eastern promises. let's play "hardball." good evening. i'm chris matthews in washington. let me start with this. mr. president, you've got mail. the american people do not want our country to attack syria. the russians may be able to achieve the goal of getting syria to give uppity chemical weapons. in any case the american people do not support a war by us. this leaves two options. either vladimir putin sees it's in syria's interest or the u.s. goes it alone.

hoping that the american people will give permission. both those routes are precarious, and i vastly prefer the first idea, we should go with russia. joining me right now is elijah cummings. mr. cummings, do you think there's any way in the world that the president of the united states having been rebuffed by both houses of congress would go it alone? >> i think it's possible. i would not recommend it. i mean, if it had come to a vote, chris, and if we had voted it down, i definitely would not have recommended it. but, you know, in a way, chris, i think it's good for him to have that question mark out

there. particularly when we're trying to negotiate this russian/syria solution. and so i, you know, again, i wouldn't recommend it, but still, i love for president assad to have it in his mind that the same president that took out osama bin laden is serious about what he says and that might be some leverage to get this russian/syrian deal done. >> let's go to david because that's the big problem. the russians say do it, but don't put the gun to the back of our head. don't do it and say or we'll blow up syria. they say pull back on this gun play and let us have some time and stop talking about that stuff. that's what they say. >> the president has pulled back. he has pulled a time out in congress. so he's not moving forward with the vote. this is one of those diplomatic dances that can be finessed on the way to a deal.

but it's person to know what is the goal here? the goal from the start was to make sure that assad didn't use chemical weapons again. now people thought that was, some people thought it was not going far enough, it wasn't regime change. some people thought we didn't have any business there. but if there is an ongoing negotiation, and it may not be perfect. it may not lead to a perfect solution, but if russia's on the hook with assad being restrained, it makes it a lot less likely that assad will use chemical weapons again. and so in some ways obama gets his goal achieved. >> i heard you say that. and i think there is progress being made here. because we know now they have the chemical weapons. we knew that, but now they're admitting. >> finally, finally they admit it. >> we have the president of the united states out there doing the best he can given his political constitution. he can't do what he feels like. and maybe i'm a liberal optimist, because i hate war. you're an elected official, sir.

it seems that the russians have an interest here too. their interest is they don't want chemical weapons floating around the former soviet union up their rear end. they don't want that there. and they also probably wanted to avoid having the islamist regime floating around in damascus. they'd rather have some kind of stability there. >> chris, you're absolutely right. they've got a lot at stake here too. and, you know, but chris one of the things i want to go back to for a moment, it was this president who said i'm ready to go. i'm ready to strike. it was his -- i actually think it was a brilliant move and a move of strength. and although he came back and asked the congress to come with him, the congress, of course was very reluctant. i think a lot of members are actually relieved. but it is his brilliance and his strength that got russia and syria to timely admit that there were weapons there and to say that they wanted to move forward. now the question is, is how

serious are they? and we've got to make sure, and if i were the president, i'd be saying to them, look, i've got some congress folks who are, you know, they, they're trying to see whether you're bluffing. and if you're bluffing, let me know now. and we'll go another course. but i really believe you need to get this right and get it right and get it done quickly. because i don't know what those guys are going to do. so as long as the senate is trying to put together their resolution, i actually think that gives the president leverage. >> i don't think putin wants to look like a clown either. i think he wants to look like a tough guy. as many people have pointed out, the president's speech yesterday almost seemed like two speeches in one. first he made the strong impassioned speeches as to why we can't let assad get away with what he did about using weapons against his people. let's watch that part of the speech. >> when dictators commit atrocities, they depend upon the

world to look the other way until those horrifying pictures fade from memory. but these things happened. the facts cannot be denied. the question now is what the united states of america and the international community is prepared to do about it. because what happened to those people, to those children, is not only a violation of international law, it's also a danger to our security. >> but in the end, the president transitioned to the russian diplomatic effort i was just mentioning, and the need to give that a shot before doing anything. here he is. >> the russian government has indicated a willingness to join with the international community in pushing assad to give up his chemical weapons. the assad regime has now admitted that it has these weapon, and even said they'd join the chemical weapons convention which prohibits their use. it's too early to tell whether this offer will succeed.

and any agreement must verify that the assad regime keeps its commitments. but this initiative has the potential to remove the threat of chemical winds without the use of force. >> wow, there were some harsh reviews last night. john harris wrote two weeks of zigzag foreign policy by president obama marching to war one moment culminated in a zigzag address to the nation that did little to clarify what will come next in the syria crisis which shined a glaring hot light on the debate in the president's own mind. i want to go back to the congressman here. it seems to me if you, i set up the program this way. we go with diplomacy and really hope the russians deliver. the president thinks he can go back to the congress and make a stronger case at some point and win there or he can act on his own. where do you set your heart and

hope, sir, among those three, russia? the president doing it alone? or your body, the congress doing something? >> i put my hopes and my prayers on diplomacy and trying to work with russia. let me tell you something, chris. the mien main reason our constituents are against this war is they're looking at iraq. if we can deter assad and take those chemical weapons away from him and we can do both of those things and not cost us a trillion dollars like the iraq war cost us they say we'll take it. but at the same time, continuously say to president assad, look, don't play me. don't play me. i'm the same guy that went after osama bin laden. >> i think the difference in result is clear. how would you like to have no more weapons in the hands of

this guy and the war as murky as ever, or we have killed and bombed so many people over there and hospitals are packed with people that we've killed. and then we have to say to the world we killed as you those kids. we killed all those people because we don't like war. >> the iraq example is telling. you go back and remember as bush was setting up the invasion and threatening saddam with force, the inspectors were doing their jobs and saying this is only happening because bush is talking tough. while think were doing their jobs and not finding much of wmd, what did he do? he still went ahead with the use of force. this time around, whether you like what the president did in being bellicose or not, he did spur a diplomatic initiative that may at the end of the day work if he gives it time to work. >> let me repeat my belief. the war had in iraq had nothing

to do with weapons. it was just a war of aggression. coming up, time for president obama to get his groove back. i've got three ideas for the president to regain his spark in his presidency. also fighting the nra. two colorado politicians were defeated last night. maybe they need to show less time protesting and more time voting. and the city might be out to elect an out-and-out liberal as mayor for the first time in decade. don't kid yourself, if iran goes nuclear, it will be totally different and we will be far more forceful. and this is "hardball," the place for politics. ♪ ho ho ho [ female announcer ] at 100 calories, 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 it took weeks for mitch

mcconnell to take sides in the fight but no time to raise money. moments after president obama's speech last night he sent out a fund-raising letter along with a claim that he does not politicize issues of national security. mcconnell may being the only senate member in danger of losing his seat this time. lot of guts there and we'll be right back.

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for a store near you go to benjaminmoore.com/bayarea. to my friends on the right, i ask to you reconcile your commitment to america's military act with a failure to act when a cause is so plainly just. to my friends on the left, i ask you to reconcile your belief in freedom and dignity for all people with those images of children writhing in pain and going still on a cold hospital floor. welcome back to "hardball." that's the president there, and there's no question that

president obama is fighting for his political life right now. he is making a case for himself as well as his policies. he's been explaining an unpopular position on syria while battling hearts and minds on both sides of the aisle. the hole he dug himself into is a deep one. and his team knows it. the national journal writes that this has been one of the most humiliating episodes in presidential history. but it's more than just syria of course. take a look at this. obama's approval ratings have slowly but consistently been in a decline this year. so how does he regain the spark that we've all -- not all -- but many of us have liked. republicans are maneuvering to shut down the government, we know that and destroy the economy by defaulting our debts. the stakes couldn't be higher here at home.

dana, you're here, i just think for a number of weeks now, and i'm an obama supporter in general, but i am a critic, a political critic, and i like being critical too. it seems like at times he's been reactive. a few weeks ago the new york times said something he reacted. in spite of that respond nate -- >> you are not doing any favors by sitting silently while he's screwing things up. >> you sound like a spouse. >> not exactly. the president right now, he's like a cork bobbing. there doesn't seem to be a rudder. >> i read that in a column somewhere. >> very wisely written in the washington post today. he does not seem to be in

control of events, buffeted by events, because he's not being forceful, forceful leadership -- >> had he pulled the trigger a couple weeks ago, would that have shown who's, like almost in gunsmoke terms who the marshal is, would that have been unconstitutional? >> no. it could have created a worst disaster. we can't know from that. what we do know from the bush leadership, he got stuff done, hammering away for taxes, for war. he lost on social security, but he got a lot of things done because he hammered away relentlessly whereas obama sort of flits and flies from topic to topic. >> here's something i've been thinking about this segment of the show tonight where he might be able to get his spark back, taking those harry truman like stands.

first off, say outright, the president could, that there will be no negotiating over not paying our bills. he will not negotiate his way from a deficit or dough fault. there's not going to be a default. we're not going to talk about it. second, the affordable care act is a law and will not be defunded. end of story. third, he needs to do something big on the economy, hike a clear and bold jobs bill, something that the republican also say no to. let them say no from here to the next 20,000 years, but give them something to say no to. it's putting that stone-like statement out there that you have to live with and fight with and that creates the spark, your thoughts. >> i do agree with you on this. i think on the first two points the president has now said he's going to do that. he's not going to negotiate over the at the time limit. he's not going to defund his signature piece of legislation, obamacare. the third piece is a critical one. and the white house would be very wise to take that point, to

be proactive in aggressively for something as opposed to negotiating behind the scenes with republicans on something else. and i think the white house has learned this during the first round of debt ceiling negotiations, but the big problem is the political system not in control of this. and this has nothing to do with syria. because prior to syria, it wasn't as if immigration was on the doorstep of passing. this is not the easiest roads to traverse. >> immigration is not going to spark anybody's happiness. i think in terms of the short run, look at this poll right now. nation's priorities right now. the most important issues for americans right now, look at this. it's like the de blasio's number in new york the other day, look at the difference. 41% say the economy, the economy. way ahead of everything else, and my feeling is what they mean by that -- my husband, my wife need a job. we're getting squeezed.

we need some security here. you're a democrat. >> the president can use this budget -- >> this mini me stuff has got to stop. >> he can use this in a big way. >> you're both political analysts, why doesn't he go big. during the civil war lincoln built the railroad system wheel we were fighting for our life, the union. why can't we build any more? donald trump is building. >> the president is a nuance thinker. they're not following all the twists and turns. he needs to turn it into a bumper sticker, dumb it down. >> we're all sophisticated here. but the old style huber humphrey, get it done.

don't have nuance and another seminar on the damn thing. come out with something where people can say i've been riding down the roads of new york. they're roads. not streets. they're beat up, you bounce around in a cab like your head's going to split-off. we can fix a lot of stuff, fix bridges, a fast train from here to new york instead of this buck board, stage coach we call amtrak. and how about all the things below safety code that could be fixed? >> there's a couple problems. they do approve of these ideas, but they sabotage themselves by buying so heavy into the austerity argument in 2011 that now they can't pass any spending measure without a tax hike or spending measure. and secondly we live in the age of sequestration. even if you don't do anything, sequestration will happen.

>> look at this. it's about leadership. and this is the president offering a forceful defense of the affordable care act. >> i think the really interesting question is why it is that my friends in the other party have made the idea of preventing these people from getting health care their holy grail. their number one priority. that's hard to understand as an agenda that is going to strengthen our middle class, the idea that you would shut down the government unless you prevent 30 million people from getting health care is a bad idea.

>> get out there, like that. it was a little bit laid-back. but he made his point. these guys are jugheads. their only goal is to get rid of health care. >> he talks about bending the cost curve and republicans beat him with death panels. you've got to fight fire with fire. >> you would agree it doesn't keep you awake at night. you don't wake up in the morning hoping that you'll be able to bend the cost curve that day. >> talk of cbo numbers put you to sleep. death panels keeps you awake. >> we know how good he was when he ran for president. we know how sharp he got in the second and third die bait. we know this guy can deliver, and i just think he's become reactive. he need does beef up his staff. he had a first rate staff and we know how smart the people like axelrod were around him. but i think a lot of times in

second terms presidents promote the deputies. they lose the first string. and the deputies are never going to be first string. but the magic of the people who put you in the presidency is hard to replicate. we'll get you back here as soon as we can. dana a great column. you quoted from it. i like that. up next, anthony weiner's graceful exit. this is "hardball," the place for politics.

back to "hardball," and time for the sideshow. senator ted cruz took the stab today. as the crisis over syria continues to unfold with

unexpected twists and turns, it's worth noting that cruz initially said that the debate over syria took the focus off real issues like benghazi. joe wilson went even further last week when he accused the administration of using syria for political purposes. was it delayed to divert attention today from the benghazi, the tragedy of sequestration or the upcoming debt limit vote? the idea, we have seen this before. when running against johnson, barry goldwater made the explosive charge that the kennedy administration had

secretly timed the cuban missile crisis for maximum effect in the midterm elections of 1962. we've got that clip. it hasn't been seen in half a century, but here it is. >> what about the missile crisis? where did it lead? what did it prove? it proved that despite weeks and months of warning about the missiles an administration totally political in its goals and instincts could and would wait until the perilous last moment to take action, take action at a time that would have maximum domestic political impact. [ applause ] >> truly dishonest argument there. if you're going to make a wild charge like that, at least try to show some evidence to back it up. finally, anthony weiner's last stand. new york had its primaries and the results weren't pretty.

he finished with about 5% of the vote. he continued out despite the sexting scandal and couldn't avoid a couple controversies. there was an unexpected party crasher, his former sexting partner who attempted to gain entry. wiener had to flee through a nearby mcdonalds. he flipped someone off before making his get away. not a graceful way to leave the scene. up next, can gun safety advocates beat them at their game. xx

welcome back to "hardball." a recall vote that saw two democratic state senators ousted as to their stance on gun laws. it also sent a message to all elected official, particularly those facing a bruising 2014 contest that pushing for gun control laws could be political suicide.

joining me is president of the colorado state senate who was defeated in yesterday's recall vote. and ben goldberger. first of all, senator, thank you for joining us. what happened to you? did you see it coming? would you do it all over again? >> i would absolutely do it all over again. i mean, what we did was the right thing to do. we had very sensible, common sense gun legislation. you have to reload, you have to get a background check, you got to pay for the background check yourself. you got to get training in person not on the internet. none of that comes anywhere close to the second amendment. >> let me ask you another question about getting beat in a recall. i'm against recalls unless they have something to to with malfeasance. is this in fact fair? can you judge it fairly and say

should you have been kicked out of office from the leadership in the senate out there in denver because you voted the way some people didn't want you to. there's nothing wrong with any judgment if there's a judgment done legally. that's your job as a legislator to think and decide. how can that be malfeasance when you decide. that's what you're paid to do, elected to do. >> it is what i'm elected to do. >> to think. how can you be recalled? >> well, the law says you can recall somebody for any reason whatsoever. so i agree with you 100%, and i don't think it's right, and i don't think colorado is going to want to do politics the way now it may have to with general elections and recalls the following year. it's not smart governance by any stretch of the imagination, but it is what it is. >> this is certainly a precedent setting thing. i don't want to say that everybody's scared to death of the nra, but they might be.

>> it's a strong shot across the bow, a reminder that the nra no longer has the clout on capitol hill, but they have the ability to organize nationally. >> who says they don't have clout? >> they do have clout, it's that their clout is not limited to washington. >> what does it say to people who are incumbent moderate republicans. let me ask the senator that. are you afraid this might do? >> and, see, i think if you look at this from a distance it looks like exactly what you've said, the nra has power in local races, but if you lift the lid just a skosh you see they only got 9100 votes turned out. they actually didn't do a very good job at all. what they were able to do was suppress the vote overall and we weren't able to get 9101 votes out which was incredibly frustrating, but they got less than 11% of the vote, even

though people are mad as the dickens. but 80% of the people agree with what we did. so they got half of those 20%. >> how did they suppress your vote? >> we didn't have any mail in ballots. and the clerk in the area set the voting time that it was very difficult for people to vote. they had 11 hours. they had thursday, friday, monday, and election day on tuesday, and tuesday the polls were open 7:00 to 7:00. and but 70% of coloradans vote by mail in ballot. and in this case they got the mail in ballot squashed. >> this is what the republican party, not to be partisan here, but this has to do with the right to vote. they don't get a lot of minority or older people voting for them.

>> the supreme court ruled there isn't any minority suppression any more. that's a problem that's resolved itself. >> you're laughing. you're laughing. >> this is, i don't know if this is actually a larger issue of vote suppression. it's about gun control. and a changing demographics in the state. the senator can speak to this far better than i can, but there sieges to be a strong sense of resentment of this perceived government overreaching. there have been a raft of cosmopolitan transplants coming in, and it's experienced a left ward shift. this was a strong push back. >> new york mayor bloomberg who has been outspoken gave $350,000

to an organization fighting the recall effort on behalf of the senators. and a nra spokesman put blame for the state senator's -- at his feet. >> i knocked on probably 2,000 doors. had hundreds of conversations and not once did the mayor's name come up. so i don't think it had anything to do with anything. i think that's just hyperbole. the mayor didn't show up until about 35 days to go for the election. >> thank you. i know you feel good about being the right guy on this thing. and congratulations for showing guts. you'll probably get the john f. kennedy award for this one. up next, new york might be

about to elect its first real liberal mayor in decades. you're watching "hardball," the place for politics.

a new study says we're now in a new gilded age with wealth as concentrated as it was before the great depression. the top 1% of earners took one fifth of the income of all the

earners together. the reason, a bull market, rising housing prices and growing corporate profits for the wealthy. high unemployment and stagnant wages for everyone else. we'll be right back.

when the first poll came out after my dad announced his mayoral candidacy, he didn't even have 10% of the vote. many people, friends and enemies, said that he didn't stand a chance. but here we are today. so, without any further ado, the man with the plan, bill de blasio. >> bill de blasio! bill de blasio! bill de blasio! >> something else, welcome back to "hardball." that was bill de blasio with his family. he won over 40% of the vote, capturing any of his opponents to become new york's next mayor. the polls once had anthony weiner leading the pack of

mayoral candidates back in june, not a hundred years ago. he had 25% to his closest rival. or what about eliot spitzer with a 19-point lead in august. well new york would be the laughingstock of the nation if that had come up. they rejected the daily double and instead chose a left turn you might say in the form of bill de blasio. now democrats outnumber republicans, new york has not elected a formal democrat since 1989. this represents a clean break from the bloomberg era and they said they are ready to try something else from bloomberg. we have amy davidson and steve kornacki host of nbc's "up."

i like campaigns that matter. everybody's not asleep. they pay attention. they pick up the tabs. they get a sense of who the best person is. and they really do make a spontaneous, exciting, dynamic decision to go in a certain direction, and they don't vote for the jokes, for example just out of weirdness. your thoughts. >> absolutely. in the polls that you mentioned, when wiener was ahead, the person in second place was christine quinn who ended up in third. >> yeah. how'd that happen? >> there's an idea originally that the choices between this big personality, anthony wiener, and this continuation of bloomberg's new york, christine quinn, who was a city council member, it could be that the wiener scandal shook things up enough that people listened to the whole range of candidates

and a lot of people in new york were really taken by de blasio and his idea about he gave a speech about new york being two cities. and there was time to kind of find a new balance there. christine quinn, in a way who has a lot of liberal credentials missed that moment and missed how safe new yorkers felt 12 years after 9/11, thinking about their liberal roots, basically a liberal city and going back to them and acting on them. it's not a scared city. and that left a lot of room. but it is a city with too much pride for anthony weiner, i think. >> i think so. and i'm glad to see that. steve, you just described "the new yorker"s that i know. they tend to be liberal, pro-choice, pro gay rights. they live outside. they need police to do their job and to create a certain atmosphere.

they seem to be now to be tilting toward the liberal side. but it got to be rough on them in regard to stop and frisk. >> it's a been 12 years of michael bloomberg. you're going to get tired of that person after a certain amount of time. ed koch went for the fourth term, couldn't get out of the democratic primary. they really do make a spontaneous, exciting, dynamic

decision and they don't go for the jokes, just out of weirdness, go ahead, your thoughts. >> yes, also, the polls that you mentioned, when weiner was ahead, the second place was

about, ending this era, where somebody like him, this bright kid couldn't walk down the street and enjoy the city in the same way. i don't think that people are angry at bloomberg or personally rejecting him on the whole, but they just want a moment where a little balance is pulled back, and they felt -- >> who was the last mayor of new york in your account? last true blue liberal? i'm thinking lindsey, what do you think? >> i'm thinking there is something to be said for that in terms of an effective one, you know, new yorkers have a lot of tolerance for mayors, not sort of the creepiness they got from anthony weiner, but sometimes it is a little too much. new yorkers are willing to say it is time for somebody like rudy giuliani, somebody like mayor bloomberg, who again was elected right after 9/11 and was

given that chance. and i think there is a poll that even the democratic primary voters basically thought that bloomberg had done a decent job. >> i didn't like bloomberg on the smoking thing, because i think people have a right to smoke. but the more i think about it, if you force people to go outside in the cold in the winter to smoke a cigarette, it helps them be inclined to be healthier, and okay, a nanny state, whatever you want to call it. a lot of people are going to live longer in the city of new york because of bloomberg, that is a fact. >> i have thought about it in the work place, you know, imagine it ten years ago, it could be a smoke infested environment in there. but it was ten years ago, but just getting back to the idea. you say the last liberal mayor, my nominee would be david dinkins, it would usher in the

city of nondemocratic groups. >> you know why? crown heights, took the side of the guys that killed roosevelt. you shouldn't be -- one sided when it comes to murder, i'm sorry. >> but in 1993, think of the murder rate, the violent crime rate was in 1993. and the message from joe lhota's campaign is going to be, remember 1993, do you want to go back to that? >> do you think there is a race coming up? >> the reason i'm skeptical, shameless plug, we're going to have lhota on our show weekend, but -- >> i mean, had to be real fast -- >> got to finish it up here. >> one thing with lhota, keep in mind that republicans in new york are not that conservative. you know, lhota is pro gay marriage, things like that. but yeah, there are neighborhoods that people who lived here in 1993, we don't

want to lose that. but i think that de blasio may also know that. the biggest question about de blasio is how effective he will be. the rhetoric, very appealing, but will he be able to get some of the things done? >> yes, executive ability, we don't know until they get there. thank you, steve kornacki, and amy davidson, and this is "hardball." the place for politics. ♪ i see you made yourself breakfast. how'd you know? ♪ i've got a nice long life ahead. big plans. so when i found out medicare doesn't pay all my medical expenses, i looked at my options. then i got a medicare supplement insurance plan. [ male announcer ] if you're eligible for medicare, you may know it only covers about 80%

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let me finish tonight with this, politics, a phenomenon event, each comes on different terms, you can't predict the way it is going to play no matter how many similar events came before it. and one of these months, the u.s. may have to face the possibility of iran building a nuclear weapon, they may do it. in any case, we'll have to stare it in the face, we will have to do something. don't kid me, we'll attack, we'll do it with the full force of congress, we will do it because the full force of a nation building a nuclear weapon who will use it will not sit with the american people. they are prepared for the decision and prepared to take action, so the smart move for iran and any country, to avoid a

crisis should be to do anything they can to keep iran from the brink. because this time it will not be the end of it. when the time comes, it will be a go, without the u.s. congress that is it for "hard ball," "all in" with chris hayes starts now. good evening, from new york, i'm chris hayes, tonight on "all in," 12 years later on day we remember september 11th, the country appears on a turning point, warweary and ready to embrace diplomacy. and tonight, what happens when a family who adopts children decide they don't want them anymore. plus, two people voted out of office after recall elections in colorado, i'll tell you why they should be celebrated for their courage, that is ahead,