the white house smile if you believe them. plus, mitt romney now says marco rubio is being vetted to be his running mate. but was romney forced to say that after being caught flat-footed on the campaign trail? and the jerry sandusky trial. defense rests without calling sandusky himself to the witness stand. finally, mitt romney's dancing horse is the inspiration for some horse play by stephen colbert. ♪ more of that in the side show. we begin with president obama invoking executive privilege against house republicans. pete williams, of course, is nbc's justice correspondent. executive privilege puts the president squarely in the middle of fast and furious or was he already there? >> no, i don't think he was. there was never any real allegation the president was involved in it. let's go back to what fast and furious was. this was the name of an atf

operation intended to track the flow of guns bought illegalfully the u.s. and smuggled into mexico and agents were instructed to simply watch them, let the guns go in and help finding out where they ended up. well over a thousand guns were allowed to walk. never were found. two showed up at the scene where a u.s. border patrol agent named brian terry was killed in a shoot-out with drug dealers. though there has never been a conclusive match between those weapons and the rounds that killed him. nonetheless raised a lot of concern about this operation. now the justice department says when the attorney general found out about it he put a stop to it and taken administration i have measures to punish the people involved and has an investigation going on. the problem here, michael, is that the justice department initially sent a letter to congress when it was first asked about this thing. no. no guns were walked. that was wrong and now the committee -- congress wants to know how was it that the justice department said that thing wrong in the first place and how did it -- what did it then do when congress started to investigate. that's the documents that this

fight is all about. >> it has been catnip for conservatives who already have had antipathy towards attorney general eric holder. is it now politics or is it substance? >> well, i guess there is a little bit of both here. because the justice department is in a somewhat weakened position because by their own admission, initial letter was wrong. and congress wants to know how it was it was misinformed. on the other hand, undoubtedly there's politics involved here, the attorney general says he thinks this is entirely a political side show. i will let others decide what the degree is. now here's where it gets tricky. committee voted today to recommend contempt. that goes to the full house. if the full house votes contempt there is a federal law that says it goes to the u.s. attorney for the district of columbia, worked for the justice department and he under federal law must convene a grand jury to see whether the attorney general should be indicted for a misdemeanor for contempt of congress. there are would tricks here. one is there is a long standing view of the justice department that congress can't tell it what to do. but secondly, and this is what

the development today was, why it is important. it has been the view of both republicans and democrats when they run the justice department, that when a president asserts executive privilege then the u.s. attorney must not proceed that that's the end of the matter. so that's why the decision by the white house to exert executive privilege over some of the documents that are disputed here, that's why it changed what may happen with -- p and when this ever gets to court. >> pete, thank you very much for that. congressman elijah cummings of maryland, ranking democrat on the house oversight and government reform committee. congressman, allow me to share with you what -- how speaker john boehner's office said today they issued a statement about the rising stakes and said that the white house's decision to invoke executive privilege implies white house officials were either involved in fast and furious or coverup that followed. what is your response? >> i am sosaddened that speaker

boehner would say that. i wish he would spend time with the committee and realize this was based on politics and not facts. this is unprecedented. we have never had an attorney general to be found in contempt. we have never had a situation where a president asserted executive privilege and vote went forward. again, i think it is very unfortunate. the attorney general sat down with the chairman issa and made it clear that he wants to cooperate, will cooperate, with him and work with him. again, he's -- an attorney general who has produced 7,600 pages of documents, gone through all kinds of -- over 2 million e-mails, has appeared before congress nine times and 16 months. and just spent -- then when fast and furious, when he learned of the tactics, immediately stopped that operation and he order r -- ordered his own investigation. this did not have to be.

we had a situation -- they, where chairman issa was saying our by or the highway. it is so sad that we are in the political situation that we are in with the partisan divide and that we have. as you know, this was a vote, every vote, including amendments, where -- strictly on party lines. you couldn't get one democrat to agree with this because we knew that it was unprecedented and that it was unfair and knew that this attorney general was trying to work with the -- chairman issa. at the same time understand as the attorney general said in various -- meeting that we had the other day, he said look, this is my watch. i am -- i want to cooperate but there arer is things that i have to protect as a -- part of my job. piece are things attorney generals in history, all throughout history, have protected like -- certain notes that were, you know, communicated between the --

deliberative type notes they might establish in trying to -- >> is it possible in your view for a determination to be made by some of the committee members as to whether there was a coverup? or whether there was a retaliation against the whistle blower without a production of the additional information? do they already have enough where they can glean the answer to those seemingly legitimate questions? >> we already have information that -- attorney general provided a thousand pages to explain this whole issue of whether there was a coverup. he already did that. even provided them with some documents and they didn't even request. as far as any type of retaliation against witnesses, again, he has made it clear he's willing to provide documents, sit down and explain those documents, and so i think that that -- again, those things are available. let me tell you one other thing. it is interesting the executive privilege, when the president asserted executive privilege, he

did not include documents that might be useful in determining whether or not there was my type of retaliation with regard to whistle blowers. so -- but -- go ahead. >> i get, sir, you are saying this sing driven by a part russianship on t -- partisan ship on the president invoking executive privilege. this takes this issue from that which it has been stalking horse for conservatives thus far to something that will now be an issue front and center in the 2012 presidential race. what is your assessment of the political risk involved by the president invoking executive privilege? >> i think that in the end, i think that when all of the -- dust settles, this battle will be resolved. i don't think it will be that much of a significant issue. i just don't. i think that, again, the attorney general -- when the dust clears, people will see the attorney general has been over backwards trying to work with the chairman and others

understood. thank you. we appreciate it. ranking member of the house oversight ask government reform committee. before voting to hold attorney general holder in contempt of congress, passions ran high in the house oversight committee. here is just a sampling. >> the house of representatives has never in our long history held an attorney general in contempt. and i am horrified that you are going forward with this contempt charge. >> the president of the united states claimed executive privilege. that brings into question whether or not eric holder knew about it and how much did the president know about this? >> this is not about eric holder. it is about the department of justice and justice in the united states of america. have the guts. i hope we have the guts and perseverance to get to the bottom of this. >> in all of my 30 years of being in the united states congress, the way he was treated

when he was here testifying before this committee, i must admit i have never seen anybody treated in that fashion. >> congressman patrick mehan. has eric holder be disrespected by your committee previously? >> i don't believe he has been disrespected by the committee. and we can't look at this as something about eric holder. what we are really -- what we need to be looking at is an investigation into tactics by the atf which clearly violated the department policy which led to the death of border agent who was left to bleed out in the desert. we are trying to get to the bottom of a situation that that same attorney general has identified as fatally flawed. >> i guess i asked the question because you heard congressman cummings say he thinks this is partisan-driven and there have been references made as well to him having the attorney general of the united states having been

referred to as a liar. by chairman issa. it takes on a life of its own, antipathy driven. you say no to that. >> i try to separate myself from that and i think in the passion and the news clips that will be generated people will look for those moments in which there are sort of, you know, high tension things that are set. the fact of the matter is a great deal of discussion related to the facts or basically the absence of facts that are relevant to a very, very important issue. it was effectively what did the people in the highest levels of the justice department knowing with respect to this investigation and what kind of active role did they play in the direction of the activities which have violated the department policy. again, led to not just the deaths of border agent terry but literally hundreds of death osz the other side of the boarder. >> in a letter to the president, attorney general eric holder, said complying with congressman

issa's subpoena would have a chilling effect. without it inhibit the candor of such executive branch deliberations in the future and significantly impair the executive branch's ability to respond independently and effectively to congressional oversight. respond to that criticism and concern. >> it is an issue that -- the court has basically -- dealt with rather recently. i happened to be in the justice department or soon dash left it when a lot of these same questions were being asked and the court determined that some of those deliberations were not protected information. from the executive privilege. so it is -- you know, advice to the president himself, real questions about the extent to which these will be covered by that kind of an invocation. in the end, it is really a shame we have to get here in the first place. the request for simple documentation may help us to understand more about the facts is that what is lacking.

>> congressman patrick meehan, thank you for your time. are you better off than you were four years ago? that's the big question facing any incumbent president running for re-election. today a new poll shows more and more americans say yes, they are better off. we will get to how that playing in the presidential race next. [ male announcer ] wouldn't it be cool if we took the nissan altima and reimagined nearly everything in it? gave it greater horsepower and best in class 38 mpg highway... ...advanced headlights... ...and zero gravity seats? yeah, that would be cool. ♪ introducing the completely reimagined nissan altima. it's our most innovative altima ever. nissan. innovation that excites. ♪ do you really think brushing is enough to keep it clean? while brushing misses germs in 75% of your mouth, listerine cleans virtually your entire mouth.

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welcome back to "hardball." surprisingly good news important the white house from the latest bloomberg news poll released today. take a look at this. polls shows president obama with a huge lead over mitt romney nationally. the president has a 16-point lead over romney on the question of which candidate has a better economic vision for the future. the poll also those mitt romney's efforts to paint president obama as out of touch and haven't worked, voters overwhelmingly say he is the one that's out of touch. it is important to note the poll is an outlier compared to other recent national polls which show the race to be very tight. so what should we make of this poll? with 34 1/2 months to go until the election, where do things stand? eugene robinson is a pulitzer prize winning columnist important "the washington post" and msnbc political analyst. susan page is the washington

bureau chief for "usa today." welcome both. here is why i'm skeptical. perhaps the key for the election will be whether voters feel better off than they were four years ago according to the latest bloomberg poll, 45% say they are better off. susan, what i have ringing in my head is the revelation recently by the census bureau that 35% of our net worth has been lost in the last couple of years. that's largely attributable to people seeing the value of their home, principal asset decline. you know if i'm seeing the value of my home decline, how can i now say if i'm one of the 45%, i think i'm better off than i was four years ago. >> you know, it is possible that -- when you look at the head-to-head number in this politte looks like maybe the sample had a kind of democratic -- the recent polls have margin of errors because there is a margin of error when you take a national pop. if that's the case perhaps it is number is lower. i think it is possible that given we have been in a recovery for some time people are beginning to feet maybe a little

more hopeful. although some of the economic numbers, as you say, we have seen, just in the past couple of weeks, have indicated perhaps things are slowing down this spring and as they did the last two springs. and those attitude could turn around. but -- you know, i think it is possible that there are some people in america who begin to feel like we have come through the worst of it. things are about to get better. >> eugene, to stick with the science of the polling for a moment, could it lie in the fact that this is of likely and not registered voters? i'm not sure how we could determine or discern who is a likely voter as we sit here today in mid june. >> pollsters have different screenings they do to use determine who is a likely voter and who is not. those are the kinds of details you have to look at when you evaluate every poll. as you said earlier, this pom is an outlier. i -- certainly the head-to-head number, the 13-point gap, it is -- we are not seeing that in any other poll. but the general sort of

sunniness or -- and optimism that comes through in this poll, i do think that is in -- the same direction that we have seen in some other polling. that people just are feeling better about the economy and about their lives. >> want to get out of the funk i think is how i would describe it. here is another interesting finding from the poll. question of which candidate is more out of touch. 55% of respondents say romney is more out of touch. 36% say it is the president. could that have to do with aggressive advertising that the president has been using to go after romney's record both at bain and as governor of massachusetts? today the president's campaign is out with two strong new ads hitting romney. the first one accuses romney of raising taxes on everyone but millionaires in massachusetts. take a look at this. >> i'm going to reduce taxes. >> as governor, mitt romney reduced taxes on people like himself. he raised tax owes everyone else.

$1.5 billion. over a thousand fee hikes on health care, school bus rides, and on milk, driver's licenses, nursing homes, nurses, electricians, hospitals, health services. romney economics didn't work then. and won't work now. >> the other ad hits romney for his time as a corporate raider at bain and for outsourcing jobs. looks like this. >> running for governor, mitt romney campaigned as a job creator. >> i know how jobs are created. >> but as a corporate raider, he shipped jobs to china and mexico. as governor, he did the same thing. outsourcing state jobs to india. >> susan, is it possible that the obama campaign was successful in defining governor mitt romney before he was able to define himself for the general election? >> you know, i think that's definitely happened. there's some signs it is happening. you went to watch two focus

groups, called walmart moms which are moms who shop at walmart. one group in richmond, virginia, and the other in las vegas. the only thing they really knew about mitt romney was what they had learned in these negative ads that run about him and said things like he fired people and shipped jobs overseas. and it is an effort, i think, by the obama campaign to chip away at the credential mitt romney has as someone that knows what to do about the economy and yes, i think that as negative ads often are, think these are being effective in defining him before americans know very much about him. >> it could be a net-net of a long and bloody primary season if it is true. >> yeah. it certainly could be. he took a lot of incoming fire during the primary season from fellow republicans who went after him on the bain capital issue and on the general sort of rich richie rich about romney and his lifestyle. i think some of that probably

stuck. remains in people's memories. >> here is another issue. mitt romney dodged saying whether he you a grease or disagrees with the president's new deportation stance in dealing with latino voters stressed an economic message today to rnc released this ad both in english and in spanish. >> latino unemployment in double digits, rampant foreclosures. >> unemployment rates up. >> for hispanics unemployment rose to 11%. >> hispanics concerned about the economy. >> unemployment among latinos is still in double digits. a broken promise. >> eugene, big 48 hours coming up. governor romney tomorrow, president on friday and both speaking to a prestigious latino group. to my ear, to my eye, he's yet to really define himself on the president's proposal of last friday and how he would differ

from it. >> he hasn't answered the straight question of whether he will rescind it or what he thinks about it. you know, his problem with latino voters now -- you can come out with this economic message, romney. but you have to skroyns people to listen to it. to -- hear what you are trying to say. and i -- i think his position -- where he is right now is that a lot of latino voters aren't willing to listen to him because they think the republican party already made up its mind and isn't interested in them or their votes. and fair or unfair i think that's a -- pretty firmly implanted -- impression now that they are going to have to overcome. >> it will be interesting to see what he says tomorro and we will have the details on "hardball." up next, mitt romney's dancing horse is heading to the olympics.

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welcome back to "hardball." time for the side show. you may remember colbert's enthusiastic support last week for ann romney's horse in the olympic dressage trials. the sport also referred to as horse ballet. her mare qualified for london and colbert took credit last night. >> i did it! i horsed it! eat it all you naysayers. jimmy, crank up the jockey jams. ♪ ♪ i want to take you to bermuda ♪ ♪ come on pretty mama ♪ key largo

♪ that's where we want to go >> we can't decide whos that better moves, the horse or colbert. bryce harper coin ad new phrase last week when a reporter asked the 19-year-old if he would celebrate a three-hit game and win over the toronto blue jays with a beer where the drinking age is lower than the u.s. harper is a mormon who sustains for alcohol and said this. >> that's a clown question, bro. >> that trending phrase made its way to capitol hill in a couple of days. take a look at fellow nevada an and mormon harry reid yesterday. >> i don't want to answer that question. that's a clown question, bro. >> unlike bryce harper senator

reid went on to answer the question that he had been asked. up next, the defense in the jerry sandusky trial rests without calling sandusky to the stand. is their last best hope a mistrial? that's ahead. you are watching "hardball." the place for politics. ♪ hello... ♪ what the... what the... what the... ♪ are you seein' this? ♪ ♪ uh-huh... uh-huh... uh-huh... ♪ ♪ it kinda makes me miss the days when we ♪ ♪ used to rock the microphone ♪ back when our credit score couldn't get us a micro-loan ♪ ♪ so light it up! ♪ even better than we did before ♪ ♪ yeah prep yourself america we're back for more ♪ ♪ our look is slacker chic and our sound is hardcore ♪ ♪ and we're here to drop a rhyme about free-credit-score ♪ ♪ i'm singing free-credit-score-dot-com ♪ ♪ dot-com narrator: offer applies with enrollment in freecreditscore.com.

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points. s&p falling by two. nasdaq gained just a fraction. ben bernanke says the bank will extend operation twist to keep rates low but investors are hoping for more aggressive action to boost the economy. meanwhile, procter & gamble shares lost 3% after the company's low outlook. burger king shares rose more than 3% on that your first day of trade. that's it from rnbc first in business worldwide.

back over to "hardball." . welcome back to "hardball." the legal team for jerry sandusky rested that your case today. they declined to call their client to stand. close arguments scheduled for tomorrow. it could be in the hands of the jury tomorrow afternoon. sandusky denies all charges the prosecution alleges he committed over a 15-year pan. kathleen cain is a former sex crimes prosecutor. diane dimon is cover thing case for "the daily beast" and "newsweek." i'm curious to take your pulse on something because you have been in that courtroom from you a far it seemed to me that dottie sandusky, wife of, the

big gun for the defense, and yet she appears to have corroborated some of the testimony of certain of the boys. in other words, putting them and putting jerry in the same place at the same time. what did you think of her as a witness? >> well, it is obvious that it was dottie sandusky who was the one speaking for the family here. when we learned today he wasn't going to be testifying. she did corroborate some of what the accusers were saying. she said that they did spend the night. they did sleep in that bedroom we heard so much about down in the basement on the water bed. her husband did go down to say good night to them. not to tuck them into bed as -- as the prosecution kept saying. but she was also strong on saying that never happened, nothing bad ever happened. i would have heard it in the basement. i have good hearing. you know, some of those boys were clingy and conniving and crafty. so i'm not sure she did a whole lot of good but i think it was

important to have at least one sandusky on the stand here kathleen, something else that struck me about dottie sandusky's testimony was and with your hiv as someone that's prosecuted these cases, maybe you will enlighten us. there was not so much as testimony about a hug between she and jerry. am i wrong in thinking that the jury would have questions in their minds about what's the sex life like between jerry and dottie sandusky? yet, that subject wasn't broached. >> that's an interesting question. but in all of the cases i have ever prosecuted that's never actually come up. it has never been a question in the mind of the jury's because afterwards we ask the jury what did you think, were there any questions left unanswered. that's never been brought up. i think that probably the strength of the prosecution witnesses have already set the stage and as to who this man is and who he had a as sexual preference for. >> diane dimon in the closing tomorrow by the prosecutor, do you think that he makes hay over

the fact we never heard from sandusky. by that i mean did the attorney make a prom nice his opening he didn't deliver? i recognize he has a fifth amendment right never to take the stand. if there had been a commitment made you would hear from him it could come back to haunt tomorrow. >> it was a sort of vague reference in the opening argument or opening statement of amendola i will tell you about jerry sandusky and you will hear from him that blah, blah, blah. that could mean you could have heard from him via the bob costas interview. it may have been that he intended to put him on the stand but as time went on and the strength of the prosecution's case -- we had eight accusers here crying on the stand, raw emotion for days and days on end. i think maybe when the strength of that hit the defense, they

thought better of putting jerry sandusky on any kind of record if they ever plan to appeal this. >> kathleen kane, diane makes reference to the bob costas interview. while that which the jury heard i thought was compelling during the course of the last few days we find there was a piece of that tape america never saw and this jury never saw which to my ear was a confession, was an admission of sorts. why do you think that wasn't introduced at this trial? that part of the costas tape. >> i really don't know. maybe they couldn't authenticate and it maybe the prosecution couldn't get the right witnesses up to authenticate the tape. but it was extremely damaging. the part they didn't show was probably more damaging than the part they did show. >> right. >> he virtually came out and said that well, i didn't abuse every child but what he didn't say was i didn't abuse any child and that's an omission, just as much a confession as saying i did it. >> you know i have been a big fan of yours for a long time because of your street smarts in

these criminal cases. tell me, give me the vibe from those jurors. when you eyeball them, what are you taking away from it? >> i'm taking away that most cases have a jury that after a few days they get to know each other and chitchat when they come in and out and smile, pat each other on the back. not this jury. this jury throughout has been very, very solemn. they have been very attentive. i haven't seen one of them doze off which you know is very rare. i think that -- if i could get back to the nbc tape and why that wasn't played, judge john cleland, you wish every judge in america would take a lesson from him. he has been very forthright and very determined to get this case through. and i think that because there was a big break here today in the middle of the day, he came -- had everybody come back and said to the prosecutor, okay, what have you got? and that was among that nbc snippet was among some of what i think the prosecution wanted to

show. and the judge said to him i will bet you that you have already shown the whole -- almost the whole costas thing. i rule can you not show that. he wants to get this to the jur. >> i he is the antithesis of lance ito. look how quickly this case moved. kathleen kane, you prosecuted sex abuse cases like this. how important are those closing statements tomorrow? do they get conflated in the media or do they have the importance we have on them? >> they have a lot of importance. now the judge will instruct the jury the statements of the lawyers are not evidence and they must strictly look at the evidence. as you know. but those state closing statements wrap the entire case up into one neat package. it brings in all of the avenues and presents to the jury why they should find this man guilty and consequently, the defense will do the same thing. but they are extremely important. they are the last pieces of evidence, last statements the jury will hear before they go back to the deliberation room. >> big day. he could be sleeping in his own

bed for the final time tonight or tomorrow night. of course he could be exonerated. what do i know. thank you, kathleen kane and diane dimond. [ male announcer ] don't miss red lobster's four course seafood feast, just $14.99. start with soup, salad and cheddar bay biscuits then choose one of 7 entrees plus dessert! four perfect courses, just $14.99. come into red lobster and sea food differently.

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vetted as part of our process we are back. that was mitt romney last night addressing a story that consumed a day of campaigning. controversy over whether marco rubio didn't make the governor's short list of vice presidential candidates. the news whipped conservatives and support nears a frenzy after his announcement rubio did an interview on fox. let's watch. >> how has the day been? >> it has been an interesting day. you know, look, i don't want to talk about the process. it is governor romney's process. i want to be respectful of that. >> have you talked to the governor today? >> i have not. >> "the rise of marco rubio." joe walsh is an msnbc political analyst and editor-at-large of salon. read the tea leaves. what transpired? >> mitt romney had to come out and say marco rubio is being vetted. he had to say that. i have no inside information on

whether it is true or not. but it would be devastating to any latino voters that may possibly have some prayer of maybe taking a look at his candidacy. i mean, michael, you know that the president put mitt romney in a box on with what he did on immigration last week. romney has not responded. he has not said whether he would repeal that decision. it has been a terrible week for mitt romney on immigration and so to have that come out and have the reaction that we had yesterday and to let it stand, i think would be saying that i don't care about latino, hispanic vote. >> and conservatives. he worked so hard in primary season. and has thus far not tapped back towards the center. manuel, i'm enjoying your book very, very much. the i request for you -- you know the subject so well -- could marco rubio withstand the vetting that would come? >> well, you would see a flood of stories immediately. and what the romney camp would have to do is weigh the very

large positives, all the energy he would bring and what a great speaker he is. how popular he is and the conservative wing of the republican party against the vetting issues. >> give me an example. what would be at the top of the list you think could cause a controversy? >> well, you think you would see a lot of stories about his regard spend when he was in florida and he got a republican party credit card, state credit card. he used it for some personal things that were some of them silly like movie tickets and wine at a wine shop. $130 haircut. some of them larger like an ipad. and, you know, he paid it back after it came out that he was using this for personal use. but that could get dug into in a much, much bigger way. then there's the story about his family's migration to the united states. >> whether they were fleeing castro who had just come to power or whether the two were

unrelated. >> yeah. i think that's become a permanent part of his biography now. for those who have -- are not familiar with it. very core part of his political identity was that his family had been pushed off of the island of cuba by castro. and in reality, i was able to find out that in -- they came in 1956 before castro invaded. it undercut this notion that they had been pushed away. he says there's still exiles but it raised questions about, you know, whether voters could trust the things that he was telling them. >> manuel, one other aspect i learned from you because you published in post five myths about marco rubio. one of them being having rubio on the republican ticket would automatically attract latino voters. up point out that there is a ski when that's not the case. >> yeah. marco rubio is cuban-american.

they represent about 3.5%, 4% of latinos in the united states. the great, great majority are mexicans or central americans. historically there's been some tension because cubans get preference when they come to the united states almost unquestioned that they'll be able to stay in the united states. that same preference isn't given to migrants from mexico. and then there's the issue of his positions on a lot of issues that are important to latino activists. and he may have to do some rehabilitation there since he has said that he opposes in-state tuition and he's for e verify. >> i think all of this is for tim pawlenty. i think mitt romney will be guided by the hippocratic oath. the first rule, do no harm. this is helping someone like pawlenty that doesn't bring the issues that might arise with

marco rubio. who benefits? >> tim pawlenty is having a little wave here. you're right. he probably does no harm. on the other hand it looks a little bit like george bush picking dan quayle so not to be overshadowed by someone more articulate and charismatic as he was. and i think there's a lot of myth making about tim pawlenty. he does have working class roots, but does he set the working class on fire? i'm not sure about that. he set nobody on fire during the primaries. he bowed out very early. so to the extent the primaries were a referendum at all on his excitement on electability, i don't know what he adds except he's probably vetted somewhat and he's not dangerous. >> manuel, sources close to the romney campaign told politico that pawlenty ask leading the pack of perspective nominees because he's strong where romney is weak. quote, several top republicans said that as the hockey playing son of a blue collar worker and a longtime champion of

connecting what he has called sam's club republicans, pawlenty would be comfortable campaigning among working class voters. could you see the star of pawlenty rising given the conversation we're having about rubio. >> i can see it rising, falling, rising again in the same way that the portman star rose and fell and the same way the bobby jindal star rose and fell. the one that's consistently in the mix has been marco rubio. we got an affirmation of that yesterday that he has that special something, that "it" quality, that x-factor. whatever you want to call it. and the question is how much "it" do they want on their ticket? >> i checked today, pawlenty, rubio. in that order. who's at the top? not who you like, who you think. but who's most likely at the

moment to be picked by mitt romney? >> i guess it's pawlenty but i have no idea. we should also say his bridge issues -- he's not without vetting issues too. i think we go back and take a look at his ideas about infrastructure way back when he was governor of minnesota. there would be questions. he's not quite as bland. he's certainly not unaccomplished as we're acting like he is. anybody who surfaces at this point or resurfaces i think comes in for a lot of new vetting. and nobody is without questions in their past. >> thank you. good luck with your book. when we return, allow me to finish with another acquittal in a perjury case. you're watching "hardball" the place for politics. while you're out catching a movie. [ growls ] lucky for me, your friends showed up with this awesome bone. hey! you guys are great. and if you got your home insurance where you got your cut rate car insurance,

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let me finish tonight with some thoughts about the not guilty verdict in the roger clemens trial. in the last 24 hours i've heard many pair this result with the outcome of the john edwards trial. yes, viewed one way the feds are 0-2 in recent high profile trials. the edwards outcome made sense to me. where the laws had never previously been used for such a prosecution and in light of the idea whether the money was given for the campaign or a private institute i viewed it as excessive. ours is not a system to try

someone because they bottomed out. the clemens case was something entirely different. the issue was whether the most decorated baseball pitcher in history lied to congress while under oath in hearings about steroids. and about that, we should all be concerned. our society is governed by the rule of law. the oath that witnesses are administrated in legal proceedings. without the commitment of witnesses to tell the truth, our legal process falls. it was important in the clinton impeachment process and it's the reason that george zimmerman's wife sits in a jail cell today in florida. so where andy pettitte, former teammate and roommate said he thought roger clemens admitted to using hgh in 1999, an allegation that clemens denied, there was grounds for a perjury prosecution. that's why the congress referred the case to the justice department in 2008. at the recent trial, pettitte seemed to buckle on cross examination and agreed with a

defense attorney that there was a 50/50 chance he misheard or misunderstood clemens. that testimony and the problems of witness brian mcnamee explain the outcome of the recent case. there's no shame in federal prosecutors bringing the charges. there was more at stake than the legacy of the rocket or issues in juicing. perjury is a difficult crime to prove. because sometimes truth can be elusive. many baseball fans would pose prosecuting roger clemens because of his popularity. that makes it harder to charge in a difficult case. that is, if we truly wish to be a nation of laws and not of men. that's "hardball" for now. thank you for being with us. "politicsnation" with al sharpton starts right now. welcome to "politicsnation." i'm al sharpton. tonight's lead, new extremism from tea party congress. just a short time ago, a

republican-controlled committee voted for resolution that could soon lead to u.s. attorney general eric holder being held in contempt of congress. all the republicans voted for this. all the democrats voted against it. this vote was unnecessary and it was purely political. earlier the president asserted executive privilege. arguing that private communications between officials in the executive branch cannot be divulged to congress. what is this republican-generated scandal all about? for 14 months attorney general holder and the justice department have responded as congressman darrell issa led a partisan series of hearings into fast and furious, a so-called gunwalking program. it allowed guns to be sold to low lev