and who had it played against them? and why did john mccain go with sarah palin? the authors of the book "the battle for america" join us later. also, sonia sotomayor was confirmed late today by a vote of 68-31. nine republicans voted for her, and every democrat present. could that cause trouble for the republicans with latino votes next november? we'll look at that in "the politics fix." and what american political celebrity was offered 40 cows and 20 goats for some guy to marry their daughter? and who said it was up to the daughter to decide? that's in tonight's "hardball sideshow." we begin with the president's slipping approval ratings. now down to 50% in a new poll. patrick buchanan is an msnbc political analyst and bob shrum is a democratic analyst. let's take a look. here the quinnipiac poll numbers to look at. approve the president's performance, 50%. disapprove, 42%. that compares to only a month

ago and just a month ago to 57% positive, 33% negative. now, let's look at the source of this. the quinn pi yak poll asks people how is the president handling the health care issue. there you have it, 39%. very, very low for an issue he really campaigned on. 52% of the people, a real majority now, opposing him. shrumy, are these two sets of numbers connected? >> i think the quinnipiac poll is wrong. you referred to other polls in the beginning. as you know, the ipsos poll has the the president up, and there's a newer set of interviews. these polls don't matter. what matters is where they are in 2010 and where they are in 2012. the only other thing that counts in this is whether democrats get panicked and walk away from this health care fight because the lesson in 1994 is that if they do that, they'll pay the price. the president will ultimately get reelected, because the economy is going to revive, but those democrats, and especially

i think by the way the blue dogs, would pay the price in the marginal districts. >> pat, analytically is he right? if the democrats lose the argument and lose the bill, they're in worse shape than if they just lose the argument and pass the bill? aren't they? aren't they better off getting a "w" next to the vote? >> i agree with bob on this. the key guys are the blue dogs and many of them walked the plank on cap and trade and they will pay a price for it. you may not get cap and trade. now they're being asked to walk the plank again on the dramatic health care reform. i think they're the key guys, and if they bolt, chris, the only thing i think obama can get -- but i still think he can get something -- is sort of a scaled-down program, and my view is he ought to talk with his guys in august and say, look, you guys, can we get the big program through? what is it going to cost? do we have to do reconciliation? is that a wise thing? or are we going to have to settle? because i do think, whatever you say, there is real erosion in his support. >> should he get a supermajority by getting several republicans

aboard, two or three aboard, get a bill passed, get it out, sign it, move on next year to getting more -- more next year or should he fight now with everything he's got, jam it through the senate with 50 votes plus the vice president, take the heat from the other side, and live with it? >> i certainly think he should do that. reconciliation was used by reagan and by bush. >> if he has to choose a bill, going with a much more liberal bill, what would you do? >> i judge it by what's in that bill. if there's a co-op that effectively does provide competition with the insurance industry, then i think you can move forward. by the way, in other respects that bill is not a vastly scaled down bill. it's $100 billion less over ten years out of a program that costs $1 trillion over ten years. so it's a pretty major bill, and i agree with pat, he's going to get a bill.

>> i'm with bob on this. i think bob is saying they should try to get a major bill through as big as they can but don't take a defeat. don't go for something they can't get and don't try to use reconciliation if it means the senate stops performing this year. >> look what reagan did. he demanded 30% down the line, down the line. finally they said 25%, he said, okay, i'll take it, let's go. >> he took -- >> it was a mild compromise. he got most of what he wanted and remember that horrible picture of danny, very grim. but reagan did the exact -- >> i was on the other side of the aisle during that fight. >> you were on the losing side on that one. >> losing side is okay because sometimes the other side is supposed to win. sometimes it's their turn to win because they got elected. that's how it works, pat. it isn't always trench warfare. when the other side wins, maybe it's because they get the govern. >> i'm glad they got 60 votes.

i'm glad they got a big majority in the house. i'm glad they have everything because they should have power and then you can hold them accountable and responsible. >> let's take a look at somebody who may not agree with our sort of democratic view of politics where one side wins an election and governs for a while. then the other side challenges their accountability. did they do the right thing or not? let's take a look at rush limbaugh today and what he had to say about the democratic party. >> right out of adolf hitler's playbook. now, what are the similarities between the democrat party of today and the nazi party in germany? well, the nazis were against big business. they hated big business, and, of course, we all know that they were opposed to jewish capitalism. they were insanely irrationally against pollution. they were for two years mandatory voluntary service to germany. they had a whole bunch of make work projects to keep people working, one of which was the

autobahn. they were against cruelty and vivisection of animals, but in the radical sense of devaluing human life they banned smoking. they were totally against that. they were for abortion and euthanasia of the undesirables as we all know, and they were for cradle to grave nationalized health care. >> i do not know where to begin, but i'm going to start with bob shrum. bob, i thought i heard everything. they are insanely against pollution. well, there you have it. anybody who is against pollution is a nazi. i mean, it's the most amazing thing -- this guy is an entertainer. is there a limit here? >> yeah, pat is not going to associate himself with any of that stuff i don't think. it's despicable drivel. it's also -- it's factually wrong. you know, there were big german companies who helped fund the nazi party movement. >> sure. >> by the way, it's hard to

believe since i have seen all these pictures of diplomatic conferences held in germany with high german officials there in before world war ii where they're all smoking. i don't think they banned smoking. he's just made this up. i don't know, maybe he's back on whatever he was on before. >> well, without getting too personal, shall rum shrumy, shot below the belt there but maybe it's justified this time. pat, what do you make of that jeremiah from rush limbaugh? >> look, i think grippentrof was a chain smoker. i have seen pictures of him with a cigarette. >> okay, back to the larger question. >> big business was in bed with hitler. they helped bring him to power. >> so his point is ridiculous. hitler is impossible to figure out in terms of economic ideology i think it's fair to say. putting him on the other side is the cheapest shot. i think anybody who uses the hitler thing on the other side is playing a bad game. but here's the question -- how dirty is this campaign getting, pat? against the health care bill.

anything goes? nazism, what further shot can you take? is there anything worse? >> i don't think people are going to think barack obama is a nazi. you know, but, look, i do agree with you to this extent, you should never bring the nazis in the argument because then we're all arguing about nazis -- and you're not all -- >> people are anti-abortion do it, too. i think we have to stop the comparisons. >> i agree with you 100%. conservatives are usually called fascist and all the rest of it. >> well, that's okay. >> i haven't actually heard that recently, pat. >> let's move on. i think socialist -- cynicalist, let's get really sophisticated here. let me ask you about this fight and barack obama. is this august going to be too tough for him? we have seen a man who is very good at politics. he got elected president of the united states, african-american. he did almost a perfect campaign. he beat the clintons. does he have the fighting skills to win against all the organizations on the right, the kato institute, dick armey's army?

>> people exaggerate their grassroots power. there's no doubt they have good power on op-ed pages and things like that. but, again, i think this august is crucial. i do think obama is bleeding on health care. i think the blue dogs are going home. some of it may be orchestrated, but you can't get guys out to every single one of these meetings that outraged and that angry. this just doesn't have that kind of clout, chris. they can't get anybody out when it came to their amnesty bill. >> okay. i have a strategy. bob, tell me on this. you've been through these campaigns. could the right strategy for the president to get through this summer, because the unemployment rate is going to be horrendous again tomorrow, it will be horrendous for months and months, it ain't going to get any better, lower the temperature, get through a bill that passes muster with a few republicans, three of them certainly and the moderate democrats. get the bill through, jam it through conference, lower the thing, don't have any more rallies. get it through, and keep his left quiet basically. isn't that the strategy to get through the summer? don't heat up this thing. >> well, i think he's not trying to heat it up. i think he is trying to get a

bill through. i think they will get a bill through, but i don't believe that we should let organized mobs paid for by organized money silence the president of the united states or prevent members of congress from going home and holding town hall meetings. i think that -- by the way, we haven't even noticed this, i suspect these tactics are very self-defeating, that when the country hears rush limbaugh, when it sees these people standing there screaming just say no, just say no, just say no, it's not helping the republican party. it's hurting the republican party, and probably ultimately helping the passage of the health bill. >> to make this judgment or not, you or me or bob shrum sitting here, some congressman goes out to his district, he looks out in the hall and he knows whether people brought in there are ringers or whether there are angry folks or upset folks who don't like this thing. that's why he's in congress, because he's smart and in touch with his people. >> exactly right. >> he will come back and say, look, my folks aren't with this

or there's just a lot of ringers down there. i'm going with -- >> he'll talk to his lawyer, his doctor, the people he goes to church with, the people he goes to the beach with, the regular people he's known for 30 years and he will ask them what do you think of this thing. >> he can judge it better than we can. >> those are the guys that keep putting him in office. thank you bob and pat. it is going to be one hot august even though the temperature, global warming is getting weird in this town again. it is not august. >> getting cooler. coming up, those conservative protesters turning congressional town halls into town brawls. let's talk about them and go inside. we want to know how spontaneous are these events and how much are they what's called astroturf, phony grassroots. and now the unions are organizing on the other side. we're going to have mob versus mob. how much of this is real and how much is organized. can the democrats use the disruptions politically against the republicans. we'll see. stay with us. you're watching "hardball" only on msnbc.

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america 2008. it's a definitive story of last year's presidential election by two of the best reporters around. dan balz and haynes johnson are both coming here to talk about teddy kennedy and why he backed obama and why mccain backed sarah palin. inside stuff coming here later in the show. "hardball" back in a minute. here goes the good old steam. [ pfffft! ] whooa!!!! [ female announcer ] let bounty help... because it cleans the mess with less than the bargain brands. it's thick and absorbent. and really durable. in lab tests bounty absorbs twice as much as the bargain brand. [ steam hisses ] why use more when you can use less? bring it. with bounty. the thick quicker picker-upper. and try bounty napkins. now with new prints.

conservative groups like freedom works continue to support the aggressive protests at democratic congressional town meetings on health care, and now the afl-cio is pushing back and plans to send their own people to these town halls to what could amount to a showdown. between the union guys and women and conservative activists. max pappas, from freedom worms, and an analyst from the afl-cio. you're both professionals. tell me about this. the issues come up whether you're astroturf or not. are you a paid official? >> i work at the headquarters in

d.c. >> you work -- and you get a salary from them. >> yes. >> are you a lobbyist? >> no. >> you're lobbying washington and pushing a point of view. how come you're not a lobbyist? >> we're 501-c3. >> you're nonpartisan. >> we're supposed to take this for real you're nonpartisan. you're spending all your time destroying a democratic health care plan? >> if you look at our opposition to a lot of bush's policies -- >> but right now you guys are killing -- you're going to every town meeting in the world blowing them apart. yep. >> how many people are on your payrolls? >> 18. >> how do you organize these meetings? when people do like the acorn meetings? >> mostly through the internet. we have about 400,000 online members who we can contact with an e-mail database we have, send them information about when the town halls are, give them briefings. on the health care reform plans. >> when you watch television you see a disruption in long island, see one in philly, down in texas, you know that's coming ahead of time. >> we've been telling people to

talk to their congressmen for 25 years. that's how freedom works works -- >> but you're basically plotting this stuff. >> we're -- >> people aren't spontaneously getting up in the morning and reading the paper and going i'm going to go to the congressman's meeting, i'm all upset. >> we tell them when the events are. we just don't usually get this many people. we just usually don't get that many people show up. >> are you astroturf or grassroots? >> well -- >> astroturf means an organized professional operation which leads to these rallies rather than something where a bunch of people are reading the paper that morning and go, god, i better get down to headquarters. >> all our people are volunteers. if you're talking about astroturf being where you bus people in -- >> where you organize. maybe like moveon bussed people in or if you have paid people like the unions do, no, we're not astroturf. ours are all volunteers. their hands are painted by hand. >> great. let's you go to you, gerald. what do you make of this?

>> you know, people -- it's really important that we have town hall meetings where people can discuss issues, and there's no more important issue than health care in the country today. people are just getting killed with health care costs, and this situation just is untenable as it stands now. so it's really important that this happens. i think it's really unfortunate that people are trying to disrupt these meetings, and saying phrases like "just say no" is not going to help. >> is that the right approach to this debate? we don't have a bill. republicans say they have alternatives but they never push them when they're in power. i keep asking republicans, we have alternatives, i say why don't you push them through when you're in power. then we won't have the democrats saying nothing gets done. >> that's another huge failure of bush administration. we've been calling for health care reform for a decade. we don't see any of what we've been calling for in this proposal which is why we're opposing it. we want reform, it's just going in the opposite -- >> are they saying just say no to reforms that stop people from being denied coverage for pre-existing conditions. are they saying no to

portability, the ability to change jobs? what are they saying no to? do they know or is it what you feed them? >> i think they know about some of the legislation that's passed out of the committee and congress and they don't like those packages as they are. >> they don't seem very sophisticated. they're just yelling no. if i took each one of those people and put them on sodium pentothal and asked them what they're saying no to, what do they know they're saying no to? >> they're saying no to the senate bill that's come out of committee. saying no to the three committee pieces that have come out of the house. they know that each of those have something in common. they're all different aspects, but they all have a movement toward more government in health care -- >> medicare is 100% health care. >> and it's running out of money. >> i never met a person in the world that wants to get rid of medicare. >> but it's running out of money. they're afraid we will get a system where everybody's health care is running out of money sort of like medicare is running out of money. >> gerald? >> as far as i can say they're

just saying no to government involvement at all and that's what got us in the health care crisis we're in today. we deregulated health care in the '80s -- >> some of these imbeciles say keep the government out of medicare. how can somebody -- it's an entire government-run operation initiated by the government by the democrats. lyndon johnson back in the '60s. that's demented talk. >> you can't do that. medicare is -- >> why do people come and say just say no, keep government out of medicare? it's balloon head talk. >> some people aren't that well informed. >> i just wonder if any of them are. >> and the projections are if there were this modest public health insurance option, you know, it would cover 8 million people, 10 million people. it would not be a huge coverage. this is not going to replace private insurance. it hopefully is going to provide some real competition to force prices down. that's the whole ball game here. is controlling costs. >> what do you folks in freedom works want to do for the 40-some million people that don't have health insurance? what are you going to do for them? if it's not nothing, say

nothing. >> no we want reform. >> what do you want to do for them? >> a big chunk of those people earn over $50,000 a year. another chunk qualify for s-chip, which is government health care for the kids. medicaid, which is government health care for the poor, and medicare which are 65 and over. >> why are emergency rooms packed with people who wait four or five hours to get something basic handled that should have been part of their primary care sdm it they're all insured, why are they in the emergency rooms? >> there are about 16 million people who don't fall into any of those categories and would qualify for some sort of government program. >> are you saying people are covered? >> no. there are 46 million people in america who don't have insurance. but a big chunk -- >> but are you saying there's no problem with people not being insured in this country? >> no, i'm saying there is about 16 million who we should probably focus on trying to find a way to lower the cost of health insurance so we can get them insurance. >> but why don't the republicans ever do that when they're in power? why don't you do it? the kato institute or freedom works ever pushed a bill to help

those 16 mill jon? >> senator demint had a bill -- >> senator demint? senator demint is an activist for health care? that is the -- he is the most anti-government conservative guy in the world. you're saying he had an activist program to do something for the uninsured? >> john shad you can in the house. one thing their bill has in common is they removed the limits of buying health care over state borders. i can buy anything in one state or another state except for health insurance. i have to pay $1,000 a month if i'm in new jersey -- >> i can understand why you don't like big government, but this is the incredible part of your argument, because when you are in power -- reagan's approach to government was the na approach. no approach. it's fair enough. say you're conservative, it's better that way than having. >> that's not what we're looking for. >> you want it both ways. you want to be seen as compassionate but not do anything. >> let us buy insurance over state lines. >> we've had reagan in charge. you've had george bush first in charge. two terms of george bush jr., and at no time have i had somebody come on this show saying we have to get

a republican health care plan to help uninsured people get insured. you guys are frauds. you don't do it. >> we are as disappointed -- >> where was the we? >> we're pushing them -- >> this is the only guy since truman with a chance to get a health care plan and you are trying to kill it. >> we think it's going in the wrong direction. >> you're trying to kill the only plan on the table. >> it's the only -- >> i'm sorry. your witness. what's the afl-cio going to do on this? >> the issue here is controlling costs. right now we have an monopoly by private insurers. most states have two or three insurers who control the entire market or 75% of the market. there's no competition. their relationship with hospitals is basically a cozy relationship. the prices are going sky high. it's not just a problem of some people who --

>> are you going to back this health care plan or are you going to bitch and moan and say it's not enough. >> we are going to back it. up next, what american political figure was offered 40 goats and 20 cows or 20 cows and 40 goats for their daughter's hand in marriage and who said let her decide? now, that's choice. that's next in this -- i shouldn't say it that way. that's next in the "sideshow." you're watching "hardball" only on msnbc. undefeated professional boxer floyd "money" mayweather has the fastest hands boxing has ever seen. so i've come to this ring to see who's faster... on the internet. i'll be using the 3g at&t laptopconnect card. he won't. so i can browse the web faster, email business plans faster. all on the go. i'm bill kurtis and i'm faster than floyd mayweather. (announcer) switch to the nation's fastest 3g network and get the at&t laptopconnect card for free. was shopping forncer) switch to the nation's fastest 3g network ♪ which one's me - a cool convertible or an suv? ♪ ♪ too bad i didn't know my credit was whack ♪ ♪ 'cause now i'm driving off the lot in a used sub-compact. ♪ ♪ f-r-e-e, that spells free credit report dot com, baby. ♪

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back to "hardball." time for the "sideshow." first, some throwback diplomacy. check out the offer posed to secretary of state hillary clinton at a town hall today in nairobi. >> a kenyan city councilman says he offered bill clinton goats and cows for his daughter's hand

>> letting her daughter make the call. that's diplomacy. next up, it's the 2010 primary to watch nationwide. joe sestak made it official this week jumping into the race against senator arlen specter in pennsylvania. here he is last night getting the most wondrous of salutes from stephen colbert. wait until you catch this. >> you made your announcement yesterday against arlen specter who was a democrat who became a republican, is now a democrat again, and he said of you, he called you a flagrant hypocrite who registered as a democrat only in time to run for congress. don't you have to give him credit just for having giant swinging balls? >> well, actually i think it's sestak who deserves that kudo.

specter has got a huge lead in the numbers right now. now the old rule that politics make strange bed fellows, make that surf mates. guess who's hittings the beaches of california lart this month? republican congressman dana rohrabacher who is from out there along with massachusetts congressman barney frank. rohrabacher told politico he invited frank and his partner and set them up at a surfer's hotel because frank's partner is a suffer and frank will, quote, probably have to lie on the beach like a whale. isn't this a great country? mitt romney is coming out a with a book. the once and most likely future presidential candidate has inked a deal to public "no apology." the case for american greatness, an apparent reach by the well-born and ivy league romney for the soddy buster vote. i think we should make these guys write these books in public

at some starbucks so we can watch them write them instead of ghost writing them. i think obama is the only politician in modern history to write his own book. time for tonight's big number. 9 republicans out of 40 republicans in the senate voted for judge sotomayor today. out of the six republicans retiring next year, how many voted for judge sotomayor? 4, 4 out of 6. two-thirds. martinez, kid, bond, and george voinovich. four of the six retiring republicans voted for sotomayor. you figure that one out. that's tonight's food for thought "big number." up next, the definitive story of the 2008 presidential election from the primary battles between barack obama and hillary clinton to the ascension briefly of sarah palin to the national stage. we've got dan balz and haynes johnson, the authors of the new book, "the battle for america 2008." they're coming here to sit with me and tell me what mccain really thinks of sarah palin and what was ted kennedy after when he backed obama? you're watching "hardball" only on msnbc. during times like these it seems like the world will never be the same. but there is a light beginning to shine again.

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he's believed to be responsible for dozens of suicide attackness pakistan. he's pakistan's prime suspect in the 2007 assassination of benazir bhutto. a missile possibly fired from the u.s. predator drone hit his father-in-law's home on wednesday. pakistani intelligence confirms his wife was in the attack. back here at home, john hughes died unexpectedly of a heart attack today. he directed '80s classics such as "the breakfast club." he was 59 years old. on wall street stocks posted modest losses today.

back to "hardball." welcome back to "hardball." a year ago a year ago barack obama's team was wrapping up a masterfully executed quest for the democratic nomination for president and sarah palin was about to become the republican's national superstar. today the obama team is struggling to sell health care and palin is sort of out of a job, isn't she? maybe by her own decision. dan balz and haynes johnson are the authors of the great new book, "the battle for america 2008: the story of an extraordinary election." what i like about it is you two pros have seen a few elections, especially haynes. you know what an extraordinary one looks like.

what struck me in your book is how it came across, the parts i read in "the post," crystal and clear. nothing complicated, nothing murky. there's certain clear points in the campaign that made all the difference and i'm going to go back to my favorites, right? >> good. >> hillary clinton backed the iraq war. that croaked her. among caucus attenders, the people with college degrees, the people that evoke the '60s still, the kind of people that make the democratic party work. >> she never got out of it. she was trapped by that and caught by it and couldn't work her way out. they wanted her to be strong,

the commander in chief, but she was just trapped in this miasma. >> why didn't she say they're never going to nominate a hawk, saw it coming, and changed. >> she kept moving and moving and moving but all the climate was against her. then there was obama with this enormous enthusiasm. he just never came out of it. >> there's another reason that she didn't, because one question that she had facing her was what does she really believe in? the longer she had stuck with her position on the war no, time table, she didn't want that -- >> then permanent bases. >> they reached a point where they believed it would cost her more if she took back that vote than to stick with it. >> well, in the end do you believe what -- do you believe it was decisive, the war issue. that barack obama was against the war from the beginning and she was for it in the beginning? >> i believe it was hugely significant because it created an opening for obama that nobody else could claim early in the race and it gave him a tremendous amount of push among the activists, the people who play a real role in caucuses and a lot of primaries. >> what struck me was some of the best of the liberals. i make a judgment value, some of the patriotic smart liberals, went with obama in the beginning. and the kennedys came along after them ironically. they followed their like thinkers. what was that all about?

why did ted kennedy, vicky kennedy, and a couple other kennedys, caroline especially, back obama? >> from the beginning ted kennedy saw in obama his brothers. the more he talked about it, a young generation, appeal. it was like jack and bobby. he wouldn't endorse, but he was -- they were close. when obama came to the senate, he looked up ted kennedy. he courted him. also, he liked the way he spoke on the war and early on before -- long before he became a u.s. senator he had given that great speech in illinois about the war which was absolutely prescient, what might happen if we went into iraq. so he was persuaded to go with obama.

>> what's interesting is steve schmidt, i really like the guy, i guess you have dealt with him more than i have up front, he said during the campaign, and this got out later, he said he could tell he was running against a continuation of the bobby kennedy campaign. that's a pretty prescient thought for the guy on the other side. >> well, he did understand that, and i think ted kennedy also saw in obama somebody that he believed could begin to transcend some of the differences and divisions in the country. not just racial divisions, but certainly some to that, but also to move the country to a different place in politics. i mean, he admired hillary clinton, and he had a good relationship going into the campaign with bill clinton, but he saw in obama somebody who could be the future, and he did not think at that point hillary clinton could be that person. >> you earned your spurs covering the civil rights movement. what did bill clinton say to barack obama on the phone that made him feel teddy had gotten off the reservation in terms of race and civil rights? >> that was so emotional. as you know, bill clinton got attacked because of comments in south carolina and the rest -- >> all he did was compare the obama campaign to the jesse jackson campaign. >> i know, but he was getting hit very hard, and clinton blew it. he got very angry about that. i am not a racist. my whole background, look at our record so forth and so on. and they had this conversation -- >> he said that to teddy. >> well, they talked about that.

>> you're being cute about -- what can you report about what bill said to barack or said to ted? >> well, he did say i am not a racist. look at my record. look at what i've done. >> but why would -- >> and hillary -- well, because teddy did think race had entered into the campaign. there was a sense this was falling apart and there was a racial context that we shouldn't have race entered into any more than it is, particularly with a black candidate like barack obama. >> did clyburn ever settle that with -- >> not entirely. there was one conversation we could never pull everything out. a conversation between clinton and kennedy, there is something that clinton said in that conversation that set kennedy off. we have never been able to find out exactly what that was. but that set the stone. there was a series of other things that happened. there was the comparison, the jesse jackson thing came

much later there. were other things happening in the clinton campaign. you remember bob johnson, the b.e.t. founder who talked about -- >> a big clinton guy. >> -- with hillary clinton on the stage talked about obama in the hood and then denied it had anything to do that he was trying to inject either drugs or race into it. kennedy was just upset by the idea that race was being injected into the campaign. he blamed the clintons for allowing it to happen. the clintons were furious that they were being accused of injecting race. bill clinton is the kind of candidate, and with some justification, his whole political career he would say would be aimed at bringing the races together. the idea -- >> i think that's a value thing and you have to give him credit. let's talk about the other party, the republican party. everybody who has ever followed john mccain it seems respects the guy. he was the most media popular guy in the world. accused me of being for him. he says chris used to like me and then this other guy came along and then -- it was the al smith dinner. it was a riot.

he said i can do maverick. i can't do messiah. which is very funny. but why did he pick palin? because it seemed to be a hail mary for him. >> it was a hail mary. they thought they were going to lose coming out of the democratic convention. at that point obama was surging ahead. they knew they had to shake up. even if he got a good candidate that everybody liked -- >> so a romney wouldn't do it for him. >> they had to get somebody to shake up. they also wanted to appeal to the women who had been for hillary. who seem disaffected, they might be able to bring them in. they went through this process of who are they going to get. there's this woman up in alaska, and they go through this -- >> what part did bill crystal and and fred barnes play in this, the guys from "the weekly standard"? what's their part? they went up for a cruise. >> they met her, liked her, sent out flattering stuff. they were promoting among the republican base.

>> this is so generically awful about politics. who was it -- it was roger ails who i think is great in many regards, roger came up with the idea of dan quayle. these advisers come up with these hail marys, and the guy buys it from somebody like that. ales gave us quayle. crystal is really smart and he gave us that guy. >> i would not say crystal gave us sarah palin. >> who did it? >> i think it's three or four people. it's rick davis, who was the campaign manager. steve schmidt, who was the senior adviser at that point and helping to run the day-to-day operations. >> they thought she was the genuine article. she was going to turn this thing around. >> no, they thought this was a political risk but one that they were prepared to take. >> but they knew it was quicksilver, didn't they? they knew it was only last for a while. did they think she was secretly deep? >> no, that's the problem.

one of the things be say in the book is she was legally vetted, legally vetted but not politically. >> it's a hell of a book. you're only getting a taste of it. "the battle for america 2008," buy it, keep it on your shelf next to truman. with those books, this is a book you want to keep for a while and savor for the beach. anyway, thank you very much, the best in the business. up next, only nine republican senators voted to confirm sonia sotomayor to the supreme court, only nine. like half of them are retired. what does that say? we'll try to if ig that out. there will be a political price fade, fairly or not. are they kissing good-bye to the latino vote? we will talk about that in "the fix" when "hardball" comes back on msnbc. [ horn honks ] ♪ [ tires screech ] [ female announcer ] sometimes, you can get so much out of so little. the same is true with bath tissue too. introducing new charmin ultra soft. its new ultra soft design is softer than before.

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>> no. >> mr. barrasso, no. mr. baucus? ey aye. >> what are the political consequences? time for the fix. maria teresa kumar and roger simon writes tore the politico. talk ethnic politic here's. is this going to be a crashing defeat for republicans? people like mccain and kyle and people out west especially? >> from the obama administration when they put up sotomayor.

such a political activist. the republicans had to not go after her and basically, as w h with -- >> your estimation, did they go soft on her? >> not for political reasons. it's fair to vote against someone if you don't believe in her qualifications. she was incredibly qualified and the tone that surrounded her. i remember watching those confirmation hearings. i felt uncomfortable. not only as woman, but also -- >> what about -- >> lindsey graham. started coverage saying, i like hispanics, went after that. that was uncomfortable. as a woman, it was condescending. everyone saw him shaking his finger at her asking if she has the right -- >> but he voted for her? >> he's smart. in the background of the -- >> okay. roger, these guys know all this and voted against the candidate.

knew they would have trouble at home but obviously thought they don't like her a big part of that. yop think th i don't think they liked her. use past grievances use the power of the court to fix things back the way they should have been and they didn't like it. saw attitude and didn't like it. that's what i think. >> a vote for -- if you -- >> you're listening to this and say that? >> for one thing, she got nearly one out of every for republican votes. give them credit. nine votes. >> half the time for people that believe -- >> did the right thing -- >> but a no vote is easier. if you cast a yes vote, if you break with the party and cast a yes vote and she issues some, you know, ruling, even if it's just one vote against, all guns should be ban in america, well, you're going to face a lot of trouble. if you vote no on her and she does something great, no one's going to come and blame you and say, she's the greatest of all-time. say, she --

>> it was the tone in which they went after her. >> a job, never get to ask another question. >> i think it's primary versus general election. help yourself with the primary, vote, general, vote for. roger and maria, be right back. talk about the town hall brawls. joined by the labor movement on oert side. you're watching "hardball" on msnbc. to roll over my old 401(k) into a fidelity ira. man: okay, no problem. it's easy to get started i can help you with the paperwork. um... this green line just appeared on my floor. that's guidance from fidelity. it's the route to your financial goals. could you hold on a second? whatever your destination, fidelity has the people, guidance and investments to help you find your way. this is going to be helpful. contact us today. it seems like my life is split in two. there's the life i live. and the life i want to live. fortunately, there's enbrel.

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back with "the fix." go to roger, and maria, take a

look first of all at russ limbaugh's rant. i generally don't say this, his rantings today. democrats nazis one and the same. believe me, this is what he's saying i. >> have always bristled when i hear people claim that conservatism gets close to nazism. it is liberalism that's the closest you can get to nazism and socialism. all bundled up under the socialist banner. there are far more similarities between nancy pelosi and adolf hitler than between these people showing up at town halls to protest a hitler-like policy. that's being heralded by a hitler-like logo. >> now, this logo, we have to show you. rush is so -- well, i'm going to say it. lis logo looks like the coast guard academy. it looks nothing like a neoclassical nazi standard of any kind.

what's going on here? >> what's going on is it's always a mistake to compare anyone. >> anything, including abortion or anything. >> i didn't like when seinfeld did the soup nazi. you just don't do it. it's always over the top, always wrong. he's wrong on the facts. the knots with not true socialists, in any form. even though it was in their title. he's just wrong and it's dumb, and -- >> why's he doing? >> could ratings be part of it? maybe he believes it? i don't know. it's the hardest thing for the media to do, overt its eyes and say we're going to less it pass by, not gawk at the car wreck. >> i think republicans are getting nervous. becoming more and more identified with the fringe. that's not a good place. >> do you really believe that? >> yeah. >> stirring up the base. 3we9 getting people that normally were bored with politic, didn't have a problem with obama to feel hatred. i think this stuff works. it's stirring and stirring by

glenn beck and all the others, saying they're nazis and charging from some other countries from the swahili part of kenya, they're back to that again. most republicans now either don't believe he's an american or aren't sure. it's not a joke. it's getting very earthy out there. >> what the white house needs to do, have the same rapid response that the clinton administration did and be on the offensive nep keep using the, we're above this. no, you're not. because the american people are starting to listen, and we need to be able to say, america is changing, and at the end of the day, this type of rhetoric. >> the big lie works. >> we tend to forget, what was overlooked, justifiably good feels on obama's election, he lost the white vote by a landslide. he is still winning over -- >> thank you, roger, with that depressing thought.

join us tomorrow night at 5:00 and 7:00 for more "hardball." "countdown with keith olbermann" starts right now. which of these stories will you be talking about tomorrow? the stage astroturf protests at the health care town halls no longer about the proposed reform no longer even about health care. now, transparent euphemisms for racism. republican congressman todd aiken in missouri. >> -- town hall meetings and they opt got lynched. >> and blue dog, town hall in arkansas. >> i have never seen my america turned into what it has turned into. >> texas, and isn't tea parties and isn't stimuli and isn't sotomayor and it isn't health

care reform and it isn't the public option. do some of these people suchly have fear and hate a black president? by the way, the right wing mob had obviously moved on without protests without the sky falling, without almost any intention. sonia sotomayor is approved as the 111th supreme court justice in our nation's history. >> a wonderful day for justice sotomayor and her family, but i also think it's a wonderful day for america. >> but a continued nightmare for america from blackwater. more accusations, under oaths from two former employee, founder eric prince hired mercenaries, veterans of the chilean intercept and from the balkans and provided blackwater prottives with prostitutes in iraq, some of them "young girls." revenge of the physician in the wake of the assassination of george tiller, dr. warren hearn tells "esquire" killed by 35 years of "hate