[ bleep ] [ bleep ] th they did it again repeating a nonswear word. cookie dough, warren harding, frog legs. turns t people, even this guy [ bleep ] [ bleep ] [ bleep ] were able keep their hand suerged in the ice water longer whecursing. you n't argue with [ bleep ] ience. oh! >> what wathe dierence in the -- you kno >> i guess you get little bit moreenalin going with the swearing and maybe it heats you up a little bit. maybe you're embarrassed to hear you say blue thgs and that makesou blush and heat . >> no. there is no embarrassment all. maybe it's cold rit here. >> very ni. thank you for taking one for the te. >> sure. >> i owe you wst ban. >> my hands. >> i have a cocktail momenfor you that is a littleit of a mea lpa.

we got asked for would be on t john ensign story day. we have to do a mea cua for last week. we talked about the tails that his rents paid off his mistress' familyo the tune of $96,000. on the day we did thattory, cawe put it up here? we used th graphic, johnny cash. belie it or not, after that show aired, we got a calfrom johnny cash's manager. the actual johnny cash's manager. not at a thrilled to be associated witthis scandal. i have to say, as a huge johnny cash fan, somebo who respects him and who went to ott the rnc having that ing athe johnny cash auion at sotheby's in 2004, the "defe johnny cash" protest, what is the happy. i'm very sorry we wiljust go back calling him

the future former nator of nevada. thks for watching. culture wa the battle for theupreme court. let's play "hardball." good evening. i'chris tthews back from two eks in africa, back onsnbc's brd w hd studio here in shington. as you can see right away, it's quite a state of the a setup wi cting-edge technology. one of the things i've learned about television over the years is the bigr the om, the better, an have a lot more spacin this new studio. look at this place. leading off tonight on t subsntive matter, the politics of today'sir round fight over president obama's nominee to the u.s. supreme court.

judge sonia sotomayodelivered her openg statement before the senate judiciary committee today, and iediately said despite whathe once said and was tad saying about the role of the appellate crt in this countr it's not the job of a supreme court juste to me policy. >> in the past month many sena have asked me about my judicial philosophy. simple. fidelity to the law. the task of a judge is not to make law. its to apply the law. >> well, sotomayor seems headed toward confirmation. republicans made sure to r the reflag on some of her previous speeches and whether she's allod her personal background a sympaies to ay her rulings on the bench. but is this really a battle over her sponr, president barack obama? is this ally a surrogate fight we'rwatching over the president's philosophy that's what richard wolffe said earlier. i k he's got a big point. let's hear right off the bon

nighby the way from two senators from the judiciary committee. dick durbin from illinois, and orrin hah of utah. us "the new york times" repothat dick cheney ordered e cia to keep congress in the dark for years about a secret coterterrorism program developed in theays after 9/11. did he or did he not break the law by withholdi information from lawmakers? we'll have more that classified program whichthe walltreet journal" reported today invoedssassinating al qaeda operatives the way golda meier once ordered the killing of theurderers at the munich olympics. >>at put the soon to be former alaska governor sarah palin on the rd to resignation? "new york times" reports a top officialrom the republican governor's association staged interventi, theyalled it, in

an attpt to save her future earlier this ye, t his adviceas largely ignored. for at it's worth, here is levi johnston's take on his once -- well, his o-time future moth-in-law. >> she's very smart, b i just don't thinshe can handle the stress level as govern. i don't think she can hale it as president or viceredent. >> wel that's for what it's worth. we'll have much more on palin's motive if we can get them, we'll get them. t's face it, it's hard to figure out anybody motives for quitting office. later on the show tonight. >>and president obama names hisurgeon general today. ishis his way of saying it's make or break time for his alth plan? that's in "the politics fix" tonight. nally, could there be anher cheney in office? more on that in the "hardbal sideshow." that's his daughter liz cheney, who hasn't ruledut rubbing for offi someday. we begin this day with the first day of the confirmatn hearings for sia sotomayor. we he two members of the senate judiciary committee joining us right n starting with nar dick durb of illinois. i was on t program this morng covering this thing live, your hearings today, senato riard wolffe, who is a smart guy, he's got a big bo out about the campaign, you know h well, he says this is really a rrate fight between the president's enemies and our president.

let's take a look right noat the judge making her case in her opening statement. >> throughout my 17 yes on the bench, i have witnessed the human consequences of my decisions. those decisions have not been de to serve the interests of anone litigant, but alwa to serve the larger ierests of impartial juste. >> well, that raises the question of whether her empathy for people is,n facta prejudice towardcertain people. has she adessed that issue so far, senator? >> i think s has. think e's addressed it, and i think it just stands to reon that each of us, no matt what we do in le, whether we have a "hardball" show or wther we're senators or whher we're trying to be on the supreme court bring our life expience to it. the peoplee've met, the experiences we've had. 's bound to have some impact sandra day o'connor grew uin a rah in arizona. it made a difference in the way she looked at the wod, the way she anyzed han conduct. that's not unual. >> well, i guess thagets down to the queion of affirmative action and whether she on th court will put herhumb on the scale favor of minorities

against peopleho might lose in a case where the courts le in favor of minorities. let me get to e key question here, the ricccase. the preme court overruled her when she red at the appellate level it was okay for the city of n haven to throw out a test because thresults showed no african-americans passed the st for promotion for firefighter. for higherffice in the firefighteoperation up there in new haven. what didou make of her potion on that? did u suppt her ruling in that case? >> i think her ruling was the only ring that she could have handed down. it reflected 38 years ofrt decions. it reflected the trial court's decision, the appeate panel's decision, and the full appellate court, and she joined intohat was clearly thprecedent. along me the supreme court and by a 5-4 v very close vote, turned it over and saiwe're gointo do it differently.

how can you holdhat against her? i mean, she was really takg thlaw as given to her over the years and applying t law to the seof facts she was given. but a lot of people look at that as results-based afrmative action, not trying to creatanqual chance at the starting line which is t goal of affirmative action, an outreach whi all reasonable pele believe in, reaching out to a larger community just the usual wa the way guys get rst dibs on jobs through networking. wh you g to the question of whher if the results of a st come out in favor of t white guys, if you will, and then say we don't like the test because the white guys won it, doe't that seem prima facie like prejudice agnst white guys? let's be honest about it. >> doesn't it? it sounds like a controvel issue that you and i could debate and pple are going to seeifferently. her ro was the role of a judge. theysked her, well, here are the set of facts. she sayswell, as a judge i can

tell you we'een these before. in fact, we have seen them for 38 years a here is what we've found and i'll contie to find that way. if she'd have gone thepposite direction, pple would have said, oh, she's a jual activist. she's trng to create law. there are other pele who could do it. the supreme court obviousl could. wl as the congress. but she is trying to find the appropriate role of thjudge and i thk she did. >> so you don't think the ricci case was reverseiscrimination? >> i can tell you, we can argu that ricci case anwe will argue it we will considert fore congre, but consider her role. e's the judge looking to the settled law, the precedent of 38 years,nd she applied it the right way. >> okay. let's take a looat her statement re. this is her ba in 2001 at a spee at berkeley. quot i would hope that a wise latina woman with the ness of her eernces would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white le who hasn't lived that life. your vieof that? did she ta that back today by saying i rule on the law, not other issues? >> yes, she did. let tell you, there isn't one of us who hasn't given a sech, includg chris matthews and dick durbin, who didt have a line in thersobody could cam back and say, what did he ally mean?

the fact is, to jue this woman and her lifetime of exrience and her expeen on the bench by the phrase wise latina is, i think, grasping at straws. the bottom linis this woman hasplendid life story, an amazing story. to be sitting there on that panel today in the senate judiciary commite, and you could see her speaking, anthen watch her mo's reaction to, that told you this is a great american story that she brgs to i of course she's oud about her orig coming from the island of putoico, being born in the united states, and having served as s has in so many different aspects. and course she's proud of the fact that she did well in scho. buto suggest that that means she's going to be as goes too fa >> let me ask you abouthe hyde amendmen do you support it, the refusal to spe federal money on abortions, period? >> yes. it is basically the settled law, and i'm ready totand by it.

i think -- >> so despite the that the puerto ric legal defense fund took a diffent position doesn't bother you about her nomination, the ct that she supports that group. >> not aall. she did -- y know, her job in e puerto rican legal defense fund as a volunteer to theoard was not to pick and choose cas. you kn, thateally gets into the attorney/clien relationsh it really wato try to guide this organization. whether you're talkingbout the nap or t puerto rican legal defense fund, as mayor bloombe said, it's only ashington thatouan volunteer for a great nonprofit group serving group, trying to fd its way into the mainstream of america and be criticized for it. >> so you don't believe just to finish t point, you don't ink the national health program we're gointo getn october in this ar, many of us hopee're going to get, should include federal fundg r abortion. you think it should not. >> it definitely shoulhave a conscience clause involved in it so that those providers, doctors, hospitals and others that cannot in good conscience provide abortion serces will not be cpelled to. i thk that's been our settled situation in america. >> suld anpublic program, if ther a public health care program as pt of this plan, should any public program pay

for abortions? >> what it bls down to is whether or not we're going to en allow health insance policies to ver it. i think asong as the it, i can stand by it d y d in that's acceptable. >> thank you very much, dick durbin, ranking -- actually majority whip of thenited states senat t's go to senator orrin hatch who was on committee, has be chairman of the committ. senar hatch, are you concerned about her posion on abortion rits? i know as senator durbinust said, the hydemendme is settled law. in other worthe federal gornnt can't spend taxpayer dollars on abortions where do you snd? do you think it might be a dangers aspect of the new health care plan if that's included? was just reading the "week stanrd" this weekend and the author in that piece said there's a possibility that some mmittee which would be made up of the president andhe secretary health and human rvices, kathleen sebelius, might rulehat it's in, that a federally organized health care pl, insurance plan, would actually pay f abortions.

>> i just came frothhealth, educion, labor, and pensions markup on the so-called health care reform that is th onsided all-democrat libal billanthey just voted down an amendment that would have sustained the hyde amendment, and ey did it making it ve clear that they're going t low taxpayer financing of abortions. now, we've never allowed that, but that's how left wing they're going here on capitol hill. it's really awful. >> you thinkt's a deal breake >> yeah, there's no question about that. look, we've had e hyde amendment, which h prevented the taxpays om being socked for abortions and have their monies used for aborons since 1976. it's been accepty almost everybody, and here we are i the health committee -- by the way, ias the one that raised the amendment d it lost 12-11. in oth words it was a bipartisan fight against it, b even so th12 liberal democrats the committee, and they're l liberal except for casey

from pennsylvania who voted with us, it was2-11, and that's what they intend to do. they want the taxpayer-- >> i thinkt's going to be an issue. i think your sidmay win this ultimately let me ask you about thenominee for the supreme court, sotomayor. she'been a supporter of th puerto rican legal defenseund which says tit's unconstitional to deny a woman a taxpayer-supported abortion as part of a health care planike medica. you think that might be a problem r her? well, she's on the board of directors. it's not just a volunteer job. she was on thereor yea. as a matter of f she signed a document that i have in files against the use of the death penay and a whole bunch of oth very liberal left wing approaches thathe puerto rican legal defense fund was for. now,ou kno these are things that really cause a of us a loof angst. i come at this wanting to support the president, wanting to suprt herbut these things make ilittle bit tough. thre riyci case makes it very

tough. look, i hesenator durbin ta about how she was upholng the law as it is. that ain't true. in fact, her mentor who wrote the dissent onhat th did said not only that a case in first pression, but it should have been allod to -should ve forced the lower court , you know, to look att and get the realacts involved, and it was a very, very b decisn. they did is they wrote it in a way thinking that it looked like they were trying to make sure that nobo would ever look att. they put very little intit. didn't talabout the facts. it was a pretty poor, shabby way doing things. even her mtor got very incensed about ibecause of the nature of rst impression of that particular case. >>et's talk about guns. is thereuestion in your mind about her view about wheer the we have an individual right to bear arms under the state law as well as under the fedal law? >> well, sheelped write the opinioin a case that really

didn't have toet into that, but she then in a footno just vonteers language that shouldn'have been volunteered that the right tkeep and bear arms is not a fundental right under e constitution. there's no reason why she had to do that, and, of course, she bad it un two cases that were -- one watwcenturies ago and the other was i think in the 1930s, and those cases did not ly dwell in that rticular point. so, yeah, it's a matter of great ncern. look, she's a very brit woman. she has great ory. her baound is a terrific background. i like her personally, but im concned when judges get reveedecause they do things thateally are questionable. she's had eighof ten cases takeup by the supreme cour reversed. then the ricci case i remeer senator durbin sayg it was a 5-4 desion. yeah, it was in one sense,ut

alnine justices basically said that the case had to go ba to get the real factsnvolved, and all nine jusces disagreed with she did, and even though the case was 5-4, thatas -- the ur werthe liberal justices on e court who basically, y know, basically never see discriminaon against white fighters or white workers under ancircumstances. >> well, thank you vermuch, senar orrin hatch of utah. e of the top republicans on the senaommittee looking to the nomination of jud nia sotomayor. comi up, the secret cia program dick chey didn't want congss to know about. this is serious buness. democrats want an investigation into why the former vice present reportedly kept it fromongressional leaders. they're supposed to kn what the cia is up to. he, according to this report, dinot want them to know about this assassinaon plan. why didick cheney do it? did he break the law we'll get to thaen we come back. it's a hotne.

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welcome back to "h"haralall. "the new y yk k tis" reports at former vice presidedenticick cheney ordered the c cia t withhold inforormaonon aut a countertererrori p pgram from coreressand now that some democrats want to see sosome democrats want to o e e so vestigation of that intoto the natutu o of is program, what it s s actly, and why cheney y ke congressional leadererinin t dark. sohat exactly was this sececret countertrtrorori program and was it illegal to kekeep ifrfr the congngre?? vid corn is the washininonon bubure c chi for "mother jones" magazine andnd c colnist for "cq

policscs anand roisisn investigative reporter and t the ahohoof the bookokththe e percent doctrine." ron, you a are t e eert. whatat washehey up to here exactly? at did he authorize and d what did d k keesecret from the ngngre? >> this is the early dayays afr 9/11. the cia a s s feing it needed to build almost a pararilility cability to match up wititththis vava network, this web, ththis mamatrixhahawas building in rmrmof communications and d nancial surveillance.. we know a lot ababouththat the view wasas tt t esntially cia would sort of tataalal qda operatives, , hahadis, couriers, and thth w wou lead us to cells, d d th they'd use the ramilitary capability toto tak the cells out. athe start of the so-calald d war on terror, the c c v vied itself essentialal a as fighting agenent, aa a ghting entity, and part of f atat wre seeing here e e at happened in these e ear ysys, eney said as far as i understatand fm m me calls i have been makiking, okokuntil we geget a a fition, there's no

needed tbrbriethis to anybody. >> who the helelisis cney -- firsrst a alllet's get this straight, roro i want to get accordrd. memedy has got to take a refreseshecocour on the u.s. constitution. even though this governmnment' past and out o of ststorright nono w we' got to know what the hell happened d rere. cheneyey hado o nstitutional auauthity, no executive authority under r the constitutition. he's simply ththere p pside over the united states s senat anand ta h h turn if something happens s t theresident. how w dihehe g the authority to llllhe cia to do anything,g, much less conducuct anndndcover actitivi a andot tell the cocongss about it? the ngngss has authority. has none. why did they take e orde f fm him? >>verything -- >> j jt want to know why didid the damn cia listen to h him f a sesendnd? he had no exececivive thority. how w coulheheet away with it? c chey was -- > ts keeps getting worse e d worse and worsrse. y the congress -- y y do anybody let that man

have execucuveve ahority. he hadad ne.e. go ahead. your thoughthts. >> cheney was actingng aththis point on m mtetersf intelligence esntntlly as the president.. they were briefing c cneney >> who said d so? who told the ciaia ttatakerders fromomhihis y? >> well, y you kw w >> just t a nunute ron. >> cheney -- t theact is it's just the w w ththisresident, president bushs structured his whihiteououse cia would brief the prpresenent anthe vice president and t then the vice presidede w wou esesseially take over. would be there for ththe ilily opoperional briefs -- >> what t eses ts all say about shsheing the decider if ththis guy decides whatatonongrs knows abouout coteteerrorism? >>hehereas a variety of areas s that i have e writn n out and othehersavave well that the esident essentially saysys, ju mamakeure it gets done and i i don't want to knowow anyororand dick will handle it t fromerer this is one ofof tho a aas. so thehe psiside in case of ememgegenccan be deniable about some of these thingsgs tt t wee dog that he never or the united states never r shldld essentially y keke rponsibility for. thatasashe way this system rked. >>s s th runaway government ---- what is s isis? there'e'nono cstitutional checks

on this guy bebecausheheon't let congress know about t .. heas no constitutional accoununbibili because he has no cocotitutional authority.. in other words, if t t p predent tells chcheneye e n do something, he e lllls e cia to take o ords s fr him. eseshe president ever callll t cia director and s s t takorders fromhehey? >> it was a structure e set t t avoid d acununtality by the prpresent specifically. ththatas the whole idea. >> go ahead, david corn.n. are you surprised d byhihis? that cheney cacan gi o oers to ththe a? >> i havavtoto s i'm not susurprid.d. as ron has w wrienen, i wrote in the book with mikike isofof-- again anand aiain >> you guyuyarare iting books afteththfact. it d didt t dos much good at the time. >> i'm'm sor.. a lot of repeporrsrs we asleep t thewitch back then. the cia servrv t theresident. ththe prididt says, hey, this is my guyuygogo see him -- > do u u ow if he ever told th t tt? >> i donon't kw w he said that. but there's a way inin bureaucracy -- y you kw w w wainingt works better than anyone else. if the president sends a a sigl, you deal witith ckck othis -- >anan y imagine lyndon jojoson calling the cia anand telling them what t d do? it's unimaginanable. depends how you strucucrere t -- >> s spi a agn calling the cia. name a vicice prididt in history ththat wldldave given an order to the cia. >>hehenteresting thing aboutut the story so farars s th even democrats on the hililhahaveaid

that thehere'sototecessarily anything that t s s wrg with whatat theiaiaas trying to do. we canan't bsusu because we don'haha the details but here e we have cheney once agagn n showing his utteter diegegd for pupublan governments -- so why do we have electctions t't's ke a look at it. we're here is "t"the wl l reet joururl"l" rorting today. am t t high alert following g thseptember 11th terroriri attacks, a s smalliaianit examined t t p pottial for targeted assassinatitionofof a qaedopopatives. acaccoining three former ficials. someme offiaia who advocated the apprproachererseeking to build teams ofof ciandndilitary ececl force commandos to emulate what the israeaelis d d after the mumuni o olyics, terrorist attackcks athehe olympics, sasaid athth former intellllenencefficial. que,e,t was straight out of f the movies. one of t the fmemeintelligence ofoffials said it was like l l's kill them all. okay. let's get awaway fm m e exact substance of the questioion of

auththitity do this. i remember oliver nonortanand l the e llll wwent through when we have renegadadpepeop doing stuff without constitutionalal auauthity, but you say this presidenent sa t this vice president, you do ththis dtyty work, what he e usedo o ll the dark side or whatevever eneney called it, and donon't tl l abt it. do we e owow tt happened? ththerwawas tually a conversationon le e th? >> i havave noouou there was that conversatioio thfact is -- >> but we don't knkn t the was. you just a assum---- could it be e cheyey'sanner, his abilility s sply take authority went along w witththe esident's delusion he was the e decir?r? >> no, i thihink --- >> that there never was s a conversation. >> the preresintnt uerstood the structure here. you know, he w waso o fo. he was in the white hohoe.e. but what happens h herisis essentially y 's's g a violation ofof t basic issues of accocotatabity in a democracy. chchey could operate this.s. wee not talking ollie nonoh h

now. we're talking ththe cece psident of theheninitestates acting as a prprident who is directingng i this case not ononly vt t surveillancece aivivits but osteteibiblyaramilitary units to cacarrthrough to some sort of f outcome what we're f finngng. what's's intesesng and important is that we didn't t actulylyse these units s becae e e surveillllanceasasot strong and tatarged enough, frankly, toto employ them, you k know,ndnd at's one of the reasons s why panetta can so easilily cle e e prram. >> here's the nationon s secity act in ' '47. this amendmement ss,s,he approximimelely all ensure that the congressionanal inllllence committeeses areepepfully and cuenentlinformed of the intelligence activititieofof t unitededtatateincluding any significanananantipated inteteigigen activity. i ithat's the law accordiding to these reports the v vic prididenviolated them. >> l liste t tre didn't have to be the conveversioion u're askingng uababoubetween bush and cheney. i i thinafafr 9/11 it was pretty clear to both of them m atat tir roles werere goi t tbe. now, c chey y is guy who ululdn even give up the names s of the people who caca t to lk to his staff aboutut ergrgy issues.

, of course, when it c com - -- >> he would never tellll uwhwho was on the e ergrgy o on sue after issue he saiai i'm not going to sharerehihis th congress.. i don't trust thesese ysys. which means s heoeoesn trust our very sysystem. the lylyay you're allowed to do secret stufuff unr r r consnstititions if there's some sort of oversisighbyby pple who are elecectebyby t general blblic not just the presiside a andhe vice p psiside. >> it's amazazinwewe ected vice esident cheney and scocoot lilibby r r our country. it's just astotoundi t tme, the president let these kidsds opete like it was s thr r plpen. >> this can be i invtitigad by thhouse and senate ininlligence committees ---- >> will they have the e nervtoto do it? david, you're e anxpxper rry, ron. do you think the housese and senate have ththe gu, , e strength, to demand a a fu o on ththe cord, under oath explanatatn n fr the vice presesidt,t, oers regarding th, including scooter libbbby, ieief staff, david addingtoto the wholole ndnd othem. kekehem to congress and tatake them tell the trtrh?h? >> i think what papanettisisoing heheres throwing this up to oboba a sang this seems to be a violation of l l, , viation of

law thatat c cle, and that in a y y emwers obama to say i'm simply uphololngng t laws. at's where we might geget meme action here.e. >> ron, i wawantouou oagain this ekek. please come baback. ron and david, youou're wawa weomome re. spspkikingf dick cheney, could we s see c chey family polititical nanay? well, we'll see. that's a littltle rere tvial. ick and for the "sidesesho next and that's where e thatopop lolong coconvsation ) gagarth, yououe up. hhon, i'm at capitataloneom picking a photo..... for my credit card. hhere's one from my pro. oh, what memories. w 'bout one from our r outing? shouting ) i know,w, maybe o of my first-born n n. dad, mom says the boys tta go. peonalize your card by uoading... your o pto at capitalone.c. what's in yoururlet? ♪

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> what an opening. ck to "hardball." time for the "sideshshow." fifirst updick cheney's ughter, liz, has been n making the e media unds as we know for nths. apparently to o defend h father's tenure as vicice president and ththe man whmany belie was the real deciderer of the lastst admintration. certainly that w was the ce when it came to m mattersf war and

the casesemade f war. also, as we justst learn from "the new yorortimes"f keeping congress in the dark a aut cia operatns, which "the wall street jouournal" rerted today includ assassination teams, ifif assassination isis the rig word to use f for killi al qaeda opoperatives in entering g the polical fray is liz cheney consididing a n for ofce herself? here is s at sheold the "washington times" r radio sho today. >> are you yourselelf planng to run r a political office at t some point in timeme? >> it's nonot someing that i am going to do righght away, t i am absolutely in awe of andnd ininspiredy people who do run r office, and i have s snt a lot ofime working on promotiting dedemocracy ound the world and it's just t made mreally grateful for our sysysm and thinit's given me a real undersrstandinof how important it is for peopople to paicipate.

so it's something i mamawell d downhe road here. i hopepe to, younow, have the oppounity at some point to have that t make sen for my mily a everything else that's goingng on. >> souous to mlike she's caught the polititical b. tually, i'm impressed shshe has the guts to makeke a run. if she does, i i'll ma a real efeffort to ver the race. me for tonight's big number. "theall street journal" surveyed a groupupf top economists andnd askedhem to rate psident obama's handlinin of this financial crcrisis wre in rigight now. well, as a m mker, fmer presidenent busharned a median grade 50 out of 100, a iling mark in most schooools. how does the n new presint rate? ththeconomts gave president obama a median grade o of 70 out of 100, a a ssingrade, but narrow. it's not always going toto be th way, but w we can stl argue, i think,hat the hell we're facing economically, t the unployment numbers for exaxample arososout ofhe policies of the st eig years, the mistimed and sapplied bush tax cut t jammed through, and, of cose, the e hallibton war economics of the last eightht yearsnot the urgent s steps t last half year toto blame anyway, bobottom linso far, esident obama gets a p psing grade from thehe exper of 70. he didn't pass b by flyi colors.

toght's "big number." > up nexwhen sarah palin annoced she was quitting a as alaska governonor she le many questions out ththe. why, w w, why? have some answers to o ose whys, why she ququit, inight of whwhat's goi on. we'll l y to fure that out and wh might be in her immedediate future besidesesaking ney on a speaeaking tr. busy lififestylecan make it hard to get enough fiber and d key nutrients in your dietet. be pactive about your healal wi... this greatatastinghewable fiber supplelement harnesses the goododness oreal fruits andnd vegetabs to pvide you both naturall ber anprotective antioxidantnt its specl blend of antioxidantnt tamins c, e and beta c cotene help support your longngerm health and vitalality. el your best every day, , even when you're on thehe go. try fiberchoice plus anoxidants. brand power. helpg you buy better.

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here's what's happening. police arrested a suspect in the break in of a couple known for helping zis abled children. hes being charged withmurder.

thre addition suspects ar still at rge. pl mden emergency landing after a hole was found in the plane's roof. fortunaty, no e was hurt. bad wer over kennedy space center forced nasa to scrubhe fih laun attempt. they'll make a sixth attempt on sunday. and the treasury department says the federal deficit topped $1 trilli for the first time in american history. officials blame the recent surge in government spending coupled with plunging x venues naonal we. now ba to "hardball." the 21st century hits "hardball"onight. did you see thgraphi? lcome back. sarah lin's everywhere as she's the front page of today's

"new york times" in a piec about her road to resigning, and she's the cover "time magazine dubbed threnegade, antoday in a newly released federal election commission report we learned she denitely knows how to raise money. she may haveesigned as alaska governor because of itbut is she unstoppable? pat chanan, msnbc contributor, political analyst. and eugene robinson, pulitzer prize-winning comnist. nbc analyst. ""wagton post."" she's apparent raised three quarters of a million dollars already behalf of her pac. she'obviously ready to sign up with some speaking burea she's going to be out there, gene. i ess there's no surprise if u think of self-interest why she quit the gernorship. she don't have to put up wit some intramuraght for funding. the crap you always take at home from anywhe if you're a litician. home is the worst place toe for most politiciansbut is there another story here?

is she on the road tbeing the nominer next time against barack obama? >> you know, i really doubt it. and there was -- >> do you really doubt it? really? orre you afraid of it? >> no, i really doubt it. there was a time rig afterhe elon when pat almost had me convinced that sar palin was the future othe republican party. i even wrote a column sang watch out for palin,emocrats ould pay attention to r. ju think this leaving the governor's office the way e did, the cha that there's been there in the past few months, justhe general -- >> b she's going to blame you and me and everybody else fo dog this. she quit because the national media wouldn't g off her backsi. i don't think she's got what it takes to actuallyun for president or to actually -- >> i wondewhat pat and a party that's down to 26% of the electorate rightow thaonly includes the r, isn't she peecy equipped to be the nomineat this point? roger simon said on "meet the press" yesterdayhat she'd beat mittomney tomorrow or today if they had a fight. >> it would have to take o year going o tiowa. she woulbeat him today, i'm not sure if she'd beat him after a ar. the real queiois -- >> who's theetter speaker?

>> sarah palin is one of the best -- >> who's the better campaier? >> palin is the better campaigner and speaker. she's sensation. there's no doubt about it. >> i agree. >> the question is can she g the middle of amica to move to her -- >> why should she need the middle if the righwing controls your party? >> there'so doubt she could win the nominationbut i have a hard time believing e could win the presidency othe united states unless the country is i a real general disaster beuse of thessue ocredibility -- >> okay. >> and confidence that's -- >> okay. you guys are all historians of politics. ll love the history lookin back. when a party looks like they can't beat the incumnt, whether it's '64 with goldwater or '72 with mcgovern, and you were on the other side of that fight, tt's when they go to the far corner politically. when you can'tin, yohave some fun. you follow your ideolo. isn't this thefect setting rit now, if you can't beat them, have some n running -- >> if he's running, barack obama stays ruing at 60% over romney and her, i think the thingo do wod be to nominate her. but the question is m not re

she's going to run. that was a devastating pien "the new york time in this sense. it shows whaa tremendous presre this woman has been family is under a atck. e's got these bills. she's got five kids, granddaughter there. she's got ethics charges, runs alaska -- >> "the neyork tes" reported -- >> wrote a book. >> reported today in t front page storyright on the front, paraphrase it, main point, the republican governor's associion sent their top guy out to advise her keep a nt schedule, get nized, be a relapolitician. >> find a y to answer your one calls. she said i don't want to do that. that's not my plan. i want to be a renegade. >> it's in the conxt, as pat saidally this atmosphere of crisisn the family and, you kn, in the wake of the great disruption of having -- th is a great big thing for her. >> why would the governor's conference send someuy up there to tell you how to r your office? for heaven's ses. >> i don't get it but -- >> it is condescendi to say the least. >> it is conned sending. >> she's a vice presidt candidate -- >>haen your pencils and take good notes. here is your copy book. here is e father of palin's grandson. levi johnston onhe "today" show. i have a proem quoting this guy, but he is family member, you kn. yonever know how much intrigue

there is with these gu. here he is on the "tod" show this morng goi after his almostormer -- well, his almost cnt mother-in-law, ich is not surprising in american life eith, a fight like this. but here he is. >> almost, was going to be. >>he means a lot to me. you know, i'd do just about anything for, but i really dot think i would vote forer if she ran for president. >> do you believe she's equipp to be presidt? >> yesnd no. >> uh-huh. >> i mean, she's vy smart, but i just don't think she can hale the stress level as governor. i don't think shcan hale it as psident or vice president. >> there's your witns,at. we couldn't nd kato kaelin. >> what i said this morning -- th kid down to the creek and hold his head under war until the thraing stops. >> think she may have been winner in that one, the moer-in-law. >> what e you having this guy on television -- this ne of r oblems. shs up there with these ethics charges, she's got this stuff on the "todayshow. >> i'm on r side. i'm taking her side. >> it's noall the world against sarah palin. sarah palin createsome of this

herself. my questn is was that signation an ed muskie ment, a howard dean scream? was this aoment that -- >> l's go back to muskie. in 1966 when you sigd up with dick nixon a you said we have to tk about '68, he said first '66. could it be her '66 is 2010. she campaigns aroundhe country, couple guys like charlie crist win anyway, tom corbin winin pennsylvania. go around the untry. five or six guys winnd she campaigned for them, and then

she claims iicked up 23 seats the united states congress. >> y do this -- nixon, we went to 80 congressional distcts, 35 states. what she does is cpaign all over the country for the guys, read and study as e's doing this -- >> pick nners. >> bigpeeches where she makes w bucks to pay off these debts and take a look and seif she wants to go for thatear in iowa and new hampshire and whether she's up to dointhat with the family difficulties -- >> butn the meantime she ores victories. she identies with winners. you got to give hecrit, this iser plan. will it wo? >> she can rack up a bunch - >> she hangs out with whitman, she might win. hangs out with t corbin he probably wins. goes aund the country, picks four or fi winne, and she's part othe team. election night, where we go, we go to sarah palin election night. >> if you're meghitman and you want to be governor califoia, do you say sarah palin come on, campaign withe. >> the inland coties. thank you pat buchanan. we'll beight back. >> inland empire. >> inland empire.

we agree it's 6. route 66 for sar palin. up next, hard will the reblicans grill sonia sotomayor when the questioning gets tough? are they going to beat her up or are they goingo be careful? "t politics fix" is up next. [ femalennouncer ] olay goes beyond everyday clean to a deep micro-clean. olayeep cleansers reach the micro-particles of dir some basic cleansers can leave behind for a n so deep its crclean.

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unless you havave cocolete meltltdo y youe going to get nfirmed. thth's's i"the politics fix" toght. cocomi u up,resident obama ds another player to his health care team.. bubut ll it get his prom to a victory. w w udio, a "newsweek" expxper let me start wititththe rsonal story.y. i want maria teresesa p picup on thihi i want to tell you w whagrgrbed me. i admit to having one e t tho matthews thrhril t tay. when t thetatalk- when she tatalk and that big, happy face of hers, and i meaean positively, shshcacamecross as so real. when she t tald d out the way she and her r m,m, h mom going r an rn, registered nunue e certificate, and s s w wither brother juju, , anthey all did

their homework togetheher. i just imagiginen n crped quarters in sosomeititen, the smsmelofof t food still there. i can see the room. g gramed. >> for me ititasas psonal. >> how they pulled thehemsveveup t the bootstraps, that faly. >> for me that was a a psosol story. that's basicallyly wt t mother anand didid,elieve it or not. i was studying to gradadua f fro llege, my mother was g gtiting her aa at the sasa t tim it was somethihinghahat r me was personal and i identififd d wi it. mo t thaanything, her story isis quintessentitialmemeri. i think there's partrts h h story y atat ery single american d d hoehold can identify witit whether losing a fatathe w wther a singngleotothe whether struggling because youou'rthth only womomann n throom or you're e only ethnic minority in n th room, or becauauseouou a of a sudddd d deced that you're going intervene and save babasellll for the reststmemeri. it's pretty special.l. >> let's listen totohehe ninee herself f mangnghat case. heststor >>n her own, my mother raisesed my brotherer a m m

she taughtht uththathe key to susuccs in america is a goodod education. and she set the e explple. studying alolosisidey brother and me a aouour tchen table so thatat s c cou become a gigisted nurse. wewe wkekehard. ouour hievements are due to o e values t thawewe lrned as children. and they have continued toto gde my life's s enavavor >> powerful. w wel i was -- i was sittinin right there, a few rowows hihi her. righghafafteshe said that, she tueded aund to her mother, whoho was sittining ghght hind her, and said, , alststhispered, "thank you, mom."" ititas a private moment.t. but a wonderful moment.. and encapsulates t the difficultitieshaharepublicans wiwillavave derailing her. because theyey'rtrtryi to poporaray mebody who is out of the maininrereamwho relies on emioio not on logic, on ethnicitity,otot ohard work. eveverhihingbout her story,

everything a autut t way she preseststs hself -- the calm and the dignity anand e e rkmanlike fashion n shs s ved her life -- undercuts what thehe rububcan ssage is going to be. so that personal momenent a ao very important p policic one. >> it's ththfifirstime, maria treeeesasa, ve heard somebody admit they sweatatedo o gea scholarsrsp.p. eyeyidn't get it out of shshee iq or s.a.t. scoremakikingbibili like so many p peoe e wenow. she did d itececau she sat at that t tab a a did her homework, hours and hours anand ururof it, to get it ririghsosohe could move to a school like e prcecen. >> incredible. i think ththatheheoes, she's communicating to a l lar p pt of the populationon sinin you can do it asas wl.l. atat ii think what the pupublans are going to have e hard timime. i think lindsey grgrah, , yosaid it. he's media-savvy. he r reazezethere are others of millions of amamerananlistening tohis confirmation heariri.. the way they startrtedffffhe sesessnsnspecifically was tough. thth were trying to label l heas a latitinoomom that basically wasn't sure if s sheerered being there because she mighght viewing the world too o mu i i ththoslines.

>> i thihi i if were a minority likekehahat,f any minority status like that, anand immigrant lili m my rents' grandpdpartstsere, i would say, at more do they want f fm m sinus we'll be rigightacacwith howawardininem and maria teresa for "the politics fix." we're backck wh h hord who says there's n notngng le the taste ofofooool ip ? ♪ she does. obobously they do. ♪ oh, and her.

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