harold ford, a lot of headlines out of new york this week. one had to do with you in that you decided not to take on senator gillibrand and challenge her senate seat this fall. you wrote an op-ed explaining your decision. the cruel twist of course is that the party boss who is tried to intimidate me so i wouldn't even think about running against senator gillibrand are the same people responsible for putting democratic control of the senate at risk. talk about a shot across the bow. what are you talking about? >> my party needs to understand there is growing, if not a crescendo of concern about job, taxes and the economy. there is great concern even with 36,000 jobs lost which is less than months before but there is a concern at the platform, the growth platform going forward that will create new jobs and provide economic security for families is not there. i want everyone to have health care but i can assure you someone who spent two months traveling a state that is vital to the nation's economy i would argue the global economy, new york city

harold ford jr.ot running for senate. >> and harold ford jr. will be here today. will be here today to talk about that decision. good morning, everybody. >> he's not running for senate. he's going to be here at 8:00. let's go to mika with the news. >> actually, i want to say good morning to everyone. hi. okay, good morning. >> now let's go to mika with the news. >> actually, first i need to give barnicle his frosted flakes. >> thank you very much. i love frosted flakes. tony the tiger, man. whoo hoo. you can pour your own milk. and joan walsh is here. welcome. good to have you. >>> all right. let's get to the news. we've got a lot to talk about this morning. and don't eat with your mouth open. we're going to start with chile. the second largest city remains under curfew this morning as the government forces struggle to contain the chaos following saturday's massive earthquake. at least 723 people confirmed dead. scientists say the sheer strength of the quake actually knocked the earth from its axis a

harold ford jr.back. after a four-month layoff, what can tiger woods expect when he tees off just in a few days at augusta? sports is next. we'll be right back. you're watching "morning joe" brewed by starbucks. ♪ [ male announcer ] the cadillac laurel sales event. featuring the all-new srx. ♪ with available glide-up navigation. and ultraview sunroof. ♪ see your cadillac dealer soon. because while there is no expiration date on achievement, on rewarding it, there is. the srx luxury collection. ♪ on rewarding it, there is. ♪ here comes peter cottontail, hopping down the bunny trail ♪ voat walmart, you can get all the best easter candy for 20% less than leading national drug stores. which means more candy... ...more places to hide it... ...and of course more fun finding it. easter costs less at walmart. save money. live better. walmart. but we're also in the showing-kids- new-worlds business. and the startup-capital- for-barbers business. and the this-won't- hurt-a-bit business. because we don't just w

in harold ford's case obviously a strong democrat. i think with a great future in the democratic party. my sense is, you know, he went around and surveyed and found that while people felt strongly about him, senator gillibrand had a very, very dedicated group of supporters within the state party and, you know, i think he made the decision that discretion was the better part of valor in that instance, but i think he's going to continue to be a real strong voice within the democratic party. i just learned within the last couple hours about the situation in arkansas and haven't really dug into that one very much. i do know that today at the white house robert gibbs talked about the president's support for senator lincoln, that she's worked closely with him, and, you know, given that statement from the white house i'm sure we're going to be taking the same tack. but that's just one that i learned about shortly before i came on the show. >> prepare to hear from the left on blanche lincoln, mr. chairman. they've made their feelings about th

what's his name, harold ford? black guy from tennessee. host: harold ford.er: key have voted for harold ford and he didn't. when you look at opensecrets.org a year later stupak took money from nancy pelosi. i don't know -- a lot of people are calling him a hero, but believe me, you know, god knows who he voted for. host: we'll leave it there. guest: well, i'd like to address the cost issue in the caller's comments earlier on. i think it's crucial in the debate. the best estimate of the cost impact that we have, sort of the official estimate from the congressional budget office is that in the individual market premiums would go up as a result of this bill. they'd go up between 11% and 13%. advocates of the bill say after you take into account the subsidy, the fact you can get a taxpayer subsidy to buy insurance if you're below 400% of the poverty level it will actually cost you less out of pocket. while it's true for some folks who qualify for the subsidy, it's also irrelevant. as a society we have to pay for the cost of that subsidy. pay for it as taxpayers.

harold ford that the hour has announced he will not challenge the democrat in new york.are the politics of the way those two incumbent senators have played this situation, what does it tell incumbent democrats about how to handle challenges in primaries? >> i think the primary challenge in arkansas, which has been the result of a lot of very excellent grass roots organizing, accountability now, move on is doing fund raising, a lot of the net roots, is really smart. the fact is blanche lincoln is essentially a dead woman walking at this point. her re-elect numbers look terrible. her approval ratings are very low. at this point removing her from the ticket is probably a net benefit to democrats there. she's also just not represented the will of the people of arkansas on things like the public option. in the case of harold ford it was one of the most laughably inept candidate rollouts in recent memory and i think finally at some point he got the message this was not going anywhere. >> thanks, chris hayes of "the nation." >>> coming up, the devastation in chile. ann curry tr

according to "the new york times," former tennessee congressman harold ford jr.ecided not to challenge new york's democratic senator kiersten jill brand for her seat. he has been under intense pressure from democratic party officials. they're worried that a primary race would drain campaign funds and leave the winner vulnerable to a well-financed challenger. >>> meantime, gerry brown is expected to campaign for a third term more than a quarter century after leaving office. >>> general motors is recall mortgage than a million compact cars after over 1100 complaints about steering failures. >>> and jay leno reclaimed his old job as host of the tonight show nine months after giving it up to conan o'brien. for his first show he was joined by jamie foxx and olympic gold medal skier lindsey vonn. now back to "hardball." >>> welcome back to "hardball." president obama is expected to make an announcement. in fact, he will this wednesday about the next stones health care reform. he is going to define where he stands, as it gets closer. former dramatic chairman and former

the nation, meanwhile, is news hundred. çó many of you heard this morning that harold ford has decidedllibrand in new york for that primary. he has an op ed in today's "new york times" on why he is not running for the senate. try have examined this race in every possible way and if i run, the likely result will be a cruel and how the-democratic primary. pennsylvania, laura on the verge republican line -- on the republican line. caller: your guest is no longer there from the naacp? host: that is right. what is your question? caller: i think democrats and republicans agree on some basic things, but the objections from the house are those brave pro- life democrats who refuse to give up the stupak amendment language. they do not want reproductive rights and abortion, killing unborn babies, in this health bill. over 40% of americans are pro- life. that is the gallup poll -- over 50% of americans are pro-life. that is the gallup poll from last year. the obama white house wants this agenda to be radical left and they want to give up health care for all because they want that to be part of the

harold ford, former tennessee congressman, he thought about it and he dropped out. so she might get a pass. host: is new york a one-party state? guest: was looking like it for the last couple of years. democrats had the state senate, the governorship, and the number of house democrats jumped way up from a majority to a super strong majority. but there are plenty of republicans in new york, including upstate, where republicans traditionally have been strong. mayor bloomberg from new york city, he used to be a republican but now he -- host: and he used to be a democrat. guest: sure did. the republican party is also reeling in new york as nationally. host: what about governor pataki? guest: he could jump in the mix. he has not declared he wants to challenge gillibrand but he could potentially be a strong challenger. right now the only guy around is rick/0 -- lazio, former congressman, who ran not such a great race begins hillary clinton. host: what about rudy guiliani? guest: he is someone who also had a steep fall in new york politics. he ran for president, and his ca