>> yeah, i understand that and appreciate not only your response but also the work you've been doing. thank you for joining us tonight. you can find me on facebook at facebook.com/arimelbur. chris hayes is up next. vigil. let's play "hardball." good evening. i'm chris matthews in san francisco. i'll start with the hunt for flight 370. 7 billion people on this planet, and the global focus is on a plane last seen carrying 239 of us. a vigil to australia, where two objects were found.

will this lead us to an answer? at least the ultimate fate of this tragedy? at least what caused the blackout of information between that plane and the rest of humanity? why? and why was there no signal that anything was wrong? and what can we learn in the coming morning hours that will give us minimal comfort? michael goldfarb, and captain john cox. a commercial pilot for 25 years. well, earlier today, we had a potential break of data at parliament. >> well, new information has come to light in regards to the

search for flight 370. i should tell the house, and we must keep this in mind. this task may be extremely difficult, and it may turn out not to be related to this flight. >> and here are the pictures. one object, approximately 80 feet long, the other approximately 15 feet long. it's 1,500 miles off the coast of perth. michael, we have a hell of a search coming up tomorrow morning. >> well, we're putting a lot of credence in the fact that the australian prime minister made the announcement.

we've blown it time and time again on any kind of valid information. so, in the worst part of the world, we may have a sighting. boy, we have no -- no knowledge after four days of that satellite image whether or not the debris field has moved all over that part of the world. it's a glimmer of hope, but we're not putting a lot of stock in it. >> and my question, what makes anyone think that that's the aircraft parts? aren't there a lot of things floating in the ocean? >> well, the 777 is made of composite material. if the tanks are empty, then maybe it could float. but once again, it's a sighting, plotted against what the ntsb

says is a likely scenario. that's why we think it perhaps is the debris field. >> john, does this -- where is this going to end? we have 16,000 feet of water out there, something being compared to the mountains in europe. the alps in switzerland. underwater, how do we find something like a black box in that terrain? >> well, we take lessons from air france 447. the topography was characterized like being switzerland underwater. we need to find the floating debris field.

it's out there. once we do that, we can utilize experts from the maritime industry to plot wind and wave current impact on the debris field. that will bring us back to a small, searchable area for wreckage. once we find that, we can get to the recorders. that's what's going to tell us the tale of malaysia 370. >> and march 8th, that's when it disappeared. after 13 days, is it possible that there's still a debris field that's cohesive enough? >> yes. things are going to float. the seat cushions, the over head baggage.

and it will float for a long time. so, the question is, where is the field, what remains of it, and what is the distribution of it. then we can plot the data and try to locate the wreckage. >> how do you retrace the steps of the ocean flow? >> well, they're actually amazingly good at that. very complex and detailed computer simulations. from what i understand, we're fortunate in that the strong currents are south of the area, and that may end up being an advantage. once we find the debris field,

it may not have moved very far. >> and to the morning in australia. michael, the airplanes fly out from perth, and then a four-hour flight to get to this spot where the pictures were taken on sunday. and hopefully they can see where the items are now. then two hours to fly around before heading to base. >> right. such a limited ability to spend time above the possible debris field. i know the poseidon can track drones. the p8 that's headed for the area. it can use drones to look at the area. but chris, when we say time is running out, we missed the first phase of this. when the plane took off, went missing. took a hard or curved westward turn.

we have -- most airplanes have data that would be constantly talking to the satellites. it's inexcusable in this time when a lot of airplanes in the united states have data packages that would be talking to the satellites. with air france, we knew where the debris field was within days, because it was communicating with the satellites. we have a mechanical and criminal theory, but no credible clues that really tell which it was. >> just to retrace our steps, are we still in a situation of complete mystery here? do we know there wasn't any foul play? >> no, we don't have certainty.

but i do think we have some evidence. one of the things that's critical for us to do is not overrun the evidence. we know several things. the airplane departed and flew its flight plan track for some period of time. it made a routine radio call and shortly there after, the transponder either failed, lost electricity, or was switched off. it stopped talking to the network, and it takes specialized training to do that. it went on or near waypoints. so, that says that someone with knowledge programmed the computer.

it means the evidence is tending to lead that it involved human effort. we still don't have enough investigation to make a conclusion, but there is hard evidence leaning in certain areas. >> do you go that direction, michael? >> well, every crash is unique. it doesn't happen that often, but it has its own dna. another crash turned out to have this chafing of wires inside the tank. everyone thought it was a bomb. well, the payne stewart jet. the crew and passengers were unconscious due to a slow decompression.

that could be a scenario. but we've been all over the place. the pilots, gone through the pilots' backgrounds. the back door, was that open? we're just all over the place. without forensic evidence, without hard data, we're just on square one. >> and you put together the possibility of a deliberate action by the pilots, you still have things going wrong. thank you. coming up, much more including a look at the pilots' politics. what may have happened in the plane. plus, rand paul bashed the cia, and president obama. he was able to energize a crowd

of young college people. and president obama talks about crimea, but it's not enough for the right. this is "hardball," the place for politics. latte or au lait? cozy or cool? "meow" or "woof"? exactly the way you want it ... until boom, it's bedtime! your mattress is a battleground of thwarted desire. enter the all-new sleep number classic series. designed to let couples sleep together in individualized comfort. starting at just $699.99 for a queen mattress. he's the softy. his sleep number setting is 35. you're the rock, at 60. and snoring? sleep number's even got an adjustment for that. find your sleep number setting only at a sleep number store. know better sleep with sleep number. are you flo? yes. is this the thing you gave my husband?

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>> but did he talk like you didn't know what was going on? >> he did not read green eggs and ham again. >> well, booker said he and cruz had a good conversation. we'll be right back.

welcome back to "hardball." you can't fully understand the investigation of flight 370 until you understand the politics. all families are inconsolable. it's been 13 days of inconsistent statements from the government. threatening to ignite a firestorm where the five-decade reign is showing signs of deteriorating.

well, the leader was run up for the second time on sod my charges. and just seven hours before he took the flight controls. they're scrambling to find a scapegoat. the government also has been mum with satellite data. critics say they were quick to cast suspicion on the pilot because of erased data from his flight simulator. meanwhile, investigators continue to look at the pilots' life, religion, and politics.

well, former new mexico governor joins us. and bobby -- thanks for joining us. i want to talk about how this will go into the history books. it's fascinating that there's a real attitude on the part of the pilot about the way -- which way is this going to go? either way. i think it's going to be part of the record. what's your view? >> he's clearly a fan of ibrahim. it's the nature of malaysian politics that he got the

majority of seats -- journalists have scoured the pilot's social media pages. nothing there to think that this man was full of rage about politics. it's unpopular among his followers, but whether that would push somebody over the edge, that's something to be considered. >> well, you know, we're dealing in the dark here. the egyptian pilot that brought his plane into the atlantic ocean, he didn't say he was doing it for religious reasons. but these suicidal actions usually are preceded by a letter. >> well, there's no overt sign of it.

looking at the youtube video channel, a lot of the videos are about atheism. that's not the mark of a religious fanatic. >> i was thinking politics there. and the first pilot, any indications of zealotry? >> well, that's who i was talking about. the younger pilot, 27 years old. he was a young, dashing man. enjoyed flirting with young female passengers. a happy go lucky, someone that seemed to enjoy life. no darkness that's immediately possible.

but it's possible that there are things that will emerge later. but there's no evidence that either of them were hiding any deep, dark secrets. >> and one thing that keeps -- the wall we pound our head against here, since the incident began, from the good-bye, for the night at 1:00 in the morning, not an indication of any kind from that plane, nothing to suggest that there was disorder to come. >> well, if we're to believe the malaysian government's timeline, it got switched off two minutes after that. we can't rule out the possibility that someone else entered the cockpit after that. someone with knowledge of the cockpit and how to disable

transponders. we have to allow for that as well. >> and governor richards, thank you for joining us. talking about government malfeasance here. the malaysian government issued a statement to the loved ones of the passengers, asking them to fill out a form asking if they want information about what's going on with the plane. 12, 13 days later. they're humiliating them, mocking them. treating them like subjects, not citizens. >> they are. they've totally mishandled this. with the families, with the international community. the fact that they didn't ask for technical help earlier.

the relationship with china has been strained. and now australia has probably said, we're going to go off on our own. i don't know if they notified the malaysians. but this is domestic politics in malaysia. i think we won't know the finality of the politics here until we find out what happened to the plane. was it a terrorist act? my view, this is a case where the malaysian government has totally mishandled this. not just with public relations, but the inability to notify the governments and family members, and not ask the family members what they need.

>> well, the test of a great pilot is how well he or she behaves in a tough situation. what made the government so lucky so far? they've never had to face a crisis, showing their complete inability to handle it? >> yes, their economy is in great shape, with a lot of growth. and political stability. and they got drunk with power. just by the way they've handled the passengers and families. the relationship with other countries. i think what you have here is a

gap between china and malaysia. it could be that the initial rebuffing of china was a little bit of the politics. but the case here is a country that is heading very much in the right direction. going to have a very black eye in the international community. going to affect investment, tourism. a lot of things they weren't ready to handle. >> thank you. up next, our new friend louie takes the stand to help -- this is "hardball." your place for politics.

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ha! ♪ time for the sideshow. that was part of the late birthday celebration for john lewis. showing the spring in his step. and president obama appeared on the ellen degeneres show to encourage people to register for the affordable care act. and he talked about house of cards. >> it's a lot more boring. most of my day is sitting in a

room, listening to a bunch of folks talking about a whole bunch of stuff that wouldn't make great television. >> that's what i do, and we make great television. >> i have to tell you, though, ellen, there is not much dancing in the situation room. >> next up, the president announced new sanctions for russia. four days after the president spoke directly with putin about a potential diplomatic solution. here's how jimmy fallon envisioned that conversation.

>> technically, crimea invaded us. i'm trying to do my thing, watching news. then you're sending john mccain to ukraine. mccain in the ukraine. mccain in the ukraine. mccain's insane. got no brain. >> finally, with russia in the news, louie gohmert set the record straight on the issue that's been bothering him for a while. sarah palin and what she really said he said about being able to see russia from his home in 2008.

here's what he said versus what tina fey said on saturday night live. >> they're our next door neighbors, and you can actually see russia from land here in alaska. proximity can be a important matter. but here's the text of what saturday night live did. tina fey, acting as sarah palin said. i can see russia from my house. that is where the line came from. >> that's helpful. >> up next, rand paul was in berkeley selling his libertarianism to a college crowd, and they ate it up. as he gave it to them.

will republicans support a dove for their nominee? you're watching "hardball," the place for politics. ♪

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if you own a cell phone, you're under surveillance. what you do on your cell phone is none of their damn business. when they say oh, it's only boring old business records.

think of the information on your visa bill. they can tell whether you smoke, drink, gamble, what magazines you read. what medications you take. i oppose this misuse of power with everything i have. i believe you have a right to privacy and it should be protected. >> paul is reaching out to constituents. and showing republican establishment types that he's willing to fight. at the same time, saying protect privacy rights. and goes after benghazi. last month, i made this prediction on the show.

on the right, rand paul is the man to beat. he wants it and is not about to shrink back into his senate seat. he's running to win control of the republican party and turn it in his direction. right now, my call, february 27th, 2014. clinton versus paul, with clinton winning within five. >> mark, tell me about the thinking here of going out to this iconic place, a hot bed of liberalism.

getting applause on a very narrowly defined message about the nsa. >> well, it has broad appeal to both parties. second, to appeal to young people, where republicans have not done well in, and some of the other events, he's going places where most republicans don't go, are afraid of going to, and don't know what to say. paul is skilled. i tweeted out this link. your catalog of why he's doing well, i think is spot-on. of all the qualities the republicans are looking for in a nominee, he has them. but the establishment is too afraid of it.

>> well, the central thing, the notion of the government as this cold, even nonpartisan predator gobbling up information about us. pursuing us in a way that's almost nonhuman. that appeals to the crazy hard right, and what's left of the crazy left. and young people only own a cell phone, and a social life if they're lucky. and they want to protect that and the fear of losing that, your private social existence. >> well, as far as the nsa being intrusive, people get that.

it has wide appeal, not just to college students, but to a lot of democrats and republicans. that's an interesting issue for him to take on. he's got some loose ends. if he were to reveal his view on gay marriage or abortion, he wouldn't get a standing ovation. >> mark, how long can you do this targeted appeal to different constituency? berkeley is a dovish campus. but if he talked about his social policies, would that put a monkey wrench to his appeal?

>> no. he's not a perfect candidate, but george bush has similar opinions, and he spoke in the philadelphia suburbs and did just fine. he spoke to african-american groups. i don't think individual issue positions will keep him from finding common ground with traditional democratic constituencies. he's such a better speaker than others, that gives him a leg up, and he's not afraid like of some the other candidates. >> well, did the millennials find appeal in that, the 11-32-year-olds?

>> well, millennials skeptical of authority, not liking big institutions. this is a sweet spot, and it will be interesting to hear what rand paul says. he's a skilled politician, and they'll listen to him. >> in a q and a, he was asked if this is a part of a potential presidential run? >> well, part of it is that. and another part is that republicans need to evolve, adapt or die. remember when domino's admitted they had bad crust? well, the republicans admitted

we need a different kind of party. >> i also think the tomato sauce needs attention. he is saying the party needs to change. so much of the problem of the republican party, too many of the leaders say let's win the base. let's not reach out to the other communities. it may not be the person on top of the ticket, but it may be rand paul. skilled people to reach out to new constituencies, or they will go the way of -- >> and rand paul is the most interesting politician, even

including ted cruz. he bears watching. maybe he's ahead going into the sweepstakes. >> to use a norman mailer line, he's very protean. not many politicians grow. thank you. up next, president obama orders sanctions against russia. what's the best outcome for us at this point? this is "hardball," the place for politics. latte or au lait?

cozy or cool? "meow" or "woof"? exactly the way you want it ... until boom, it's bedtime! your mattress is a battleground of thwarted desire. enter the all-new sleep number classic series. designed to let couples sleep together in individualized comfort. starting at just $699.99 for a queen mattress. he's the softy. his sleep number setting is 35. you're the rock, at 60.

and snoring? sleep number's even got an adjustment for that. find your sleep number setting only at a sleep number store. know better sleep with sleep number. we'll be back with president obama's latest moves against russia. "hardball" returns after this.

we're back. president obama continues to engage his russian counterpart vladimir putin. today he spoke outside the white house and announced more sanctions against russia which he said will have a significant impact on the russian economy. here he is. >> the basic principles that govern relations between nations in europe and around the world must be upheld in the 21st century. the notion that nations do not simply redraw borders or make decisions at the expense of

their neighbors simply because day are larger or more powerful. diplomacy between the united states and russia continues. we've emphasized that russia still has a different path available. one that deescalates the situation and one that involves russia pursuing a diplomatic solution with the government in kiev. >> well, president obama warned russia that further escalation in ukraine will only isolate the russians from the global community, but he also left the door open to diplomacy, as you just heard. russia responded to the sanctions by announcing its own sanctions on u.s. officials including speaker of the house john boehner, harry reid, senator john mccain and others. anne gearan, diplomatic correspondent for the "washington post" and ryan grim with the "huffington post." anne, what do you make of the whole situation? i get the sense we're behind the 8 ball. we were out of the action on this one days ago and the president feels he has to at least go through the form of retaliation, if not the reality.

>> well, the president went a good bit further today with this round of sanctions than the united states had gone before. these actually have the potential to do a lit bit of damage and are intended to send a warning shot to putin, not to go further than crimea. but implicit in all this, is as you say, an acknowledgement that crimea is lost. they're punishing him for something he's already done and saying don't do any more bad stuff we don't want you to do, but it doesn't -- it won't have any further effect than that. >> do we have a good reading in washington, at the state department, the nse, susan rice and others, do they have a sense of whether putin feels he's reestablished russia's good feeling about itself, its mother russia sense, they don't have to go further to make their point in that regard? or is this his first step toward basically pushing everyone into line in that region, making them

all more subordinate to russia? >> well, there are a lot of people who think the administration has misjudged putin's motives from the start. the "post" had an editorial today, that's the other side of the house from me, making that point that the u.s. doesn't really understand the russian motivation here and thus the u.s. attempts to deter putin hasn't worked. i don't if that's totally true, but they certainly did not see this coming the way it came. u.s. tried to head this off weeks and months ago, and that didn't work. and then sort of got caught flat-footed when putin went ahead and didn't take any of the olive branches that the u.s. offered over the last two weeks to try to prevent this from becoming a full crisis over crimea. >> ryan, let me ask you about this. it seems to me, it shows once again the strength of nationalism, for better or worse in the world, it's not going away. for all the talk of globalism,

we do act as members of a nation. and we feel that way. and the passions arouse clearly the strong support that vladimir putin is engaged, gaining at home is for real. it's not something he fabricated. how are we going to deal with that? it's real and people like it. >> they do. so the white house is looking for pressure points here. if you're dealing with an oligarchy, you go after the oligarch. if putin wanted to sanction the united states and get the united states political system to move, he might sanction lloyd blankfein and jamie dimon and those folks pick up phone and say, let's pick up the chips, leave the table here. he's trying to get putin to say, okay, we lost crimea, but that's it. this ends here. >> yeah. my sense is we have to shorten it here, unfortunately, tonight, gentlemen, but it looks like we lost this one. thank you, anne gearan, and thank you, ryan grim. we'll be right back after this

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let me finish tonight with this. we are seeing, again, in russia the strong resilient power of nationalism. it's the passion that seizes a people, especially when they feel wounded as a people. spring back and insist on your national birthright. russia has been made to feel small since the fall of the soviet union in 1991. communism fell, but so did the national morale of the russian people. that was not going to be without

consequence. whatever is said of vladimir putin, good or bad, selfish or bad, he's in sync with his people. love what he did in taking crimea back to the bosom. not all the other attitudes and politics we have to abide is the reality here. putin will not regret doing this. people of russia will not let him regret it. all the sanctions against his government and officials and oligarchs will fall behind this fateful, historic reality that russia wants to be mother russia again. there is one undeniable fact that keeps russia and the west on the same side of history. that fact is the 21st century. and its dictate that the real conflict is no longer between east and west but between north and south. both russia and the west have to confront the dangers of islamism. we both need to keep a militant iran from arming its with nuclear weapons.

we both need to face down al qaeda. so the fight over crimea is not the real issue that will define the america/russian relationship. it will be how we deal together with our common enemies. and that's "hardball" for now. thanks for being with us. "all in with chris hayes" starts right now. good evening from new york. i'm chris hayes. at this moment, military aircraft from multiple countries are en route to an 8,800 square mile area about 4 hours by air from southwestern australia in a remote area of the southern indian ocean, one of the remotest areas in the entire building. they are searching for this. two large objects found 14 miles apart including one that is roughly 80 feet long, objects that were captured by satellites four days ago but only identified this morning as possible debris from missing malaysian airlines flight 370. the flight that disappeared 13 days ago with pe