make the difference. if bachmann can do well. if she can be a start next monday, she will be the one to watch. if not, bet on palin, knocking off first bachmann and then romney. that leaves it to him, or bachmann. another way of saying palin or bachmann. i love this stuff. that's "hardball" for now. more politics ahead with cenk uygur. good evening, i'm reverend al sharpton in tonight for cenk uygur. it's been an amazing story. after new photos and explicit text messages appeared online today, the congressman held a news conference in a room packed with reporters here in new york. the congressman admitted he lied. he lied last week about sending an explicit photo. he apologized for his behavior,

but he said he would not resign. then he addressed the press. >> i would like to take full responsibility for my actions. side of made terrible mistakes that i hurt the people i care about the most. i have not been honest with myself, my family, my constituents, my friends, supporters and the media. last friday night, i tweeted a photograph 6 myself that i intended to sent a direct message as part of a joke to a woman in seattle. once i realized i posted it to twitter, i panicked, i took it down and said i had been hackeded. i continued to stick to that story. this woman was unwittingly dragged into this and absolutely bears no responsibility. i am so sorry to have disrupted her life in this way. to be clear, the picture was of

me, and i sent it. i'm deeply sorry for the pain this has caused my wife, and our family and my constituents, my friends. i have engaged in several inappropriate conversations, and occasionally on the phone with women i have met online. i have exchanged messages and photos of an explicit nature with about six women over the last three years. for the most part these communications took place before my marriage, though some have sadly took place after. to be clear, i have never met any of these women or had physical relationships at any time. i haven't told the truth and i've done things i deeply regret.

i brought pain to people i cared about the most and people who believed in me, and for that i'm deeply sorry. i apologize to my wife and our famili families, as well as to our friends and supporters. i am deeply ashamed of my terrible judgment and actions. joining me now is jon their capehart, editorial writer for "the washington post" and ryan grimm, congressional correspondent for the huffington post. good evening to both. jonathan, let me start with you, you did a lot of your career in new york. what is the political fallout of this amazing story today, in terms of the fact that many considered the congressman weiner a leading candidate.

give me the political fallout of this. >> you put your finger on it. congressman weiner was the one that everyone was looking to succeed mayor bloomberg when his term is up. he is a leading liberal in the city here in washington, in the capital. he was someone whose political star was bright, you know, his marriage was also considered everything -- given her closeness to senator clinton now secretary of state clinton. this is a shocking day for new york and new york politics to see another bright light dim so quickly. but the one thing that's different here is that, you know, senator -- i'm sorry, congressman weiner hasn't done anything illegal, at least he's saying he hasn't done anything illegal, with regards some of

the other things we have seen in the past, you know -- i'm sorry, governor spitzer, and david vitter from louisiana, also doing the same, this is quite different. >> there's no criminal allegation as of yet. >> no criminal allegations. >> ryan grimm, let me ask you, you covered the hill as well as anybody. what is the fallout in congress? a lot of his colleagues, a lot of those that he will, if we assume he stays in office, as he says he will, how will he be dealt with in the house? >> nancy pelosi came out with a statement just recently, saying that she's calling for a full investigation into whether or not he broke in the house rules. >> i'm going to play that statement. let me read this statement to you. she says -- i am deeply disappointed and saddened about this situation, for anthony's wife huma, his family, his stat

and his constituents. i am cal for an ethics commit aye investigation to determine whether any official resources were used or any other violation of house rules occurred. interesting statement, wouldn't you say? >> i think sheets thinking about the pressure she came under for years to launch an investigation into charlie rangel, and she finally, finally did that, but it was only after holding out for months and months and months. so she's getting right out in front of this. you can't demand that pelosi call for an investigation, because she herself has done this. obviously he broke the rule that says your conduct should reflect well on the house, but i suppose -- your -- your take on how well esteemed the house is would have something to do with

whether or not he sullied the image. you're not talking about those that may not decide to go several different ways with an ethics investigation, even though it was called by ms. pelosi, the republicans control the house now. >> historically, you do have to give the house ethics committee a lot of respect for operating in a bipartisan way. they often operate to protect both parties from any ethics scandals. so, you know, that's one of the last bat ons of bipartisanship, where they're protecting themselves from real scrutiny. i would suspect that panel will do a pretty fair investigation if he did use house resources for this, it's probably something the tech team can determine fair live quickly. it's kind of a cut-and-dried thing. >> jonathan, tell me about how this lines up the mayor's race.

here was a guy who ran for mayor, above expectations in the primary, was considered a front-runner if not the front-runner, what does this do to new york city politics? >> well, it certainly mixes up new york city politics. when hi ran in i believe 2005, was then in a runoff with freddy ferrer, he backed out rather than go through the runoff, but everyone saw him as a strong candidate. some people think he should have done it, when mayor bloomberg decided to run for another term, and he decided to wait. i think the only thing he can hope for is when the election rolls around in 2013 that memories will have softened, he will have rehabilitated himself beyond this current scandal, and people will be willing to give him a second look, and willing to entrust him some the mayor

mayoralty of new york. >> was it the cover-up? the lying? what is it the public would have to get over? the cover-up or the act? ryan first. >> sure. there are a few publics he has to worry about here. i think if there were a pure level field, he might be final. this is something that most in the public might be able to get over, but how does he if you're a gone a donor, will you be jumping to write a check for him right now. i think republicans are already calling for schumer to condemn what he's done. >> well, not to mention he has

to deal with his congressional district. he has to be reelected. >> jonathan, what is the kind of district he's elected from? is it a conservative district? what kind of district will he be facing in terms of his vote next year for congress? >> well, clearly he's been elected -- first elected in 1998, so he's been there for a while, has been able to build up alliances and allegiances among a very disparate district. we will see, as the weeks go on, just how folks in his district feel about what he's done. you know, you have all sorts of folks that get into ethical problems and be investigated -- >> we're going to have to leave it there, jonathan and ryan. >> thank you. coming up, though, more on his admission, can hi survive politically? and sarah palin is still

proving she don't know much about history. but she does know how to shake up the republican presidential race. pat buchanan and bill press will debate, palin ahead. i might jump in that one, too. stay with us. l classroom, the "a students" and the troublemakers get all the attention. so how do you reach the kids in the middle? this is exactly the kind of challenge we help future teachers solve. ♪ my name is beatrice hair. i teach hundreds of kids one-on-one, and i am a phoenix. [ male announcer ] university of phoenix is proud to sponsor education nation. because we believe an educated world is a better world. the world needs more energy. where's it going to come from? ♪ that's why right here, in australia, chevron is building one of the biggest natural gas projects in the world. enough power for a city the size of singapore for 50 years.

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more on the shocking anthony wiener admission. that's next. hey, did you ever finish last month's invoices? sadly, no. oh. but i did pick up your dry cleaning and had your shoes shined. well, i made you a reservation at the sushi place around the corner. well, in that case,

i better get back to these invoices... which i'll do right after making your favorite pancakes. you know what? i'm going to tidy up your side of the office. i can't hear you because i'm also making you a smoothie. [ male announcer ] marriott hotels & resorts knows it's better for xerox to automate their global invoice process so they can focus on serving their customers. with xerox, you're ready for real business. back with the breaking news from the anthony weiner scandal, the congressman admitting he sent lewd photos and text messages over the internet.

in the middle of the news conference, he also talked about his wife. >> my wife has known about some of these online relationships since before we were married. we spoke frankly about them because -- well, we spoke frankly about them. she didn't know until this morning that i had not been telling the truth about whether i posted the twitter post last week. i've never had sex outside my marriage, and i've done these things, and i regret them, but i have never done anything that you described and i don't know where else to get it. [ inaudible ] >> i'm not making any excuses for my behavior. i don't do drugs. i wasn't drinking, that wasn't the cause of this. this was me doing a dumb thing and doing it repeatedly and lying about it. >> weiner's wife works in the state department and was not at

the news conference today. joining me now is ozzie paybark, political reporter. alex wagner, reporter for the huffington post, and matt lewis, senior contributor with "the daily caller." ozzie, you were at the press conference today, and you have been blogging about this the entire time. would this have been difference in congressman weiner had come out quick, early, admitted wrong, said he did a dumb thing and moved on? >> well, i think a lot of this would have been different. he misled people, his reporters, his own staff, his own wife up until this morning. now that he's come clean, the first thing he has to do is rebuild trust.

>> alex, how does he rebuild that, his credibility as a media star really in the democratic party? i mean, here's a guy who is often interviewed, often taking on contentious congressional issues. how does he rebuild, if at all, his media celebrity? >> well, we know from eliot spitzer's k356r78 that it's possible to rebuild your credentials, but i think he has a tough climb ahead of him. one of the things that struck me is you look at the press gaggle last week. he was so contentious, almost verbally abusive to one cnn producer that was asking him what i think are now widely acknowledged to be legitimate questions. weiner will have some fences to mend. i think his wife is going to have to be part of the equation, and beyond that, i think, you know, he's at his best and has been at his best when he's taken more of a quieter, conciliatory

tone, and i think insofar as he could have been masterful in a press conference, he was quite good today. he fessed up, was honest and didn't try to cut any corners. >> matt, will the republicans be putting out commercials night using him as the poster boy of the hypocrisy of the left? what time do we see the commercials? >> it might be unseemly, and there's a rule you don't interfere with your opponent when he's in the process of destroying himself, but those ads will come. we talked earlier about the question over whether or not he used federal, you know, computer or blackberry. it's probably likely at some point that he did. that could bite him, but the other thing we haven't brought up is andrew breitbart seems to have more graphic photos that he

doesn't deny might be out there, and i wonder if he's willing to go on tv, knowing that these other photos are out there. >> go ahead. i think you were getting ready to respond to that, alex. >> i think that question is actually interesting. it was one of those moments you never thought would happy washes anthony weiner apologizing to andrew breitbart, maybe, and we're just finding out now that minority leader nancy pelosi is calling for an ethics investigation? that's going to -- those are serious repercussions. >> ari, doesn't he also have a problem in terms of his congressional district, in that lines are being redrawn this year, and he really does not know where his congressional

boundaries may be, the district that eye electriced him seven times may look different. anchts that's a problem that a lot of new york congressional members will have. new york will lose two seats. after the midsummer elections, democrats are sort of scratching their heads to whether those lines will be drawn. governor cuomo wanted an independent nonpartisan redistricting effort. in previous years, lawmakers sort of picked their own voters and drew the lines themselves. i think what was interesting about what andrew breitbart said is there's at least one more photograph that he has and out of decency, he will not release it. anthony weiner did not deny there's a number of images, and i think today's acknowledgement was an effort to try to put this behind him.

>> how much would become too much? he came, he admitted, he really said a lot of things that had to be extremely painful. if breitbart continuing to badger him, at what point does it become too much? or has weiner destroyed himself to where it doesn't matter? >> i think he's occupying a middle zone, where he has some redemption. this doesn't turn out to be to be a conservative conspiracy. he was legit in his claims all along. the more he trying to make this, sort of unrelending, he obviously loses credit. there's also the question of censorship and what's appropriate to have on the air. depending on what these photos are, i don't think he's going to be able to show that much more. certainly the sxwr net is its

own domain, but 9 appetite for knowing the extent. the public is asking to know, what are the ages that he was contacting? there's a lot more to this that has yet to be revealed. >> let me ask each of you, does he survive this? >> i think it depends on what the house ethics committee comes up with. he's in a fairly safe district, depending on how they redraw the lin lines. i think he could be forced out by the leadership if there's some ethics problems. otherwise, i think he could ride this out. >> ari? >> he could survive. it depends how quickly he gets ahead of it and how much news value reporters and editors find in the new photographs that might come out. >> alex? >> i think i'm putting him at 50/50. i think this thing is unfolding. i think the pelosi angle is disconcerting for his longer career. >> in the long run, he could

survive congress, and not run for mayor. there's any number of scenarios. if you were advising him, matt, what would you advise him to do, in terms of focus? >> if i were advising him, what i would have told him to say today is that i have a drinking problem, and when i drink i do stupid things and i'm checking myself into rehab. he didn't go that route. i give him kred fouled apparently finally be honest after lying to luke russert and wolf blitzer, but i think i would have told him to go that route. >> ari, this has been a news day. we have. >> i don't give politicians advice, i just write about them. this is the season of men behaving badly. i think it would be premature to say where the chips are going to

end up falling. >> i'm going to give you the last word after that shot. paul ryan's radical budget is under attack across the country, who are vows to fight to safe medicare. maryland's ben cardin is one of those senators, and he joins me next. after letting glenn beck go, fox news chief roger ailes is looking to hire -- you won't believe who he's interested in. stay with us. [ female announcer ] ever wish vegetables

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democrats in congress have a sharp message for republicans on the subject of medicare. we will not give an inch. and some are sending a similar message to the obama administration. in a letter to vice president biden, five democratic senators facing reelection write, quote, we wish to identify in advance one proposal that we cannot support in any fall. the house passed planned dismantle medicare. for the good of the nation's seniors, it must remain off the table, but do they expect --

joining me, one of the five senators to sign that letter. thank you for joining me. tell me why you wrote this her. what was the urgency of you and your colleagues writing the vice president about keep medicare. >> first they're trying to use a debt ceiling as a way to accomplish that are extreme agen agenda. 1ekdly it's clear that their proposal that will privatize medicare, is clearly on the table during these negotiations. so our point was to make it clear to the vice president that we cannot allow our -- having them pay a lot more for their

health care. >> how they have laid it out. i read paul cryingman today in the times saying it's really voucher-care. is it packaging or that the substance of what they're saying is -- >> no, it's the substance. it would put them at risk, pay twice as much as they're currently paying for health care. if does nothing to bring down health care costs. >> some feared that -- they may lose a lot of other votes.

they'll try to get more success with medicaid. would you have the same position, that that should be off the table and there should be no giving ground in terms of medicaid cuts? >> i'm clearly opposed to the block grant. look. we're all for bringing down health care costs. there are ways of reducing costs by -- we're in support of that. we moved those proposals. but we're absolutely against the way they would want to care. >> now, that's an important point, so you're saying there are ways to save money. it does not need to be some ways to bring the costs down. you're talking about how we do

it and how we protect those that are the beneficiaries of the programs and that need the programs? absolutely. as we've set before, the way to reduce medicare costs is to reduce -- we have instituted changes to bring down the growth rate of costs, and stave our seniors and taxpayers money. what the republicans are doing is just shifting costs. so yes, there's a way to do it right, and we're prepared to work in that regard. >> protecting whom, senator cardin? why do you -- the way you have laid it out tonight seems like a common-sense way the dealing with government? >> there's no question they are protecting their special interests. they're saying that we can't close loopholes where people are

getting away who could be paying taxes. that's the type into -- so they would rather put the budget problems on the back of our seniors rather than having a fair program where everybody contributes. >> we're going to have to leave it there. thank you, benjamin cardin, democratic senator from maryland, thank you for joining us. >> thank you. coming up, sarah palin has a hard time with basic american history, but one top democrat thinks she can beat obama. we'll talk about the palin effect with pat buchanan and bill press, tonight. pa

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we didn't mean to step on anybody's toes. welcome back. i'm reverend al sharpton. that was sarah palin apologizing for stepping all over romney's official entry into the race last week. she's still dominating headlines in the gop 2012 race, leaving the rest of the candidates wondering what it takes to get some notice. joining me now is bill press, host of "the bill press show" on sirius radio, and pat buchanan, msnbc political analyst. last week she flubbed a historical reference, that paul revere was warning the british, not the americans, but she claims she had it right. take a look. >> you realized that you messed up about paul revere, don't you? >> you know what? i didn't mess up.

part of his ride was to warning the british that were already there, hey, you're not going to success, you are not going to take american arms, you're not going to beat our well-armed personal militia. he did warn the british. in ra shout jot, gotcha type of question that answered me, i answered candidly. i know my american history. >> pat, is sarah palin incapable of admitting wrong. every time she messes up she says it's a gotcha question. she didn't mean to step on the announcement of the former governor for romney for his announcement. >> sure she is. >> is everybody just picking on her? >> no. well -- by picking on her, not everybody. i will say, look, you saw a gracious apology there to mitt romney, and frankly, al -- or reverend sharpton, i don't think she did that deliberately.

she started with rolling thunder, she's on the coast in new hampshire, romney's up in the north. how was she to know that the manchester union leader will put her on the front page and put mitt romney inside. i thought she was very gracious. >> so you don't feel her compare, people people or advisers had any idea that routing themselves that way they thought they would run into his planned announcement that day? >> reverend sharpton, you can't go into new hampshire without stepping on somebody these days. >> what are we looking at here, bill? she's apologizing and rewriting paul revere's intent? >> i tell you what's happening here. sarah palin is this huge force. i don't get it, but she's a huge force, but a destructive force. she floez what she's doing. everybody involved in politics in this country knew that mitt romney was going to announce in

new hampshire on that day. he had told the press two weeks ahead of time. it was a well planned event. don't believe her apology. she doesn't want mitt romney at the top of the ticket. she and rudy giuliani are trying to knock him off. as far as the paul revere thing goes, she was just dead wrong. it was not a gotcha question. the gotcha question on american history tours, so is paul revere we have your heroes? >> oh, yeah, he warned the british, he was firing shots and ringing bells. no, he wasn't. >> dhrn are watching. clear this up. >> he crossed that body of water and said "the british are coming, the british are coming." and if the british were warned, he wouldn't have paul revere -- but let me say this, the

unemployment rate went over 16%. is that more important? >> i think it's more important, but i think if the person we're talking about gets paul revere's ride wrong, you might suspect she may not know how to deal with black unemployment. but since you brought it up, do you know what her plan is for black unemployment? >> her plan for america is to get rid of barack obama who's presidedver a complete disaster. >> that's exactly what i thought her plan was, to avoid the question. howard dean has said she should be taken seriously. >> she should. >> and she shouldn't be laughed at. what do you say, bill? >> i think what howard dealing was saying is democrats have to be careful. there's all this disruption, all this confusion on the republican side now, and a lot of democrats are saying, man, we're just going to waltz in there. howard dean was saying don't take that attitude. you have to fight like hell.

but there's a rasmussen poll out today, al, 49% of americans say that mitt romney is qualified to be president. we have seen more of sarah palin than any other candidates. she gets all the publicity she wants. she's always on fox. 23% of americans say she's confidence qualified to be president. this is a disaster. >> is it a disaster, pat? >> no, it's not a disaster. when have you or i ever gotten attention like that. chris wallace said that was a -- performance, the best, has she made mistakes, got problems? yeah, so was ronald reagan in his time, al. >> let me tell you, al. our friend pat ought to know getting the enthusiastic response of the extreme right wing does not equal getting the party nomination.

pat, come on. >> let met ask you about the extreme right. rick san storm announced today he's certainly going to be shooting for that wing of the party. how serious should we take him? >> all right. here's the thing. i think he was defeated in pennsylvania by a pretty big margin, and he's got a tough time. he's eclipsed by the enormous amount of power and attraction that bachmann and palin have, and he's fighting for the pop you list wing, and i know bill press disparages it, but we picked up -- with those folks and a united party. don't let bill press whistle past the grave-yayard on you. >> i think michele bachmann will get that force in the republican party and will eclipse rick santorum, but i want to come

back to another point about sarah palin. why is she still on fox? why is she still a paid contributor? they dumped newt gingrich. they dumped rick santorum. they forced mike huckabee to give up running for president if he still wanted his show. they're still paying her. >> let me answer that. >> let med answer that, bill. she's a sensation. >> every time she appears, pat, that's a multimillion dollar campaign contribution. from rupered murdock. >> an storm said that america was great before 1965, and is -- what is he talking about? the voting rights act? >> who are you talking about? the eisenhower and kennedy, this was magnificent. >> why are you. >> who are you talking about? >> rick santorum said america was great before 1965. what is the significance of '65?

>> i think in '65 we got ourself deeply involved in vitt name, the democratic party became apart. >> so rick santorum was attacking our involvement in vietnam? >> i don't know what he was attacking. >> that's one of the great things that happened in '65, that he may have been referring to, bill. >> al sharpton, you know better than anybody what it was like it can larry in the south in this country in 1965, but when republicans say they want to take back america. they want to take it back to 1965, if not to 1950. >> what we would like to take back, at least to ronald reagan, if you look at what obama has done to the american economy and worker and the american people. >> yeah, we look at the auto industry, a few industries, at what obama has done. i think that some people might disagree with you, pat. >> some?

i think -- hey. >> cornel west, reverend. >> barack obama has created more new jobs in 2 1/2 years that this george bush did in eight years, pat. give it up. >> you forget i ran against george bush for heaven's sake. >> i've waited all of my career to say this -- pat, wee out of time. thank you, bill. thank you, pat. >> see you next time, al. thank you for your time. republicans have a president obama for high unemployment, but who is really to blame? nancy pelosi isn't afraid to blame republicans. and all we need to do is change the way we're thinking about them. a couple decades ago, we didn't even realize just how much natural gas was trapped in rocks thousands of feet below us. technology has made it possible to safely unlock this cleanly burning natural gas. this deposits can provide us with fuel for a hundred years, providing energy security and economic growth

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administration, saying what the job reports have been, friday's report on unemployment very disappointing, but david axelrod came out and said today, where is the gop's jobs agenda? and nancy pelosi said their agenda is to blame. >> they set the agenda. we have said every day that they're there, another day goes by and there isn't a jobs agenda or jobs bill that's come to the floor. >> all these republicans out there this weekend yammering will be -- >> i think from what we're seeing from former speaker pelosi and david axelrod, they're holding boehner's feet

to the fire. usually he would send a tweet, mr. president, where are the jobs? the republicans ran on platform saying, you know, we're going to be about putting the american people back to work. they've been in session since january, so far there's been no jobs plan. i think that is the number one issue that the american people say they care about and what the unemployment numbers that came out that's been reinforced, i think the democrats are going to try to use this to their political advantage to push the republicans in a corner. >> alex? >> i agree with jonathan here. every day it's like, mr. speaker, where are the jobs? the republicans rode into office -- or into the mid terms saying this was going to be priority number one. so far all we've seen them talk about is cutting the budget, cut-and-grow congress. there has been as yet no job creation plan. i think this is where the democrats have some legs. look, you can contend the stimulus wasn't big enough or

was too big, but at the end of the day, the congressional budget says it created jobs. so far the republicans have offered nothing in the way of a concrete proposal, let alone any evident it would actually work. >> well, can they go into the selection with no plan? you have former speaker pelosi saying had not the president did what he did we would be at high other unemployment, where was their plan? how do this el go on a no plan strategy? >> well, rev, i think it will be easier for the republicans to do that. one, president obama is the democrat, the one in control of the white house. the white house has been saying consistently over the last -- at least the last year, the economy is coming back. all the indices are going in the right direction and it's a

matter of time before the american people feel it. last week it's showing that the recovery is yet, and as long as the american people do not feel the recovery that the administration is talking about, the less the gop has to worry about. >> do they put that blame on the republicans in terms of the house majority, in terms of filibuster? >> i think it's much harder -- i think it's much easier for nancy pelosi to shift the blame. they're the ones that are supposed to be coming up with a plan, but the white house, it will be very different for the president to sort of punt that to the republicans. i think, you know, the 9.1% unemployment, the fact that 54,000 jobs were created, that's a problem. you saw austan goolsbee -- >> jonathan and alex, one minute. stay with us. we'll be right back and finish

that and talk about some other things right after the break.

we're back with one last topic for our political panel. the final question is -- is president obama returning to his 2008 form? the president's approval rating is on the rise again, according to a new poll from the national journal. the poll shows obama has a 51% approval rating, just two points shy of the number he won about back in 2008 election. jonathan, alex? is he returning back to form? >> well, you know -- go ahead, alex. >> i have to say, i don't think we're going to see numbers like we did in 2008, because the american public is far more seasoned. he came in with a message of hope and change. it's difficult for him to have

the same optimistic message. and i think at the end of the day, you know, the american public is going to vote on what it feels. if it feels the country is headed in the right direction, then obama is in good shape, but a poll a year and a half out, i don't think it's representative. >> jonathan? >> polls are snapshots in time. anyone trying to predict boom or gloom based on polls right now is doing everyone is disservice. i think what we'll have to see what the public says. thanks for your time tonight, alex and jon. that's our show. thanks for watching. "hardball" starts right now.