let federal policy fights get in the way of policy making in d.c. >> all right, well, we'll see if senator hillenbrand smokes pot with mitch mcconnell. war and peace. let's play "hardball." ♪ ♪ good evening, i'm chris math news back in washington. let me start tonight with the big question. will there be war or peace? if the president means that he will act on millions of illegal immigrants by the end of the year. >> if the republicans mean it, there will be war. this is like the weeks before world war i when both sides set up ultimatums, and put up iron walls of what they would accept. is this what the election gave

us, a battle map? two lines of political soldiers with rifles aimed across the field and no commander with the grit and wit to figure alternative. but what about the dust settles? people thinking he's legalizing millions who have come here illegally, but encouraged millions more to come. is that the solution? what will republicans have to show for doing nothing? a party who's bluff has been called. an hispanic community who feels only one party is ready to act for them. let's talk while there's still time tonight to talk. our top guest tonight, josh ernest, white house press secretary. am i wrong, or does it look like two sides are ready to go at it here? >> it doesn't have to be that way. there is a trump car that members of congress and the

republican party are holding right now. right now there's a piece of legislation that has passed through the senate. they could pass it right away, could for the economy, reduce the deficit, strengthen our borders and deal with the problem of immigrants living in the shadow. make them pay taxes, learn english, go to the back of the line, but help them get right with the law. if republicans put that legislation on the floor, pass it, the president wouldn't have to act unilaterally, wouldn't have to use executive authority, just his pen to sign the bill into law. >> but there's things you don't point out here. why doesn't the president make the case for the teeth in the bill? i.d. cards, real use of verify, no more hiring cheap illegal labor, why doesn't he say that? he makes the pro-immigrant case. why didn't see make the other part of the bill in the deal?

>> the first is, the president spends a lot of time talking about the resources that would go to the border in this situation. >> don't talk about the border. that's another duck. [ all speak at once ] look, the number one magnet for people to come to this country is not that the walls are higher or lower. people come to this country to get jobs. illegal jobs, where businesses exploit the hell out of them. this law would get rid of that. why don't you say that? >> we have talked about how to level the playing field and take away an incentive that some unscrupulous business owners have to hire cheap illegal labor. the other thing that's true about the bill, it's a compromise piece of legislation. the president didn't get everything he wanted in it. so he's talking about the things that he thinks are most important. and the republicans talk about what they like. >> the president said he's going to act by the end of the year. the congress, the house of representatives, they only have 15 days to do it. do you think they'll do it?

>> well, chris, i don't know. my guess is they probably won't. they have had more than a year and a half to do it and they haven't so far. but all this passion about the president not taking executive action, the truth is, the republicans and the house of representatives are the only ones who can prevent him from taking executive action. they can pass the bill and he'd sign that instead. is it still possible for the president and the republicans, whether it's the speaker or the new senate majority leader to sit down and have a quiet conversation that doesn't leak out, so they can begin this process of probing for each other's ways that they're willing to give? >> i think it is possible. >> a private conversation? >> i think private conversations are still possible and they can still be fruitful. the president mentioned that senator mcconnell was somebody who knows how to keep the commitments that he makes. and there have been occasions where senator mcconnell in very difficult situations has shown an ability to make promises and

deliver on them when it comes to rounding up votes. so i think there's an opportunity to cut a deal with mitch mcconnell, absolutely. >> numbers are great. you say seven, i say nine. let's go with eight. let's talk about the issues where we might get something done. trade expansion, a republican goal. some moderate democrats too. certainly tax reform. they want lower corporate rates, lower individual rates. minimum wage is a democratic issue. infrastructure spending has become a democratic issue. all four of those work together potentially to have a shared economic growth path if you put them all together. isn't that a real chance for a grand deal to get things rolling for the middle class? >> it could be. i think probably some of these things are easier to do in bite size portions. if you're going to build confidence, build a track record in dealing with one another, maybe easier to do it in bite size chunks.

we'll do one thing on expanding exports, or one thing on infrastructure and that could lead to a bigger deal, or the capacity to reach a broader agreement. >> if you put everything together, you have a lot more running room. the republicans will say, we'll spread out that $10.50. we'll go to a higher minimum wage, but we'll take a while. we got to do it in staging. but in return, we want you to help us with trade expansion. or money for infrastructure spending. seems a larger playing field gives you more opportunity to play off. there's so little common ground. we can agree it's thursday. after that, it gets very tricky in politics. and i'm asking, through you, i hope the president looks at compromise and deal-making and the dirty old word politics, get in the back room and trade some horses. looking for common ground is hopeless.

you don't have anything in common with mitch mcconnell, do you? >> you think there are small things. you mentioned infrastructure. i bet you right now, mitch mcconnell knows kentucky really well. i bet you off the top of his head, he can name ten projects that he thinks are a worthy investment. and i bet you the president would agree all ten of those things are worth funding. it's not a grand bargain, but it's worth moving forward on. >> i love that. kennedy couldn't get the conservatives to spend money. how about spending on defense? okay, we'll do that. spending on space? we'll do that. we don't want to do social stuff. you got to go where the soft stuff is. thank you for joining me. david, you're in the home court here. what do you say? what's new here? >> i don't know if there's much -- >> come on! he said we're going to let those guys have some pork.

>> maybe we come up with a grand deal to get some money to kentucky, and we'll call it the matthews option. but the thing is -- >> spend some money on jobs growth. >> right now the white house is doing what you'd expect them to do. they're laying back. the president named the things he wanted to get done. the lame duck tenure. something on immigration. ball's in your court, mitch mcconnell. so the republicans have to figure out how they're going to play this. there are more tea party, call them extremists or die-hard, whatever you want to call them, in the house. that's where the problem was. remember john boehner saying, it's so hard -- >> if there was a vote in the house right now, how good a majority would it be? a wide open vote on the senate bill. >> on the senate bill in the house? >> yeah. >> i think he's get 350 votes. easy. you get almost every democrat and you get half the republicans. do the math. >> so why didn't boehner throw it open to the house and say,

vote your conscience, vote, i think we need immigration reform? then he could retire. [ laughter ] no, really. do one big thing and then walk. >> i'm not certain he wouldn't do that. you're right about the window here. we'll see how that plays out. i took from josh's interview the fact that after six years these guys still don't trust each other. when you talk about maybe we do this in bite-size chunks and just see how it works out, that's still, at the end of the day, chris, is still the underlying issue. it really is. >> that sounds like the israelis, let's do confidence-building. >> let him finish. what's wrong with a grand deal on the things we're talking about? >> there's nothing wrong with the grand deal on this. because you have the framework. the framework, and josh hit it, it's the senate bill. so the question now for, i think, quite honestly for mcconnell in this interim, this lame-duck session, putting the ball, helping to put the ball in

the republicans' court in the house to get this done. >> are they ways to help them pass? for example, i push on this so often. and the progressive side, nobody likes to talk about it. you can't just pass amnesty. so you say no. people living here for 20 and 30 years, they're americans, get it over with, move on, get them to pay taxes. >> because they're not rounding them up. >> we're not going to ever do that. but everybody has the reasonable concern about reasonable border control, and immigration policies. he wouldn't just say, yeah, there's some tough -- he doesn't want to do that. >> this is not the problem. the problem is not the president selling the bill to conservatives. >> who's going to do it? >> john boehner. john boehner can't sell the bill. the president said yesterday,

very smart. mitch mcconnell, he keeps his promise. we can work with him. he did it on the debt crisis. do they say about that john boehner? no. >> are you arguing just to argue? >> no. [ all speak at once ] >> john boehner can't make it happen, it won't happen. >> i'm right and you're wrong, thank you. >> can mitch mcconnell get john boehner -- >> but it's not how you get a deal. >> give me a second here. it's not just what john boehner has to do. it's not just what mitch mcconnell has to do. it is also, and chris is right, you can see the leash on the question that was asked, josh couldn't go there, because the white house, the president himself is not prepared to go there. >> it's in the bill. it's there. >> then have the president come out and say it. >> why is it -- >> because to do this -- >> excuse me. [ all speak at once ]

>> you can't get a vote in the house. >> how long have you been in this town? you know daggone well there comes a point where the president of the united states can frame the argument to give people the space to move into? and the president -- [ all speak at once ] >> you know what i'd do? you know what the president could do? i think he will do the eo. but what he ought to do before that, call a joint session of congress, talk directly to the republican members and say, you want to compromise, this senate bill is a compromise. i'm not anti-immigrant, but i'm willing to do this to make this law pass and i'm doing it. now it's your turn. >> i don't think the republicans will move in the house on this. >> we'll see. >> they've had a year and a half to move. >> if he pulls the trigger, he better bargain beforehand.

i think we all agree. [ laughter ] >> coming up, the public wants action on the economy. the number one issue of the election, but since 2009, the stock market is way up to the roof. the unemployment rate is down. president obama and the democrats didn't get credit at all. maybe they should have asked for it. who will get the credit if the economy continues to improve? the republicans? the democrats? or both? anyway, come on back, "hardball," the place for politics.

catch this. gay marriage could be heading to the u.s. supreme court. that's because late today a federal appeals court in cincinnati upheld gay marriage bans in ohio, michigan, kentucky, and tennessee. bucking a trend set by other federal courts that have overturned similar laws across the country. that divide among federal appeals courts raises the likelihood that the u.s. supreme

court will take up the issue and settle it once and for all. "hardball," back after this. female announcer: tuesday's your last chance to save big

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welcome back to "hardball." the economy was the albatross around democrats's necks this election. but it didn't have to be that way, did it? this economy ain't chopped liver. unemployment below 6%. 10 million new jobs. lowest deficit since 2008. health care is growing. gas prices below $3 a gallon. the auto industry is back thanks to the government and president obama, and the stock market is at an all-time high today. but voters weren't buying any of those numbers? 70% of voters said the economy was in the dumps. didn't trust the democrats to fix it. our nbc election poll showed republicans carrying it on that issue by a nine-point edge over democrats on the economy. so the republicans got the advantage.

but if the voters weren't buying it, were the democrats actually selling? compared today to 1984, like today the country back then was still digging itself out of a bad recession. but when people went to the polls, the unemployment rate was higher than it is today, at 7.5%, but the president campaigned on the progress. he took the credit. here's the clip from his advertisements. >> this afternoon, 6,500 young many and women will be married, and with inflation at less than half of what it was just four years ago, they can look forward with confidence, to the future. it's morning again in america, and under the leadership of president reagan, our country is prouder and stronger, and better. >> what a voice that guy has. in this recovery, democrats never took credit, whether it was the stimulus, saving the

auto industry, or creating 10 million new jobs. people still want something when it comes to the economy. what do they want? when will they get it? who will get the credit now? barney frank with you, congressman from massachusetts and architect of the dodd-frank wall street reform bill. >> steve rattner, adviser to the u.s. treasury, led the effort to save the auto industry. let me go to congressman frank on this issue. is this all pr, advertising, big bucks for tv that made ronald reagan somehow hero of an economy recession that he created? he was mr. cool. this president was hiding in the bushes this whole campaign because people didn't want him out there because he should have been embarrassed in some way. explain the different psychologies of the two parties on the economy. >> well, it goes back, i think, to the terrible economic crisis and the democrats had the worse one. a crisis occurred, a terrible one in 2008, that was really brought about by republican policies more than anything else, although there was some

shared blame, the deregulation. and the democrats had the responsibility of cleaning it up. you mentioned the auto effort, which was an enormous success. i believe if you poll the american people today, they would denounce the democrats for bailouts. everything that was a bail-out was started by george bush. we helped make it work. that's the lingering problem. secondly, and here is the problem with the economy. it's a vicious cycle for the democrats. it's the increasing inequality. we have the best economy in the developed world by a significant margin. but very little of that is felt by the average person. for people's income who are frozen, they get angry when they hear things are good. so we're in a vicious cycle. people are blaming government because they're not getting a part of this prosperity.

so they vote for the people who are determined to make sure the government doesn't do anything that would share things more equally. >> ronald reagan probably faced this same inequality. and yet the republicans rolled past that and took credit for the overall numbers? how can they get away with it? president reagan carried 49 states. >> two things. inequality has gotten work. there are economic factors at work and things that have exacerbated it. and the other thing is, the country has been in this terrible mood since the financial crisis. it was a para docks. we had to look as if we were helping the people who caused it. i think we should have been tougher on them. but i think that's the situation, the context in which he was operating, which was, and then there was some other factors, things like ebola and the islamic state. irrelevant to any decision made by this -- i think the president has done a good job on ebola,

but it added to the general malaise. when the people are angry, we suffer. >> barney frank made it clear there. it's all about lingo. mourning in america, bail-outs. use the right lingo and you get an edge. explain to me why the president has never gotten credit for saving an iconic american industry? we love cars. who are the new cars? what are the hot cars? where's the excitement now about the auto industry coming back? >> well, i think the president has gotten some credit for the auto industry. look what happened in the 2012 election when he carried michigan, he carried ohio. i think if you look at the polls, while congressman frank is right, bailouts are generally unpopular, i think the auto industry rescue has tipped into

positive territory. let me take one thing congressman frank said and bring it forward. inequality in and of itself i don't think is the major problem. i think it's bad, but i don't think it's what's bothering americans. what's bothering americans, the average american has still not gotten a pay increase in the last six years. it's not president obama's fault. there's a lot of complicated reasons. but wages are down after you adjust for inflation. it's hard to say, this is great, and there are ten million new jobs. if you look at jobs, there's a smaller percentage of americans working today than six years ago. again, the president has done a great job bringing this country back, but it's still a glass half full for many americans and therefore it's a hard case to make. >> getting the economy growing, not necessarily more fairly, but growing. trade expansion, a republican issue. tax reform, corporate tax reduction rates. that's more of a republican issue. what's it called?

minimum wage. that's a democratic issue. and infrastructure has become a democratic issue. in those areas, is there a combination of those different policy improvements that could get the economy growing for everybody, steve rattner? >> yes, i think all the things you mentioned would actually be, if they're done right, fair to the average american, that are not simply a give-away to big business. and one other one you didn't mention which is education and training. when you look at what's happened to wages. down about 3 or 4% over the last six years. we need to reeducate, retrain these people, train the younger people for the jobs of the future. these are all incredibly positive things that can happen, but we've had nothing but gridlock for the last two years. >> how do you put a deal together that helps? minimum wage, a progressive approach to infrastructure, because that means real jobs with good salaries. >> it's hard. obviously we had an election that didn't go our way. so it's a little hard to dictate

the agenda. what we'll have to do is compromise. the republicans want corporate tax reform. there are ways you can do that that are not a give-away to big business. use the proceeds for infrastructure and education. we have to be willing to make compromises to move the country forward. >> while we're being positive here, because i want to for a little while at least. mitch mcconnell wants to take away dodd-frank. is he going to get somewhere with the republican senate? are there areas they can repeal the good work you did with senator dodd? >> i hope they try. i agree, the auto bailouts are popular. mitt romney had trouble trying to explain why he hadn't been for them. much of the specifics are popular. government is a rare example that exists in the political world, but not in the physical

world. >> i agree. >> but with regard to financial reform, they don't like the consumer bureau. let them try to dismantle that. they want to re-deregulate derivatives. they talk a good game here. i think in the end, they aren't going to do this. the american people, if there's anything they dislike more than incompetent government, it's the financial reform. they think the financial industry was treated too gently in response to the crisis. so if that's what mcconnell thinks, can i just say, one thing he said that i thought was extraordinary. in self-denigration. he said when the president talked about doing some things by executive orders, as far as the republican party was concerned, it was like waving a

red flag in front of a bull. describing your own party as a dumb animal that goes into a frenzy when it sees a non-threatening object, i guess to some extent that's right. that's the way i see the tea party. but it's interesting to see him join in that characterization. >> i think you out-thought him. tomorrow's friday. would you like to open a can of tuna tomorrow that's not inspected? would you like to get on a plane without the inspection of the airplane? government doesn't get a good sales pitch. but without it, we'd be in trouble. >> and the church has changed on that thinking. >> i don't have to tell me. i've outsourced my thinking. thank you, barney frank. and steve rattner, smile because you helped save the auto industry. thank you. up next, michael jordan launched a war of words when he criticized president obama's golf game. well, now the president -- this isn't serious stuff.

he's hitting back. i'm sure they like each other. this is "hardball," the place for politics. glorification. alternative.

♪ >> ha! welcome back to "hardball." time for the side show. some of the youngest republicans ever won seats to the united states house and senate on tuesday. so the daily show's john stewart offered his take on how the democrats can compete with a younger, fresher, republican party. >> republican tom cotton defeating democrat mark pryor. >> he will be the youngest senator at the age of 37. >> at 30 becoming the youngest woman ever elected to congress. >> the democratic party's leadership is going to look old and stale, in comparison to where the republicans are. >> oh, please. old and stale! oh, my god! someone put the bandages back on

those mummies. oh, my god! if they want to compete with new young republicans, harry reid is going to have to get sleeve tattoos and a vest stat. >> i don't think that shade of pink suits harry reid. meanwhile steve colbert played off his party's election with a celebration only he could call humble. take a look. >> i want to be sensitive to all my liberal viewers. i've been told some liberals watch the show. i don't know why. it's a free country. so as happy as i am that america is now headed in the right direction, i'm not going to spike the metaphor cal football, or even literal football that i had made with obama a face on it right there. okay? i'm also not going to have a balloon drop, that would be tacky. let's cancel the balloon drop, clear the balloons out and get the victory music out of the speakers. get rid of it!

♪ >> woo! >> you know, one thing you learn after years of going to political conventions, the republicans always get the balloon drop right. it comes down just like it's supposed to. democrats have never learned how to do the balloon drop. maybe that says something. finally from spoking the football to going par for the course, last week we told you that former basket star, the greatest perhaps, michael jordan's harsh words about president obama's golf game. >> never played with obama, but i would. that's okay, take him out, he's a hack. i'd be all day playing with him. >> do you really want to say that about the president of the united states? >> never said he wasn't a great politician, but he can't play golf for [ bleep ]. >> the president fought back.

>> there is no doubt that up next, a collision coming between president obama and the new congress. and immigration is the hot baby. there's a left and there's a right that wants to fight. plus, there's all kinds of talk that hillary clinton has to announce for president now. i say, who says? the roundtable is coming here next, and you're watching "hardball," the place for politics. while every business is unique,

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welcome back to "hardball." as i said at the start of the show tonight, the pitchforks are out and the collision could be coming with a new republican senate and some on the right and left are sparring for a political fight. how will that play out? also, why are democrats

getting a little more credit when it comes to the economy? just as the 2014 election season is winding down, the 2016 campaign is ramping up. democrats are turning their attention to health care who is expected to pursue her party's nomination a second time. does hillary clinton want a target put on her back so soon? those questions for the roundtable tonight. joe madison. "time" magazine has mitch mcconnell. jay newton small. and lance simmons, the arthur of the evolution of a revolution. let's go to this question where the pitchforks are out. it's like barbara tuckman in the guns of august. president said by the end of this year, i will go by executive order to maybe legalize millions of people here if the congress doesn't act. they have 15 days on their

second to act. any chance the house will act and pass the senate bill? >> i think they're going to want to act. they keep saying they're not going to allow this to stand. this is outrageous. they're going to defend it. there's going to be too much outcry. >> will they act before the president does it his way? >> absolutely not. >> it's the red flag in front of the bull. >> that's right. there will be war. the reality is, i think you were bringing this up after the election. it's not a common-ground situation. somebody said, you know, somebody wants nine. somebody wants seven. you got to find eight. >> but you can trade. >> of course you can trade. >> you can trade people here illegally for stopping the flow of people coming here for cheaper jobs in the future. you can do that. >> the senate did that already last session. >> every time i hear them say border, i think it's bs. i would like to say anybody can find a way to get here to get a job.

be it boat or airplane, you can get here. >> you can only have a compromise. you can only have what you're looking for. if you have confidence in the abilities of the negotiators. and i think there's a crisis of confidence in this country. the crisis in confidence in our leaders and our institutions. >> nobody trusts the leaders to make the deal. >> exactly. >> going back to my old world of tip and reagan. no bigger liberal and conservative. so when they dealt, they dealt. let me ask you about this other thing. so we agree they're going to war, right? no compromise. >> yes. >> we showed earlier, the guy with the wonderful voice on the radio. it's morning and america, all these young people are getting married, everything's great. the unemployment rate was higher then than it is now. there was no reason to brag about it, and there was reagan in the end zone. unemployment, way down from where it was when w. left office. the auto industry and back from

extinction. gas prices are below three bucks. up around four, people would be bitching about that. we're not there yet, but we're moving in the right direction. nobody has said that. >> radio has changed. when i started in radio, you had the fairness doctrine. you don't have that fairness doctrine now. now what you have is the stratification. i'm going to listen to who i like and that message. that's why you can't get the message out. everything you said is true. >> is that why the president only used black radio? >> he didn't only use black radio. the problem was, he used it to late. the reality is, black radio is the drum beat. that's the drum beat of the community. i take exception with one word the media kept using, that it was stealth. >> it was meant to not get in the face of the conservative

white voter. wasn't it done that way? >> as if they didn't know we were here? [ laughter ] >> i'm stuck between progressive and patriot channels, so i know they know i'm there because they're going back and forth. >> let's talk pr. reagan's crowd knew how to spike the ball. they brag really well. democrats, tell me why they don't brag about anything on the economy front. >> it was sort of ebola, ebola, ebola. and then obamacare, obamacare. then there was isis and beheadings. every five minutes, there was some new crisis and the president's not going to be involved, the president's disconnected, then he gets involved, and then the president's too involved, too much there. >> let's get to another question.

the president did two things the republicans didn't like that both worked. the stimulus got the spending going on. they really did save the auto industry, against the advice of people like mitt romney. those are clear-cut cases, and yet, as steve rattner said earlier, they call them bailouts. they put them down. not saving efforts, or successes. so republicans win the war with lingo. >> fear, anger, frustration, all are winners in this -- >> for who? >> -- in atmosphere we're in right now. this environment. they're winners for the republicans. they've been playing off this and winning off this for a long time. i think when you go down that route, you're closing off rationality. when you close off rationality -- >> progressives have this one problem. they keep talking to each other. real quick, i'm going to tell you this. when i graduated from washington university, i come back thanksgiving day, i'm waxing eloquently at the table -- >> which one? >> st. louis. >> that's a really good one. >> that's right, that's right.

>> i spoke at the commencement. real good. >> and they make you pay for it. but here's the deal. i came back, waxed eloquently at the table, my grandfather looked at me and said, joseph, will you put it where the goats can get it? and i looked at him like he looked at me, what the hell does that mean? put it simple. goats go to the root. we don't go to the root of these issues. >> remember denzel washington in that movie? talk to me like i'm your grandmother. >> that's right. and progressives don't do that. they want to impress each other with the language. >> anyway, the roundtable is coming back with talk that hillary clinton has to announce really fast for president. who says? you know what, who says? this is "hardball," the place for politics.

which tv market was inundated with the most campaign ads this election year? anchorage, alaska. they aired the most ads of any station in the country. ktuu in anchorage played more than 16,000 political ads this year. and the senate race up in alaska is still up in the air. if you watch these ads back to back in one sitting, it would take over 11 days to see them all. no mas, no mas.

we'll be right back.

we're brak at the round table with joe madison. you know, politico's who's reading with hillary clinton and even before a republican majority was declared in the senate, democrats are saying they hope clinton, a secretary clinton, that was her reporting for politico. some are talking about opening an exploratory commission this year while others are adamant that she should wait until next year. some say tuesday night that clinton will want to wait a bit to let the 2014 midterms pass by and to get some distance between herself and a blood bath that happened. she also generally doesn't seem ready to flip a switch on a campaign in a number of decisions made and, more importantly, messaging. there's a funny word. jay, i think she should do

this. my late stepmother said spend your life looking ahead. don't listen to all of these voices. keep that clear line of sight. i think it works for a lot of things. but especially running for president. don't try to be elizabeth warren. don't worry about what obama's up to. just be the person you want to offer to the american people as their next president. think about that. >> it's absolutely a very personal decision that she has to make. but, at the same time, the first thing that herb did after election day was turn around to her and say this is all hillary's fault. you know, the entire campaign, the loss, the democratic loss in the senate, look at all of these campaigns that she campaigned for that lostz. these are all her losses. she's already taking enormous amounts of flak. >> and the reality is, you know,

what? do you give a tax advantage if you contribute to a campaign before december 31st? what's the deal here? of course you don't. the reality is it's going to seem like a lifetime when she does announce. and, plus, don't you want to wait until the state of the union address so if your candidate before and president obama says something at that state of the union, where are the cameras going to be? >> that's the big question, lance. it's very hard to succeed a president if you're a part of him for eight years. it happened once sips van buren. it's very hard. you've got to run as something new, something different, but, also, spg loyal. that's hard. >> look, i nif, as a person,

both you and i appreciate very much. i think it's absurd to be poipting at clinton saying look how many kand dpats they went out for and didn't win. no races legitimately are won or lost on endorsements, first of all. second of all, i think she is in such a positive position right now, being essentially held up as the person to beat. >> she's supposed to be cleaning all of the troubles of the nation right now. what does she think about obama's response to ebola? or isis? with immigration reform and whether it happens, all of these things are going to be things

that she's going to squ to weigh in on. and the reality is it's so much more intense. >> look at the way rand paul did it the other day. >> he's not afraid of anybody. i think that's part of the game they play. anyway, i am watching rand paul. not like a lot of progressive buddies around here. i think he's interesting to watch. and i still think he's the one guy with any kind of magic that might be this nomination. thank you, any time. >> thank you. when we come back, actually, when i come back, we're going to finish with the way this election finished in kentucky tuesday night. i really watched what mitch mcconnell had to say. i'm going to keep watching this guy. i'm looking at you, mitch. you're watching "heart ball," the place for politics. see? [ female announcer ] crest whitestrips work

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let me finish tonight with the way the election finished in kentucky tuesday night. i hereby congratulate mitch mcconnell. senator mcconnell, you said yesterday that you recall how president reagan and tip o neil fixed social security. how they cut tax rates together down to 28%. they did it not by finding common ground, but by finding

areas in which to compromise. you give, i give, we both get something out of it. i wish you well on taking this route. left and right can deal and ene end up with something really good for the country. it's why we have this sl r system. i should say that i didn't like the way you began the obama presidency, that your number one goal back then was to knock this new guy out of office. but i must say i like your new approach in finding goals to work for the country. it reminds me of what some wise guy out in hollywood said about some movie star who began making lovable movies in which he played the hard to get girl. he said i knew her before she was a virgin. and i knew you, mitch mcconnell, when you were out for obama. i like the new mitch a lot better. so for the good of the country, keep at this new approach, senator, it will win you some fans out there and it won't cost

you a single one. that's "hardball" for now. thanks for being with us. "all in" with chris hayes starts right now. >> tonight on "all in". >> you play with matches, you're going to burn yourself. >> the president promises executive action on immigration. and on obamacare, john boehner claims a mandate from obamacare. >> we'll ask why the law remains unpopular. >> the president pushes back against criticism from michael jordan on his golf game. >> there is no doubt that michael was a better golfer than