good picture of positive political news the entire campaign simply by working together as elected officials of our country should. maybe the governor of new jersey is getting in shape to run or maybe just to improve his health. in any case it will be good to have him as a prospect for 2016 if only because he's someone many people on both sides of the political middle can actually imagine voting for. that's "hardball" for now. thanks for being with us. "p "politics nation" with the reverend al sharpton starts now. thanks, chris. thanks to you for tuning in. tonight's lead, found alive. it's a story made for the movies playing out in real life. three women kidnapped separately as teenagers ten years ago. all found in a house in cleveland. amanda berry, gina dejesus and michele knight have been missing for a decade. their families searched

desperately for them. today they are reunites with their loved ones, tries to restart their lives. at this point three suspects are in custody. ariel castro, the owner of the house, and his two brothers. the alleged kidnappers reportedly raped the women, resulting in up to five pregnancies. so far they have not been charged. amanda berry was able to escape that house with her 6-year-old daughter and make a frantic police call to police. you can hear the terror in her voice when she made that call. >> 911. what's your emergency? >> help me. i'm amanda berry. >> do you need police, fire or ambulance? >> i need police. >> okay, and what's going on there? >> i've been kidnapped, and i've been missing for ten years, and i'm here. i'm free now. >> it looks like you're calling from 2310 seymour.

>> i'm across the street. i'm using the phone. >> okay, stay there with those neighbors and talk to police when they get there. >> okay. hello? >> okay, talk to the police when they get there. >> okay. are they on their way right now? >> we're going to send them as soon as we get a car open. >> no, i need them now before he gets back. >> all right. we're sending them, okay? >> okay, i mean like -- >> who is the guy who went out? >> his name is ariel castro. >> okay, how old is he? >> he's like 52. >> all right. >> and i'm amanda berry. i've been on the news for the last ten years. >> and is he white, black or hispanic? >> hispanic. >> what's he wearing? >> i don't know 'cause he's not here right now. that's why i ran away. >> when he left, what was he wearing? the police are on the way. talk to them when they get there. >> i need -- okay. >> i told you they're on the way. talk to them when they get there. >> all right, okay. bye. >> i'm amanda berry and i'm free now. almost 24 hours since saying those words, the questions are just beginning. joining me now is clint van zandt, former fbi profiler. you gene o'donnell, former nypd

detective. and on the phone ed smart, of course the father of elizabeth smart who endured nine months of her own captivity before being found. thank you all for being here. clint, this story is incredible. ten years living in a major city. i mean, how does this happen? >> well, it's interesting, al. there was a book one time. it was called "the perfect victim." here we have three perfect victims. it's almost like this suspect or the three suspects, if we're to believe three brothers were involved, they were almost collecting human beings, al. they went out every year in a row for at least three years. and i say at least three because i suspect we could find out there are other victims before or after these three were kidnapped. they went out three years in a row and stole these young women right off the street. took them no more than two miles across town and have held them now for over 4,000 days.

>> now, that's what's so astonishing. they were no more than two miles away. when you look at this, eugene, let me first say that a real hero in this was the neighbor who rescued amanda. listen to him tell the amazing story of how the rescue happened. >> i'm eating at mcdonald's. i come outside. i see this girl going nuts, trying to get out of a house. so i go on the porch. i go on the porch. and she says, help me get out. i've been in here a long time. so, you know, i figured it's a domestic violence dispute. so i hope the door and we can't get in that way because how the door is, it's so much that a body can't fit through it, only your hand. so we kick at the bottom. she comes out with a little girl. and she says, call 911. my name is amanda berry. >> did you know who that was when she said that? >> when she told me, it didn't

register. until i got the call to 911. then i'm like, i'm calling 911 for amanda berry? i thought this girl was dead. about five minutes after the police got here, the girl, amanda, told the police, i ain't just the only ones. there's some more girls up in that house. so they going up there, 30, 40 deep. when they came out was just astonishing. because we see this dude every day. i mean, every day. >> how long have you lived here? >> i been here a year. i barbecue with this dude. we eat ribs and whatnot and listen to salsa music, you see where i'm coming from? >> you had no indication there was anything -- >> bro, not a clue that that girl was in that house or anybody else was in there against their will. because how he is, is -- he just comes out to his backyard, plays with the dogs, tinkering with his cars and motorcycles. goes back in the house. he's somebody you look and look away. he's not doing nothing but the average stuff. you see what i'm saying? nothing exciting about him. well, until today.

>> i mean, you know, clint, when you look at this, it's amazing because usually lost people are not found. and here you have a miracle. three of them found alive and the neighbor telling the story, nobody saw anything strange. >> well, al, you're right. there's only a very -- once a child has been missing -- once it goes past days into weeks, months and in this case years, the statistical probability of getting a child back is very, very small. but in this case, i think we probably have these -- these sexual predators, these sexual sadists, at least one of them, who liked to kidnap, but they wanted to hold on to their victims so they could not only have, perhaps, sexual contact, but torture them, put them under this duress, manipulate them. this is a type of person who likes to tie women up, who likes to punish them. and what these women have been

through is just going to be a horror story. just a little bit i've heard so far is probably the most deg ra dading thing you could ever go through. these women went through it for a decade. >> someone who knows some of that feeling, at least from family members, is you, ed. your daughter elizabeth was kidnapped in 2002 when she was just 14 years old. she was found nine months later. i mean, what went through your mind when you heard about this today? >> you know, i mean, i -- when i heard about it yesterday, i just went, there are three miracles there. and what joy and happiness for them to be reunited with their families. and i -- you know, i thought back on how it was when elizabeth came home to us. and how we rejoiced and thanked god for this -- this incredible miracle. and, two, i also thought about what people think of -- of these

people. and, you know, you hear those comments, well, why didn't they get away? why didn't they do that? and people out there need to understand that, you know, undoubtedly their lives were threatened or their family's lives were threatened. these predators are definitely, as the fbi agent said, they are master manipulators. >> yeah. >> i mean, they love to do it. they try to guilt their victims into feeling some responsibility. and it's outrageous. but i think it goes to say that we all need to keep our eyes open. because i truly believe there are others out there in similar situations. and -- and they want to be rescued. >> you've said it right. we need -- i hope this leads to every cold case being warmed up tonight in america. because it shows us people can still be recovered.

let me go to you, eugene. when you look at this, michele knight was 20 years old when she was last seen on august 23rd, 2002. amanda berry disappears less than a year later, just blocks away. gina dejesus, last seen about a year later on april 2nd, 2004. the girls were last seen within blocks of each other when you look at this. they escaped last night from a house that was only three miles away from where they disappeared. i mean, only three mimles away. is that astonishing? is it bad police work? what happened here? >> it's clearly not acceptable. it's not acceptable this could happen. there needs to be tough questions asked and there needs to be a look to see why these things were not put together. they're three disappearances of people that are around the same age under suspicious circumstances. obviously once these things are classed as missing persons, anybody who's dealt with the police on missing persons, especially in a big city, will

tell you it's awfully hard to get and keep the attention of the police. i think beyond that we also need to have the lessons of boston sort of looked at in this case, which is that for however many police there are, as mr. smart says, the multiplying effect of involving the community is important. too often in the cities, people come and go without knowing their neighbors and without asking reasonable questions. but there are a lot of important message -- important lessons to be learned here. it's simply not acceptable. these girls were not spirited out of the country or 3,000 miles away. they were pretty much in the very same area. >> and i think it's a challenge not only to the policing, but to neighbors. we don't see what's going on in our neighborhood. we're not neighborly anymore. you know, there are reports that there may have been a fourth woman held captive, clint. let me read the quote. knight told police that there was another woman in the home when she got there, but one day she woke up and the woman was gone. there is writing on the wall in the basement which includes the

name of a female and says, "rest in peace." but police do not know if this is related to the case at this time. so there may have even been another one there who may have deceased or we don't know what the circumstances are there. we know the fbi expanded their search for amanda and gina to include another girl, ashley somers, a 14-year-old which vanished within five blocks of amanda and gina. clint, could it turn out to be that there were more girls involved than even what we know now? >> i think it's highly likely, al. that's one of the things you'll see the investigators, the fbi doing right now is they will be digging up that backyard. looking for two things. number one, either children or adult victims. number two, as you led off in our program, with the possibility of five or more children that were sired by these guys that may have died in childbirth or may have even been killed, they'll be digging up

the basement. they'll look where these three guys, where they went, where they worked. any place that could have been a body disposal area. i don't think it's going to end with just these three victims, al. i think there are going to be other women. there's a lot to be learned in this case. and the secrets are really going to be terrible. >> one thing that bothers me, y eugene, was a neighbor of the accused kidnapper says that she saw a naked woman in the backyard two years ago, but police didn't take her seriously. she said, quote, the cops didn't believe her story. very soon after castro put tarps over his backyard, making it virtually impossible for anyone to see in. you see tarps up over his backyard. you see darkened windows. naked woman runs out. i mean, at some point doesn't somebody say there's something weird going on here? >> well, this is really one of the takeaways that has to be there for every police

department in the united states. their ability to diagnose calls, to look close at what the falct are and to keep pushing. this is not a one off. you will see other case where is the police didn't sufficiently push the envelope. obviously they get criticized sometimes for pushing the envelope too much. but it's really important for them when they -- when they think they're on the trail to be encouraged to diagnose these things and push further. there are other similar situations where tragedies have been averted because the police took the right steps and didn't take no for an answer, kept pushing, kept asking questions. >> ed smart, what gave you during the months your daughter was missing, what gave you the hope to hold on? because we can only imagine what must have happened the ten years that these families held on. i understand one of the mothers died of a broken heart. what kept you and your family going, ed? ed smart? i don't hear him. i think we lost our connection. one of the things, though, that i think is very telling about

this, clint, is the families and the endurance and the whole -- they must have gone through. as i said, one of the mothers passed. this is a horrific story. and let me take a break. we'll be back with more. ed smart, clint van zandt and eugene o'donnell, thank you all for joining us tonight. ahead, looking for answers. did the police do enough to find these young women? we have some hard questions tonight for the city of cleveland. plus, the president's fury over a stunning rise in sexual assaults in the military. and chris christie's weight loss surgery. governor, no matter how you do it, it's good to take off the weight. so is this part of a plan to get ready for a run for president? it's okay. you can tell me. come on. you're watching "politics

nation" on msnbc. [ 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.

have you joined the politics nation conversation on facebook yet? we hope you will. today our fans were talking about what might have inspired chris christie to take a big step on the path to weight loss. maria says, it doesn't feel good to be told how fat you are in a very public way. i'm sure that weighed on his decision. nathan says, good for him, regardless of his reasons. maura wonders what his new lifestyle may bring. maybe he'll visit michelle at the white house vegetable garden. hmm, not a bad idea. we've got more of christie's big weight loss decision and what it may say about his white house aspirations. coming up later in the show. but first, we want to hear

what you think, too. please head over to facebook and search "politics nation" and like us to join the conversation that keeps going long after the show ends. uh, i'm in a timeout because apparently riding the dog like it's a small horse is frowned upon in this establishment! luckily though, ya know, i conceal this bad boy underneath my blanket just so i can get on e-trade. check my investment portfolio, research stocks... wait, why are you taking... oh, i see...solitary.

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reacting to the news that three women kidnapped in cleveland have been found. we'll hear more about that tomorrow, and we'll learn more about the kidnappers. but the big question remains. why did it take so long to find these women? the case goes back more than a decade. michele nooiknight was 20 years when she was last seen at her cousin's house on august 23rd, 2002. amanda berry disappeared less than a year later just blocks away. she was last seen april 21st, 2003, the day before her 17th birthday. amanda was leaving her job at a burger king. gina dejesus was last seen about a year later on april 2nd, 2004. she was 14 years old and near her school. the girls were last seen within blocks of each other. and they escaped yesterday from

a house that was only about three miles from where they were kidnapped. as we told you earlier, three brothers have been arrested. the owner of the house, ariel castro, used to work as a school bus driver and was questioned in 2004 for leaving a child unattended on a bus. but police said there was no sign of a crime. >> number one, he was interviewed extensively relative to this complaint that we had. he was not a suspect in any other complaint. this was a -- he was a bus driver who inadvertently, so he says, left a kid on a bus, went in for a lunch break, came back and then found the young man. number two, our policies are solid. every single lead was followed up, no matter how small. >> they said they followed up on every lead, but we still have many questions as we try to figure out what happened to these girls.

joining me now is art mccoy, who's led vigils for the girls. and joe capostachki who was amanda berry's science teacher the year before she disappeared. thank you both for being here. >> thank you. thank you, reverend al, for having us. >> now, let me go to you first, art. we know the police spoke to the suspect in 2004. he also had contact with police prior to the kidnappings. did you think these were missed opportunities? >> reverend, let me tell you something. if the police department would have did like the activists did, then this case would have been solved a long time ago. listen, we have people -- listen, i just happen to be in front of the mike, but i have people like george, allen, calvin, others, donny, that rb on the front lines searching for these kids for over eight to ten years. >> right. >> i tell you something, the

reason we got involved, reverend al, is because amanda berry's parents -- the mother of amanda berry, the first girl that was missing, she couldn't get the help she wapted from the police. so she went to the activists. and we're the ones that put the flyers out. we're the ones that went out in the street. from that action, then the police got involved. but it was a day and a dollar too short. the same thing with gina dejesus. felix dejesus, the father, came to us and said, hey, the police ain't responding like they're supposed to. my daughter's missing. what do i do? we said the activists in the community say we'll get flyers. we'll go out and we'll start working. and that way when we start working, then the police came in. so, yes, there's definitely a lack of -- when it comes to looking for children, there's definitely a lack in the police, reverend al. >> art, you've done an exceptional job, you and the other activists. tell me how the families cope

with all of this. >> reverend al, that's a very good question. because lawanda, a beautiful long haired indian lady, amanda berry's mother, listen, i was at her funeral a few years ago. she died from heartbreak from not knowing where -- she's thinking that her daughter, amanda berry, would never come back and was dead. on the other side, felix dejesus and nancy dejesus, they stayed strong to the end. even though felix dejesus became -- his health became bad staying up overnight wondering and worrying about his daughter. but in the end, what kept us strong, what kept us activists strong, brother al, no matter whether we was digging a hole, tearing up a garage, looking for these girls or digging a hole somewhere else, nancy dejesus always told like this. she said that her daughter was alive. nancy dejesus said, my daughter's alive.

my daughter ain't in that hole. my daughter ain't in that abandoned building. my daughter's alive. and though sometimes we were pessimistic, nancy dejesus, the mother of gina dejesus, we stayed strong. and i tell you something. i stand here and testify today, brother al, reverend al, that nancy dejesus was right. gina lives! amanda lives! and the other young lady, michele, live also. reverend al, i know we got a lot to talk about, the sadness of it all. but reverend al, you're a minister, and right now we feel like shouting, is that right? >> that's right. >> can i hear you shout? >> wait a minute, let me ask joe a question. what kind of student, joe, was amanda? you were her teacher, her science teacher. and you knew her -- you knew her well before she was kidnapped. >> to give you a perspective, she was in a class 20 boys and 5 girls. the 20 boys were not the best of characters.

she was a cute little girl. the boys were hitting on her. they did not like her because she was a smart girl. but she was a tough girl. and it did not surprise me that she was the one who finally broke out of that house. she's a tremendous girl. >> joe, thank you so much. art, thank you. all the activists for staying with the families all through this year. thank you both for being on tonight. coming up, chris christie has secret surgery to lose weight. i know a thing or two about weight loss. and i'm giving him free advice tonight. and on a much more serious note, a stunning rise in sexual assaults in the military. the president is vowing to fix it. >> whoever carries it out is betraying the uniform that they're wear ing. we're not going to tolerate this stuff. and there will be accountability. [ male announcer ] house rule number 14.

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tonight, a shocking new report on sexual assault in the military. and president obama is vowing to fix what becomes a shameful epidemic in the military. we'll talk live with the congresswoman leading the charge. that's next. 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,

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the problem is even worse than many people realized. a brand-new study from the pe pentagon shows a sharp rise in military sexual assaults, up from an estimated 19,000 in 2011 to 26,000 last year alone. but few of those assaults are being reported to military officials. of the 26,000 estimated assaults last year, only about 3,300 were officially reported to the military. the report comes just one day after the shocking news that the colonel in charge of reducing sexual assaults in the air force was, himself, arrested for sexually assaulting a woman over the weekend. today lawmakers were outraged. >> if the man in charge for the air force in preventing sexual assault is being alleged to have committed a sexual assault this

weekend, obviously there's a failing in training and understanding of what sexual assault is and how corrosive and damaging it is to good order and discipline. >> the president echoed that anger today, promising to set up efforts to fix the problem. >> sexual assault is an outrage. it is a crime. that's true for society at large, and if it's happening inside our military, then whoever carries it out is betraying the uniform that they're wearing. i have directly spoken to secretary hagel already today and indicating to him that we're going to have to, you know, not just step up our game, we have to exponentially step up our game to go at this thing hard. >> joining me now is congresswoman jackie speier,

democrat from california. she's a member of the house armed services committee and has sponsored her own bill to address sexual assaults in the military. congresswoman, thanks for being here tonight. >> my pleasure. >> what's your reaction to this new pentagon report? >> it's a national disgrace, reverend al. the fact that with all the time and energy and the amount of money being spent to try and make people feel safe in the military and to reduce the incidents of sexual assault and rape, to have it go up over 33% is a national disgrace. and when you look at the reporting in terms of the rate of reporting, it has actually declined. so the number of restricted and unrestricted reports as a percentage of these 26,000 cases now has actually declined. >> yeah. >> so it's going in the wrong way. a double "f" is what i gave the

sacro report today. >> a double "f." you know, the president addressed members of the military who are victims of sexual assault. listen. >> and for those who are in uniform who've experienced sexual assault, i want them to hear directly from their commander in chief that i've got their backs. i will support them. and we're not going to tolerate this stuff. and there will be accountability. >> now, that's the president today addressing the victims. you have, congresswoman, introduced a bill to address this problem. it would improve prevention of and response to sexual assault. it would setup sexual assault oversight and response cowan similars. and it would hire director of military prosecution for military sexual offenses. do you expect today's pentagon report to help move this bill to a vote? >> it absolutely should move this bill to a hearing.

you know, there's 122 members that have already signed on to this legislation. to take the actual reporting of these crimes out of the chain of command and put it in a separate office within the military so that we have prosecutors who are trained and investigators who are trained to make the decision whether or not a case should move forward to court martial. right now that decision is made by the commander. a commander who has no legal training. and what we find is that very few of these cases go to court martial. so you can understand why victims are reluctant to actually report these crimes, because more often than not, what happens is they get ostracized. they get labeled with having a personality disorder. and they get discharged from the military. so it was wonderful to hear the president say to the victims, i've got your back. and that should mean to everyone in the military, it's about time for heads to roll by those who are committing these offenses.

what happens more often than not is they get nonjudicial punishment. they stay in the military. and they can continue with their behavior. >> earlier this year i spoke with virginia messiker, an air force recruit who was raped by her training instructor. she told me how difficult the investigation process was for her. listen. >> one of the investigators got very hostile with me. and he threw a piece of paper and a pen down and told me that if i wrote a statement, that he would leave me alone. i don't understand where at any point if -- since my -- my rape do i ever want to express what happened to me to two complete strangers. especially now a male investigator who's being hostile towards me. there's no way i'm going to want to talk to them. >> congresswoman, if investigators are being hostile

to victims of sexual assault, i mean, how can we expect more of them to come forward? >> well, that's the problem. you know, the system is absolutely rigged against the victim. the victim gets revictimized a second time when the investigator asks them questions. when the defense attorney can ask them questions and ask them about their prior sexual history, believe it or not. i mean, we have rape shield laws in this country in the civilian world. in the civilian world, a woman who is raped or a man who is raped is treated with kindness and empathy by the d.a. and by the investigator. because they want to, you know, get as much information as possible from the victim without, you know, creating more agitation. it's just the reverse in the military. and that's what's got to change. and that's why taking it out of the chain of command is so critical and why the military has got to recognize this.

>> well, we're going to watch this issue and watch your bill very closely. congresswoman jackie speier, thank you for your time tonight. >> my pleasure. ahead, a late ruling to stop an execution that was due to happen just moments from now. now, a fight to make sure justice gets served. plus, i weigh in on today's big revelation from new jersey governor chris christie. stay with us.

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a dramatic ruling tonight in mississippi. where the state supreme court has indefinitely delayed an execution that was scheduled to happen just minutes from now. death row inmate willie manning was set to die by lethal injection for the 1992 shooting deaths of two college students. but in recent days the justice department admitted that manning's trial was marred by, quote, invalid testimony from fbi experts. officials now say the fbi incorrectly testified about hair samples and bullets found at the scene. manning's lawyers are demanding dna testing on that physical evidence. tests they say will prove his innocence. but today's ruling does not indicate whether the state supreme court will allow those dna tests to happen.

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chris christie and i don't a agree on much. but we do have one big thing in common. we know -- we both know about carrying around extra weight. i went on a diet to fix it and christie went under the knife. we learned today that new jersey governor chris christie secretly underwent lap band surgery three months ago in an attempt to lose weight. he says it's all about his health and his family. >> it's not a career issue for me. it is a long-term health issue for me. this is about mary pat and the kids and me. it's really not about anybody else. and it shouldn't be about

anybody else. everybody's going to have opinions as is obvious from this, you know, scrum of people here today. but i don't -- with all due respect to everybody here, your opinions on this issue really don't matter a whole hell of a lot to me. >> i can certainly sympathize. when you're big, everybody's got an opinion about it. but this surgery is the latest twist in what's become a public issue for the governor. it was even part of a controversial attack ad against him a few years ago. >> in both cases, christie threw his weight around as u.s. attorney and got off easy. if you didn't pay your taxes, ignored ethics laws, would you get away with it? chris christie. one set of rules for himself. another for everyone else. >> earlier this year christie told a former white house doctor to shut up after the doctor said he could die in office. and he's been even asked point-blank, is he too fat to be

president. >> there are people who say that you couldn't be president because you're so heavy. what do you say to them? >> that's ridiculous. i mean, that's ridiculous. >> i'm not sure what's ridiculous or not. but, governor, if you need help slimming down, give me a call. i have a special reverend al diet in mind just for you. joining me now, krystal ball and joan walsh. join's writing about christie in "salon" today. thanks for coming on the show. >> thanks for having us, rev. >> krystal, let's cut to the chase. could this be the first step toward a run for the white house for christie in 2016? >> the timing is certainly very good. i don't want to question his motivations. i'm sure he's concerned about his health and thinking about his family and wife. unfortunately it's very unfair but people do, as you're indicating, judge someone based on their stigma.

not only that, but if he is going to run for president, which i think he would have a good shot at the republican nomination and would be a strong contender, that's a very grueling task. you have to be physically fit. >> just campaigning i know is grueling. >> exactly. it's incredibly grueling. you have to be fit. you have to be in good shape. now would be a good time to go ahead and start taking those pounds off so that he'd be ready for the campaign trail. >> joan, we can't in recent memory think of a president that was overweight. at least didn't appear to be overweight. >> no. i mean, bill clinton had some problems with weight and fought it and took the weight off. that was the context. when that white house doctor said that christie was overweight and could die in office, she actually helped bill clinton lose 30 pounds. >> clinton very publicly and actively showed he was trying to lose it. >> i guess i question the secrecy here, too, reverend al. this is a man, like him or not, he's got a real reputation for candor. he blasted that doctor, called her a hag, a week before he was

going in to have the surgery. he went in under a pseudonym. i wish him all the best. >> maybe the doctor inspired him. on the presidential level, look at the last five presidents. they're all in fairly good shape. i mean, do voters care about weight even if they don't realize it, krystchris krystal? >> i think they do. this is a thing that's very hard to poll. you ask people would this bother you if someone's overweight. they may or may not even realize the subconscious judgments that they're making of individuals. one thing that i really applaud chris christie for and i don't agree with him on much, but i appreciate the way that he has sort of publicly grappled with his issue of weight. it has been an open topic of conversation. >> and he's handled it well. >> and he's handled it well. >> let me show you, joan. he had to deal with jokes from the best. david letterman. let me show you that. >> i have made jokes about you not just one or two. not just ongoing here and there.

intermittent. but -- >> i didn't know this was going to be this long. >> so, i mean, he's handled it, he's laughed along. and i can tell you, you know, i've had cartoons and all done on me when i was heavy. and you can learn not to let it bother you. but his children, as he said, it's another thing. what started me dieting was my youngest daughter. i didn't care what any commentator said. my youngest daughter ashley said, dad, why are you so fat? i went on a diet that day. >> that's a motivation. >> yes, that is a motivation. >> i call it offensive. but go ahead. >> really. what was up with that? >> right. >> i truly wish him luck. it's tough. this is not necessarily the best way to do it, either. maybe you will give him some health tips.

because people gain the weight back after this surgery. it's going to take a lot of work and will power. >> will power, discipline, that's key. but politically, krystal, his approval rating is high. even among groups that normally don't go republican. 67% among all voters. 73% among independents. 66% among union households. 65% among hispanics. 63% among women. he's polling very high. >> yeah. that's right. and i do think that in terms of the potential republican contenders for 2016, i personally think he is the most formidable. and he might have an issue in the republican primary because he has taken some more moderate positions, but he's a skilled politician. he's a charming guy. and he has a sort of in your face style that i think republicans like. >> i don't see him getting out of that primary process. i really don't. >> because of how far right he is? >> yeah. because how far right it got. i admired him for standing up and saying president obama did a

good job during sandy. but that could be -- >> i respected him for that even though we don't agree on much else. on the weight question, did it give him sort of the image of the guy next door? as he slims down, does he lose some of that, you know, i'm the guy that everybody knows in the neighborhood? >> i don't see him turning into george clooney. i think he's going to be the guy in the neighborhood. the guy in the neighborhood is struggling with his weight, too. i don't think it really affects him. i think there's a strong class bias in a lot of our judgments about people who are overweight. therefore i've always defended him on this particular point. i think as he struggles with it he can be the every man who's going up and down and hopefully going down and getting healthy. >> that's the risk, you know, that folksy thing. i knew i was reverend al, brother al to everybody. i lost weight, became a sex symbol. it's just hard. krystal ball and joan walsh, thanks for being on the show tonight. be sure to catch krystal on "the cycle" weekdays at 3:00 p.m. right here on msnbc.

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thanks for watching. i'm al sharpton. "hardball" starts right now. target, benghazi. let's play "hardball." good evening. i'm chris matthews in washington. let me start tonight with this. there have been a raft of charges that fit under the heading, benghazi. the sheer volume of them allows the one making the charge to maintain the offensive. it allows people to take glancing shots at this administration and possibly a future administration without coming up with a sharp indictment that merits hard public debate. so to avoid that confusion, i'm going to divide the charge into four periods. one, events before the benghazi facility came under attack. two, events occurring when the benghazi facility first came under attack. third, events occurring before the second attack in benghazi.