nia malika henderson is political reporter for "the washington post."cki is co-host of "the cycle" and an msnbc contributor ari melber is a correspondent for "the nation" magazine. nia malika, if i can start with you on wednesday speaker bain ser taking his colleagues to williamsburg, virginia, where they will hold their annual conference and discussion ways of fixing their image i guess. frank luntz says the public regard these republicans as, and i'm quoting, nothing more than opponents of the president and friends of the powerful. nia malika, what's the problem? that's an entirely accurate assessment, isn't it? >> well, you know, at least that's what the public thinks -- >> that's what i mean. that is what the public thinks. >> it was last week a poll came out that said most people identify as democrats, not republicans. so we do know that house republicans, republicans more generally, have an image problem. they will have their come to jesus meeting on wednesday to talk about fixing the problem. luntz's idea is it really is about language, not so mu

. >>> let's bring in nia-malika henderson, jim rootenberg and jack jacobs., i would like to start off with you. you were on yesterday and discussing an article you'd written discussing who's behind the television ads and radio ads who have gone after chuck hagel on israel, on his comments that were seen as anti-gay. the list goes on and on here but we know it's coming from secret donors. this factor in to the questions that we heard today from the senators? >> i don't -- you know, i have to say to me this is the real stuff and these are obviously lawmakers putting the faces on television and asking it so i think you have to look at them as two very separate -- one is a campaign and the business of government and it show that is this is the real challenge to hagel's nomination and those tv ads seem to me much less in comparison, obviously. >> the point of the tv ads to get people to call the very lawmakers that we watched today and pressure them, if you will, to come after hagel on the issues of israel that we had heard just now from senator wicker. >> that w

. >> nia malika, what about what the nra did in that web video? jay carney has spoken about it, the white house is angry. >> the white house is angry, and in some ways the nra is trying to do what the white house is doing, tap into emotions, swell their voter roles, this is an ad that won't see the light of day in terms of television. will certainly get a good run on the web and sort of on television in that way as sort of a web ad, but i don't think they are putting any big money into this, but i think what it does is if you're an nra member, if you're afraid your guns are going to be taken away, this will probably stir up some emotion, move you to act, maybe donate to the nra, join the nra. so they are doing what the nra always has done, and that is drawing a very hard and firm line in the sand, very black and white terms. no shades of gray here and no budging on what they fundamentally believe is a threat to the second -- their second amendment rights. and they are, of course, going to be on the hill lobbying democrats, lobbying republicans. so

joining us is howard fineman and nia-malika henderson. nia-malika, let me begin with you.s your answer to the question of the president's true objective here? >> well, i think his true objective has been what it always was. even going back to 2008 when he campaigned on the issue of comprehensive immigration reform. obviously wasn't able to get it done in his first term. gave a bunch of speeches that essentially laid out the same thing he laid out yesterday, the sort of guiding framework where he wants to take this. i think it always has been an issue for republicans. he doesn't necessarily have to make it an issue for them. he certainly isn't standing for re-election. i think he already won the political fight in 2012. so now it is about his legacy and whether or not he can get this big grand bargain around immigration. >> howard, how do we get beyond the triggers that differs between the senate's plan and the president's plan? how do you prove the borders are now secure? >> right. that's the practical difficulty in all this. and it's one thing to go out and say let's do i

let's bring in the political panel, "the washington post" nia-malika henderson and latino contributor, raul reyes and michael smerkonish. raul, if people doubt that elections have consequences, look at the issue of immigration reform and look back at the republican primary and the response of the audience regarding immigration reform during the debates, one would not thought to get here. >> and to get here so quickly, looking at immigration policies and attempts at reform, this is really unprecedented and people show up at the polls and shoet there are consequences. obviously, you know, many latinos following it and want it and democrats and even for the republicans this can be a positive step forward to stay relevant and competitive as a national party. >> speak to the speed at which this is all going. we know that the president and his advisers said this would be a major priority and saw that in a big interview right before the election. and expressing his disappointment that more was not done on immigration reform but the rate of speed, does that speak to the fact that maybe in pri

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nia-malika, when i think of how impressive that speech was yesterday, it seems a travesty to mention republicans have reacted, but i'm afraid we have no choice. first up, we have the serial adull terer newt gingrich who called the speech goofy left wingism. then the bitter john mccain complained that there wasn't enough bipartisanship, which is particularly rich. and "the wall street journal" described it as contemptuous talk. what do these people want, the president to announce he was going to invade iran? >> it's funny, newt gingrich in an interview said he felt like 80% of the speech that reagan could have delivered this speech. what he thought was the liberal kind of gobbledygook i think was around climate change. i also remember that newt gingrich -- >> stop laughing, karen. >> -- was sitting on a couch with nancy pelosi talking about the need to address climate change. he's seemingly had a change of heart around that. this is to be expected. the president gives a speech that's the most robust defense of liberalism that he has given that has probably been given in public in the

ari melber and nia-malika henderson and matt welsh. we left off by asking who might be the brain trust, if you will, that will push for the a new collaborative process in washington, d.c. which was what ari's essay was about. who might that be? >> you know, that is a very, very hard question. because, you know, as much as, you know, you have different leaders, you have boehner. you obviously have obama and you have harry reid. in the senate at some point it becomes every man for himself. people looking at the 2014 elections. there are, i believe, 20 democrats that are going to be up for re-election in the senate and 13 i think republicans. at some point people are playing to whatever their states are, to whatever their different counties are, so i think it's very hard to figure out one person who is going to be sort of the clarion voice of bipartisanship. i think we've seen in the different parties a move toward the south in terms of republicans, fewer northeastern republicans, fewer moderate republicans, so that's a real issue so i am

let's talk more about that, nia-malika. i want to play for everybody the rhetoric coming from the right a about the word amnesty. take a listen. >> no one should expect the members of the senate are just going to rubber stamp what a group have meant and decided. >> what heightens my concern is that we have history as a guide and history suggests this brand of so-called comprehensive immigration reform, this promise of enforcement, as long as we have an amnesty, all of those things put together, is a recipe for failure. >> so nia-malika, in washington right now, a lot of people, some would think the president has the midas touch. people on the right think that they're going to recoil from that touch. how much does the president really hover over doing, overall, immigration reform. or does he need to take congress really take the lead on this? >> i think he has historically let congress take the lead on things, as hogan just said. he has punted on a lot of these issues, from health care to other big plans. he has put sort of

joining us is howard fineman and nia-malika henderson. nia-malika, let me begin with you.hat's your answer to the question of the president's true objective here? >> well, i think his true objective has been what it always was. even going back to 2008 when he campaigned on the issue of comprehensive immigration reform. obviously wasn't able to get it done in his first term. gave a bunch of speeches that essentially laid out the same thing he laid out yesterday, the sort of guiding framework where he wants to take thi>> mentions have gone to the cofounder of instagram. >>> finally, travels with hillary, we've seen no shortage over the past four years. all the same the secretary has been game for the lighter moments of her job. >> can i put one on like you have over there? [ singing ] ♪ ♪ >> things got musical on several different occasions. then there was this photo shoot in hawaii with hong kong's chief executive. that was, in fact, a half dressed torch bearing man dashing behind them. and then there was the speech featuring a knock at kim jong-un. >> time has honored so m

joining us is howard fineman and nia-malika henderson. nia-malika, let me begin with you.hat's your answer to the question of the president's true objective here? >> well, i think his true objective has been what it always was. even going back to 2008 when he campaigned on the issue of comprehensive immigration reform. obviously wasn't able to get it done in his first term. gave a bunch of speeches that essentially laid out the same thing he laid out yesterday, th political fight in 201 the present's an?ho yhe borrs av now secure? do you put troops dog erhead what stistwillou u a but ther ith is sequen it's eathat pple enfced and pred ot?usse d at's wrehe sck pot'going toe.esident's narr this men forraphic s giving histate of e ess aham ncn'biayth of n issufor this buaifoth generat thinsothing he vermu res abou let talk abother si othe e.says he republicwaar rs irrelency.v toy la wt's at  t ry s eplica iledo untand siift eehe rtcef this i to ou an voter. a eleo of if youavlargblock erans whbeevc onheir voters.4 taissue with that mode inngofle, here's what lota of quote

>> keith, nia-malika, thank you. >> thank you. >> we'll have a question. do you believe the president will make that move? thank you both. >>> deadly flu outbreak sweeping the country is now at epidemic levels orks officials at the center for disease control and 47 states, take a look at this map. now reporting widespread flu activity. that's up from 41 last week. more than 3,700 people hospitalized for the flu since october. and sadly, 20 children have died. and the flu scare is now causing a run on vaccines with reports of shortages. joining me now, deputy director of the richmond, virginia, health department. thank you for your time. let's address the issues of possible shortage of vaccine. i have seen conflicting reports of enough for people to need to be vaccinated s. that the case? >> the information we are getting, tamron, availability of flu vaccine is not a concern. here locally in richmond and the state of virginia we have seen levels of vaccine in adequate supply. >> how busy has your office been as i pointed out, 47 states reporting widespread

but as nia malika says, they're reelgt in the sense not about the taker part, but they're right in the it's not just about immigration or respect, it's also that the latino, the emerging latino population, supports a greater role for government, a greater fairness in government, they're socially liberal after yeeshs of saying oh, they're anti-choice. latinos are the most pro-choice segment of the electoral. so the democrats have won this debate on social terms and on economic terms ft not because they're takers or depep dents or any of that other racial stereotyping language. >> well, you can't hold people in a contemptible kind of stereotype and then wonder why they're not embracing you. you just called me every class name that you can think of and talked about my family and then say why can't you come onto me and help me become president. that's a little crazy. >> ronald reagan used to always say that latinos are republican s, they just don't know it yet. i think republicans have a lot of work to do in terms of changing the tone. and as you said, stereotyping latinos as if a, all lat

nia-malika henderson, welcome back to "hardball." glenn thrush.inning to sound like a pack of moon shiners. remember them, chasing the revenuers out of town? you're watching "hardball," the place for politics. i just served my mother-in-law your chicken noodle soup but she loved it so much... i told her it was homemade. everyone tells a little white lie now and then. but now she wants my recipe [ clears his throat ] [ softly ] she's right behind me isn't she? [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup.

nia malika henderson. republican strategist joe watkins.dviser to the hillary clinton and al gore presidential campaigns, doug hataway. hello to the three of wayou. joe, we had secretary of state colin powell on "meet the press" who gave his assessment of the current state of the republican party and race. let's all take a listen to this. >> there's also a dark -- a dark vein of intolerance in some parts of the party. what do i mean by that? what i mean by that is they still sort of look down on minorities. how can i evidence that? when i see a former governor say that the president is shucking and jiving. that's a racial-era slave term. when i see another former governor after the president's first debate where he didn't do very well says that the president was lazy. he didn't say he was slow, he was tired, he didn't do well. he said he was lazy. now, it may not mean anything to most americans. but to those of us who are african-americans, the second word is shiftless, and then there's a third word that goes along with it. birther. the who

nia-malika henderson and glen thrush. nia, i've missed you. i've seen you on other shows.'ve seen some sightings. but thank you for coming back. i find from the producers you have theories about the president. in his first press conference -- the last one of the old year the president warned republicans not to play politics when it comes to the debt ceiling. here's the president. >> but they will not collect ransom in exchange for not crashing the american economy. the financial well being of the american people is not leverage to be used. the full faith and credit of the united states of america is not a bargaining chip. >> and that's yesterday's last press conference of the presidential term. newt gingrich of all people reacted by saying the president was bullying republicans. that's a long way from saying he's weak. now he's a bully. let's watch. >> i don't think we should pick fights where we are in a position that we can't, in fact, in the end enforce our will. we have no evidence that barack obama's going to compromise. i think this president is deliberately seeking

with us joe klein from "time" magazine, the bbc's katty kay, nia-malika henderson henderson and david leonhardt. the president addresses the country and he will try to project his will that would block his legacy. opposition to barack obama in some quarters is searing. hear how sean hannity greeted the obama victory in november -- >> america wanted barack obama for four more years, and now we have him. by the way, good luck with that. chris: that was a bit sarcastic. today as the president take the oath, the new nbc wall street poll traces a geographic divide. 60% of americans who live in cities say they like the president personally, and like his policies. in the suburbs 43% like him and his policies. but in rural areas it's just 27%. and that's what you see playing out in congress. also inside the poll 6-10 strong republicans dislike the president personally as well as his policies. joe, there's a deep groove of resistance out there, and i guess the question is, how does the first term look, when you look back on it, compared to how it's looking? >> he's going to drive them complete

and nia malika henderson, first, let me thank you both for being here tonight.gressman, you've been long for a pullout. we should have never extended it. what's your reaction of speeding up the withdrawal of u.s. troops? >> reverend, today is a great day for the american troops, but also to our country. the fact that the president's been very clear, we're accelerating the fact that we're bringing our troops home. thank goodness. we are shifting to a counter terrorism doctrine. we are bringing our troops home because they did their job. they took out bin laden. the longest war in american history, over ten years time, are coming home. i gave president obama credit because he had the guts to do the right thing. president obama did the right thing for american security and american troops. >> it is to wish that they would have never gone this far and would have to give him credit. when you look at the fact that the numbers behind the afghanistan war is astounding. they are 11.3 years, the cost of the war, $557.3 billion. dead, 2,174, wounded, 17,674 and, still, 66,

joining me now is nia malika henderson and michelle cotter.th for being here tonight. >> republicans are threatening to destroy the economy. is there anyway out of this? >> mitch mcconnell doesn't seem to be completely on board. >> but he wouldn't say no, either. >> you're right. he wouldn't rule it out completely or rule for his other people and say this is a real, real viable option. you know, i think what we see is a republican party that doesn't quite know what it's going to do in terms of bargaining around the debt ceiling limit. they've got a situation where th they're obviously talking about cuts. but one of the problems is people don't really wants cuts. and, also, i think the other reality is if you look at what's happened so far, i think we've cut out quite a bit. revenue that's come in so far, actually, i think it's been a third or fourth of that. so thal eve got a real challenge going forward in terms of what are we going to speak with. >> michelle, as long as it's out there where you have some just overtly saying shutdown is good,

and nia-malika henderson is with the post. she's just starting. big guns coming out in her career. let's talk about this. we have a nice mix here. let me talk about i'm a pure political person. it's all i think about is politics most of the time. >> nothing wrong with that. >> i think biden is trying to get his foot in early and maybe hope she'll not decide to run and he'll be there. he also hopes putting his foot down early, establishing new facts like i'm running may slightly intimidate her not to run. one more thing to fight with is a fight in iowa. and she doesn't plan to go out to iowa and play that game. first question, is biden running? >> we don't know. we don't know if -- in some ways he's been running since 1998. his performance, it was classic biden. he clearly enjoys this stuff. i think it all depends on hillary clinton. >> okay. >> he can't scare her away. she's not scared of anyone. >> i want some more skin in the game here, nia. is the president helping him by giving him jobs like the fiscal cliff negotiations? >> i don't think that

joining me now is nia malika henderson, political reporter for "the washington post" and lisa mundy, obama: a biography of the first lady." >> nia, you've covered the first lady for two years now? how have you seen her evolve? >> i think she has gone from being a little unsteady in the role to being absolutely uncomfortable in the role. a power house first lady, in many ways. she is very highly identified with all of her initiatives around childhood obesity, and "let's move" and that's what you want to be as a first lady. you want to try to leave a legacy eight years after you leave, 80 years after you leave. i think that's what she'll try to do more of coming up in this next term. i swrinterviewed her asking her what she wanted to do going into that next year and she said more. i think that's what we're going to see more of this year, more of the first lady. >> liza, you've written a book on the first lady. do you expect her role to be more aggressive? evolve even more of the president? everyone is saying has grown? what have we seen that indicates the role of the first lady will pla

. >> do you think nia malika, a lot of view of americanings have brings the drama and the taking americans to the edge. >>> i think so, there was a galup poll just recently that said by raishl 4-1 of congress are standing in the way of progress, of american progress. and i think where republicans really have to look at goirng forward, they are saying they have leverage going into this next ceiling debate and the e questions trags debate as well. but i think they've got to look at how they are viewed by americans so far. and it looks like they're viewed in a pretty dim light. boehner, i think, to his credit is someone who is from the old school who really wants to legislate. the question going forward is how he deals with such a large caucus of it really is trying to prevent things from happening. you have folks on the hill saying they want to shut down the government. and i certainly think that's not going to go over well with the american public. >> well, congresswoman, if you and i wanted to see boehner remain, we could always say we hope eric cantor wins and support him tonight. that wo

i want to bring in my gaggle early, nia-malika henderson, jane harman, republican ad maker and strategist brad todd, and michael shere from "time" magazine. michael, let me start with you. first of all, jr. stuck in our jump seat, to i want to -- >> i get sympathy. >> yeah, you get the sympathy first off here. i've contended that chuck hagel, he's probably on his way to confirmation, but he's got -- he can't mess up today. >> that's absolutely right. but there's no sign that he will mess up. he's already met with almost 60 senators. he hasn't really gotten many bad reviews coming out of it. he's already been asked all the questions he's going to be asked. i mean, we know what the accusations are against him. and we also know that on -- most of these accusations are coming out of quotes that are five, ten years old. and he's said, i'm sorry for the things i've said that i shouldn't have said, and on message, he's not really that different from where he has to be, to get confirmed. i think the most interesting place to look here will be john mccain, and i expect, really, i'm trying to game

nia-malika henderson, welcome back to haub. glenn thrush.ing to sound like a pack of moon shiners. remember them, chasing the revenuers out of town? you're watching "hardball," the place for politics. i paint people from my life mostly. my ex-girlfriend... 7th grade math teacher. who is this? that's pete. my... [ dennis' voice ] allstate agent. a "starving artist" has an allstate agent? he got me... [ dennis' voice ] the allstate value plan. it's their most affordable car insurance and you still get an agent. [ normal voice ] i call it... [ dennis' voice ] the protector. is that what you call it? the protector! okay. ♪ the allstate value plan. are you in good hands?

mike holly at "the washington post," infamous nia-malika henderson, and stephanie, president of emily'sanie, let's start with you. i do think it is remarkable. i want to go over these numbers again. nbc news "wall street journal" poll, january 12th to 15th, view on abortion, 54% should be legal, 44% should be illegal. and maybe even more amazing, should we overturn roe v. wade? 24%, yes, we should overturn it, 70%, do not overturn. we've seen a shift in public opinion on gay marriage over, that particularly, the younger you go, the more people either don't care or support it. it is not an issue with opposition sort of galvanizes. is abortion headed in that direction? i never thought i would say that. >> you can look at the numbers, though, when you showed over a period of time, this has been a pro-choice country, in essence, for quite a while. so this trend has been going on. i think what we just saw in this last election really crystallizes where we are. so it's not just the polling numbers, but on election day, we saw women voters in this country stand up and say, we're not going to r

. >> is this, nia malika, the first step, the 2:00 p.m.estimony is coming up, but the first step is the clearing and vindication of the secretary, who hasn't been able to testify because of health reasons until now. >> yeah, we'll have to see what happens at 2:00 p.m. in this second hearing, but i think, you know, to her credit, i think she in some ways was able to remain above the fray. she had some tough questions by people who might be her rivals in 2016, rand paul, rubio, and people like that. but she was steady, she was forceful, and at times very emotional. it's something, obviously, landed very heavily in terms of her job and her psyche and emotional sort of stability there in terms of her job as secretary of state. it's a long time before 2016 happens. also, we'll have to see what comes out of these next hearings. >> doesn't mean there's not a poll showing how hillary clinton is doing favorabilitiwise. she's soaring. that is a lot of how this is being perceived, the optics of being questioned by a rand paul or a marco rubio. hillar

bringing in the panel, political reporter for "washington post," nia malika henderson, msnbc contributorney senior adviser robert trainum and democratic strategist to the hillary clinton presidential campaign doug hataway. lots to talk about. ladies first. you know i like to do that. talk about the second act here because the last inauguration was huge. >> it was. >> this year's is a bit pared down, only two official inaugural balls. how does this inauguration compare to the first one? >> it does feel different. we won't have the millions on the mall last time, a lot of us were partying last night, not as many parties this time. what was interesting, people were so optimistic and hopeful. here is this historic figure and the first african-american in president obama being sworn in, lots of hope that day. what was interesting is obama met that day with a bet pretty somber speech. he talked about the winter of our hardship, talked about the storms that may come. and i think in some ways that's where the country is now. we've been through so much over these last decades in terms of unemploy

today with us, strategist chris cofinis, nia mf malika he understander son and michael smerkonish. michael, your reaction to that poll, the comparison between the nra and the entertainment industry and how the numbers are shaking out there. what do you make of this? >> i think there's a huge disconnect. i said to you, tamron, i answer the phone for a living. i speak to people across the country for hours on end and i think there's great enthusiasm among the public for a lot of the initiatives that the president put forth yesterday, not the least of which is background checks, assault rifles, far less so, but i think some of the agenda is doable, at least according to the component parts. >> why do you believe that to be the case with david keene on with savannah guthrie this morning rejecting the idea of universal background, when you look at the people who talk odds in washington, d.c., the idea of a universal background check as proposed by the president they saw as having i believe a number around 75%? we knew that the nra and gun rights okay viss reject a ban but what's the arg