who fought and died on those beaches. and it diminishes the service of soldiers we all honor today. happy d-day to them. god bless the memory to those we lost. thanks for watching. i'm al sharpton, "hardball" starts right now. hillary's beachhead. let's play hardball. let me start tonight with hillary's dramatic change of position on the iraq war. her declaration in her new book that wish she would have voted against allowing george w. bush to invade iraq instead of for it. quote, i got it wrong. she writes in her about to be released memoir, quote, plain and simple.

this condemnation of the iraq war and the senate votes to authorize it spells a determination on hillary clinton's part to remove herself from that very small faction of democrats who still back the iraq war. and join the huge number of her party who view it as the worst foreign policy decision since lyndon johnson's escalation of the vietnam war. while breaking with her past iraq war position, secretary clinton retains a foreign policy posture still a notch to the right of president obama, she tells in her new book "hard choices" that she had wanted to give arms and training to rebels, a plan the president rejected at that time. how will this all affect democratic primary voters who have supported the president's policy of restraining foreign policy, especially with regard to military engagements. david corn is the washington bureau chief for mother jones and the president and ceo of the bernard center for women, politics and public policy. as i said, hillary clinton's decision to call her senate vote

to authorize the iraq war a mistake, plain and simple is a dramatic change compared to what we heard from her the last time she ran for president back in 2008 when her position on the war proved to be a huge negative in the democratic primaries. here are just a few instances of hillary defending her vote back then. >> that was a sincere vote based on my assessment that sending inspectors back into iraq to determine once and for all whether saddam hussein had weapons of mass destruction and using coercive diplomacy was not an unreasonable act. >> i believe that it is abund t abundantly clear that the case that was outlined on behalf of going to the resolution, not going to war, but going to the resolution was a credible case. >> you voted to authorize war. the resolution you voted for was a blank check for george bush. ted kennedy says it was a vote for war. james carville and paul begala

who says anyone that says that vote wasn't a vote for war is bunk. >> if i had a lot of paper in front of me, i could quote people who say something very differently. >> according to excerpts from her new book, her position couldn't be clearer. she writes, quote, many senators came to wish they had voted against the resolution. i was one of them. as the war dragged on with every letter i sent to a family in new york who lost a son and daughter, a father or mother, my mistake became more painful. i thought i had acted in good faith and made the best decision i could with the information i had, and i wasn't alone in getting it wrong, but i still got it wrong. plain and simple. david corn, i think when i see something as leerily stated as that, i have to say how impressed i am. this isn't a statement, well, i went with what i had at the time, all the usual stuff we hear. it's a statement, wrong. i was wrong.

plain and simple. that to me is impressive politics. >> the question is why didn't she say that in 202008. what's happened between now and then other than she lost because she didn't say that in 2008. she said there was a lot of litigation, her word, in hillary's circle about how to take care of the iraq portion of the book. so there was a lot of -- >> who won? >> well, i don't know who was on what side, but there was a lot of deliberation -- >> to find a victory -- i think there's a victory by one side. >> i think there's a victory for people who wanted her to make a break from the past and it's something she wasn't able to do four years ago but she learned a lesson and she wants to try to take this off the table this time around. i'm not sure this will, but it takes her a long way towards doing that. >> michelle? >> i mean, i love it. i think it's incredibly impressive that that she came out and she said she made the wrong decision. the title of the book coming out is "hard choices" but she point

herself out as the choice maker. this is an excellent opportunity for her to explain every decision she made since she ran for president in 2008 and secretary of state under barack obama and she's somebody who can go back and say i acted in good faith. i thought i was doing the right thing. i did the wrong thing. however, for those of you who are worried that i'm now going to become too dovish, here's my stance on syria. >> i thought she -- i've always thought -- well, since i've been thinking about this, i've been thinking, she's probably a notch, she's basically recanted that position on iraq, about a notch or a bit more to the right on war than the president. which is not necessarily wrong. it might be where the country is right now a bit to the rite of the president. a notch, a notch. i'm not overstating it, buddy. i'm no hawk. but the country, if you want more troop commitments, they say no. >> they don't want to be involved in syria.

>> what did you make of her statement in the book that she wanted to go with more arms and training to the rebels in syria the a the time the president held back. >> i think you're right. she's trying to have it both ways. she wants to appease the dovish wick of the party who has a bitter taste on the iraq vote yet say to the general public -- >> isn't that fair? >> she can take whatever position she wants. but the other thing is, so raise, you know, a hot button issue here. i wonder if the thinking is that it's harder for a woman who wants to be commander-in-chief to be seen as dovish. and so for, you know, that -- >> well, it's a fair question. >> by the way, it's a good subjective question. you don't ask whether it's right or wrong. does the woman herself in this case think that's a necessary posture pop i think what we see here -- show her toughness. i don't know. >> it's a very difficult call. i think the most important thing in dealing with acts of war and

hillary clinton is that we have seen someone who is squint. she thinks these things through and she's able toex plain why her vote on the iraq war was wrong and why she would differentiate her position on syria with fwraum. in that way she's reaching out to the anti-war septemberment of the democratic party but also to people who think we're making a huge mistake by not intervening in syria. >> but remember, too, a couple of weeks ago, when they had the episode in crimea. she jumped out very quickly and compared putin to hitler. >> that's something obama would never do. >> it wasn't very helpful. >> i think she's to the right of him on foreign policy and on health care also. >> how so? >> she differentiated herself a few weeks ago. she gave a speech sometimes in the last three or four month where is she said for example, let's not throw the baby out with the bath water but take a look at how obama care is impacting small and medium sized businesses. >> who was the tough guy?

he was opposed to that in the campaign. i think it's fascinating. i think it's great. what i like is new position she's taken on the iraq war cannot be changed. >> yeah. >> you're thinking it's a joke. >> i'm more cynical than you. >> i think pure and simple is a pretty strong statement. when you run for president, you need to show a little human side. fortunate if you have a human side. in this book, we get some very humanizing anecdotes that leaked out. when i had to stay awake during meetings or conference calls, i drank copous cups of coffee and tea. and sometimes dug the fingern l fingernails of one hand into the palm of the other. it was the only way i knew how to cope with the crazy schedule and severe jet lag and this is what she wrote about the wedding. bill was as emotional as i was. maybe even more so. i was just glad he made it down the aisle in one piece. bill danced with chelsea to "the

way you look tonight." it was one of the happiest and proudest moments of my life. >> my late father-in-law, he's in arlington now, the cemetery, he used to sing that to my mother-in-law. that got me as really true. the fingernail thing, that's something she didn't have to put in. we all have our tricks to stay awake. putting the fing naernails intoe other palm. it's really an amazing admission. >> it's hillary clinton humanizing herself. i think about a commentator on another network who four years ago was talking about hillary clinton and he says it cries, it does this, like she's not even human. >> who said that? who said that? >> i'm having a brain moment here. >> okay, you don't remember, fine.

if it comes to you, just blurt it out. >> hillary clinton is one of the people in our political culture who for 20, 30, maybe 40 years now has been characterized in so many different ways as a raging socialist, lesbian, as a corporatist wall street lover. i think, you know, it's partly hard as this point. i imagine there's a desire to sort of define herself. she didn't do too wael wel in 2008. she didn't connect with voters. all these laps around the track, can she do it anew? >> this may come as a shock according to what's leaked out from cbs. secretary clinton defends sarah palin. she writes, quote, the obama camp immediately issued a dismissive statement and reached out to me in hopes i would follow suit, but i wouldn't. i was not going to attack palin just for being a woman, appealing for support from other women. i didn't think it made political

sense and i didn't feel right. so i said no. well, it's pretty clear if hillary clinton is going to win, a strong mandate, this is me talk, she's had to roll up that score among women. i'm talking about a big result. this country is very 50-50 right now. recent washington post abc poll has her at 61% among women. now just think about that. what the other guy who run against, probably a guy, he would have to get like 68% to make that up. women are 53% of the vote. >> and this statement to me, she made about sarah palin is just as impressive about the uh statement she made on the iraq war. number one, it wow looked like a cat fight. carly fiorina was caught on tape talking about another candidate. but also, there are not -- not all women that consider themselves feminists are a blue state hillary clinton feminist. there are red state feminists. >> so she's reaching across the aisle to the mom who's the stay at home mom. >> who may not be political.

>> home with her child -- >> but look at what we're doing here. we are analyzing this statement for its political effect. so the question is -- >> you know what we call? the place for politics. >> if she gets 61% from the women, the other guy has to get more than 2/3 12k3w4r67! she'll kill him. this is great politics. >> smart politics. absolutely. >> by the way, the book will be out early next week and we'll have a real look at it. anyway, welcome david corn. you're so skeptical. coming up, the five taliban prisoners we sent back in exchange for bowe bergdahl. plus, the story behind one of the greatest military deceptions in history. today we go back to the beaches of normandy. also, not only does the cia join the twitter verse, it shows the folks over in langley have a sense of humor. really. that's coming up in "the side show."

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the bigger question to come out of last weekend's deal is whether the price we paid freeing five high-ranking taliban leaders was just too high. charles krauthammer agreed it had to be done, however, radless of bergdahl's conduct. he remains a member of the united states military and therefore is subject to military justice and b, subject to a soldier's creed that we don't leave anyone behind. what to do? free him then try him. make the swap and then, if the evidence is as strong as it now seems, court-martial him for deserti desertion. one thing he knocked was the white house seemingly taking a victory lap early next week. this is not victory. this is a conceit. a dirty deal. perhaps as a matter of principle carried out with regret, resignation, even revulsion.

>> this is friday. and i'm trying to find what i think is the american consensus. and although the poll on this, whether people said he was a bad guy or good guy should affect the deal, every elected official that has spoken out have all basically said it doesn't matter what his status was, what his motives were until later. the important thing for the united states government, the principle, get him back. that seems to be a strong -- all the other stuff we'll get to in a minute. that seems to be a cob census. >> yeah, there seems to be a consensus. get him back. he wept over to fight for his country. you know, and obviously there's some questionable things that he did over there. more than questionable. we'll get the answers to that. through the judicial process. but get him back. that's what we do. >> is that a fair reading? i've been going through the clips. and nobody says let him sit over there and rot. they all like to do nuances and say i would have gotten a better deal, but anybody can say that. >> sure. and different members of

congress are mad about different things. some are mad the requirement to notify congress 30 days before the deal is done was flouted. some are mad that we talked to the taliban at all. many more in if the last few days have increasably taken issue with the deal itself. was it worthwhile to trade one guy, as valuable as he may have been, for five of theirs. that's where i think the heart of the criticism is right now. >> the white house seems to think they can mitigate the threat from these five people on this point. you wrote today, quote, people familiar with the negotiations say the five had become less worrisome as the years wore on and were now considered gray beards or elder, unlikely to assume top battlefield roles. however, the white house acknowledged some of the five could take on ore leadership roles within the taliban. saxby chambliss was very tough. he said this. let's watch.

>> these guys, two of them were extremely close to bin laden. very high in the al qaeda echelon. three of them are very close to mullah omar, the guy that founded the taliban. and mullah omar is celebrating today because he's got his new board of directors with these five guys. and they say the qataris are going to monitor them. yeah, do you think i believe that? >> bin laden is dead. so being close to bin laden -- >> we went into taliban because the taliban harbored -- they gave a haven for al qaeda. it looks like these guys were tied up with that whole deal. >> right. they've all been in gann tan know. >> do you think they're less ticked off now? >> well, no, but they'reless effective now.

>> why do they want them back if they're useless? >> it is a symbolic victory. the taliban -- look, in my opinion, the victory, or the benefit to the taliban is in morale. that is portray this has a great victory. look how we have defeated america by getting these five hallowed fighters back. but in terms of their effectiveness, in terms of whether or not they increase the ability of the taliban to do anything bad to us, i think it's limited or -- >> so you don't think they're part of the goal, once we leave a year from now to take over the count country? >> no, i think the taliban has moved on. >> what do you think about the white house? worthless, useless or going to be a pain or a strategic danger down the road? >> they do not believe these guys pose a real strategic danger. there was a classified briefing on the hill this week in which a cia guy said maybe four of them would return to some role, not a

battlefield role. probably none of them. only one of them was really a battlefield commander 13 years ago. some role. but to gene's point, the taliban considers themselves the legitimate deposed government of a country. and these guys were cabinet officials of that government. if, you know, if they regardless themselves that way, they think a foreign government has taken prisoner five people who were like the secretary of defense. they want them back. it doesn't really go a lot farther than that. >> anyway, sergeant bergdahl, what about him? there's a key question out there. according to the new york times, a classified military board detailing the army's investigation into the disappearance, initial disappearance of sergeant bergdahl in june of 2009 says he had wandered away from assigned areas before both of the training range in california and at his remote outpost in afghanistan. and then returned, according to the people briefed on it.

the report concludes that he most likely walked away of his own free will from his outpost in the dark of night and then criticized lack security practices and poor discipline in his unit. but stopped short of concluding there's solid evidence that sergeant bergdahl, then a private, intended to permanently desert. part of it doesn't past the smell test. he sends his equipment home, his computer home, all this stuff home and basically heads east into pakistan and ends up linking up somehow with the taliban, the idea that wasn't dezerd deserti desertion, i think he has the onus on him to prove what he was up to. >> there will be an army investigation now that he's free. there was an army investigation in 2010 now that that story reported earlier this week. you know, that came to some -- >> why are people defending them. it was irrelevant to the deal. why are people out there stirring this up. just say we don't know about the guy, let it go. >> right, the white house could

simply say look, it doesn't get harder than he was an american soldier and he was captured by the enemy, period, stop. end of discussion. but there has been a need over this week to defend the reason. >> i'll tell you one reason why. on sunday, national security adviser susan rice came under fire when she said sergeant bergdahl, quote, served with honor and distinction. well, today she said she meant bergdahl volunteered to serve in a time of war. that's what she metropolitan by honorable. let's watch her explain. >> i realized there's been a lot of discussion and controversy around this. but what i was referring to is the fact that this was a young man who volunteered to serve his country in uniform at a time of war. that is itself a very honorable thing. >> but honor and distinction. >> jim, really. this is a young man whose circumstances we are still going to learn about. he is as all americans, innocent until proven guilty.

he's now being tried in the court of public opinion after having gone through enormously traumatic five years of captivity. >> i frankly think that her mouth got away from her last weekend. >> i think it was a cliche and she threw it out there. >> and she kind of tossed it out there. >> we're all at battle stations. i'm trying to stay out of battle stations. but overstating the case for the guy, overstating the attack on the guy, overstating the danger of these guys. and everybody is doing it on a partisan basis and it drives me crazy. these things happen, like the va. some things actually happen, you have to figure them out. >> but also, keep in -- so be thankful for facts that we get right. it is useful to know that he had this happen, just kind of wandering away from base. not because that's necessarily what he was doing in afghanistan but because to me, it raises mental health questions. >> that's a question, it's not

the way they raised it. this is just one of the many time he is went wandering off. this guy left his post, an outpost surrounded by the enemy. he didn't go -- that's different than california. you go wandering off your post here, you must be hoping to meet somebody that's not going to kill him. >> if you're thinking rationally. >> that's your point. i like the way you do it. thank you, as often is the case. yuf gene robinson who sees the exculpatory reasons for some of the absurd comments. >> the best line by a spy since austin powers. coming up in "the side show."

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>> a federal judge has ruled a ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional. the ruling makes wisconsin the 27th state where gay couples can legally married or where a judge has ruled they should be allowed to. authorities in georgia say a gunman who opened fire outside a courthouse planned to take

hostages. police say homemade explosives were found on his body and in his car. a toronto ripped up trees and power lines. back to "hardball." we're back. 70 years after the d-day invasion of nazi occupied france, president obama honored world war ii veterans today who he said gave so much for the survival of the liberty at its moment of maximum peril. he also entered the current generation, calling the 9/11 generation bringing the wars of today to an end. let's listen. >> as today's wars come to an end, this generation will step

out of uniform and they, too, will build families and lives of their own. tf they do will become leaders in their industry, commerce, industry, politics, the leaders we need for the beach eheads of our time. and god willing, they, too, will be involved in the land they helped to keep free. and some day future generations, whether it's 70 or 700 years sense will gattner places like this to honor them. >> it was that image of peace today, a lot of piece today that struck me as i watched our president with fellow world leaders and, of course, the veterans there under much different circumstances seven decades ago. the unrest in eastern europe, global dengss and threats of action came to a peaceful end today.

the political director was there today traveling with the president. we have chuck, you and i were talking earlier today on the phone. pictures are powerful. it seemed very debonair today. you would think putin who's been the outside man all these months looked like a member of the club. and yet those interesting shots of the president looking very awkward, three or four places away at the table there at lunchtime, looking like he didn't want to be in the same room as putin. then on top of that, that interesting back and forth when they're actually talking to each other. and obama the president is smiling. putin ain't smiling him. he gave him one quick look and looked away. give us words to those pictures, if you can. >> what you have to understand is these western european leaders, starting with president obama hollande want putin there. they want a relationship with putin. they, of course, want a relationship with the united states, but they want one with

putin. so it is awkward fat this point. putin wants to be a super power. you can argue in many ways he's trying to play western european leaders off of him a little bit. and they're playing along. this whole trip is interesting. think of it this way. for years, america's ties were always to western europe. and obviously the iron curtain blocked access to eastern europe. now look at it .today, it's the eastern europeans begging for security leadership. leadership particularly for security reasons, right? look at poland. they needed that speech that president obama gave where he started name checking. poland, you're not alone, li lithuan lithuania, you're not alone. astonia you're not alone.

and the western leaders are going out of their way to court putin. they're saying look we have to go along with the united states on this because we count on them for security, but don't worry, we still want to be friends with you. don't think we're the ones that are leading this charge. it's that guy. i can't help this entire trip feels that way. everything is backwards, right it? 's the eastern europeans wanting the close relationship with the united states and the western europeans wanting to get closer to russia. it actually is odd when you start thinking about it. >> well, odd is better than hot when it comes to war. >> this looks nothing like a prelude to a world war. nothing like a prelude to a cold war much less a hot war. is ukraine a regional situation that we don't like, or is it a real threatening situation that's been hopped up by some of the knee owe cons into some big deal again. you know what i'm trying to get it here. >> i think the answer is we

don't know and so much of that is going to be dependent upon the behavior of the russian president vladimir putin. i think chuck is right in this sense. it was a remarkable day in northern france, honoring events seven decades ago where the world was truly united in the face of nazi aggression. and yet the sub text to it today was one of contemporary division. president obama unable to persuade the french, for example, to bat down on defense deals towards russia. president obama finding himself using queen elizabeth ii as a sort of buffer between him and vladimir putin. >> yes. i thought it was amazing watching the president strolling with her. it's like me going to my wife at a party. i just want to be with somebody so i don't have to be with anybody else. start with chuck on this one here. you know what i'm talking on that one, too. >> now we know about your habits at parties. yeah. >> okay, well, anyway, i was

thinking. there's an interesting meeting with the president talking to putin. the president seechls to be trying to get the upper hand. he's taller than the other fe a fella. that may be an effort here he's trying to laugh through an difficult moment there. you can see the side of his cheek. at the same time, you can see putin trying not to look at him. what happened in that conversation? >> well, wait a minute, i've been witness to a lot of putin/obama meetings. and that is always putin's demeanor. le does not like looking. he does not look hick in the eye very mouch. he always has the scowl. i remember the last time they had a former joint bilateral meeting, the cameras come in and the president was trying to be a little jocular with him. and oputin makes the comment he's trying to make me laugh. almost like he's trying to make it look like we get along. he didn't say that second part, but that was.

>> this is actually the normal body language that you see when putin is with obama. >> your thoughts. the president trying to smile he didn't look too self-confident there. >> i don't think vladimir putin does small talk. and i don't think he gives good photo opportunities. he looked stoney faced alongside chancellor merkel, too. but he has been sending very interesting signals this week. he gave an interview just a couple of days ago in to which he was asked about that comment that he made back in the day when he described the fall of the soviet union as a disaster. he said it wasn't a political disaster, but a humanitarian disaster for the people who live there. that was a revisionist view he chose to put out there right before this meeting began.

>> i love that news. he that means he's not trying to rebuild the soviet union. thanks for this interpretation of the interesting events. and what a beautiful day it was for all of us. victory, courage and wonder. up next, one of the greatest military deceptions in history. how can a tablet replace start with the best writing experience. make it incredibly thin. add an adjustable kickstand, a keyboard, a usb port, and the freedom of touch. and, of course, make it run microsoft office, with the power and speed to do real work. introducing surface pro 3. the tablet that can replace your laptop.

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we're back. today, we remember, of course, the servicemen who risked and lost their lives storming the beach in france and normandy 70 years ago today. it was the largest amphibious invasion in world history. over 150,000 troops were carried by 5,000 ships across the english channel where they invaded a 50-mile stretch of the coastline. they were completely exposed to injury fire. the operation secured those beaches so allied forces could establish a foothold in western europe. and the sacrifice, bravery and courage our troops showed that day were essential to the allies victory in world war ii. while d-day was an incredible triumph, it was an incredible risk. hitler's land army was known to be the best in the world, not only in terms of manpower but also agility.

the nazis gained control the mainland of europe. therefore, if d-day was to succeed, it was essential to devise a way to divert hitler's army away from the landing positions planned at normandy so allied forces wouldn't be overwhelmed by nazi resistance. a new documentary called the world wars on the history channel described the plan the allies develop for a decoy army convince the nazis the invasion would come from a different location, 150 miles away from normandy. >> paton is not going to lead an invasion and his army isn't what it seems. instead of heavy machinery and modern weapons, paton is armed with balloons. >> roosevelt and churchill used

p patton as a deception. they created what was essentially a phony army. there's phony tanks that are nothing but balloons. there's barracks. it appears there are hundreds of thousands of ally troops assembled across the channel from france. >> wow. anticipating an attack from dover that never came, hitler waited seven days before moving his army to confront the real invasion. joining us is michael. michael, this is just amazing stuff. a comic aspect to it, that first of all, that george patin would get the assignment to lead a phony army, but hitler, who is beginning to lose it, didn't commit. he never gave the authority to throw everything he had at the normandy invasion, so we got on the beach and we broke out because hitler didn't have the troops there to stop us. >> we did, and you know, it's a case of where you sometimes can be too suspicious and too

paranoid, and especially in hitler's case because what hitler figured what that the allies, if they had any sense, would want to not land at normied because that was closer to england and it was an easier thrust into germany. what we were doing was getting all sorts of signals through this enormous deception operation which you're right, was almost comical, to govern them the idea that's where we were going to land so that when 70 years ago today we landed at normandy, he thought this was actually, this was the deception. that we were trying to conhim into thinking we were landing at norman normandy, and the result was there were those seven days we got on the beach. >> did hitler use his -- i don't know if guts are the right word, did he lose his ability to make a strong decision? was he nervous? he had the eastern front coming at him. this was a second front. did he lose the decisiveness he had when he grabbed france the

first time? >> as time went on, if you look at the decisions at the end of the war, military historians who are a lot more on this account than i am, would say he was not the leader he was four years earli earlier. >> let me ask you about george patton and the role he played here. i remember from one of my favorite movies, patton, and i was in the peace corps and everybody liked it there, broad audience, what do you think it was about him that he was able to take this phony job and turn it into such a success? did that help him get back into the action afterwards? >> absolutely because it was an enormous success. not only what we saw in the film but phony radio broadcasts and dummies of soldiers and all sorts of things that ultimately helped bolster the idea that we, the allies were going to invade in a place we were not and at a time we were not. >> where did we find this

generals, mac caracarthur, hals these incredible people? was it something in the water then that we had or the national urgency? but the genius of picking eisenhower. he could have picked marshall, eisenhower, but he was the perfect guy to bring them together and make this work on d-day. >> that was franklin roosevelt who was very good at choosing people in politics and had the same kind of acumemban in the military. >> which was what? >> george marshall was owed being supreme commander of the invasion of europe that everyone would remember. eisenhower would do a better job of keeping the alliance together and welding this army. as a result, rosen velt was right. everyone remembered eisenhower. george marshall is known to very few americans today. >> i'm going to give you the toughest job in the world. describe the moral behavior of the french starting in 1940 through 1945 as a country.

their moral behavior? did their collaborate too easily with the nazis? did they join them, not just go along with them, but join them. the jewish people out of france. were they forced to do it or because they wanted to do it? >> both, and then some. you could make both arguments and both would be true. and rosevelt said, as you well know, the greatest cross he had to bear -- >> but he was the good guy. >> yes, he was the best of the group, but not easy either. and de gualle was so obsessed with, as he said, you know, picking up france and elevating it from this degraded position it was in under the nazis that 1966, when he kicked the americans out, lyndon johnson said to the secretary of state, asked him if he also wants to kick out the americans in the cemeteries who essentially saved him. >> let's just thank the world that charles de gualle jumped aboard the british plane flying to london. thank you, michael.

>> a pleasure. >> we'll be right back. i want to talk about the great man of the war, dwight eisenhower. we'll be right back. also bring e from across ge, like lean process engineers we asked who does what, when, where, and why that step first? ideas for improvement started pouring out. with a little help from us, they actually doubled their output speed. if you just need a loan, just call a bank. at ge capital, we're builders. and what we know... can help you grow.

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this letter written by general dwight d. eisenhower for possible use following the normandy invasion 70 years ago today. our landings in the area have failed to gain a satisfactory fo foothold and i have withdrawn the troops.

my decision to attack at this time and place was based upon the best information available. the troops, the air, and the navy did all that bravery and devotion to duty could do. if any blame or fault attached to the attempt, it is mine alone. the mark of a leader is the readiness to take responsibility when things go wrong. to do so ahead of time is a sign of a great leader who knows the perils of war and the need for strong chain of command led from the top. one of the great scenes of d-day was of general eisenhower meeting with the troops the night before. good luck, soldier, he said to them. he was henry v the night before, giving the men who would face the uncertainty a touch of harry in the night, a chance to see the true leader right there with them on the eve of battle. i remember ike telling walter cronkite it was the mid-level officers who did the job of getting them to the cliffs. he told them it was those in the

mid-ranks to designed the hedge cutters to allow the invading troops to break out. what a leader we had. what a victory, what an army. 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. this year, we've been going out on the road to find stories across the country and across the political speblthroom. stories at the ground level of american life that illuminate the biggest conflict in american lives. first, the wizard of oz. and second, a book written ten years ago by thomas frank. it was in june 2004 that frank published a book that became not just a best seller but the defining story of the bush years for an entire generation of liberals. he showed how kansas had gone