for five years. speaking for myself, i feel lucky and blessed and be on television and grateful to you for making it worth msnbc's while to put the >> i have shown great restraint. >> pressing his case. >> taking to the air waves. >> six network interviews. >> to convince a skeptical public. >> i don't take these decisions lightly.

>> the obama administration makes a final push. >> the evidence is powerful. >> there is no doubt about who is responsible. >> this is a fluid situation with statements from russia. >> russia's surprise announcement. pressuring to put them under international control. >> largely the ak-47. those can kill in gruesome ways as well. >> back in washington -- >> right now there is protest taking place. >> meanwhile congressional democrats are feeling pressure. >> we have been hearing from our constituents. >> how do we address that issue? >> the evidence is powerful. >> the united states has to be involved. >> the administration is pulling out all the stops. >> this is all about building up the crescendo. >> have we achieved everything diplomatically? >> more is at stake than

presidential powers. >> the death toll stands at 100,000. >> the whole region is bracing for war. >> at this hour tomorrow night, president obama will have completed his explanation to the american people about why he believes a military strike on syria is necessary. he will have a skeptical audience according to a new poll. only 16% of americans think the nation should get involved in syria. 63% are opposed. 21% are undecided. >> over the last four and a half years i have shown great restraint when it comes to using military power. and i know how tired the american people are of war generally and particularly war in the middle east. i don't take these decisions lightly but if we are going to

have any serious enforcement of this international ban on chemical weapons, then ultimately the united states has to be involved and a credible threat may be what pushes the political settlement that i think we would all prefer. >> but the debate took a turn today after john kerry answered this question during a press conference in london. is there anything the syrian government could do to avoid an american military strike? >> sure. he could turn over every single bit of his chemical weapons. turn it over. all of it, without delay, and allow a full and total accounting for that. but he isn't about to do it and it can't be done, obviously. >> having heard that, russia's foreign minister released this proposal. we are calling on the syrian authorities to not only agree on putting chemical weapons storage

under international control but also for its further destruction and joining the organization for the prohibition of chemical weapons. then syria's foreign minister said it welcomes the russian initiative. in a phone call later today, secretary kerry spoke directly to the russian foreign minister about the proposal. he told him that the united states would not, quote, play games, and would only consider a serious proposal. in her first public comments on the situation, hillary clinton said that russia's new proposal is thanks to pressure from the obama administration. >> it is very important to note that this discussion that has taken hold today about potential international control over

syria's stockpiles only could take place in the context of a credible military threat by the united states to keep pressure on the syrian government as well as those supporting syria like russia. >> then president obama said this about russia's new proposal. >> we're going to make sure that we see how serious these proposals are. and my preference consistently has been a diplomatic resolution to this problem. this could potentially be a significant breakthrough but we have to be skeptical because this is not how we have seen them operate over the last couple of years. >> joining me now, former senior advisor to president obama. david axelrod, howard dean and washington editor at large. david, having worked with the president as closely as you have, what do you think his

reaction -- his operational reaction? what will he do in reaction to this russian proposal? >> he was pretty blunt about it. obviously this is the most desirable outcome if the syrians were willing to surrender their cache of chemical weapons and they were handed over to the international community and destroyed. that would be the greatest solution to this. but, he properly has to be skeptical about it. he said trust but verify. but it's obviously a step forward. i think the critical point was the one that secretary clinton made. i don't think anybody would argue that we would have the possibility of such a scenario were there not a credible threat. and so, it really speaks to the strategy the president has employed here. the russians and syrians are not responding in a vacuum but to

the possibility of an attack. and hopefully that can produce a diplomatic solution. >> governor dean, charlie rose did this extraordinary interview with assad which preceded this new round. it would have been fascinating if he could have asked about the new proposal but this seems to change the discussion in washington. >> it does change it. one is that nobody has talked about it yet. the russians really do have an investment in assad. there are a lot of jihadists that might end up in charge of chemical weapons if they can't fix this. the russians are doing this out of their own interest. >> they are worried about the chemical weapons hurting russia? >> i think this is is a real proposal and i do agree with secretary clinton and david that this would not have happened if obama had not threatened to use military force. and the russians know that if we

do use military force it will undermine assad, even though that's not the president's goal. and those jihadists scares the living hell out of russia as they should. >> steve, you have been nodding it is because of the president's threat of military action. i think we have a unanimous agreement on that part of it. let me ask you, the things that secretary kerry said, they want to make sure that the russians are not playing games. how do you make sure? what should that conversation be as they continue this discussion? >> there should be a concrete plan. when moon specified that areas needed to be specified inside syria. and the destruction of those weapons to begin. but what we need to understand about this deal, though is that this, while the president very narrowly defined from the very

beginning that this was not about assad or regime change but the use of chemical weapons, this probably gives assad something he wants, which is less pressure on the civil war. a lot of people have been saying chemical weapons are an issue and also the civil war and helping the syrians that have been besieged during this conflict. we won't declare it a victory but i think that assad has more than enough capacity. >> i want to listen to this piece of the charlie rose interview where he denies that there is any evidence at all that they did this. let's listen to this. >> the russians have completely opposite evidence that the missiles were from an area where it is controlled. that reminds me about what kerry said about the big lie that colin powell said this is our evidence.

actually, he gave false evidence. in this case, kerry didn't even present any evidence. they didn't present anything. nothing so far. no single shred of evidence. >> and david axelrod now hours after that is broadcast the russian foreign minister jumps on a possible offer to get control of the chemical weapons that assad is denying he used and the syrian foreign ministry also says we welcome this idea that it seemed hours ago that assad would have denied that it was possible that they even had any. >> the events of today have been an affirmation. the whole word knows they have chemical weapons. there is no doubt in anyone's mind what happened on august 21.

and very soon the u.n. inspector's report is going to be disclosed and my guess is that it will affirm everything that has been said. it's also clear for all this notion that we have heard in the debates that the american military power would have very little impact on syria that they are quite concerned about it. one of the things that was striking is he was obviously very well briefed on american politics. he tried to hit every hot button there was. he invoked iraq, the false testimony. he said we thought obama would be different than bush. he was really speaking to an american political audience trying to influence -- desperately trying to influence this decision. one thing at the end of this day, one thing we ought to conclude is this is not the time to take the pressure off. the pressure is beginning to produce results and we ought to see that through. >> let's listen to what president obama told savanna in response to this part of the

charlie rose interview where assad said you could expect anything as a reaction from him if there is is a strike. let's listen. >> first of all, syria doesn't have significant capabilities to retaliate against us. iran is not going to risk a war with the united states over this, particularly given that our goal is to make sure that chemical weapons are not used on children. it is very unlikely that we would see the retaliation that would have a significant impact on u.s. interests in the region. >> there is the president confident that he knows what the aftermath would be. susan rice today linking up this use of chemical weapons to a possible threat to the united states, meaning it could get to hezbollah, the chemical weapons could get to terrorist groups and that could conceivably find its way to harming americans somewhere in the world. >> it is the same argument that

the russians are afraid of. we have that in common. the interesting thing for all of this is the russians have really put themselves on the hook. their credibility is now on the line. if they can't get assad to do this. if assad does this one more time, i don't think that obama will ask congress. i don't trust the russians either. i have that in common with most of the people who are involved with this but the russians have put themselves in the position that they're on the hook if assad uses chemical weapons again. >> the whole exercise of military strike against syria is to get them to stop using chemical weapons, which they have stopped doing. i mean, might we pause and notice they have stopped? you have assad on television saying we didn't do it, which is is a strong indication that he probably doesn't want to try to do this again under the pressure that has already been visited on.

>> you certainly have peer pressure. you have a climate building this is is a history lesson to remind people that are not familiar with chemical weapons how horrible these things are and how they can be used in ethnic cleansing and killing lots of people in a specified area. that said, i have generally agreed that if there is no response, if there is no building of awareness about this, it really sets up a green light not just for assad and syria but the interesting impact will be on american credibility with other nations around the world. the thing that asian leaders kept asking chuck about is how they were going to respond because they worry about north korea and how other governments will respond. and will the united states go through the long process if they are helping them in similar situations. this has a big echo effect beyond syria. it affects posture.

>> you have worked with the president making important cases to the public. what do you expect him to say tomorrow night? give us a preview of what you would anticipate him saying. >> i'm absolutely confident that he will make a strong case. i know him well as you said, and i know how deeply he believes in this and what he is doing. the politics of this are tough. he has taken it on because he believes it is important for all the reasons that steve and governor dean have suggested. i think first he will lay out the evidence. he will lay out the facts of what happened. and then he is going to talk about the implications that steve just mentioned of letting that act go without any accountability, without any consequence, the signal that that would send not just to assad but to back actors across the world. we may feel we can be fortress

america and turn our back on this but it has a way of washing up on our shores and people look to the united states of america to stand up in situations like this. let me say one thing that is important to note about the russian treaty here. if this works out, it puts the united nations security council back in play. it puts an international action back in play. it would have -- it would give us the ability in unison with the rest of the world to force the sirrians to do what needs to be done here and that's been missing, of course, buzz the russians have been exercising an effective veto in the security council. that's another element of why this is so important. >> david, howard and steve, thank you all very much for joining me tonight. >> thank you. >> coming up, hillary clinton makes her first statement on syria and white house advisors say the threat of military

action helped begin diplomatic talks. congressman keith ellisman will join me next. and anthony weinor will join me. we will do this on the honor system just the way we do everything else in new york city.

>> registration for the boston marathon opened today. the bombs exploded near the finish line and they are allowing for people who want to run in honor of the victims of this year's attack on the marathon. the 2014 boston marathon will be

held on monday, april 21, up next the threat of military action in syria. la's known definitely for its traffic, congestion, for the smog. but there are a lot of people that do ride the bus. and now that the buses are running on natural gas, they don't throw out as much pollution into the air. so i feel good. i feel like i'm doing my part to help out the environment.

(announcer) scottrade knows our and invest their own way. with scottrade's smart text, i can quickly understand my charts, and spend more time trading. their quick trade bar lets my account follow me online so i can react in real-time. plus, my local scottrade office is there to help. because they know i don't trade like everybody. i trade like me. i'm with scottrade. (announcer) scottrade. voted "best investment services company." >> here is more of president obama's interview. >> if this resolution fails in congress, would you act without congress? the answer could be yes, no, or i haven't decided. >> i think it's fair to say that i haven't decided. i am taking this vote in congress and what the american people are saying very seriously.

i think it's important for me to listen, to engage in congress. we're going to spend this week talking to members of congress, answering their questions and i'm going to speak to the american people tomorrow night directly and i will evaluate after that whether or not we feel strongly enough about this that we're willing to move forward. >> joining me now in minnesota, keith ellisson. these are the easy votes. this is what you signed up for. the nice, easy ones. what is your decision about how to vote on the resolution? >> i am inclined to support the president on this vote. i'm not all the way 100% because i am going to keep on faking information. >> so many people are saying undecided and you're saying i'm leaning towards it. what has you leaning towards it. >> mass atrocities against civilians. the reality is that there is no doubt -- i have been watching this thing carefully for two and a half years.

i have been watching the diplomatic course of events and how the world community has been stimied at every step. and now, not only have we seen massive refugee flood. six million people displaced, over 100,000 killed. now we have a gas attack. i think that assad is not going to stop unless he's stopped. if you look back at 1982, his father killed 20,000. there are people who did live to tell about it and are still horrified but it. i'm animated by things like ruwanda, cosovo? >> absolutely. >> the world community has to do something. i was a staunch adamant

anti-iraq, anti-afghanistan and getting the many resolutions to get out of afghanistan, i believe the world has to say something when we see gassed children. now this is mass atrocity. where do we go from here? if we act, my question is what's going to happen next if we don't? we do have some indications which is that he has been slaughtering people in an unabated fashion, creating refugees in the region. i think he's going to gas more so i think he needs to be stopped. >> are you satisfied with the evidence that has been presented in this case? >> yes. >> have you been in the classified briefings? >> yes, i have. >> by the way, can you tell us what reason do you know of that

they haven't submitted this evidence to us to just put on television? is there anything you have seen where you say i can understand why you haven't shown that to the world? >> there are some things that i can understand and others that i don't. i have made it clear to white house officials you need to seriously consider declassifying some stuff. they know more about what they can declassify than i do. but what i have seen there are things that i think -- >> are you expecting some declassification tomorrow night from the president? >> i don't have any expectations of that. i have just urged them to look carefully at what they can declassify so that people don't have to just trust us. they can see what we have seen and say yeah, that is kind of compelling. >> what is your sense of the way your colleagues are making up their minds? are people doing a fair job of evaluating the situation? is there a lot of partisanship in it? is there not much? >> you can't take politics out of politics.

so there is is a bit of that. then there are people who are simply pacifists. then there are people who say it's not a problem and i don't really care. and then there is other people who say i agree with the intelligence. we have seen people in various camps, you know? i don't have a problem with the anti-war pacifists because they are taking that position as a matter of conscious. but i do have a problem with folks who say i am open to use of military force but not to help poor women and children who have been gassed, just other stuff like i don't know, oil wars, stuff like that. my bottom line is, you know, the world community has a responsibility. we can't let, you know, ruwandas go on like this. 800,000 people killed with machates.

i am very excited about the possibility of russia finally coming to the table. we have been trying to get them involved for two and a half years. i'm willing to say your word is good enough. they have got accelerate the deal to the point brought them to the point where they are going to negotiate anything is the fact that they are worried about what can happen as a result of the president's decision. >> there are a variety of ways to get people to the table and the military threat turns out to be one of them. it may be what has done it. >> i hope that it is. i can tell you this, though, our troops have gone into harm's way and so far we haven't had to worry about them getting gassed.

if we let this thing float around and don't do anything about this, what will happen if we do need to deploy. i feel like this is in fact a red line. i agree with obama when he says it is not his red line it's the world's. >> thank you very much. >> you bet. >> really appreciate it. thank you. >> coming up, hillary clinton speaks for the first time about united states intervention in syria. and in the rewrite tonight, the most laughable republican take on president obama's handling of the syria crisis comes not from rush limbaugh but from one of the intellectual pillars of modern conservatism.

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>> in the spotlight tonight, the white house enlists the help of hillary clinton during a previously scheduled event at the white house today, hillary clinton began her speech with her first public remarks on syria. the former secretary of state confirms she had just returned from a meeting with president obama and fully endorsed his and the administration's position on the need for a retall tory strike on syria. >> as the president has said, the assad regimes inhuman use of weapons of mass destruction against men women and children violates a universal norm at the

heart of our global order and therefore it demands a strong response from the international community led by the united states. achieving a political solution that ends the conflict is in the interest of the united states. the president and i discussed these challenges today. i continue to support his efforts and i hope that congress will as well. >> joining me now the washington post, a helpful voice to be held for the president. >> she raised the idea that it could be the president's threat of military intervention that is leading the side talks around russia and syria and having international oversight around chemical weapons. i do think that the white house in some ways in selling these efforts is suffering from message muddle.

i think you have had a lot of different explanations for why this is a good idea, whether it's moral, whether it's america's place in the war or national security. whether it's a proxy war. you had dennis making that argument on the sunday shows. in some ways it could be that i'm not sure how helpful hillary clinton necessarily is to this. we will see the president make his case tomorrow. >> let's listen to more from hillary clinton today. >> as has been emphasized many times and i did so as secretary of state, the broader conflict in syria is a threat to regional stability and security of our allies and partners. as well as a humanitarian catastrophe for the syrian people and the neighboring countries attempting to absorb hundreds of thousands now, more than 2 million refugees.

>> the more i hear the threat to the neighborhood and we know that apac here, the group that in lobbying efforts mirrors always the israeli government's desires, working very, very busily here today on capitol hill that there is as much regional dynamism in the white house decision here as there is a specific reaction to chemical weapons. >> that's right. you see the regional dynamism. israel, a lot -- >> saudis and israelis agreeing is unusual in the white house. >> they were hearing all of these things, congressmen back in their district. and that coming here could change their minds. i think at the same time you have reed feeling that maybe the support isn't there.

they are pushing this vote off and folks in the house, in some ways not really wanting to take the vote on this. everyone feels like they got something of a lifeline with the recent developments that came out today where kerry seemed to back into this. it seemed like a gaffe and now it could be a reality. >> i think we will see more on the russian front tomorrow. thank you very much for joining us tonight. up next the most amazing thing a republican said about president obama and syria today. and later anthony weiner will join me. we are using the last word honor system on this one as we always do. questions for anthony weiner. hurry up. ♪

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>> there is a piece in the wall street journal with a headline that is almost worthy of the onion. obama's successful failure. the piece was obviously writ

within serious intent but if you wanted to rewrite it as a parody of a public attack, you would not have to change a word. you would, of course, highlight the words incompetent and amateurish as the piece does, and you would include, quote, the anti-american preacher, jeremiah wright and bill ayres are -- community organizer is in there as is socialist and left wing radical. you can't possibly understand why president obama wants to bomb syria if you don't understand that he is a left wing radical socialist guided in his every thought to this very day by jeremiah wright and bill ayers.

the piece never allows that the president has even once consulted with the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff or his republican secretary of defense. now, get ready for the theory of the piece. because you're not going to hear this right the first time i say it. that's how strange this onionish kind of piece is. i told you that norman uses the words incompetent and amateurish but he uses them in a sentence where unlike the rest of the president's republican critics, he is insisting that the president has not been incompetent and amateurish in the face of the syria crisis. he corrects his republican friends who say that the president has been incompetent and amateurish and insists that the president's syria policy suggests exactly the opposite. let me suggest that it signifies not how incompetent he is but

how skillful. his foreign policy is a brilliant success as measured by what he intended all along to accomplish. and what is it that the president of the united states intended to accomplish all along? the fundamental transformation he wished to achieve here was to reduce the country's power and influence. thanks to his handling of the sirrian crisis, he is bringing about a greater diminution of the american power probably better than his wildest dream. can you believe that? the essence of it is that the left wing radical president who hypnotized a majority of voters

into thinking he is not a left wing radical thanks to constant guidance been trying to reduce america's power and influence in the world and so the use of chemical weapons in syria is a dream come true for president obama because it has offered him an opportunity to bring about quote, a greater empowerment than he imagined even in his wildest radical dreams. that's right. many editors who thought this piece was actually worth printing believed that the current president of the united states, the left wing radical president closes his eyes on his pillow in the white house every night and has wild radical dreams about the collapse of america and the collapse of american power and influence.

but now we know that when norman rests his head on the pillow and closes his eyes every night, he has very wild radical dreams about the president of the united states. and his wildest radical dreams actually get top of the page treatment on the wall street journal oped page. s, not all food choices add up. some are giant. some not so giant. when managing your weight, bigger is always better. ♪ ho ho ho ♪ green giant ♪ [ male announcer ] bob's heart attack didn't come with a warning. today his doctor has him on a bayer aspirin regimen to help reduce the risk of another one.

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>> in the state of iowa, a person who is legally blind or completely blind can now get a permit to carry a gun in public. iowa state law cannot refuse. three blind people have gotten

permits and those people could not legally drive and were unable to read the application forms. the county sheriff said if you see nothing but a blurry mass in front of you i would say you probably shouldn't sb shooting something. up next, antd any weiner. [ tires screech ]

♪ [ male announcer ] 1.21 gigawatts. today, that's easy. ge is revolutionizing power. supercharging turbines with advanced hardware and innovative software. using data predictively to help power entire cities. so the turbines of today... will power us all... into the future. ♪ >> good news for anthony weiner.

the latest poll shows him running ahead of the five other candidates. those are the five other candidates who have no chance of winning. that is the first and only time you have heard those names. bill has surged to a lead over all of the candidates in that poll followed and joining me now for his last television appearance before the polls open tomorrow at 6 a.m. in new york city is anthony weiner.

>> i have really just one basic question for you that i think a lot of people have wondered about for different reasons over the course of the campaign. for me it comes down to this. what is wrong with you? >> i don't understand the question. what is wrong with me that i fight for the issues every day? >> no. what i mean is this. what is wrong with you that you cannot seem to imagine a life without elective office? >> that's ridiculous. of course i can. are you saying it's because i have things in my life that are embarrassing? >> no, i am not. i am going to be very clear to you now. i have never once criticized you in anyway for anything involving your texting. i think your photography is just

perfectly standard american photography that is floating around the internet now. i have never said anything about that. what i find strange about your campaign is what seems to be your absolute desperate need for elective office and what seems to be your inability to live outside of it. what did you do, for example, with your time away from elected office? did you find any problem anywhere in the world that you thought i think i would like to apply myself to that and try to help some people who might need my help? you didn't do that. you just set yourself up for running for elective office again. >> okay. you're wrong. is there a question i could possibly help you out with? >> all right. you started in politics right out of college working here in washington as a congressional aide. you got yourself elected to city council before you were 30. you have been pursuing elective

office for over 20 years now. >> i have been serving the people in queens and the city. >> anthony, it does not seem to be a fully healthy pursuit. >> i know there are a lot of people who talk -- there are a lot of people who talk -- >> if you take the totality of your life, do you think you have spent your time well? >> yes. i have devoted my entire life to serve the con stit wents who elected me. i fought hard for the middle class. there are many who don't believe that is is a noble pursuit. i disagree with them. >> i would like to know why you didn't find anything to do. look at president bush. >> i'm curious. let me try to squeeze in a word here. i took some time away from congress after 20 some on years, i think i'm entitled to that. >> what did you do? you immediately offered your services to lobby -- >> i didn't immediately do

anything. i didn't lobby at all. that's not true. >> you know it. >> it's not supported by the facts or the evidence. you're just saying something that is not true. it's your show, but it's not true. i didn't lobby anybody. >> hustling your services. >> what do you mean hustling? lawrence, you can use however many words you like. i just need a hand singal when you are done. you are putting a list of things that are not true. i took time off from public service. i came back because i felt i had important things to fight for. you think public service is not a noble thing to do but i disagree. >> anthony, i think there is something wrong with you. >> you just said. that repeating it doesn't make it more interesting. >> i'm looking at your life. >> i appreciate it. >> you are relentless about certain things in your life.

>> that's not true. i actually took time off from doing that. i guess you don't like they did that. >> you didn't. you were a lobbyist. >> i was not. that is not true. do you care that it's not true? do you care that it's not true. >> come on, i know the racket of exofficials in this town. >> do you care that what you are saying to your viewers is not true? >> you did something for no money? why didn't you try to go out there and do some good? why don't you do good somewhere anywhere in the world. >> lawrence? lawrence? chillax, buddy. your critique of me is i have to be in public life but when you take time off, here is a checklist of things we want you to do. i devoted that time to making some money. now i am back running for mayor. what news are you breaking here? >> what i'm trying to get at is what drives you?

in your pursuit of public office. >> ask me that question. >> anthony, i mean it from a psychiatric level. >> dude, i don't need your psychiatric question. do an interview. >> you are being driven by some kind of demons? >> do you want to ask me a question? this can't be good tv for anybody? >> we got about 20 seconds left. here is what i would like to do. i would like for you to stay. i would like you to stay, if you will, and we will continue this online and you can say what you like. >> nobody watch the show. who do you think is online. >> it's been graetd doing a split screen with you. if you ever want me to respond. >> the question is what is wrong with you. >> i heard the question. i said what do you mean? >> we will find out if anthony

weiner sticks around. >> like that's going to happen. thank you. good night lawrence. >> chris hayes is up next. trouble. let's play "hardball." good evening. i'm chris matthews in washington. let me start tonight with this. this is a strange time for america. we have a significant number of citizens who hate the elected president of this country. hate, it's not too serious a word for those who say he purposely let americans die in libya, who purposely gave guns to the drug runners, who many of them believe is an illegal president who failed to meet the minimal test of natural born