conviction and passion. this century must be an american century. >> but who does romney think he's contrasting himself with? president obama made no bones about his belief in america's greatness as recently as yesterday. let's listen. >> if anyone tries to tell you our greatness has passed, that america is in decline, you tell them this. just like the 20th century, the 21th century is going to be another great american century. >> who is ashamed of american power, michael? who is this guy he's attacking in his speech before the guys who did serve in war? >> i think it's a matter of laying out very clearly and i thought he did an excellent job setting up the contrast. there are a lot of similarities in obama's policies with the bush administration. there's no doubt about that with respect to the war on terror, for example. i think when it comes to

specifics with respect to israel and the middle east and certainly our position in the world, the president has come off in the view of many americans and certainly the romney team as apologetic. >> you're an analyst, michael, and you know that team. where in the other team was there apology. give me an example. one would be enough. when has obama apologized for america's strength. >> pardon me? i didn't hear what your question is. what do you want to know? >> give me an example of when president obama apologized for america's strength. >> i don't think it's a question of a specific -- what he was speaking to was the overall emphasis this administration has placed on foreign policy and the lack of focus in the sense that we go to the u.n., we go to foreign soil and the president has a tone that is less than strong in the view of a lot of folks. so i think that that's the contrast that he was setting up and trying to draw out today.

that's clearly it. >> argument is weak. for him to intimate barack obama is weak on foreign policy or anything on that matter, romney has buckled to every right wing group. he bowed with this line. >> i was a severely republican governor. >> he vowed grover norquist when he signed his tax pledge, he signed the other guy which norquist trumped on his website. on foreign policy buckled to neo-cons. mr. romney's public comments have usually rejected mainstream orthodoxy. they sound more like talking points of the neo-conservatives. the bolton fax as they called this group. i know what you know, joe. it's the same thing i know. this guy has fallen into the

hands of the same guys who took us into iraq and now iran. he's reading the script with all this talk about apology for our strength. like marty talking about muscular foreign policy. the metaphor of war. >> this is someone who has no strong convictions of his own, chris. no experience in foreign policy. he is going to the basket with the same move republicans have used for the last 10 years or more, democrats are supposedly weak. the president has a very easy response to that, tell it to osama bin laden. tell it to moammar gadhafi. there's no question the president is willing to use american power when appropriate. however, he is judicious with this, not a crazy warmonger, not somebody who thinks everybody is a nail because has he a hammer. i think your point is very well taken. this is somebody with no real experience in these matters who entrusted himself to a group of people who are proving wrong.

>> how can you say, we went into afghanistan, then went into iraq again a second time under a second bush. now he's talking -- trumpeting like a bugle boy going into war like a rant. is this like a pez dispenser. every time we elect a republican he's got a war in mind? why does he have wars in mind? >> stop it, stop it. >> i'm not going to stop. >> he's not pushing war. you're being ridiculous right now. the fact of the matter is he's laying out a very strong view for himself and for others that this is the new reality, that we've got to deal with it. as president of the united states, he's prepared, peace through strength, sit down at the table. he's prepared to make sure our allies know we stand firmly with them, israel, and our enemies knows we're not going to sit down and have a face-to-face kumbaya, at this point important

for him to do. the point about experience, he has as much experience going into this as barack obama had coming into the white house in 2009. >> but barack obama -- >> you just ripped the scab off, mike. if israel wants to go to war with iran we should go along with anybody who wants to start a war, we should be with them. >> no. why are you making that lead. just because i set out a strong foreign policy doesn't mean my next move is war. what i'm trying to do, what the romney folks are saying i'm trying to do is to lay out exactly where we stand on some of these issues and contrast this administration and contrast some of the approaches they have taken. i think that's only fair. the policies he espouses will bear that out one way or the other. >> joe, only thing to the right of the president is a war on iran, upping the sanctions as tough as you can get. if there's some other step beyond sanctions it's war. when you start talking about we're going to make sure it doesn't happen, guarantee

this -- >> somebody needs to tell mitt romney -- >> we will do what's in our country's best interest. next. go ahead. >> the truth is he laid out nothing in terms of a real policy. he won't cut the defense budget no matter how much waste there is, which isn't so great. these are all the same old talking points karl rove used, as you can remember, chris, in the 2002 midterm when they accused democrats of wanting to send social workers to deal with al qaeda. i think the president at this point has made it very clear that is not the kind of president he is. romney is going to have trouble showing he has anything to offer in terms of foreign policy that is stronger or more knowledgeable or useful than what this president and his secretary of state have done. they are as tough as anybody

around mitt romney. >> let's take a look, here is romney went off script perhaps accidentally, i think in today's speech. pay close attention to the next to last word in this sound bite. let's listen. >> when growth is missing, government revenues fall, social spending rises and many in washington look to cut defense spending as the easy way out. that includes our current president. >> at least one major newspaper, los angeles sun, reporting romney called barack obama our corrupt president. i think he said that. i don't think he said it on purpose. play it over and over again. i heard the word corrupt. i think sound experts will find that. what happened there, michael. >> until you said corrupt, it sounded like current to me. i couldn't really tell. i don't think that's something that romney obviously would intend to say. >> let's listen again. >> yeah. >> everybody hears different things. >> growth is missing, government revenues fall. social spending rises and many

in washington look to cut defense spending as the easy way out. that includes our current president. >> what did you hear then, michael? >> sounded a little more like corrupt. >> what do you think he's up to? >> i don't really know. i wasn't in the man's mind. it's hard to say. i don't know if it was a slip. i don't know if he was thinking maybe some of the hot rhetoric that's been coming out about solyndra and all of the sweetheart deals the administration made on the defense side. >> i opened the door. you walked right through it. >> of course i walked through it. >> what did you hear, joe? >> there was no context for him to use the word corrupt in that phrase unless he was going to talk about corrupt defense contractors, there was plenty. >> so everybody goes to the door on this one. here is what i think. i read prompter a lot and i'm about to do it again, mike even though i know you very well. i read michael steele.

you read corrupt and current, visually alike. i see where he made the mistake. i hold nothing against him. i'm sure he'll correct himself in the days ahead. michael steele, you're dead wrong on the big stuff but on the little stuff you're good. joe, thank you. coming up presidential race, president obama remains in the lead but results in our new brand-new today "wall street journal" that will keep both campaigns on their toes and perhaps up at night. also the republican solution in search of a problem, voter photo id laws. why did pennsylvania republicans pass a voter id law when they can't cite a single case of voter fraud in the commonwealth? we'll see if this he can answer that. by the way, michele bachmann finally has company, newt gingrich rushes to defend her charge that radical muslims may have infiltrated the government. did mitt romney really say this to olympic athletes in 2002. >> you olympians know you didn't get here solely on your own

power. >> does romney's olympic speech sound like something we heard recently from president obama? i'll say it does. how to turn a positive statement you yourself, government, said before, into an attack line. that's coming up. this is "hardball," place for politics. in alabama we had more beautiful blooms... in mississippi we had more good times... in louisiana we had more fun on the water. last season we broke all kinds of records on the gulf. this year we are out to do even better... and now is a great time to start. our beatches are even more relaxing... the fishing's great. so pick your favorite spot on the gulf... and come on down. brought to you by bp and all of us who call the gulf home.

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welcome back to "hardball," a new nbc "wall street journal" poll. one of the headlines is that the negative campaigning by both sides is tarnishing the image of

both president obama and mitt romney. now the president is going positive temporarily is making a direct appeal to voters set to air in nine swing states. chuck todd nbc's political correspondent. let's look at the new ad on camera with the president appealing to voters. let's take a look. >> over the next four months you have a choice to make. not just between two political parties or even two people. it's a choice between two very different plans for our country. governor romney's plan would cut taxes for the folks at the very top, roll back regulations on big banks. he says that if we do, our economy will grow and everyone will benefit. but you know what, we tried that top down approach. it's what caused the mess in the first place. i believe the only way to create an economy built to last is to strengthen the middle class, asking the wealthy to pay a little more so we can pay down our debt in a balanced way, so

we can afford to invest in education, manufacturing and home grown american energy for good middle class jobs. sometimes politics can seem very small. but the choice you face, it couldn't be bigger. >> there's the president, very positive. this is after week after week of pounding romney for all his problems with bain capital, not releasing his tax return, why the soft sale. >> by the way, sometimes politics can seem small. we just had a campaign, your campaign -- >> good cop following bad cop. >> look at the new poll, have issues, the information you've been hearing from the campaigns made you more favorable or less favorable. >> look at the numbers, 43% new poll registered voters said -- asked you what have you heard or read in the mast weeks about mitt romney. has it given you less favorable or better? 28% say more favorable opinion of mitt romney, 44% -- 43% less

favorable. obama the same thing, 27% favorable, 44% less favorable. why is it even now? why an indication obama is doing better? >> we're seeing first of all, obviously a relentless negative attack on the obama campaign on romney, hitting hard. it's taking a toll on romney. for the first time it's taking a toll on the president. his unfavorable have gone as high as we've recorded them in the poll. you get the feeling they have seen the same numbers, concerned about it. that ad to me seems an absolute response. >> can an ad like that, very positive, i wish most politicians do all the time, talk to us about what they are going to do, what the issues are. >> the president believes his likability is a huge asset. for the last month and a half the president has been trading down his likability as if it were an inexhaustible commodity. this is a sign the white house and campaign believe it may not

be inexhaustible. >> you hurt your -- >> you hurt yourself a little bit. there's not a great statistical difference in how it's hurting them both. it is hurting them both. that is obvious. if you look at the president. not like the president is gaining a lot. romney has less likability than the president does so it does hurt him more. and listen to that ad, big banks, big choices, helping the wealthy. key phraseology that the focus group tells the campaign, works in swing states. >> let me suggest an idea. it's the president's tactics, what he's done effectively nail romney, remind everybody of bane bain, bain, bain, against the encroaching reality of the economy. >> when you think about it, it's stunning. we have other numbers we're going to pop up and i don't mean to preview them. people are more pessimistic. >> let's preview right now. could be trouble for the president when you see the bleak outlook in our poll for the economy over the next 12 months.

look at this, 27% of the people think the economy will improve over the next 12 months, down from 35% just last month. look at that, 8 point decline in optimism. the number who think the economy will get worse is on the rise from june, stands at 25%. i feel this. i think it's because we've seen so many months this spring of the same unemployment number or slightly lower. >> but the president is defying gravity. these numbers should be dragging him down and they are not. romney's numbers are the one stagnant or going down. the president is holding steady. in our poll he picked up a little bit. so it shows you tactically the obama campaign is basically won the first half of the general election. the last 60 days who is going to control the biography of mitt romney. guess what the obama campaign controlled it, romney lost control and it hurt. >> in the end will a voter decide they like or dislike the performance or vote on mitt romney? >> the obama campaign wants to

impeach the witness meaning romney benefactor convention and debates. whatever he says he can positively do to switch the economy around people doubt or fundamentally disbelief. >> won't debate performance offset if he has a good night. >> if he has a good night and numbers continue. we've had three false optimistic springs in a row. that pulls at the sense of american optimism. >> it looked like we were pulling ourselves out of this thing. >> three different springs. people have begun to internalize, is this the new normal, is this the president's fault. >> tactically, the fact is can romney afford to wait to the debates to pull even. john kerry had to wait until the debates to pull even, to fix his biography. okay. it got him even but it didn't get him over the finish line. that's the danger zone of romney, much worse than 2004. >> "wall street journal" poll. when lou at him, 35% hold a

favorable view compared to 40%. what's wrong with romney that leads to this? i have attitudes about him but what are the voters saying they don't like about him? >> he's still a two-dimensional figure. i've gone through this. he's been guarded about his story, afraid to talk about bain because it's gotten turned into a negative. he's afraid to talk about the massachusetts record because the health care causes potential problems with the base. >> won't show tax returns. >> doesn't talk about his own faith, which is something that i think personally is the most grounding value that he has and he's afraid to talk about it because he's not sure how well mormonism plays. you take all three of these stories he could be telling, the way any presidential candidate would take these. >> like a job application. >> instead he's guarded about it. it's turned into a two-dimensional figure and let obama campaign define him. >> stay out of religion. >> pollsters are not that curious. >> his business career we've been talking about it.

he doesn't want to talk about massachusetts. when is he going to spring the olympics and make that his big selling card. >> that will be part of london, an olympic resonance. >> is that big enough for the presidency? >> it's not nothing but it's not big enough. i agree with chuck in this sense. it's not that there's a nullity behind the mitt romney narrative, it's just that he lacks a sense of internal positivism about it. he's not nearly as positive and persuasive about his story and approach to the presidency as surrogates are. i wrote national journal months ago, one of the fundamental flaws in the romney campaign, his surrogates were better advocates than he was. >> i saw vfw speech, good, tough speech. very neo-con, don't apologize, very hard line. he didn't write that speech. >> i don't know what the policy was. >> can he read the words his advisers give to him and convince people he does have a personality, lit khalidity he

hasn't been able to sell in the debates. >> i think he has to. i think ultimately the fundamentals of this election should be playing in his favor. i actually think you look at the numbers on the economy and wonder how is the president leading? romney should be ahead by now. to me the challenger should be ahead under these economic circumstances, and they are not. there's something stopping the voter on romney, a values connection, something. look, i think it all go to the hits he's been taking on his wealth. sometimes tax return, sometimes bain. it's painted him as out of touch with the middle class. >> you sound like me 12 years ago talking about al gore. there was something about al gore that was a wall, feels like a wall. >> but the different economy in 2004. the metaphor chuck has is like there's a cork in the bottle that's keeping romney from rising. the pressure inside that bottle is romney, autos going to turn that around or the economy will blow the lid and won't matter what romney is. if acceptable he'll get elected.

>> we need to find the right metaphor. a metaphor for romney, a hard one to match up with. >> thank you both, the two best. the making of a misleading campaign ad. how mitt romney twisted president obama's words and how president obama could do the same thing with something romney once said. this is "hardball," the place for politics. [ donovan ] i hit a wall.

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you didn't get there on your own. i'm always struck by people who think, well, it must be because i was so smart. there are a lot of smart people out there. it must be because i worked harder than everybody else. let me tell you something, there's a whole bunch of hardworking people out there. if you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some help. there was a great teacher somewhere in your life. somebody helped to create this unbelievable american system we have that allowed you to thrive. somebody invested in roads and bridges. if you've got a business, you didn't build that. somebody else made that happen. the internet didn't get invented on its own. government research created the internet so that all the companies could make money off the internet. the point is that when we

succeed, we succeed because of our individual initiative but also because we do things together. >> so roads and bridges help business survive. well, that became this. >> if you've been successful, you didn't get there on your own. if you've got a business, you didn't build that. somebody else made that happen. >> my father's hands didn't build this company, my hands didn't build this company. through hard work and a little bit of luck we built this business, why are you demonizing us for it? it's time we had some be who believes in us, somebody that believes achievement should be rewarded not punished. >> the president was saying in virginia you need to have things like roads and bridges to make money, organize business, sewers, water, somebody has to put that in to open up a business. the republican trash talkers said he was trashing them. anyway, there you have it. get this. turns out we can have something similar with mitt romney as our leading man. let's remind to a speech from

mitt romney during the 2002 winter olympics open ceremonies. >> you olympians, however, know you didn't get here solely on your own power. for most of you loving parents, sisters or brothers encouraged your hopes, coaches guided, communities built venues and organized competitions. all olympians stand on the shoulders of those who lifted them. we've already cheered the olympians. let's also cheer the parents, coaches and communities. all right. >> how could someone turn mitt romney's inspirational call to recognize the people who helped those athletes on the path to success into an attack on him for refusing to give credit t the individual competitors. roll the tape. >> you olympians, however, know that you didn't get here solely on your own power. well, that's how it's done, suddenly sounds like the athletes, part of the medals they are competing for is

somebody else. up next, voting rights and wrongs, tough laws, now the department of justice is investigating whether pennsylvania's voter id law discriminates against minorities. i think it does. you're watching "hardball," the place for politics. mine was earned off vietnam in 1968. over the south pacific in 1943. i got mine in iraq, 2003. usaa auto insurance is often handed down from generation to generation. because it offers a superior level of protection, and because usaa's commitment to serve the military, veterans and their families is without equal. begin your legacy, get an auto insurance quote. usaa. we know what it means to serve.

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if things change again. call or come in today to take control of your personal economy. get free one-on-one help from america's retirement leader. i'm hampton pearson with your cnbc market wrap. another triple digit selloff. the dow loses 104, s&p 500 is off 12, the nasdaq lower by 27 points. cisco shares of a the company said it would cut 1300 jobs as economic uncertainty weighs on its business. ups was another loser after earnings disappointed, shares sliding more than 4%. a big miss for apple. revenue and earnings fell short of estimates sending shares

lower in after hours trading. that's it from cnbc, first in business worldwide. now back to "hardball." >> welcome back to "hardball." for months democrats argued republican inspired voter id laws are a solution in search of a problem. there's no voter fraud and the laws themselves are really designed to tamp down the democratic vote. now in pennsylvania, the department of justice is launching an investigation whether the state's new law discriminates against minorities, that's the united states justice department. the first time the doj publicly got involved with the state whose voting rules not covered by the 1965 vote rights, that is a state with a history of disenfranchising minorities. tomorrow marks the first day of a separate state trial testing legalities under pennsylvania's constitution.

with me are msnbc political analyst ed rendell, former governor of pennsylvania and eugene robinson former columnist for "the washington post." i want you to watch. a month ago house majority leader, he's a republican, gave democrats their aha moment, their smoking gun, if you will. while listing republican accomplishments, listen what he suggests is the real purpose of the new voter id law. >> we are focused on making sure that we meet our obligations that we've talked about for years. pro second amendment. first pro-life legislation, abortion facility regulations in 22 years. done. voter id, which is going to allow governor romney to win the state of pennsylvania. done. [ applause ] >> well, there you've got it. like one of those perry mason moments, i did it, i did it, i can't hold it back anymore. they did this to screw the democratic voter. >> case closed. any pretense they were doing

this to prevent voter fraud went out the window. there is no voter fraud. i was governor for eight years. we didn't have ten cases of someone fraudulently voting using someone else's identity. less than two a year. less than two a year. the sole reason for this was because the democrats have carried pennsylvania five straight presidential elections in a row. 9.2% according to republican secretary of state, 9.2% of pennsylvanians don't have photo id. they are heavily minority and older. they are heavily democratic voters and traditional democratic areas. if just one-tenth of those voters don't show up or are disqualified from voting, that could be in a close election dispositive. >> the republican behind this, 99% of pennsylvania's eligible voters already have acceptable photo ids. 750,000 eligible voters, in

pennsylvania, my old state, do not have state-issued id cards, 25% of the african-american vote they figure. >> so it's not 99%. in fact, this has a potential for disenfranchising hundreds of thousands of voters. it can make the difference in pennsylvania and there is no problem. there is no voter fraud. the state admits there is no voter fraud. >> i'm looking where people don't have id card, they don't drive cars because they are city people. governor rendell, my friend rendell, it's exactly where you got your majorities. it's philadelphia, pittsburgh, the urban areas where people who rely on public transportation -- the blue, democratic areas, rely on public transportation, row houses, they don't have cars, not a parking space to own cars, they are the people who don't have driver's licenses. do you think guys in pennsylvania, republicans figured this out. >> sure, it's obvious. also we're the third oldest state in the union, chris.

we have a lot of senior citizens who have never owned a car, haven't driven a car, don't fly, have no reason to have photo id. it's easy to say you can go to a penn dot office and get a photo id. in many cases they are by car 15, 20 minutes away. most people don't have a car, adopt have anybody to take them. by public transportation might take an hour and a half in the heat to get to those places. the worst thing is, i bet, chris, 70% of people without photo id are not aware of this law. they are going to show up on election day and be told they can't vote. >> here is a horror story for america. pennsylvania is a conservative state on issues, may go the other way, may surprisingly go republican. if that happens and we have an election that goes to romney, pennsylvania, thousands of people, maybe tens of thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands were stopped at the voting booth, they will get the tv cameras

there, a lot of them african-americans, what kind of country are we going to be in. takes seven days to turn a provisional ballot, if you cast one, into a real one. >> it's going to be a mess. as you mentioned, there's a state lawsuit going on now. the justice department is investigating. i hope that this gets resolved and gets resolved in some acceptable way before the election. if that happens, we're going to have a mess, an absolute mess. >> i think florida is going to look -- governor, let me ask you about the pennsylvania mentality here. do you think the republicans sat down and planned this, this might give them pennsylvania? >> absolutely. they had two efforts, chris. this and they were going to change the way we counted electoral votes by congressional district. that never got off the drawing board in the legislature. that failed. this was the one that was going to give them the election. it's really at a time when we should be doing everything we can to increase voter participation. this is embarrassing, it's

shameful. >> here is the facts now, just to nail this down here. this the stipulation agreement that was signed by both sides in this suit. here you're going to see basically the people push this. republicans say they are trying to stop voter fraud. even they admit they can't identify any. according to the stipulation agreement, signed by both sides, pennsylvania, the. >>'s lawyers in the aclu suit, quote, no investigations or prosecutions of in person voting fraud in pennsylvania. this is signed by people pushing the law and going against it. respondents, that is the state, will not offer any evidence that in-person voter fraud has occurred in pennsylvania or in person voter fraud is likely to occur in the november election. gene, it's on paper here. they signed it up front. we can't point to a single case of voter fraud. >> no investigations, no prosecutions. no indication that it ever happened. >> they passed the law. >> they passed a law. i wrote that it's a solution in

search of a problem. really the problem was that pennsylvania, as governor rendell said, has gone democratic five times in a row. that's the problem and this the solution. >> before the election i recommend big street corner rallies like you used to do in north philly, especially north philly, a place where people live in row houses, get out there, get a committeeman, get out there and really spread the word. if you're watching the show, you should look and see do i he a voter id card made by the government or college or military i can use to vote with. if you don't know if it's good or not call your committeeman, democrat or republican and find out if it's a good enough document. you ought to vote if you're watching this show. i want to you vote. thank you governor rendell and gene robinson. here is one republican standing by michele bachmann's outrageous attack on muslim americans. would you believe it, newt gingrich. birds of a feather, grish and palin -- i'm sorry, bachmann, a

place for politics. and palin -- i'm sorry, bachmann, a place for politics. and palin -- i'm sorry, bachmann, a place for politics. [ female announcer ] the power to become a better investor has gone mobile. with features like scanning a barcode to get detailed stock quotes to voice recognition. e-trade leads the way in wherever, whenever investing. download the ultimate in mobile investing apps, free, at e-trade.

another milestone in the recovery of gabrielle giffords. giffords is making her first overseas trip since the shooting that took her life. the former congresswoman and her husband rode a cable car high in the alps. she continues to focus on her recovery. we'll be right back. if you are one of the millions of men

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and now is a great time to start. our beatches are even more relaxing... the fishing's great. so pick your favorite spot on the gulf... and come on down. brought to you by bp and all of us who call the gulf home. we're back. add newt gingrich to republicans who want to find out if muslim brotherhood has influence over the government. in an interview he refused to denounce michele bachmann's call for such an investigation or for her request to look at the top hillary aide huma amedine. >> do you believe the allegations? >> it was a question, a serious question. >> request for investigation. >> the question ought to be asked across the board, what's

the role of the muslim brotherhood, what are its various networks and to what degree does it now influence the government of the united states. >> do you think it's infiltrated the u.s. government? that's the core of the allegation? >> i think it's worth knowing. >> everything is worth knowing. >> i think it tells you something about the level of hysteria attacking these five members of congress. >> from your own party. >> i think those folks are wrong. i think they will ask the question what is it they are afraid of learning. >> anyway, not just gingrich, rush limbaugh is also comin to bachmann's defense. is there such a thing as too far right? i doubt it. msnbc political analyst and author of "my father." it seems when you begin a mccarthyite investigation with the presumption they have something to hide, have you to care it out of them like being an agent of the muslim brotherhood and it's a top aide

of hillary clinton. nobody likes confidence in her

a . >> bachmann's inquiry is justified. no reason to tar and feather her. it is a legitimate question to want to know p one of hill hill's top aides poses a national security threat because of her parents' close ties to

muslim brother mood. that's all they are asking and mccain and the republican establishment in the senate went to the floor to trash bachmann. and onef the things that -- i just add, i think that will is an effort by the republican establishment to take bachmann out. winding up to campaign against her in a re-election effort. that's another subject. >> see the world we are living in here? rush limbaugh is going after the republican establishment as too far left. so guys like john mccain and lindsey graham are too far reft. to launch the inspector general investigation of someone's -- loyalty which is what they are talking about here. loyalty to this country. and it is just a casual open question, that's all. would anybody i know like to be investigated by the united states government for whether they are loyal or not? your thoughts. you are reporting on this thing. >> first of all, parse huma is concerned he is hillary clinton's deputy chief of staff. people don't understand washington parlance. but she's not making policy.

i mean, deputy chief of staff in washington is a political -- >> what -- you think that she's fair became now? >> no. >> for bachmann's later -- to investigate everybody? >> no, i don't. that's why this entire controversy is so strange. why bo after somebody in this position that's for closeness to clinton? it is a strange question. >> she is very close to clinton. she goes on an airplane and sitting next to each other, she is great and loyal to her husband. >> that's my point. not making policy. i agree she's loyal. what i'm saying is she's not making policy so it is a very strange question to be asking in the first place. and the whole -- what rush limbaugh is saying that the republican establishment is going after her because she's diverting attention from the primary agenda which is -- talking about president obama and the economy. >> you know what this reminds me of? american history. french and indian war, very well tailored and very well perfumed french officers explain the behavior offal ice and crazy allies that are taking scalps in

where. these people are embarrassing the republican party. but they want their votes. ron reagan, thank you. thank you, erin. i do not offend indians. i like american indians. they were here first. these guys are the worst. let me finish with why we shouldn't fall for the all neo-kahn line. why not try someplace different every morning? get two times the points on dining in restaurants with chase sapphire preferred. ♪ hello...rings ♪ 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 ♪

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let me finish mitt with this.

mitt romney's running for president using the words and speeches of the same people who got us into iraq. the neo-kahns. you can hear them in romney's speech today. all the talk of not apologizing for america's power. they have a thing about that phrase. we should never apologize for our power. of course it is all a straw man. no one apologizes for america's power. yes, we rethink some of our actions like not getting into world war ii sooner. like escalating the american war in vietnam, like the deceit and doning and propaganda that took us into iraq nine years ago. yes, we dare to rethink and learn from our experiences. yes, we wonder p f the military solution was the right one. we, many of us believe, mistakes were made that leaders told us untruths, we were sold a reality that was not a reality. yes, all this is true. and the world outside of stupid politics, it is called growing up. i don't know how someone like mitt romney who didn't serve in vietnam doesn't feel in hi conscience the need to revisit that war. to figure out what he thinks was

done right, what was done wrong and that's not apologizing for america's power. it is understanding when and where and how to use it. here's what i think. i think the horror of war is so vital to realize to take our own minds and hearts we don't send men and women into battle until the leaders fully and fairly decide that it is the only solution. i trust president obama to make that decision. today's words by mitt romney do not give me that confidence. the fact they were transparently written by the same knee you kahns that sold us the war in iraq makes me all the less certain of him. fool me once, shame on you. fool me twice, shame on me. any american who bought the lies and corrupt thinking that took us into iraq must hear in romney's words today the worst memories of iraq and wmd and aluminum tubes and yellow cake and scooter libby and the rest of the terrible dishonest history. if anyone should apologize to america, it is the neo-kahns that wrote romney's speech. that's "hardball" for now.

"politics nation" with al harp ton starts right now. welcome to "politics nation." i'm al sharpton. tonight's lead -- truth and consequences and the romney campaign. for months we witnessed the romney campaign's distortion of the truth. campaigns tell us a lot about the candidate. when kind of person they are. and what kind of president they might be. the truth matters. too often in this campaign, mitt romney just hasn't been straight. a week ago the romney campaign released this ad slamming president obama for something he said at a virginia fund-raiser. quote, if you got a business, you didn't build that. romney's trying to push the right wing line the president only believes in government and doesn't understand the private sector. the problem is romney is out of

a significant portion of the speech and totally distorts the president's point. the president was arguing that the government can help job creators. not that it is the only key to job creation. the romney ad is deceiving and is wrong. and yet, it has become a staple of his campaign. at a fund-raiser in oakland last night, the president called him out on it. >> earlier today governor romney was at it again. knowingly twisting my words around to suggest i don't value small businesses. now, you know, look, in politics, we all tolerate a certain amount of spin. although, you know, when folks just like omit entire sentences of what you said, they start kind of suppliesi isuppliesing . >> you may have gone over the edge there. romney is now running on this distortion but now