developed by fred davis who suggested a similar ad to the mccain cam contain in 2008.w york times" reporters secured a copy of the campaign plan from, quote, a person not connected to the proposal. under the title "the defeat of barack hussein obama," the rick it's plan to end his spending for good, it is slimed calling president obama quote: out to change that and make the president unlikable to independent voters, and i quote: though campaign also called for a quote: conservative talk radio host larry elder was contacted to fill the role. brian baker president of the ending spending action fund insisted the plan was and i quote: which doesn't explain why the plan's authors wrote they had received quote: preliminary approval and were ready to jump into action when plan approval came through. and mitt romney tried to have it both ways. >> i want to make it very clear i repudiate that effort. i think it's the wrong coarse for a pac or a campaign. i have been disappointed in the president's campaign to date which is focused on character assassination. >>> joining me now,

i would remind you you mentioned fred davis was john mccain's lead media strategist in 2008.hey produced an ad that never ran, but they produced an ad called character matters. you can look it up on google. in that ad, the contest between john mccain who did not leave the p.o.w. camp early, and barack obama, there is a clip of jeremiah wright in there, in that ad which did never run, it's worth looking up because i think this is something that fred davis has long advocated for. we know john mccain nixed the idea. i think this was fred davis' way of trying to get it back in the mainstream again. >> and you can get something into the mainstream in the media without running it by just having this kind of thing come out. apparently it was supposed to come out shortly before the convention or around the time of the convention where it might have been difficult for the obama team to rebut it. interestingly, john mccain's spokesperson put out a statement saying senator mccain is very proud of the campaign he ran in 2 2008. he stands by the decisions and would make them again today i

fred davis is a creative guy, but fred davis requires adult supervision.em is, mitt romney -- this isn't going to been issue. mitt romney repudiated this thing, nobody wants to talk about this. mitt romney, knows if we're talking about reverend wright, we're not talking about the economy. >> there's something else going on here, though, couple of weeks ago evidence of the obama campaign has an enemy lists. a very wealthy man getting involved in politics. this is another individual, ricketts, billionaire, ending spending, focus on economic issues this was a shot -- if you're wealthy, wealthy person in the united states you happen to be conservative, we're going to watch everything you do, sort of stop over the line, past associations with president obama, we'll try to destroy you. as far as i know, he didn't see this proposal, i believe, george, the idea that he was considering it was a total false scenario put forward by the "new york times". >> the difference was, his name appeared with it, with a quote, that had john mccain produced a similar ad that bar

but fred davis is known for ads. this is something that he does.not a huge surprise to see it come from him. this would be the first time you see the jeremiah wright issue in an election. i think that's what they were banking on. >> thank you both very much for joining me tonight. >> thanks. >>> coming up, celebrity chef mario batali is finishing his week of eating on a food stamp budget. that's $1.48 per meal for each member of his family. his wife and two sons. mario batali will join me from one of his restaurants coming up. >>> and in the rewrite, actor pundit ben stein told bill o'reilly last night that president obama is not as smart as richard nixon. yes the richard nixon that was driven from the presidency for committing high crimes and misdemeanors. yes the criminal richard nixon. we'll find out how smart ben stein is in tonight's rewrite. [ male announcer ] the inspiring story of how a shipping giant can befriend a forest may seem like the stuff of fairy tales. but if you take away the faces on the trees... take away the pixie dust. take a

why is fred davis still getting work? >> he's amazing at getting money from rich people.irst couple of pages is what a great guy joe ricketts is. let me quote again from the great works of joe ricketts it's a pitch to this guy. >> at the end when he outlines exactly where this $10 billion budget they were allotted was going to go, 1.4 million was going to fred davis. >> $30,000 a month i think was the fee for creating racially incendiary character assassinations against the president. but let's talk about the power of super pacs. because there are some guys in this game who know what they're doing karl rove's group crossroads. >> he knows what he's doing. >>ing that dude knows what he's doing. this is stephanie cutter from team obama speaking about karl rove. >> here we are again. karl rove's group crossroads is spending $25 million from secret donners to tear down the president. when robe says the president broke his promise on middle class tax cuts, he's not telling you the truth. >> amazing stephanie cutter taking it to karl rove in a campaign ad. >> i've never seen an

i see sean pushing it, and advertising fred davis who tried to get mccain to use it and people tell me they will push it and some of the el wealthy guys as you said they love it and eat it up, and there is a market for it, and the money guys, they like it. >> i think that establishment is going to like it a lot less to tell you the truth. >> this is a pretty rot gut campaign if you ask me. thank you. >>> mitt romney has still not finished up a good response to bain cap dal thital that he getn it. he has a glass jaw on it, and we will talk about this more when we come back on "hardball" the place for politics. and when it takes a battery, there are athletes everywhere who trust duracell. they rely on copper to go for the gold. duracell. trusted everywhere. sorry. sore knee. blast of cold feels nice. why don't you use bengay zero degrees? it's the one you store in the freezer. gives that instant cold sensation. that's chilly. same medicated pain reliever used by physical therapists. and it lasts for hours. [ sigh of relief ] [ short breath ] [ longer breath ] [ short breath ] [ male anno

and this plan by fred davis is something he's repudiated right off the bat. >> i want you to weigh inn this, because the campaign, they criticized romney for his tepid response. do you think that was fair? >> i think the fact that he has come out, he's repudiated this ad proposal. here we're having a faux argument about a non-ad campaign when it never got off the ground and never will. this was an idea proposed and leaked to "the new york times." i think this is the last we'll see and hear of this idea and it will go to the graveyard of fred davis ad ideas. >> do you think it's convenient sometimes is when the right doesn't want to -- when they want to focus on the economy, they do. when they don't want to, they bring other things into the equation, do you agree with what alice said? >> yes, for the most part. you know the reason why this ad was even in discussion is, one, they don't feel as if romney just stuck with the economy that is a sure deal he'll win the presidential election. so they're coming with other things to shore up his weakness. and two, they believe it's going to wor

i see sean pushing it, and advertising fred davis who tried to get mccain to use it and people tell me they will push it and some of the wealthy guys as you said they love it and eat it up, and there is a market for it, and the money guys, they like it. >> i think that establishment is going to like it a lot less to tell you the truth. >> this is a pretty rot gut campaign if you ask me. thank you. >>> mitt romney has still not figured out a good response to bain capital that he gets hit on it. he has a glass jaw on it, and we will talk about this more when we come back on "hardball" the place for politics. you can see everything ok? just stay off the freeways, all right? i don't want you going out on those yet. mmm-hmm. and just leave your phone in your purse. i don't want you texting, all right? daddy...ok! ok, here you go. be careful. thanks dad. call me -- but not while you're driving. ♪ [ dad ] we knew this day was coming. that's why we bought a subaru. ♪ and i thought "i can't do this, it's just too hard." then there was a moment. when i decided to find a way to keep going. go for

fred davis, the one who brought it to the super pac. who gave the report to "the new york times." let me ask you, as a romney person what did you think when you saw this on the front page? >> i was stunned that it was on the front page, above the fold of the new york times. in the political business, there are a million harebrained ideas being pitched by consultants. 99.9% don't warn mainstream coverage let alone what the "times" gave it. it was a strategy that was never considered by anybody. the idea that people were giving it the prominence they were getting it and trying to get romney to own it. my mid-morning, romney said this is not something i want in the campaign. we have 4 hours of breathless news coverage fueled by the "times." it's an issue. >> mark halperin, they stand by their story. your thoughts in terms of the coverage. >> well, i said earlier in the program i thought it was too big given the circumstances. i want to ask about the coverage, brian. the times, very important sentence in their story today says on wednesday

basically fred davis is this gop media guru who pitched this attack ad against the president.o the top mccain adviser has gone on the record saying he requires round the clock adult supervision. susan, romney last night spoke out against this campaign. this is something he's trying to distance himself from. take a listen. >> i would like to see this campaign focus on the economy, on getting people back to work, on seeing rising incomes and a growing prosperity, particularly for those in the middle class of america. >> is this is a problem for mitt romney where he has friends that turn into foes in a certain respect that shift the conversation away from, again, where he'd like to keep it, which is on his strong suit, economy, jobs? >> well, as republican strategist or just a campaign strategist, citizens united scare me, besides we could talk about the money issue, putting that aside is that you have a lot of other people who can step on your own message. so, the romney campaign and barack obama for president campaign are going to have their own messages. and third-parties are

this plan by fred davis is something he repudiated right off the bat. >> i want you to focus on this.ampaign, not the administration, they criticize romney for his tepid response. and he had to come back and be stronger about that. do you think that was fair? >> i think the fact he has come out, right off the bat or a while later, he repudiated his ad proposal. we're having a full argument about a nonad campaign when it never got off the ground and never will get off the ground. this is an idea that was proposed and leaked by "the new york times." this is the last we'll hear of this idea. and will go into the great ad ideas. >> elyse grammerson, i have the same question for you. add to it a little bit. do you think it's convenient sometimes when the right doesn't want to -- they want to focus on the economy. they focus on the economy. when they don't want to, they bring other things into the equation. do you agree with what alice said? >> yeah, for the most part. although, you know, the reason why this ad was in discussion is a couple of reasons. one, they don't feel if romney stuck w

>> we know fred davis put it together. this is not an out of mainstream political consultant, has wacky ideas but perfectly representative in terms of other candidates. >> and what was said on the sean hannity show not too long ago invoking reverend wright's name. do you think romney made a good case distancing himself from this plan? >> he started to but then fumbled a bit when asked about the hannity comments and says he stands by them but doesn't remember what they were. confusing at the least. it's a big giant waste of money and diverts from what they want to be talking about, the economy. $10 million attacking obama on reverend wright will move the dials very little and in some say that's all that was needed to win john mccain the election. obama is a known quantity and people may not like his policies but like him as a person. it would do very little political damage. mitt romney tries to distance himself. he tried to but when asked why he brought up reverend right himself, he fumbled it. >> is it race-baiting? >> i

i see this advertising guy, fred davis, who tried to get mccain to use it. someone told me they're going to keep pushing it. love it, they eat it up, so there is a record. >> i think the establishment is going to like -- because i think they're not going to see a lot of game there. technically you open up the re -- religious campaign. >> there will be super pac billionaires out there putting on the most hateful ads, and again and again, the president is going to call and i'll say, what do you think of this? this is done for your benefit although not for your campaign. and it's going to put him in this jam against blasting peo e people. >> i don't know what's worse, his secular ideas or his crazy ri rigs. >> this is going to be a pretty rot gut campaign. >> we figured out a good response to those questions by bain capital. he gets hit on it but he sort of has a glan joyce for you thz "hardball" the police for ♪ ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] virtual wallet can help you be that person who's good with money. see what's free to spend. move money with a slide. save with

of turning into a five-minute ad and unveiling it during the democratic national convention as fred davis proposed shall the proposal was leaked to "the new york times" and ended up on the front page, which prompted the obama campaign to issue a statement calling on mitt romney to essentially denounce that you saw mitt romney eventually renounce this. then, the person who the proposal was given to, a pact called end the spending, the founder of that group put out a statement saying, i reject this. i am not accepting it. the group that actually made the proposal also said, hey, hey, hey, it was just a proposal. nobody actually bought it. basically, everybody is taking a hands-off policy now. no, no, it wasn't me. even the ad maker said, i'm the one who put this out there and nobody else did anything with it, john? all hands off now. >> if you read it, one of the many cynical things said in here is if we do this campaign, we will get a lot of free media attention, as people would want to talk about it. does the obama team assume someone will eventually finance something like this? >> no. th

it was submitted by republican strategist, fred davis, but in the end never ran. joe ricketts, founder of td ameritrade, owner of the cubs, who "the new york times" says was willing to pay $10 million to finance the campaign, walked away from it. romney said at first he had not seen the story, and later in the day, he said this. >> i want to make it very clear, i repudiate that effort. i think it is is the wrong course for a pac or campaign. i hope that our campaigns can respectively be about the future and about issues and the vision for america. i have been disappointed in the president's campaign to date, which is focused on character assassination. i just think we are wiser talk about issues of the day. >> he is talking about the obama ads painting ronny and bain capital as job killers. 8. mitt romney's message for a full day, -- it buries ronny's message for a full day, mark. >> it is most of of reflective of the influence that super pacs have. this was an act of the agreed on the part of the proposers and stupidity, because the idea of running on -- against

he's 29 years old and the senior member of the tight end corps, which includes fred davis and logan paulson, captain chaos wants to be more than just a role play. >> even if i'm not the guy, which is what i want to be, which is what i'm going to try to be, a major factor. but that's not enough for me. so, i want to be the guy that catches a will the of passes and gets first downs. that's what everyone should aspire to be and that's what i want to be. >> fba playoffs. closing moments in the first half, lebron james, two of his 30, heat up 7. off the pacer miss. lebron and dwyane wade with a nice give and go and lebron does indeed beat the buzzer. the only thing that went wrong was former wiz sadr had some shoe issues. the shoe comes off and rather than just put it on, he throws it. so he's just going to play with one shoe on and one shoe off. the heat blasts indiana 115-83 to take a 3-2 series lead. i think he should have put the shoe back on. i'm dave feldman. does your phone give you all day battery life ? droid does. and does it launch apps by voice while learning your voice ? launch cab4

the senior member of the tight end core, including fred davis and logan pahlsson. captain chaos wants to be more than just a role player. >> and even if i'm not the guy, which is what i want to be, i'm going to be a major factor on this team and offense and that is not enough for me. that is what everyone should aspire to be and that is what i want to be. >> and everyone wants to be the guy. sue palka. >>> and the nationals have activated the pitcher from the disabled list. jordan zimmerman takes the mound against the phillies. the nats franchise is not defeated since june 10th, 2002, when he was a member of the blue jace. top of the second, and there is no score and to that deepet part of the park. the solo home run, seventh of the year and tieing him to the team league and with that redondo beach single to make it 2-0 and geo gonzalez had another out and struck out seven of the first nine batters he faced and with six innings, allowing three hits while striking out 9 and with that 69 strikeouts. the bottom of the night, nats lead 2-1 and polanco with two on and t

no. 71 offensive tackle trent williams and no. 83 tight end fred davis back with the team after serving four-game suspensionses the end of last season. no. 88, wide receiver pierre garcon who comes from the colts and is expected to be a downfield threat. rookie robert griffin, iii threw passes to the vets for the first time in an organized practice and he was asked the difference between rookie minicamp two weeks ago and today. >> with rookie minicamp you're more there to try to show a coach hey, you drafted me, i'm as advertised. when you're with the vets, it's more of i can help this team win, you know, show them why coach had so much confidence in you. >> it's so evident that he's a tremendous athlete. his ability to be great for us and to be great early will be to understand 0 we're doing offensively and he'll -- what we're doing offensively and we'll be able to build a trust with the guys that's around now and i think he has the skills to do that. >> shanahan was injured near the end of practice today when he was hit by wide receiver pierre garcon and cornerback brandon thompson. s

attention-getting ads and that would be -- chris: it sinds me -- -- reminds me, i want to say something about fred davis. he's very successful ad producer. but on this particular issue, ricketts saw the mccain ad. and he loved it. he's quoted in "the new york times" as saying if that ad had run, they never would have elected barack obama. so i think it's -- i don't think it's fair to say -- chris: you're saying ricketts believes that going after jeremiah wright -- >> he's trying to distance himself from that now. but obviously there was a conversation in which that idea was sort of embraced as -- >> and given the reaction, they realized quickly that it would be a mistake. chris: the matthews meter. 12 of our regulars including john and clarence this time, would ads playing the race card help or hurt romney? bottom line, 10 say they would hurt. and that's two of you guys, and that includes you, clarence. >> a very close call. i wanted to say that it will be a wash. but i think on balance, it doesn't help romney to go that route for a number of reasons. some of which have been mentioned. and also, well, i

i think that a lot of them either rolled their eyes or are irritated at fred davis for being fred davis of course the guy who did the fuming chief ad, the hoekstra ad with the asian woman in the background. he's just, i mean i just i am not sure how much longer people are going to take this guy seriously. >> this is his style. people are asking is this not a direction they want to go in the romney campaign or whether they got caught? >> right? >> somebody leaking it to the "new york times." >> i think it's an open question. i don't think that the romney campaign would ever want something like this to be associated with them. whether they would want it to come out from a group that couldn't be associated to them, it's an open question. you can argue it pretty strongly either way. certainly in talking to the folks in and around that campaign, you know, there is a logical case to say we don't need this. >> you have been on the campaign trail with mitt romney yesterday, campaign seemed to -- i don't know whether you were there or not at that point, but they didn't want reporters to get anyw

and this ad campaign guy, fred davis is trying to sell him on a 54-page proposal, and he thought romneyld do it. >> not romney, his people. >> we can be cute, okay. >> it's a bad strategy for two reasons. obama is most vulnerable on economic issues. we're not talking about the failed promises to turn the campaign around. >> so why did they have preliminary approval. >> so why if it's a lousy idea. >> that doesn't mean they agree with the strategy. the second thing is most voters think this has already been prosecuted. this came up in 2008, and obama was elected. to bring it up now will feel like old news. >> how will you exploit this. >> i don't think the president benefits from an extended conversation about reverend wright. i think most think it's litigated and racist, and they reject it. independent voters, the people that will make the decision about this election would be offended by this. the reason it was seriously considered is because it's a bunch of rich fools thinking about how can we swift boat barack obama. >> let's look at this afternoon, while repudiating the attacks abou

fred davis, the guy that came up with this proposal was the guy that wants kristine odonnel to say i'm not a witch. joe ricketts does want want part of this, but the reason -- leaving the race aside, they don't want this because it's not going to work. it's not as if barack obama, somebody nobody has heard of, he is the incumbent president. he tried this, everybody knows president obama now. he has high favorable ratings, he is personally popular, they will not be able to spend $10 million and redefine him. they're backing away because it's explosive, it will have a backlash, and the potential for success here is so low, and obama is already defined in the eyes of americans. >> before we back away too quickly, mr. chairman. the fact of the matter is the fact that it is even proposed. means that mr. romney may have a problem because there's segments of his party that wants to play this, and i just played a tape where he, himself, willard mitt romney himself referred to reverend wright in the context of the president not long ago on a radio show. before we give them all of this back away