're on a good path. we need to make more investments and not buy into the republican line about sequestration and austeri austerity. >> absolutely. bob, last week we talked about a 98-year-old woman in tennessee, frances haskell who may lose her meals on wheels. now meet another woman who's facing the same situation. take a listen. >> i really rely on meals on wheels and i cannot get out to get meals. i can't afford what meals cost in restaurants or elsewhere.

>> your reaction to people like that, bob? >> well, i have enormous sympathy for her and sense of moral outrage at the house republicans who blocked any action to try to deal with this problem. look, we have people all over this country who worked hard all their lives, who saved to live on social security, trying to stay at home. and they're going to now be put in trouble. kids in head start, as you said, are going to be put in trouble. the republican party, and karen's right about this, just doesn't hear the voice of these people. but the president and the democrats in congress have to make sure that those voices are heard. >> we're doing our very best. bob shrum and karen finney, thank you both. >> thank you. next, republicans like louie gohmert see the boston bombings as the latest, greatest excuse to spew their bile. stay with us. 3 what do you think?

that's great. it won't take long, will it? nah. okay. it won't take long, will it? this, won't ta lwi it? no, not at all. how many of these can we do on our budget? more than you think. didn't take very long, did it? this spring, dig in and save. that's nice. post it. already did. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. keep you yard your own with your choice lawn insect controls, just $8.88. are baked with brown rice and sweet potato! triscuit has a new snack? no way. way. and the worst part is they're delicious. mmm, you're right. maybe we should give other new things a chance. no way. way. [ male announcer ] we've taken 100% whole grain brown rice and wheat, delicious sweet potato, and savory red bean... and woven them into something unexpected. the new brown rice triscuit line; with sweet potato and red bean varieties. a new take on an old favorite.

♪ [ indistinct shouting ] [ male announcer ] time and sales data. split-second stats. [ indistinct shouting ] ♪ it's so close to the options floor... [ indistinct shouting, bell dinging ] ...you'll bust your brain box. ♪ all on thinkorswim from td ameritrade. ♪ yeah, i'm looking to save, but i'm not sure which policy is right for me. you should try our coverage checker. it helps you see if you have too much coverage or not enough, making it easier to get what you need. [ beeping ] these are great! [ beeping ] how are you, um, how are you doing? i'm going to keep looking over here. probably a good idea. ken: what's a good idea? nothing. with coverage checker, it's easy to find your perfect policy. visit progressive.com today.

and i've been around the toughest guys in football. and now i'm training guys who leak a little to guard their manhood. with man style protection... whoa... of new depend shields and guards. who are you? this is my house. perfect. come with me. built you a little man space under here. how 'bout that. sweet. see depend shields and guards are made to fit guys. that's awesome. i trained that guy now it's your turn. go online for my tips to help guard your manhood. with new depend, shields and guards. anncr: and many of the tornado's victims are... without homes tonight. girl: first, i saw it on cable. then i read about it online. i found out how to help. i downloaded the info. i spoke up... and told my friends... and they told their friends... and together, we made a difference. anncr: and tornado relief has been pouring in from... across the country. girl: we might be hundreds of miles apart... but because we're connected, it's like we're all neighbors.

the mother involved in shaping the militant mindset of her sons. that's what people are asking after it emerged this weekend russian intelligence secretly recorded a conversation between one of the boston bombers and his mother. a conversation that reportedly involved jihad. we're joined now by michael isikoff who's in boston and by nbc news terrorism analyst roger cressey. good afternoon to both of you. mike, we've been hearing a lot about the mother, but now i understand you have some information about tamerlan's wife. what can you tell us? >> reporter: exactly, martin. earlier today, fbi agents went to the home of the parents of catherine russell, wife of tamerlan tsarnaev, questioned her for about an hour and left with bags of evidence. now, her lawyer says she's cooperating with the fbi but she's clearly a crucial witness,

as agents try to piece together at background of tamerlan tsarnaev and his activities in the month leading up to the bombing. she has, was working during that time. they had a 3-year-old daughter. the parents were taking care of the daughter. but where was tamerlan during h this weirperiod? what was he doing? how much time did he spend at home with his daughter? how much time did he spend away? what did he tell his wife about where he was, who was he meeting with? these are crucial questions as fbi agents try to piece together the whole story here. clearly where we are right now is with a lot of unanswered questions about this case. a lot of people who still need to be talked to. a top law enforcement official told me earlier today this investigation is far from being wrapped up. >> roger, there are also now reports which say that authorities are investigating up to six associates of the tsarnaev brothers for possible involvement in the bombings.

with that in mind, take a listen to this. >> the way they handled these devices and the trade craft leads me to believe there was a trainer, and the question is where is that trainer or trainers? are they overseas in the chechen region or are they in the united states? >> roger, is it your assessment, and i accept this is conjecture, that there are other people out there who had a hand in these bombings? people we don't know anything about yet? >> well, martin, i think representative mccaul raises a central question. if they did have help, is that group or individual either here in the united states or was it overseas in chechnya and dagestan? it's still quite possible they've done this on their own, from our perspective is the most frightening assessment and frightening conclusion. there was a level of complexity to this. i hate the word sophistication. there was complexity to these devices in how they were triggered that have the hallmarks of people who had some

sort of external training. again, until we get the answer to questions from that group of individuals, the fbi is now interviewing, we're not going to be able to draw a final conclusion here. so it really could go either way right now, but most people assume that they did not do this on their own, but we have to see where the investigation leads. >> mike, we've been hearing a lot about the mother. she turns up on this phone call recorded by russian intelligence. tell us about that and what are the fbi thinking about what she may have encouraged her sons to be or do? >> reporter: well first of all, martin, the fbi i'm told is quite annoyed that the russians have not provided this information earlier back in 2011 when they first asked the bureau to investigate tamerlan tsarnaev. because they had very little to go on, the bureau did. they just had this russian report that he was a follower of radical islam, that he changed radically, changed drastically, and that he had unspecified

associations with unspecified underground groups. the bureau went, they did an investigation, they questioned tamerlan, they questioned members of his family. they did not know about the contents of the wiretaps. and whether or not it would have changed anything at the end, we don't know, but certainly the fact that there were transcriptstranscripts of phone calls suggesting the radicalization of tamerlan tsarnaev and with his mother would have certainly given the bureau more leads to go on to do that initial investigation. because remember, everything turns on the conclusions of that investigation in 2011 in which the bureau found that there was no evidence of violent activity. no evidence to support the russian suspicions. because at that point, they closed the case, although tsarnaev gets put on various watch lists. there's no information that could have prevented him from leaving the country, that would have dictated further follow-up

and monitoring of his activities. and had those activities been monitored, had, for instance, the bureau continued to keep an eye on him, they would have certainly picked up, say, the youtube account in which he's posting these radical videos starting in the summer of 2012 that might have given them more clues, that might have given then cause for more investigation and certainly once the bombing took place would have put him at the top of a list of suspects to start looking at. >> roger, they also would have been conscious of his trip overseas last year for that six-month period, wouldn't they? >> yeah, martin. absolutely. mike makes a key point here. that would have been one of the key triggers on intent. if the federal security service in russia had given the united states real specificity about what the conversations were, about what was triggering his march toward radical islam, then the bureau would have been in a better position to do something. when you open up a preliminary inquiry, it has to be derogatory information.

it has to be specific and verifiable in order to take it to a full investigation. because of what the fbi was able to found based on the limited information, it could not be verified and they had to close it and give the bureau -- give the fsb what they had which was not much. this becomes a key trigger where this plot could have been stopped much sooner and certainly before the attack took place had the russians shared more. >> roger cressey and michael isikoff. gentlemen, thank you so much. >> thanks, martin. next, perhaps wayne lapierre won't get the last laugh after all. stay with us. [ male announcer ] why is kellogg's crunchy nut so delicious? because every flake is double-toasted... splashed with sweet honey... and covered in rich double-roasted peanuts. mmm. [ hero ] yummy. [ male announcer ] kellogg's crunchy nut. it's super delicious! [ male announcer ] kellogg's crunchy nut. when you're carrying forda lot of weight, c-max has a nice little trait,

you see, c-max helps you load your freight, with its foot-activated lift gat but that's not all you'll see, cause c-max also beats prius v, with better mpg. say hi to the 47 combined mpg c-max hybrid. some brokerage firms are. but way too many aren't. why? because selling their funds makes them more money. which makes you wonder -- isn't that a conflict? search "proprietary mutual funds." yikes! then go to e-trade. we've got over 8,000 mutual funds, and not one of them has our name on it. we're in the business of finding the right investments for you. e-trade. less for us. more for you.

the fund's prospectus contains its investment objectives, risks, charges, expenses, and other important information and should be read and considered carefully before investing.

i want to make it clear, you were going to bring this bill back -- >> absolutely. >> -- to the senate floor, and you think it's going to be different? >> i truly believe that if we have time to sell the bill and people will read the bill, and i'm willing to go anywhere in this country, debate anybody on

this issue, read the bill and you tell me what you don't like. >> that was senator joe manchin, co-author of the recently defeated background checks bill but now sounding awfully optimistic. for his prediction to come true, five no votes would have to become yes votes. that only gets the bill through the senate. yet senator manchin does indeed have reason to be optimistic. joining us, julian epstein, a democratic strategist. juli julian, i'm reminded of the brady bill which took seven year, three presidents before it was passed. it was introduced on february the 4th 1987, where it failed numerous times in the house and faced filibuster in the senate. it was finally signed by president clinton, as you know, on november the 30th, 1993. the lesson is, if you're invested in the long game, and senator manchin may be, he could be proved right, couldn't he? >> that is the lesson. that's exactly the lesson. remember, that law was charged in the supreme court in the prince case and the law was

upheld. look, there's lots of reason for optimism. sometimes you win by losing, martin. the most important thing for the advocates of these measures is to realize they have won the hearts and hinminds of the amern people. that's the most important thing. secondly, look at the poll members of the senators, senators like senator ayotte, jeff flake and others, their numbers -- >> julian, i can help you with that. one of the things that may help manchin is the polling. 2/3 of voters tell gallup the senate should have passed the bill. whereas pat toomey is seeing sky-high poll numbers after his effort to pass background checks. kelly ayotte, as you said, jeff flake, seeing their numbers hammered after voting no. does this issue feed into the gop branding problem, generally, doesn't it? >> very, very much so. not only are they getting hammered, they're getting

hammered in pro-gun states. look at the numbers in arizona, ohio, new hampshire, other places that have traditionally been very, very pro-gun states. those numbers are getting hammered. i thinyont - those senators are getting hammered. your point is the key point, martin. these things take many, many years to pass. the brady bill as you mentioned passed seven years. i think if the politics keep going the way day are going right now, the nra sand castles will quickly blow out to sea and we'll think of nra in a couple years as standing for not relevant anymore. >> okay. this is a very good issue if you are ted cruz. take a listen to how he describes bravely standing up against his own party on gun control. >> right. >> we've had probably five or six lunches with a bunch of republican senators standing up and looking at rand and mike and me and yelling at us at the top of their lungs. i mean, really upset. they said, look, why did you do this? but as a result of what you did, when i go home, my constituents are yelling at me i have

stand on principle. i'm really not making that up. >> julian, what's good for ted cruz may not be good for the republican party. true? >> that's exactly right, martin. that's the lesson that i think republicans should have learned during the last election cycle when they actually tried to tee up many of these social conservative issues on women, on minorities, on immigration and lost every single one of those at the national level. i think this is very, very similar. i think by the same token, the democrats are going to have to start playing very hardball politics on this. i think that the president and the majority leader are going to need to start twisting arms. i think we're going to have to revisit even though i haven't thought this was a good idea in the past, revisit the filibuster rules. i think there will be a big movement in the country to revisit the filibuster rules. i think the president, as i said before, needs to start saying that the republican party has now become the party that is soft on crime and soft on terrorism because they are

keeping in place laws that criminals and terrorists seek to exploit in order to kill innocent americans. and it's that simple. they should simply say this is a party that is soft on crime, this is a party that is soft on terrorism. >> julian epstein, as ever, thanks so much, julian. >> thank you so much, martin. >> and we'll be right back yeah, let's do it! let's do it. the average fast food breakfast can run you over $4 a meal per person. i know. walmart has a ton of breakfast options. a meal like this costs about $1.64 per serving. if you replace just one fast food breakfast each week with a breakfast like this from walmart, your family of four can save over $500 bucks a year. wow, that's amazing! and i could cook for you. [ male announcer ] save money on a delicious breakfast with kraft american singles and oscar mayer fully cooked bacon with our low price guarantee. walmart. humans. even when we cross our "ts" and dot our "i's", we still run into problems. that's why liberty mutual insurance offers accident forgiveness with our auto policies.

if you qualify, your rates won't go up due to your first accident. because making mistakes is only human, and so are we. we also offer new car replacement, so if you total your new car, we'll give you the money for a new one. call liberty mutual insurance at... and ask us all about our auto features, like guaranteed repairs, where if you get into an accident and use one of our certified repair shops, the repairs are guaranteed for life. so call... to talk with an insurance expert about everything that comes standard with our base auto policy. and if you switch, you could save up to $423. liberty mutual insurance -- responsibility. what's your policy? ♪ ♪

[ male announcer ] this is a reason to look twice. this is a stunning work of technology. the 2013 lexus es and the first-ever es hybrid. this is the pursuit of perfection. starts with ground beef, onions and peppers baked in a ketchup glaze with savory gravy and mashed russet potatoes. what makes stouffer's meatloaf best of all? that moment you enjoy it at home. stouffer's. made with care, for you or your family. stouffer's. with centurylink visionary cloud a brinfrastructure, and custom communications solutions, your business is more reliable, secure, and agile.

the day building a play set begins with a surprise twinge of back pain... and a choice. take up to 4 advil in a day or 2 aleve for all day relief. [ male announcer ] that's handy. ♪ this weekend marked the annual white house correspondents' dinner where the president of the united states gets to let his hair down. literally. >> i understand second term, need a burst of new energy. try some new things and my team and i talked about it. we were willing to try anything, so we borrowed one of michelle's tricks. [ laughter ] >> but within minutes of the president delivering a mix of

self-deprecating humor and a stream of zingers aimed at the media, one iualust didn't get the joke. at 11:04 president s 4 p.m. sat sarah palin took to facebook. "yuk it up media and pols. while america is buried in taxes and a fight for our rights the permanent political class in d.c. dresses up and has a prom to make fun of themselves." b mr. palin followed up her comments on facebook with the following twee inin ining tweet. "that white house correspondents' dinner is pathetic. the rest of america is out there working our -- off while the d.c. clowns throw themselves a nerdprom." in her reference to comedians are her husband and her daughter, both of whom enjoy ee dressing up and attending the event in the past. addressing facts with her would be a pointless exercise. the truth is that these comments

mark her miserable decline from hopelessly mindless vice presidential candidate to now a near nonentity. what's left is a smoldering bitterness that america once again proved too smart and too discerning to tolerate her meretricious bile. you see, unlike snooki and the situation who are her peers in the world of reality television, they successfully extended their brands into perfume and power shakes, but mrs. palin is now found slumped alone among the discarded rubbish of the cpac conference. her only accompaniment, deep well of bitterness and jealousy that now mark her character. ye while she rails against that dinner on saturday night, one of the speakers may well have stumbled upon something she is perfectly qualified to do. >> incidentally you may not know this but wayne lapierre is merely the executive vice president of the nra.

which begs the question, how freaking crazy do you have to be to be the actual president of the nra? >> mrs. palin, the nra looks forward to receiving your application. thanks for watching. chris matthews and "hardball" is next. war song. let's play "hardball." good evening. i'm chris matthews back in washington. let me start with this. the hawks sing from the same song sheet. have you noticed? the same chorus of neocons and good old-fashioned hawks out there now doing it again like they did with iraq and will be doing again with iran. they're all on the same page. ready? here it comes if. if we don't get engaged militarily in syria, syria, that will lead to a war with north cree y and iran.