she's leaving a false trail. that's what you're doing. >> leaving a false trail. >> my baby ain't stupid. she knows what she's up to. >> the search continues >> due to mature subject just in time for christmas. let's play "hardball." good evening. i'm chris matthews in washington, d.c. leading off tonight, the democrats. for two weeks, president obama

was taking heat from the democratic left over the tax bill. now, that it's law today, the president sits atop the middle ground. can this give him an advantage as he begins his third year in the presidency? charles krauthammer, a man of the right, says it can and it does. also, the president may be about to chalk up another win that will convince some of those on the left there is now a very real chance that don't ask, don't tell will be repealed this year. the senate may now have the votes to join the house and toss out the law this weekend. was it obama's call on taxes that gave us this chance to end this law? and every year contains a few political whoppers. this year was no different. we've got the five different according to reader's poll from the fact-checkers. why would a strip club owner give vip membership to her club? well it's a weird case of mistaken identity, twice. check out the "sideshow." and let me finish tonight with how the critics may have got ten wrong about the

president. let's begin with president obama's big comeback, eugene robinson is a columnist for "washington post." howard fineman is with "the huffington post." both are msnbc political analysts. gentlemen, before we proceed, i just got one of those flash news news flashes that i have to report immediately upon getting it. congresswoman michele bachmann of minnesota has been named to the intelligence committee. what genius, howard, thought this was the perfect match? >> i have no comeback. i just think that that speaks for itself. >> it really does. >> okay let's go to the higher ground. let's go to the president floyd that signing ceremony. i thought it was interesting that speaker pelosi was absent. >> well, kind of interesting. >> what does that tell you, it's low profile on purpose? what would you call it? >> maybe low profile on purpose. i mean she did it after all in the end facilitate the passage of the compromise. >> she makes the schedule. >> right she sets the schedule.

>> but didn't want her -- >> and put her pedal to the metal. >> 1984 when the democrat got wiped out 49 states, remember mondale? speaker o'neill took a backseat for a couple of months there and even though not his fault sometimes it's smart for leaders after a bad whooping to sort of step down from the profile world for a while, just smart politics. >> nancy pelosi actually was pretty invisible over the last couple of weeks. >> yeah. i think so. >> no one challenged her, she kind of kept insisting in the end. >> that's how she's doing it. >> but as soon as she won it, she disappeared. >> you know she's very smart, politically. whatever her role has been, ideologically, you might question, perhaps, in forcing a lot of those people in tough seats to vote for a legislation, which basically croaked them, you might say. >> i agree. but more important than what it means about her is what it means about obama. the fact that she wasn't there, the symbolism of it today means that going forward in the next couple of years, all the action, if there's going to be any, is

going to be between this sort of freelancing president now who is off on his own. >> transactional president. >> transactional president off of his base trying to deal with the republicans. >> here he is, we will look at president obama just in afternoon at that bill signing. let's watch a bit of it. let's listen. >> now, candidly speaking, there are some elements of this legislation that i don't like. there's some elements that members of my party don't like. there's some elements that republicans here today don't like. that's the nature of compromise. yielding on something that each of us cares about to move forward on what all of us care about. >> well, what's the fred rogers' deal about here? why is he explaining there's such a thing as a compromise. it's like somebody in the modern school now, now you get to use the toy for ten minutes and then junior, he gets to use it for ten minutes. it's this sort of -- it's basic training in compromise. >> look, the key phrase there in that whole thing was republicans here today, here they are.

>> yeah. >> you know the old saying, keep your friends closer and your enemies closer. they're now complicit -- >> therefore? >> well, therefore, it's harder for them to wail on him. here's the president talking about down the road ahead, how the bill signing this afternoon may affect future developments. let's listen. >> there will be moments, i'm certain, over the next couple of years in which the holiday spirit won't be as abundant as it is today. [ laughter ] moreover, we've got to make more difficult choices ahead when it comes to tackling the deficit. in some ways, this was easier than some of the tougher choices that we'll have to make next year. >> you know whenever you say -- i want to talk about the subjective presidency and in your reaction to this. subjectively in his heart he's a happy nan weekend. that smile that cute smile we

all love on him that guy that wonderful boy smile of his that he just gave us there after he made his little crack about the holiday spirit, i haven't seen that in months. >> yeah, no. he seemed like a happy guy there. and i think, look, you know, he endorsed this compromise, negotiated, and endorsed it, got it through. he was a happy guy. and he believes the white house certainly believes that of all the potential outcomes to this tends to -- this is best for the economy of anything that was doable. it's more likely to set him up well for 2012. and you know that distance that he's established with the least. >> don't you see alice schwartz is there from the philadelphia suburbs. what an interesting group -- that's the first time that she's stood next to mcconnell any happy occasion. here's charles kraut hammer a man of the right saying nice things about president obama who having pulled off this compromise, if barack obama wins re-election in 2012 as most not

-- more likely than not, historians will mark his comeback as beginning on december 6th, the day of the big tax cut deal of 2010. and his stunning tax deal itself, obama is back holding no high cards. he not only managed to resurface suddenly not just as a player but his orchestrator, dealmaker and central actor in a high $1 trillion drama. now, to charles krauthammer unlike most columnists takes two days to write a couple. mr. pulitzer prize winner here. he may lack your gift. two days to write a column, three days to get it down to 750 words. those words were carefully chosen by charles krauthammer. he's anointing man of the center left and a man of the not have a yeah i'm not sure that that's something nat white house ultimately wants the comfort from. >> from charles krauthammer. >> it's an odd moment where you have two times in a row that

charles krauthammer, he's a very smart guy. first -- >> honest -- guy too. >> honest guy. first he blessed the tax deal last week and anoints obama to be re-elected. i thought so fascinating that that got so much attention and the white house was even in the position of taking note of that guy. >> you notice that the president's left-handed. >> yes. >> bill clinton was left-handed, what does it tell you. >> they're creative. >> it tell me absolutely nothing. what does it tell you? >> that was a trick question. >> that you want to be on the other side of him at lunch so you don't bump -- >> look at that smile. that happy smile. look at this joe biden there, there's jack lou, budget director. old pal of mine, current pal, as well. interesting. >> if you're a president, you want to sign something and you want to sign something, you want to have bipartisan support and if you're forced into it especially and you can tell your left wing that you were forced into it you love to give the country $850 billion worth of tax cuts. >> and? >> and you're worried about spending cuts after christmas.

>> and after new year's. >> and if this weekend you get don't ask, don't tell. >> yes. >> then you know left wing. >> which got probably if they punched around this through christmas. >> not only that. >> right, isn't that fair. >> organizing for america, which is the president's off the limit -- off the white house organizing group has been working the don't ask, don't tell issue very, very hard. >> what's in group called. >> organize inning for america. >> that guy wrote in "washington post" said the president is not using that group enough. >> it's the successor to his campaign. my point is, he disappointed his own left wing on the taxes here. he's going to give something on the cultural front if he can which is the repeal of don't ask, don't tell. my point is the president's own political organization is working on this very hard. they were silent on the tax bill. >> suppose -- >> but they're working very hard on this. >> super-man movies roll back history in time for 24 hours.

>> super-man flies. >> exactly the point. >> if the left, the progressive left, would they -- had he said, i'm with you guys, had he gone right to the mat with them, right through christmas and new years, no tax cut, the taxes' going up next january, no dadt, no new s.t.a.r.t., no dream act, would they have said hooray or would they have blamed him for that? that's my question about critics per se. are they always critical? >> a lot of them. >> yeah. >> a lot of them. >> no matter what do you? >> some of them would have -- >> said that was good. >> of what i think would had been a pure victory but the time to go to the mat was before the election, frankly. >> nobody in the -- >> he didn't do many months. one other thing, chris is this, lots of signs that the economy is in fact improving now. >> that's some good news. >> on the top level not for the unemployed that the point. and the fact that -- >> when are the $2 trillion getting spent by corporate america that they're sitting on right now? >> that's why the president was

talking to the ceos at the blair house the other day. they needed this, the white house wanted and needed this bill, so as not to get in the way of whatever movement that's going to. >> erin burnett on morning joe the other morning said it was the best business meeting with people that there's been in two years. the second honeymoon. >> it's a pretty low bar because not any good ones until. >> you okay, grinch. thank you. anyway, thank you, howard fineman. trying to put the fine point. there eugene robinson. gentlemen, have a nice holiday. coming up it turns out that the repeal of don't ask, don't tell could become reality. after all -- who would have believed this one was going to happen? all of those three new republican senators have seen the light. sometimes debate matters. sometimes you have relatives, friends turn out to be gay. you're looking out for people that you never thought that you'd look out for. i think that human development's going on here on this issue of dadt. the one thing in my life they have seen change their minds on for open service, people are changing their minds. anyway that gives the democrats the 60 votes that they need. it's another big victory for the president, if it happens, and it looks like it will. you're watching "hardball" only

on msnbc.

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welcome back to "hardball." after 15 republicans helped house democrats pass the repeal of don't ask, don't tell this week the senate appears to have the 60 votes now necessary to end that 17-year-old ban on open service by gays in the u.s. military. a senate vote is expected this saturday, that's tomorrow, is this finally going to get done? with us now democratic senator kirsten gillibrand. we are so lucky to have one of the real stars of the united states senate from the empire state herself. senator gillibrand, it's so great to have you on, on an issue, which i think, is going to make you happy. is this going to be history that you'll be part of this weekend? >> definitely. i am so excited about this vote. because fundamentally, chris, this is one of the most corrosive policies as a

government. it fundamentally undermines our integrity as armed service and as a nation it really goes to the heart of who we are, because in this policy, we've lost 13,000 personnel, we've lost more than 10% of our foreign language speakers and lost more than 800 in mission critical areas that we cannot easily replace. so these are the men and women that we need and we need all of our best and brightest fight below we have two wars and we have terrorism you know all around. and this is something that we really need to repeal. >> speaking of best of brothers you have about four republicans joining you now all at the last minute. the two senators from maine. susan collins, olympia snowe. lisa murkowski who just won that write-in race. what do you think turned this into something of a bipartisan push? and i'm also hearing this rumor. i'd love it if you could tell me this was true. the word's out that once this comes to a vote and you pass the 60 mark that you're going to have a lot of republicans jump on the bandwagon at the last.

>> that would be fantastic. i'd be delighted to welcome all of those republicans to be among those who believe this is a corrosive policy that has to be repealed. i think it's just a generational issue, chris. i think over time people's views have changed and people realize now that this is also about military readiness. that fundamentally we need all of these men and women serving because we've lost so many and think of the countless number of people who haven't joined the services because of this policy. so i think there's a lot of issues at play here. and from my part i also thk that it's the civil rights army of our generation. it's truly about equality about civil rights and equal rights. and these men and women they want nothing but to serve this country and literally being to hold they can't based on who they love and that's not with we are as americans. >> let's take a lock what the senator john mccain back in 2006 on the "hardball" college tour. a golden oldie speaking of age differences. let's listen. >> the day that the leadership of the military comes to me and says, senator, we ought to change the policy then i think we ought to consider seriously

changing it. because those leaders in the military are the ones we give the responsibility to. >> well that may not sound familiar but he actually did say that, senator. he said if the military high-brass thought had changed he'd be with them. he since demured on that. something that you've been involved with with senator schumer. the first responders' health issue. what is the health crisis facing people who are involved in dealing with the initial horror of 9/11? >> well, as you remember, chris, these are our first responders. these are the ones who were running up the towers when everyone was coming down. they're the ones who went to the pile day in and day out, first looking for survivors, then remains, then look the cleanup. and what happened were the toxins released from these towers were so awful and so horrific they're now dying of cancer and other terrible diseases because of the health effects of these toxins and also you have to remember the >> well, what's going to happen? you've got about a few days left of this session. is it going to get done? >> it is going to get done.

we're going to have a vote. it'll be an up-or-down vote just on the 9/11 health bill and i think that we'll have the republicans' support that we need now to pass that bill. what i'm looking for, chris, is a christmas miracle and i really believe that people of goodwill can come together and really stand behind. please come back to "hardball." congressman, thank you very much for joining us. and people tell me you're the first openly gay person who was elected as such. you didn't come out afterwards. let me ask you about this whole question of dealing with this issue of open service. are we going to get there? >> you know, we absolutely -- we should've gotten there 20 years ago. this issue is going to meet with a collective sigh when it's done. >> we look at these polls, study them intently. and generally 70% of the serving military want it. don't see a problem with it.

but then the women in the fighting units of the marines and army, that's where you get that pushback. what do you make of that? it's about 50/50. >> part of the reason the poll was done so well by the military. not only do they ask what do you think? would you be worried about serving with somebody who is a gay? and many of them thought they were and they didn't have a problem with it. the problems are hypothetical, not real. >> were you surprised by this as a gay person? i found it wonderful in a way. it showed it's not the caricature that older generation of people have. 5 out of 6 gay people serving in the military say even if they're allowed to serve openly as gay people, they wouldn't make any statement to that effect. they would go uhalong in effect with the way it is now, voluntarily. they wouldn't make a statement about their identity. >> who goes around making a statement? you don't wear a sign that says you're gay or straight everywhere. but if it comes up with your friends, your partner happens to be the same sex or opposite sex,

they tend to figure out if you're gay or not. but it's not something you go around declaring. i certainly don't. >> you're so cool. anyway, thank you, jared polis. you're so casual about these things. thank you very much. you are the new generation. sir, i salute you. thank you very much for your service. up next, what did newt gingrich do to win himself a lifetime membership at a dallas strip club? all right, it was a mistake, although he deserves credit for this mistake. check out the sideshow next. you're watching "hardball" only on msnbc. these people are under-indulgers, not enjoying the holidays! together we can end under-indulgence. and if you over do it, pepto-bismol's got you covered. ♪

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back to "hardball." now to the "sideshow." what's the zipper club? here's a hint, bill clinton and larry king are both members. but don't get the idea or the wrong idea. listen to this unscripted exchange from last night's final

edition of "larry king live." >> i'm glad to see you here and still up and going. >> we're both in the zipper club. by the way, you look very good last week in the briefing room at the white house. by the way, the suits want me to remind you what the zipper club. if you had open heart surgery, you have to zip it up. >> bill and i looked confused. we did not get that. >> ryan, do you have any question for the president? >> i'm glad you clarified that. >> i see what you mean. oh, oh, oh. >> well, folks, this proves that "larry king live" really was live. next, reality bites. last night bill o'reilly needled sarah palin on her reality tv show with kate gosselin. >> is that presidential? you and kate gosselin in a forest. people would say, you know, look, it doesn't elevate the

governor, the former governor of alaska. and you would say? >> oh, i'm sorry i'm not so -- and i don't do this before i make a statement or endorse a person or portray reality. >> would you appoint gosselin to a cabinet or position or anything? >> what do you think? >> i'm giving you a little jazz, governor, you know how i am. >> i think bill o'reilly doesn't think that palin has what it takes to run a country and he shows it. last year newt gingrich gave his entrepreneur of the year award to dallas area dawn risos. she's the owner of the lodge, a topless strip club. they didn't realize the nature of her business, so they rescinded the award and disinvited her from the awards dinner. but catch this, one year later,

gingrich's pack sent her a membership card and once again asked her for a political donation. she responded by senting newt a v.i.p. membership in her strip club. next month will be the end of a huge era in american politics. how long has a member of the kennedy family been in federal office? 63 years, as long as i can remember. 63 years of history leave washington with patrick kennedy. tonight's big number. that's "hardball" for now. coming up next, "your business" with j.j. ramberg. [ female announcer ] experience dual action power

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