the story should be those that continue to fight and show that we're not going to run. we're going to turn it around. and that's what we must do. one note before we go. this weekend i'll be in dallas signing copies of my new book "the rejected stone." sunday morning i'll be at the friendship west baptist church in dallas. and then at 4:00 sunday afternoon i'll be at the dock bookstore in fort worth signing copies. please stop by if you're in the area. thanks for watching. i'm al sharpton. "hardball" starts right now. sorry seems to be the hardest word. for republicans. let's play "hardball." ♪ good evening. i'm michael smerconish in for

chris matthews tonight. leading off tonight, who deserves the real apology here? there's recognition that the rollout of the affordable care act has been a mess. president obama himself has acknowledged that his baby, what he's been fighting for these last four years is sick. he's owned up to the failures of his team which botched the website's launch. and last night in an interview with chuck todd, he owned up to a failure of his own. that people feel betrayed bay promise he made them but couldn't keep. a promise they could keep their insurance if they liked it. let's listen to the president. >> first of all, i meant what i said. and we worked hard to try to make sure we implemented it properly, but obviously we didn't do a good enough job. and i regret that. i am sorry that they are finding themselves in this situation based on assurances they got from me. we've got to work hard to make sure that they know we hear them and we're going to do everything

to deal with folks who find themselves in a tough position as a consequence of this. >> the that is corrects are many of the same people who feel betrayed now will be thanking the president later. these are people in so-called junk plans that could bankrupt them and their families if they got sick. the new plans may cost a little more than they're used to, but ask anyone who's been bankrupted by getting cancer. they'll tell you in no uncertain terms, the plans are worth it. it's been a predictable cocktail of distraction and politics. republican house speaker john boehner had this response, quote, an apology is certainly in order. but what americans want to hear is that the president is going to keep his promise. that's why the house will vote next week to allow anyone with a health care plan they like to keep it. now, let's not forget this is the party that has peddled some of the most wild and ludicrous lies to constituents about the president's health care law. this is the party that did everything they could to sabotage the law.

then cried crocodile tears when it ran aground. this is the party that sent the country into a tail spin while attempting to kill the law. knowing they'll lose. and it's the party whose governors have turned down the law's expansion of medicaid which would have been 5 million poor people insurance at virtually no cost to their states. we should ask who should offer the real apology here? david corn is the washington bureau chief for mother jones. jonathan capehart is an opinion writer with "the washington post." both are msnbc contributors. jonathan, it's not every day you hear a president say i'm sorry. evaluate the weight of that apology and its effectiveness. >> i mean, it was something the president felt he needed to say for that narrow sliver of americans who are in the individual insurance market in terms of the overall insurance market. those are folks who felt a little betrayed by the

president's assurances that said they'd be a i believe to keep their plans if they liked their plans. but also speaks of a president who probably feels weary that this big thing they did, the affordable care act, has boiled down to criticisms over how healthcare.gov works. when obama care as we're all calling it is a whole lot more than a website, a whole lot more than the 6 million americans who are losing their health insurance plans now but as you said will get better plans later. and so what i think he's trying to do is trying to just stop the bleeding, stop the political bleeding and try to move the conversation forward. >> well, to your point and david corn this is how twisted i think the whole situation has become. when there is a vote in the house next week, the republican-controlled house, it will be an advocacy vote for underinsurance. what happened to the notion of personal responsibility?

they will be advocating the right for someone to hold no protection if that's what the current plans for and to be a burden to everyone else if they should have catastrophe. >> or they'll be voting in favor of junk plans that were sold to people with follows promises saying they'll be covered in the case of a medical emergency. so the republicans after voting 40-odd times to repeal obama care without replacing it, without giving any substitute, they're finally going to vote in favor of plans that don't provide decent insurance. it is kind of crazy. and it shows you, michael, just how far the debate has gone off the rails. the republicans don't know what to do about the 45 million americans without insurance. or the tens of millions of americans who couldn't get good insurance because of pre-existing conditions and scam jobs. so that's a big picture instead

we're focusing on what jonathan rightly called a slice of the issue. which is a problem. it's a small problem. but we're not talking about the big issue which is how do we have a decent health insurance system for all americans. >> to your point and speaking of crazy, republicans have denounced president obama for his lack of clarity when it comes to a small piece of the insurance market. yet they have unveiled some of the many lies about the law. here's a sampling from just this year. >> you said it's the most dangerous piece of legislation in the history of the united states. >> yes, i think so. >> i'm asking if you think -- >> let's repeal this failure before it literally kills women, kills chi kills children, kills senior citizens. let's not do that. >> this killing health benefits is shattering the economy across the country. >> of course there are death panels in there. the important thing to remember is that's just one aspect of this atrocious, unaffordable,

cumbersome, burdensome, evil policy of obama's. and that is obama care. >> obama care is really, i think, the worst thing that has happened in this nation since slavery. and it is in a way, it is slavery in a way. >> jonathan capehart, one of the concerns i have is with all of this misinformation that's being circulated and against the backdrop of the debacle of the rollout of the affordable care act, the people who are most needed to buy in, the so-called young invincibles are going to have a lack of confidence in becoming part of this whole process. >> right. and even before the debacle of the healthcare.gov rollout, you had those ads being done by organizations trying to convince young people not to enroll. actively telling them don't get health care. remember the creepy uncle sam ads? this all part of an ongoing effort to make sure that the

affordable care act fails so that when it does fail, they can all say, see, we told you it would fail. it's unbelievably cynical, and you know, it's something that -- i think it was michele bachmann that said obama care kills seniors and children. what they're doing by trying to deny people health care is putting people's health at risk. >> david corn, take a look at this map. it's from the republican senator mitch mcconnell's office and it's being circulated among conservatives. it's in the states where people have received insurance cancellation notices. that's significant. but republicans led the effort to deprive people of insurance under the law. now let's look at this map from the white house. it showed the republican-controlled states where they refused the medicaid expansion. 1.2 million people in texas alone could be covered right now and yet they're not because of

the ted cruz wing of the republican party which has been hell bent on destroying the affordable care act any way it could. is that message getting through to the american people? is the president being successful in this regard in explaining this? >> i don't think the white house still after all this time has fully figured out how to deal with this blanket opposition and obstructionism they get which is fueled by statements that are not true and hyperbolic. very simple fact. right now the republicans, their hair is on fire because a couple million people are getting cancellation notices a lot for junk plans. if you repeal obama care, about 137 million americans would get some form of cancellation notice in terms of being kicked off their plan, there's kids being kicked off their plans, pre-existing conditions. so if they're really concerned about who's going to lose benefits, then they would not be advocating repeal. they'd be talking about how to make this system work.

you know, we've talked about this before, michael. their real fear is that eventually when all the dust settles and the cranky website starts to work and people start sorting through this, they're going to realize -- enough people are going to realize that this ain't slavery, this ain't a bad deal. in fact, it might be a good deal and they're going to look stupid and more importantly they're going to lose. the republicans are going to lose their key message which is government is the problem, not the solution, and can't do anything for you. this is what this is all about. >> but, jonathan, the longer this goes on, the difficulties with the rollout -- and i've personally on a day-to-day basis tried to gain access to see what it would cost for my family. haven't been successful in doing so. you think about the political consequence of what's to come in 2014. because that's next on the horizon. >> right. look, i think to answer your question to david, what the white house should do because the message isn't getting through. they have to have the same moxie, the president and the

administration and democrats not just the president. they have to show the same moxie that they showed during the debt ceiling fight going toe-to-toe with republicans. republicans are saying repeal, defund, all of these things about the affordable care act. the pushback should be let's show you that map of the number of 5.something million americans because the republican governors won't take the money. they won't take the deal. >> i would handle it differently. i don't know why the white house is afraid to use the words personal responsibility. i would turn this around and say you're advocating for individuals to show up at an e.r. without insurance and for all of you to bear the cost. >> i would add that i think the white house and the administration and democrats should push back and say you want to repeal this? what you got? what are you going to do to replace the kids or their parents' insurance, the no caps on health care expenses,

pre-existing conditions, all the things david talked about before. there's been no pushback on what's your plan. >> to your point of a game of partisan sabotage, they have rushed in with cynical offers to help the president. here's some. >> i've worked as much on health care issues around here as any number of people. and frankly better than most. i have a desire to have things work. >> i think the only way he could rebuilt credibility is to work with republicans and democrats and try to rebuild a foundation. >> republicans are willing to help. let's work together to undo the harm of obama care and start over with real bipartisan cost-saving reforms. reforms that will actually allow americans to keep plans they like. >> quick reaction. can't we all just get along? >> this is so frustrating. if all mitch mcconnell cares about is helping americans keep junk plans, that's a softball to the president and the white house that politically they

should knock out of the park. because if that's the best republicans can do, that's not doing as much and it really should give the democrats a political advantage and policy advantage. >> gentlemen, thank you. coming up, the republicans' circular firing squad is at it again. they take shots at chris christie and mitch mcconnell with fighting back. plus senator lindsey graham has issued a bill to ban abortion at 20 weeks. he may have the politics right. and oh, canada. toronto mayor rob ford's latest public embarrassment. and he's become an international celebrity for all the wrong reasons. finally congressman steve king has done it again. this time he's concluded that president bush was right after all about iraq trying to get yellow cake uranium from africa.

but bush didn't know it. this is "hardball," the place for politics. american express credit card, every purchase earns you 2% cash back, which is deposited in your fidelity account. is that it? actually... there's no annual fee and no limits on rewards. and with the fidelity cash management account debit card, you get reimbursed for all atm fees. is that it? oh, this guy, too. turn more of the money you spend into money you invest. it's everyday reinvesting for your personal economy.

news on the economic front. the economy added 204,000 jobs during the month of october. that's a lot more than economists expected. and especially considering the federal government was shut down for 16 days. still, the jobless rate ticked up to 7.3% likely because furloughed federal workers were counted as the unemployed. we'll be right back. from what happened so we could be a better, safer energy company. i can tell you - safety is at the heart of everything we do. we've added cutting-edge technology, like a new deepwater well cap and a state-of-the-art monitoring center, where experts watch over all drilling activity twenty-four-seven. and we're sharing what we've learned, so we can all produce energy more safely. our commitment has never been stronger. losing thrusters. i need more power. give me more power! [ mainframe ] located. ge deep-sea fuel technology.

a 50,000-pound, ingeniously wired machine that optimizes raw data to help safely discover and maximize resources in extreme conditions. our current situation seems rather extreme. why can't we maximize our... ready. ♪ brilliant. let's get out of here. warp speed. ♪

what we're looking for can be found in the record of governors like nikki haley, rick scott, terry branstad. conservative governors. >> welcome back to "hardball." win or lose, tuesday night's elections have only hardened and deepened lines in the republican party. ken cuccinelli's loss in virginia unleashed shouts of betrayal and sabotage.

and despite christie's victory, he has been declared as a rhino, republican in name only. rick perry, a tea partier himself conveniently left chris christie off the list of what he was calling conservative governors. it's not the first time that christie hasn't been invited to the party. the mainstream wing of the gop is firing back. led by the senate's top republican mitch mcconnell who opened fire on the ted cruz wing of the party in the wall street journal. in an interview with peggy noonan, mcconnell blasts the extremists in his party for both their views and tactics. he says, quote, the most important election tuesday wasn't the governor of new jersey and it wasn't the governor of virginia. it was the special election for congress in south alabama. where a candidate who said the shutdown was a great idea, the president was born in kenya, and that he opposed speaker boehner came in second. ron reagan is an msnbc political analyst, michael crowley is the deputy d.c. bureau chief at

"time" magazine which features governor christie on its cover this week. michael, a naive question. why didn't rick perry reference chris christie? what's going on there? >> he doesn't like him. he doesn't like that brand of politics. he thinks he's a squishy moderate. as to a lot of conservative republicans. i think chris christie has a big problem with the base of his party. >> with regard to tuesday, ron, is it clear that as between purity and pragmatism, pragmatism had a good day. >> pragmatism did have a pretty good day. his ascension into the mainstream of being in the front runner for the presidential race coming up highlights the division in the republican party. we do have two parties now. they're taking shots at each other. it's on in the republican party now. as long as chris christie keeps that position as a punitive front runner, that division is going to continue to be highlighted. and the only people that win in

that are the democrats. >> ron, here's the question i'd like to know. the iowan who voted for rick santorum in the 2012 cycle, and let's not forget santorum won the iowa caucus. when that same individual goes to vote in 2016, are they thinking, jeez, christie's not as pure as i like, but hell, this time i want to win. >> well, they might be thinking that. and chris christie certainly hopes he's going to be thinking that. if they voted for santorum, they're going to be looking for ted cruz or somebody like that. >> but then you lose. >> yes. >> because ted cruz can't be elected president. >> i know. i know that. you do lose. and ergo, the democrats win. >> to this win, christie has made one thing clear. that republicans are still obsessed with purity. the day after christie's landslide victory, sean hannity let louis on the new jersey governor. >> if you want to look at a liberal record on issues like

guns, gay marriage, controversial appointments, this governor has no idea what's going to hit him. if you can't beat hillary clinton in the exit polls in new jersey on the day you are the most popular in your state, don't think it's going to get better. it's likely going to get worse. he's not in the mainstream of conservatism. >> michael crowley. chris christie standing up to that mind-set will do him a world of good in a general election. the question is can he sustain the primary process if he's got the likes of limbaugh, beck, and hannity against him? >> it's going to be really hard. mitt romney tried to do this, but romney fled from all his positions on those issues in a way that we're not seeing christie beginning to do. by the end of the process, romney looked ridiculous to a lot of conservatives. so i think it's going to be extremely hard for christie to get past these sort of firewall of the republican base for exactly those reasons.

he faces this choice that romney faced which is do you try to retreat from those positions and look like you're a flip-flopper or a changeling or do you try to own it and fight your way through the firewall? but it's a hard fight. >> ron, let's not forget that mitt romney was aided by the fact that there was a cannibalization going on to the right of him on the political spectrum within the process. he had michele bachmann and newt gingrich, et cetera fighting for that piece of pie. it's what christie needs, isn't it? >> yes and he's probably going to get it. he's probably going to have a challenge, i'm guessing a challenge also from his center kind of position. because there's opportunity there. and chris christie has problems besides not being a tea partier. when you really dig into chris christie's record, he's not the perfect presidential candidate. all of the divisions within the party aside. my guess is going to get a challenge from the center also. but yeah, you're right.

the rest of the party's going to be divided between five people on the tea party wing. going to give him a lot of room to seem reasonable. >> michael, to ron's point, i've written on this subject noting that which makes him immensely popular in new jersey, those every man characteristics and qualities and outbursts, if you string them together in a two-minute reel, people might start to question his temperance to be commander in chief. >> they absolutely will. and not just string them in a two-minute reel, but put it out on the campaign trail surrounded by packs of reporters, hecklers. when you're out in iowa, new hampshire, those early states you don't have a huge bubble. people can shout in your face and try to provoke you and they will. so the question is can he -- does he have the discipline to go out there and campaign and show that he has an even temperament? that is a big test people are going to be waiting to see whether he can pass. i think it's an open question. >> in that interview with the

journal, mcconnell told his party they are living in an evangelical fantasy if they buy into the ted cruz conservative quote, it's irresponsible for some people to characterize themselves as sort of true conservatives. to mislead their followers into believing you can get an outcome that you can't possibly get. they've been told the reason we can't get to better outcomes than we've gotten is not because the democrats control the senate and the white house, but because republicans have been insufficiently feisty. well, that's just not true and i think the folks that i have difficulty with are the leaders of some of these groups who basically misled them for profit, raised money, take their cut, and spend it. what's he talking about, ron reagan? >> well, he's talking about people who take advantage of tea partiers and their presumed good will merely to raise money. he may have been discussing two different things. one is the sort of magical thinking on the political side where they only read their own polls. imagine the rest of the country is really also part of the tea party. and the other may be that he's

identified the reality which is that the tea party today is really what the moral majority, we used to call them couple 20 years ago, was the religious right. these are the same people now wearing tri-cornered hats car carrying muskets. they're old, white, and fading into the sunset. >> thank you. we appreciate your being here. up next, the latest from the parallel universe from congressman steve king. and if you want to follow me on twitter, all you need do is figure out how to spell smerconish. [ brent ] this guy's a pro, herbie.

[ herbie ] no doubt about it brent, a real gate keeper. here's kevin in the nissan sentra. lamb to the slaughter. mom's baked cookies but he'll be lucky to make it inside. and here's the play. oh, dad did not see this coming. [ crowd cheering ] now if kevin can just seize the opportunity. he's seen it. it's all over. nothing but daylight. yes i'd love a cookie. [ male announcer ] make a powerful first impression. the nissan sentra. now get one fifty nine per month lease on a two-thousand thirteen nissan sentra. ♪

[ babies crying ] surprise -- your house was built on an ancient burial ground. [ ghosts moaning ] surprise -- your car needs a new transmission. [ coyote howls ] how about no more surprises? now you can get all the online trading tools you need without any surprise fees. ♪ it's not rocket science. it's just common sense. from td ameritrade. mom? come in here. come in where? welcome to my mom cave. wow. sit down. you need some campbell's chunky soup before today's big game, new chunky cheeseburger. mmm. i love cheeseburgers. i know you do. when did you get this place? when i negotiated your new contract, it was part of the deal. cool.

[ male announcer ] campbell's chunky soup. it fills you up right. back to "hardball." time now for the sideshow. "time" magazine's latest cover featuring chris christie has caused some controversy this week.

critics say the idiom they used, the elephant in the room, unfairly pokes fun at christie's weight. the tonight show's jay leno proved last night it could have been a lot worse. >> but in their defense, i think they chose the least offensive title. here's the other oning they had. chris christie having a whale of a time. i didn't like that one. then between a rock and a lard place. that's not good. and hail to the chef. yeah, i don't think any of those. so i don't think any of those were good. >> up next, it was a single page in the latest issue of "guns and ammo" and it ignited a fire storm among the magazine's readers. in an of about let's talk limits, they talked about some gun regulations. the outcry was swifter more than ever. threats of boycott flooded the page like this. quote, guns and ammo printing

articles regarding gun control is like penthouse printing articles on the harz ards of pornography and masturbation. jim bequette issues this apology. i thought it would generate a healthy exchange of ideas on gun rights. i miscalculated pure and simple. i was wrong and ask for your forgiveness. up next, congressman steve king may be known best for talking about an electric fence on the border. now he's on a subject you won't believe. it was one of the arguments for going to war with iraq over ten years ago. president bush's state of the union claim that saddam hussein was seeking yellow cake uranium to build nuclear weapons. the problem, of course, is that it wasn't true. >> the british government has learned that saddam hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from

africa. >> president bush did include bogus material in his state of the union speech describing how iraq was attempting to get nuclear materials from africa. today the white house admitted that claim was not true. >> well, now congressman king says that president bush's debunk claim was actually true. speaking on an iowa radio program, he made this stunning assertion. >> george w. bush, he was accused of 16 words in the state of the union address that they said were a lie and they're still attacking him for that. and i'll tell you i've had hands-on evidence that what george bush said in that state of the union address was the truth and he was still punished for it. >> if you're wondering what evidence king has to prove that bush was right all along, you're probably not alone. the question is if he really possessed information that could have proven iraq was seeking uranium, why wouldn't he have spoken up? up next, republicans are pushing for a strict new measure

against abortion. here's a hint for the gop. if you want women to vote for you, you've got to stop alienating them. this is "hardball," the place for politics. that's correct. cause i'm really nervous about getting trapped. why's that? uh, mark? go get help! i have my reasons. look, you don't have to feel trapped with our raise your rate cd. if our rate on this cd goes up, yours can too. oh that sounds nice. don't feel trapped with the ally raise your rate cd. ally bank. your money needs an ally. i asked my husband to pay our bill, and he forgot. you have the it card and it's your first time missing a payment, so there's no late fee. really? yep! so is your husband off the hook? no. he went out for milk last week and came back with a puppy. hold it. hold it. hold it. at discover, we treat you like you'd treat you. get the it card with late payment forgiveness.

afghanistan in 2009. on the u.s.s. saratoga in 1982. [ male announcer ] once it's earned, usaa auto insurance is often handed down from generation to generation because it offers a superior level of protection and because usaa's commitment to serve current and former military members and their families is without equal. begin your legacy.

get an auto insurance quote. usaa. we know what it means to serve.

here's what's happening. secretary of state kerry will continue efforts tomorrow in geneva to push talks with iran over the disputed nuclear program and easing sanctions. at least four people dead in the philippines after a powerful typhoon slammed the central region. 750,000 people were forced out of their homes. president obama is back inning legislation that raises minimum wage to $10.10 an hour. back to "hardball." ♪ it is our belief that science and medicine has

advanced tremendously since 1973. and it's now time to have a discussion in light of medicine and what we know about the unborn child in 2013 is it time to do more and can we form a consensus as to when we should act and how we should act? >> welcome back to "hardball." just when you thought republicans might learn their lesson from ken cuccinelli's loss in virginia, the culture wars are back. republican senator lindsey graham of south carolina has introduced a bill in the senate to impose a federal ban on abortion after 20 weeks or the point at which he says, quote, some scientific evidence proves fetuses may feel pain. why is graham reigniting the culture wars now? well, he's up for re-election next year and he's facing a primary challenge from the right. his poll numbers in south carolina are tanking and the tea party smells blood. graham's move appears to be more about wrapping his arms around the right wing extremists for his own political survival.

susan musket is for the national right to life committee. susan, isn't this all theater? by that i mean isn't this bill on its face unconstitutional? >> no, it's not. when the other side talks about the latest decision, they talk about the roe decision. but they don't want to talk about the 2007 supreme court decision which upheld the nationwide ban on partial birth abortions. and this bill is consistent with that 2007 decision. so we feel confident that the court will uphold the bill. and the other side is raises the same arguments against this bill as they did against the partial birth abortion ban. they just don't want to talk about the 2007 supreme court decision. >> isn't the impart of roe that this is a question in the eyes of the law of viability and not of pain? >> no, the court has said in the 2007 decision that states have a constitutional role to play in defining the interests in terms

of abortion. and there is clear medical evidence that unborn children at 20 weeks, the beginning of the sixth month, are capable of feeling pain. and in fact, these babies in the sixth month or later, you know, of course they feel pain. as their little arms and legs are pulled off. we wouldn't even be having this debate if it didn't touch on abortion. >> neera, you would argue that as the point of viability is reduced from 20 weeks to something else, the standards will have to change across the country. >> yeah. if we want to talk about viability, that's perfectly fine. what we're actually talking about here is junk science. everything that people assert about the science and fetal pain is inaccurate here. what was just stated was totally wrong. we have a landmark study by the general of medical association -- >> written by pro-abortion advocates. >> yes, you can say harvard is

inaccurate. stanford, these are all inaccurate studies. they're not inaccurate. they're written by people that don't have a bone to pick here. they're simply saying the science does not exist. >> susan, if i can just interject. i did note there were qualifiers and even senator lindsey graham's articulation of how he viewed the pain issue. >> i don't know what you're talking about, but i can tell you -- >> he said may. >> he said it may. absolutely. >> the study said there was no credible evidence until 29 weeks. your viewers know baylies in neonatal units around the country who are alive before that period. they've seen these babies grimace and cry when stuck by stimuli. so saying these can't feel pain until 29 weeks, that's not true. >> i think the issue here -- >> hang on.

it would seem the public sentiment is on susan's side. in a recent quinnipiac university poll, 55% said they agree with a 20-week limit preferred to the 30% that prefer to keep it at 24 weeks. >> there are two issues here. questions about these particular limits, i think the right has been successful in arguing sets of facts that don't exist. we're not talking about an evidence-based conversation. and i think as more people see the evidence, that will change. but i do think that we have a lot of experience of running races on the issue of abortion. and i appreciate that senator graham has a very tough election, very tough primary election. and he has to go far right on an issue like this. i think people will say if you look at the races recently, the senate races we've had recently and the governors race in virginia, when you're talking about abortion, you're alienating women voters. >> on that issue, here's senator graham last week on fox news

sunday being challenged about the timing and his motivations for introducing the bill now. >> now, some of your critics in south carolina say, hey, look. graham is up for re-election in 2014. he's worried about a tea party challenger. and you have ticked off a lot of conservatives with votes on immigration reform to confirm liberal supreme court justice. this is your way to get back in their good graces. >> i've been a pro-life member since day one. i was author of the unborn victims of violence act making it a crime to attack a woman and if she loses her baby, you can be charged with two crimes not just one. crime against the mother and the unborn child. my record is clear. i'm proud to lead this charge. this is a debate worthy of a great democracy. when do you become at 20 weeks of pregnancy, what is the project of the government to protect that child?

>> i completely understand and expect the fact he's articulating a principle you believe in, but where the votes don't appear to be there and where there's not a president currently at 1600 pennsylvania avenue who would sign this into law, do you ever reach a point who says there's a guy using us for a fund raising capability. >> that is false. i worked with him on the unborn victims of violence act. he was the original author on that. that was one of the most important things to be enacted into law. anyone to suggest he's a johnny come lightly on this issue is just as ignorant as the history. if he gets some political credit for this, good for him because he deserves it. he has been pro-life since he came into the congress. he worked women him on the unborn victims. he's been pro-life many years. >> thank you both for being here. we appreciate you. up next, toronto mayor rob ford caught on tape again. here's a guy who needs help and fast. this is "hardball," the place for politics. the day we rescued riley was a truly amazing day.

he was a matted mess in a small cage. so that was our first task, was getting him to wellness. without angie's list, i don't know if we could have found from contractors and doctors to dog sitters and landscapers, you can find it all on angie's list. we found riley at the shelter, and found everything he needed at angie's list. join today at angieslist.com customer erin swenson ordebut they didn't fit.line customer's not happy, i'm not happy. sales go down, i'm not happy. merch comes back, i'm not happy. use ups. they make returns easy. unhappy customer becomes happy customer. then, repeat customer. easy returns, i'm happy. repeat customers, i'm happy. sales go up, i'm happy. i ordered another pair. i'm happy. (both) i'm happy. i'm happy. happy. happy. happy. happy. happy happy. i love logistics.

at a ford dealer with a little q and a for fiona. tell me fiona, who's having a big tire event? your ford dealer. who has 11 major brands to choose from? your ford dealer. who's offering a rebate? your ford dealer. who has the low price tire guarantee, affording peace of mind to anyone who might be in the market for a new set of tires? your ford dealer. i'm beginning to sense a pattern. get up to $140 in mail-in rebates when you buy four select tires with the ford service credit card. where'd you get that sweater vest? your ford dealer. fresh off his landslide re-election victory in new jersey tuesday night, governor chris christie isn't shying away from claiming front runner status for the 2016 republican nomination. christie is doing all the sunday morning shows including "meet the press" with david gregory. we'll be right back. 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. [ ship horn blows ] no, no, no! stop! humans. one day we're coming up with the theory of relativity, the next... not so much. but that's okay. you're covered with great ideas like optional better car replacement from liberty mutual insurance. total your car, and we give you the money to buy one a model year newer. learn about it at libertymutual.com. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy? the most free research reports, customizable charts, powerful screening tools, and guaranteed 1-second trades. and at the center of it all

is a surprisingly low price -- just $7.95. in fact, fidelity gives you lower trade commissions than schwab, td ameritrade, and etrade. i'm monica santiago of fidelity investments, and low fees and commissions are another reason serious investors are choosing fidelity. now get 200 free trades when you open an account. ♪ [ male announcer ] united is rolling out global, satellite-fed wi-fi to connect you even 35,000 feet over the ocean. ♪ that's...wifi friendly. ♪

rob ford was riding high as mayor of toronto. but how high, no one had any idea. what's going to test his ability to stay in public office today? a brand new video the crack smoking mayor of toronto rob ford. >> i'll rip his [ bleep ] throat out. i will rip his eyes out and [ bleep ] on his head. >> it's clear to me now that he smokes crack to calm himself. >> we're back. that was jon stewart on the daily show musing over rob ford's latest caught on camera moment. shortly after the toronto star released the video, ford called a meeting with reporters outside his office to apologize.

>> extremely embarrassing. the whole world's going to see it. you know what? i don't have a problem with that, but it is extremely embarrassing. i was extremely, extremely angry. >> this tirade against someone we don't know who came after admitting to using crack cocaine. nancy giles. nancy, thanks for being here. everything i know about crack, i learned from watching "breaking bad," okay? but i look at this guy and he seems so fundamentally unhealthy. >> i agree. >> one of the things i've learned about crack is if you're a crack smoker, chances are you're ingesting other drugs trying to offset the effects of the crack. carrying all that weight on his frame and doing crack, i hope he gets help. >> exactly. you want to talk about the elephant in the room, there you go. my worry is he's making decisions for the city of toronto in an altered state.

how can you trust that kind of person to serious policy decisions? to protect the citizens. i just don't get it. >> i'm a believer that we've gone too far in intruding on the personal lives of those who wish to come forward and run for office, but not in this case. this speaks to someone whose competency to carry out his job you have to worry about. >> what gets me is these are public servants. right? they've been elected to office by constituents. and they're supposed to be representing their people's needs. i really think something has happened with politicians. there's a melding of politics and celebrity. and i think enough limousines and vip treatment makes these guys think they're above the law. >> for months there had been rumors that mayor ford smoked crack. for months he denied it. here's his admission this week. >> yes, i have smoked crack cocaine. but no -- do i?

am i an addict? no. have i tried it? probably in one of my drunken stupors. >> you know, from the outside looking in, we look at this from the states and we say, well, my god, why aren't they calling for his aren't they calling for his ouster? the more i read and understand the political dynamics, this frailty of his might not be all lost on a political spectrum if you follow what i'm saying. >> i actually read his popularity, his numbers went up, which makes me worry about canada. i've been to toronto, it's a beautiful city. i love it. when you think of it, you think of people like bob filner, the san diego mayor who was fondling women, another one who wouldn't resign. these guys hang on to office. they hang on, it's more about the power. >> you may have seen this earlier in the week, said

despite his racist slurs and his sister's conduction with the ku klux klan, his support exists in the immigrant heavy neighborhoods on the outer edges of the city and he has built his support on the basis of their ail nation. >> oh, my god. what is that even outlaw or crack smoking, gives him street cred? >> right. >> i don't know what to say expect that he's out of his mind. al papologies are lame. i thought when people break the law, they have to go to jail or something like that. in my world, they do. >> let's take a look at that tirade by mayor ford. captured by the star. >> you've never seen --

[ bleep ] -- >> i don't know what to say. that's like a ticking time bomb. i enjoy a cocktail, but i don't think that's alcohol induced. >> that guy's got a lot of anger and god knows who he's talking about. we don't even know that. or he's just obsessed with "the sopranos" and he's doing lines from one of tony's raging scenes. he's also made some dicesy mayoral decisions if i'm correct. hasn't he made some strange enacted some odd laws and stuff? the guy is just not all there. >> it's a great city. >> it's a great city. >> i think one of the reasons he's been able to hang on is his

own brother is on the counsel. his mother, i don't know if you're aware, has gotten in on the act and has offered her two cents at what should happen. here it is. this is what the mayor's mother had to say about her son and his b problems. >> get yourself a driver. then after that, you do something about your weight. and thirdly, what was the other thing i told him? >> about the car, the thing -- >> yes, yes. >> the alcohol detector? >> yeah, alcohol detector in the car and that will prove you can't drive your car if you're drinking, so you're just not going to do that. >> i don't think my mom's advice to me would be to get one of those alcohol detectors in the car. >> none of that made any sense. getting a driver and the alcohol detector shows us what we can obviously see.

he's got problems. >> i don't want to make light of it. the man needs help. nancy, we appreciate you're being here. we'll be right back after this. when we made our commitment to the gulf, bp had two big goals:

help the gulf recover and learn from what happened so we could be a better, safer energy company.

i can tell you - safety is at the heart of everything we do. we've added cutting-edge technology, like a new deepwater well cap and a state-of-the-art monitoring center, where experts watch over all drilling activity twenty-four-seven. and we're sharing what we've learned, so we can all produce energy more safely. our commitment has never been stronger.

the divide between purists and pragmatists within the republican party is only more now given chris christie's enormous victory in new jersey tuesday night with an eye toward 2016, faxes within the gop are

now arm wrestling as to the party's best half. they should all take the time to study a peach given by tom rinl. he was speaking to an lgbt group. he told a washington gathering of republicans that he sees the gop of the 21st century as a nonjudge mental conservative party. a winning party. then said quote, i'll start here. two republicans presidents changed my life in a very personal and meaningful way. one called on me to serve in vietnam. the other asked me to serve after the attacks of 9/11. neither president asked me about my position on social issues. he then applauded reagan's respectful approach to confronting his liberal opponents and highlighted how a shrinking base -- to have even their conservative questioned. the man who's run eight

campaigns as a republican made a direct pitch for the party to be more inviting and he's probably uniquely qualified to offer that view. remember, john mccain favored ridge of lieberman as his vice presidential pick in 2008, but avoided the former only because he's pro-choice. perhaps the paragraph with his keenest insight was this. he said in order to govern, we must win national elections. to do so, the narcissists and -- are more conservative than liberal, but more practical and more tolerant than judge mental. also looking for real solutions. that sounded like a rebuttal to the cruise fi sags of the gop and so, too, his use of the c word, quote, our founders who drafted the most significant compromise known to mankind. the constitution of the united states. a couple of days after the speech, i sought confirmation

from governor ridge that this was no ordinary speech. he obliged. the man who grew up in veterans public housing, went to harvard, served two terms in congress and then became the first of homeland security told me there were things he wanted to quote get off his chest about his party. google him and read the speech. it will have you wondering his age. the answer is, he's a very spry 68. all in with chris hayes starts right now. we begin with a story that has refused to go away and not because of the facts involved, but because of the concerted effort on the right to instill scandal. tonight, cbs news is apologizing for a