>> well, i want to congratulate you on the work you're doing and say larry crane, thanks for joining us. you got tonight's "last word." >> thank you. >> thanks. next. lame bram. let's play "hardball." >> good evening pi'm chris math washington. let me start tonight with this stepped up attack on hillary clinton. karl rove who was known as bush's brain is talking about hillary's brain, for real. >> she's in the hospital for 30 days and when she eemerges she is wearing glasses only for people with traumatic brain injury. we need to know what's up with that. this is a top republican campaign strategist, karl rove, raising what he later called a

serious health matter. well, the question is whether rove and perhaps others are headed with all this. will they persist in this demand for more information about the former secretary of state's health. will they drill deeper, questioning whether she's healthy enough mentally to serve as the country's top executive. and what about the health of clinton's reaction team? can it handle the level of heat without the back up of a full-fledged war room like bill clinton had in '92. or will this vicious assault by karl rove force the democratic front-runner to advance her announcement date, move up the time when she'll have a strong campaign team able to swing into action against such lousy attacks as this one. or this deliberate attack ignite a furious counterattack already. will people like rove become the villains of this piece? we'll see tonight. michael steele, scharm h chairman of the republican

national party and joan walsh is editor at large of "the salon." joan, this is the kind of thing, let's take a look at these quotes again. the new york post reported this morning that in a conference in california last week, karl rove said this about hillary clinton. again, quote, 30 days in the hospital, and when she reappear she is's wearing glasses that are only for people who have traumatic brain injury? we need to know what's up with that. of course his facts were wrong. secretary clinton spent fewer than four days in the hospital, not 30. and her glasses were to correct a problem with double vision after her fall. rove hedged a bit on an interview, though he continued to imply clinton was hiding information about what he called a serious health matter. let's watch him in action again. >> i didn't say she had brain damage. she had a serious health episode. my point was hillary clinton wants to run for 30. but she would not be human if she didn't enter it in as consideration.

this was a serious deal. she returns on a friday from czech republic. but over a month-long period where she ebted up in the hospital she hidden it away. >> he's chemically turned the water dirty, turned the campaign so fast. going against somebody's well being, obviously upgraded, piercing into the heart of her well being to nail her now for what purpose now.

two years before, even a year before she's going to announce. >> i think he's trying to poison the water. he's not of the fringe, not of the extreme, but this is where we're willing to go. this is where we're totally comfortable taking it this early. and i think it serves a second purpose to her. it's a shot across the bow to hillary clinton. you think you want to do this? you think you had it bad in the '90s, things are much worse today. everything you went through in the '90s, you're going to go through some version of that times ten. they're terrified of her running. they have no one to beat her. the best thing they can do is make her feel like maybe i don't want to do this. this is is ugly, i've got better things to do with my time. >> is this below the belt? go after someone's health

situation. she did have a fall. i don't know all the facts. he's coming out with apparently doesn't square at all with reality. 30 days in the hospital? >> sure. >> that's not a fact. >> he did say consistent with a brain injury. then he took back the word brain damage. he etook back the word brain injury, and serious health matter, he called it. >> i don't think this is something that's out of the realm of questions that you would ask when we get into the heat of a presidential campaign. we're not there yet. and i think there's so much water that will go not just under that bridge but over that bridge before we get to hillary candidacy. that i find a lot of this unnecessary. i agree with ed rollins. sometimes you say something out loud when you shouldn't. this is one of those questions where i'm asking myself, why is everything such a conspiracy?

the woman suffered a fall, she injured herself, she recovered two or three days later. she wore the glasses to correct eye problems related to that. it had nothing to do with her brain. there's so much else to talk about with hillary clinton than this. i really think if this is the hit that the party wants to get close to, i would be very careful about it because people will not suffer this kindly. and i think there are a lot of ramifications longer term. >> you think it might boomerang? >> yes, i do. at the end of the day, we're going to get her health records when she announces. i think her team will be very forth coming with that, particularly given all the noise now. i don't think there are going to be any surprises or secrets. and if they are, the american people will judge for themselves. >> well said. making a history of hillary clin to be's age and health has been a part of rove's repertory for a while. he told "the new york times," perhaps in the democratic

primary and certainly in the general election, there's going to be an argument that the time for change of leadership has come. the idea that we're at the end of her generation, that it's time for another to step forward is certainly going to be compelling. he's not the only one in the republican party. last year, mitch mcconnell who, by the way, is six years older than hillary, said this. >> don't tell me democrats are the party of the future when their presidential ticket for 2016 is shaping up to look like a rerun of the golden girls. >> boy, he looked like the cat that swallowed the canary there. he was so warmly approving of his joke there. like all politicians, somebody else wrote the joke. he managed to get a couple of numbers. he hit women, older women, older people. what do you think of that shot? by the way, i know you can't say that's no way to treat a lady, that's old fashioned. but there was a notion that when a guy run against a woman, you have to be very careful about

how you address jebder, how you address age in this context. and it looks like those rules of carefulness are out. >> those rules are out the window and we don't want special treatment, we want equal treatment, we want fair treatment, we want respect. and that's just disrespectful for somebody as old as mitch mcconnell in a party that has such problems with women. they're going to seminars learning how to talk to us, talk about us. then he goes out and says something. you got it, krisz. then looks so pleased with himself. like that's the wittiest thin that's ever come out of his mouth. and maybe it was. this is what he's going to face. she faced nit 2007-2008, too. you had drudge, rush limbaugh, people talking about whoa, we don't really want to see a woman grow old before our eyes. so, you know, she's lived with this double standard her whole lives. >> who said we don't see a woman grow old before our eyes? that's sort of what we all do in life. >> yes, exactly.

i'm pretty sure it was limbaugh. >> yeah, well, it would be. here's what's happening. let's talk about the politics. they are firing back. quote, this is a spokesperson for hillary clinton. karl rove is still all over the map and is continuing to get the facts wrong. but he doesn't care, because all he wants to do is inject the issue into the echo chamber and he is succeeding. it's flagrant and thenally veiled. they're scared of what she has achieved and what she has to offer. time for them to move on that their next desperate attack. jay carney responds as well. >> here's what i would say about cognitive capacity, which is dr. rove night have been the last person in america on election night to recognize and acknowledge the president had won re-election, including the state of ohio. so we'll leave it at that. >> you know, there is a road

testing going on of hillary clinton. she's out there speaking. by the way, when you speak for the kind of money she's speaking for, then you have to give a pretty good performance. you have to give value. >> we don't know personally what she knows. but i, point well taken. >> she's got to go out there and give a speech every night. >> yes, she's written a book, but while writing a book, she's been keeping a tremendous schedule. she makes news everywhere she goes she's not been hiding. she's been weighing in on contemporary politics. it's not like she went away and there's a deep, dark mystery of what happened to her. these questions reflect desperation. >> i don't think the health issue is going to be an issue at all going into 2016. i think that there's going to be a lot of other things to talk about. her tenure at the state department, her leadership in the senate. and keep in mind, there are a lot of republicans that had a

lot of nice things to say about senator clinton. again, republicans going after hillary cannot use a 1990 standard. cannot, you know, sort of drudge up this stuff on the periphery and think it' going to stick. there's discussion about her leadership and capabilities to be president. that's all legitimate. the health question is a legitimate concern, but that will be addressed when she release the her health records. and as i said before, chris, if there's no "there" there, let's move on and have a debate about the few kmur of the country. >> karl rove's guts compared to her guts. she goes up to new york. i never give her enough credit of this. but i think about how tricky it is. she goes up in new york to run for a senator. nobody knows the vagaries of the voters or the strange things that happens in election. she could have been ehumiliated. she said no, i'm going to put my head out there and take what comes to me.

i'm going to do something on my own, not just because i'm first lady. i'm going to do it on my own and prove myself. and she did it, damn it. and she did it. and karl rove never did anything like that. he was always hiding behind his "w." it's a lot easier to hide behind a candidate than be a candidate. >> chris, just to make that point, keep in mind, this was on the heels of a very rough end for the clinton administration. and a lot of personal, you know, embarrassment and hurt for her. you have to give credit where credit is due. there's a certain amount of steel in her makeup that i think the republicans will have to deal with. there is a side bar for hillary. there's going to be a lot more that we're going to have to deal with being honest and our approach is going to be important. >> whenever karl rove goes on his listening tour, if he ever does, he may discover that barack obama was re-elected president.

thank you, michael steele and joan walsh. coming up, more revealing testimony in the george washington bridge scandal. chris christie's own spokesman says christie was told about the traffic tie-up plan as it was happening. also, if you thought the right hadn't sunk low enough with karl rove's comments about the mocking of people like michelle obama and others concerned about the fate of those kidnapped nigerian girls, ann coulter, alan west and of course, rush limbaugh whom john stuart fileted last night. how do you turn a damage control interview into more damage? don sterling wound up making matters worse. and stephen colbert took on the conspiracy theory that hillary clinton was herself behind the recent monica lewinsky "vanity fair" article. >> hillary is trying to make this 16-year-old news old news. you see, if he talk about the

lewinsky scandal now, then we won't be talking about it when she's running in 2016 because if there's one thing the conservative media is known for, it is letting things go. ] hi, g! mommy! i travel a lot for business, and it's hard to leave these two. mom! my llama smells like you. i use tide plus febreze in the wash. it keeps their clothes and stuffed animals smelling fresher for longer. when are you coming home? just one more night. [ female announcer ] tide plus febreze. that's my tide plus. [ female announcer ] tide plus febreze. those little cialis tadalafil for daily use helps you be ready anytime the moment is right. cialis is also the only daily ed tablet approved to treat symptoms of bph, like needing to go frequently. tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medicines, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, as it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. do not drink alcohol in excess. side effects may include headache, upset stomach, delayed backache or muscle ache. to avoid long-term injury, get medical help right away for an erection lasting more than four hours.

if you have any sudden decrease or loss in hearing or vision, or any allergic reactions like rash, hives, swelling of the lips, tongue or throat, or difficulty breathing or swallowing, stop taking cialis and get medical help right away. ask your doctor about cialis for daily use and a free 30-tablet trial. >> today, voters in nebraska and west virginia go to the polls. they're picking nominees for u.s. senate in both states. but republicans in both states hold the advantage in november. next tuesday, six states including kentucky and pennsylvania will hold their primaries and we'll be right back.

man: we know when parents and teachers work together... woman: our schools get stronger. man: as superintendent of public education, that's been tom torlakson's approach. woman: torlakson has supported legislation to guarantee spending decisions about our education tax dollars are made by parents, teachers and the local community... and not by sacramento politicians. and we need to keep that legislation on track.

man: so tell tom torlakson to keep fighting for local control of school funding decisions. last week we heard dramatic testimony from an aide of crist christie describing how bridget kelly tried to destroy evidence to cover up her role in an apparent act of political payback to shut down those lanes on the george washington bridge.

well, today another shoe dropped. for the first time publicly, one of christie's top staffers has testified about who came up with this scheme. and this is christie's spokesman michael drewniak telling new jersey law makers under oath the governor's top guy at the port authority david wildstein told him this bogus traffic study was all his idea. >> wildstein also took responsibility for the -- full responsibility, i created it, this was my idea. >> he said what was his idea? >> the traffic study. and the lane diversions or closures. >> so he explained to you it was his idea to close the lanes? >> he was taking responsibility in his discussion with me. >> but not only that, according to drewniak, wildstein said that crist tie's campaign manager bill stepien and bridget kelly had been informed about the plan.

and that christie himself was told about the traffic study while it was being executed. here's more from drewniak. >> and then says to me that other people knew about this. and he had previously mentioned bill stepien and bridget kelly. and now he throws in, and i told the governor about this. >> and did you believe him when he told you that ms. kelly and mr. stepien knew about it? this whole issue of traffic study lane closures? >> i would say that later and specifically at the dinner i became more concerned because he seemed to be offering up people. and i couldn't understand why. >> drewniak has already spoken so investigator fps.

today was our first window into what he knows and what he may have told them. the co-chairs of the committee investigating the bridge closures. thank you very much. assembly woman -- senator weinberg, what did you know about this. you've been sitting through this the whole day. what did you learn? >> we certainly learned that the governor's office, senior staff were given much information, mr. drewniak himself spoke to the governor's chief counsel sometime in november, well before the december press conference. he spoke to the governor's chief counsel, apparently, according to mr. drewniak, told the chief counsel that mr. wildstein had stated that he had said something to the governor on

september 11 and that both mr. stepien and bridget kelly had been aware of the so-called lane closures or traffic study. so i think that adds to the picture we have of the whole time line of this. and the fact that senior staff in the governor's office knew about it, certainly knew about it from press reports. but they knew about it directly from mr. drewniak also. >> assemblyman wisniewski, you pressed drewniak about how he reacted when he was told about wildstein's explosive allegations. let's watch that. >> you had mentioned two things to the governor. one, david wildstein said he told you on 9/11 and he had, the governor had his response that he couldn't be expected to remember that drive-by comment. and the other thing you told him was that kelly and stepien had knowledge. what was his response to that?

>> he had one -- he said one thing to me. i always wondered if stepien knew more about this. >> can you tell if christie knew this was a political payback. it sounds like the governor knew it was a political game being played here to punish sokolich. >> what we learned today, chris, and the words that michael drewniak knew was it was in the bloodstream of the governor's office, that as early as late october, it was in the bloodstream of the governor's office that this issue had arisen with the lane closures, that david wildstein was

involved, there was discussions at that early stage, that bridget kelly and stepien had knowledge. and then going forward to december 5, shortly before the governor made that statement, there's this discussion about expressing doubt, or a question as to stepien's involvement by the governor himself. >> senator, does this mean to you, there's a whole method of operation in this team around christie, a smell, if you will, it's about really bullying, hardball, if you will. we get even, we make sure people do what we want them to do? what do you mean by bloodstream? what is it this about? it's assumed it's in the lingo, the way they talk about people, the way they push them around. what's it mean, bloodstream? >> mr. drewniak had trouble explaining the phrase in the bloodstream. but reviewing the documents we

have thus far, the governor's office the governor's office and the highest levels of the port authorities seems to be, you know, and i'm kwoting one of my colleagues, damage control. not finding out was there really a study, what was the purpose of the lane closures when we know there are no dedicated private lanes from ft. lee over the george washington bridge, and if there are none, there's no reason for a traffic study. it seemed it was all about how do we control the damage. we know foye's e-mail had something to do with the fact that the executive director quote from mr. drewniak's documents hated pat foye. so it wasn't about --

>> here's drewniak's dramatic recount. when he first learned that the lane closures were an act of political payback, the reporter who blew this story open. let's watch the first reaction as to how big this was going to be. >> when i first got those words from sean bober, it's like remembering where you were when the space shuttle blew up. it was that level of the shock. that i had that association. now the clarity was unmistakable. the mystery was solved. the shoe had dropped. and i was disgusted beyond belief. >> is this a story of bad people around the governor? or a governor that infects people with a certain method of operation. what thank you tell us so far to answer that question? >> i think what it tells you at best, it's a case of benign neglect.

they were given warning signals all the way back to october, and maybe earlier, that there was something really wrong with what happened on the george washington bridge, that there was some type of odd occurrence that it involved senior people in the governor's circle, and they chose to nothing. people said well, we thought it was odd, we didn't pursue it, we thought it was strange, but we didn't do anything about it. and then the shoe droppeded. they knew that shoe was drop bug they hoped that it would never come. i just can't understand with all of these law enforcement people involved in the governor's office, people he used to work with at the u.s. attorney's office, former reporter michael drewniak, curious lack of curiosity about what's happening in their midst. it's in their bloodstream, but they did nothing. >> you know what they say on the amtrak -- we've got to gro. they say on the amtrak, if you

see something, say something. they said nothing. >> exactly. >> thank you both for joining us. we'll have you back. up next, stephen colbert takes on the right wing's monica truthers. they're crazy.

lewinsky's return is great news to republicans. because this reminder of the darkest chapter of the clinton legacy comes right before clinton launches that 2016 campaign. now that's over, done. take the bathtub out of the storage because we're getting president chris christie. >> welcome whack to "hardball." that was the great steve colbert talking about the return of monica lewinsky last week in an

article she wrote for "vanity fair." he dove into the conservative media theory that lewinsky's reappearance may be all part of a plan cooked up by hillary clinton herself. >> hillary is trying to make this 16-year-old news old news. you see, if we talk about the lewinsky scandal now, then we won't be talking about it now when she's running in 2016, because if tles. >> one thing the conservative media is known for, it is letting things go. >> the media and democrats can communicate without talking, right? it's understood. >> ah-ha! >> the media can communicate with democrats by reading their thoughts. but fox news's "the five" caught them because they can communicate without thinking at all. >> on a side bar, colbert turns 50 years old today. so happy birthday to him. next, pope francis wants to open up the catholic church to

anybody who wants to belong. and he means anybody. during his mass on monday, his holiness said, quote, if, for example, an expedition of martians arrived tomorrow, green with long noses, and one says he wanted to be baptized, what would happen? who are we to close doors? wow. i never thought i would hear that. up next, what could be a new low for the far right? mocking people who are concerned about those kidnapped schoolgirls in nigeria. you're watching "hardball" the place for politics.

you have time to shop for car insurance today? yeah. i heard about progressive's "name your price" tool? i guess you can tell them how much you want to pay and it gives you a range of options to choose from. huh? i'm looking at it right now. oh, yeah? yeah. what's the... guest room situation? the "name your price" tool, making the world a little more progressive.

welcome back to "hardball." some on the right are trashing the global twitter movement #bringbackourgirls, the good faith effort from millions around the world who are shining the spotlight on the 300 girls kidnapped by a terrorist group over in nigeria. michelle obama tweeted, our prayers are with the missing girls and their families. along with this photo of herself. and that set right wingers into a frenzy. rush limbaugh launched into a tirade yesterday on his radio show. let's listen to rushbo. >> i just think this is pathetic. i'm just stunned.

it's a plea for people on twitter. to get in gear and bring the girls back. it's mrs. obama looking sad and grim. the sad thing here is that the low information crowd that's puddling around on twitter is going to think we're actually doing something about pit .at least she's trying, mr. limbaugh, what are you doing? at least she cares. at least they're trying to get them back. is that not pathetic. are we really this powerless? >> he's a pure entertainer. that's all he is. rush's rant did not go unnoticed by "daily show" jon stewart who started his own hashtag. >> that's our choice, mollalah or rush. he's trying to extinguish any remaining molecule of humanity that may reside in the chernobyl-like clean-up site

that was his soul. who should we choose? i don't know, why don't we tweet our votes to #[ bleep ] you rush. >> a little tougher than i was. thank you both. i don't know. let me start with you. you're close to -- well, hillary clinton, but also i think the mood of this thing. every time we've had a crisis, whether it's the hostages taking in iran, the yellow ribbons around trees. guys who cared not just about men, but people who cared about the mias, the pows over at vietnam. this was a sentiment. no, it's not going to bring them back, but it's a way of showing a national focus. it gets our heads around it. it can't hurt. >> also, i think it is helping.

the big problem we have here is the nigerian government wasn't paying attention. they haven't really been acting. >> so this is government to government. >> with this global media focus, there's been much more attention on the nigerian government and they have to respond. >> so when they see the first lady of the united states, michelle obama out there talking or showing twitter, you think that sticks it to them? >> yeah, b and when reporter, when the entire media around the world, from new york times, washington post is asking them questions about what they're doing, they have to respond. it's a front page new york times story about the pathetic response. >> who is rush limbaugh's audience. he's playing to women -- i got to believe if it's a woman, it must be a particular time of woman. the men have a problem with women advancing, a problem with minorities. a lot of them are traveling salesmen and he goes right into their heads between 12:00 and 3:00 and says you're right, you're wrong. by the way, they're always wrong. >> michelle obama makes smoke

come out of their ears. >> she's well educated. >> she's all of those things. >> she's quell educated urks first lady she's black. and it drives them crazy. >> exactly. you said around the world, that was the key phrase. this is not just a u.s. twitter campaign. it's word wide, including in nigeria where it was a huge ground swell that did cause president goodluck jonathan to actually do something to try to find these girls. it's actually been very effect i. but then again, you know, factual inaccuracy has never been a problem for rush limbaugh. >> he's not the only one attacking the movement. conservatives george will and brit hume took political shots and mocked the word wide social media campaign on fox sunday. let's watch them in action. >> do you think that this is significant and helpful? and can make progress? or do you think it's really about helping the people who

tweet the hashtag, feel better about themselves? >> exactly that. it's an exercise in self-esteem. i do not know how adults stand there and face a camera and say bring back ore worlds. are these barbarians in the wilds of nigeria supposed to check their twitter account and say uh-oh, michelle obama is very cross with us, we better change our behavior. >> here's ann coulter, jumping in, piling on about the attempt of the twitter humor backfired when she, too, attempted to poke fun at the campaign. she tweeted out this photo of herself holding up a sign that said #bringbackourcountry. and calling it my hashtag contribution to world affairs. users photoshopped the sign coulter was holding and changed it to please pay attention to me. i'm sorry. i don't get it. >> these people are idiots,

okay? they don't understand how the world works today. you know, boka haram, they are checking their twitter account s. they are seeing what's happening in social media and what's happening worldwide. and george will obviously doesn't understand that. brit hume doesn't understand that. they're sitting there in the studio saying these darn kids, what are they up to? it's just crazy. it's just ignorant at a certain point. >> to george will's point, the federal government is actually acting. the u.s. government has sent people on the ground, we're monitoring we're actually looking at the air space around and looking for the girls. so it's not an either/or raise awareness. when we've gone through periods of crisis, we both raise awareness and have the government act. it's a skruj mentality. you know what, it's terrible to pay attention to girls who were kidnapped in africa.

>> let me tell you, one thing i like is when people in power, michelle obama is in power in a sense, when they get everybody involved. >> yeah. >> i think it's so important. whether it's mothers against drunk driving. you think about things that really stirred the national conscious. it's when individual people stand up and say something completely on their own and then they all do it together. that's better than a law being passed. that's better than congress sometimes. it's a national fever of interest. and by the way, i know we've had a hard time getting that interest up in a lot of areas lately. >> yes, absolutely. >> but for once, people saw something they really didn't like and that's a good thing. people walking up morally. i think it's great. thank you. up next, if you weren't sure how you felt about los angeles clippers owner, donald sterling before this, his latest interview ought to clear things up. i'm being sarcastic. his attempts at damage control backfired big time. 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 all the services we needed for our riley. 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

a troe of jackie kennedy's newly discovered personal letters shows the first lady's innermost thoughts, things she never spoke about. among marriage, jack kennedy's womanizer. i would have rather lost my life than lost jack. they were sent to an irish priest between 1950 and 1964. they will be sold at auction

next month.

we're back. donald sterling's racist remarks sparked a national outcry last month, earning the embattled owner of the los angeles clippers a lifetime ban from the nba. he's currently at risk of losing his team. and/cording to his wife, he may be suffering from dementia. he made a good case for that recently. now two weeks after his ban, steriling is speaking out to defend himself and to apologize to those who will listen. but his efforts have caused more harm than good, especially with

the very community he offended in the first place. sterling first expressed some regret, acknowledging his remarks were stupid. but he simmered off the rails, attacking one of his critics, magic johnson. here he is. >> what has he done, can you tell me? big magic johnson, what has he done. >> well, he is a business person. >> he's got aids. did he do any business, i would like to -- did he help anybody in south l.a.? >> i think his hiv, he doesn't have full-blown aids. >> i'm just telling you. he does nothing. it's all talk. >> well, sterling's charge doesn't square with the facts. magic johnson's foundation has not only promoted hiv and aids awareness, but it's awarded minority students with scholarships and established community centers in urban neighborhoods. and later in that interview, sterling pivoted from his rant the rant about johnson to muse on the efforts of the african-american community which he dumped on.

>> do you know what i do? i spend millions on giving away and helping minorities. does he do that? that's one problem i have. jews, when they get successful, they will help their people. some of the african-americans -- maybe i will get in trouble again -- they don't want to hepburn help anybody. >> women c.r rubens from are the norg times and a frequent panelist on espn's "around the horn." we have only a couple of minutes each. your points, i want to ask you to basically tell me what you think is newsy here. maybe it's that we have howard biel on our hands. he keeps talking and needs help to be silent. bill? >> chris, we have hit intellectual rock bottom. it's time to stop.

i don't know are where else we go with this. tomorrow does the he say we never reached the moon or there was no slavery? i think it just confirms to me that people like sterling, george wallace and rush limbaugh serve a point to make sure we in this country have a moral pulse. the outrage we have seen is probably proof that we do in this country have a moral pulse. enough is enough. i think we have wrung enough out of sterling. i don't need to hear more. >> he went community wide on anderson cooper. he didn't just go for magic. he went for all black-americans, jewish people are better. magic was a bad example. he's an amazing philanthropist. >> how paternalistic are of this man to tell the black community what we need to do for ourselves.

outrageous. he's become a caricature. we are laughing at what he says and few people make the connection between his bigoted remarks and racial decisions he made over the years that no one said enough about to get him run out of the league a long time ago. >> red lining and and saying blacks and hispanics aren't living in my apartment. >> right. >> he is into a group identity politics. the guy speaks in generalizations. >> of course i don't need an 80-year-old bigot to tell the black community what the to do. kevin and i talk about this a lot that you have a league that's 80% black, the nfl is 70% black of. we ought to look in the mirror

and soul search what it means. are we, in fact, acting as a community? are we, in fact, using our full power to get to the next level? not because of an 80--year-old bigot said it but we talk about this all the time? >> i'm the white guy in the conversation. older friends of mine thought when the league got heavily african-american it would die. it's bigger than ever. people opened their eyes total lent. they look at talent and that's better than ever. it's the one sport of the major sports that's better exponential ti than it was 50 years ago. >> one thing bill is hitting on is the players should realize from this action what power they have as a collective unit. they should no longer be fearful of holding accountable those who employ them just as those who employ -- p.m. how about the mayor of sacrament? >> kevin johnson, exactly. >> he's got the elected office to go with it. is any good going to come of

this? it has a comic aspect which isn't helping. i hope everybody that laughs at this guy does something good on the racial frontal. >> i think there is going to be good. lebron james acquitted himself great. he's taken a leadership role. he's spoken out. lebron is at the point where if he says "jump" a lot of players jump. something great will come. the nba players use their full force and power to create action. >> can i have fun here? who is the greatest nba basketball player of all time? >> kareem abdul jabar. >> what do you think? >> kareem. bill russell. if you're talking about championships it's bill russell and kareem. >> defense, too. thanks, guys. casey jones was with them all the way from high school and college.

thank you, guys. it's great to have a change of pace here and talk sports a little bit. we'll be right back.

let me finish tonight with a bonfire burning under the butt of donald sterling. he lit it himself. don't say something you don't want printed on the front page of the new york times. how many times do you hear that warning? how about this corollary?

don't say something you are not willing to defend publically, especially to someone who may have incentive to go public with it. there are, i think we can agree, larger points to this ongoing saga of the 80-year-old rich guy who wants african-americans to win games for him but not to show up in the good seats, at least not within a seat of his girlfriend. i would like to hope -- that's the best i can do -- that this national focus on donald sterling will lead people to be proactive on the san andreas fault we call the racial divide. i hope all the talk about how bad sterlinging is will make us better ourselves. why? because it's not about punishing or shunning an older guy for saying the wrong thing. it is about the sensitivity that's come of centuries of slavery, a century of jim crow and another half century of whatever we call what we have now. it ain't perfect. sticking it one more time to donald sterling isn't going to make it so. what will bring us to a more perfect union is what we call an examination of conscience to

figure out what each of us can do many the afterglow of this bonfire to make things better. that's "hardball" for now. "all in with chris hayes" starts now. good evening from new york. i'm chris hayes. at this hour the first execution this this country since the botched execution in oklahoma has been stayed. stayed by the fifth u.s. circuit court of appeals. a dramatic last-minute reprieve from a normally very, very conservative court that gives lawyers for a texas death row inmate a fair opportunity to prove the inmate's iq is too low for him to be eligible for the death penalty. robert james campbell had, through his lawyers, challenged his execution on additional possibly more far-reaching grounds that the drug execution policy is unkonl in liof