>> we're going to end the tv show right now and have someone else take over on tv. and then we'll sit here. we'll do more of this. it will be up online. >> right. >> and it's going to have to be almost as clean as this. >> it will be. it's another $7,000, right? days of anger, ferguson, the immigration order, a weekend beheading, a new ebola death, stopping iran's nuclear path, an imminent fight over keystone all coming to the american doorstep this week. suddenly the whole world is playing "hardball." good evening. i'm chris matthews in washington. it's a gloomy world out there we're facing tonight. we expect a decision from ferguson, missouri, anytime now. i would like to live in a world where we all look at the evidence presented to that grand

jury and weigh it openly and honestly. we've 11 million people living illegally in this country. i would lake to live in a world where that fact could be accepted and dealt with fairly along with immigration policy generally. we had a fifth beheading buy isis yesterday. i would like to see a way to end this horror. we had another person die of ebola today in this country. this is the last week of hope for agreeing to avert weapons. we face an on rush of anger. on the ferguson matter alone even if the events were televised live there would be division on what we were seeing before our very eyes. if we knew the facts about illegal immigration there still wouldn't be a unified decision on that front. and so we face an explosion of news in the coming days. will there be anywhere a calming, just voice that we can trust? i'd like to make it here where i keep my faith with my colleagues and our self-government and our

democracy and hope that we can get it together and, yes, even to the worst times make it better. howard fineman is editorial director with "the huffington post" and eugene robinson, a pulitzer prize-winning columnist for "the washington post," both msnbc political analysts. gentlemen, of my same age. i do think one of our jobs here generally speaking is to try to find the truth all the time. but, also, to try to understand the american emotions. and to try to reconcile to some extent we're a better country in the future, our goal is to make this country better through truth, to get the news and present it in a way that means hope. we have ferguson coming. you can come tonight, tomorrow, in three days. in your sense we're going to get that news to use it. will it be useful information about what happened that horrible time when young michael brown was killed? >> i think it will be divisive but i still see hope in it because i think that people -- i know st. louis pretty well. i know the city. i think that i -- my hope is in the fundamental decency of the people of the midwest ultimately, and the people of

st. louis who share a common stake in their own city and in both the image and reality of their own city. the governors has put out a state of emergency in preparation for this, but i think we have no choice but to hope for the best. what the president does and says, it still remains very important. this may be a situation where his cool demeanor and logical approach, i think, can be helpful. >> do you think he has a role here because he has an attorney general -- we have an attorney general. the best thing i think they can do is bring truth. as much information gives us a mind's eye sense of what happened that day beginning to end. >> yes, exactly. and i think it depends, frankly, the reaction will depend largely on how much information we get and how credible and how full that information is and there's an odd thing at work here because if there is no indictment, which is what people seem to expect, maybe we'll get a fuller story.

if there is, however, an indictment for any offense, the prosecution is unlikely to lay out the entire case. >> the transcripts don't go out if there's an indictment? >> i think it's unlikely we're going to get -- the prosecution never tips its hand before the case if they expect to convict somebody. >> i knew they were at this point because of our racial problems and injustice, let's be honest about it, it would be hard for everyone to see the same. justice, even if they all see the same picture. it would help. we get a picture of the picture. i wonder if they thought this through and they're going to present all the evidence they have when they do announce -- >> that's a great word, picture counts. i was at a fabulous event today, earlier today, a tree was planted at the capitol in memory of emmett till. and what you just said reminded me that it was the picture, it was the picture in "jet" magazine of emmett till's face

that became one of the enduring -- >> what did he do, whistle at a girl or something? what was the so-called provocation? >> yes, he whistled at a girl in mississippi. >> let's talk about the other thing coming our way, that is a political thing. i expect if millions of people, men and women, family members are all after sudden told they will never be deported, they can get jobs in this country, eligible for green cards, they'll become, in effect, americans living here, their lives will be totally changed, there will be a lot of happy excitement. what else will happen? >> well, what else will happen is that people who oppose, i would say, who oppose any deal on immigration, many republicans, most republicans, i think you would have to say, they will paint the president as an out-of-control autocrat. and that's going to be poisonous politically. and the president is going to be talking about people, and they're going to be talking about the law.

and politically i think the people argument wins. >> the pictures again. >> the pictures. >> happy people. >> but, look, the president is going to have very little political cover here because on a whole series of these things, you mentioned a lot of these issues. a lot of it depends on his decisions whether it's this immigration decision or dealing with iran or the other things that you mentioned. his kind of go it alone presidency, and that's kind of the way he's operated, often leaves him without any political cover. and that makes it more divisive and more complicated to defend him and that's -- because it's not like it's a bipartisan thing here. he's doing this on his own. a lot of people think it's justified especially given republican and transigents, about but without a sort of joining of hands, that's what we're talking about in america today, chris, talking about a

joining of hands, is that is still possible. it's harder in this situation because the president, in his view because he was forced to, is going it alone. that always makes it are more divisive in our society because our politics is designed to eventually forge some kind of agreement. >> what do you think would be the reaction, besides the 7 million happy people? >> it's unclear because polls show that what president obama is likely to do is a kind of solution that most people would support. yet it might be objection to the way he does it that goes beyond republican and transients. some people might be unsettled by it. i think the president's calculation is that, you know what, if you're going to paint me as an out-of-control autocrat anyhow, demonize anything i do anyhow, we kind of tried it your way. those who say be restrained being let's wait. we tried that before the election. a lot of good it did the endangered democrats. >> that's the point you make. he doesn't come out of this election as a sound man

politically. he's an unpopular figure right now. not with me but he is an unpopular figure on immigration, keystone, the president has left little doubt. it's clear he plans to extend that order. >> i can't wait in perpetuity when i have authorities that at least for the next two years can improve the system. >> and another issue unconvinced of the united states benefit here at home of the keystone pipeline which is a very red-hot issue out west in this country. let's listen. >> understand what this project is. it is providing the abbott of canada to pump their oil, send it through our land down to the gulf where it will be sold everywhere else. it doesn't have an impact on u.s. gas prices. >> we have a couple more issues to get to in just about three minutes. one, howard, before we get to keystone, more important than that the beheading. i have to admit, i'm a typical

american. i'm not a journalist or anything else when it comes to this. when i see a beheading, if someone said push this button and kill isis, i'd push it. a week later i go to the same old rotation. why the hell are we over there at all? i bounce back and forth from screw those bastards to they're humiliating us to why are we in their country at all? >> i go back to president obama here because like the immigration executive order that he's apparently going to issue, like the decision of keystone, here is the situation where he as commander in chief has to decide how many more troops and how much more force to put in there to fight isis. they're not going to get a declaration of war or i even think an authorization for the use of force out of the congress on this issue. it's the president alone again -- >> its own war? >> excuse me? >> his own war. >> he doesn't have the political cover. it's an odd situation where he's sort of a lame duck and yet he's

empowered and empowering himself to do things without political support around him. >> so he's -- if he is in an unusual situation. >> you said your instinct at times is to push the button. they did push the button, about a week and a half ago they pushed the button and trade to essentially behead isis by killing -- >> airpower. >> they may have injured the leader of isis and they may have injured -- >> jihadi john. >> jihadi john, right. so they're trying -- they're pushing what buttons they've got. >> they're trying but the president may be forced to push more and put more in there. >> did you hear -- >> again, on his own hook. >> he's again alone because we have the airpower, the great air force of the world. we have a problem no allies on the ground. the iraqi army according to richard engel is totally infiltrated by the revolutionary guard all working for iran. >> and that's a very good point,

chris. >> we have no real good allies. >> it's not just that he's alone in these decisions and actions here in the united states politically, you're right. the same is true around the world. >> it's going to be something tomorrow. my accent you recognized. it seems to me the country overwhelmingly per capita is for this keystone pipeline. they like energy, any job they can get. it's infrastructure to most people. 60-25. tomorrow after the president's vote in the senate, he's going to come out against it. again he's the lone ranger. >> he's the lone ranger. i'm not sure that deep down inside he cares that much about keystone. >> that's the part i have a hard time -- i'm with you on that. he says he's yet to hear the case worth. >> no, we're going to have this process, we're going to do it this way. i think he has to veto it. >> why do the environmentalists, i do generally agree with, take this so much to heart this issue? we have pipelines -- everybody down the street in washington, we have pipelines opening up. a new gas line, a water line,

we're used to pipelines. >> it's gone beyond all logic at this point. it's turned into this incredible symbol. you talk about pictures. there's going to be this big pipeline. >> it will be underground. >> but the economics of it don't make a whole lot of sense for the united states. it really doesn't make a whole lot of sense. so even the people who support it or more or less saying let's just dig and drill -- >> what's the alternative? what does canada do with the oil shale? >> they figure out how to ship it out through vancouver. >> through western canada directly to asia. >> but they don't want to do that. >> no, they don't want to do it. >> don't we want the refining potential? we get to make some money on that, on making the pipeline? i don't know. >> you can make that argument but then -- >> okay, okay. while you're weighing this out here, gene, weigh out the question why we're going to have all the western democrats,

arkansas, i think mary landrieu, certainly alaska, they want this pipeline. >> no, look, any of them with oil and gas business. >> 60% of the american people want it. >> the unions want it. >> why don't they make some noise so we can stop arguing make decisions for us. >> young people don't want it and young people, you know, democrats want young people to vote for it. they're agreeing. >> this is going to be one week. i'm glad you're here. we all agree it is workable but this president is out there alone. he's on point. this is a tough week. >> i've rarely seen a situation like this. >> so many fronts and he's the guy. well, we elected him twice. howard fineman and eugene robinson, thank you, sir. coming up, what are we doing to deal with iraq right now? this is a problem we have a war over there. on the one hand we have the horror of isis and the beheading of another american the other day. there's two hands here, the iraqi government has been infiltrated by pro-iranian

forces. we don't have a real ally in the field. this is "hardball," the place for politics. oh, i love game night. ooh, it's a house and a car! so far, you're horrible at this, flo. yeah, no talent for drawing, flo. house! car! oh, raise the roof! no one? remember when we used to raise the roof, diane? oh, quiet, richard, i'm trying to make sense of flo's terrible drawing. i'll draw the pants off that thing. oh, oh, hats on hamburgers! dancing! drive-in movie theater! home and auto. lamp! squares. stupid, dumb. lines. [ alarm rings ] no! home and auto bundle from progressive.

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a broader mix of energies, world needs which is why we are supplying natural gas, to generate cleaner electricity, that has around 50% fewer co2 emissions than coal. and why with our partner in brazil,

we are producing a biofuel made from renewable sugarcane to fuel cars. let's broaden the world's energy mix, let's go. welcome back to "hardball." there's been another beheading, of course, gruesome, of course, of a western hostage by isis forces. an american, peter kassig, a 26-year-old former u.s. army

ranger. in fact later he found add humanitarian aid organization to help the victims of the civil war in syria using in many cases his own money and risking his life to bring supplies into the country, medical supplies. kassig converted to islam and changed his name to abdul rahman while he was a prisoner. this afternoon his parents spoke about their son. let's watch. >> our hearts are battered, but they will mend. the world is broken, but it will be healed in the end. and good will prevail as the one god of many names will prevail. >> please pray for abdul rahman, or pete, if that's how you know him, at sunset this evening. pray also for all people in syria and iraq and around the world that are held against their will. >> well, president obama called the murder of peter kassig an act of pure evil, certainly got

that right. so far the group has beheaded five western hostages including the american journalist james foley and sotloff. some have resided in western countries including the man referred to as jihadi john who has appeared in all the videos. today french authorities identified the most recent video as maxime hauchard. mike, i want you to start. what does this all mean to you? put it all together. you see these beheadings -- >> yeah. >> you see the terrible shape of the iraqi army. totally infiltrated by the revolutionary guard. it's not doing anything but killing sunnis. what do we have going on there putting it all together? >> it's true isis is losing territory which is a good sign. i mean, they lost the oil refinery. their momentum, if you like, has been stopped. the problem i see going forward

is sunnis in iraq, there was some great reporting done by "the new york times" last week. sunnis in iraq see isis by and large not as this sort of brutal occupying force, beheading people and committing all these atrocities although it's true a lot of sunnis, sunnis are the majority of the victims of isis' brutality. but a lot of them welcome these guys in as liberators. you ask why on earth would they do that? the answer is because of the political persecution and disenfranchisement of the maliki regime. baghdad is essentially controlled by the iranian government. the shia militia groups many of them wearing iraqi security forces uniforms, some of them not wearing them, are committing atrocities on a nationwide scale. human rights watch, amnesty international has reported this. the u.s. media doesn't pay too much attention to this. but "the guardian" newspaper did excellent reporting on this. several months ago a shia np in iraq said, and i quote, what baghdad is doing, allowing iran's revolutionary guard to create this consortium is tantamount to shia al qaeda.

now i submit to you sunnis are not going to rise up and overthrow isis. you will not see an anbar awakening like with u.s. forces on the ground. if they think that the beneficiaries an uprising will be the revolutionary guard. this is their enemy, the people they think and, indeed, have been slaughtering them in syria, dropping barrel bombs on their heads, deploying chemical weapons. there's even allegations that iranian pilots are flying fighter jets in iraq dropping barrel bombs on sunni communities. so they see iran as the community. >> let's get a counter point. what do you think of what you heard from michael? the iranians are the bad guys and that's why the sunni people have basically bowed down to isis as much as they know that they're brutal? >> look at the latest beheading video, execution video. it was not like the previous videos. there was an effort here by isis to justify what they're doing by saying we're fighting against the encroachment of the syrian

and iranian governments and look at the terrible things that are being done to syrians by their own government and by the iranians. and we're merely defending innocent people. now, unfortunately -- >> why are you killing americans? why are they beheading us? >> as far as they see it, we are empowering the syrian government. we are empowering them to wage war and by launching air strikes against isis, they're trying to convince sunnis in iraq that we are launching air strikes against them. and, in fact, "the new york times" reported this as well last week that, unfortunately, even those who oppose isis in places like raqqa and syria, they don't necessarily support our air strikes either because they're so desperate for any form of stability, any form of social stability after years of being bombed by the syrian government that even isis seems like a palatable alternative. we have to change that opinion. it's not going to be easy and, unfortunately, there are still people who are being rallied by these beheading videos and there is no great groundswell in iraq against isis.

there are individual trains that are turning, individual towns and villages, but there is no groundswell among the vast majority of sunnis in iraq if not mosul would no longer be in the hands of isis. >> okay. to most americans they have it figured down to this. there's a syrian government we've never liked, always anti-israeli. not a good guy, assad. the son of assad. basically it's a bad country that gets a the lot of publicity in magazine covers but they're no good. then again they're not the worst in the world. on the other hand we did create this new creation, this government in iraq which is basically a shia government, so if you're a sunni over there, the largest number of islamic people, like northern african countries like morocco and egypt most of the time and almost all the time jordan, we like those people.

so now the sunnis are being overrun by isis, but they're more dramatically threatened by the iraqi government now dominated by shia. look at this. yesterday on "meet the press" here is what really grabbed me. nbc's richard engel reporting on the sectarian menace in the iraqi army itself. let's watch. >> reporter: there are some units of the iraqi military making some progress. they made some advances north of baghdad in the last several days, but the military is infiltrated. infiltrated by shiite militias, by the iranian revolutionary guard, just a few weeks ago, in fact, a unit from the iraqi military backed up by militias went into a town. they killed some isis, but then they also went back and butchered sunni civilians who were living in the town. and this was an act according to officials i've spoken to, directly carried out by an iranian-backed group within the iraqi security services. >> this is a horrendous war front for us. if we were to knock out and

capture every fighter for isis right now, kill them, capture them, take them off the field, who would take that land and the people around them? who would take over? >> you will not see counter insurgency. they're not going to go into the sunni triangle areas. even theoretically, magically -- >> who takes over? >> there would be another insurgency. remember, chris, and this is an important element here, it's not just jihadis rising up against baghdads. their ex-baath party members. the insurgency in 2003 wasn't really al qaeda. it wasn't a jihadi uprising. remnants of the saddam regime. another element, too, in isis' upper cadres, all the analysis i've seen, most of the guys calling the shots are either baath party members who were radicalized when they were detained by u.s. or coalition forces.

some are ex-saddam military. some are ex-saddam. so how has isis embedded it self into these communities? they're exploiting smuggling networks, arms trafficking networks that predate the u.s. invasion. this is the stuff that saddam put in place to evade u.n. sanctions. that's how far back it goes. >> by the way, you saw it, i saw it, said it on the air every nate after the invasion, that stupid invasion of iraq where we threw out to do what? to do squat. they were going to do something like this . thank you, michael weiss, the neocon disaster. thank you, evan coleman. >> thank you. >> up next, what are the democrats going to do for the middle class in this country? that's a question we all want to know. what's their message to earn back public support? this is "hardball," your place for politics.

i think if there was one message the voters sent out, a

lot of them by not voting, we need to work together. now what my role is going to be at the dscc is going out and finding candidates that can lead, that can win, that can advocate for the middle class in their election. >> welcome back to "hardball." that's democratic leaders right there in that picture. you saw harry reid and montana senator jon tester who will head up the democratic senatorial campaign committee. the drubbing in the mid term by republicans. a democrat from montana, he won an improbable victory in 2006 himself. he looks like a shrewd pick for a party hoping to make up their losses in 2016. with two years ago in the president's final term, the challenge for his party are. joining me now is the man himself, senator jon tester live from the capitol. senator tester, let mae ask you about, how are you going to win back the seats? what's your message to the american middle class that's going to win what couldn't win, or i don't think there was a message two weeks ago?

>> i don't think there was a message either. i think what we need, first of all, is good candidates and we started the recruitment process already. we have to get people willing to work hard, really put their shoulder to the wheel and do what they need, listen to constituents in their state and run a race that's specific to that state and empower the middle class in the process and i think that is very critical. the question is what kind of policies do we need. there's a lot of things we can do. one that's pretty simple because i just heard you talking in the last segment and that's keeping the energy here from the xl pipeline. keep the energy here, make it so we have good energy security here, inexpensive energy to get our manufacturing base back and all the jobs that would come with that manufacturing base. i think that's something that could help empower -- >> what happens if the president vetoes your bill, though? democrats oppose keystone. you could vote for it, you know. the president vetoes the thing,

how are you going to go out and sell that as a democratic position? >> if we had -- if we had in that pipeline bill to keep the energy here in the country i can't see how the president would veto it to be honest with you. i think it would provide some real benefits to the country and to the job market here in this country. >> let's talk about jobs. it seems to me in general terms that the democratic party is not a deficit party, not a deficit hawk party, not fiscal conservatives. you have to be for growth. it's something republicans could go along with, growth, jobs, infrastructure, lower corporate tax rates to keep the money invested here to get people to invest more here. the trouble with your campaign this last year and the reason i think it was a disaster, one, you didn't have a president out there campaigning for anything, he was hiding. and the second thing was you had an empty d an empty department store -- not a department store, a food store like a safeway, nothing in it to sell except a couple point of purchase items as you leave the door at the check-out counter with "the national enquirer" and candy bars with equal pay and minimum wage.

nothing for the middle class, 80% of the country. what's your message for the middle class, or don't you have it yet? >> there were plenty of things to sell in this election, but i think there was disaster after disaster that came down the pipe from the rollout of the health care to the last one which was ebola and all sorts of things in between. couldn't talk about the fact that energy prices had dropped. couldn't talk about the fact that we were creating over 200,000 jobs a month. couldn't talk about those kinds of things. >> why not? >> look, because we're always dealing with the crises, always in crisis management form. we still should have talked about the good things happening in the economy. we should have still talked about how the country is moving forward coming out of the worst recession since the 1930s. >> we tripled the dow, cut unemployment in half, there's a lot of good things. not everybody is well off, obviously. it's a progress report you could have sold. you didn't have the sales pitch and you didn't have a guy selling it. i don't understand a political

party that isn't out there pitching. how are you going to change it? last question. you have to change it. >> i will tell you how we change it. we change it by having very, very good candidates, by having good people around him. and we change it by not having every race run the same way. you can't have a cookie cutter approach. the fact is this is no different than farming. you put the seeds in the ground. you give them what they need to succeed and cut a good crop in the end. we'll cut a good crop in 2016 if we do what we need to do at this point in time. >> you sound like you have the right attitude, senator jon tester of the democratic senatorial campaign committee. coming up, bill clinton's advice for president obama. now you have to take this with a grain of salt, i suppose they're not exactly buds, but think about yourself as a lame duck. he said, no. be a lucky duck. have fun. it's a psychological advantage he's giving the president at least on the surface. we'll talk about that lucky duck at the roundtable next. you're watching "hardball," the you're watching "hardball," the place for politics. there was no question she was the one. she reminds you every day. but your erectile dysfunction-that

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welcome back to "hardball." time now for the roundtable. msnbc political analyst jonathan capehart, to my left, editor in chief of roll call, and talking

points memo political reporter cy hill capor. talking about the lame duck status facing the president. he said it's just a state of mind and that president obama can still get a lot done in the next two years. anyway, let's listen to him. >> i think that he should minimize the chances of being a lame duck, which he can do by continuing to have an agenda and using the budget process to make deals with the republicans because now that they have both houses, they have a much greater vested interest in not just being against everything. once you get the budget process, you acquire certain responsibilities. i hope he can pass immigration reform. i think he can. i hope he can pass a tax reform measure and get some of that money back overseas and put it in an infrastructure bank. there are five or six other things i think he can do.

>> christina, only bill clinton can do what he just did there. he's the guy in 1992 lost the new hampshire presidential primary by eight points to paul tsongas and declared victory, and it worked. so it is possible to just have this mood ring around you that says think big, think happy. >> so much of what he does now is clearly about his wife, hillary clinton. but in this case this is very much about, hey look, i managed to get out of here with a really great legacy and so you can do it, too. for him, it is a matter of saying i had this great period of economic prosperity. look at all the things i achieved. his last two years were real you rough. for president obama, he clearly is more interested in his own legacy than he is about his party's legacy. >> the president as well as his legacy has done swimmingly well, we all know that, and i applaud that because it's good politics. remember how he said good-bye to us, mark rich. that was not a great way to say good-bye.

go ahead. >> one thing to keep in mind, when the president, president clinton, made those remarks, it was after a day long symposium about the clinton years, domestic policy, economic policy, foreign policy. he was in a very reflective mood even in that clip. that clip, i believe, was from saturday and the symposium was on friday. so he's looking back and looking back on his eight years in the white house and thinking what could president obama do in his last two years? and the one thing by telling him, you know, just don't think of yourself as a lame duck, he's telling the president, look, yeah, you got gut punched by the midterm elections but you still have two years left and you should go pedal to the metal to get as much done as you can. >> legislatively? >> i think from his perspective legislatively. >> that's not president obama's approach. >> very different republicans than barack obama -- >> he's not behaving like a lame duck. >> not at all. >> after the election the

thumping, the shellacking, it was all above. the major climate deal with china and he's going bold on immigration. this is not a president right now that is appearing dejected. he knew that he was going to get beat in this election and they did. >> and he's not running again. >> with a strong economy, that's what people will remember 10, 15 years from now. the same way that they remember it with bill clinton. they're not thinking about mark rich. >> and not the legacy. >> former president bill clinton said over the weekend that president obama's decision not to take executive action on immigration before the midterms was a tough call. in fact, a bad one. but also said it may have kept the hispanic community away from the polls. let's listen. >> there was a collapse of the youth vote. the african-american vote held fairly steady and was remarkable given we had a little bit of a loss of the hispanic vote.

perhaps because the president didn't issue the immigration order but it was a tough call for him because had he done so then a lot of the others would have lost by even more. it was a difficult call. >> i don't know what that purpose serves except all i heard that whole line of monday morning quarterbacking, which everybody does, we do it here, is we, key word is we. he reclaimed the democratic party. it's our party. it's us together. it's obama's party. it's his party. it's a we party now. i thought that was very powerful, the use of the word we there. >> keep in mind, i was in the room, in little rock all weekend. i was in the room and the question was asking him about the campaigns he went and campaigned for and slipping in we'll talk about president obama and immigration. you know, president clinton's right, it was a tough call. remember, we were all wondering what the president is going to -- is he really going to put democrats at risk in north carolina and kentucky and louisiana and arkansas by issuing this executive order or will he wait until after the

election? it was a tough call because we didn't know what he was going to do. and then when he made the decision everyone said, oh, well now you're just doing it for politics. well, we saw with the election results just how difficult a call it was. i think president clinton is right. had the president done the executive order in the summer as he promised initially, the folks who ended up losing anyway would have lost by a whole lot. >> and they would have lost by september. >> and the turnout -- >> there wouldn't have been campaigns for kay hagan. >> very possibly. and the turnout wasn't going to be that much more just given -- there's a depressed turnout in the off year. people don't pay attention. it's not as much about the national mad as this is not the year that people engage. >> right. >> colorado was probably the one state where that executive move might have made a difference. i think won by between two and three percentage points and a lot of hispanics there. i can't imagine any other democratic thumping. >> do you save colorado by giving up north carolina, and louisiana? >> the safest position to take in politics and i know the president there, former president has a good heart about

it. the two safest positions are to oppose something that passes because then you're not responsible for what happens or support something that fails. he's taking a very safe position to say what could have, should have, would have happened. the roundtable is coming back. we have a hot story coming back. it has to do with yesterday, football. as if things couldn't get worse for the national fab league, they're getting worse. federal drug agents are conducting surprise tests on team doctors after former players allege the league is handing out painkillers like halloween candy. and this is "hardball," the place for politics.

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it's official, the city of brotherly love will be getting a visit from the holy father. pope francis announced today he will make his first trip to this country. he'll visit my hometown of philadelphia for the world meeting of families next september, september 15. it will be the holy father's first trip to america since becoming pope. we'll be right back.

we're back with the roundtable. jonathan, christina and cy hill.

one of those hell of a years for the nfl if you think about it has just gotten worse. yesterday with the assistance of the u.s. attorney up in new york, federal drug agents conducted surprise inspections at multiple nfl teams. we're back with the round table. let me go back. it's been one of those hell-of-a years for the nfl. but it's just gotten worse. yesterday, federal drug agents conducted in locker rooms. the suit alleges the team-sponsored drugs abuse is running rampant throughout the nflment they give out prescription painkillers like "halloween candy." their court complaint says it was to keep the nfl's tsunami of dollars flowing, which sound right. "saturday night live," however, lampooned the suggestion. we'll see what he did to give some comedy relief to this story.

>> what's so hard about this? it's the same tackle you fellas have always done, it's just a little safer on the noggen. you see your man, right? that's your target. okay. so we want to plant, arch that back, show them the feet, guys. then, engage. bring him up. then as he goes down, you cup the knave, supporting him and lowering him gently to the turf like a prince putting his princess to bed. >> the last part of the nfl story. the other part is this drug things. cristina? painkillers? pecrodan? they're treating them like judy garland used to get treated by hollywood people. >> this has been a difficult

year for the nfl. >> 1300 people made the al gagsz. >> it does still matter. it is one of the most-watched events, still. when you look at the bigger picture, you've got, you know, abuse questions, you've got the question of how the college football system works. this is like a year where really the sport needs to completely evaluate what it's doing and how players are treated. and the nfl is doing a lot -- >> we all know the story of this incredible talent they picked up. they didn't even keep him in the game, you know? >> well, you know, to pick up on what cristina was just saying, the nfl has to evaluate where it is. part of the problem is the owners. nothing is going to change unless the owners want it to change. and the owners right-hand turn going to want anything to change until the fans and the viewers at home, the folks in the stands

and the viewers at home actually demand it. >> do you know what they're telling the trainers to get the guy back on the field. get him back out there. do you think they say pop him some pills. >> you just signed a player to multiple millions of dollars. you eve hyped the fact that this person has joined your team and they're injured. >> this is a reckoning that the nfl is going through. it's a cultural reck cobbing. it's a moral rk e reckoning. >> who's going to be the big umpire to say enough is enough? >> they cover up whatever rape is going on at penn state. >> i'm with jonathan on this. the real question is when this happens, wla kind of message they want to say to the millions of people who look up to these people. >> think about it. it is what we all do on sunday.

anyway, jonathan, cristina and sajo, thank you all for join us. when we continue, let me finish with the words of peter who was beheaded. he wrote his parents this summer. you should hear what he wrote his parents. what a perfect person in so many ways. you're watching "hardball," the place for politics. will that be all, sir?

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let me finish tonight with the words of peter cassey who was beheaded sunday morning. peter cassey fought for our country in iraq. he later went to syria to aid people suffering in civil war. he was beheaded sunday night. in closing tonight, i want to read to you a letter that young peter wrote to his parents in words that matter. "it is still really hard to believe all of this is really happening. so i'm sure you know by now, things are getting pretty intense. we've been held together, u.s. foreigners. and now about half the people have gone home. i hope that this will all have a happy ending, but it may very well be coming down to the wire here. if in fact that is the case, i figured it was time to say a few things that need saying before i have to go. the first thing i can say is thank you for everything you have done for me. for parents, for everything you have taugt me, shown me and experienced with me. i cannot imagine what it has taken to raise a son like me

with your love and pay shensz. they tell us you've abandoned us and/or don't care. but, of course, we know you are doing everything you can and more. don't worry, dad. if i go down, i won't go without thinking what is true, that you and mom love me more than the stars. i am obviously scared to die. but the hard part is wondering if i should hope at all. i'm very sad that this is happening for what those of you at home are going through. if i do go, i hope you can feel comfort in that i was trying to alleviate suffering. i wish this paper would keep going on forever and never run out. just know that i'm with you. in the woods and in the hills and all the places you showed me. i love you. >> that's "hardball" for now.

thanks for being with us. "all in" with chris hayes starts right now. >> tonight on "all in." >> did you mislead americans about the taxes? >> year two for obamacare and the president reacts to latest of salt e salt in the law. >> there is not a provision in the health care law that was not extensively debated. >> tonight, inside the gruber gate hysteria. then, the shutdown machine is officially cranked up. >> it's time for the republicans to man-up. plus, the national guard is activated in missouri. >> what was the d.e.a. looking for when they raided three nfl locker rooms yesterday? "all in" starts right now. >> good evening fr n