attacking al cade ga. let's play "hardball." good evening. i'm chris matthews in new york. leading off tonight, no country for old men. another victory in the war on terrorist, this time in yemen. the united states killed the radical american-born cleric anwar al awlaki and a colleague who edited al qaeda's online magazine. awlaki has been linked to numerous incidents, including the underwear bomber and the murderous assault at ft. hood. along with the killing of osama

bin laden, today's drone strike in yemen makes it that much more difficult for republicans to credibly call the president weak on terrorism. also, a new poll shows that most people still blame president bush for the awful economy. but bush isn't on the ballot next november. president obama looks like it's time for a new strategy. plus, jersey sore. amid all the talk of chris christie getting in the race comes word today that the governor doesn't really get along with the big-name democrats in his state. senator frank lautenberg calls him the king of liars. we'll ask him what he means by that. and mr. president, you're on the air. president obama joined our colleague michael smerconish on the radio today to talk about the economy, texas and efforts to restrict voting rights. michael smerconish joins us later. finally, let me finish tonight with a night millions say they'll never forget. we start with another victory for president obama on the war on terrorism. evan, nbc news terrorism analyst and richard wolfe is an msnbc terrorism analyst. how did we get him? >> we got him because of the

fact after months of tracking this individual, after months of firing missiles at him fruitlessly, we got the right opportunity. there was a meeting that was taking place, it was not near a major populated zone, there wasn't the threat of civilian casualties, and it worked out. it was the right time and the right place. but there was a lot of work and there were a lot of failed efforts that led into this. >> how safer are we today, because we got him? >> well, here's the problem. anwar al awlaki didn't have an official title. he wasn't the leader, he wasn't the deputy leader. he was an adviser. so he assisted with recruiting westerners, okay, but he was not a military official. he's not a bomb maker. unfortunately, as far as al qaeda in yemen goes, they have pretty much the same military capabilities today that they did yesterday. it's more of a long-term thing. it may be more difficult for them -- >> wait a minute, let's get this thing straight. is he operations or is he propaganda? >> look, he's to a small degree operations, to a large degree, propaganda. this is somebody who is known as the godfather of homegrown terrorism, of contemporary,

homegrown terrorism. he's far more valuable in terms of recruiting lone wolves and homegrown extremists than he is as a military official within or in support of aqap. >> so basically al qaeda in the arabian peninsula, this guy goes, gets on the air, gets on the internet, and stirs up people who may possibly be leaning against u.s. policy in the middle east, turns them into radicals? >> they see him as a rock star. the guy's out in ft. dix in new jersey, who were scoping out terrorist targets, they were listening to anwar al awlaki on their car stereo system while they were pointing out various targets and saying, this the guy, this guy knows how to do it. we need to follow exactly what this guy is telling us to do. >> looks like an enemy in the field to me. today, the president said that the death of anwar al awlaki was a significant milestone in the broader effort to defeat al qaeda and its affiliates. let's watch the president. >> the death of awlaki is a major blow to al qaeda's most active operational affiliate. but make no mistake.

this is further proof that al qaeda and its affiliates will find no safe haven anywhere in the world. working with yemen and our other allies and partners, we will be determined, we will be deliberate, we will be relentless, we will be resolute in our commitment to destroy terrorist networks that aim to kill americans. >> let me go to richard wolffe. richard, you know, it reminds me, back in the bush era, which seems like a long time, thank god, that bush was always saying things in his strange way, i'm not going to think a lot about getting bin laden, it never occurs to me, here's the guy he swore he was going to get the friday after 9/11. he tried to pretend that they weren't really worth going after. that we had a far more important war to fight in iraq. talk about a wrong way car igen effort there. this effort seems to be targeted toward getting the destruction of al qaeda accomplished. >> right. and look, i think george bush was sincere about wanting to get

bin laden. obviously they diverted themselves into iraq. but results count, and there's a narrative that this administration can build up, not just about al qaeda but iraq and afghanistan, which is results-based. there are key markers here that really demolish the republican line about this president that he doesn't have a policy or he's weak or he's incompetent or he apologizes for america around the world. these kind of moments bring home how focused he has been on what he said he would do, which is to go after the core leadership of al qaeda and these splinter groups which have proved so effective. >> not exactly, to use the wondrously ingenious phrase of sarah palin, palling around with terrorists, is it? >> not exactly. >> he's killing them. >> i'm sure you're still going to have people say these things, but for reasonable voters in the middle, the swing independent voters, moderate voters they've got to pull back into the fold in this election, they're going to hear that stuff. newt gingrich is not going to stop saying this stuff, or sarah

palin, and they're going to see that disconnect between what the president has actually done and this caricature that republicans have where this president doesn't know what he's doing, isn't up to the job, has no idea i mean, look at the arab spring. they're going after the arab spring saying he doesn't know what he's doing, mubarak is gone, gadhafi is gone, al qaeda's leadership is gone. america can actually rest a little bit easier. still got a long way to go, but it's still a much safer position and this president can claim a big chunk of the credit for it. >> how big a mission accomplished banner would bush have for this baby? anyway, here's what one former state department official had to say about president obama's foreign policy record. aaron david miller advised six different secretaries of state on middle east policy, most recently colin powell. well, he told politico today, "the president has essentially morphed into a much less reckless and ideological version of bush 43. his policies on iraq, afghanistan, gitmo, iran, even patriot act issues resemble much

more the pragmatic george w. bush of 2007/2008 than the earlier lone ranger version." this doesn't bother me a bit, as an analyst/observer. what you're saying is as bush w. became more aware of reality as he got toward the end of his term, as he fell less under the influence of cheney, he began to be much better as a president and a leader. obama's more like him. >> yeah. look, obama really has gone aggressively after al qaeda. no one can argue with that. if anything, you could say that this is overly aggressive. we're going after people with missile strikes. but i think what ron paul and i think some others have gotten wrong here is the idea that just because he's an american citizen, we shouldn't be firing missiles at him. this is someone who declared war against the united states of america, who openly broadcast -- >> wait a minute, ron paul, talk about being out to lunch. you mean if you go join the nazi army and you're fighting in the army against us with the ss and you get killed in action, that's somehow wrong? you need to be given a bill of particulars or whatever? miranda rights? >> yeah, there's no mystery here.

>> miranda rights. what are you talking about? >> there's no mystery here. this is someone who went on video and said, i want to kill americans. i want other people to kill americans. as many as possible. that is declaring war against the united states. if you do something like that, if you make yourself into a clear and present threat to u.s. national security, i'm not sure what your argument is, that that's an assassination. >> let's go to this question. it seems to me if someone's in the field, their operations, they're doing operations, not just propaganda, it seems to me you've got a good case to bring them down. >> look, the individual who was killed along sooird of him, the other american, samir khan published an article, why i turned traitor to america. other articles included how to build a bomb in the kitchen of your mom. when you start publishing material like that, when you start encouraging terrorist attacks, when you align yourselves with people that are building underwear bombs and trying to bring down u.s. airliners, i don't see where the argument is that you have lack due process.

you have identified yourself as an enemy combatant. i mean, it's pretty clear. >> i guess ron paul should say we should have one of these weird little third world trials in absentia, where you try the person before you target them. >> look -- >> what is he talking about? >> there's no mystery here. there's no trial. this is someone who has acknowledged the role. there's no question about the guilt. >> we're going to go back to richard. it looks to me like -- let me go to richard first. it seems like the cia is doing its job under petraeus, following up on the excellent work done by leon panetta. >> it is the cia, but you've also got to have leadership there. and what the president's got, especially in john brennan, is someone who has the authority and the focus to follow through. there has been a concerted effort under john brennan in the white house to demolish these leaders as they emerge, to use unprecedented numbers of drone attacks. and it's been successful. you can see that in the intelligence they picked up

around bin laden. these people were trying to keep low cover, not being -- not coming out into the open. it hampered them operationally and ultimately led to their demise. not just where we saw around the al qaeda leadership itself, but also these splinter groups. and so, you know, if you look at what the president said he would do in trying to get elected, this fits that. and people can say whether they, you know, like his policy on israel or not, they can pick holes in it, but at least he did what he said he would do when it came to al qaeda. >> thank you so much for coming on. thank you as always richard wolfe for excellent commentary on a big, good day for america. it's always better to win when you're up against bad guys. up next a new poll shows most americans still blame the bad economy on bush. that's good for president obama. but how much longer can he count on it, especially since bush is probably not going to run against him next time? just kidding. this is "hardball" only on msnbc. to be more environmentally aware, we are now printing on the back sides of used paper.

and we switched to fedex 'cause a lot of their packaging contains recycled materials. tell them what else fedex does. well we're now using more electric trucks and lower emission planes. we even offer a reusable envelope. now, can't we at least print on the back sides of used paper? what's the executive compensation list...? [ male announcer ] sustainable solutions. fedex. solutions that matter. covergirl trublend has skin twin technology. other makeup can sit on your skin, so it looks like...makeup. but trublend has skin twin technology to actually merge with your skin. how easy breezy beautiful is that? trublend...from covergirl.

she's supporting breast cancer programs for her neighbour's tennis instructor's daughter's 1st grade teacher who's also her mom. help fund breast cancer programs in your community. redeem your lids today

welcome back. now here's the hot potato question, who's responsible for the struggling economy? president obama or the man he inherited this whole mess from, george w. bush? here's vice president biden's somewhat surprising take on that question. let's listen. >> even though 50-some percent of the american people think the economy tanked because of the last administration, that's not relevant. what's relevant is, we're in charge. it's gotten better, but it hasn't gotten good enough. so i don't blame them for being mad. we're in charge. so they're angry. >> "we're in charge." the poll he's referring to is the new one from cnn. when asked who's responsible for the current economy, a majority of americans, 52%, say president bush and the republicans. hear that? 52% say bush and the republicans.

just 32% say president obama and the democrats. that's an allocation of blame about the same as this time last year. it's holding. but bush isn't on the ballot, i would argue, next fall, and it looks like it might be a time to change the argument. alex wagner is an msnbc political analyst and nia-malika henderson covers politics for "the washington post." ladies, thank you for coming on tonight. it seems to me a most to the point question about american politics. we know the economy's terrible, we know people are very angry about it. everyone is, of every age group. the question is, what's the smart, intelligent thing for this president to say as he attempts to fix it? is he smart to say it's bush's fault, or what joe biden is starting to say now, the vice president, look, we're in charge now, we hope it gets better, we're not going to blame it on the past? >> look, i think biden is taking the argument that we opened up the church doors, there was a baby on our doorstep. it's not our baby, but we're going to take care of the baby. which is effectively what he's arguing for in terms of the economy. it is their responsibility to shepherd it to a better place. but how long is the american

public going to give them? thus far the administration has been reliant on this talking point, it took a long time to get into it, it's going to take some time to get out of it. the american public's patience in a time of 9.1% unemployment is understandably growing thin, i would imagine. >> what do you think of that, nia? i was arguing or thinking about arguing that one thing the president ought to do is just say, look, you know when you do a skiing event, they hold up the sign, ten-point difficulty. i mean, it has been a very high difficulty the last three years. is he smart to stop saying it was hard and smart to start thinking, look, i'm turning things around. don't blame the other guys, blame me. >> you can see them getting away from that argument. and betting that a lot of americans have been feeling economic pain for years and years and years. i talk people about downturn in businesses and they immediately say, oh, well, it's the president's policies. but if you dig a little deeper, they say, this downturn has been going on for quite some time. so i think they're getting away from the blame game. they're trying to have a narrative where he can say that he's turning things around. they got this american jobs act.

he's obviously out on the campaign trail. i talked to some campaign folks just before i got on the air, and they think that that's going to give him some momentum. give him something to argue. and then, you know, at the same time, he can sort of point to the republicans and also say that they aren't doing anything. that not only did they sort of implicitly get us into this mess, but now they're also being obstructionists as he's trying to create the jobs. so they feel like now they're in a pretty good place. but, again, we don't know what's going to happen with this american jobs act. we don't know if come 2012 he's going to be able to run on a trend of things are getting better. >> and if they had a smart political organization, i mean the entire democratic party, they would have other people saying it was bush's fault. not having the president say it. that's a message that's better delivered by third parties. you get your cabinet maybe to say it. get members of congress to say it and governors to say it. look what this guy inherited, don't blame him. and obama can come out and say, we're doing our best, this is what we're doing. but they don't have an organized political structure. like political parties normally do. that's what i find at fault.

here's vice president biden on the economy, the 2012 election, and voter anger. let's listen. >> right now, understandably, totally legitimate, this is a referendum on obama and biden, the nature and the state of the economy. it's soon going to be a choice. it's soon going to be a choice. >> well, let me start with you, nia. you report out there with the post. and here's the question. the president had a very sharp day in terms of execution. in fact, they caught a bad guy, killed a couple of them who were out to get out, al awlaki, and the question of palling around with terrorists reminded me of -- we believe that was, of course, sarah palin. let me tell you something that bachmann said today. she said the president's responsible for the fact that the democrats were the one that approved the politically correct loans. let's listen to her. this is going way back to the democrats in congress. last night in north carolina, michele bachmann laid the blame for the whole economic meltdown on the government and politically correct loans given by democrats. let's listen.

>> well, we all know that it was the government that caused this meltdown. because the government, through freddie and fannie, through keeping artificially low interest rates, through pushing the federal government, pushing the toxic subprime mortgages, through the community reinvestment act, forcing banks to make politically correct loans, the system was gamed by the federal government that led to the disastrous meltdown, that led ultimately in september of 2008 to the terrible consequences that we are still dealing with today in our economy. >> you know, that's just old-time religion there. i mean, it's not fact. everybody knows wall street is guilty. everybody knows wall street overleveraged. they know that they're the ones that gave all this credibility to these securities. they did it. with the default swaps and all that stuff. >> you know, the cra, the community reinvestment act, is sort of implicating it as this

sort of genesis -- >> the poor people did it. >> yeah, what it is is effectively class warfare. now, look, some conservative economists are actually going to argue that the cra played a pivotal role in bringing down -- in the subprime mortgage scandal. the issue, though, with michele bachmann and sort of her attribution is she completely ignores the fast and loose regulatory environment that led to financial institutions investing in exotic derivatives. i mean, it's just a gross mischaracterization, and a gross oversimplification. >> why is she -- i'm sorry, nia, explain the politics of why someone like bachmann out there, well, it's pretty obvious, i'm going to ask an obvious question. why does she hold harmless wall street? not the rich, not the corporations, not new york, nobody did anything wrong up here. it's those little poor people that got those loans to buy houses that they shouldn't have. they were too ambitious to join the american dream. blame them. >> and she fails to mention that she, of course, got a loan from fannie and freddie for her own very lavish home. but this is an old narrative from the republicans. this whole idea that the liberals are pandering to the

poor and it's the poor people's fault that the economy is in such dire straits, because they always have their hands out. you heard, of course, for instance, newt gingrich talking about president obama being the greatest food stamp president ever. up next, suspicions confirm. what do tea partiers think is the most important amendment in the bill of rights. that in the side show. you're watching "hardball" only on msnbc. [ toilet flushes ] i come in peace... i come in peace. but you go in pieces. [ female announcer ] you can't pass mom's inspection with lots of pieces left behind. that's why there's charmin ultra strong. versus the ultra rippled brand. so it holds up better for a more dependable clean. fewer pieces left behind. i go in peace. yes, you do my little alien. [ female announcer ] we all go. why not enjoy the go with charmin ultra strong?

you noticed! these clothes are too big, so i'm donating them. how'd you do it? eating right, whole grain. [ female announcer ] people who choose more whole grain tend to weigh less than those who don't. multigrain cheerios... five whole grains, 110 calories.

multigrwhoa.heerios... whoa. how do you top great vacations? whoa. getting twice the points on great vacations. whoa! use chase sapphire preferred and now get two times the points on travel, and two times the points on dining and no foreign transaction fees. whoa! chase sapphire preferred. a card of a different color. apply now at chasesapphire.com/preferred

back to "hardball." now for the sideshow. first up, when you think of the bill of rights, what's the one amendment that you think's most central to what the country stands for? well, for illinois republican joe walsh, no surprise, it's not freedom of speech. which one tops the list for him? that would be amendment number two, the right to keep and bear arms. advocating for his state to pass

a concealed/carry law, walsh explained to his audience of tea partiers earlier this week -- "there's no issue when it comes to freedom that matters more than this. like the second amendment, the most important amendment in the bill of rights is the second amendment. it protects every other amendment. it is the last line of defense between us and our government." does mr. walsh really believe that his owning a gun has any positive influence on the success of our democracy? this is delusional. next up, operation bargain hunt. that was a feed taken on by the first lady yesterday afternoon, as she went out to pick up a few things at a nearby target. with a baseball cap and a pair of sunglasses, looks like she and her plains-clothed security detail managed to pull it off. spotted only by the cashier at target and an ap photographer. what about the president, here's what he had to say during his interview with michael smerconish earlier today. >> i don't even want to shop, all i want to do is take a walk, but as she reminds me, nothing i do is under cover. she gets embarrassed when she goes out with me, because

there's an ambulance and a caboose and a dogsled. you know, it trails for about a mile behind me. >> the president is talking in code about the motorcade of security vehicles that goes wherever he goes as president. and next up, prepare for an awkward handshake this night. gop front-runner mitt romney's booked to speak at next month's values voters summit down in washington. the program is all set. and as it stands now, there could be more than a little friction between romney and the speaker who will follow him. that would be the director of issues analysis for the american family association, brian fisher. turns out he has a long history of bashing the candidate's mormon faith. let's listen to his comments from earlier this week. >> mormonism is not an orthodox christian faith. it's just not. it was very clear that the founding fathers did not intend to preserve automatically religious liberty for non-christian faiths. so when mormonism came along, they practiced polygamy. they believed in polygamy, just like muslims do today.

>> well, the only person who ought to be embarrassed by that statement or any of this awkwardness statement, is the man who made that statement. religious liberty in this country is religious liberty. simple. that's "hardball" for now. thanks for being with us. up next. the "i'll sleep when it's done" academic. for 80 years, we've been inspired by you. and we've been honored to walk with you to help you get where you want to be. ♪ because your moment is now. let nothing stand in your way. learn more at keller.edu.

her morning begins with arthritis pain. that's a coffee and two pills. the afternoon tour begins with more pain and more pills. the evening guests arrive. back to sore knees. back to more pills. the day is done but hang on... her doctor recommended aleve. just 2 pills can keep arthritis pain away all day with fewer pills than tylenol. this is lara who chose 2 aleve and fewer pills for a day free of pain. and get the all day pain relief of aleve in liquid gels. listen to this. three out of four americans don't get enough vegetables. so here's five bucks to help you buy v8 juice. five bucks. that's a lot of green. go to v8juice.com for coupons. you can count on us. [ gnome ] awwwwwwww. i just feel bloody awful. she told tiffany, stephanie, jenny and becky that she was coming to a place like this! but somebody didn't book with travelocity, with 24/7 customer support to help move them

to the pool daddy promised! look at me, i'm swimming! ♪ [ gnome ] somebody, get her a pony! [ female announcer ] the travelocity guarantee. if your booking's not right, we'll help make it right, right away. from the price to the room to the trip you'll never roam alone. set out to create a different kind of cold remedy using powerful medicine and natural ingredients from around the world. he called it vicks vaporub. today, the vicks journey continues. introducing new vicks nature fusion cold & flu syrup. powerful multi-symptom medicine flavored with natural honey instead of artificial flavors and dyes. so you can feel good about what you take to feel better.