truth, that he who keeps his life will lose it. and today, those negro league players are the winners by a landslide. thanks so much for watching. chris matthews and "hardball" is next. of warning, let's play "hardball \s good evening. i'm chris matthews in washington. let me start tonight with this. a dozen years ago this month, the united states of america received a sharp warning. bin laden. determined to strike in u.s. that message was delivered to the president directly. a month later this country was hit harder than at any time since pearl harbor. but without blaming george w. bush for failing to act sufficiently to that warning an of august 6th, 2001, should anyone blame this president and

his people for acting in time this time? joining me tonight from cairo, nbc news chief foreign correspondent richard engel and with us from new york, msnbc terrorist analyst governor coleman. nbc is reporting now the interrogation behind the worldwide terrorist alert this week was an intercepted communication between the leader an of al qaeda in the arabian peninsula and the leader of al qaeda central over in pakistan. the man who succeeded osama bin laden zawahiri. the two men reportedly agreed that they wanted to do something big. timed to the end of the muslim holy month of ramadan which is right now. and that's what led the united states to close 19 embassies. there they are on the map and consulates in the mideast and africa. there's still a lot that remains unknown including which target. over the weekend, one thing clear from every lawmaker and official with knowledge of the attack, nobody's crying wolf here. this is one of the most serious threats in years.

>> been an awful lot of hatter out there, chatter means conversations among terrorists about the planning that's going on, very reminiscent of what we saw pre-9/11. this is the most serious threat that i've seen in the last several years. >> we need to know and realize we're living in an increasingly dangerous world and this many specific threat that we've been briefed on over and over again has reached a new level. >> i must say this is probably one of the most specific incredible threats i've seen perhaps since 9/11 because of the specificity, because of where it's coming, the credibility of it, the level of chatter. it seems to be a fairly large operation. >> we've received information that high level people from al qaeda in the arabian peninsula are talking about a major attack and these are people in a high level. >> richard engel, this cuts to the very heart of the question which the two parties in this country have been debating for

years. is al qaeda still whole or a group of separate units. we hear today a few moments ago that the key to this intercept was the communication between al qaeda in the arabian peninsula which we thought was independent and al qaeda central in pakistan under zawahiri, account heir tore bin laden. is it one big organization or a bunch of separate groups that sort of say we're al qaedaish? >> it is a bunch of different organizations that are linked through key individuals. what we saw in this case was perhaps the world's most dangerous man, the leader of al qaeda, ayman al zawahiri who replaced osama bin laden to lead the world's most dangerous terrorist organization, it's most aggressive terrorist group calling his most capable assassin the leader of the al qaeda in the arabian peninsula branch, his name is nasser al bohishi. when you have the leader of a big organization, al qaeda central, calling his most

dangerous assassin and telling him to do something big, not only is it a big problem for the united states and one that should be taken seriously but it also shows the linkages that still doll exist between the al qaeda organization in pakistan, bin laden's old organization and some of the key players that are spread across the organization across the regional affiliates if you will. nasser al wahishi who was ordered to carry out this big attack at one stage was considered a possible successor to bin laden. he fought himself in tora bora. he considered himself an equal to bin laden, not just someone who was sub servant to him. they have a long history and he runs a branch, but he runs a very powerful branch. >> let me go to avenue coleman for analysis. give me your sense of what this tells us, the fact that al qaeda central still is central in pakistan where we killed bin laden. here's the successor to bin lad

laden saying i want some action. >> i think it's important to focus here on something that rich just said which is that this relationship is not a new one. nasser fought in afghanistan. he was a personal aide to bin laden, someone who's had a personal relationship with the senior al qaeda leadership in afghanistan and pakistan for years. so he's exactly the kind of person that al qaeda central leadership would call upon to do something like this. the question is whether or not aqap has the resources to carry out an attack and what kind of attack that is. they've tried twice now to strike at the united states homeland. both times they came close but they failed. i guess the thinking. >> give me the times. >> go for a more reachable targeting >> there was the underwear are plot where you had the nigerian national who tried detonating explosive in his underwear and the cargo bomb plot where they tried putting bombs inside cargo planes headed to the united states. both failed by not by much.

the question is have they now restructured their targeting and going after targets easier to go after, ie u.s. embassies in places like yemen, saudi arabia, sudan, et cetera. >> do they have a global reach, the al qaeda in the arabian peninsula? the guy who has been assigned this job of terrorismle? >> absolutely. if you had any question about that, look at their propaganda. they put their propaganda out in the english. they have an entire magazine inspire magazine which is in english which is designed to reach out to an american audience and convince americans to join al qaeda. what's more is there at least some evidence that they might have succeeded in this. guess where the boston bombers learned how to build their explosive dwis? partially through aqap's inspire magazine, something al qaeda was very happy to note following the boston bombings. so the answer is yes, they do have a reach outside of yemen, and they have a reach inside the united states. there have been a number of

americans that have tried joining in the arabian peninsula and still people still trying to join today from the united states. there's a reason for concern here. it's not just an abstract threat. >> richard engel, according to what you've been able to find out, show that map again of the embassies and the consulates shut down for the rest of the week. there they are. is that will what will we believe in the united states government is the extent of their range right now, the rake of the possibilities or probabilities of a terrorist attack? >> i think probabilities. it is also perhaps a limit of what the united states can do. what we understood was that there was this order from the leader of al qaeda telling his top assassin to carry out something big and the united states can orderity embassies to close. it can increase security around its consulates. it can close american businesses. it can tell american schools that operate in egypt and many

countries what they should do, it can only advise them. i think we're only seeing part of what this organization could do. you asked earlier, there are small al qaeda wannabe cells in parts of africa, even here in egypt that don't really have much association with al qaeda central. they just raise a black flag and try and use the name to try and scare people. that is not the case in al qaeda in the arabian peninsula. this is a key group that is linked historically and through some family ties, as well directly back to the top al qaeda leadership. it also has, and this is something i'm surprised hasn't come out yet but what evan was talking about, a particular interest in the airline industry. this group al qaeda in the arabian peninsula has been trying to build better bombs to get through airport security, to bring down american jetliners. it developed the underwear bomb so it could go through metal detecters because the bomb

doesn't have metal in it. now the group is working on trying to get surgically implanted bombs which could get through those body scanning technologies that have been put in airports. it is a dangerous group. it is not a group of wannabes. >> i want to go to the politics at home and the reaction. back to you, evan. this is frightening. i know someone at tsa. i'm trying to find out what i can about this surgically implanted. according to one report i read months ago, if somebody looks like they've had recent surgery or even looks like you're in bad health, they give them a close check at the airports. >> they do. i think the good news here is that this kind of device or this kind you have operation is extremely difficult to do. and in the past, there have been some experiments in this regard. and whoever was the experimented on whether it was animals or humans, they didn't live too long. it's not very easy to put a foreign object inside of someone and have them live in perpetuity. the answer is, it's not easy but unfortunately, al qaeda is putting a lot of effort into

this. and it's not just aqap either. we've seen generally on al qaeda communications networks, people talking about this dale and reflecting on whether or not it's possible, what would be required, and whether or not even homegrown extremists are capable of doing something like this. >> tsas around the world should be on the lookout for someone who says my friend is very ill. let me help them aboard. they should be aware of that situation, as well. >> if someone has had this kind of surgery, they're probably not in the greatest physical condition afterwards. >> they shouldn't be on an airplane in any case. congressman peter king is a republican. he's chair of the house subcommittee on counterterrorism and intelligence. he said the threat lacked spes if fisity but he's worried, too. let's watch. >> the threat was so specific as to how enormous it was going to be and also certain dates were given, but it didn't specify where it's going to be. the assumption is that will it's probably most likely to happen in the middle east at or about

one of the embassies but there's no guarantee of that at all. it could be in europe, in the united states. it could be a series of combined attacks. >> a common sense guy. here's the general, general martin dempsey, chair of the joint chiefs. he said it wasn't clear if the target was the u.s. or other western interests. we don't know where it's going to happen. the probability circle is in the asian area and in east africa. what's watch what the chairman of the joint chiefs says about it. >> there is a significant threat stream. we're reacting to it. >> is the threat to below up an embassy, consulate or something else. >> that part of it is unspecified. but the intent is to attack western, not just u.s. interests. >> that's martha rad ditch. let me go back to richard engel my hero over there. what is the sense of people over there in terms of one to ten concern? from what i've been pulling together on this, this is really big. people really think something's going to happen. is that the feeling in cairo and

that part of the world? >> in cairo, people aren't really focused on this at all. cairo is in the middle of its own domestic problems. there are protests in the streets. the muslim brotherhood was thrown out of power in a coup. john john mccain and others are in town trying to work out a settlement. it's the end of ramadan. people are fasting. so no one was talking about this. we went down to the u.s. embassy today which was already a fortified compound. there are tons of concrete piled along all of the side streets leading to the embassy. they've been there for about a year when people tried to storm inside the embassy. remember, there was that offensive internet movie that mocked the muslim prophet muhammad. since then, the embassy has already been in a degree of lockdown. mostly it has been the u.s. intelligence community, security officials who have been watching this threat, people who know who al qaeda in the arabian peninsula's leaders are, what they're capable of.

some people disregarded the idea that it would be an embassy that embassies are relatively hard to attack, that it could be a consulate, a small outpost or an airport, an airline. this is a creative group, a group that although it might be difficult is considering actively how to put a bomb in someone's body. it is putting figuring out how to insert one inside of a pet. this is not the group that would only just look at obvious targets like an embassy or consulate. >> amazing story. thank you so much. richard engel and evan kom man. coming up, a fallen star totally different star. major league baseball has suspended alex rodriguez. a-rod of the yankees for this season. up next, he's the biggest name yet to go down in major league baseball's effort to rid the game of can steroids. but the story doesn't end there. also, if there's one republican democrats would love to knock off next year, it's mitch

mcconnell of kentucky. in yesterday's fireworks, at kentucky's fancy farm, the big picnic showed how much flack he's going to get from the right. from the tea party side as well as from the left. and playing politics. here are pictures of four actors playing in this order dwight eisenhower it, upper left, jack kennedy upper right, lyndon johnson bottom left, richard nixon bottom right in the new movie "the butler." see if you can figure out who's playing them. let me finish with a congress that just took vacation to rest up from doing nothing except shutting down the government this fall. pleasingly bad story about american politics. the u.s. congress right now. that's "hardball." we'll be right back after this with more politics.

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wuhayshiwuhayshi. welcome back to "hardball." we normally talk down falls and comebacks in the world of politics on "hardball," but today, it was the sports world that played host to one of the greatest down falls you will ever see. alex rodriguez was going to be the clean home run champion of the world, the man to break barry bonds' career record. a-rod's accomplishments in the game are too many to name and the yankee third baseman became a fixture in american pop culture thanks to his off the field romances with cameron diaz and kate hudson. today his image and rupg are shattered as of today. major league baseball announced today they would suspend him

through the end of this season and all of next. more than 200 games and here's why. major league baseball says he's guilty of using and possessing numerous forms of performance enhancing drugs. they also say he taemed to cover up violations by obstructing the league's investigations. in addition to a-rod, 12 other players have been suspended for using banned substances. none are expected to appeal the rulings instead of rodriguez. he says i'm disappointed and i'm eager to get back on the field and be with my teammates in chicago playing the white sox tonight. i want to thank my family, friends and fans who stood by my side through all of this. the announcement couldn't come at a more awkward time. after sitting out the first half of the season due to injury, he's expected to make his return to the lineup tonight in chicago against the white sox. his suspension isn't effective till thursday. he could end up playing throughout his appeal. bob nighten gale from "usa

today" and mark the moose is an analyst with the fan. we have just come from a possible terrorist attack on the united states to this topic. but everybody i work with including the new yorkers especially new yorkers and the people who hate the yankees all want to talk about this. bob, do you start with this, the significance. where do you put this in terms of bad noouls for the country's pasttime? >> remember it used to be barry bonds was the poster boy for steroids. now it's alex rodriguez. it's the biggest suspension levied for a drug violation. all the way through 2014, going to cost him $36 million. he's already planning to appeal it. he has appealed it. we won't get a decision on this thing until october november, according to the players association. >> i mean, how do you read -- how do you read a-rod's statement? is this like say it ain't so, joe? he's saying it ain't.

is he saying it ain't so or just saying i'm disappointed. >> what the heck does that mean? does that mean i didn't do it. it's not a matter of whether or not he did it or not. there is the link to biogenesis and tony bosch. it's whether or not he was treated fairly through the process. ryan braun was suspended 65 games. it will cost him $3.25 million. the other 128 players were all suspended 50 games. alex rodriguez is suspended 211 games costing him about $34 million. he can still be owed $61 million when he comes backing in 2015. and there has been a conjecture feeling that there's been a softening among the major league players and the players association by no means was that softening there for the statement from michael weiner, the head of the mlb pa after the suspension was doled out where he said a-rod was not treated fairly. they think bud selig went out of his power here. they are going to fight for alex

rodrigu rodriguez. >> i like bud selig. the first time the guy used drugs, he broke the rules. he got caught. then he said he wouldn't do it again. then he got caught doing it again. he tried to cover it up and now he's finally caught and appealing. why would you take his side? why would anybody take his side unless they were a union shop steward. >> in this case, that's the case. does anybody who's objective take his side? >> it's not a matter of taking rodriguez' side. he is due rights. he was not going to take the medicine that major league baseball was doling out, swallow it and in essence ending his career. you don't think he's coming out after being out of baseball for two years and say you know what, i'll take my $61 million and go home. in all due respect to bud selig and the owners, baseball profited during the years of barry bonds and sammy sosa. >> but they cheated. >> absolutely they cheated. but everyone made money off of that will era. it started to become an issue

when congress got involved, when tom ver duechy put out an article in "sports illustrated" and the record books were obliterated. >> let me go 0 back to bob nighten gale for another view. remember the motto, don't do the crime if you can't do the time. >> yeah, i mean, baseball was very upset last year, bartolo colon got popped for testosterone. so did mel kill cabrera. both got raises. we'll see what happens with this class. nelson cruz of the text rangers, jhonny peralta of the detroit tigers, it will be very interesting to see if they get a bigger salary next year than they do this year. >> we've had the quiet old burning question about pete rose who played for philly for a while, he's obviously a cincinnati guy. but the old question, how do you balance out great performance against breaking the rules. where do the fans stand on that one, mark? >> well, listen, i think there

are fans quite upset with alex rodriguez and this steroid era. but i go back to my previous point. i think baseball profited. home runs were up. runs per game were up. baseball somewhere? '98, the sport was rejuvenated. i think there was a time where baseball fans looked at the record books and cherished those records. unrnl to, the steroid era oh blitz rated that record book. i think more often than not a lot of people look at peds and say it's a sign of the times. there's too much money to be made. if i'm an athlete, i might look for an advantage. not saying that i would do it, but people go out and say if i can go out there and become a $10 million or $11 million a year dollar player, you know what? i might go do that. >> mark, the way to promote more home runs. you narrow the strike zone. you shrink the strike zone. make it tough on the pitchers. bring in the outfield run walls if you want more home runs. you're making it sound like

baseball was in cahoots on the drugs. no, did they turn a blind eye? no doubt about it. they did it ph to be collectively bargained with the players association. at that time, gene orza and damaged fear. they did not want to have a drug testing in major league baseball till it became so rampant. there's no po doubt about it, you look at the effect that peds and steroids had on the impact on professional baseball, it has been wide blown. at one point in time, the majority of the players were doing them. >> i want to go back to bob and get another view. when my brother and i used to argue baseball, he was a yankees fan. i was a cleveland fan. i'll take any team against the yankees as a kid. but he always said, you know, in sports in basketball, you got to be a tall guy. these are years later, even taller. in football you got to be huge and strong. baseball was always a sport where an average size guy could make it. with all the drugs and performance enhancement drugs and all that stuff, hasn't that

changed into a game for moose to play? not you, moose. other moos. mieces. bob, wasn't the glory of baseball was for the average size guy? >> the average size guy in baseball is probably 5'11", about 190, 200 pounds. i think that's why people are so offended about the drug is because that's their game. any of us could play baseball. we can't play in the nba or the nfl. unless you're a certain size. when an nfl guy gets spoped for steroids or nba guy, it's on the back pages of the newspaper. in baseball, it's across the front page everywhere. >> surprising topic. it is "hardball." we don't usually do baseball but this is a tough -- i'm a bud selig guy. thanks, gentlemen. up next, playing politics. see if you can identify the actors playing the american presidents here. eisenhower, kennedy, johnson, nixon. it's interesting. these are amazing choices here.

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when her sister dumped me. grandpa was my dad a good athlete? no. oh dad, you remember my friend alex? yeah. the one that had the work done... good to see you. where do we go when we die? the ground. who's your girlfriend? his name is chad. and that's where babies come from. [ male announcer ] sometimes being too transparent can be a bad thing. this looks good! [ male announcer ] but not with the oscar mayer deli fresh clear pack.

it's what you see is what you get food. it's oscar mayer. time for the sideshow. jay-z was in realtime on realtime with bill maher this friday night and he wasn't shy about who he's thought should induct him into the hall of fame. the rock 'n' roll hall of fame if and when he's selected. take a look. >> who would you like to induct you? >> obama. >> all right. well -- >> i cheated. >> let's say he's busy. >> it would be all right. he owes me a couple. >> yeah, he owes you. >> he owes me a couple. >> that would be a presidential first. inducting somebody into the rock

'n' roll hall of fame. the big white house movie "the butler" will be a big film set for release in august has got one important fan, barbara bush. politico reports the movie made the former first lady cry during an advanced screening unin kennebunkport. it's a story gr where she once lived. it's about the white house butler ejean allen who served through eight presidencies from 1952 to 1986. it will show a different perspective how those eight presidents treated the people who served them in the white house. i can't wait. and those presidents are played here by some big name actors. dwight eisenhower, ike is played by you believe it, robin williams. jack kennedy is played by the young james mars deny. he looks pretty good. lyndon johnson, liev schreiber. hmm. and richard nixon played by my buddy june cusack. is the big question, how did the presidents they play come off? how do they behave when the cameras aren't on and how good are they to the help?

we'll find out. next up, it's joe biden auto tuned. the vice president of the united states is the latest politico to go viral with his new video by songify the news with darren chris. of "glee." check it out. >> ♪ i have two shot guns at my home ♪ ♪ they're locked in in the safe there's a metal gun case ♪ ♪ we live in an area that's woodeded someone secluded ♪ ♪ i've said jill if there's ever a problem just walk out on the balcony and fire two blasts outside the house ♪ ♪ the shotgun my shotgun ♪ you don't need a machine gun, you don't need 30 rounds ♪ ♪ buy a shotgun buy a double barreled shotgun ♪ >> there you know he's running for president. i wonder if he serenades his wife that way. up next, the republican the

democrats would love to knock out of the senate. mitch mcconnell is getting hit from both sides and the race has only just begun. you won't believe it, he's getsing it left and right. you're watching "hardball," the place for politics. the last four hours... have seen one child fail... to get to the air sickness bag in time. another left his shoes on the plane. his shoes. and a third just simply doesn't want to be here. until now. until right... booking now. planet earth's #1 accommodation site. booking.com booking.yeah do you mind grabbing my phone and opening the capital one purchase eraser? i need to redeem some venture miles before my demise. okay. it's easy to erase any recent travel expense i want. just pick that flight right there. mmm hmmm. give it a few taps, and...it's taken care of.

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users to track a lost phone on a map in realtime and make it ring. it's going to come in handy in my house. that's it from cnbc. we are first in business worldwide. now back to "hardball" and chris. >> now i know senator mcconnell believes that i'm not right for this job because unlike him, i haven't been in washington, d.c. for 30 years. but do i really need to apologize for having more government experience than rand paul? senator mcconnell talks about team mitch, well, kentucky, i'm here to invite you to join team switch. thank you, god bless each of you and the commonwealth of kentucky. >> welcome back to "hardball." real political season here.

that was kentucky secretary of state alison lundergan grimes standing tough a few feet from her opponent in that case. you saw her against senator mitch mcconnell. the candidates kicked off the political season, we're talking about the political season for next november, the world's largest barbecue in fancy farm, kentucky. this is real. this contest isn't just about the kentucky senate seat. it's a crucial front in the war for control of the senate and the future of legislation in this country. it's going to fails give an early indication of how the race looks. this is going to be one heck of a horse race. nbc news political reporter caseyy hunt and political and lies howard fine marn were both in fancy farm this weekend. casey, you were on the ground there. harold bows to your knowledge of the scene. first of all, we know why it's important. he's the leader of the senate and will face an attack from his right. what's his biggest danger, the guy you saw over the weekend from his right or the woman you saw to his left, if you will?

the democrat? >> at this point, his immediate danger is the guy to the right. and that's going to set him up for potentially making alison grimes for dangerous than she is right now. because mcconnell is really in a advice, especially going into the fall budget fights. what bevin was talking about when he was going after mcconnell is this letter that senator lee has where he's urging republicans to use the continuing resolution that funds the government to defund the health care program. and mcconnell has yet to take a position on that. he's very carefully walking a line not saying anything. but if the right wing gets really angry about his refusal to sign that letter and take those positions, it's going to make bevin more of a risk. it could push some of the conservative groups in washington like the club for growth to actually go in for bevin with real money and that would be a real problem for mcconnell. >> they are really -- i'm trying to think of the right metaphor. maybe force you to eat something

disgusting or get low like a limbo bar. to get re-elected as a republican senator you have to go so low. you have to say not only did you oppose obama care. once it was made into law you have to then defund it and cheat or else you're not a real conservative. >> it is a utility multious scene down there. it's unbelievable. about 15 people divided equally democrats and republicans cheering or booing. >> this is a catholic event, too. >> it's the st. jerome catholic church in western kentucky. it's a big homecoming summer event. mack bevin, the person that casey was talking about is a business mann from louisville who only got into the race at the last minute as a republican candidate for the primary which doesn't take place till next may. we're talking almost a year away. i was interested to see as was casey and all the other political reporters whether this guy matt bevin, a business mann in louisville and comes from an

old new england family was what is john mccain would call a whacko bird. unpresentable, unpresentable out of his element in over his head. and i thought considering the tumultuous nature of this event where you have to be a pretty tough paul by instinct to even speak, that he did plausibly well. >> here's bevin the guy going at mcconnell from the right. >> be a man, stand up. and put your money where your mouth is. mitch mcconnell is known as mudslinging mitch. because the only thing he has to run on is destroying other people. there is nothing in his 30-year history of voting that he's proud enough of to actually run on. i don't intend to run to the right of mitch mcconnell. i don't intend to run to the left of mitch mcconnell. i intend to run straight over the top of mitch mcconnell. >> well, if i didn't disagree with him on practically everything, i like his style

there, casey. i mean, there's a guy not afraid to call the guy a mud slinger which he is. mcconnell is a nothingtive force in american politics. here's the guy calling him on that from the right. >> bevin also wasn't afraid to engage with reporters. after the event and a lot of them were from the national press. he didn't screw up. that's a big test of this fancy farms sort of extravaganza. they say you can't win your race here at fancy farm but kuk lose it if you make a big mistake. he pulled it through. >> is he a southern, northern? >> he's from new england born in new hampshire. >> they don't mind that? >> his family owns a bell manufacturing company in new england. they make the bells for the salvation army among other things. it's a historic company. he moved to louisville. he became an investment banker and business mann there. >> he's accepted. >> being from louisville, everybody else in the state views you as a foreigner whether you sound like a kentuckian or

not. it doesn't hurt him any more since he's from louisville. he seems like a pretty smart guy. as casey says, the question is whether any of the national groups will get interested in him. mitch's problem is he's at either move is a bad one. >> let's talk about the lady in the race. a young woman, 34 years old. she's from a very old democratic father, her father was the chair of the party and a senate senator. she's chiding mcconnell for his three decades in washington and for being at the center of what she calls the disease of dysfunction. she called him the leader of obstruction. >> let's just tell it like it is. if the doctors told senator mcconnell that he had a kidney stone, he would refuse to pass it. >> well, she's learning the line. she didn't quite bite into that one but she had the headline. >> here's the think on alison lundergan grimes. she wasn't necessarily everybody's favorite among the democrat but she comes from a

dig political family in lexington. she's one of five sisters. she's very smart. she knows a lot of people in the state and she was kind of born for politics. her father was a state party chairman. controversial one but a very personable guy who knows everybody. they're extremely close to the clintons and james carville. into that wing of the democratic party. she was kind of born into politics. she doesn't have much of a record which is an advantage because usually mitch is running to tear somebody apart. she's almost a blank slate. >> casey, do you think she has the girl next door or the young girl, she's obviously a young woman. does she look like she speaks of kentucky, represents the people? >> i actually interviewed her while we were down there. we talked about you know, her race, about her grandmother, where she's from. she was in there chopping up barbecue in the shed next to where they were making their own charcoal from hickory and grilling tons of barbecue quite

literally. she was in there getting her hands dirty with that down home quality. still immaculately dressed but friendly, relatable. she really sort of has that whole package kind of down. her one big problem here, i mean, howard was talking about her family roots in the state and all that. but you know, what's really going to be dragging her down is president obama. i mean, all the democrats even that i talk to had problems with the president. >> great. it looks like she's cutting some of the rip cords or umbilical cords. thank you howard, and kasie hunt for the insight. up next from 2014 to 2016, new jersey governor chris christie may have a ticket to ride. will his tough guile personality travelle? i think he might be too east coast. this is "hardball," the place for politics. st advanced distribution systems," "and one of the most efficient trucking networks," "with safe, experienced drivers."

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schools. so i was wondering why you think it's fair to be cutting school funding to public schools. >> what's her name? what's her name, real quick? because the governor is talking. an what it is? talk to gail. >> first off, it's none of yourf your business. i don't ask you where you send your kids to school. don't bother me where i send mine. >> there is a winning matter. none of your business. how did he get her name first before he insulted her? that was an exchange between new jersey governor chris christie and a constituent, probably not voting for him during a live call-in show two years ago. it left you cheer organize cringing. one of the first times the trademark christie attitude got national attention. christie takes on a reporter who dared to ask a question that was off topic. >> did i say on topic? are you stupid? on topic. on topic. next question. thank you all very much and i'm sorry for idiot over there. >> off topic, you're stupid and you're an idiot.

based on a new quinnipiac poll that rates voters feelings of warmth toward politicians, christie's demeanor does not leave female cold. he has the highest warmth score on the chart. his style along with his conservative but not fringy views could position him for a run for the republican presidential nomination. i want you both to just give me your gut sense of the guy. i think he is dynamite in the northeast. he's got the ethnic background, not that that's everything, but he talks like ed koch did in the old days. a bit of rudy, but he is pro-life. i think he could travel into the primaries. i just wonder whether southerners are going to go for this kind of thing, where they're a little nicer in their presentations at least politically and a little more molasses and that kind of stuff. does he lay it on too tough? >> i don't think so. he kind of reminds me of bill parcells with the media. people want someone who is authentic, who is a leader, a fighter. they want somebody who is just

as mad as they are about government. he does it in a specific sense. he goes after things that need to be fixed. >> so pandering isn't going to sell? shirks not a panderer. >> for the first time in american history, pandering won't win? >> especially in a republican primary. >> i think americans are sick of platitudes. and his -- his gift is his outspokenness and his passion and his bluntness. but there is a difference between when he is mad about an issue or fired up when he is attacking a person or a question or a reporter or a voter. in the public tiff with rand paul a week ago, there was a sense that he was getting angrier and angrier. it's unpresidential behavior to seem like you're out of control. >> do you think he seems like he is out of control? >> when you're attacking a person like another senator or a voter who is in the room -- >> didn't we see john mccain get nominated, almost nominated another time, and he is known for his temper? how did that happen? bill clinton has an amazing temper. >> john mccain isn't president today. i'm not saying that he couldn't win the primaries. i think it will be challenging. but i think that what works in

jersey doesn't work everywhere. >> have you ever heard of a politician -- you've been reporting a long time. have you ever heard of a politician who doesn't have a temper? who doesn't have one? >> i think barack obama is criticized all the time for not having a pulse. he doesn't get mad enough. he doesn't get happy enough. >> even in the room? >> the turning point in reagan versus bush, this is my microphone. people loved it. they want passion. about obama, they don't see any passion with obama. he is this cool customer. i think what christie gives you is somebody who is going to fight for you. he is going to fight to reform government. i think what can be very effective. >> you go out to iowa where people are a mix of left and right. it's a hard state to figure. generally anti-war. but not exactly east coast. are they going to like him in the caucuses? >> some will. he won't win all of the caucuses. i think he'll do very well there. i think all the polls show he is near the top. this is a fight for the battle -- >> suppose that number we just saw twice there, on some reporter out in iowa. that would be a mistake. when it comes to the

presidential primaries, he is really -- >> this is none of your business to somebody about school education? >> if there is one group that republicans hate most is reporters. >> he does it to constituents. >> let's break a tie here. if he attacks a citizen, it's a bad thing. if he attacks a reporter, it's groovy? >> i think that's right. >> is he too, too, too much? >> i think he will develop a narrative for iowa that he is not using now. i think it's going to be a different narrative than one he is using now. it will be similar to senator lindsey graham who is under attack for being too much of a squish. he says i'm a fiscal and social conservative. >> somebody wants a close general election. every poll we can find shows him the closest to hillary clinton. all the other guys are out of the running. >> he shouldn't speak that way to her. that's all i'm saying. >> better not do that. that's been tried. >> who is he going run against? if he runs against rand paul and ted cruz and marco rubio, he does very well. >> he could scary enough to have a real campaign, i think hillary would beat him, but maybe not.

he might do something different. do you agree? he might beat hillary. >> he might beat hillary. oh, yeah. he still has to change his knave narrative. >> thank you. we're not going to change it. we'll be right back after this. t the most out of your cash rewards. it's personalized, and it's free. i want that. we have a concierge! at discover, we treat you like you'd treat you. get the it card with cashback concierge. trust your instincts to make the call. to treat my low testosterone, my doctor and i went with axiron, the only underarm low t treatment. axiron can restore t levels to normal in about 2 weeks in most men. axiron is not for use in women or anyone younger than 18 or men with prostate or breast cancer. women, especially those who are or who may become pregnant and children should avoid contact where axiron is applied as unexpected signs of puberty in children or changes in body hair or increased acne in women may occur. report these symptoms to your doctor. tell your doctor about all medical conditions and medications.

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let my finish tonight with this. you know how great it feels to get a job done? i remember when headley donovan of "time" magazine was once asked if he liked writing.

he said i like having written. whatever the job just got done. how do you think the united states congress, especially the house of representatives feels right now as it begins a five-week vacation, a grand sense of getting a job done, the back broken of a particularly tough task? you think? you know that happy exhaustion of a job completed. not on your life. no appropriations passed this year. no budget agreed to. nothing done on gun safety. no real hope on immigration reform. a grand deal on spending and taxes. what, are you crazy? nothing. they've got nothing done in congress this year. and guess what? you ain't seen nothing yet. as soon as this gang comes back this september, we're going to face a three-month countdown to do even less. no appropriations on time. not even a budget passed. no continuing resolution. and that could well mean no united states government. that's right. the people who left town after doing nothing are coming back for the single purpose of shutting down the rest of the government. and then after days or weeks or more of screwing around, they're going to do what?

who knows. by some time late november, stop paying the government's bills. the united states would well be, could well be by christmas time the world's greatest deadbeat. the country that goes into default because threatening to do so has become the new happy toy of the hard right. and because the rest of the country's elected leaders have no way of doing business with each other. it wasn't always this way. so why is this way now? well, that's hardball for now. thanks for being with us. "politicsnation" with al sharpton starts right now. thanks, chris, and thanks to you for tuning in. tonight lead, the shut it down party. republicans are back in their home districts for a long vacation after basically doing nothing. for some of the far right, that means drumming up support for shutting down the government and killing the president's health care law. republican senator ted cruz is leading the charge.