harder. david axelrod was asked a very simple question on "meet the press" on sunday and here it is. >> final question. is the country better off than it was a year ago? >> look. until -- obviously, in some ways, the answer is, yes. a year ago we were losing 700,000 jobs a month. when the president took office. our economy was shrinking at a rate of 6.4%. last friday we learned it is growing now at a rate of 6%. the job loss is one-tenth of what it was. but until people are working, until incomes are growing, until there is a sense of stability and economic security on the part of the middle class, we've got a lot of work to do. >> i'm a fan, mr. axelrod. we all want the same thing. we got to get on the same page. sell hard! i think you missed an opportunity here! anybody that's asked that question, of course it's common, they're asked this question in polls all the time -- they don't

answer based on numbers. it's got to come from the heart. it's got to come from the soul. yes, we're a lot better off this year! because his name's barack obama and he's president of the united states and we're going in a different direction! i think the americans want to see a president who is confident and optimistic. they want a president who is just going to grab them and say, "this is the future. we are headed in the right direction." now this may be heresy to many of you lefties out there, but that's something that ronald reagan was pretty doggone good at. he made the country feel pretty good about itself. president obama stopped the banks from going belly-up. it is a good thing. market a year was was 3,500 points from where it is right now. that's good. that's people's retirement, 401(k)s, pension plans, vacation. whether you like how wall street was bailed out, the lack of

oversight and bonuses, we're still better off today than a year ago. had president obama and his team not responded, we'd be looking at 25% unemployment. okay, let's talk about the automobile industry. we better off today? you better believe it. here's the number. january sales, gm up 14%. ford, up 25%. good thing. i think so. he got the schip done and gave millions of dollars for kids to get health care in this country and taxed the smokers. not good to smoke anyway. all that in the first year in office? there's more there, too. i think his team should be out crowing about that daily. you know the righties would. today president obama did a town hall in nashua, new hampshire where he talked up his plan about giving $30 billion in repaid t.a.r.p. money to small businesses so they can create jobs. it's a great idea but the president was still very sober when it came to the economy. >> lord knows it wasn't popular

to prevent our financial system from collapsing. we had throw a lifeline to some of the very firms that had helped cause this crisis in the first place. but it was the right thing to do, because if we hadn't taken those steps the entire system could have gone down and taken our economy, and millions of families and businesses, with it. we're making progress. but it can't come fast enough. >> is it a matter of style? am i just too overboard? democrats are just so quick to play the whipping post! the president has absolutely nothing to apologize for when it comes to this economy. rome wasn't built in a day. we're not going to rebuild this thing in a day. we're headed in the right direction. the president did show some fire when it came to health care and he let the crowd know that he doesn't plan on losing. >> another foundation stone is fixing a health insurance system that works better for insurance industry than it does for the

american people. i do not quit. we are going to get that done. >> he got a standing ovation on that one. people like a fighter, even in a swing state like new hampshire. he took on republicans in the most direct fashion since the campaign. >> at the republican caucus, they held up -- they say "we've got a plan. it is going to provide everybody coverage at no cost." and i said, "well, if that were true, why wouldn't i take it?" my wife, michelle, thinks i'm stubborn sometimes, but i'm not that stubborn. okay, let me think. i could have everybody get health care coverage that's high-quality, and it's free, which i'll bet's really popular. but i'm not going to do that. i'm going to go through the pain of really working through this hard process in congress getting yelled at and called a

socialist, because i just -- that's how i roll. i'm a glutton for punishment. no. look, if this were easy and simple, first of all, somebody would have done it before. seven presidents have failed at this. seven congresses have failed at this. if this was simple, it would have already been done. >> that president, barack obama, has got such unbelievable potential when it comes to communicating the message. he's a middle class guy. he doesn't come from privilege. that's the message. he's like us, in the middle class, and i think that is the best road around all these deficit hawks that are showing up saying, oh, you're just butchering the budget. wait a minute! this guy is trying to do something for the middle class. no apologies. none! that's what massachusetts was all about. people went to the polls saying,

hey, what's in it for me? the biggest enemy for barack obama right now is his own party. tell me what you think, folks. in a telephone survey tonight, the number to dial is 1-877-ed-msnbc. my question tonight is, do you believe -- do you believe we should spend $30 billion in leftover t.a.r.p. money to create jobs in this country? president "1" for yes, press "2" for no. i know i'm voting "yes." absolutely we should use $30 billion to create jobs! just let me put it into context. $30 billion is less than 90 days of military operations in iraq. we've been in iraq since the spring of 2003. when's it our turn? that's what the american middle class is screaming right now. "when's it our turn?" $30 billion in a budget to create jobs is chump change when

it comes to dealing with the chinese, when it comes to dealing with countries that are getting our jobs, and what do the republicans want to do? they want to outsource some more, they want a tax cut for the top 2%. chris matthews had a very telling interview last night with this hensarling dude on the right-hand side of the aisle -- oh, he wants to privatize social security. bush tried that right after re-election in 2004. went to fargo, north dakota. that was his first stop in january of '05. it was resoundingly rejected by the american people. we didn't have any tea parties back then. joining me now, ohio senator sharon brown. good to have you with us tonight. i took some of your time there. i hope you're not mad at me on this. >> i listen to you sing, it's just fine. >> these are allocated funds, are they not? money that has already been, "in the system," budgeted for, the $30 billion, money that the congress was willing to take

from taxpayers to go use it to save wall street. we have that right? >> yeah. this is money that when george bush started the program and start bailing out the banks and we knew we had to do it to make sure the economy didn't implode in november, december, january, february when president obama then took office, let me tell you, one good reason why this $30 billion makes so much sense. the reason i didn't get here quite at 6:00, a group of about a dozen small alternative energy manufacturing companies in ohio, there are people all over the country who have come in to talk with the secretary of energy, about a dozen in ohio. these are people building wind turbines, insulation, insulated lighting, some are having trouble with credit, some are having trouble because they can't scale up fast enough because they don't have capital and the chinese are coming in, as you know, and doing more and

more manufacture of wind turbines and all that. we welcome chinese investment. i just don't want them to move it offshore. the point is there are a lot of american companies in cincinnati and akron and cleveland and bedford heights, ohio that want to do this if they can get the capital to do it. this program makes perfect sense to start creating these jobs. >> the president says he wants to double exports. yet we didn't get any detail on exactly what we're going to be exporting. you got any idea on what we're going to be doing? that would be the manufacturing sector, i would imagine. >> that's mostly manufacturing, yeah. i mean, yeah, germany, few years ago germany set a national policy that they were going to be a leading alternative energy, the leading alternative energy country in the world. a college 20 miles from my house has the largest fully powered solar building than any campus in america all built from solar panels from germany and japan because they had a government that looked to the future.

that's what we didn't do for a decade. that's what we're doing now. that's why it's so important we do this stuff. >> senator sherrod brown of ohio with us, i want to know, why would democrats stop this project of $30 billion to create jobs because it is t.a.r.p. money? what's the big deal? will they take the t.a.r.p. money to wall street, but, oh, by the way, when we got to do it for small businesses, get it through community banks, all of a sudden we got to start counting pennies? any democrat that stands in the way of t.a.r.p. money going to community banks to help businesses is trying to sabotage your president. this response. >> i don't know of any democrats that oppose that idea. maybe there are some. if there are, maybe they ought to speak up and we need to talk to them. there are still too many democrats that are too apologetic. this economy was going to hell a year ago. the auto industry was about to collapse. that just didn't mean auto

worker lost jobs. it mention pension, health care, all that. you know all those things were happening. we shouldn't be apologizing. it took george bush a decade -- or took him eight years to create these problems. we've starting cleaning it up in a year. it is going to take a little longer but we got to be way more gutsy on the democratic side in saying to the republicans we need you on-board. if you're not on-board we're moving forward on job creation, health care and all these things. >> exactly. senator, great to have you with us tonight. thanks so much for speaking up. you're a guy who's got the middle class in mind. >> that's what i think about every day. thanks. >> i can't say enough good things but. that for joining us. jennifer donahue is a new hampshire political analyst. she was at the president's town hall in nashua today. jennifer, thanks for your time tonight. how did the president do? did the message connect? >> the message connected. i think it was really a focus group of people who are pretty enthusiastic. they definitely like the small business proposal. they like the idea of the t.a.r.p. money going to it.

i talk to many, many people in the room. there was enthusiasm. but this is a crowd that's been battered a bit. this was a president who clearly had been battered by the massachusetts election. he said as much. he said so during the town hall meeting. and i think it really shows, it's taken a toll on him. >> jennifer, massachusetts -- or should i say, new hampshire, kind of like massachusetts, there's a lot of independent voters up there. there's a lot of free thinkers up there. there is a lot of people that will go with the issue and go with the candidate. how does president obama -- he didn't win new hampshire but how does he play at this point after the first year, you think? >> well, that's a really good question. 4 out of 10 voters in new hampshire are independent. that's a lot of voters who are independent. that greatly outnumbers either party's registration. i think he's playing moderate to strong. you're right, he said he's got the ball in the red zone. he said on health care we're in overtime and his party is trying

to push it through. he said he's looking for ideas from republicans, that daschle, dole and howard baker, none of them could get a similar plan through. he was playing both sides of the aisle, and he was playing to the middle. but this is a crowd that's been burned many times before. this is a president who's been burned, as you said, very aptly, by the left of his own party. even harder by the left than by the right is this president suffering. >> jennifer, good to have you on tonight. thanks for the insight. >> my pleasure. president obama promised -- he promised to end don't ask don't tell but john mccain is standing in the way again. sean hannity teams up with an alleged felon in psycho talk.

alories. v8 juice gives you 3 of your 5 daily servings. it's a tasty, nutritious way to make this number go up... and help this one go down. v8. what's your number? i'm nervous about her going away. (sunny) the bayer meter helps me become more independent. (announcer) only bayer's contour meter has programmable personal high low settings. i want you to be happy. don't cry. (announcer) the contour meter, only from bayer. ( kids giggling ) ♪ you have multiple cars... and multiple toys... with multiple places to go. so be smart. simplify. combine and save. get all your insurance from one allstate agent, and you can get multiple discounts... on your multiple policies. simpler is smarter. that's allstate's stand.

are you in good hands? the national association of free clinics will be in hartford, connecticut tomorrow, wednesday, february 3rd, free health care will be provided to anyone who is uninsured. we're teaming up with countdown with keith olbermann and i'll be broadcasting live from the clinic all day tomorrow. here's how you can help. there is a need for doctors, volunteers and donations. to volunteer, make an appointment or a contribution. go to freeclinics.u.s., or ed.msnbc.com. stay with us. we've got so much more coming up for you tonight, including shocking details from the investigation into what caused the tragic plane crash over buffalo. you're watching "the ed show" on msnbc. stay with us.

somewhere in america... the slightest breeze harbors immense power. the tallest buildings leave the lightest footprints. a fifty-ton train makes barely a mark on the environment. and a country facing climate change finds climate solutions. somewhere in america, we've already answered some of the nation's toughest questions. and the over sixty thousand people of siemens are ready to do it again. siemens.

welcome back to "the ed show." the obama administration is finally following up on the president's campaign promise to repeal the military's "don't ask don't tell" policy. defense secretary robert gates and chairman of the joint chiefs of staff admiral mullen appeared before the senate armed services committee today and voiced their support for getting rid of the policy, but some republicans stuck with the same old arguments from 1993 when "don't ask don't tell" was enacted. >> the essence of military capability is good order and un unit cohesion and that any practice that puts those goals at risk can be restricted.

>> the presence in the armed forces of persons who demonstrate a propensity or intent to engage in homosexual acts would very likely create an unacceptable risk those high standards of morale and unit cohesion and effectiveness. >> let me bring in democratic congressman jim moran of virginia who has been a sauntau supporter of repealing don't ask don't tell. all of the things that the strong man arguments that are being placed up in front of it right now, what do you think? >> i think that the most important characteristic of our military's morale is integrity. and this childish policy does not allow gay men and women to show the kind of intess grgrity they want to show as professi professionals. it is a wrong policy. it is not serving the interests of our country. we have about 66,000 gay men and

women in the military. they want to serve their country. they want to be honest about who they are. and as barry goldwater who also was the senator from arizona said, you don't have to be straight to shoot straight. these people are people we need in the military. and it defies common sense that during the time when we've had this policy the number of waivers granted to people for violent felonies like rape, violent sexual assault, manslaughter, we've even waived people who were convicted of bomb threats. we let them in because they're straight and we exclude people who for no other reason than because of their sexual orientation. it is a policy that needs to change and i really admire secretary gates and admiral mullen and in fact i thought chairman levin did a hell of a job today. >> what do we need to study? what is there to study? gates announced this year-long

study on how it is going to be implemented. is that necessary in your opinion? >> no. we have a rand study done back in 1993. they concluded after extensive research that this was not a threat to the morale. this had is part -- there are some people in the military and outside the military who aren't comfortable with this because it's different, it's threatening and they can explain why they're so threatened themselves. but another thing we need to be aware of i think, ed, that hasn't been discussed in this context is that women who represent 15% of the military represent 50% of the people who are being discharged because of the "don't ask don't tell" rule. i think it's a way that some male officers are dealing with something they never wanted to accept which is women in the military. these things need to change. the next generation doesn't care about this issue. they know it's not a substantive reason to exclude somebody when you need them in the military.

but there are some just hold-overs that simply ought not be directing our policy. >> and are you convinced that we have a weaker military because we have discharged over 10,000 men and women for sexual preference? >> there's no question in my mind. number one, we have to waive people who shouldn't be waived into the military to make up for that. secondly, we've discharged more than 800 mission-critical specialists. discharged 68 people who are fluent in arabic and farsi, languages we desperately need. we've discharged hundreds of intelligence specialists, doctors -- these people we need, and we're discharging them? >> congressman, does it matter that other countries allow gays to serve in the military in. >> well, i think we should recognize the fact that europe, canada, israel, all let gays in the military. you know the countries that don't? russia, china, iran and north korea. and we're going to follow their

lead? >> congressman, thanks so much. appreciate your time. coming up, sean hannity has found a way to compare those accused of trying to tap a senator's phone to a tv show, "to catch a predator"? yeah, that makes ""psycho talk"" for sure. national car rental knows i'm a guy who...

doesn't like to be held back. they let me break past the counter... and choose any car in the aisle. unreal! oh yeah! whoaaa-- ( alarm sounding ) i'm sorry. you okay? my bad, mr. sapp. oh yeah. go national. go like a pro. you may be missing some of the protection you need. crest pro-health is the only leading toothpaste to protect against sensitivity and all these areas in a single all-in-one toothpaste. crest pro-health.

as having to decide to go for it? at the hartford, we help businesses of all kinds... feel confident doing what they do best. by protecting your business, your property, your people. you've counted on us for 200 years. let's embrace tomorrow. and with the hartford behind you, achieve what's ahead of you. ♪ at a weight watchers meeting you can get the life skills that put you in charge of your world and hungry and the online tools to help you face any situation which means "darn right you can go to the dinner party" and still lose weight.

and learn how to keep it off. join for free now. sorry, hungry. you're not invited. but you are, join for free today and change your life. weight watchers. stop dieting. start living. and in "psycho talk" tonight, let me ask you to take a seat. james o'keefe is joining sean

hannity in the zone tonight. o'keefe is the guy accused of trying to interfere with the telephone lines of senator mary landrieu's office in new orleans. he went on hannity's show last night to defend himself. he couldn't go into much detail because of the ongoing investigation that could land him in jail for the next ten years. but he did manage to compare his alleged felony to legitimate investigative journalism -- and hannity egged him on. >> you've disputed a lot of claims in the media in your statement. so did you dress up as a telephone repair man or telephone repair people? >> yeah. i mean as far as that's concerned, i mean investigative journalists have been using a lot of these tactics for years. i mean nbc, "dateline," -- >> all right, but did you dress up as a repair guy? >> yeah. we did. we did. yes. >> your attitude is this is something that investigative journalists will do, that they

will, like in i guess "to catch a predator" -- >> actually, nbc "dateline" works with law enforcement to do their job. you guys ought to know that. so following hannity's example trying to mess with the united states senator's phone lines is the same as catching pedophiles. a quick tip for o'keefe here -- real investigative journalists generally try to stay away from committing felonies. bosses kind of like that. and trying to claim that what he does even remotely resembles journalism is "psycho talk." coming up, righties keep screaming that because some terror suspects have been read their miranda rights, it makes it harder for us to get intelligence out of them! well, guess what? the underwear bomber is singing like a canary at this hour. i'll put this republican senator john barrasso to the test on that issue in just a moment. it is primary day in ill soil democrats are scrambling to hold on to barack obama's former

senate seat. i'll tell you why it won't be a tea party repeat in the land of lincoln. all that and more coming up. stay with us. that's right. enjoy the world's perfect pepper. pace. made right since 1947. sir? finding everything okay? i work for a different insurance company. my auto policy's just getting a little too expensive.

with progressive, you get the "name your price" option, so we build a policy to fit your budget. wow! the price gun. ♪ ah! wish we had this. we'd just tell people what to pay. yeah, we're the only ones that do. i love your insurance! bill? tom? hey! it's an office party! the freedom to name your price. only from progressive. call or click today. it would frustrate me. my bayer meter is very important. (announcer) only bayer's contour meter has programmable personal high low settings. it allows me to make sure that my diabetes is controlled as tightly as possible. (announcer) the contour meter, only from bayer.

welcome back to the ed show. and thanks for watching tonight. we've seen this movie before. obama administration makes a bold move on terrorism putting the 9/11 mastermind on trial for all of the world to see in an american courtroom in lower manhattan. but that's not good enough. it would send a message that america is not afraid. not of a couple of guys in handcuffs, and not of our own judicial system. the way we know it can work. but the republicans, instead of standing with the president, have chosen to attack him with the same old line that he's weak on terror. of course, joe lieberman got on-board and so did some conservative democrats who were scared in their hometown when it comes to elections and re-elections. so they joined with a group of republican senators who want to block funding for any civilian

trial of alleged 9/11 terrorists. wyoming senator john barrasso is one of them kind enough to join us tonight. senator, good have to you with us. senator, i just want to point out something from the mcclatchey newspapers. they point out the cans vags advocacy group in washington says civilian courts have convicted more than 200 accused terrorists since 2001 attacks while military commissions created by congress have convicted only three. what's wrong with ksm in a civilian court? are you afraid that we wouldn't get justice? >> this is wrong for a number of reasons. the cost issue, the security issue, and it's just not appropriate. you talked about that large number. those aren't people that actually attacked the united states. that's not al qaeda terrorists. those are people who may have perjured themselves or been issues of illegal immigration. we're not talking about the terrorists who have come here to kill us and who have killed

3,000 people in new york city. the cost, the priolice commissioner of new york city said it would cost $200 million to do this. no one asked him ahead of time. the attorney general didn't ask janet napolitano or mayor bloomberg ahead of time. now they're saying they don't want that trial in new york. i don't think that trial should be anywhere in the united states. this is not a criminal matter. this is a military matter. it is a war crime and should be dealt with in a military tribunal. >> 2000 checkpoints in the minds of many is pretty much overboard. that's what ray kelly was talking about. you say cost and security. new york has the best security in this country, arguably. the cost. since when do we put a price on justice? you have the best prosecutors, the best judges. you have a motivated population that wants to see justice. and wouldn't it showcase to the rest of the world how we do our

judicial system? senator, i just take issue that it just seems that the republicans, and some democrats who are afraid about re-election, want to play the security card and it's just a political hack job on the president. why wasn't this out there with the moussaoui trial? why weren't these same arguments made for the 20th hijacker? >> the president's actually called this rank politics yesterday. democrats from new york and the mayor from new york has said we don't want it here. >> on a reversal. >> and the people of new york have said we don't want it here, we're worried about our own security. this administration has not made people of america feel more secure, whether it's this, whether it is reading miranda rights for the christmas day bomber. people of america need to feel safe and be safe. right now they don't have that. >> it was reported by our justice department correspondent pete williams tonight that the

christmas day alleged bomber who was read his miranda rights is now talking with officials and serving up information that's very valuable. i should also point out that on december 22nd of 2001, richard reid, the shoe bomber, senator, he was read his miranda rights. isn't this a straw man argument that the republicans are coming up with? are you saying that we're weak because we're reading miranda rights? why was the shoe bomber back in 2001 read his miranda rights? was bush wrong? >> i think they were wrong there in 2001. that was only a couple of months after 9/11. they were still trying to make sure they got things right. but here we are nine years later. i think it was absolutely wrong. the people that questioned the christmas day bomber were detroit agents and they did it for 50 minutes and in spite of what pete williams just reported, just a couple of days ago, robert gibbs said in 50 minutes we got out of him everything we could have gotten. but then he shut up for at least

a month. since that time i've been in the field with the men and women in iraq and in afghanistan, and some information goes stale quickly. so i do believe it is a mistake to read the miranda rights. look at scott brown's election in massachusetts. what did he say? we should spend -- money should be spent to defeat the terrorists, not for lawyers to defend them. and that resonated across the country. i still hear about it in wyoming. i heard about it at a chili feed the other night by our meals on wheels group. people all across the country want to make sure we are safe and don't feel it this way with this attorney general making these decisions. >> i give your side of the aisle tremendous credit for the way you message to your base and how it reverberates throughout some who don't have all the facts. we are just as safe or safer today under president obama. miranda rights has nothing do with security. michael bloomberg did the biggest flip-flop this city has ever seen and new yorkers that i talk to are not afraid about

their security. it's just i guess a measure of how we want it view it all. senator, good to have you on tonight. >> thanks, ed. joining me now, joan walsh, editor in chief of salon.com. joan, is this just political pandering? in your opinion? the way this whole thing is coming down about miranda rights and security with this trial? >> of course. of course. it is just political pandering, ed. to say that barack obama has not kept us safe has not made us safer, what senator barrasso just said is just an outrageous charge and completely untrue. it's very sad to see republicans, and in the case of new york, some democrats, playing politics, quite honestly, with our national security. now we have tried terrorists in our criminal court system. we have convicted them. we have imprisoned them. they have not escaped and they have not gone out and done bad things. this process works. now, is it expensive? will it cost money?

yeah. but our whole justice system is expensive. it would be very cheap to just do away with our system of protections and just throw people in jail at the first charge. it would be actually really cheap to do away with elections. why bother? you know, our system costs money and it row tekts us aprotects u. this is garbage to be railing against this. >> we should point out the conversation has been reduced in the halls of congress that maybe eric holder isn't the right guy for the job. we ought to bring him in and understand his decision process. the point here now is should the president -- i'm asking you, joan -- should the president make a strong statement and say it is going to be in new york, this is the decision by the attorney general and this is where we're going. what's the up side and downside of that? >> i would like to see him do that. i don't think he can hang his attorney general out to dry. there was a downside, there was a political side, there were risks to doing it in new york. i support the decision.

but everything that's happened was completely predictable. it really was. so if they didn't calculate that to be he to begin with, shame on them. but to go out and cut the legs out from under his attorney general would be a terrible thing. it would really be a sign of weakness. you know, i'm proud of the president. he's speaking up, showing his spine, but he needs to do more of that and not cave to these guys. >> joan, politically what do you make of some of the democrats who are also siding with some of the folks like senator barrasso? this is jim webb from virginia talking about justice. i want your response to this. >> when the attorney general was asked about the implications of a possible acquittal of one of these individuals, he did not get -- he did not give a very clear answer. i think his answer was something to the effect, "well, we would continue to detain them." so we run the risk of having a very costly show trials that would benefit the international terrorist movement and we also

are mott moving toward the proper sense of justice that we can get out of the process that we have now put together with these military tribunals. >> i am just floored by that statement, joan. your response. >> i'm floored as well. although we should stop being floored, because they keep coming at us, ed, and we've got to stand up. but seriously, eric holder can't say what the outcome is. it is true, it sounds like we've got great evidence, it sounds like he would be convicted but that's the essence of our justice ses system. we can't only use it when we know it is going to give us the outcome we want. these people are running scared. we're doing the same thing on guantanamo. it is politic and it is really disturbing. let's bring in todd webster and karen hanraty. did the right wing bullet points go down the drain today with these miranda rights and now that you have this alleged

terrorist singing like a bird to officials today who tried this act on christmas day? >> here's where we are today. there are three world trade center bombers, two embassy bombers, the oklahoma city bomber, the shoe bomber, the unabomber around the 20th 9/11 hijacker sitting in a super max facility in florence, colorado who have been prosecuted and are being detained and are being imprisoned under the american judicial system. timothy mcveigh's being executed under the american judicial system. the american judicial system and our constitution which is the beacon of hope and freedom for the rest of the world is not something we can pick and choose and throw out the window when we choose to. what's particularly sad is the party of ronald reagan and morning of america has been reduced to the party of chicken little and belt-wedding, using fear and scare tactics to whip up political support.

it is you have been. >> karen, your response? >> democrats in new york are calling on president obama to move this ksm trial. michael bloom bettered is hardly a republican out there with republican talking points. he left the republican party. the member of congress who represents manhattan wants this trial moved. you know, the bigger i think political picture here is that how much political capital is president obama going to burn on this issue? he's already burned through a lot of political capital in his first year. and he has a long way to go from here to november and the end of the year to get through some sort of tmdomestic agenda. how much is president obama really going to stand up and fight for his attorney general? i don't think he will. >> karen, if it's the wrong thing to do, then why don't the republicans allow the president to fall on his sword with this decision because the conviction rate in civilian court is far

greater than what it is in front of a military commission. why don't they do that? >> why don't the democrats in new york allow him to stand up for eric holder? why doesn't president obama go and meet with the democrats from new york who wrote this letter and why doesn't he get on the tv cameras like he did with the republicans and have a debate with them? >> we got to run, we're out of time. >> i think he should. let's have some transparency here. >> they don't want to run the justice department like this, put their finger in the air and see which way the wind is blowing. >> president obama's already put his finger in the air. he already said he's willing to look at moving the trial. he already said he's doing it. robert gibbs already said we're going to try and convict him and we're going to fry him. the white house has already convicted ksm. >> it's fear mongering. it's been going on for seven years. >> obama already convicted ksm so let's just end the trial there. >> good to have you on. chicago politics is sweeping

through illinois. today is primary voters decide who will fill the shoes of barack obama in that senate seat. decision 2010 is in high gear in my "playbook" next. and this is a seat from the seven passenger toyota highlander. this is a little seat, i'm a big girl. well this is the eight- passenger chevy traverse. which offers more room and an epa estimated 24 on the highway. that's a big girl car. i want the big girl car. a very smart little girl. the chevy traverse. america's best crossover. compare us to anyone and may the best car win.

it's not too late to let us know what you think tonight. our telephone survey question is -- do you believe we should spend $30 billion in leftover t.a.r.p. money to create jobs? "1" for yes, "2" for no. 1-877-ed-msnbc. stay with us. fashion deficient. and tom... copy incapable. it's open kimono time. looking good, dan. oh, we want to make sure all our ducks in a row. yeah. volume control syndrome. but we focus on the talent and skill that each person... brings to the team. i mean, no one's really concerned about labels. not even mine. labels get in the way. disabilities rarely do. visit thinkbeyondthelabel.com to evolve your work force.

take half off the price of delivery pizza. digiorno is half the price. so for an awesome pizza on game day, why order out? taste. believe. it's not delivery, it's digiorno. ♪ ♪

when it comes to protecting the things you care about... ...leave nothing to chance. travelers. insurance for auto, home, and business. only alka-seltzer relieves your upset stomach, heartburn, indigestion and headache... so you're good to go in the morning. you're late. alka-seltzer brings you back. in my "playbook" tonight, it's in high gear. high noon for the tea party crowd in illinois. they have a shat ot at capturin president obama's old senate seat in illinois. tea party nation is backing this guy, pat hughes, while the tea

party patriots are backing the other guy, don lowery. but unfortunately for sarah palin, democratic congressman mark kirk is favored to win tonight. will obama's home state base turnout and show the kind of enthusiasm the democrats need to keep this stay blue in november? the polls close in less than two hours. joining me now, carol marin from wmaq in chicago joins me now. what do you think's out there tonight? >> one way to judge it is by to your knowledgeout. it is slim to none out here. a very poor turnout as far as we can see right now, which means the whole thing is up for grabs. nonetheless, on the republican side of this, there is no one who doesn't expect mark kirk to make it out of the republican primary. it's on the democratic side we have some questions. >> if it's a low voter turnout where are the tea partiers?

just not as organized nil ill as they may be in other places in the country? >> the tea partiers are here. but a lot of people want to compare ill toil massachusetts and i think that there is a mistake built in to that. i think the tea partiers are a little confused about what they're going to do because they expect mark kirk to win. they don't like him. so they may be staying home for the whole thing. >> carol marin, thank you tonight. coming up, a commuter jet crashed in buffalo nearly a year ago. and yet, nothing has been done to make sure this kind of thing doesn't happen again. nbc's tom costello will share the shocking details with us next. you're watching "the ed show" on msnbc. national car rental? that's my choice.

because with national, i roll past the counter... and choose any car in the aisle. choosing your own car? now that's a good call. go national. go like a pro. alka-seltzer plus liquid gels rush relief everywhere you need it. it's the most complete relief you can get in a liquid gel, so you feel better, fast. alka-seltzer plus liquid gels.

so you feel better, fast. that's right. enjoy the world's perfect pepper. pace. made right since 1947.

finally tonight, it's been almost a year since that buffalo plane crash that took place that killed 50 people. but safety reforms that were suggested as a result of that crash still have not been implemented. for more, let me bring in nbc's tom costello. tom, the reforms that have been suggested in this issue all deals with pilot experience. doesn't it? >> pilot experience, training, hours, pay, there is a lot that goes into this. you may recall the regional airline colgan air was flying the flight but for continental connection and flying continental's logo. today the ntsb heard evidence that this crew was simply not up to the job and it may be time for things to change. the ntsb's investigation into

what caused flight 3407 to crash outside of buffalo points to a great breakdown in cockpit discipline and basic piloting. first officer rebecca shaw was texting from the cockpit just five minutes before takeoff, a violation of faa rules. during much of the hour-long flight from newark, shaw and capta capta captain renz low were talking with personal matters, not the flight. >> it was as if the flight was just a means for the captain to conduct a conversation with this young first officers. >> reporter: the crew failed to notice their air speed had dropped as they approached buffalo. when cockpit warnings went off, the captain did exactly the wrong thing and pulled the nose up causing the plane to stall and crash. at ntsd headquarters today, family and friends wore red in remembrance of the 50 people who died. among them, kevin johnston's family. >> the more i learn, there is a

lot of anger and frustration that this has gone on, that they were so incompetent up there. among the ntsb's findings, crew fatigue, a lack of training, lack of professionalism and maturity, a lack of experience and basic skills all contributed to the crash. >> and, unfortunately, it's taken 50 more lives for us to focus additional attention on these issues that have not been addressed. >> reporter: today, colgan air insisted the crew was trained properly, but "we cannot speculate on why they didn't use their training." with regional airlines involved in the last six fatal accidents, a former ntsb chairman says new pilot hires should be required to have far more cockpit time. >> you can get a job in the regionals with something like 250 to 2300 hours. maybe that's not good enough. >> reporter: yeah, that seems to be the conclusion, that that isn't good enough. there is a big push right now for pilots to have 1,500 hours of cockpit time. the faa's under pressure to do

that. congress may be able to do it quicker. but also more training, more in-depth training for these regional pilots, more monitoring. meanwhile, ed, the ntsb will hold another hearing, this one looking into the relationship between these big carriers and the small regional ca aa aal cat fly these kosher flights. tonight in our telephone survey, i asked you do you believe we should spend $30 billion in leftover t.a.r.p. money to create jobs. 93% of you watching tonight responded, said yes. 7% said no. why doesn't congress get the message that it's about fairness? a reminder that the national association of free clinics will be in hartford, connecticut tomorrow. health care will be provided to anyone who is uninsured. we'll be broadcasting live from that clinic. and to volunteer, you can make an appointment or contribution. go to ed.msnbc.com. of course, we'll be

broadcasting, i'll be doing cut-ins all day long tomorrow here on msnbc and i'll do "the ed show" from that facility tomorrow night at 6:00 eastern time. it will be a story about americans who haven't seen a doctor for years, and who could use the help of congress. that's "the ed show." i'm ed schultz. chris matthews with "hardball" is next right here on msnbc. we'll see you tomorrow night from hartford. good evening. i'm chris matthews in washington. leading off tonight, feed the hot hand. in basketball, you get the player to the player who's on the streak. that's if you're smart.

that's precisely what the presidential game plan these last seven days has been. give the ball to barack obama, get him out there with the people, hitting his points. the president was up in new hampshire and his message to independent voters was clear. look at me now. i'm out there leading the country through this tough time when everyone else just sitting on the sidelines offering their criticism. the latest gallup poll has his approval rating making a turn upward since the state of the union speech. so it's working. plus, don't ask, don't tell, both defense secretary robert gates and the chairman of the joint chiefs admiral mullen testified on capitol hill in support of ending the policy. the oscar nominations are out today. how nominated movies like "up in the air" and "the hurt locker" tell us about the dangers of our times from unemployment to war. the official kickoff of the 2010 primary season. by late tonight we could see if the republicans are united enough in illinois to perhaps turn president obama's senate seat from blue to red. finally, what percentage of republicans think president obama should be impeached?