dependent, in this case on some of the dirtiest oil on the planet. thank you. "politics nation" starts right now. good edge rev. \s. we start with breaking news on the super bowl-sized controversy. did the patriots cheat to get into the bick game? star player tom brady is breaking his silent. a day after an espn report said that 11 of the team's game balls were deflated during the championship. he says, he has no clue what happened. >> i have no knowledge of anything. i have no knowledge of any wrongdoing. i'm very comfortable saying that. i also understand that i was

preparing for a game. under the circumstances i would never do anything outside of the rules of play. i was very shocked to hear it. i almost laughed it off thinking that was more sour grapes than anything, and it ends up being a very serious thing. then he was asked point-blank if he was a cheater. >> i don't believe so. i mean i feel like i've always played within the rules. i believe in fair play respect the league and, you know everything they're doing to try to create a competitive playing field for all of the nfl teams. every team is you know trying to do the best they can every week. i believe in fair play.

>> so now bow brady and the team's coach say they have no knowledge about what happened in deflea-gate form but we're left with more questions than answers. how did this happen? who ordered it? who might have known about it? joining me now former new york giants head coach jim fassel randall hill and requesting huffington post" columnist jordan shultz. thank you all for being here. randall, do you buy this brady or the coach had no nothing? >> i buy the coach didn't have any knowledge, but this is like a shell game now, who's on first, what's on second i don't know is on third. at the end of the day i think that brady is the captain kirk of that field.

usuallied quarterbacks get in the way when it comes to game balls. you know during practice in the week, he might have one that feels real good. he'll give it to the equipment guy and say put this one away i like this ball but they communicate with the quarterbacks a lot. does it seem believable though? >> you know balls can be put 12 1/2 pounds in there. with cold weather, it's like your tires. it will drop a bit. two pounds, i think that's a stretch. >> i don't buy it at all. i think bill belichick is the ceo of the entire operation. top brady, the quarterback to not know or understand or feel a difference is crazy to me.

the nfl set it's investigating, but the league has not contacted brady, listen to this. >> the league has not contacted you? >> no but i they may. i think that's obviously their choice. >> do you find that odd, if they wanted to put this behind us, and they would contact. >> shy. they might. >> it's odd that they haven't. you're the quarterback and you're the center of the story right now, and the league's officials investigating haven't talked to you, indicates to a lot of people they're letting this drag on twist in the end. >> i'm not sure. >> how could they have not talked to him? >> for the nfl not to send in an investigator in the three days

since to me is as laughable as thinking this could actually half in an nfl championship game. i don't understand it. al i also don't understand how brady or more specifically bill belichick are not trying to get to the bottom of this to figure out what happened within their organization. >> randall how do you react, that they have not contacted brady? >> they can give me a callened i'll investigate. you have to sit back and wait. the way it looks from the outside in something doesn't smell right. former players say it's definitely an integrity check appeared has to be done correctly. >> a lot of former players, jim, counter come out and a lot of people are concerned. people look up at they gentlemen as role models. i mean this is serious.

>> certainly it strikes the hard of the game but i think a lot of times being a head coach, everything is kept quiet. they might be doing certain things finding out a few things. the nfl will want to get to the bottom of it. jordan, a lot of people say this is serious, even tom brady said it was serious. tom brady was asked if somebody should be held accountable. here's his response. >> i'm not the one that imposes those type of accountability. . mind us all that that's not really my job. obviously i would like to know what happened. >> disciplined before the super

bowl? he says it's very serious. is it serious? >> to me they are not taking it as seriously as they need to. i think part of it al we're talking about the super bowl. you can't afford to hurt that reputation, but i wonder from a new england perspective, how long have they been doing this? spy-gate that was a whole other issue. how long has this been going on? maybe across the league. ? this is an nfl problem that needs to be fixed. >> jim, let me ask you, do you think anyone will be suspended before the big game sunday? >> no, i don't believe anybody will. i think they may want to push this thing past the super bowl which i'm not sure that's right, but at the time i think they're going to investigate it, take their time. they will get to the bottom of

it and they'll get to the bottom of it in their own time frame. i also know i've been on the other side of that. i've seen records come out that i know were true so i think they'll take their time. >> can they push it past the super bowl without the super bowl happening with a cloud over it? >> you don't want this incident to be bigger than the game itself. integrity is definitely on the line. i think they will get it right. >> do you think, randall, this is cheating if in fact someone did this is this cheating in your opinion? >> without a doubt it's cheating. as a wide receiver you're able to grip the ball better. even jerry rice has said the same thing.

it's just like watergate. you know they were going to win that election. but still, why go through this nonsense. >> jordan i mean believe it or not, i've heard that a lot. how do you have this kind of situation that will overshadow sunday -- overshadow the game. >> if new england bins they won 11 out of 12. if the patriots actually win, can you imagine the aftermath? i would have to great, nobody is going to be suspended. >> i don't know what the legacy will be, i'll be reading jordan

monday morning. troy aikman said quote, it's obvious that tom brady had something to do with it. how do you respond to that jim? >> i don't think it's obvious that he did. i honestly don't. well then that's not a game you really want to do that. so i don't think brady instructed anybody. could a rogue equipment guy decide hey, i know that tom wands them softer i'll do it on

my own? it's rare for "politics nation" to open up with sports but it is politics. biggest game of the year, everything is watching. jim fassel randall hill jordan shultz, thanks for your time. >> thank you. coming up much more on the super bowl controversy and what it means for america's most popular sport. also behind closed doors will they step down after the face-to-face meeting. plus the white house responds to speaker boehner's historic snub of president obama. and mike huckabee is confronted for his comments about beyonce by a member of destiny's child. it's all ahead in conversation nation.

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what are republicans focused on? jobs? education? health care? or none of the above. today they showed they were focused on taking away women's rights. we'll talk about that, next. better take something. theraflu severe cold won't treat your runny nose. really? alka-seltzer severe cold and flu relieves your worst flu symptoms plus runny nose. [breath of relief] oh, what a relief it is. mommy! hey! can't say thank you enough. you have made my life special by being apart of it. (everyone) cheers! glad you made it buddy. thanks for inviting me. thanks again my friends. for everything for all your help. through all life's milestones our trusted advisors are with you every step of the way.

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we're back with a new republican party fail. today president obama warned the gop he'll veto the newest attack on women's rights. a how bill pushing abortion restrictions just in time for the anniversary of the landmark roe versus wade ruling. before the vote furious democrats took to the shows floor, including congresswoman jackie speer. >> in some respects you look around this room and you think, is this a chamber of congress? or is this a doctor's office? we might as well have stethoscopes here and stirrups and speculums, because that's what you're doing. >> today's vote came after republicans were forced to ditch an even more extreme bill banning abortions after 20 weeks. 16 republican lawmakers spoke in support of that bill.

15 we are men. only one was a woman. apparently that's the gop's idea of governing responsibly. responding to an issue that less than 0.5% of americans listed as their top issue in the last poll before the new year. for some reasons, republicans don't get it. but president obama does. today he was in kansas pressing his case for economic fairness on taxes, minimum wage and equal pay for men and women. >> congress still needs to pass a law that makes sure a woman is paid the same as a man for doing the same work. i mean c'mon now, it's 2015.

you this should be sort of a no-brainer. >> joining me now is congresswoman donna edwards, democrat from maryland. thank you for being here. thank you. >> congresswoman americans don't believe attacking abortion rights should be at the top of the agenda. so why do republicans believe that? >> well, it's at the top of their agenda. this is the 55th vote and to do it on the backs of women. look i think every single day that republicans go without putting a bill on the floor that will improve the lives of working families that will add money to our paychecks every day is a missed opportunity for the american people. they are focused on strengthening the paychecks of ordinary working families.

>> you know gop congressman charlie dent had tough words for how his own party has started -- he said and i'm quoting. week 1 we had a speaker election that did not go as well as a lot of us would like. week 2, we got into bit fight over deporting children. week 3, we are now talking about rape and incest. i just can't wait for week 4. are they their worst enemy? >> they are. the polls demonstrates that the american people want us to focus on rebuilding infrastructure increasing pay and making sure we close that gap with the wealthiest americans and those middle-class american whorls struggling to take care of that families.

how do we create good jobs and send our kids to college. look at what the republicans are doing. they are so divided and divisive. following up your point there, it seems they're attacking abortion rights president obama is selling an agenda that would help families all across america. equal pay for women, paid sick leave, raising the minimum wage. child care tax credits. isn't this a better way to give a boost to american families congresswoman? >> absolutely it is. the fact is that the president has recognized we've had income stagnation for working families for middle-class families and we need to increase those paychecks by making sure we pay enough for people to take care of themselves. making sure that women make the same ago men.

he's focused on strengthening middle-class families. i don't know what the republicans are doing, but it's not the american agenda. >> this caught my eye. tom mcclintock said today he opposes raising the minimum wage because many workers aren't worth more than $7 an hour. listen to this. only if you want to rip the first rung in the ladder of opportunity for teenagers, for minorities, for people who are trying to get into the job market for their first job. the minimum wage is that first job when you have no skills no experience, no working history. how do you respond to your republican colleagues? >> he's got the facts all wrong. most minimum wage workers are

actually about 35 years old. and as the president set so clearly, why didn't he try living what happened right after their and now this is how they open up the new session. ? declaring a war on women's rights to choose. >> it is really shocking especially when all of us now the message -- the president understands that that we need to be focused on middle class and working families and on strengthening the paychecks and growing jobs that are responsive to our future. we're going to stake focused on rebuilding and strengthening our

middle class and making sure that america gets a raise. >> congress democrat won edwards, thank you for your time. >> thank you. still ahead, mitt and jeb sit down for a little chat. you think they have a few issues to work out before 2016? also what we still don't know about deflate-gate. what will the nfl do now just days before the super bowl. it's ahead in conversation nation. discover card. hey! so i'm looking at my bill and my fico® credit score's on here. we give you your fico® score each month for free! awesomesauce! wow! the only person i know that says that is...lisa? julie?! at discover, we treat you like you'd treat you. get the it card and see your fico® credit score. ♪ with the incredible fuel efficiency

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we're back with breaking news. saudi tv is reporting that the country's leader king abdullah has died. he was 90 years old. he became king in 2005 after his half-brother died.

crown prince salman is now king of saudi arabia. the world's largest oil producer and site of the holiest site in islam. we'll be right back.

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it's so, what's the word?... sexy. go national. go like a pro. . let's just say i'm sure it was an interesting conversation. jeb bush and mitt romney the two most famous republicans considering 2016 campaigns. they met today in utah. a "the washington post" reporter says sources told him the meeting was, quote, cordial, policy focused and casual. earlier "new york times" reported quote -- the original idea was for mr. bush to show his respect for mr. romney but the meeting stayed on both men's calendars. 'em as mr. romney took steps to test the presidential waters. moves that could make the meeting awkward. awkward?

no. i'm sure it wasn't awkward at all. right, mitt? [ laughter ] . yeah i was just kidding. it had to be awkward. when a reporter saw jeb bush getting on a flight to salt lake city and asked about the meeting, he said -- i like to ski. i can't comment. maybe he can't comment, but i'm sure he had plenty to say. joining me now are angela rye and dana milbank, thank you both for being here. gee, angela what do you think they might have talked about? >> well you said it was cordial and policy driven. if it was policy driven, it was an all-out brawl. we know his policy positions certainly didn't get him a

winning position. so i can't imagine they had a cordial conversation. i'm sure john ellis bush wanted to know he wanted to test the waters, when he's been clear about his own intentions so i can't imagine it was that cordial at all. >> how do they decide who gets to run and who does? rock/paper/scissors? >> i think they probably spent the first half of the meeting talking about football inflation and the second half about skiing. can you imagine -- what do you think about education policy? what do you think, mitt? surely that's not what was going on there. it would be very good to be a fly on the wall in that room but maybe they didn't even sit down. they might have been just been circling each other with no one letting the other see his back. >> no matter the outcome of the gop on which candidate, a new poll shows them all losing to

hillary clinton. she beat jeb bush 54-41, beat romney 55-40, and she's up 53 to 40% against chris christie. it's a pretty significant margin. what does that i say to you at this point? >> i think despite what happened in november people are certainly not they know hillary clinton was secretary of state until this president and could very well continue to move the country in the right direction. i think that mitt romney had his chance. he's been tried, tested and lost. i time for him to move on. with christie we've seen christie-gate happen over and over again, whether it's an awkward hug or bridge-gate, so i think at this point there are no on or about credible candidates. i would like to see a jeb

bush/hillary clinton race, but i think that if romney jumps in and he gets the backers of all the people that raised money for him before it could be a problem and he could definitely end up being the contender. >> dana there's new footage out, as angela keeps refer to mitt romney's other races, new footage from the documentary about mitt romney. here he is struggling to get everything into his convention speech last time. watch this. >> there is a lot of things i have to cover. pro-life, protraditional marriage, pro-religious tolerance, i have to go through afghanistan, syria -- if you don't mention that it's like how come he didn't mention this? you've got to cover every single topic. >> oh, i disagree. >> you say you disagree that's what you have to do or you won't be facing the media why -- >> i mean if he were to run again, dana could he really be

a different kind of candidate? >> the best part of that is he spent time thinking about it he gave his speech and forgot to mention afghanistan or to thank the troops. i'm not sure why he spent all the time thinking about it in the first place. nobody really knows what we have seen before or what's authentic or not. maybe there's an entirely new version, but it's not surprising that early polls don't mean a lot. they're just snap shots in time but it does show how solidly the democratic field is behind hillary and how uncertain the republican field is about their options. a lot of republicans are going to a summit hosted by iowa

congressman steve king who just this week called an undocumented woman a deportable. mitt romney and jeb bush aren't going. are they trying to get some distance from the more extreme elements in their party? >> if they're not trying to that certainly should be the message they use, this is not a group of people they want to be affiliated with. steve king as reference to this woman as a deportable is ridiculous. it literally makes me think of a port apotty. it's funny, but kind of not, right? this is someone who is in this country not by any choice of their own and you can't refer to people as illegals odeportables. we talk about this all of the time but it goes back to the same gop concept. who are you trying to reach? that message is terrible.

they need to silence steve king. >> does it mean they are confident if this is to signal a move away from the extreme right in their party. we've heard jeb bush say things like, you know winning the general election the problem is the primaries, or losing the primaries to win the general. what message does this send? are they saying they're confident that the extreme right no longer has the kind of support in terms of republican voters that we once perceived them to have? >> no i don't think they're confident, but they're taking a gamble. it's an encouraging sign that they're saying no to steve king. he wasn't just calling anybody deportable, but somebody there in the first lady's bock at the state of the union. this is the same guy talking about immigrants with cantaloupe

calves. he is out there. while they two are standing him up, it shows that people fighting for the mainstream what's left of the chamber of commerce republicans risk carving themselves up between bush and romney chris christie thereby empowering sort of the steve kings of the republican base. it's a gamble that they're making form the problem is probably only one guy can make that game able and unfortunately they're carving that vote up right now. >> angela rye, dana milbank, thank you both for your time. >> thank you, rev. back to the breaks news. saudi king abdullah has died. according to state tv, he was 90 years old. it's a major reply kale shift for the country that's the largest oil producer and home of the holiest site in islam. joining me on the phone ayman mohyeldin. what do we no right now?

>> reporter: well we knew the king had been sick for some time. as you mentioned, the official state news agency has confirmed he has died now. we've known for some time the king as we were saying was being treated outside of saudi arabia. and for the past several months really those of us who have been following it closely knew there were some works in place to deal with the issues of succession and transition. these were very important questions coming in the days ahead for the kingdom it's auld widely expected that the crown prince will be named as the succeedsor. the country is tight-lipped in what the king was suffering from but we do know he was being treated in the united arab emirates recently and as a result of that it was widely expected in the last couple of days as his health deteriorated this announcement was coming. in terms of the implications on

the region this is a significant development. obviously saudi arabia right now is in the midst of a lot of regional turmoil. on the one hand the southern border there's pretty much a growing insurgency can the yemeni government that has all but collapsed. on the eastern border it's dealing with the instability of the crisis in iraq and the rise of isis. so not only will the kingdom have to deal with trying to stabilize the issue of this transition, the succession of the next king but will also have to -- whoever becomes king will have to address some of these pressing issues on saudi arabia's borders, as well as obviously the implications on the oil global markets. ayman, tell us about the king's relationship with u.s. presidents. >> this particular king had a very close relationship that goes all the way back for several years, goes all the way back to the time of george bush in the run-up to the iraq war. at the time he was the crown prince and was effectively the

ruler of the country, and ultimately he became king but he and previous saudi monarchs have had very good relationship with u.s. administrations. this particular king was seen as a bit of a reformer. he became king. when he became king he began to liberalize the saudi economy, tried to ease some of the domestic pressures, particularly in the economic and education sphere. we saw the explosion of higher education. women started attending some universities as well. he expanded that space certainly. so he was seen as a reformer particularly in the eyes of the west and inside his own kingdom from some of the power centers. but he did not go as star as everyone wanted him to go. there were some that wanted this particular king to lift the ban on women driving, for example, and others but it did not happen in his lifetime. that's certainly one of the issues where some say he has fallen short.

saudi arabia and the ruling family it's a difficult political arena to navigate. there is certainly a lot of different power centers within the kingdom, but this king nonetheless will -- his legacy already seen as a reformer particularly in the economic sphere. >> what does this mean if anybody, to the war or terror? >> whoever the successor is and as i was saying most likely will be the crown prince is certainly going to maintain the same course this king was taking. a very strong rejection of islamist groups particularly terror groups lie isis and others, but in addition to that you're also going to see the saudi arabian monarchy will remain steadfast to countries like egypt, especially under the leadership of al sissi, as well as other countries that may be dealing with the rise of islamic

groups, in the past like the muslim brotherhood, or in recent years more terrorist like groups similar to isis and what have you. you can expect the saudi leadership is going to still maintain a very strong working relationship with the united states and western allies to condemn and combat that. i don't expect you'll see a change of course when it comes to the issue of the war on terror regardless, the next is whether or not he will continue to push some of the internal reforms that this king abdullah who relationally passed away the same kind of or would he slow down some of the internal reforms within the kingdom. >> they're a key oil producer, economic impact any on the united states? >> in the short term probably not. the price of oil has been going down consistently for the last several months hitting record lows, in large part because

saudi arabia has been stepping up its production. that has to do more with the fact that the saudi government and the saudis monarchy has been increasingly trying to undermine iran. as iran continues to feel the pinch of some of these u.s.-led sanctions and part of the nuclear negotiations the saudi monarch kept the price of oil particularly low. that creates the big challenge for the iranian government which is very heavily dependent on oil. you'll probably see a slight spike as a result of this transition. that has to do more with uncertainty than it does having to do with a shortage or increase in supply. the uncertainty of transition is always going to be the big central question about saudi arabia and its stability. we're getting in -- when you talk about some of the saudi leadership and their ages this current king was anywhere between 90 to 91. the successor as well will be in his late 80s, so there is a serious question about the ages

leadership of that monarchy and what will happen when the subsequent king takes power, who will become the crown prince? who will become the minister of defense? these are a lot of important questions that cut to the core of the kingdom. at that situation becomes more unclear or program more ambiguous, you can start to see it having an implication on global oil prices. >> as we have said here king abdullah of saudi arabia has died as 9 on years old. we are talking about his impact and what his death may mean the passing of king of saudi arabia. the president is supposed to go to india what do you expect to be the reaction worldwide? >> you're going to certainly see

a huge turnout. a lot of heads of state, particularly from the muslim world will attend the funeral. >> do you think president obama will attend? that may be a difficult question to answer. given the president's schedule and the security concerns. but i certainly expect a very high u.s. delegation, if not the president, then certainly the vice president or secretary kerry. traditional the monarchy has one of the closest, if not the closest arab ally for the united states particularly in the gulf. they would see it as a tremendous sign of disrespect if there wasn't a high delegation sent by the united states to the region. there's been a lot of controversy in the past you play remember that photo so respect

and tradition play very, very big in that part of the world, and certainly because it's a very close u.s. ally i certainly expect a high delegation to attend the funeral that will happen very quickly in accordance with muslim tradition. the funeral will be expected to be held relatively soon. we're being told friday he will be buried. >> yeah. let's bring in nbc producer luvner hussein on the phone from the saudi capital of riyadh. luvner, what is the scene there now? >> reporter: the country is mourning. you have to understand this was a very popular monarch who was loved and adisorder by his subject. the country has been mourning over the news.

the main rival to saudi arabia was iran. what will this do if anything to the balance of power there, if anything? >> reporter: in terms of anything happening geopolitically, saudi arabia has a very smooth form of successions. i don't expect there would be any kind of sort of power play going on that wouldn't have happened otherwise. so in terms of that i think the kingdom has assured itself of a great degree of stability in the region, and obvious with the geopolitical situation that exists. i don't see anything changing as such. >> what can you tell us about his successor? do you know anything? >> reporter: well, i do. i have great knowledge of his successor. i can tell you that if anyone

wants to succeed the king then this is the plan. he what is proven himself to be a very competent leader. you have to understand that saudi arabia is a very tribal society. he is someone who has tremendous respect from the tribes and he's someone whose voice is listened to. he is someone who is incredibly smart, very hard-working and like i said is someone who can really hold the country together. so people are definitely looking to him as being the next leader and he is a very, very competent leader. >> is he very popular among the population there, as you say, king abdullah was? >> reporter: well you know he has always -- he's been the crown prince so generally popularity is not really afford to do people who are second or third in line in saudi. it's generally about the king and everybody else is foreshadowed by the king. like i said he is someone who

is trusted, respected, who is admired, and who is perceived as a very straight shooter, which is very, very important in a region where corruption you know, is quite rife. he has tremendous respect from leaders in the region. so like i said the most important thing going forward is to have a smooth succession of power. he is someone who may not have had that kind of popularity, but you know you have to understand that king abdullah until he became king didn't have that concerned of popularity, either. so i think the proof will be in the pudding when he does officially take over the reins. i'm sure he will prove to also be an equally popular leader. >> let me bring in also on the phone msnbc contributor steve clemmons. steve, how will the passing of king abdullah affect the middle

east politics right now? >> well i think that there are two answer toss that reverend. i think number one, saudi arabia of all the monarchies in the world has the best thought out, most secure transition scheme for a monarchy. we've been meeting with prince salman, now king salman regular regularly in washington who was just over here recently and on a kind of a great state to saudi arabia level, i think that will be stable and secure. on another level, however, you have incredible instable in yemen. saudi arabia has played a fundamental role in driving both of concerns about iran's pretensions in the region and it's been a major player in the efforts against basharal assad in -- one of the his closest

divorce, his real national security divorce has been the ambassador to washington f. abdul al jaber. at least it creates a hiccup in the sense of the king laid out an architecture for what would happen. now everyone is going to wonder what the new king will put into place. so there's a lot in motion a lot of moving pieces in the middle east. i think we would be remiss and wrong if we didn't think that there was going to be some kind of shift and change down the road. we just don't know what that will be. what it does is creates uncertainty. saudi arabia is a fundamentally important player in the middle east game. >> steve, this is happening right in the middle of the war on terror. yemen is right there. i mean how will this affect the war on terror? >> well i think that the big issue on the question of the war on terror is what hatches inside saudi arabia itself?

a few years ago in london, i met an attache who was a general in the saudi military and i said what is the biggest security concern in saudi arabia? and he was very honest. he said my concern is that saudi fighters that was recruited as fighter, as mujahedeen, engaged abroad come back to their homeland and create instability inside saudi arabia. saudi arabia fundamentally has been in a proxy war with iran broadly in the region. so a lot of things we talk about on your show and other shows are the puppet string pullers are iran and saudi arabia. so the question you've scud on the war on terror it makes it a lot more complex, because the saudis are key in dealing with isis. they're key in dealing with the

and the extreme islamists have often gotten a great deal of support from within the private realm inside saudi arabia. the saudi government is often considered more liberal than its own wealthy sheikhs who have been funding and help to support many of the things unleashed in the broader middle east. so i think it just creates a moment of uncertainty. i think the professionals in looking at the monarchial lineage and the changes there will say not that much will change. i think this is a fragile moment salman will have to prove himself, prove himself to allies in the region. we're on the verge with a potential deal with iran in a few months. that will be a test. so the war on terror is a piece of his puzzle but only a small piece of trying to prove the leadership skill and the primacy of the saudi king as a

fundamental point of authority in the broad middle east particularly among sunnis. >> you know i'm going to ask you what i asked ayman. how do you expect president obama will respond to this news? do you think he'll attend the funeral? steve? >> um i don't know if president obama will attend the funeral. he should attend the funeral. i think as custodian of the two holy mosques, and as a centerpiece of the entire muslim world, that -- that the passing of a saudi king is and particularly this saudi king who had a rough relationship with president obama, it was tug and pull at various points and the saudis began to doubt america's resolve in playing the role it had traditionally played there. for the u.s. president not to go

on the verge of a potentially deal with iran it would convince, perhaps wrongly, would send the message to many sunnis that they matter less that the united states is turning it over to shia interests, iraniian interests. we're on the verge of this but president obama would make a major mistake, in my view. not going to this funeral. he has to make a balanced effort. both have to be part of a new compact of stepping forward. maybe that's what king salman will be able to do but not going to this transition would be a strategic mistake. it's hard to think of a bigger error of the white house when dealing with this transition. >> thank you both for your time. ayman, stay with me. we'll be right back. es to work all the way until... the am. new aleve pm the only one to combine a safe sleep aid

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reporting that king abdullah has died. no official response yet from the white house. we expect one soon. back with me now on the phone is nbc news foreign correspondent ayman mohyeldin. what can we expect? >> reporter: certainly officials condolences to come in from a lot of the arab a muslim leadership. you can expect statements to be made from western european capitals that were close with the saudi monarchy as well as a statement perhaps from the white house, whether it's an official press statement, or perhaps even some kind of televised statement. i think it would be important to know we should be expecting those in the coming hours.

all right. ayman, thanks for your reporting. thanks to all of you for watching. "hardball" starts right now. \s. political football. let's play "hardball." ♪ good evening. i'm cris matthews on a night when the word super bowl isn't a break from political intrigue but an invitation to more intrigue. someone deflated the footballs in the big win over indianapolis on sunday. whoever did it made the footballs just the way tom brady likes them. we no that because he said that late this afternoon at a press conference. if he didn't deflate the footballs, who did? i realize there are four stages of getting a football onto the field. stage 1, nfl checks the