and deal with unfairness in this country. but this extreme crop of republicans even getting a bill to extend unemployment insurance is a fight, and we're ready for it. we're ready to fight. thanks for watching. i'm al sharpton. "hardball" starts right now. it's an election year. let's play "hardball." good evening. i'm chris matthews back in washington. if you look at barack obama right now and where his presidency stands in football terms, it's midway into the third quarter. it's a contest of will and skill between him and his critics out there, some of them pretty vicious that we know from last night's national championship game in football can still go either way. either he turns things around and gets control of events,

including his health care plan, or he gets eaten up by his three worst enemies, the haters out there, the people in the government who should be doing a better job, and of course the clock. i see this year, 2014, as decisive. the elections in ten months could mean the end or a strong new beginning. who is going to win this november? i'll tell you right now. it depends on two factors, who votes and what do they care about. if the people who voted big for this president in 2008 or even in 2012, if they show up, it will mean a strong finish for this presidency, a continuation of the forces that put him in the white house. it will mean a long, strong fight to shrink that grand canyon of income inequality in this country, extending unemployment benefits, raising up the minimum wage, getting tax fairness, keeping wall street from another rampage of greed and irresponsibility. but if only the people who voted in 2010 show up this november, you can kiss all this goodbye. you'll see the beginning of the end to what could have been what

many of us believe should have been an historic turn toward full democratic government in this country, where everyone has a chance for the top office, where everyone is looked after by those in power. it means republican control in the house of representatives and the u.s. senate. and with that, a slow grinding effort to kill not just the president's health care plan, but his presidency itself and the legacy it promised. it will be a double downing of efforts to suppress the efforts of those who voted for him in historic numbers, a return to something like jim crow days, remnant of all the anti-black gimmi gimmickry. literary tests and all the rest. the goal will be to erase not just president obama from the history book, but that someone of his background would ever think of being president. it will mean victory for the haters. and it could mean another war, like the two we got from w, wars that achieved nothing. but the growing hatred of those we claim to be out there saving. the dick cheneys of the city

right here in town are still stalking one more chance to get us back there in iraq. still there in afghanistan and heading toward libya or syria or iran, wherever they can point the way and blow the bugle. you think that won't happen? that it can't happen? you better start paying attention, because it's already starting. state after state right now led by republicans has spent the last three years trying to suppress the black vote. and the young people's vote, and the old people's vote. should they win as they did in 2010, they'll launch another offensive. what they don't get from gerrymandering, they will try to get by voting requirements, new requirements, and changes in the electoral college even. and if you think that won't get sexual abuse another war of them getting reelected, read the newspaper. nothing is easier to find these days or easier to write that the latest screen by an armchair general yelling charge. here at "hardball" i promise to keep you, the good people who care about this country being a good america up to date on what is afoot out there. who is coming at you?

who is selling you out? who is playing a race card, the birthers and that ilk? can't abide that we have a president who has kept his word to rid ourselves of the knuckleheaded wars of w and the whole wrongheaded gang of his. tonight we begin with the first round of the bell, the fight over unemployment benefits, and once again, you're a part of it. sheri brown is an ohio democrat. joan walsh editor of salon and msnbc political analyst. the senate voted to begin debate on funding extended unemployment benefits. six republicans joined democrats, agreeing to proceed to debate. 1.3 million americans lost their unemployment benefits last month after congress failed to pass new legislation extending it all told by election day this year about five million people could lose their benefits. major hurdles remain for the legislation. 60 senators will still have to vote to end debate. and that's going to be tough. and prospects in the republican-led house are even dimmer. let me go to senator sheri

brown. thank you for joining us. >> thanks, chris. >> how does it look to save those benefits, the $300 that men and women throughout who have been struggling to find a job can still get? >> it's still difficult, still uphill. the vote this morning frankly was a surprise. we didn't expect to get as many republicans as we did. we knew the democrats were going to support it. it's a question of economic justice. you know, it's called unemployment insurance. you pay in when you're working. you get help when you have lost your job. you got to keep looking for work to get them, to get these benefits. it's as you point out, chris, $300. so nobody is getting rich from this. and most people in this country want to work. i think that word is -- you know, we got some republican votes today. we hope we can get them the next round. it's not at all a sure thing. some are insisting that these benefits be offset, if you will. and we know what that does. in a counter cyclical way, that hurts the economy. so we don't want to do it that way. but we've got to figure out to

get from point a to point b. >> the values involved here, senator. what are the values of both sides? the values of the democrats it seems to be like you are trying to help people who are in bad trouble already. as you point out, they're not rich. they're unemployed for a long time that means their families have had to give up almost everything, except basically eating and paying the rent or the mortgage. they're living at the very ends of existence in most cases. what is the republican opposition to giving a break to these people who need a break? >> well, first of all, i think it's -- our view of the economy is kind of from the bottom up. if working class people and middle class people are doing well, if poor people have an opportunity, then the economy grows that way. republicans really do subscribe to the trickle down theory. if people at the top are doing really well, then everybody else will do well. i think those two theories have been proven to be what they are in the last ten years in europe and in the united states. but some people don't want to learn from this. >> we got a stock market that is through the roof, by the way. it's through the roof.

and the old saying was if you want to live like a republican, vote like a democrat. that's certainly true with the stock market. yet it ain't working for the 7% unemployed right now. >> profits are up. wages are stagnant, and companies aren't hiring. companies have parked lots of billions of dollars overseas, all of those kinds of things. clearly the top-down, the trickle-down theory doesn't work very well for this country. republicans still want to subscribe to it for whatever reason. but that's -- the reason i'm optimistic, though, i think pope francis said something pretty interesting. he was exhorting his parrish priests. he said go out and smell like the flock. he's saying it's important to get out among the people who don't have the privilege you have. i think as more senators do that, they become pretty convinced that extending unemployment benefits is the right thing to do. and i'm hopeful that more and more of my colleagues understand that and begin to see that this is the right thing to do for the country. >> well, unfortunately, pope francis, the holy father wasn't

born in the usa. he is not eligible to run this country. but he is certainly guiding us. joan, you're smiling as a liberal progressive catholic, i guess. you probably love him. >> i do. >> there has been a shift in the cosmos out there. a sense that maybe we ought to be looking at inequality issues. and one of these pronounced inequality issues, the guy or woman out of work for all these many months, maybe lives in a town that doesn't have any jobs. maybe he has to make a decision or she has to make a decision to pull out roots and go out in a place they never lived before. so these are drastic situations for people. here you have the republicans saying don't look to me for help, buddy. >> i want to be a little bit optimistic with both you and senator brown, because i do think that just since the preholiday period, there has been a little bit of a change in the republican party. it's not enough, but we went from them being completely and implacably opposed to extending this. rand paul is a perfect example. absolutely opposed to extended unemployment insurance, said it did a disservice to workers. he comes back from his break.

he come back from 38,000 kentuckians who lost their extended insurance. and even rand paul is saying maybe we should do this if we can pay for it. i'm with senator brown. i think this idea of having to pay for it, especially for three months is ridiculous. but they really do seem like they're on their heels to some extent. knowing that they can't simply -- they can't simply lacerate, they can't simply demonize these people as takers and parasites and the 47%. their rhetoric has changed. paul ryan, his rhetoric has changed. he cited pope francis, although he did say he doesn't understand capitalism coming from argentina, which is a little bit unfortunate. but they are talking about it in a different way. and i think they see a vulnerability at the polls. i really do. >> talk about a cafeteria catholic. >> right. >> here is what the president had to say today on long-term unemployment insurance. let's listen to the president. >> i've heard the argument that says extending unemployment insurance will somehow hurt the unemployed because it saps their

motivation to get a new job. i can't name a time where i met an american who would rather have an unemployment check than the pride of having a job. long-term unemployed are not lazy. they're not lacking in motivation. they're coping with the aftermath of the worst economic crisis in generations. voting for unemployment insurance helps people and creates jobs. and voting against it does not. congress should pass this bipartisan plan right away, and i will sign it right away. and more than one million americans across the country will feel a little hope right away. and hope is contagious. >> got me thinking there. reagan taught us one thing from both sides of the aisle, senator, which it's all about we and they. he was always talking about we who have the jobs as opposed to that 10% or whatever it was back then who don't have jobs. when does the they become the we? we're talking now 5 million

people by the end of the year who will not have unemployment benefits if it all keeps going the way it's going with republicans saying no to everything. at what point does it become a we? hey, we are getting hurt by this. when do the republicans start saying in the house a lot of my voters throughout who are getting denied benefits. >> well, i think the we, i think joan was on to something when she talked about the change in the language from rand paul. the fact that we got these six republican votes today. that tells me that they're at least acknowledging the they changing to we if they're not thinking that much. i think another one comes into play here that it's pretty clear, the president said extending benefits creates jobs. we know that. almost every economist that is at all fair-minded believes that 100 years ago this week, chris, henry ford announced he was going to pay each of his workers from the kid sweeping the floors to the auto worker $5 a day. and he understood whether it was from generosity in the christmas spirit or whether it was

because -- mostly it was because he understood putting money in workers' pockets actually helps the economy, helps them buy a model t, helps them live better, and helps grow the economy. and i think more and more republicans are understanding that as they begin to look at this vote again. and as we continue this debate. it's going to take a lot of public pressure. it's going to take a lot of education. but i'm still hopeful as a result. >> i'm looking at this, joan, and i'm looking at a pattern here. on morning joe this morning, somebody was saying, maybe it was joe, that nobody is going to vote differently based on unemployment benefits extension. but if you add it up, this is one strike. if you bring in the fact that republicans have cut food stamps, opposing medicare extension to people that are working but are very poor, opposing minimum wage increases. >> head start. >> head start. one thing after another, it's going to get back to the 1% versus the 47%. emphasizing double downing on that problem they've always had

which they don't look like they give a damn about regular people. and there are a lot more regular people than there are 1%er. >> you know what is a real problem? they don't seem to give a damn even about their own base. their base, sadly for them, and sadly for their base is older white voters. that is just the truth. every poll you look at tells you that. well, you know who is the most in favor of extending unemployment, these unemployment benefits? seniors. white women and white noncollege educated voters that is the republican base. and they are consistently disrespecting their base. they're consistently telling their base they hope their base doesn't hear them, this is what happened to mitt romney and paul ryan last year. they hope their base doesn't hear them, but they are consistently saying you guys got into that pickle by yourselves. we don't give a damn. and it's the democrats who are saying we're all in this together. and we can build the middle class again. i really think when their base finds out what they really stand for, over time, this is all going to change.

this is going to backfire on them. >> and joan is right about that, chris. so many people, so many of these very conservative southern districts and southern states have significantly higher rates of uninsured citizens than other districts where people -- so the word -- they're going to start feeling this. they're going to start hearing this. they're going to start realizing that they're out of step with their base that way. joan's exactly right. >> we have to wrap it up. but i just want to point out we're approaching the 50 year anniversary of the war on poverty. and the greatest anti-poverty program, and older people know this better than anybody is social security. we should always remember that was the platform from which the whole safety net began. anybody out there over 65 knows how important the -- rather social security benefits are to your retirement plan, and without it, think where you would be, without them as a big building block, and sometimes the only building block. thank you very much senator sherrod brown of ohio and joan walsh. coming up, the republicans aren't just playing defense on

unemployment and minimum wage. they still have the fever called for obama derangement syndrome, which is destroy the health care law, repress the minority vote, turn barack obama into something like an accidental president. also, the two people watching the president's state most closely today are hillary rodham clinton and bill clinton. she and her presidential ambitions could be collateral damage if barack obama's presidency sinks, but they'll have collateral joy if he gets his act back together again. plus, dennis rodman talks diplomacy in new york to a new level and takes it to a very low level. >> if you understand what kim did, do you understand what he did. >> what did he do? you understand. >> in his country. >> you tell me. what did he do? >> no, no, no, you tell me. you tell me. why is he held captive? >> they haven't released any charges. they haven't released any reason. >> that's coming up tonight on the sideshow where it belongs. let me finish tonight with what

i saw the last two weeks in some very remote parts of africa. and this is "hardball," the place for politics. ap me in a r. ap me in a r. 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. where does the united states get most of its energy? is it africa? the middle east? canada? or the u.s.? the answer is... the u.s. ♪ most of america's energy comes from right here at home. take the energy quiz.

energy lives here. well, former defense secretary robert gates is offering a harsh critique of president obama in his new memoir. "the washington post" reports that gates, who served under obama during his first term had doubts that the president was committed to the war in afghanistan. gates writes that by early 2010, he had concluded that the president, quote, doesn't believe in his own strategy and doesn't consider the war to be his war. and for him, it's all about getting out, according to gates, and that the president was skeptical, if not outright convinced it would fail. that's where i was. gates is the highest profile republican from the bush administration obama kept in his cabinet. he retired in 2011. and we'll be right back.

welcome back to "hardball." if you thought 2013 was a turbulent year in american politics, buckle up, because the

stakes in 2014 are nothing shost o short of historic. the future of the president's achievement of health care reform is in play and with it goes the future of his entire presidency. in addition, the most fundamental american rights, the right to vote could also be up for grabs. for those two colossal issues, the right wing has telegraphed, destroy the affordable care act and suppress the right to vote. when the calendar turns to november's midterm elections, and that's this year. if you want to have the power to wield a verdict, you have to join the jury. you want to be on the jury, you got to vote. joining me to break down the stakes in 2014, michael steele. and with us ronald reagan. both are msnbc political analysts. let's just get to the reality. if we have a turnout like we had in 2010, we'll have a result like 2010. if we have a turnout like we had in 2008 or even 2012, we'll have the same result, a more similar result, more pro-obama. it comes down to who votes. >> bottom line, it comes down to

who votes. i think you're going to look more of a hybrid here, chris. i think you're going to see the democrats clearly on issues like affordable care act and the voting rights act turn that base. black vote isn't going away. they demonstrated in the offyear, if you will, the nonpresidential year that they're willing to come to the table and play as we've seen in the past. >> but what happened -- why did 2010 go the direction it went? all the state houses went republican. all the state legislatures went republican. they grabbed the house by what, 60-some votes. >> yep. >> they're on the verge right now of taking back the senate, because people, minority, young people, old people have a hard time voting. what do republicans try to do? try to make it harder. more voter requirements. >> we didn't have to do that in 2010. >> you're doing it. your party is still doing it. >> i like to think what we did in 2010 to get those incredible wins is talk to people about health care, talk to people about the issues of the time. we didn't have to engage in trying to change the voting outcome through the ballot box.

>> the democrat base vote in 2010 that allowed the republicans to get in and jerry manneder the hell out of these states and make it impossible for democrats to win statewide and diminish the power of minority voters of big cities, how did they get away if people didn't vote? >> well, there were probably a variety of reasons why most democrats didn't vote for a lot of democrats didn't vote in 2010. maybe a little fatigue from 2008, the economic situation, disgruntlement with the bank bailouts and things like that. and remember, you had that sort of surging tea party movement in 2010. well, now people have had a chance to look at the tea party a little bit, and some of their representatives, and they don't really like what they see. i agree with michael. i think you're going to get a hybrid turnout this year. >> well, let's see. as i mentioned, republicans are gearing up for a second assault on voting rights in 2014. in 2013, republicans more than -- look at the map there. three dozen states advanced legislation to suppress the voting rights of minorities. that's according to an advancement project. and last year's supreme court ruling which gutted a key part, section 5 of the voting rights

act could mean a lot more coming this year. told "hardball," quote, this could open the floodgates for more restrictive laws and that's my question. we have guys in pennsylvania you have seen the guys. we can show it all over again, if you want, michael. republican leaders in harrisburg bragging and saying we're going to screw the black vote. >> i think it's boneheaded. i think it's a boneheaded approach. look, if you want to make an effective opportunity for voters at the ballot box, that's fine. lay out what your argument is going to be, lay out the plan. but what we saw in 2012 was we made it concurrent. so we're going to change the law in august to apply to the november election. so if i'm a voter sitting there going oh, so now you want me to have to catch seven buss to get to the voting polls this fall. put it in the out years. put it out for the voters to ultimately decide. i think any ham-handedness by republican legislatures on this point -- >> you say it's okay to let the voters look at it? >> sure. engage them -- >> why would anybody who lives in a big city in a row how who doesn't have a car think it's a

great idea i have to cross town to the d.o.t. to sign a piece of paper that says i don't own a car. >> in many cases currently crossing town to get to their voting places. it's not necessarily right around the corner from where you live. >> you vote in your neighborhood, come on. >> not necessarily in all cases. >> you're making it you got to go to another city. the republicans spent the better part of 2013 trying to erase the president from the history books by dismandeling his legislative achievement, health care. they made it clear they're going to double down on that in 2014. majority leader eric cantor of virginia outlined the strategy in a millennium me to his parties which was obtained by nbc news. it says, quote, the american people have witnessed the obama administration flailing in its attempts to fix the health care law that is broken and cannot be fixed. our efforts will be shaped by our desire to help protect the american people from the harmful effects of this law and knowing there is a better way. and at the local level, the rio de janeiro is launching a series of new radio ads attacking vulnerable democrats by tying them to the president's infamous

promise that you could keep your plan. the rnc is targeting democratic senators in arkansas, colorado, louisiana, north carolina, new hampshire, and virginia. they're also targeting house democrats in iowa, michigan, new york, and west virginia. it seems to me, ron, that the talk of replacing and fixing is gone. they're basically saying the whole thing is no good. they're going for the kill. i was reading something by walter winchel that he wrote years ago, the great -- i might call him -- well, he might be highly dramatic newscaster. and he said once your opponents have solidified around something, once they have given all the thought they can and completely figured out their position, that's when they're done. and he used the example of the attempt of roosevelt to get a third term. once everybody was opposed to it on the right, they had him beat because they knew exactly what his arguments were and they just rolled over him. of course roosevelt was re-elected overwhelmingly. all the republican party stands for right now, all it believes in, in every way it look and thinks and feels is we've got to

kill obamacare. that's all they stand for. that's it. that's the bottom of the republican party, kill obamacare. that's why we exist. >> and the absurdity of that, chris, you might wonder what is the republican alternative to obamacare. but the problem for republicans is obamacare is the republican alternative to single universal single payer health care. it was their alternative to that. so they're going against their own plan. and of course they have no alternatives to this because this is the alternative. it's craziness there on the right. >> i have to agree with ron on that point. at the end of the day, if you're going to go down this road, open this door to not only repeal and replace, you've got to answer the question with what. >> no, no, ron makes a more finer point. you and i would say that. but he is something of an intellectual. ron figured out the socialist bastards are doing what we told them to do. >> exactly. >> who do they think they are? >> what are they doing, taking

our advice! >> they're doing exactly what the heritage foundation came up with and is now attacking them for. >> right. and that, again, that's part and parcel of their problem. >> how can you still be a republican? i don't quite get it? >> because we are bigger than one issue. that's for sure. >> i don't think that's true of the republican party. i think their only one issue. they're a one-trick pony. they hate obamacare. thank you, michael steer -- steer. steel. and ronald reagan. up next, a worm turns. dennis rodman's meltdown. this man is not adlai stevenson. his meltdown in north korea next on the sideshow. this is "hardball," the place for politics. your eyes really are unique.

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i mean, for the last 50 years, people in this country who get marijuana whenever they wanted. as soon as the government gets involved, there is a shortage. isn't that unbelievable? that's what they say. there could be a shortage of marijuana. here is the story. >> they expect to sell out of marijuana any day now. the state expects over $600 million in pot sales this year, and another 400 million in related purchases. time for the sideshow. that was jay leno last night on colorado's recent legalization of marijuana for recreational use. anyway, in other news today, 1990s basketball star dennis rodman is back in north korea this week. it's his fourth trip over the last year and his second since his self-described friend kim jong un had his uncle executed. this time, however, rodman brought a group of former nba players with him. according to the ap, he plans to play a game to celebrate kim's

birthday tomorrow. he had a difficult time explaining, rodman did, why he won't use his influence with the young dictator to get information about an american captive being held in that country, kenneth bay. here was rodman on cnn this morning. fasten your seat belt. >> are you going to take an opportunity if you get it to speak up for the family of kenneth bay and to say let us know why this man is being held? >> if you understand what ken bay did, you understand what he did. >> what did he do? you tell me. >> in this country. >> you tell me. >> no, no, no, no, no. you tell me. you tell me. why is he held captive? >> they haven't released any charges. they haven't released any reason. >> oh my god, all these guys here. does anyone understand that? >> we do. and we appreciate that. and we wish them well with cultural exchange. >> no, no, no. [ bleep ] i don't give a rat's ass what you think.

i'm saying to you, look at these guys here. look at them. >> dennis, don't put it on them. don't use them as an excuse for the behavior you're putting on yourself. >> up next, as president obama goes, so goes hillary clinton. so what is hillary's second effort look like should she decide to run for president again? you're watching "hardball," the place for politics. [ male announcer ] this is joe woods' first day of work. and his new boss told him two things -- cook what you love, and save your money. joe doesn't know it yet, but he'll work his way up from busser to waiter to chef before opening a restaurant

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i'm milissa rehberger. here is what is happening. a u.s. air force helicopter crashed earlier this evening in eastern england. all four crewmembers aboard are presumed dead. the aircraft was on a training mission when that crashed. and the dangerous cold gripping much of the u.s. is being blamed for at least eight deaths now. many areas of the country are still under windchill warnings or cold weather advisories. all u.s. states saw freezing or below freezing temperatures today, including hawaii.

back to "hardball." welcome back to "hardball." there is one word people use to describe hillary clinton's 2016 campaign, inevitable. hillary herself has said she is still months away from a formal decision, but it's no coincidence that there is a massive campaign infrastructure already taking shape for her. politico's maggie haverman takes an exhaustive behind the scenes look of what she calls hillary's shadow campaign. she writes more than two dozen people in hillary's orbit interviewed for the article describe the campaign in waiting, a term that makes some of clinton supporters bristle. need more tea leaves? here is 2008 presidential campaign that just rented an e-mail list to the superpac called ready for hillary. but elections are about change, of course. if she runs like the world is

expecting her to, what this hillary clinton's second effort looks like, who is hillary 2.0. not bad question. then there is the political elephant in the room, what role does this guy, looking pretty young there back in '92. that was down there in texas when i was interviewing him, what role was he going to play. maggie haverman herself, senior reporter at political coand ed rendell, who is very close to the clintons. i want to start with hillary 2.0 because hillary 1.0 continues to be a lightning rod for attacks. case in point today. just this afternoon excerpts from a memoir by bob gates is making headlines. gates writes, quote, hillary told the president, that's obama, that her opposition to the 2007 surge in iraq had been political because she was facing him in the iowa primary that year. the president conceded vaguely -- this is gates' word -- that opposition to the iraq surge had been political for him too. to hear the two of them making these admissions and in front of me was as surprising as it was

dismaying. well, as chris cillizza notes, this is potentially damaging because the criticism that has always haunted hillary clinton is that everything she does is infused with politics, that there is no core set of beliefs within her, but rather just political calculation, massed upon political calculation. governor rendell, i wanted you to respond since you didn't write the piece, and you can analyze. bob gates is a serious person. i personally hate this kind of kiss and tell. he is on the inside because obama put him there. when people are kibitzing between themselves, you don't know what signals they're sending to each other. it could well be hillary said something because she was in a certain mood and she trusted the people she was with. and it could be that obama went along with it so he wouldn't be high-hatting her morally. i can see this conversation. i can hear it. but i still don't know what it means, because what bob gates makes of it is not necessarily what it scht that's my thought. >> i think that's right, chris. i also think that hillary

doesn't have much to worry about anything bob gates said in that memoir because he also said in that memoir she is smart, idealistic, but pragmatic, tough minded, a very valuable ally and a superb representative of the united states all the way around the world. bob gates and hillary clinton had a great relationship. and bob gates would not stand by and let hillary be attacked. i can guarantee you that. so, again -- >> but he did. he just did it in the book. he did the attack. he said that she played politics with the surge in iraq. that's a serious charge. the republicans will be all over this tonight. >> right. they'll be all over it. but remember, bob gates is a republican secretary of defense, a tough-minded guy who said she was a superb representative of the u.s. all over the world. i'll take that quote any day. >> okay. let's go to maggie who does this straight. maggie, you're different. have i my opinions. the governor has his loyalties. what do you know? >> i think that you're both right. republicans are already seizing on this, and you're going to see democrats point to the things

that the governor just talked about that bob gates said many positive things about hillary clinton in that book. that line about how she viewed the surge as political is problematic depending on how far it goes, how viral it goes, and how absorbed it gets by the base. this is something that has been a hillary clinton problem for a long time, which chris cillizza wrote about in the piece you were citing, the idea that she is just full of calculation, that everything she does is about politics and this underscores that. we'll see how well this plays out in terms of who hears what. it's somewhat going to depend on what the white house says about this, what hillary clinton herself says about this there is a way to deal with it. but on its face, it's not great. >> let me go back to what try to study, governor, and you exemplify, which is you have to be who you are, but you also have to grow. and people have to see something developing. when you see a picture of paul mccartney, he looks different than he did ten years ago. he doesn't try to look like the same person. people develop new ways of saying things.

they learn and they show they have learned. they mature how. is hillary clinton going to look different as we use the phrase 2.0 as opposed to 1.0, not like tricky dick nixon changing himself mysteriously and incredibly. how is she going to show the vintage quality of her mind and experience coming off of being secretary of state, united states senator from new york, in addition to having run for president before? >> well, again, i don't think politicians as well as hillary clinton or george bush or any of the like can totally reinvent themselves. i think hillary clinton has to stress the things that are positive and that americans love about her. one, she's experienced. she's done it all. and now that resume is burnished by being secretary of state. and you've got a guy like bob gates saying what a superb secretary of state she was. two, that she was ready on day one in 2008, and she is even more ready on day one in 2016. and secondly, that she can work together across the aisle.

as a senator, she forged a great relationship with a lot of republicans in the senate. >> i know. >> hatch and the like. those are the things americans are looking for. they want an experienced, competent leader and someone who can reach across the aisle. that's the way you present hillary clinton. that's the most important thing to most americans right now. >> excuse me, let's talk about the sticky part right here. hillary's fate may be more tied to president obama than you think. the director of the pew research said found the views of hillary clinton among democrats correlate strongly with views of obama. 71% of democrats who hold a highly favorable view of obama feel the same way about clinton. a and the converse is true. democrats who are unenthusiastic about president obama are also unenthusiastic about hillary clinton. just 29% rate her very favorably. so let me go to that question, maggie. you know, when george bush served as vp for reagan all those eight years and rather

loyally, he said i'm going to be kinder and gentler. now, he didn't say kinder and gentler than his democratic opponent, michael dukakis. he couldn't do that. but he was clearly different than reagan. won't hillary have to do that, regardless of the economy, unless it's zooming and then she'll just hang on to the guy. >> you're not going to see much of that happening certainly during the primary window. you will see some of that i expect during the general election. it remains to be seen. we'll have to see what his numbers are, we'll have to see what the any economist. few people are predicting the economy is going to take off dramatically. it's probably going to creep along or uptick a bit the way it has been for a while. now there is not going to be some rocket fuel injected into it most likely. so she is going to have to be very tethered to him. the piece is exactly right. the problem for her is the following year from now until the end of 2014, and that is why some people are not convinced she is running, if this is a very rough year for democrats, if the unexpected happens in addition to that, if obamacare takes another turn in terms of development, that's a problem. >> you're the best reporter on

hillary clinton right now. so i'm going to play some hardball with you. is she running? >> i think yes right now, but i'm not 100%. i would put it in the over 50 range, 60, 65. >> governor rendell, is she running? >> undecideded in her own mind. she has to decide, chris, whether she wants to live a stress-free remainder of her life and still be a very popular person around the world. >> i agree with that. >> or whether she wants to break that glass ceiling and take 16 years of unbelievable stress. >> i am so with you. i do believe it's a decision. i really do believe it's a tough one, because i think the politics is getting to be more and more of a meat grinder every year. somebody said your dna gets changed by it. >> horrible. >> that's pretty scary. thank you, maggie haberman. you are the best reporter on hillary right now. >> thank you. >> you're right. i don't think she has decided. thank you, governor rendell. i think that's pretty smart. who wants to ruin their head and

their soul and their gut because they think they have to make a point in history. unless there is a reason, like jack kennedy said, is this for the country? i think that breaks the decision in the running i think. up next, the stock market has more than doubled since 2009. so why doesn't wall street and the republicans give president obama some credit? cnbc's jim cramer joins us next. this is "hardball," the place for politics. stick with innovation.

stick with power. stick with technology. get the new flexcare platinum from philips sonicare and save now. philips sonicare. what a difference four years makes. senator republican leader mitch

mcconnell is running for reelection in kentucky, but he faces a primary challenge and a formidable candidate come the general election. so he is turning to fellow kentucky senator rand paul for help. take a look at the ad that formally kicks off the mcconnell campaign. >> welcome and sign the papers. >> what he has done and what allows him to be the most powerful republican up there is that he can pull people together. >> back in 2010, mcconnell snubbed paul and supported another candidate for the republican senate nomination. but now that paul's popularity has eclipsed mcconnell's, mcconnell's needs paul's support if he hopes to hold on to that seat? don't you love politics making strange bedfellows? we'll be right back. [ dennis ] it's always the same dilemma --

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and get a quote now. we're back. stocks were up again today, big. the dow gains over 100 points which under president obama's term is hardly a surprise. take a look at how far we've come since president obama inherited a weak economy and unstable economy from his predecessor george w. bush back in january of 2009? look at that. it's a 45-degree angle ever since. since then the dow gained more than 7 ,000 points and has more than doubled since its recession low up roughly 110 points since w. was president. and when president obama came in, the private sector was losing over 800,000 jobs a month. by april of 2010, the economy was adding over 2 00,000 jobs a month. shouldn't the private sector, big guys be thanking this president? big question for me, there. jim cramer is host of msnbc's "mad money." actually cnbc's "mad money" and author of the great new book "get rich carefully."

it's a great old quote, if you want to live like a republican, vote like a democrat. if w. or one of the lesser minds of the republican party like him had achieved a doubling of the stock market, the republicans in our world that you meet would be thrilled with the guy. they'd be saying he's the best friend we ever had. i know we don't brag about it on this show. it's a progressive oriented thought process i go through around here. i think about distribution as well as wealth. but with all this wealth going on, why aren't the fat cats happy? >> well, first, they're natural born complainers. any time you talk about raising the taxes, they think that's meant to them. the. the president talks about equality. what does that mean to them? less money in their paycheck. >> they doubled their money since w. >> don't look at me. the president should come down and ring the opening bell and take a little credit. but he never does, chris. he seems to be not wanting to

affiliate himself with the s&p or the dow. >> so they want to be loved as well as fattened up? they want -- they want some love from home. they don't just want to be rich, they want to be loved. you're serious, aren't you? >> the president should take some ownership of it -- chris, i'm not kidding. if he takes ownership of it, he will be embraced. i think you'd be surprised. i think they basically feel he has scorn for the averages. i don't think he does. he never says, you know what, has anyone ever looked at how much money they made in their 401(k) under my presidency? i would tell him to say that, go down to wall street, ring the opening bell and say, hey, guys, can you do any better than i did? >> okay. this is the genius that cost al gore the presidency in 2000. when he refused to take credit for the economic greatness of the clinton eight years. he didn't go out there and brag. he and the guys around him, bob shrum, said this might offend poor people. there are a lot of middle class, upper middle class people who

benefited from the 401(k) growth and benefited from the economy. learn how to benefit as well as complain. here's a question for you right now. unemployment insurance dead thanks to the republicans. apparently minimum wage, looks like there's no deal in the works. that's not going up. there's probably going to be a fight over the budget and debt ceiling next month. it's all going to be bad. is this going to hurt the economy? >> five-kay day percent in the dow and s&p. it's usually a blip down in the economy. i say blip down because the market and economy recovered. yes, if you get another debt ceiling fight, we'll give up what we had in the last quarter. all the gains will be given up if we have that. if you tell me there is going to be, chris, it's bad. >> why don't you tell the republicans who watch cnbc slavishly who watch it like it's their religious notebook, why don't you tell them this screwing around by cant tor and boehner and all this is not helping. or don't they want to help the economy? >> some people feel that i was not that nice to gene sperling on "meet the press."

i read his book. hyped his book. what is he talking about? i do believe that the republicans if they would just say, you know what, let the chips fall on this health care plan, we'll see you in november, then the market would go up and the republicans would be able to celebrate, that listen, we didn't stand in the way of it but now vote us in. >> you're the best. name of your book, "get rich carefully." i've been taking your advice for years. thank you, jim cramer. in more ways than you can imagine. what a smart guy you are. i know how you vote. we'll be right back after this. [ male announcer ] here's a question for you: is your tv powered by coal? natural gas?

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let me finish tonight with this. i've been going over christmas and new year's as you know, but really gone. cath and i, thomas and caroline were in two countries in africa that seem to be doing quite well. being a week at each, it's hard to say, for sure, but i heard things. i've been involved for a number of years in the efforts to save the wildlife of the african continent. good work and what is for me a vital mission to save for future generations, the natural world you i were born into, a world where wildlife is protected from the slaughter we hate to see out there, the slaughter that hillary clinton among others is working to prevent. poaching is too nice a word for the killing of huge animals because some guy in asia or some place else thinks rhino tusks will help him in his love life or someone who thinks it's okay to kill an elephant so a character can have an ivory knickknack to show off. good news, kathleen who knows about this stuff will be with me

thursday to talk about what we learned in the magnificent afri africa, my tenth trip to the continent. the first one, of course, being there on my motor bike teaching business as a peace corps volunteer. anyway, that's "hardball" for now. great to be back. thanks for being with us tonight. "all in with chris hayes" starts right now. good evening, from new york. i'm chris hayes. on capitol hill today, a surprise victory for the 1.3 million people who had their unemployment benefits taken away from them and a republican party now in full retreat. here's what happened. as we told you yesterday, republicans had found themselves in the position of filibustering the unemployed for reasons that none of them seem able to articulate. for an entire week, it's essentially been impossible to find a republican who could explain just why they were doing it. well, today, that filibuster crumbled. perhaps the fact that