2016 race. >> it's about whether karl rove suffers brain damage. >> she fakes her concussion. >> she didn't want to testify for benghazi. >> now she's auditioning for the grateful dead. >> is she still not okay? >> i'm waiting for her to admit it. >> he's been divorced from reality for awhile. >> do you believe ohio is -- >> no, i don't. >> we are quite comfortable with it. >> consistency is the hot goblin of little minds. the big dog is back, battling the hob goblin of little minds. a hob gobbling with little questions about whether hillary clinton might be brain damaged. it was met with a cheerful

clintonian smackdown a short time ago. >> first they said she faked her concussion, now they say she's auditioning for a part on the walking dead. >> karl rove didn't suggest the former secretary of state is a flesh eating zombie. he insists he never said hillary clinton had brain damage, not exactly. >> no, no, no. wait. wait a minute. no, no. i didn't say she has brain damage. she had a serious health episode. my point is hillary clinton wants to run for president, but she would not be human if this didn't enter in as a consideration. >> karl rove would not be karl rove without a smear campaign. why is he being asked about hillary's brain? because of this new york post headline on gossip heavy page six. it was blasted out monday night. people need to know what happened when clinton suffer add

fall in december, 2012. the post quotes an incredulous rove at a conference last week. 30 days in the hospital? when she reappears she's wearing glasses for people that only have traumatic brain injury. we need to know what's up with that. yeah, what is up with that? first of all, it was four days in the hospital. second of all, what's up with that is this. >> look, she'll be 69 by the time the 2016 election. she'll be 77, if she serves two terms. this ends up being an issue. >> you know who else was 69 when he ran for president? ronald reagan. it's not about hillary's fitness, it's detonating her 2016 campaign before it started. as bill clinton can attest, dr. rove's latest is a warm up to a full-on clinton conspiracy bonanza. >> if it is, you can't be upset about it.

it's just the beginning. they will get better and better at it. you know, it's -- i'm still waiting for them to admit there was nothing to white water. >> joining me now is washington post columnist, jonathan capehart and glen. i'm waiting for the name vince foster to come out of karl rove's mouth. i feel it was the most muscular. it was a joyful response from bubba, but the most muscular defense we have seen from team clinton. if anybody thought she wasn't running, the sus spinxs have been dispelled today. >> the one question i would like to former president to say if he knows what the walking dead is. >> does he know from zombies? go ahead. >> i know a couple staffers that may be watching. that seemed like a very well -- something president clinton is

adepth at. you are right. they really went after this. in fact, i think the reaction to the story really shifted quickly from being one of near panic among folks in the clinton camp to being, the realization that rove was shooting off on his own, a little too early and, you know, was perhaps showing the republicans hand a bit. this kind of thing can really boom range. people get turned off by this kind of negativity, particularly two and a half years before the election. >> for somebody who hasn't announced their presidency. the clinton's laid it down today. they did it roundly and without hesitation. at the same time, the whole, like, conspiracy theory, fear mongering thing has reached a new level of fever on the right. i feel like there are certain corners of the republican party that will never be satisfied, especially after this

administration that is seen its share of conspiracy fear mongering, almost at a historic level. >> yeah, remember, there were conspiracy theories during the clinton administration. remember the list that went around the internet about the number of people who were killed by, you know, president clinton's secret police? so, this is just a continuation of what had been going on in the '90s. but, you know, the thing here is, they are trying to have it both ways with hillary clinton and the sound you played, i think it was president clinton talking about how on the one hand, you know, she's covering up for benghazi, on the other hand, you know, she's not. it kind of reminds me of what they have been doing, what the right's been doing, the conspiracy add led right. when it comes to president obama, he's unbelievably weak. look what he's not doing in syria or libya or fill in the

blank. on the other hand, obama, he's way too strong, big government taking over everything. the thing about what's happening now, what i love about president clinton's response to all this to karl rove, it shows the experience they have in dealing with the vast right wing conspiracy. they have been doing battle with them more than 20 years. they know where the attacks are going to come from and how to respond to them. >> you know, glen, talk about seasoned vets. karl rove is a seasoned vet when it comes to conspiracy theories. just to remind everybody who is watching, some of karl rove's greatest hits, the allegations that john weaver, a rival consultant made a homosexual pass. he spread rumors about the sexual orientation and the one for which he will live in

infamy. none of that. it's like we have am knneknee s about karl rove. i'm not saying the love child is taken seriously. karl rove still has currency. >> let him off the hook, the last time he did this was five or six minutes ago. the point is, you know, not to coin a phrase here, but mission accomplished. >> where did you get that, glen. >> yeah, we have been talking about this, how long has this news cycle been? 22 hours. he's accomplished that. again, we are talking an electorate. he's talking to his base. i don't think this is the kind of thing that is going to cross over. i think he, you know, will put his head on the pillow with the knowledge people are now talking

about this and willing to take the hits personally to have accomplished that. >> that soft, soft down pillow. jonathan, let me play a little bit of old video tape of karl rove and ageism as it pertained to political candidates. >> they conclude that the age of john mccain is hurting him with some of these moderate voters. what is your take on that, as they take him on? >> i think this is rep henceable on dean's part. >> whoa! what happened to that guy? jonathan, let's talk about the age thing. it's like a football tossed from side-to-side and the candidate and how old he or she is. >> the person that might be running against the might be candidate, hillary clinton, is younger than she is. it comes up. it comes up in every campaign. we can't shy away from the age

question. the real question should be competency and judgment and is the person ready for the job? what we know from the attacks from karl rove and other folks in the republican party, they know hillary clinton is ready for the job and temperamentally good for the job. i's why they are bringing up all the issues to try to snuff her candidacy. glen said this at the beginning of the segment, snuff her candidacy before it gets off the ground, assuming it gets off the ground. >> i guess there's that question. there's two analysis of why the right is doing this. one is to create a swirl of rumors that make things difficult. the other is to dissuade her from announcing. faced with the prospect of having to reopen and relitigate white water and benghazi and the fall and the crazy glasses she was wearing that she'll be so

disgusted by the prospect she won't run. again, i go back to the first point here. the clinton's sort of made the decision. it didn't sound like what bill clinton was saying was spin control, it was actual pushback with a campaign in mind. >> not to sound cynical, boy i say that a lot lately, but why not do it from their perspective? there's no loss. what karl rove is going to be unloved by the left? you know, he's -- i think he's -- we're a couple decades past feeling uncomfortable. her health is an issue, presumably, there will be a request made by news outlets to see her medical records. that will be a legitimate concern. people can ask questions but not in the context of she has brain

damage. i don't think i could duck a shoe as fast as she could. and she's, you know, the proof is in the pudding. she's lucid in interactions. the speeches she gives makes more sense than a lot of elects politicians right now. i mean, there is no evidence that this woman is suffering from any of these issues. >> i love when you drop that into casual conversation. >> jonathan, one last point that bears mentioning in hillary clinton's health, the man who was vice president, dick cheney, had four heart attacks by the second term of the bush administration. he had several major surgeries. he was almost a cast member on the walking dead and the bush administration completely covered that up. the only reason we know about his health concerns is because peter baker wrote a book about it. >> right. that's all you need to know. if you are going to question hillary clinton's health, look at vice president chainey's

health. >> jonathan cap capehart and glen, thanks, gentlemen. after the break, as more countries join the effort to rescue the nearly 300 girls kidnapped by boko haram, does it spell the end? that's next on "now."

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by the islamic militant group, boko haram, so are the international efforts to rescue them. >> our people are on the ground. we will make every effort possible to help free those women. >> u.s. hostage negotiating team and the head of africom are in the country. military drones are surveilling the area where the girls were abducted last month. the focus on the missing girls has the potential to obscure the largest economy and number one oil producer. a country cleft in two with deep, historic divisions between the rich, secular oil producing south and the poor, islamic north. a recipient of the nobel prize for literature is nigeria's conscience. the boko haramism goes beyond

disparities. it is also a product of decades old political tactics. over the last 20 years, religion is mixed with politics to create a toxic brew. the implementation of sharia law was forged for political expedience. when the first northern governor declared his state theo cattic, we should have said no. joining me now is no bell prize winner and author of the book, of many books, africa. it's a pleasure and honor to have you on the show. >> thank you very much. delighted to be here. >> let me ask about your recent comments relating to how nigeria got to this place to begin with. do you think in the wake of what's happened to the schoolgirls and the outrage that

the nigerian government is reassessing its tolerance for insurgent extremism and religious jihadism in parts of the country? >> well, i hope there is at least a rethinking going on. there's been a very gross dereliction in many areas. the governance must take responsibility. fortunately, there is a national conference going on at this moment. i think the crisis we are going through will have some positive effect on the deliberations and concern, the focus and the priorities of that conference. >> president goodluck jonathan is more engaged with the international community than he has been. you said recently, president jonathan should have asked for u.s. help from the beginning.

i don't believe in false pride. a lot of the international community would agree with that. at the same time, nigeria's corruption is massive, widespread and pervasive. what do you have to say to western countries looking to help nigeria, not just on this specific case, but more broadly in terms of systemic corruption and institutional failure. >> well, i would like to go back a little bit. i wasn't specifying the united states, but, of course, assume international help, the united states will play a role. what i was emphasizing was that this problem has become too big and too specialized for nigerian facilities and expertise. from wherever the help comes, but what is needed to get those girls out. for me, that is my priority. it doesn't matter if it's the western nations, eastern nations, united nations, it's a global issue because terrorism, we all agree, is a global issue.

this is an act of terrorism. now, the internal reforms and this is what you are referring to now, several of which failures are eternal governance. this is corruption and marginalization. huge areas of a sense of alienation and belonging. this, of course, is fueled. created the atmosphere, the environment for an abomination to take place. the lawlessness, the culture of impunity, which encourage even the growth of two, three, if you like, political entities obeying different rules. all this led to the notion that if you are noisy enough and if you are violent enough, you can get away with murder, even if it means leading to the dissbi inauguration of the country. a lot of reform has to take

place. no question about that. >> let me ask you, professor, when we talk about the west and africa and we talk about the west and nigeria, it is a fraught relationship. when we talk about international efforts, you know, the u.s. flying drones over the country. i think from a post colonial and post modern perspective, it's disconcerning giving the reaction that's happened inside the country in pockets. boko haram means western education is a sin. i'm not suggesting that's the attitude the majority of nigerians have, but the tension between the west and this country is palpable. i wonder what you think about this moment in time as we look at the tension between these two forces. >> well, let me tell you where my mind goes when something like this happens in nigeria. the first thing is for us to realize and for the world to

realize that anyway, nothing new is happening in nigeria. nothing that doesn't happen elsewhere. my mind goes to the siege of chechnya when kids, school kids were torn between various forces. you could say conditions of nigeria, conditions in that part of the soviet union. the important thing is this, that priority of any security of any nation can be breached by a force no matter what the issues are, political or religious, you can have incidents like this. the notion of taking nigeria as a special case, dealing with the corruption and so on and so forth, yes, those are factors and the reaction, the response of nigeria is exactly the same

as it would be anywhere else. i'm one of them. you find those who say we don't want anybody around to assist in any way. the president was very late in asking for external help. he should have acted with greater grasp of what was happening in nigeria in relation to other nations. absolutely there's some special issues in nigeria, which are peculiar to the terrain, including the nation, the sort of shotgun marriage of the entity that we know. it is also part of the problem. religion is part of the problem, yes. >> nobel laureate and author, your thoughts have been invaluable. your perspective is preernted. thank you for your time today. >> thank you. coming up, president obama

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new jersey governor, chris christie, continuing to wave away concern about the investigation into bridgegate, instead returned to his comfort zone. he was in washington touting his deficit slashing at the fiscal summit. >> i'm trying, in the last five years to fix problems we have accumulated over the last 20. >> trying, indeed. it might have been awkward that his budget speech came a day after this happened, moody's downgrades new jersey's debt as his problems grow. why is moody's one of three agencies downgrading the state whose governor ran two campaigns on a platform of fiscal responsibility? as it turns out, new jersey, under governor christie faces an $807 million budget hole this year. by the time the new fiscal year starts on july 1st, that gap is expected to grow to over $1

billion according to christie's own administration. this has not been a well kept secret. wall street's other two rating agencies standard and poor downgraded them earlier this year. a crippling budget deficit that does not do much for his economic cred. will he maybe change his tune on no new taxes. >> will you raise taxes? >> no. it's like saying you own a restaurant and you are not making enough money. nobody is coming here, we need to make more money, let's raise our prices. >> having recovered 37% of jobs lost since the great recession compared to new york's 122% jobs turn around, at least the governor is finally acknowledging the state of new jersey has a problem. joining me now is the host of "up," steve kornacki, our resident jersey expert. we have been talking a lot about bridge gate and the federal

investigation. the financial, the fiscal problems under the guy who was supposed to be the fiscal get 'er done could be the most damaging. >> on the one hand, you are tempted to be flippant about it saying no one is under federal investigation. maybe he's happy we are talking about this. >> it's the least worst option. >> right. he's sort of trapped here by his national ambition, in a way. here is the answer there. as soon as he's asked about taxes, the answer is no, absolutely no. that is the only acceptable position of an aspiring presidential candidate that they can give right now in the republican party. it's the only acceptable answer since the republican party went to civil war. if you read the report from moody's, why they are downgrading new jersey's credit rating, revenue has not been

coming in where his people are staying. this didn't happen just this year. itis not only that christie is adamantly the idea of more revenue off the table. one of his first acts was to do away with the millionaire's tax. the extra tax on the highest earners. the case he made at the time was we have to do this to keep jobs in the state, keep wealthy people in the state. >> then the numbers -- >> he would say it would be worse if they didn't do that. that's the argument he can make. the numbers don't show that. >> it's a story of, is he liable here? not in terms of criminality, but david rosen, the head of a non-partisan office has been saying this basically to the christie administration for years now. he's not only dismissal, but abuse. chris christie, as chris hayes called out, a dr. kevorkian,

he's about poise and pills. his predictions have been spot on. the bullying behavior, even in the face of truth and reality is a hallmark christie characteristic. >> yeah. new jersey, the history of new jersey, taxes are, you know, this is a very, very high property taxed state. people there, even when you look at revenue and the fact the state probably needs more on the revenue side, there is a lot of populous sentiment that a guy like christie can tap into if people feel they are over taxed. there was a tax revolt in new jersey that haunts the political class. democrats are haunted fwi tax revolt that took place. that informs all the debates over this stuff. what christie does and what also has populous appeal is this is where the attacks come in. >> right. >> he says this is not an issue of revenue, health care costs and pension.

he did the pension overhaul. he is saying we fleed to do that again. new jersey's pension system has been horribly managed for years. it's not just an issue of pensions. there's revenue. >> the job growth numbers are dismal. new jersey is tied with mississippi at 48th in the nation. that is the kind of stuff that sticks when you are standing at a podium in a presidential primary. you were the guy that was supposed to be so good at job creation. you were horrible at it. >> that's when christie will be happy to remind you, i have a democratic legislature and all that. again, he's just the politics, he's trying to distract from the revenue where he does not want to budge. he's going to the old favorites on the right, union bashing hoping that will mask the rest of it. >> does the right ever learn the

lessons? this is a sering indictment of the entire right wing theory of economics. >> i gave up on that 20 years ago. 1993 -- >> you must have been only 5. >> it was a great educational experience. i'm going to learn if the republicans are right. if you raise taxes, it's going to kill the economy. clinton raised taxes. they said there will be a recession and it never happened. >> at the high school age steve kornacki can figure it out, then it must be true. host of "up," thank you as always. >> you can catch steve on "up with steve kornacki" on weekends at 8:00 a.m. on msnbc. do not miss it. coming up, the book of the year. can it change the course of american history? economists and author explain the run away best seller and the

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[ female announcer ] stay strong, stay active with boost. is america truly in danger of becoming an -- i will talk to thomas about his best selling book, "capital." first a cnbc market watch. here is how stocks stand going into tomorrow. we have ground to make up. the dow cloesing 101 points and the s&p losing nine. that's it from cnbc. we are first in business worldwide.

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there's a craze sweeping the nation. i do not mean game of thrones, or soul cycle. the craze i'm talking about, the one that's taken america by storm is an economics book.

"capital in the 21st century," a tour deforce and the most important economics book of the decade was so popular in the u.s. it actually sold out on amazon. why is a book about capitalism, a book written by a french economist, why is that getting all this attention? it tries to answer the most pressing question of our time, what do we do about the fact that so few of us have so much while so many of us have so little. over 60 years ago, it was world war ii that brought more equality to america. earlier today, i asked tom what force could do the same today. >> there are many, wars to reduce equality, so, the main source of reduction of equality in the long run is diffusion of education. so, investment in skills,

education, access is important. important for us is progressive taxation and the tax system. you know, it's important to remind that right now, in the u.s., the bottom half of the population owns almost nothing. 2%. if you take the next 40%, which we can call the middle class, they used to own about 30% of total and they have been going down in the past two or three decades and now close to 20%. if we want to improve access for the middle class and people with little, access to education, better paying jobs, raising the minimum wage can be a way to go. i think also progressive tax

system would be -- would be, you know, an important ingredient. for instance, if you think of progressive taxation in this country, this is a broadly production to real estate value. it doesn't take into account gauge and financial assets. i think it would be better to replace it by progressive tax and net worth. for instance, if you own -- gauge of 490, i'm not sure your net worth is -- it's a progressive tax and net worths, you would pay less than you do today. that would be a way to facilitate access and accumulation by the middle class and the larger grouping in

society. there are many choices in education, labor market, institution like minimum wage, which together can bring a better future and, you know, at the same time, more growth and more equitable growth than what we have today. >> as you outlined, peaceful prescriptions that don't involve world wars. they are predicated on a functioning political system t.bbc had a headline a few weeks ago that announced the u.s. was no longer a democracy but oligarchy. the wealthy control the political system. given the fact you outlined several meaningful policy subscriptions, the question is, what do you do to instate those very policy prescriptions is fundamentally broken. >> well, i think democratic institutions can be stronger than what you are describing.

in particular, a new information technology can help to develop new information. you know, i am not as pessimistic as a number of people seem to believe. in particular, some people apparently view my findings as basically a depressing future. i am not optimistic at the number of people because if you look at the first, you know, inequality, there's been large crazies, inequality crazies in the past. some of the solutions, as you mentioned are due to larger sharks, political sharks. the solution where also developed by democratic institution and democratic processes. in fact, the united states already in the past, you know, about a century ago in the

1920s, was very worried about rise zing inequality. the u.s. invented sharply progressive taxation and tough. you know, for some reason, this country around 1918 turned in the opposite direction. i think probably in an excessive manner. you know, i think it's possible now to re-read history and try to have a reasonable debate about what can be achieved through progressive taxation and, you know, it's not -- inequality is not a new issue. it's been reserved forever. there's a lot to learn by looking, again, at the past and some of the solutions are, you know, right there in the united states and, you know, they need

to be structure of inequality and structure of the 21st century. for instance, a progressive tax system right now was very much created in the early 19th century. this is why it takes only into account real estate, land, because at that time, they were the most important and financial assets and liabilities were less important. this needs to be adjusted. we need to modernize this system. in particular, because it is quite likely that in the future, accumulated wealth relative to income. we tend to rise from a simple reason, which is the growth rate of the economy. it is probably going to be less strong in the future than it has been in the 20th century. in particular, a decline of

population growth. it's important to realize particularly in the united states that population growth has been a major source of growth in the past. you know, in the u.s., it's a country where population was 100 million and 300 today. is that going to be 900 in 100 years? maybe not. whatever happens, we have an important impact on the terms of -- new income and wealth accumulation out of income. this is why i believe, you know, we need to think again about our fiscal institutions, income taxation to find a new balance that's, you know, in line with it. >> after the break, thomas weighs in on the white house and its response to the great recession. did we let an economic crisis go

to waste? more of that interview coming up next. [ male announcer ] this is kevin. to prove to you that aleve is the better choice for him, he's agreed to give it up. that's today? [ male announcer ] we'll be with him all day as he goes back to taking tylenol. i was okay, but after lunch my knee started to hurt again. and now i've got to take more pills. ♪ yup. another pill stop. can i get my aleve back yet? ♪ for my pain, i want my aleve. ♪ [ male announcer ] look for the easy-open red arthritis cap.

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get a load of this bad boy. whoa. this snap spreader system from scotts is snap-crackin' simple -- just snap, lock, and go. [ scott ] feed your lawn. feed it! in 2008, former white house chief of staff, rahm emanuel advised not to let it go to waste. i asked tom if we might have done that, could we have made changes in the wake of the great recession and put america on a better track? >> yeah, i think we could have done better. the problem, not only in this country, but also in europe and in japan is probably we have been asking too much to military in the recent past. so, you know, of course central banks can do a lot. one lesson from the great

depression is that it's important that central bank, the federal reserve in the u.s. and european central bank in europe don't let the financial system fall and don't let banks go in bankruptcy one after the other. in the 1970s, the catastrophic consequences. we have learned this lesson. in the past five years, you know, central banks have done what they can in order to implement, creative, non-conventional money as we say, in order to avoid a complete, you know, complete depression. now, that's not enough. you cannot get everything from creative money. at some point, you know, you need fiscal policy and in particular progressive taxation to play. so, you know, central banks, it's very easy for them to create millions, billions, actually of the euro in one day

and lend money to whoever they want. but, the problem is that sometimes they don't quite know what they are doing. they don't know, really, what is going to be the effect this can create and some asset prices. it's going to create huge profits for some people and huge loss for other people. sometimes the final incident is not quite what we would like it to be. so, writing a tax code is of course more complicated than printing money because you need congress to write the tax code. as we know in the u.s., but also in europe, that's complicated to get them to do that. ultimately, you know, we need that. we have been asking too much of policy and we should use more fiscal policy in the future. >> the book, of course, is "capital in the 21st century." thank you so much and congratulations on your success. >> thank you. >> that is all for now. i'll see you back here tomorrow

at 4:00 p.m. eastern. "the ed show" is up next. good evening, americans and welcome to "the ed show," live from new york. i'm ready to go. let's get to work. the bottom line is that natural ka tacatastrophes have s existed. >> fire risk from southern california to arizona. >> i do not believe human activity is causing these changes to the climate. >> the conditions are what we are seeing in september or october. >> in l.a., drivers told to keep streets clear for fire trucks. >> yes, we are prepared for the worst. >> i have never disputed the climate is changing. >> i have four pumps in my basement. we don't know what to do anymore. >> they ended up with a foot of snow. >> the highest level of draught. >> what started as a small brush fire -- >> of course the climate