the whole world goes blind. it's time for those of us that can see to help show the way out of this darkness. thanks for watching. i'm al sharpton. "hardball" starts right now. >> cop killers. let's play "hardball." ♪ ♪ good evening, i'm chris matthews in washington. my hero winston churchill knew just where he stood. i refuse to be impartial, he once said, between the fire brigade and the fire. and all these incidents of recent months in which police officers were involved and blamed for misconduct or worse, tried to let the juries do the job. i've acted as a reporter and observer, not as a judge, juror, or prosecutor. i didn't have enough facts to

play those roles, to have anything to offer in the matter. these were particular events involving particular facts that only a trial jury gets to hear, gets their hands on to make a considered judgment. this horror in new york this weekend is of a different kind. there's no dispute over what happened, no difference of perspective, no argument certainly over the motive. two innocent police officers were executed by a career criminal. 19 arrests, two years in prison, who had that day shot his ex-girlfriend. they were shot based on the clear-cut evidence of intent left by the killer himself. because they were police officers. because of that, and only that. we spent a lot of time speaking about incidents of accusations of police misconduct and again as i said, or worse. the implication could have been drawn by someone watching from another galaxy that these incidents are the only story about police in this country

worthy of coverage. i know why that happens. in our business we cover traffic accidents, not calm nights on the highway. we cover crime, not peaceful nights on the streets. but the danger of late, focus on the big stories, ferguson, staten island, never gives witness to the courage of the average police officer, especially those assigned to the tougher precincts. police battle day after day with wife beaters, gang bangers, muggers, all sorts of bad people. that's a hell of a job when you think about it. it calls for special skills and strong character. having danger men see you as the enemy takes nerves, guts, and the best kind of courage. i speak not as someone who had a brief time in uniform, but as a citizen who benefits every day. to risk the fate that befell this weekend to very good men.

joining me now from brooklyn, new york, adam reese. give us a sense of what it's like to be in new york right now. >> reporter: chris, as you can see, the memorial behind me, growing of candles, cards, flowers, new yorkers and police officers from all over the city. firemen just arrived, coming to pay their respects, a lot of tears, a lot of emotion. at the same time, we're learning this evening more about the shooter in the hours leading up to the shooting here on this corner. we've learned that police have found 119 photos on his instagram account, mostly anti-police, anti-government. they found a thousand photos on his phone, including one video that he took at an anti-police rally on december 1st. the mayor and the police commissioner this afternoon visited with the families, the grieving families of officer ramos and officer liu and we know that officer ramos will be laid to rest on saturday.

chris? >> thanks so much, adam rhys for giving us that report. >> joining us is val demings and former member of the nypd, eugene o'donnell. moments ago, the wife of murdered wenjian liu gave an emotional statement. let's listen. >> the liu family would like to express our gratitude and appreciation to the police department, our neighbors, the entire new york city community, friends, and co-workers, for the help and support they provide. we would also like to express our condolence to the officer

ramos family. this is a difficult time for both of our families, but we will stand together and get through this together. >> chief demings, what a horrible story. probably an immigrant, english is new to her and she's talking about the loss of her husband in this new country of theirs. >> chris, this is truly a sad time for america. as a former police chief and as a 27-year veteran of the orlando police department, i've gone to more than i care to admit law enforcement funerals. and my heart goes out to the liu and the ramos family. these two police officers were executed. they were murdered, as you said earlier, simply because of who they were. it cuts especially deep when it's a police officer. i think it's important that everybody understands this. when someone is bold enough to

execute police officers who are simply doing their job, then every citizen in this country becomes vulnerable. it cuts especially deep because of what the police represent. they are the only ones who stand between what's good and evil in our society 24 hours a day, seven days a week. and this is not a good time for our country. >> let me go to you. you've been there. >> well, it's the most amazing city in the world. it's a great police department. and i would have bet a million dollars that if it was any community, and it's many communities, but you can put your money down that the people of bedford-stuyvesant would honor these cops. you can put your money on that. because having been cop in brooklyn, we have a certain pride in brooklyn, but there's

an absolute bottomless well spring of goodwill for the police in new york city. i was talking to a retired police captain the other night, immediately after hearing the news, the people of bedforuyvesant would rally around the police, no surprise here. >> so many people showing respect. shortly before the police shooting, brinsley put up a quote, i'm putting wings on pigs today. they took one of ours. let's take two of theirs. then the hash tag, rip eric garner and rip michael brown. he shot his girlfriend who currently remains hospitalized. let's listen to the sister of the shooter. >> he was an emotionally troubled young man, and he was

suicidal. you have emotional issues and you're constantly going in and out of jail, you know, prison, and clearly something's wrong. he should have been offered help in the system, right, but he wasn't. >> chief demings, let me ask you about people who have had -- when i worked in politics, i knew people that had problems with the system. couldn't get payment for disability and they could never get over it. and these things build. this guy had been arrested for gun possession and things like that. two years in prison. 19 arrests. what do you think of this case, just looking at it? i had this hunch when i heard about this horror in new york, this isn't going to be a reg lawy -- regular person who was upset with staten island or ferguson. average people don't go out and shoot cops because they're mad

at some incident that they don't like the looks of. so it was somebody in the system and had real problems with american life, with life on this pl planet. the sister seems like a wonderful person, saying somebody should have looked out for this guy. but i don't know who that person would be. who would say, this guy is going to go shoot cops someday? >> and you know, to listen to his sister and her emotional words there, there are so many victims. he's left a trail of so many victims. what we do know, learning about his background, something went wrong, way wrong with this young man, long before the incident this weekend, and it sounds like he obviously was in and out of different facilities and was not able to get the bright help that he needed. but obviously he was a career criminal and i've heard many people ask the question, how did this happen? how was he allowed to even be on the street to do such a tragic act that he did this weekend.

>> do you come from a family of police officers, or are you the first? >> well, my brother is a retired police captain. >> so you're part of the culture. >> yeah. >> what do you think politicians should do about police? i was thinking back in new york. lindsay was seen at anti-cop because he was always before a review board. this guy, de blasio, let me talk about him, or giuliani. do different politicians get reputations pro and anti-police? mayors with attitudes toward cops. >> we need to talk about public service. i can't think of a higher public service than police work. we saw the scenes at the hospital.

just amazing scenes. so i don't want to dismiss political people, but no matter how high they're rated, they'll never be rated as high as police. >> you know who knows that? ed rendell on this network. that wonderful book, a prayer for the city. it's about a mayor who cares enough to be at the hospital, always at the hospital when there's a police shooting, a cop getting shot. >> and there's a great mayor in philly right now. there's great elected officials, which is another thing not to take lightly, people in public service. but to see people who are protecting strangers in the middle of the day, in the middle of the night, in communities, taking that kind of risk. so i think that there's -- i think there's a lot of ground that we can actually bridge here. >> by the way, your knowledge have wonderful. mike nutter was elected because he was pro-police. so was charles ramsey the police commissioner.

val demings in orlando, thank you for joining us. eugene o'donnell former member of new york's finest. coming up, obama's legacy. gave himself a boost with the historic immigration initiative, a big climate deal with china and the news he's going to normalize relations with cuba. when we come back, the president's actions and what they say about the future. i think he's on a winning streak. i think he's looking to the future. plus should dick cheney be prosecuted for torture? the aclu and "the new york times" editorial board are calling for attorney eric holder to investigate the bush torture program and bring charges against anyone who committed a crime, including the man at the top, vice president cheney himself. >> and gas prices are the lowest since 2009. good news for president obama and the country, bad news for vladimir putin, venezuela, and iran. talk about a great set of

circumstances. this is "hardball," the place for politics.

>> here's a reminder there are some good-hearted people in the world. in the wake of the tragic shooting of rafael ramos, boden college is paying for the remainder of his son's education and the new york yankees have offered to pay for the college education of the other son. two acts of kindness for a family who have lost so much, they lost the dad. we'll be right back. ♪ it's not about how many miles you can get out of the c-max hybrid. it's about how much life you can fit into it. ♪

the ford c-max hybrid. with an epa-estimated range of 540 miles on a tank of gas. and all the room you need to enjoy the trip. go stretch out. go further.

we are better positioned than we have been in a very long time. and the future is ready to be written. we've set the stage for this american moment and i'm going to spend every minute of my last two years making sure that we seize it. my presidency is entering the fourth quarter. interesting stuff happens in the fourth quarter.

and i'm looking forward to it. >> did you hear the way he said, interesting stuff happens in the fourth quarter? welcome back to "hardball." barack obama's actions of late have been building his presidential legacy, for decades to come. just look at the major issues he's opened in six weeks. climate deal with china. an immigration overhaul and last week's historic decision to restore relations with cuba. here's how he summed it all up at his year-end press conference friday. >> we're leading efforts to address climate change, including last month's progress with china, that's jump-starting other countries. we're writing a new page here in the americas by turning a new page on our relationship with the cuban people.

and after more than 13 years, our combat mission in afghanistan will be over. >> david axelrod and jonathan capehart joins us. david, i want your thoughts. i had some smart person talk to me recently who thinks in terms of these dramatic series of developments the president has led the way on, that he's really singing an overture, he's saying, this is who i am. this is the world i'm entering now. i may live 30 or 40 more years. i may be productive. this is what i want to work on. i want to work on climate. i want to work on ethic opportunities for people who m come to this country. i want to open the door to cuba. i want to be doing things for

the rest of my life. your thoughts? >> this is who he is. this is what he believes. the things he's doing now are things he's been talking about for a very long time. his attitude is, i'm not going to leave here in two years, looking myself in the mirror and saying, i didn't do everything i can to deal with these big generational issues on which i ran eight years ago. the press conference he had the other day was probably the best he's had in years. his frame of mind is probably the best because he's broken loose from this pathological straitjacket of washington and he's doing big things. that's what kpilerates him. >> it was james rowe who advised truman how to get elected in '48 when everybody said he was going to lose. they said stop talking to congress, start talking to the people. it seems like he's saying to the people, like martin luther, here i stand. >> the president said i have my pad and my pen and i'm going to reach out. >> that seemed small. >> it didn't work.

he decided congress isn't going to work with me. they don't like anything i do. even if they liked it. so what am i going to do? i'm going to scour the law and look for ways that i can get things done on my agenda without them. and then let them figure out how to respond to me and now, with congress, the 114th congress is going to be completely republican. what the president did on cuba on climate, what the president has done -- >> on sony tv. >> republicans are angry about all of those things. they're coming into power next month. if they want to change what he's done, they're going to have to deliver. >> david, you've been a friend and supporter and aide to the wa the president all these years. what do you think is going on? it's almost like there's more oxygen coming into his mind. he just seems so -- i use the word, it's a french word, but i thought alon was the right word. now that swagger with w., which

was ridiculous. he would swagger sitting down. but this kind of comfort with life. what's going on with this guy? what's gotten into him? >> look, as i said before, he honestly sees public office as a way of getting big things done. that was the basis of his whole campaign. let's get beyond the politics of washington and get big things done. he's had a hard time dealing with the politics of washington the last four years. and some of those moments have been very disspiriting. and now it's as if he feels free of all that. and he has reminded us, you know the conventional wisdom the day after the election, obama's dead, the last two years are going to be dreary. and here we are six weeks later, and we're talking about resurgence. i think he feels it. he feels like, i have a shot to do some things that are going to have lasting importance for the country, for the world, for people. and i'm going to do it. and if congress wants to help, that's great. if they don't, we'll do what we can without them. >> what i like about him, even

when i disagree on first impulse, after a couple days, i say, you know, he's probably right. i thought the way he did immigration wasn't the legitimate notion, you got to get congress to do it. i thought, you got to open the door at some time. like with civil rights in '64. johnson could have waited for the constitution to be amended. to acquire public accommodations rights and an end to white only. but he said i'm going to use commerce. sometimes you got to be a little bit rough. he's saying, i'm going to do this because nothing's moving without me. >> on cuba, on immigration, on climate -- >> causing fights every time. >> but congress hasn't done anything. i agree with you, the president is laying out the road map for his legacy, for what he's going to do in the future once he's no longer president. he's going to be early 50s still when he's an ex-president. >> amazing. >> but i would tell all the "hardball" watchers out there to do themselves a favor and print

out then state senator barack obama's 2004 democratic convention keynote for then democratic nominee john kerry. read that and then think about the last ten years. >> i will do that. that's our assignment. >> there were a lot of things in that speech that were a template for his presidency. >> let me go through the future with you, david. we have you and i want to exploit you. the next steps, are they, in this order, gitmo, finding some way to close that down. >> yes. he signed an order on the first day to close it within a year. congress has resisted. he clearly still wants to get that done. it's a horrific, negative symbol that's complicated our position in the world. it's endangered or people overseas. he wants to get that done and they just transferred another several prisoners to, i think, afghanistan. i think you'll continue to see

him transferring prisoners until that facility is closed. so surely that's another thing. he's got other things on the environmental front. >> on that front, will he be willing to veto at least once -- will he veto keystone pipeline? sounds like on friday he was ready to do that. >> yeah, you know, mitch mcconnell's timing is terrible because with the plunging of the price of oil, there's not even an economic rationale for keystone anymore. you talk about obama's legacy. one of the things he did was invest early, ridiculed by the republicans in clean energy. i was with a guy today who is working for a solar company that's hired 8,000 people and they think it's going to double in the next couple years. this keystone project is at least going to produce a couple of thousand jobs for construction and then a few hundred after that. i just think the republicans are way out of step on this issue, that the whole oil thing has

overtaken them. so i think that's probably going to happen. the one thing i think he's going to look to do with congress that i hope they do get done is something on infrastructure, maybe tie it to tax reform. we've got these huge needs and that could create many more jobs and put jets behind the economy, which would be great. >> but that gets back to the question you said earlier. the problem with the republicans -- and it's not that one party is always right, and one is always wrong -- but when you oppose things that you agree with because the other guy recommended them, building highways, fixes bridges, john lindsay of new york said there's no republican way to collect the garbage. there's certain things we ought to agree on. you get on the highway, you don't want a five-foot pothole in front of you. you want to have state of the are the transportation. this is what we do in this country. and the idea that that's a democrat thing, is ridiculous. >> i agree with you. let me just say one other thing about this.

the republicans in congress claim this is executive overreach. i think most americans are relieved to see things happen. they want to see things get done. they're tired of the games in washington. so to have a president step forward and say, we're going to get some things done here. i'm not going to wait for these guys, i think, sits well with a majority of the american people. >> david garth, who just died, the great communications guy, in your business, probably the best al man ever. he said replace the smell of decay with the smell of construction. we know what the smell of construction is. it's dirt being moved. it's cement. we love that smell in this country. we look to look through the portholes and watch them put the buildings up. thank you, david axelrod and happy holidays and to you jonathan. >> same to you. we have new developments in the sony hacking case. democrat in california has sent a letter to sony asking them to hold a special screening of "the interview" at the u.s. capital

for members of congress. i'll believe that when i see it. and north korea is experiencing an internet outage that analysts say it's consistent with an attack from somebody. u.s. officials are denying any role in the outage. well, wouldn't he? wouldn't he deny it? this is "hardball," the place for luxurious. -- for politics. -- for politics. for politics. for politics. for politics. for politics. my name's louis,

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energy lives here. welcome back to "hardball." more often these days we live in a world defined by disruption and crisis, like in new york right now, whether it's fighting terrorism, combatting ebola, preventing cyber attacks, or coping with the tragedy we're seeing in new york city where two police officers were gunned down over the weekend. nothing is more important than rising each time we fall, of course. or as our next guest calls it, resiliency. dr. judith rhoden, first woman to choose as president of an ivy league college. he's the author of this great

new book called the resiliency dividend. i was reading your book. when you talk about the hell that hurricane sandy unleashed in places like breezy point and staten island and the horror that people, even in the media markets, the true full horror that was only made known to most of us later on. the south jersey was nothing compared to north jersey and that area. what can governments do to basically get people ready to face really bad things? >> well, hi, chris, and thanks for having me on. the truth is that we're spending billions of dollars a year recovering from disaster. and if crisis is the new normal, as you say, we can't keep spending the money and lurching from crisis to crisis. so those who are going to do best, whether it's a city or a

business, or a community, are those who prepare for any crisis and then they're better in every crisis. in sandy, we had generators that were in the basement and flooded because after 9/11, people moved their generators to the basements. so we can't keep preparing for crisis by looking in the rearview mirror. >> what about the human factor? i watched the year grow back from 2001. my kids have lived up there, one went to school up there, two up there at nyu, as you know, including caroline, she's living up there now and she went through that of course. and i tell you, there's something about new york now that's better than ever. i know the horror this weekend, but there's something about the resilience of that. is it because it's so diverse and people are proud of diversity? what makes that city come pounding back from everything? >> diversity is one component of

resilience. so diversity really matters. there's also the fabric of community that keeps getting rebuilt stronger and stronger. you talked about breezy point and certain communities in the ro rockaways, although they were massively hit, they're rebounding so much more effectively because there's community trust. often the first responders are the people who live next year, not the police or firemen, because they can't get there. and new york seems to have so many communities where that fabric of the community keeps getting grere-knit, stronger an stronger. and the book talks about that resilience dividend. think about new orleans after katrina. that wasn't just a storm that hit. it was also about poverty and race. and new orleans today has built back stronger than ever. and they are getting a resilience dividend because they're not rebuilding the same. they completely transformed their education system.

they completely transformed their health care. inc magazine rated them the coolest city for a start-up or have an entrepreneur. who would have thought that? so a crisis is a terrible thing to waste. they haven't wasted it. but let's not wait in the united states until we have crises. let's plan and prepare now and yield that resilience dividend. >> so many young people say, i want to go to school in new orleans. the applications are amazing. the book is called the resilience dividend. thank you very much for coming on "hardball." up next, former vice president dick cheney, some people want to put him on trial. "the new york time "the new york times "the new york times" wants the and the aclu wants the attorney general to investigate. most people call it torture.

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>> the state department is urging north korea to exercise restraint and refrain from any further threatening actions. over the weekend, north korea said there would be grave consequences if the u.s. refused to agree to a join probe of the sony hacking. congressman likely to plead guilty to tax fraud tomorrow in court. and joe cocker has passed away after a battle with lung cancer. he was 70 years old. back to "hardball."

>> the mastermind of 9/11, who's killed 3,000 americans, he's in our possession. we know he's the architect. what are we supposed to do? kiss him on both cheeks and say, please, please, tell us what you know? of course not. we did exactly what needed to be done in order to catch those who were guilty on 9/11 and to prevent a further attack. and we were successful on both parts. >> this report says it was not successful. >> the report's full of crap. excuse me. i said hooey yesterday. let me use the real word. i think what needed to be done was done. we were perfectly justified in doing it and i'd do it again in a minute. well, that reaction at fox was classic cheney. he may think the senate torture report is full of crap, but the aclu and "new york times" see it

as reason to probe his role in this affair. today they urged the u.s. justice department to appoint a special prosecutor to go after torturers and their bosses. they want holder to conduct a comprehensive investigation, about all acts authorizing or ordering that conduct. "the new york times" is urging president obama to take the lead. it was the paper's lead editorial today. they said at the least, any credible investigation should include former vice president dick cheney. the roundtable tonight, david corn, michelle bernard and "time" magazine's political reporter, new kid on the block. you start. is this going to go anywhere? "the new york times" speaks in

the same language as liberal administrations. will eric holder move on this? >> the justice department didn't launch an investigation into these practices and it ended in 2012. i don't think you'll see the obama administration restart that. the justice department said they wouldn't reopen the investigation and it's not in the white house's own interest. they don't want to re-open old wounds more than that report already did. they're worried about their legacy when it comes to the use of drones overseas as well. the president -- >> you mean there's a criminal potential there for the use of drones. where did that come from? i've never heard that. >> they're relying on the same sort of legal memos that were used to justify the enhanced interrogation techniques. >> it's a different kettle of fish, but it doesn't mean it couldn't happen. it's a really good point. because obama is thinking about

his legacy. i'm really not impressed that the aclu has called on the president to pardon mr. cheney and others -- >> you can question that till down, how you pronounce his name. go ahead. >> as i was saying, mr. matthews, i'm not impressed by it. i understand this strong emotion people feel about this, but what good is going it come of it -- >> i don't think it's emotion. it's reaction to the fact that we're doing stuff we don't feel good about as americans. >> i understand that, but what goodwill come out of litigating this? we're not engaged in this practice anymore. after 9/11, there are a lot of people on the right and the left who thought that we needed to do whatever -- >> we went after iran contra, got 11 convictions. we went after watergate, got over 30. we do get convictions. which makes a point. if we tortured, if that meets the standard of criminal behavior, shouldn't we deal with

that? >> we have dealt with it. the president has dealt with it. no one has been tried, no one has been put in jail for doing that, but i don't think that it's going to serve a greater good for the country. >> the argument the aclu human rights watch and "the new york times" makes, which is compelling, we don't torture because the president issued an executive order. it's not an act of congress. it can be revoked by somebody else. while i think the release of the report sets up a certain deterrence for the future, it doesn't mean it can't happen again. now, having said that, i spoke to someone who served in the administration in the first couple of years, and there was a very active debate at the white houses and amongst certain cabinet members about what they should do on this point. should they prosecute people in the cheney administration for torture and other matters that they think might have violated the law. and a lot of senior people in the administration wanted to

have a truth commission that could lead to -- >> they killed it. >> one of the biggest voices against it, the president of the united states. i think at this point in time it was like jery ford and richard nixon. we were doing the drones. and i think he thought it was very emotional. had a lot of divisiveness to it, and he didn't want -- >> do you think as a journalist, that cheney in the last couple of discussions made clear to say w. knew about this. so whatever he thinks about it, he doesn't want to be tagged with personal responsibility. he wants to say, you guys got it wrong. w. did know about it. >> he makes clear that everybody was well briefed, which disagrees with the report. what i thought was interesting when he saw the vice president go out and talk about it, when it came to the gruesome

practices, he said those exceeded what was authorized. and he wouldn't call those torture, but said they shouldn't have happened. i thought it was a surprising amount of regret -- >> but he has an excuse for everything. rectal feeding was somehow medically indicated. he was willing to say anything to cover it. if he's proud of it, why does he keep coming up with ridiculous excuses? >> i don't have any idea why. or why he said he would do it all again. what i do agree, nothing greater good can come by litigating the issue. on the domestic front, i wish we were all carrying letters from the aclu and "the new york times" asking for an investigation of the black boys murdered in the united states over the last couple of months. >> we do have investigations -- >> eric holder is the attorney general -- >> we do and i don't see anything in the "new york times" or the aclu asking for an

independent prosecutor or truth in reconciliation commission. >> no, but i think it's a very good chance of a federal case involving staten island. i think it's going to happen. anyway, the roundtable sticking around. right now, up next, the politics of dropping gas prices. it's a big economic break for every working family out there who has to fill up the tank each week and it's reeking havoc with some of our biggest rivals like vladimir putin. tough for him. and the castros in cuba. and even iran. boo hoo. we're winning. you're losing. we're winning. you the sellers, lose. this is "hardball," the place for politics.

>> we've seen new jersey governor chris christie lose his temper on occasion. "the washington post" reports that activists now are being sent to the governor's events to get him to lose his temper in public. it seems to be working. take a look. >> after you graduate from law school, you conduct yourself like that in a courtroom, your rear end is going to get thrown in jail, you idiot. >> and you know what, let me tell you this. it's people who raise their voices and yell and scream like you that are dividing this country. we're here to bring this country together, not to divide it. >> i've been here when the cameras aren't here, buddy, and did the work. >> damn, man, i'm governor, could you just shut up for a second? >> sit down and shut up!

[ cheers and applause ] >> when they yell and scream at me, some days i sit and listen it take it and give a reasonable answer and response. if i'm in a cranky mood, some days i yell back at them. >> we'll be right back.

. we're back. the slump of the price of oil, and that means dwas prices here in america. that means that the cost of gas is at its lowest price since 2009. according to triple a, the national average is down to just 2:39. the sharp decline over the last six months of this year.

somist cities have already seen the price of the pump fall below $2. it's welcome news for e consumers in this country. the welcome news is from many of our geopolitical enemies, the gas e gas stations out is there with army, if you will. from one economy to its max, the russian rubel bailing out its first bank amid the crisis. that pressure gave the united states the leverage to normalize relations with cuba just last week. we're back with our roun table, dav david, michelle and zeke. i've seen people who are really good people having one tough challenge after another in life. and i'm looking at you now. you've got a mixed experience. >> it's a two-standing marriage.

>> i do believe that the president, an example of this, is the gas price then. he may have had nothing to do with it. god has made people feel a lot better about life in this counsel trif. >> let me able salutely. david was absolutely talking about it. the program, the president is on a winning streak. he's got luck coming his way. what has happened in terms of oil prices at home and abroad is fantastic news for the president and for the country. you love filling up your gas tank now. more importantly, or may believe more importantly, look what it does to russia. the interest rates are going up 17% this week? we're sort of breaking russia's economic back. may believe he's going to have to do a ritlittle bit of negotiations and ukraine. maybe impact the economic impact on venn way swraf sway la vanen going to weaken.

>> it looks to me like mitch mcconnell is up against the president who's got wings on his feet. >> well, listen. my dad used to say it's smart enough to be lucky, but it's lucky to be smart. all of those things that are breaking right for obama, normalized relations of cuba, the china climate deal are things he's worked on a year or two or more. >> is he going to skate across getmo now? >> he had an arms talk. >> november is the off years. >> good, thank you. the p take care over holidays. my buddy, here, david corn. i like you all the time. when we return, let me finish with the benefits big and small. i'm going to get into the details.

it's better to come home with some money at the end of the week. the place for politics, we'll wibe right back. ♪ they cut the power. it'll fix itself. power's back on. quick thinking traffic lights and self correcting power grids make the world predictable. thrillingly predictable.

twhat do i do?. 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. now jump off the bridge. what? in 3...2...1... are you kidding me? go. right on time. right now, over 20,000 trains are running reliably. we call that predictable. thrillingly predictable.

let me finish tonight with a sense that history has turned a bit in this country's favor. not for long, perhaps, but at least enough to give us a brooetsing spell. cheap oil is good for us. it means the average working person can get to wrk and have some money in their pocket at the end of the week. money that would have otherwise, gone to the op producers.

it's better than a tax cut. it means the money stays in your pocket to begin with. not in some refund from the government. it's yours. it sfas yours. this can mean a lot for people living paycheck to paycheck. it can mean being able to buy things for the kid, for the family like shoes, a night at out a local restaurant oar a trip to visiting relatives because getting there is much lower than it was. we americans have been given a little jump only the world for those who don't exactly root for us. putin can no longer act like mr. big shot. when you're running what john mccain calls a gas station with an army, size matters. it's hard to act like vlady in power when your nozzle, to the world, looks a lot smaller than it once dead e did. now, they have to rely on

the kindness of strangers, otherwise known as united states of america. you meelight ef enget a bet deal out of iran now, even though the number one source of wealth is not the big dog. this krigschristmas, let's than santa for the people who otherwise didn't mind gouging us when they could, did they? >> tonight, on k"all in." the public grievings continues in new york. the mayor calls for a suspension of protests and goes after the media. >> what are you guys going to do? are you going to keep dried e dividing us? >> tonight, more on the suspect. the police officers he killed and the fight between new york's police union and the mayor de