top 1% quadruple their money. let's play "hardball." good evening. i'm chris matthews up in new york. leading off tonight, has obama finally got the wind at his back? for months we've been watching president obama's tough re-election prospects. now we've spotted some cause, believe it or not, for some real optimism. the president's approval numbers are inching up, but a poll just out today has him still beating all comers in ohio. that's a key state. despite all the debates and gop publicity, and republicans can't seem to settle on a candidate because it seems they really don't like any of them. maybe the president's non-campaign campaign speeches are also helping. one reason president obama may have more of the public on his side is this "new york times" headline, devastating news. it says it all. quote, it's official. the rich get richer.

a new non-partisan report shows that over the past three decades, that's the last 30 years now, the top 1% of earners nearly quadrupled their income, more than double -- this is the key fact -- doubled their share of the country's wealth, and a "new york times"/cbs poll out today says 69% of americans believe republican policies favor the rich. so exactly who is guilty of class warfare? also, rick perry's poll numbers are dropping into michele bachmann territory which is practically nothing, which may explain why he's dug that old birther stink bomb out of the basement. and now two big-name republicans, grownups if you will, jeb bush and haley barbour have told him, rick perry, please stop it already. you're helping obama get re-elected. and the latest news on marco rubio's family history doesn't help the florida senator. visa documents reportedly show that his parents not only came to the u.s. back in '56 a couple years before castro, but they applied to live her permanently. they weren't just visiting and wanting to go back home.

finally, how many positions can mitt romney have on one issue, you guess and you'll have to still keep counting. we're going to go to the videotape in "the sideshow" to keep up with the count. and for the possibility for the first time in months, months, president obama may have the wind at his back. ed rendell is a two-term governor of pennsylvania and steve schmidt was a somewhat less successful strategist of the mccain campaign, both msnbc political analysts. ed is smiling, steve is not. >> "new york times"/cbs news, 46% approve and 46% approve. president obama's approval if you add up the changes, it's a seven-point up tick. president obama's approval numbers are far better than congress, i'd say. the approval now for congress is 9% positive. that's 1 in 11 and disapproval, 84%. nobody but far right people seem to like the congress.

let me go to governor rendell. it seems like the president has found a sparring partner, the villain he likes. that's congress. nobody doesn't think it's smart tactically that he says, okay. i may not be perfect, but look at the bums i'm up against in congress who say no to everything. >> yeah. no question, chris. i think he's been on the uptick since his speech on the jobs bill. he delivered a simple straight message. he made it clear to the american people that these were things that the republicans had supported before, and the only reason that they don't support them now is politics. the republicans played right into his hand. if i were the republican congress, i would have immediately said we're going to work with the president. we're not going to pass all of this, but we're going to pass some of it. we're going to pass infrastructure. we're going to pass tax credits for veterans. we're going to pass continuing the tax cut on payroll deduction. that would have been a mature response, but they look terrible. they look obstructionist. he looks like a leader. he's on his way. i said three weeks ago that

governor romney would probably carry pennsylvania were the election held back then. now, if the election were held today, president obama would carry pennsylvania. >> let me go to steve schmidt. i want to review what the governor just said, looking at a ten-point shift in the generic number. all of a sudden people want democrats running the congress. seems to back up the fact that the president has upticked a bit to even money now. >> chris, the number that everybody looks at in the campaigns is the real clear politics average of polls, the poll of polls, if you will. >> sure. >> and what that number shows is the president at a 43% approval rating. it's a very vulnerable number, but i think what this shows there's been a lot of early dancing in the end zone for republicans. this is going to be a very tough race. the republican congress is unpopular, and in fact the election is not a referendum on barack obama. the election is a choice between president obama and a republican alternative, and he's going to run a campaign that puts sharp differences between these two sides in front of the american people, and while he's

vulnerable, it's certainly not a foregone conclusion that he's unelectable. a lot of republicans are dancing early on that. >> i'm looking at the example of truman. back in '48 the classic example of a -- of an upset was harry truman tying dewey. not much of a candidate from new york to the do-nothing congress. wouldn't let him loose. >> he hardly mentioned governor dewey's name. just kept beating up on the congress. look, one of the things that's important. it's not just negative. he's starting to look more like a leader, chris. he's starting to talk about things that resonate with people. he's starting to deliver a simple message. pass this bill was a great -- whoever thought up that. it was a great, simple and direct message. if you want to create jobs, bass this bill. anybody who doesn't it obstructionist. i mean, ey are doing things well. i think substantively the nation needs part of this bill desperately, but politically they have been the best they have ever been. >> don't you think -- i know, steve, you're on the show to defend the republican point of

view. i don't expect you to say yeah, you're right. i don't you think it's been a hard sell for eric cantor who put all this money on the tea party, the guys in the house and women who basically said no, no, no. stuck together as a phalanx of no-ness, no-ness, no-ness on everything, and i don't think people like the looks of people that won't deal. they know a deal has to be struck. is that your view, or is that wrong in your eyes? >> no. look, that is my view, and, in fact, you know, the big political story of the last couple of years has been the collapse of support for the president in the middle of the electorate, and, you know, his numbers have turned sharply negative, you know, with the middle of the electorate. now, i think that's up for grabs in an election, and the republican party has to have a positive message, has to have an economic growth message. clearly the congress has not done a good job of either, a, having one or, b, communicating it. i think you can judge that by the 9% approval levels there. i think it will be the job of a

presidential candidate, and it typically is, to have a positive message and affirmative vision for moving the country forward, and absent that, the job of the president becomes that much easier because if our campaign on the republican side is going to be try to find synergies with all this looniness out there, the birther comments that governor perry made, for example, you know, the admonitions by governor barbour by governor bush are exactly right, that's helping the president get elected. we've had a dearth of positive proposals on the republican side frankly. >> yeah, i think they sound like idiots when they talk about the birther stuff. i don't like the word idiot. >> they do. >> we're all reasonably the same intelligence. they sound like numbskulls to talk about something clearly not true, never was and even trump i think has to have surrogates now like perry go out and sell this garbage. today in denver president obama rolled out his plans to help graduates repay student loans

and, boy, is that a hot issue with people in their 20s. he pointed out that the republicans in congress blocked him at every turn. >> republicans in congress fought us tooth-and-nail to keep the status quo and keep the tax dollars flowing to the big banks instead of middle class families. one of them said changing it would be an outrage. the real outrage was letting banks keep these subsidies while students were working three jobs just to try to get by. that was the outrage. >> governor, i only borrowed $2,800 to go to college. it was 3%. i could slow walk the repayments, the peace corps, graduate school, finally get around to it. today the kids are getting killed with market rates and 40,000, $100,000 loans. i can see they didn't -- they don't like the congress stepping on his fingers on that one. >> sure. there's a big difference between a populist message and class warfare. the republicans don't want to categorize everything as class warfare. why did we need middlemen for student loans that jacked up the price? the president eliminated the

middlemen and as a result kids will have to repay a lot less and this proposal today is another step in the right direction. look, the bottom line is he is finding a populist fighting persona, and it's good. if you look back at the 2008 primaries, when did hillary clinton come on and come on like gangbusters winning ohio, texas, pennsylvania, west virginia, kentucky by huge margins. it was when she found that populist voice. people want someone who is going to fight for them. >> you are still carrying that torch, aren't you? you are a loyalist. what a guy. president obama getting -- criticized congress today and asked congress to join them. let's listen. >> tell them to do your job. tell them the president has ideas that in the past have been supported by democrats and republicans. there's no reason not to support them just to play politics. it's time to put country ahead of party.

it's time to put the next generation ahead of the next election. it's time for all of us in washington to do our job. it's time for them to do their job. >> well, here's some fun from yesterday. jay leno of nbc asked the president about criticism from republican lawmakers. let's listen to jay and the president. >> when mitch mcconnell says our goal is to make this guy a one-term president. >> yeah. >> does that anger you? how is that a goal? that doesn't help the country. >> well, look, i think the thing that folks across the country are most fed up with, whether you're a democrat, republican or independent is putting party ahead of country or putting the next election ahead of the next generation. >> well, i would say that was a big applause line. they cut off the tape there and i know the jay leno audience, middle brow and regular people, steve. the president is there with the high ground. >> look, one of the things that he's doing, and they have a deliberate strategy to do it, is trying to seize the high ground of reasonableness in the debate,

to go out and deliver a message to the american people that i'm willing to work with the other side. i'm on your side. i'm trying to move the ball forward. i'm trying to alleviate the pain of this catastrophic economy out there, and to the extent that republicans don't have a plan, don't have a vision, aren't able to articulate it, we make it easy for him. >> okay. is there any chance -- >> the fact is -- >> running out of time. got to nail you with this. bill kristol, smart guy, neo-conservative, someone that herman cain never heard of came out the other day and said we need more candidates to get in the field. you're the expert. you ran the mccain campaign. any chance that any of the following will jump in the race, mitch daniels of indiana, mike pence of indiana, paul ryan and jeb bush, any chance of anybody jumping in the field? are we probably stuck with romney versus cain right now? >> i think the speed dating round of the republican primary is over. the field is set. >> oh, gosh. >> the hunt for the mystical candidate is over, and i think we have some candidates in this

field, herman cain not being one of them, you know, but we do have candidates in this field who i do think are capable of beating the president. it's going to be a tough fight. >> name one besides -- besides mitt romney. >> well, i -- >> name one. >> i think right now you'd be hard pressed to name a candidate. >> you just said there were others i want you to name one. you said there were others on the list. >> i was being a little -- i was being a little optimistic, chris, in a pessimistic time, but right now if you look at the polls it would be governor romney. >> you don't have a candidate besides mitt. last word, governor rendell. >> i'm for michele bachmann. >> you want some fun, like i do. you want the sideshow, as we call it. thanks, governor rendell. thank you, steve, for his honesty. coming up, it's official, the rich are getting richer. wait until you see the numbers from the non-partisan cbo. they are astounding. it seems like the top 1% is taking the money from the 99 rather dramatically, and you'll see it in the numbers. what do the republicans talk about when they groan about it looks like one of the classes is winning the war. you're watching "hardball," only on msnbc.

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more numbers now from the "new york times" poll. here it is. americans tend to support the occupy wall street protest that have sprung up across the country now. nearly half of those polled, 46%, say the wall street protesters reflect the sentiment of most americans. only one in four say the same about the tea party. we'll be right back.

back to "hardball," the republicans like to accuse president obama of engaging in class warfare. paul ryan just did it again today telling a concerned

conservative audience, of course, at the heritage foundation that the president has been sowing social unrest and class warfare. a new poll shows americans aren't buying it. they think the policies of republicans in congress do favor the rich. they want them to tax wealthiest americans more and they say the distribution of wealth isn't fair on its face, and nothing better frame the absurdity i of paul ryan's argument than this chart. the cbo charted income grow for about 30 years. the top 1% saw their incomes grow 275%. that's real terms, unbelievable increase compared to everyone else. americans in the top 81% to 99% grew their incomes 65% in that same period. for the bottom 20% incomes increased only 18%. here's another look at the rising inequality. the richest 1% of us doubled their share of the national pie

from 8% to 17% while the rest of america, the 99%, saw their share of the pie get smaller. the richest 1% grew their share thanks to increasing incomes and more favorable tax policies at the expense of the other 99%. basically the rich truly are getting richer and everyone else is losing out. for more we're joined by chris cillizza political analyst and managing editor of postpolitics.com and jen tsaki who is a white house spokesperson, in effect. now, what is the 79 -- president going to do with this fact, that we now have on the table thanks to the non-partisan cbo that everything the wall street occupiers are saying, everything that he's been implying is true, thanks to tax policy and everything else in economics, 1% is basically grabbing most of the pie from the rest? >> well, when you have republicans out there talking about their tax plan, mitt romney, rick perry, their tax plan is reverse robin hood economics. this is the kind of policy that helps that exact 1%, and i suspect the president will be

out there talking about that. let's hope. we hope that the republicans are going to run next year on this platform. >> are you surprised they stuck their foot in it again by saying they are for a flat tax which everybody knows reduces the top rate down and increases everybody else's. >> i was -- i was pleased, but -- but perhaps not surprised. i mean, this is a group that has shown themselves to be completely disconnected from what's going on with the american people. >> chris, why do you think -- you're an analyst, not an opinion guy, but analyze this, as they say in the movies. analyze this. why do they keep doing what they are doing when they know it offends the public and offends the middle class? >> well, chris, because i think the dynamics, and jen knows this from having helped president obama in 2008, the dynamics of a primary are very different than the political dynamics of the general public or general electorate. a flat tax is a very popular idea in many fiscal conservative circles, and i think the attitude is, chris, and you

can -- you probably do disagree, but i think the attitude is you've got to win the republican nomination before you worry about running in the general election. now, president obama certainly if rick perry is the nominee will i think make the argument that this flat tax is ultimately regressive, rewards the wealthiest among us, but i think rick perry's point, if he was in all candor and could speak, you know, honestly. >> intelligently. >> look, i've got to win the republican nomination before i worry what barack obama is going to say about me. >> i grew up with -- relatively conservative parents who voted as if they were rich and they weren't. they were what we call cloth coat republicans, weren't mink coat republicans. they did vote as if they were rich, and i think there are people out there that the president has to address before he loses then. look at the latest number from the "new york times"/cbs poll. republicans in congress favor the wealthy and say that by miniscule numbers, 29% say he favors the rich, and 69% say republicans favor the wealthy

compared to 9% that his policies favor the middle class and 2% say they favor the poor and 15% say the policies treat every group equally. compare those numbers to barack obama, 28% say they favor the reach, 23% the middle class. 17% say they favor the poor. 21% say they treat all groups -- it's interesting, jen, the public is so angry, they blame the president who has been accused of being a socialist is of being a robin hood in reverse. at least some of them do. they're that angry. >> as you know, chris, every election is a choice. the problem the republicans have, whomever is the nominee they will have the anchor of this tax plan hanging around their necks. that's what we're looking ahead to. the president is governing and we know there will be a comparison. who does he represent? and who do they represent? and what are they going to do for the economy? that's what we will be focused on. >> here he is paul ryan, who everybody likes because he was tough on budget-cutting but he's from the activist school.

here he is accusing president obama of playing class warfare preying on the emotions of fear and envy. and resentment. let's watch mr. ryan. >> the president has opted for divisive rhetoric and the broken politics of the past, going from town to town siting up strawmen and scapegoats and engaging ninth intellectually lazy arguments as he tries to build support for punitive tax hikes on job creators. >> paul ryan seems to be someone out of touch with most americans considering the "new york times" poll just released. 65% of people believe that taxes of millionaires should be increased and 66% say the distribution of wealth and money in this country should be more even. only 25% said it was fair. you know, chris, i look at these things respect not with complete surprise because i think most people would rather tax the richest people. most people don't want to be taxed themselves. that makes common sense. as they used to say, don't tax

me, tax the guy behind the tree which is often a rich guy you've never met but the most powerful number i've heard the last few days, it was in the times the other day, 86% of the american people, four out of five, believe profoundly that wall street has too much power in washington, and they believe it on both sides. >> yeah. >> you look at where the fund-raisers are held. you look at who is raising the money and contributing it, wealthy wall street people. they are smart to notice that, i think, the public. >> i agree, chris. you said on both sides. i think it's true. look, it's clear from the "new york times" poll that more people think republicans are looking out for the wealthy, but jen knows this, every democrat knows this. democrats raise lots of money from wall street just like republicans do. now that said, i think that what this poll gets at, what the cbo report gets at is this. growing chasm between the haves and have nots, and the feeling it's not just a chasm because it's always excited, it's getting wider and in some way the system is rigged, the haves in some way are keeping you a have not from moving into their category.

that's the underlying anxiety, anger behind occupy wall street. i think that that move, that tone, that sentiment is important to try and understand as it moves into the political context once the calendar flips to 2012. >> i think there's a sense there's a lot more bernie madoffs out there than got caught and a lot of money has been taken out of the market that was invested before you even got there. thank you, chris. jen, welcome to the show, jen psaki. up next, how many positions can mitt romania any take? he doesn't stop. he's mr. multiple choice on most issues. he keeps coming up with new ones on ohio. you're watching "hardball," only on msnbc. when i inspect homes, i can't be in an allergy fog.

so i get claritin clear for strong, non-drowsy relief of all my allergies like dust mold pets and pollen. looks good. thanks. i live claritin clear. >> back to "hardball." now for the sideshow. first up, what was yesterday's highlight for the 2012

republican race? well, probably the most recent ad from cain campaign which left us all saying what just happened? here's a little refresher. >> we need you to get involved because together we can do this. we can take this country back. i am america >> well, you didn't expect the late night scene to leave that one alone, did you? let's take a look at one of the revamps from cain's bizarre ad from "the late show with david letterman." >> rich lowry here, chief economic advisor for herman cain. government must get off our backs, out of our pockets and out of our way. i am america one voice, united we stand >> wow. as if the original ad wasn't strange enough on its own, it also prompted "saturday night live's" seth myers to treat a mock explanation for the ad,

overhead at cain headquarters this morning. where did you put that joke video? joke video? that one provides quite the visual. next up, how many sides can mitt romney take on one issue? well, if it's about a piece of anti-union legislation out in ohio that's up for repeal three. first romney said he supported the anti-union bill. in a facebook post back in june romney referred to the legislation saying, quote, i stand with john r. kasich and ohio's leaders as they take on this important fight to get control of government spending. please visit www.betterohio.org for more information. well, then yesterday, perhaps after learning that polls are running heavily against the bill, romney had this to say. >> i'm not speaking about the particular ballot issues. those are up to the people of ohio but i certainly support the effort of the governor to rein in the scale of government. i'm not terribly familiar with the two ballot initiatives, but i'm certainly supportive of the republican party's efforts.

>> notice he looked over to the other guy for help. now he's steering clear, right? until today, that is. >> i fully support governor kasich's i think it's called question two in ohio. fully support that. i know there are other ballot questions in ohio and i wasn't taking a position on those. one of them, for instance, relates to health care and mandates. with regards to question two, which is the collective bargaining question, i am 110% behind governor kasich and in support of that question. >> yeah, he does look like one of those robots at the hall of the presidents down at disneyland. you never know what they're going to say. from no comment to 110% in 24 hours, i can't imagine why he would want to sidestep questions related to health care. now for the big number. who do you want over for dinner or more accurately which gop candidate would most republican voters want to come to dinner, here's a hind -- pizza. that's right, herman cain is at the top of the list.

how many polls show cain is their first pick for a dinner date? 29%. he just managed to beat out -- i can't believe this -- he beat newt gingrich who came in second. while the results a goodwin indication of cain's likability, it may just be an indication that americans like pizza. what foolery. by the way, does anybody really want newt gingrich to dinner? really, really? 29% want dinner with herman cain. that's tonight's big numbers. up next, rick perry is plummeting in the polls, almost down to zero, and that explains why he's trotting out the old birther lie, and now some of the grownups in the party are saying enough already. stop the madness, you're helping the president get re-elected. stop questioning the guy's papers. you're watching "hardball," own on msnbc.

welcome back to "hardball." rick perry is still running for president clarified his position on the president's citizenship in the wake of big name republicans warning him that the birther route is not a winning strategy. just yesterday former republican governor jeb bush of florida e-mailed the "washington post" to say, quote, republican candidates should categorically reject the notion that president obama was not born in the u.s. it is a complete distraction from the failed economic policies of the president. well, the birther talk may win over right-wing conservatives, but is it winning a path to the presidency? willie brown served as mayor of san francisco and michael eric dyson is a professor at georgetown university. mr. brown, thank you for joining us. mr. mayor, and professor, thank you. this is something we thought was

dead as a rat somewhere down in the basement, down in the eaves somewhere. mr. brown, it's back again. it just seems to be the weird little -- here's rick perry, by the way, in his own defense in an interview with the st. pete times where he tried to clean up, i guess, his birther comments. let's see if we can follow his thought process, such as it is. let's listen. >> jeb bush the other day said candidates running for president should categorically reject the notion that president obama wasn't born in america. this came after you expressed doubts. >> i want expressing doubts. i was having fun with donald trump. you know, lighten up a little bit. >> you have no doubt that he's an american citizen? >> i have no doubt about it. but here's the more interesting thing. let's lay out our income taxes, let's lay out our college transcripts. mine has been on the front page of the paper. >> so let's all call each other illegal immigrants and have a yuk about it. mr. brown, mayor? what do you make of that defense which was all just in fun?

>> well, that's typical of rick perry. rick perry is not ready for primetime, chris. he literally is a fellow texan who should have remained in texas in every way, because his thought processes are pretty much restricted to that state, and under those circumstances he can't make the presidency period. >> why would they buy his act, which seems like buffoonery on issues of importance like secession from the union and saying we don't need the voting rights act in the south and we should never have had the constitutional justification for the civil rights act and then he steps back from it like i was just was speculating, free thinking. how does he get away with that in the state of texas? >> well, nobody takes him seriously when he says those kinds of things. that's not really why they elected him. they just couldn't buy his opponents, period, and they didn't hold him to the highest of standards of which you should hold a person who wants to be the governor.

that's just a way my state, my home state happens to be at the moment. >> is that why you fled it? >> well, yes and no. [ laughter ] >> anyway, i know -- >> i left for other reasons, too. >> you grew up as son of sharecroppers, you had it tough. look what you've done, amazing. what a story. let me ask professor dyson about this thing. you know, i think it has to do with not just race which is always sitting out there, but it has to do with some sense of always getting the little yuk in there that obama is not one of us. he's not really american. somehow, even though he was born in hawaii and raised by a white mother and in an interesting sort of sophisticated circumstance, went to good schools, we should be proud of his success. he's somehow exotic, you know? >> there's no question about it. a besmirching of his character, a suggestion he's not quite one of us, not inside the parameters of our humanity. to have a joke at the expense of his citizenship, when this was a

bitterly divisive kind of argument in america shows that not only is rick perry out of touch with reality, but he has gross insensitivity to the extraordinary processes by which people are either labeled as something that is negative or that they are celebrated, and i think that the problem here is that rick perry here is tone deaf and being tone deaf i agree with mayor brown that this is a guy who doesn't understand the fundamentals of what it takes to be a president. not only is he not ready for primetime, my god, he can't even be the backup quarterback. >> i may beat you to the punch of this. i think he has a dog whistle the size of a bugle. this guy knows what he's doing. >> oh, sure. >> mayor brown, here's haley barbour, whatever his background is, dixiecrat background, boy, is he smart, he says not to run on this issuing a warning to the republican. when asked about the birther issue he said, quote, if this election is about barack obama's policies and the results of those policies, barack obama is going to lose. any other issue that gets

injected in this campaign is not good for republicans. republicans should want the election to be what american presidential elections have always been, a referendum on the incumbents's record. obama cannot win on his record, zero chance. so anybody who talks about anything else is off subject. that's a political expert's view. >> i had dinner with haley barbour, and i've got to tell you, i couldn't get out of him why he is not a candidate in the republican primary. i think he would be as viable if not more viable than any of the other candidates that are already out there, and i think he has greater staying power than any of them because he's a very intelligent, very well informed person in america. >> i agree. >> and believe me, i think the republicans ought to be looking around for a different horse and haley could be it. >> let's take a look at the tea party rally last night where herman cain spoke. a man named apostle claver called the democratic party racist. cain was not in the audience and was in the back room apparently. here's a portion of the man's remarks.

>> if anybody is a racist, it's the democratic party that's the racist, the party of the ku klux klan, the party of jim crowe, the party of bull connor, the party of segregation, the party of the kkk, they are the racists, not us. we're their friends. we're the emancipators. >> i don't think that guy caught on to the southern strategy of 1968, mr. mayor. >> yeah. >> he's back there before the southern strategy, a little out of date in his diatribe, i think. your thoughts? >> i think he's absolutely out of date. he cannot for the life of me understand why he would say in the last 30 years that in fact the democratic party has reflected any of the kind of characteristic that he talked about as a party. they have not. the democratic party at one time controlled the south. once ronald reagan started his southern strategy, the

democratic party lost control of the south and that's because the democratic party was pursuing civil rights, civil liberties, equality and all the things that are reflected to our u.s. constitution. the south couldn't handle that, and particularly those who call themselves democrats, they went fleeing to the republican party, and that's where they are. i don't maintain, however, that that turned the republican party into a racist party because i don't think it is a racist party. after all, it was nixon who really implemented the whole business of some equality on the economic side with george shultz and others in the philadelphia plan. >> right. >> and arthur fletcher so clearly it is not the case to say republicans are the racists, but believe me, those who left the democratic party who were racist have ended up in the republican party. >> you have just shown us the history that is so fascinating. we ought to have a conversation about what richard nixon did, even though he did the southern

strategy he created fishing in affirmative action in the philadelphia plan. amazing. i think he was out to screw the unioning, by the way the reason he did that. he said i'll divide these guys up. anyway, just my theory of nixon. thank you, willie brown. thank you, sir. and i thank you, eric dyson. thanks for joining us. up next, turns out marco rubio's parents came to the united states before castro took office, official papers notwithstanding but applied to live here permanently. they are not exiles. they are immigrants like so many other people. this story is getting -- well, it's getting more and more clear that this guy is not telling the story. this is "hardball" only on msnbc. ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] sitting. waiting. hoping. that's a recipe for failed investing. open an e-trade account and open doors, seize opportunities, take action with some of the most powerful yet easy-to-use trading tools on the planet

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newspaper endorsements. in 2004 john kerry got 51%. back in 2000 george w. bush won 61% of the newspaper endorsements. in '96 bob dole got the endorsement of 60% of the papers and clinton the majority in '92 and herbert walker bush was the overwhelming favorite of papers back in '88. between '72 and '88 no democrat running for election got more than 23% of endorsements from newspapers. you figure it out.

we are back. new details about senator marco rubio's family have emerged but they don't help the senator. last week it was report that had rubio's parents did not flee castro's cuba, as he said, but

left years earlier, and now we learn that his parents apparently didn't intend to return to cuba, as he claims. they planned to stay in the u.s. gentlemen, thank you. the "st. pete times" reported this today. on may 18th, 1956, mario and oriales rubio walked into the american consulate in havana and applied for immigrant visas. the form asked how long they intended to stay in the united states. they said permanently. mr. rubio answered that question clearly. it seems to me now, peter, that the question now is why is everything we've been getting over the years from rubio clearly suggesting he's an anti-communist victim that should appeal across the country to other anti-communists on the right, and it turns out, nothing wrong with it, an immigrant like so many other people from the caribbean without any political reality to the story. >> well, that's the question. is it an issue of sloppiness or

something more. something more? his office pushes back and says, you know, the story is basically consistent, but if that's the case, then why wasn't everything out there from the get-go. >> what do you mean? what do they mean by that he came over in 5 '59, suggesting around the time of the revolution. it turns out it was two years before the revolution that brought in castro. he's not been consistent. >> he's not. he's clearly not. there are plenty of examples where he did talk about his parents coming in 1959 when in fact it was 1956. where they argue he has been consistent is the claim that he is the, quote, son of exiles. they believe that he still is entitled to have that very cherished title, that description because the whole community, because they argue, and he still says despite the really good "st. pete times" report today, they still say the parents -- >> they would say that. they would say that. doesn't matter if they're wrong. let me go to alex burns on this

question. let's look now at what's going on here. initially criticized for portraying his parents fled after castro took control in cuba. his senate biography read as follows. this is to me the damning information. not that he says it verbally. they put it out in official document in the senate in his office. quote, in 1971, marco was born in miami to cuban born parents who came to america following fidel castro's takeover. that is not true, alex. they put out something that was not true, with absolute clarity. it wasn't a difference of years, '59 versus '56. now they're putting out the biography as of now when they got caught, they've been caught with the revelations about the timing of their move to the united states. it now reads, quote, marco was born in miami in 1971 to cuban exiles who first arrived to the united states in 1956. so he dropped the claim only after he got caught.

this clarification, this revision of his life story, of his biography, is only coming to light because the "washington post" nailed him. >> chris, the cliche of politics, if you're explaining you're losing and we're in day five or six of marco rubio explaining. the most generous interpretation of what's going on here is he is actually learning some specifics along with the rest of us. >> whoa, whoa, that's where i done agree with you. that's too generous. how could he have grown up in a family of, quote, exiles and never have his parent explain to him what it was like when castro took over. answer that question. how can they say to their kid, we're exiles and never once say in answer to the kid's question or generally as parents do over the dinner table, you know, you should have seen castro when he came in, we thought he was going to be good, he turned out to be a commi. he executed people the first couple weeks. why did that conversation never occur?

i think it did, but it didn't occur that way. it was we came over in '56. how can you explain that and any other theory that he's been bsing the country on this? >> i wouldn't want to speculate about dinner table conversations in the rubio household. >> would you speculate they never had one? that's what you're doing if you're generous. they never had one. >> i think it's tough to believe senator rubio never had a conversation with his parents about the circumstances under which they came over. his contention, i'm not saying, chris, i would endorse this, but his contention is that if you leave cuba for economic reasons, maybe leave open the door to going back at some point in the future then your country collapses in a communist revolution that you're still entitled to claim the label of exile. >> that's not journalism, though. that's not fact. that's pure, pure nonsensical thinking. i want to go back to peter. you're giving him too much generous thinking. the argument now, is he stuck now in this, as a journalist is this story still hot?

>> the story is still hot. it has big political ramifications, too, chris. you touched on this before that it's actually -- his parents have a conventional immigrant story. here's a guy who is now viewed as many republicans that i've been talking to in the last couple days, they had seen him as maybe the best hope of the party to try to reconnect with hispanic voters after a pretty damaging primary contest among republicans. mitt romney going after perry on immigration. >> look at my parents, we fought the commis, can't sell it anymore. thank you for joining us. it's all informative. where we may be headed if the rich get richer. where the 99% grab the share. ♪ sent her back to college for her sophomore year ♪ ♪ co-signed her credit card -- "buy books, not beer!" ♪ but the second that she shut the door ♪ ♪ girl started blowing up their credit score ♪ ♪ she bought a pizza party for her whole dorm floor ♪ ♪ hundred pounds of makeup at the makeup store ♪

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"let me finish" tonight with this. i was in east berlin the week the wall came down. i interviewed a number of east german working foam about the reason for their despair with the communist system. it was telling. what they complained about is the way the system betrayed them, the people who believed in the soerl socialist system who considered themselves good communists. they expected to be treated with respect, with fairness. they were betrayed. the people that did well is the hustlers, the people that got deals with foreigners. people who could get tips. they were getting paid in west

german currency, which was worth a lot. the system added economic insult to injury day in and day out. the people worked hard and played by the rules were getting screwed when the people who lived off foreign currency were getting the break. the good germans were watching the west germans living like, of course, west german. what killed communism was how it betrayed the good people who did their jobs, the east german equivalent of our middle class. what happens in this country when the middle class see the system working against it. what happens when people who make things see the wealth of the country going to the very top, to those who seem to make money off having money. well, today we learned from the nonpartisan congressional budget office that the top 1% has doubled its share of the take. something tells me we won't see the people roar up and say enough is enough like the east germans 22 years ago did. they're definitely beginning to rumble, the 99%. the worker bees who believe in free markets are beginning to wonder if that level playing field out there just got a little too slanted.