i went to ferguson when the grandfather of michael brown asked me to come. we went to get justice and a fair investigation. a big, broad conversation is good, but we cannot step over the body of michael brown to have the conversation, without first addressing a fair investigation. thanks for watching. i'm al sharpton. "hardball" starts right now. killing the black vote. this is "hardball." ♪ ♪ good evening, i'm chris matthews in washington. this is rotten stuff, isn't it? the republican effort to kill the black vote in state after state. pennsylvania, wisconsin, north carolina, florida, texas. we can all see what they're doing. believing they can't convert the african american vote, they

decided to slaughter it. early voting, shrink it down to nothing, or kill it altogether. sunday voting, souls to the polls, slam the door on it. same-day registration, you got to be kidding. that's putting down a welcome matt for african american voters. this is murder in broad daylight. one republican after another is telling us just exactly what they're up to. it's not about reform or making elections more honest. the one thing they're honest about is motive. it's aimed at killing the african american vote. just listen. >> voter i.d., which is going to allow governor romney to win the state of pennsylvania. done. >> do you think all the attention drawn to voter i.d. affected last year's election? >> yeah, i think a little bit. i think we probably had a better election. think about this, we cut obama by 5%, which was big. a lot of people lost sight of that. he won, he beat mccain by 10%, only beat romney by 5%. i think voter i.d. helped a bit in that.

>> the law is going to kick the democrats in the butt. if it hurts a bunch of lazy blacks, so be it. >> and it just so happens that a lot of those people vote democrat. >> gee. >> wow, sarcasm even. it wasn't always like this. you don't have to go back to abraham lincoln to find republicans who backed civil rights. men like edward dirks of illinois, champions of the '64 civil rights bill. republican senators voted overwhelmingly for it. only two republican senators in the entire body voted against the '65 voting rights bill. but maybe this say good time to go back to the republican party roots. to 1854, when it started in wisconsin, to battle the expansion of slavery into new territories. wisconsin, priebus, who leads state by state strategy to make

sure sons and daughters of slaves have the hardest possible time getting to the voting booth. where are the good republicans? where are the people who joined the party of lincoln because they believe he was the greatest president in our history? where are they? good question. the advance project representative is here. jonathan capehart is an opinion writer with "the washington post." what happened to the republicans that believed in lincoln, joined the party, proud of him. every time there's an event they talked about lincoln, saved the union, got rid of slavery. and now they're out there making sure people don't get to vote. >> they sure have shifted. >> why? >> it's now partisan. but the laws they have passed are surgically crafted to hit african americans whom they know are more loyal to the democratic party. so we're seeing this across the country. it didn't just start yesterday. we know in 2012, in 2008, this is backlash for what happened in 2008. and african american turn-out in particular. >> jonathan, what do you make of

the -- it isn't like -- what's his name, joe biden gaffes. they're usually harmless. this is people admitting that we're in the business of making sure minorities don't vote. they're saying it. >> right. vice president biden is the one person who says things. you just showed people in the republican people -- >> a pantheon of people. >> yes, talking about how what they're doing is to keep basically democrats from voting, african americans from voting. what's different here, they're talking about it out loud. >> yeah. >> it used to be wink and nod and little code words. but now, yeah, it's about helping mitt romney. it's about keeping lazy blacks from getting up off the couch and going to vote. you know, when president johnson, i think it was when he signed the civil rights act and he famously said, and i'm paraphrasing, i've just delivered the foust away from the democrats for a generation.

what he also did was deliver those dixie kratz you talked about from the democratic party to the republican party. and we talked about lincoln. and how he freed the slaves. you know, ronald reagan is the saviour of the republican party, but i remember ronald reagan as the guy who went to philadelphia and mississippi. his first event after getting the republican nomination. >> and that says what? >> and that sends the signal -- >> what happened in philadelphia and mississippi? >> that's where the civil rights workers were killed. >> yeah. >> in '64. so that sends a message to those white dixie krats that he's one of us. and it says to african americans and folks who fought really hard, not just african americans, but folks who fought hard for the right to vote, this guy and this party isn't exactly for us, or thinking about us, or with us. and so now you've got people within the republican party, a generation and a half, two generations later, who are

actively trying to stop people from exercising -- >> couple points here. first of all, you're educating me. i thought it was the welfare queen and the young buck buying the gin with the welfare and food stamps. >> it is all of that. >> but i grew up with moderate republicans. the ones who read the "new york times" and take the train to work and know what's going on. there's still some left. aren't they put off, white people, put off by this behavior? they're the ones that used to say, we won't talk in front of them. >> the right-wingers. >> i think if the messaging around it is not clearly like we're going after black people. because they're not actually saying, we're going after black people -- >> [ all speak at once ] >> that one guy, he was a gem. we use that a lot in north carolina. but usually it's a little bit more nuanced. so it's about your guy voting. so the thing is, in north carolina if we can shave 100,000 votes here and there that are african american votes, then we

can win. moderates are feeding into that, but also with the whole idea of voter fraud. >> if african americans are aware this is going on, why aren't whites aware it's going on? or are they closing their eyes to it? or are they saying, that's just politics. they don't want to admit they're racist. >> first of all, they're being fed the line of voter fraud, trying to prevent that. but also this is being covered on partisan politics. >> these are the same business guys, republicans, who don't want a work permit. they don't want anybody to have an i.d. card. no, just to vote. can you work here for slave wages. you just can't vote. no i.d. needed to work in the fields. no i.d. to work in the hotels, restaurants, or golf courses. that's fine. come and work here, you don't have to show i.d. you can be anybody. but to vote, i don't care if you've been here 300 years, i want to see the number. they're calling it what they

are, voter suppression laws. a rag ann appointed judge who originally supported it now says he's wrong. and said it's to discourage voting by persons likely to vote against the party responsible for imposing the burdens. charlie crist put it plainly, quote, the people that worked in 38, that's the state capital, felt that early voting was bad. i heard from republicans around the state who were bold enough to share it with me that you just gave the election to barack obama. a republican county chairman in ohio who opposed early voting said, i guess i really feel we shouldn't contort the voting process to accommodate the urban read african american voter turn-out machine. and also "the reduction in the number of days allowed for early voting is particularly important because early voting plays a

major role in obama's ground game." they're open. >> they're open and it's reprehensible. rotten reprehensible, repugnant. can you think of another r word? [ laughter ] at least they're talking out loud about it. at least we know what they're motives are and what they're trying to do. what we saw in 2012 during the presidential election, when you told black voters they couldn't vote, they said, i don't care how long it takes for me to stand in line, i'm going to vote. that was a presidentiaial election year. >> is it still there to do that? >> i was just about to say. now we're in a midterm election season when all voter turn-out goes down. but the obama coalition, people of color, african americans in particular, latino voters, those numbers go way, way down. so as janice was saying before, if people can shave off a few thousands votes here and there

in various precincts, the opposition, the other folks win, not on the basis of their ideas, not on presenting an alternative vision, contrasting that to their democrat opponent. they're winning because they're basically preventing people from voting their conscience. >> they're winning by changing the rules. >> you should be doing most the talking because you've been working on this for years. >> right. we're litigating. we won voter i.d. in wisconsin in the supreme court. in north carolina, we lost it. but at the end of the day, the turn-out is going to be up, because there's a movement. people understand they're under attack. >> voting restrictions like limits on early voting opportunities could tip the scales in some of the tightest races of the midterm np in jj, early voting was cut in half. that's where democrat michelle nun who's been gaving on david

perdue is in a neck and neck race, leading 46-45. georgia, carver has been narrowing the gap with diehl. now they're tied. in north carolina, kay hagan maintains her steady, actually few-point lead over thom tillis, but it's close. the latest poll has her up 47-44. talk about this. you're an expert. you're on the battle lines on this. when you talk to the republican legislators, or you challenge them, are they as open as they are in these clips we dug up? >> they're not. they go on the state floor of their legislature and they say this is about fraud. but at the end of the day -- >> do you ask for cases? >> yes. we've been in these cases that were in the litigation, we're getting all the memos. we're going behind -- >> i'm sorry to interrupt. people cheat occasionally. i don't think there's a lot of it. there's some more frequent in

others. but do they have examples of people cheating? >> no. in wisconsin, for example, the supreme court case, the judge in the seventh circuit, judge pose ner who believed in voter i.d. actually said that, in fact, that some of this voter fraud idea is paranoid. he called it goofy, the individual of voter fraud. because we're revealing the fact that this is all a fraud. the fraud is the fact that they say there's voter fraud. in north carolina, there aren't cases of voter fraud. so it's not about that, it's not about preventing fraud. it's about preventing voting. >> big story, and i think it's so important. i hope people do what you said, they overwhelm all the forces against them, all the obstacles, making people even more determined to vote. somebody said you have to show an i.d. to get on an airplane. getting on an airplane is not a right. you pay for that. voting comes from being a citizen. you have a right.

they have to make a case against you coming in. you don't have to make a case to go into vote. they have to make a case against you. they got it all backwards, right? >> right. >> it's a right. >> agreed. >> congratulations on your efforts. coming up, as republicans work to suppress the african american vote, some democrats seem to be taking it for granted. and that can be dangerous. and that's their dilemma. how can democrats energize black voters when so many of their candidates are denying president obama's existence? this is "hardball," a place for politics. set, hike! (cheering) yeah!! touchdown! nice catch! who's ready for half time? yes! ok i'm going to draw something up new... wide receiver goes deep all the way to the corner and... who ate the quarterback? share what you love with who you love. kellogg's frosted flakes. they're grrreat!

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>> did you vote for president obama in 2008 and 2012? >> you know, this election isn't about the president.

it's about making sure we put kentuckians back to work. i was actually in '08 a delegate for hillary clinton, i think kentuckians know i'm a clinton democrat through and through. >> why are you reluctant to give an answer on whether or not you voted for president obama? >> bill, there's no reluctance. this is a matter of principle. our constitution grants here in kentucky the constitutional right for privacy at the ballot box. >> welcome back to "hardball." a democratic senate cannot has cut president obama from the ticket. she's not alone. can democrats turn out the black vote by denying the president's existence? as we showed you earlier, republicans across the country are trying to suppress the black vote. are democrats taking it for granted? how else can you explain the rash of obama phobia? if you expose your strongest flank in politics, you play a dangerous game.

our opponent will attack it ruthlessly. grimes's opponent, mcconnell has led the charge against every major piece of the black caucus agenda. but his campaign on the radio as of today, with an ad promising that he, mitch mcconnell, will fight for black voters. here it is. >> alison grimes won't say she voted for president obama. but i will. i voted for president obama twice. so you might be surprised to hear that i'm also voting for mitch mcconnell, and i think you should too. i'm dr. noel hunter from moorehead, kentucky. as an african american, i know from american experience that mitch fights for our community and cares about us. in 2011, mike's husband kidnapped our daughter and took her to a dangerous part of africa. mitch knocked down barriers for our family and with his help, my baby came home safely. >> ron, what do you make of this? this is, to me, when you cut

somebody, when you just say, well, i'm not saying who i voted for, it may offend people who are emotionally connected to this particular president. that's what i think. your thoughts? >> well, her answer was a very weak one. we can agree with her on principle, by the way, that we have the right to privacy at the ballot box. i'll give her that much, but really, i think we all know, the answer was, of course i voted for president obama. he's the standard bearer of my party. don't be ridiculous, of course i voted for him. now, that doesn't mean that i don't disagree with him on certain things, and then you can tick those off if you care to. but have some gumption here. we've been having this conversation for, i think, about 14 years. we've been talking together on the air about how democrats' biggest problem, or one of them in my opinion at least, is they don't have the strength of their own quickeconvictions. they chicken out and we see it here. it's a mistake. it always is. >> there was a phrase from the founding fathers, which is that

if we don't hang together, we hang separately. and that seems to be true. the democrats should read some of that old history sometime. >> we've seen this before in 2006, you had all these republicans say, i don't agree with bush, i don't like bush. it never worked. people believe you agree with your party, whatever party you're in because the d beside your name is the most important thing. >> as joe lewis said, the great heavyweight champion said, you can run, but you can't hide. anyway, african americans are not happy with grimes, according to the latest polling. in a poll, grimes led mcconnell amongst blacks by a margin of 80-15. that was before she refused to say she voted for obama. now she's pulling in about 60%, and mcconnell gets 22%. that's a seven-point improvement for mcconnell. if you're a democrat, go home, end up voting where they have to because they're not going to

vote for mcconnell. but they're telling pollsters, i'm not saying i'm for him now, just like she wasn't saying she voted for obama. they're not saying they're going to vote afor him. which must be a certain of concern with 8% of the vote being african american. you usually get at least seven of those votes if you're a democrat. >> you would think. i'm not sure black voters will go for mcconnell, but they may just sit on their hands and stay home here. count me among the white liberals, i guess, who finds it just incredible that any black voters go for the republican party. why would you do this? this is a party that's trying to prevent you from voting. >> there's an ancient history before the time of your dad and everybody with the republican party, had all kinds of people like jackie robinson and lionel hampton, famous african americans in our culture, who were all republicans. wilt chamberlain! i can think of a bunch. >> i do not believe the poll.

i will be very surprised. i'm from kentucky. >> were you polled? >> i was not. >> do you know anybody that was polled? people always say this, do you know anybody who's polled? >> the people of kentucky get it. they understand grimes is trying to win over white rural voters. they know people in kentucky don't like obama. i will be very surprised if she doesn't get 80% of the black vote at least. same thing for michelle nunn. look at the polling. michelle nunn is getting 80% of the black vote -- >> jesus said that peter denied him three times before the crow. remember? they figured you were good for that. is that the low expectation? >> i think people understand, grimes is not going loud and proud for obama. black voters are democratic all the time and i really don't expect them to fall off because of -- they're not obama voters, they're democratic voters. i think you'll see that in the polls at the end. what do you think it's like

being the president right now, when you hear the people you've been con sorting with politically, not a long time for him, but all of a sudden, they're all denying him. it's like being a father of a teenage daughter. you get used to that. but he's got two teenage daughters. i know what it's going to be like for him, dad, you have to walk so close to me? do you have to act like you're my father? can't you keep your distance? what are you doing here? disappear! >> listening to grimes, you would think that obama had showed up to pick her up at the school dance wearing pajamas and a bath robe. [ laughter ] >> that's what i'm talking about. i never did that, but thank you. i was told you got to drop your daughter off two blocks away from the party. if there's a party at your house, don't come out and watch while they're dancing. just disappear. anyway, they're running ads. quote, get his back. stand up for him. stand with president obama. meanwhile, two more democratic

senate candidates have denied him. michelle nunn in georgia, appear to be following the grimes playbook. both candidates were approached on the street, but refused to say if they voted for president obama. let's watch and then react. >> miss nunn, did you vote for president obama in 2008 and 2012? >> would you leave her alone? >> did you vote for obama in 2008 and 2012? >> that's the way people walk past guys when you're trying to get a buck and a quarter from somebody. it's like walking right past the gu guy. >> you can tell they don't want to be caught on video as if it's like a dangerous thing. >> because? >> it will turn into an ad. i think this is a silly concern in my mind.

of course michelle nunn voted for the democratic president. >> it's like he has ebola. i wasn't near him, i didn't touch him. >> i think he gets it. i'm told he tells candidates in red states, do what you got to do. >> you're a young man. he's got a thicker skin than i do. ron, he's got a thick skin to put up with this kind of treatment. thanks, ron. thanks. up next, democrats are primed for a historic win in pennsylvania two weeks from now, as challenger tom wolf is poised to knock off the unpopular republican governor tom corbett. it would be a huge win if they pull this off and good news for hillary clinton. it's clinton country heading into 2016. this is "hardball," the place for politics. you need to catch the 4:10 huh? the equipment tracking system will get you to the loading dock. ♪ there should be a truck leaving now. i got it.

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is. those polls don't matter. the only one that matters -- i know you're not supposed to say this, but the only one that really matters this year is on november 4th. don't believe the polls. don't believe any of the polls until the one that ends on november 4th, that evening when they call the election. >> welcome back to "hardball." that was democrat and political newcomer, tom wolf, who has a big lead over tom corbett. it shows wolf with an 11-point advantage. pennsylvania is poised to throw out its sitting republican governor for the first time in the state's history, when you could dump a guy for a second concern. it's a sign of how toxic the environment is for political incumbents. joining me now is the man himself, set to make history, i

think, in a few weeks, democratic candidate for good afternoon pennsylvania's tom wolf. tom, thank you for coming on. i've never met you before, but i have to tell you, that speech you just gave say speech that guys 20 points back in the polls usually say. the only poll that matters is the one on election day. here you are, moving along, trucking along with a pretty good lead, saying, don't believe it. give me your thinking here? >> first of all, chris, it's great to be on. i'm new at this and i'm not so sure what i'm supposed to be thinking, but i'm not going to be complacent. i think the worst thing that could happen right now is to be complace complacent. i was on the track team in high school and college. you run through the finish line, not right up to it. so i want to make sure that all of us feel that this race is still to be won. >> pennsylvania needs a spirit kick in the butt. it needs a hope for the future. it needs to have a sense of, you know, i used to work for tip o'neil. the advantage of that state, it was all one party.

all democrats. they had a lot of cloud in washington. they had all that power. now you have a split state, which isn't all democrat, it's roughly 50/50 generally. how are you going to have an economic development plan in pennsylvania that puts things together, the infrastructure, the education, the health care, the stuff that makes the state build and get out of its leth argey. it becomes a zoomy state where kids go to college and stay there like they do in massachusetts. how do you do that in a state that's split politically? >> it helps to have someone from your county, someone who is not from the extreme of the state. i'm from york county and i think people are looking for the pennsylvania you just talked about. i think we're in crisis right now. i think the last four years have not been good to pennsylvaniaians and i think everybody in pennsylvania or most people, are looking for a change. i think that's why my poll numbers are so good. >> what about the penn state

thing? when you see a game there, you see tens of thousands of people all in white, everybody completely gung ho, the traffic jam and unbelievable. the love people have for penn state, and yet the kids, the working-class kids that go to that school got hurt by the sandusky thing. do you think that could have been handled better? just a wide-open question. do you think the people who studied it could have made it turn out better, for the way that pennsylvania and the state university has been punished? >> yeah. i mean, all of us in pennsylvania feel badly for what happened to penn state and i think it was handled badly. now, i could be forgiven for saying that, i have a vested interest in the out come of this race. but i think most pennsylvaniaians feel it was handled badly and it's a black mark on pennsylvania. the way penn state was handled was one more instance of how

we've handled things poorly here. >> i'm going to editorialize. i think it's coming back. you don't have to say it. i'm not running for anything. i don't know what kind of words were passed about san dusky's behavior, but horsing around doesn't mean anything. it's a terrible thing that happened to those kids. people should have used english language to describe it. anyway, thank you, and good luck in the race. it's one hell of a story that you may be pulling off here. >> thanks. the republicans' effort to keep minorities from voting, i'm talking about them killing the black voting. plus, a republican running in north carolina called same-sex couple gremlins. gremlins. that's coming to the roundtable. you're watching "hardball," a place for politics. and stay awake during the day. this is called non-24,

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here's what's happening. ebola patient ashoka mukpo is free of the disease and will be released tomorrow morning. a freelance videographer working for nbc news contract the disease working in liberia. also, nina pham's been updated from good to fair. he became ill while streeting thomas eric duncan. meanwhile, travelers -- u.s. officials believe three colorado girls who flew to germany over the weekend intended to continue to to syria and join up with islamic militants. now back to "hardball." >> back to "hardball." while some in the republican

party are trying to discourage black voters, there are democratic candidates taking the black vote for granted. will that haunt them to election day? also, in south carolina, one candidate called same-sex couples gremlins. how is it that a candidate still talks like that in 2014? michelle bernard, matthew littman, a former speech writer, and republican strategist john ferry. i want to talk about this. people pay attention to me. there's two issues that get me crazy. one is stupid wars, stupid stuff as the president calls it. and the other is an attempt by somebody to keep somebody from voting. it's a right. you shouldn't have to make the case with all kinds of documentation. you have a right to vote. i just think it's gotten completely out of hand. i don't think it's racist, but

if i were black and somebody said you can't vote because of this, i'd take it personal. >> well, how could you not take it personal? as an african american and particularly as an african american woman, i would say that you sit back and you watch and although we know it's not legally permissible, it feels as though it's been legally permissible to murder trayvon martin, to murder michael brown, and then what comes next, to murder black people's ability to vote. some americans have declared a war on black boys. it feels like some americans have declared a war on black people, period. if you have to stand in line for a long time to vote, it's a poll tax that minimum wage workers can't afford to pay. if you don't have access to i.d., it's another way of killing black america and relegating us to a permanent under class. >> let's wait for the grand jury for my view on some of that

stuff. but i think the attitude comes across that way. >> i mean, i would take it personally too if i were an african american person. but if the republican party can get all the people in california not to vote, they would do it if they could. i don't think it's about african americans necessarily. -- >> what about the guy who talked about the lazy blacks? i thought he was personal. did you see him? >> of course that's ridiculous. but it's not the baseline. that's not the comparison. they just don't want people to vote who are going to vote against them. >> but why not just open -- why like do something to make african americans want to vote for the republican party, rather than suppress the vote? >> why not convert? >> i follow the lead of jim sense brenner who has pushed a voting rights update which should happen. it's a bipartisan bill, there's also an allowance of some voter i.d. because you have to have a compromise with the legislative process. i think the idea of republicans

trying to suppress the vote, that perception is out there. i think republicans have to overact to make sure that perception is eliminated, because you have to get votes everywhere. >> the big business types, the hotels, everybody's in the business of needing cheap labor, a lot of it illegal. they don't want i.d. cards and work permits. but come time to vote, they want to see an i.d. card. there's a little bit of a problem. because they want you you working for them, but not being citizens. voting is a right. >> if you're doing voter i.d. thing, give people resources to get the voter i.d. cards. >> let's talk about the sex thing. we're talking race here. what about this gremlins thing. what's in the republican mind-set where the candidate, he's not going to win, but he's running. >> i'm not a republican, but we can't condemn the whole republican party based on one -- >> how about this guy.

down in south carolina, the republican candidate running against james clyburn had shocking things to say about same-sex couples. last week, he wrote, same-sex marriage is a pestolence that has descended on our society against our will by those in the courts and government that do not value the traditional family. same-sex couples that seek to destroy our way of life and the institution of marriage are not cute and cuddly, but rather gremlins that will only destroy our way of life. he said he was referring to the 1980s movie gremlins. not surprising, he came under fire, including from his own party leaders. but he's not backing down. he released a statement, in fact, a new video defending his comments. let's watch it. >> i noticed something ironic about this. all across the nation, i have had all these biggots calling me a biggot, which i found that

ironic. i think it's really funny. what we have is, i made a comment that same-sex couples that want to destroy traditional marriage, and our way of life, they're gremlins. they're these creaturures that are so disgusting. >> there was a train going by there. what do you make of that guy? >> that's a hell of a video. [ laughter ] >> i think the interesting thing here, almost anyone who is represented, any political party, it gets to youtube and it's a blot on the whole party. there's all kinds of crazy people who say all kinds of things. we should put this in perspective. >> he's speaking in line with the republican platform. >> the platform says nothing about gremlins. >> no, but it's the republican

party platform. we define marriage as the union of one man and one woman. >> we'll see what happens in the next convention. >> so the platform doesn't mean anything. >> the ad is one of the most bizarre i've seen all campaign season. but what's interesting, this is in south carolina. in the south, this time, we are seeing, i think, a big competition between white voters and black voters. white voters who dislike the president, and also dislike gay marriage, and in south carolina, and in north carolina, a lot of african americans are very conservative on this issue, and they do not like gay marriage. it is the way that george bush and karl rove went after the black vote in 2004 and they picked up points on that issue alone. there's a slight possibility that he might tick off some of the votes that would go for clyburn on that issue alone.

[ all speak at once ] >> this guy is an idiot and he's going to lose. right? so that will be the end of this guy. in two weeks, you'll never see him again. >> and he's wrong. >> if you google the word grem lin, you'll get him. anyway, they said the party would no longer support his candidacy. he said most people learned in kirnt garten not to call other people names. our party believes in the conservative definition of marriage, but we believe in loving our neighbors and treating them with respect. his des pration antics in no way representative the decent south carolinians. there you have it, your party is clean as a whistle. >> let's move on. [ laughter ] >> for the rest of your lives the word "grem lin" will be associated with this guy. up next, we'll talk about the side of president obama everybody loves. and what happened when a voter in chicago told the president not to mess with his girlfriend. he was joking, but it's all in

this video, which i think shows the president's personality at work when you don't really see it. this is "hardball." synchrony financial partners with over two hundred thousand businesses, from fashion retailers to healthcare priders, from jewelers to sporting good stores, to help their customers get what they want and need. banking. loyalty. analytics. synchrony financial.

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44-43. a western kentucky university poll puts mcconnell's lead at three, 45-42. in colorado, a new poll shows gardner leading udall by one now. 47-46. these are so close. in kansas, it's all tied up. roberts and orman, both 46 all. and shaheen up three, a new poll has her at 48, but not 50. and scott brown at 45. that's still close. we'll be right back. just look for our fall tv picks with xfinity on demand. quickly find the season's hottest shows, with a handpicked collection all in one place. only from xfinity.

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>> back at if round table. michelle bernard and our frent, john theory. . . president obama was at his local polling place in chicago, chi-town -- to cast early e lerkss. this's when two local voters struck conversation with the free world. let's show you this and we'll show you the type of actually what's being said.

>> well, you know, you can tell when somebody's on camera and when they're not. he didn't think he was on camera. >> no, first of all, with obama, at this point, with isis and ebola, i'd be hiding in the white house. i'd come out in 2017 and be scared out of my mind. i'm amazed that he was so funny. but the reason why we care about this is because it shows somebody unscripted. somebody being spontaneous. somebody willing to say something that may not be the perfect thing to say. >> but you work for biden? >> everything went perfectly well. the alison grimes thing, with her not willing to say who she voted for, it's ridiculous. and that's part of what

irritates us about politics. it's because everybody's afraid. >> it's what people want in politics. they love to know that the person is at home, the lights are on and somebody's home. there's somebody there. >> this was a nice moment for the president. i thought he could understand what this poor lady was going through with this idiot boyfriend. it was a nice moment. very unscripted. it will give people, hey, this is a cool guy. that's the nice thing about president obama. when he's off-camera, he's instantly likable. >> in the hood, in chi-town, very comfortable. he was with his people. he had a very different cadence then when he is speaking at the

lectern, at the white house with i should say our people. >> i'm glad you owned it that way. he was like that with me a couple times. anyway, he relaxes. some people think too cool for school. but it doesn't matter, because then people think you're a wise-ass. anyway, thank you. when we return, let me finish with how the democrats running this year are treating president obama the way teenage daughters treat their dads. i don't even know why he's here. you're watching "hardball," the place for politics.

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let me finish tonight with this. i have to think that president barack obama, the father of two teenage daughters, have some personal business with this summon e shunning matters.

they don't know the fella in the white house that happens to share the same political party with them. i say that because being once the father of a teenage daughter myself, i know the feeling of being out in public with her while being treated as if i'm not actually there. you fathers know what i'm talking about. you arrive at the party, but are told to drop her off a few blocks away. she doesn't want her friends to see you dropping her off at a party. or you're out there sitting at an ice cream place and you get the distinct feeling that your daughter is pretending that while you may be at the same table as her, it's one of those european seating deals where everyone sits with everyone else to save space. anyway, the deal is you drive the car, you pay for the ice cream or the meal but you are not seen and definitely not heard. if she's having a party at your house, well, you know the drill there, too. disappear until everyone is gone from the place. this is what the president feels

like when she hears alison grimes say she won't say whether she's voted for him or not. wow, but a far knows that. anyway, that's "hardball" for now. "all in" with chris hayes starts right now. >> tonight on "all in." don't touch my girlfriend. >> the judge report tries to implicate the president in a sex scandal. the couple at the center of it all join me live tonight. then, as the can he be e kentucky senate race reaches a statistical dead heat, mitch mcconnell wears a sweater vest to coal country. then, new data showing just who is financing this year's senate candidates.